Maid of a wealthy family

Chapter 9
After breakfast the next day, Chrysanthemum hurried to the "Taikang Pharmacy" in Liujiangchang to get medicine for her mother.The shopkeeper of the pharmacy stared at the chrysanthemum for a while from behind a pair of gold-rimmed presbyopic glasses, and then suddenly asked: "The medicine is on credit again, isn't it?"

Chrysanthemum blushed when she saw that the shopkeeper had broken her mind, and didn't answer the shopkeeper's words right away.After a while, he nodded.

When the shopkeeper saw it, he hurriedly said: "This is not acceptable! If we continue to credit like this, my pharmacy will never be able to continue."

When Chrysanthemum heard this, she hurriedly raised her head, looked at the shopkeeper beggingly and said, "Just this once, okay?"

The shopkeeper said: "My ears are ringing when I say this."

Chrysanthemum said: "Really, Big Boss! My father said that when the rice is harvested after autumn and the money is sold, I will return it to you together."

The shopkeeper was still unmoved after hearing this, and said coldly: "Girl, don't talk about it. There are gold and silver at home, and there are scales next door. I hope to be rich this year, and I still wear ragged pants in the next year. How rich is your family?" , I don’t know yet? The rice after autumn, I’m afraid it’s not enough to pay back the old debt of Lan Mansion!”

Chrysanthemum saw that the shopkeeper told the truth about their family, and the girl's self-esteem made her want to cry, so she didn't know what to say for a moment.Standing there, toes digging unnaturally at the dirt on the ground.After a long while, the painful image of my mother last night appeared in front of my eyes, and tears gradually welled up in the corners of my eyes.She summoned up her courage again, and said to the shopkeeper: "Boss, you can do me a favor, let's get credit again! My mother rolled on the bed in pain last night, and almost passed out. Boss, I kneel down for you!" !” Saying this, she was about to kneel down towards the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper saw him at the counter, and hurriedly called out: "Hey, girl, you must not do this." Then, he sighed alone, and then said: "Okay, okay, look at your mother In the interest of filial piety, I'll credit you again, but it won't work next time, ah."

After hearing this, Chrysanthemum bowed gratefully to the shopkeeper and said, "Thank you, shopkeeper!"

The shopkeeper turned around to dispense the medicine, weighed the scales, and said pitifully to himself: "Oh! Your mother is really, but she was poor and gave birth to a rich body, and she became a medicine jar, and the meat is afraid of it." Suffering from the potion."

Chrysanthemum said: "This is fate."

The shopkeeper poured the medicine in the weighing pan into a piece of rough kraft paper, then turned around to weigh other medicines, opened the door of the medicine cabinet and slammed, and answered Chrysanthemum's words while looking for medicine: "No! Your mother When I was young, I was a flower around me. Don’t be afraid of your superstition, your mother is more beautiful than you, but she is a beautiful woman, but she was born in a poor family and married your father, so her life will suffer. If you marry a rich family , but it’s Mrs. Luo who is rich! This woman, rapeseed life, if you sprinkle it on good soil, you will get good seedlings, and if you sprinkle it on lean soil, you will get thin seedlings, girl, don’t you think so?”

Chrysanthemum said: "Why not? The boss is right!"

The shopkeeper chattered, prepared the medicine, wrapped it up, tied it with twine, and then handed it to Chrysanthemum, and turned around to write down the account in a ledger.

Chrysanthemum and other shopkeepers raised their heads from the ledger, bowed gratefully, and hurried out of the shop.

The shopkeeper yelled from behind: "Hey, girl, bring cash next time."

Chrysanthemum was worried about her mother's illness, so she had already run away.After running for a while, she felt hot and hot, and her head began to sweat profusely.It was almost noon, and the hot sun above was shining on the land under my feet, and on the rice fields and crops by the Lanjia River.The wild flowers next to it are blooming, and the tiny petals and golden needle-like stamens are swaying slightly in the sun.The Lanjia River is sparkling, serene and quiet.Several wild cranes and tall-legged egrets stand quietly on a floating object in the river and drift with the current, looking leisurely.Beside a stream mouth, Chrysanthemum put down her medicine bag and squatted down.She wanted to wash her face with clean water to drive away the heat from her body.The stream is clear and bright, reflecting the blue sky and red sun.As soon as she squatted down, a red face with big eyes, small and straight nose bridge, small red mouth and slightly upturned corners of the mouth immediately appeared in the water. Everything looked so well-proportioned, upright and beautiful.She simply suspected that the person in the water was herself.She mischievously pressed a dimple on her cheek with her hand, and the person in the water pressed the dimple in the same way. She was sure that the person in the water was her, so she couldn't help smiling happily and proudly.

