meet
Author: Thirteenth Life
A poor man
The wind in late autumn is not biting, but it is very cold.
A few dry grasses on the wall were trembling.
The pale sun hung weakly in the sky, without a trace of heat.
I wrapped my thin clothes around myself and curled up into a ball.
"Xiaolan, come here." A sharp voice came.
I walked towards the voice woodenly and knelt in front of the man.
"Go to the Beauty House and give this thing to Master Yun Shuo."
"Yes, miss." I took the things, not daring to raise my head, and walked out backwards.
After walking out of the door, he raised his head and looked at what was in his hand, a brocade box.
As for what's inside, I don't care.
The ones on the left are just some handkerchiefs, sachets or seasonal food.
The weather was cold and the streets were empty with few people.
A gust of cold wind blew by, and I shivered. I looked at the thin clothes on my body, sighed helplessly, walked away, and walked towards the Beauty Shop.
From a distance, I saw two tough women standing at the entrance of Beauty Square.
It's not going well when I go out, and I cry in my heart.
But it¡¯s impossible not to go.
I calmed down a little: "I'll give something to Mr. Yun Shuo."
He deliberately raised the brocade box in his hand.
"Tsk, there are so many people sending things to Mr. Yun Shuo. If they all go in, Beauty House won't have to do business anymore." The aunt on the left yelled at me.
"As shabby as you are, your young lady is not much better. Get out of here and don't get in my way." The one on the right was not to be outdone and pushed me hard.
I staggered a bit, but didn't fall. I forced myself to stand still. It looked like I couldn't enter this beauty shop.
If you can't deliver the items, you'll probably get beaten up again when you get back.
Thinking about the bamboo stick that the dominatrix used to stab people, my heart shrank.
Take another route.
I walked around the beauty square to see if I could climb in.
Turning to the back door, an aunt came out with a vegetable basket and closed the door ajar.
Apparently, he was going to buy groceries.
Watching the aunt walk away, I leaned on the crack of the door and looked in - no one was inside.
I quietly opened the door and slipped in.
The backyard of Beauty Square is not small. There is a row of bungalows on the left, with smoke still floating in them. They are probably kitchens.
There is also a bungalow on the right, which is a mess. It is probably a woodshed or a place for storing debris.
Just as he was about to enter the front hall, he heard a low groan coming from a house on the right.
The voice was extremely low, and it could be seen that it was being suppressed deliberately, but it was not suppressed at the same time.
It seems that a certain young man disobeyed the boss's discipline and was taught a lesson.
There are so many things like this in a place like this that I can¡¯t control them. What¡¯s more, I can¡¯t control them at all.
He smiled bitterly and continued walking forward.
"Chi..." There was another small sound, like the sound of skin being torn.
I stopped and sighed in my heart, I am also a poor person.
As soon as I entered that room, I was really stunned.
This room was essentially a small torture chamber, with branding irons, boards, whips and many other instruments of torture that I couldn't even name or understand their uses, hung on the walls.
In the middle of the room, there was a person lying, half naked.
His body was covered with scars. The places where he was whipped were swollen, and the places where he was cut by a knife had flesh and blood oozing out. There were also a few black spots that were probably burnt by the branding iron.
Beneath him, red blood was flowing all over the ground.
I was furious. How could these damn beasts torture him like this?
Humans are truly the most terrifying animals in this world. Once they lose their humanity, they are more brutal than any wild beasts.
I squatted in front of the man and looked at him carefully. He was not moving at all. I was afraid he had fainted.
Maybe he turned over unconsciously just now, causing the wound to split open and new blood to flow out.
When I pushed aside the messy hair from his face, I found that he was not disfigured as expected.
This is a brothel. You won't be able to make money if your appearance is ruined. I'm afraid this is the reason.
I looked at the face carefully.
I don¡¯t know what it means to be the most beautiful woman in the world, but I know what it means to be the most beautiful woman among all the beauties.
The slender eyebrows are neither curved nor twisted, the long eyelashes are like two rows of small fans, quietly sticking to the face, the nose bridge is straight, the nose is straight, the thin lips are tightly closed, and the pale little face is stubbornly wrinkled.
Being beautiful is not a good thing.
He also suffered this loss.
In this society where the strong prey on the weak, a strong personality is probably not a good thing if it is not supported by financial power.
With this face firmly in mind, I stood up and left.
The moment he turned around, he found that his fingers moved slightly. It seemed that he was about to wake up.
I lowered my head and whispered in his ear: "Wait for me to pick you up."
I don¡¯t know if he heard me. I waited for a while, but he didn¡¯t wake up.
There were various sounds in the courtyard.
I quickly walked out of the house.
From behind, someone shouted: "Who are you and how did you get in?"
I didn't even look at who it was, I ran into the front hall and rushed straight to the second floor.
There are two rows of houses on both sides of the corridor. I don't know which one Mr. Yun Shuo is in.
Beauty Square is very quiet during the day, the gentlemen are all sleeping, and the servants are also resting like their masters.
Standing blankly in the corridor, at a loss, I couldn't find anyone to ask for directions.
Forget it, just go into any room. If you get the wrong one, the worst that can happen is you can ask for directions.