After washing her face, Chrysanthemum really felt much refreshed, and continued on her way.

When she got home, she wanted to go into the kitchen to drink cold water, and then go to her mother's room to tell the news that Yao Chu had returned.Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked to the edge of the steps, he heard a conversation between his mother and his father from his mother's room: "Father, you have to think about this matter carefully! It's not an ordinary thing for a baby to be a girl." .”

silence.After a while, my father's voice sounded: "His mother, I think this will work! I've never heard of it. A girl from a rich family is better than a girl from a poor family!"

Chrysanthemum couldn't understand what she heard, so she rushed into the house and asked eagerly: "Father, mother, are you going to send Yinhua out to be a servant?"

Yinhua is the second daughter of Luo Luocheng. She has grown into a big girl at the age of sixteen.

When Luo Luocheng and the woman saw Chrysanthemum, they were startled and fell silent.Luo Luocheng lowered his head and smoked a bag of dry cigarettes.The woman turned her face away and just wiped her tears.

Chrysanthemum was even more puzzled, and asked again loudly: "Is that right, father, mother?"

After a while, the woman turned her head, wiped her tears and said, "It's not Yinhua, it's you..."

"What?!" Chrysanthemum's eyes widened suddenly, she looked at her mother in surprise, and the medicine bag in her hand fell to the ground unknowingly.

Seeing Chrysanthemum's surprised look, the mother hurriedly explained: "Just now the housekeeper of Lan Mansion came and said that the old lady has taken a fancy to you and wants you to go to Lan Mansion to serve her! The housekeeper said that Lan Mansion is benevolent and righteous, as long as you go Do it for a year..."

Chrysanthemum didn't wait for her mother to finish speaking, she called out: "No! No! I won't go, mother!"

Now it was Luo Cheng and the woman's turn to be surprised. They raised their heads and looked at her puzzled.After a while, Luo Chengcai asked dissatisfiedly: "Don't go? Why don't you go?"

With tears in her eyes, Chrysanthemum said, "I won't go! I just won't go!"

Luo Luocheng stood up suddenly, his face darkened, and said, "If you don't go, you have to go! I have already promised the housekeeper."

Chrysanthemum burst into tears and said, "Father, mother, why is this, why..."

Seeing his daughter crying, Rhodes softened his heart, and explained: "Father is doing it for you too! Lan Mansion has food and clothing, and pays back wages. The butler said, the old lady has already sent a message. If you go, we will They also don’t want the old debt of five shi renting grain owed by the family. Where can I find such a good thing? Many people want to go and pay it off.”

The woman also said: "Go, Chrysanthemum! Lan Mansion is a good family, and people from far and near know it. The housekeeper said, let us rest assured, the old lady said that she will treat you as her own daughter, and will not treat you badly! Your father just said That's right, girls from rich families are better than daughters from poor families like us! You were born in a poor family like ours, and your mother has been sick these years, so you haven't been able to eat a good meal and wear a Haoyi, my mother made you suffer, so go and enjoy a year of blessing!"

Luo Luocheng waited for the woman to finish speaking, knocked the cigarette ash off the bed leg, and said: "Besides, Dad has no other choice! The year before last, he still owed others old debts, and this year's millet harvest failed again. Your mother is always so sick. , there is a large group of younger brothers and sisters below, all of them open their mouths, you call me..." As he spoke, he held his head and choked up.

Chrysanthemum met and stopped crying.The girl's kind nature made her sympathize with her parents.After a while, she started talking: "Father, mother, I know the pain at home, and I also know your difficulties. I don't only care about myself, it's just...it's just that I'm about to finish things, so..."

Hearing this, Luo Luocheng stopped sobbing, and said with his head buried in his head: "Isn't it just a year? At this time next year, can't we have a wedding?"

The woman also said: "Yes, Chrysanthemum. After you go to Lan Mansion to earn money, you can buy some decent clothes. You follow mother, mother has no ability to give you a dowry, so you can earn it by yourself!"

After hearing this, Chrysanthemum still couldn't accept her parents' advice for a while.Although the family is poor, Ke'er doesn't think her mother is ugly. She loves this family, her parents and siblings.More importantly, she loved Ran Longgui deeply.She also knew that Ran Longgui thought about her very hard, let alone a year, it seemed that he couldn't wait even a day.She just went to hug the clay doll last night, and she still has the hope of realizing that soon!Thinking of this, Chrysanthemum said: "If it can be done, I have to ask him! He has been waiting for several years." Saying that, she stood up and was about to go out.

Luo Luocheng hurriedly called to her: "Don't go, I have sent a message, let him come and discuss!"

After hearing this, Chrysanthemum didn't go.She walked back to her mother's bed, picked up the medicine bag and went into the kitchen to fry the medicine.While frying, I was anxiously thinking about what my parents said.

Sure enough, Ran Longgui arrived not long after.He was shirtless and sweaty, obviously still working in the sun.

As Chrysanthemum had expected, Ran Longgui jumped up when he heard Luo Cheng's words, and cried out in pain: "No! No! I don't agree."

Luo Luocheng was a little unhappy, but he couldn't treat his son-in-law who hadn't been married like he treated Chrysanthemum. After asking for a while, he said, "Long Gui, I know what you are thinking! You are not young anymore. But, you have to Think about it..."

The veins on Ran Longgui's temples on both sides were throbbing, and his red eyes interrupted Luo Cheng angrily: "There's nothing to think about! I don't want anything, but chrysanthemums."

Luo Luocheng said: "Even if this is the case, you have to think about it for me, her mother, and her younger brothers and sisters! We brought her up with a lot of shit and piss, but we can't just fly by ourselves when the wings are hardened!" "

Ran Longgui thought for a while and said, "Isn't it just renting grain with five stones? I'll just borrow it and pay it back to his family."

Luo Luocheng didn't hear clearly, and said, "You said it lightly! You don't know that our family owes bad debts everywhere, and who would lend us grain!"

Ran Longgui said: "I will borrow it, you don't want to borrow it! I will borrow it and I will pay it back. Although I, Ran Longgui, am worthless, but I have more than 100 catties of meat, so I don't have to worry about paying it back. Besides, I don't believe anyone can trust me?"

After hearing this, Luo Luocheng couldn't say anything more, so he kept smoking.Chrysanthemum's mother was originally reluctant to let her daughter leave, and after hearing what Ran Longgui said, she instinctively turned to her son-in-law, so she said, "Father, if this is the case, I think I will adopt the baby!"

After a while, Luo Luocheng lowered his head and said, "I've already promised him, how can I tell him?"

Ran Longgui stood up abruptly and said, "What's the matter? I'll talk about it! We are in debt and pay the money. As for being a servant, we still need other people's consent!" Just walked away.

As soon as Ran Longgui left, Chrysanthemum sank into a void.She was very excited after hearing what Ran Longgui said just now.For nothing else, she saw Ran Longgui's infatuation with her.When a girl gets this infatuated love, she will get rid of all the pain, misfortune, poverty, and depression in front of her eyes, and what shines above her head is a pure blue sky and a bright sun.At that time, Chrysanthemum felt a blissful feeling called happiness.She was also very satisfied with Ran Longgui's proposal of borrowing grain to repay the grain rent owed to Lanfu by her father.In this way, it not only relieves their separation pain, but also helps parents share the difficulties.It's not easy for parents to raise themselves!
As soon as Ran Longgui left, Chrysanthemum hurriedly started cooking.After finishing the meal, she quietly went to the side of the road to wait for Ran Longgui.

The sun at noon was poisonous, and the sun opened its blood-red mouth, spraying flames on the ground.The crops and grass on both sides of the road were curled up in the sun, and the sand and soil on the road were turning into waves of scorching heat.The water of the Lanjia River, reflecting the sun, is like a burning mirror, and a layer of mist rising from the river surface can be seen.Chrysanthemum ran to the grove leading to the intersection of Lanfu in one breath, and then stopped.This is a willow forest. The branches and leaves of the willow trees are flourishing in July, and they are emerald green. Wisps of orange-yellow light sift through the dense willow leaves.Chrysanthemum waved the broken cattail fan she took when she left the house just now, while fanning the wind, she cast her eyes on the path leading to Lanfu.

At this moment, she happened to see her Ran Longgui walking towards here in a hurry.

Chrysanthemum's heart almost stopped beating.

Ran Longgui approached, sweating profusely.

Chrysanthemum suddenly walked out from the shade of willows, and couldn't help calling out: "Long Gui."

Ran Longgui stopped, looked at Chrysanthemum in surprise, and asked hesitantly: "Chrysanthemum, you, why are you here?"

Chrysanthemum couldn't wait to ask: "They...agreed?"

Her heart rose to her throat, fearing that Ran Longgui would say something she didn't agree to, her pair of clear eyes were full of anxiety.

(End of this chapter)