I raised my hand and knocked gently on the first door on the left.
"Come in." A deep and magnetic voice answered.
I gently pushed the door open and saw a white wool blanket on the floor. I looked at my shoes and didn't go in.
"What's the matter?" the voice asked again.
I raised my head and saw the sky-blue bed curtains hanging low. Inside, a person was faintly visible lying: "Are you Young Master Yun Shuo?" I asked in a low voice.
"Something?" He didn't get up, and it seemed that he hadn't woken up yet.
"Send-something." I became more cautious.
"Who sent it?" There was a hint of impatience in the voice.
"Miss Liu Yinhua from West Street."
"let it go."
It doesn¡¯t matter if he is Mr. Yun Shuo or not, as long as someone accepts him.
I put the brocade box on the ground and closed the door gently.
I still slipped out from the back door, and I was determined not to go to that hut again.
a deal
When I returned to the Liu Mansion, I replied to the lady first.
Maybe it was because Mr. Yun Shuo accepted her gift. He seemed very happy and didn't make things difficult for me, so he asked me to leave.
He probably went into heat on his own.
I returned to my hut and sat blankly on the bed. All I saw in front of me was that stubborn face.
I want to save him.
I have accepted my fate, betrayal, despair, death, a strange world, and a humble identity. I am just living an ignoble existence and have long since lost the courage to survive. And this man, who has lost half his life, is still holding on. .
I can't say I was touched, let alone moved. I just wanted to do something for him as a token of respect for such a strong-willed person.
After thinking for a moment, I made up my mind secretly.
The next morning, I went to the housekeeper to resign.
I didn't come here to sell myself. I was hired by the Liu family to recruit workers. When I came, they said I would be provided with food and accommodation, but I didn't have to pay and could leave whenever I wanted.
I liked this freedom, and I also urgently needed a place to settle down, so I came here to work as a maid.
The butler just said a few polite words but agreed readily.
I had nothing, so I left the house and became a free man without a job.
I turned left and right and walked for a long time. It was almost noon when I finally arrived at Linjinzhuang.
Lin Jinzhuang is the largest merchant in Tianhua City, the capital city. It sells a wide variety of things and almost monopolizes the market for every product.
I walked forward and said to the two women standing at the door, "Please, I want to see Miss Lin Zhijing."
"Oh, our lady is not something you, a little beggar, can see, get out of here." The two women opened their mouths and chased me away like flies, as if I would stand there for a little longer. Dirty their land.
"It's her loss not to see me." I smiled coldly, I don't want to keep anyone here, I have my own place to keep people. Anyway, I didn't plan to succeed as a family.
He moved his legs to leave, but heard a chuckle: "Why do you think it's my loss?"
I raised my head and saw a woman sitting on a white horse, looking at me sharply. It looked like she had just come back from outside.
I looked at her carefully. She had a long face, single eyelids, small eyes, and thin lips. She was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. She looked energetic and shrewd.
This should be Lin Zhijing.
"Talk to you about the pen business." I met her eyes without flinching.
She got off the horse and stared at me for a long time: "Miss, please come in."
Linjin Manor is worthy of being the number one manor in the capital. The mansion is gorgeous everywhere and you can tell at a glance that it is a wealthy family. What is rare is that although it is gorgeous, it is also elegant. The pavilions and towers are decorated just right, but they are also too meticulously crafted.
After we sat down, she asked me, "What's your name, young lady?"
"Yuan Xi."
"From your accent, Miss Yuan is not Chinese."
"Yes."
"Which country is Miss Yuan from?"
"far away."
"So what business are you going to discuss with me?"
"Ms. Lin, look." I took something out of my arms and put it on the table.
"What is this? What is it used for?" Lin Zhijing took the thing and looked at it from left to right.
"Laundry soap."
"For laundry?" She looked a little unconvinced.
I nodded. "Better than a soap clip."
"Take it down and let the washerwoman try it." A maid went away with the things.
What I took out was soap. In this backward place, we didn't have this thing at all. We still used soap clips, but I thought soap clips were not easy to use, so after coming here, I secretly made some myself.
Soap is actually very easy to make. It is made from three simple ingredients: lard, alkali and salt. It is commonly known as "water boiling oil".
When I was a housewife at home, I was so bored that I tried to DIY various things.
I didn't expect that the thing I made casually at that time would become the basis of my survival.
Although soap clips have a cleaning function, they are not very easy to use. If a piece of clothing is stained with oil or something, it cannot be washed off at all.
After a while, the maid came in with a wet piece of clothing: "Miss, look, it's washed really clean, even the grease stains are washed off, it's much better than a soap clip."
Lin Zhijing weighed the wet clothes and looked at them carefully: "It is indeed clean. I am very interested. Tell me your conditions."
"I'll sell you the recipe for ten thousand taels of silver." I'm not asking for too much. If this thing is sold at a high price, it will definitely be a huge profit. If it is sold at a small profit, it will definitely be a small profit but quick turnover. Just ask yourself, who doesn't do laundry? I think no one here knows the market for this thing better than me.
Lin Zhijing looked at me repeatedly and calculated for a long time: "Okay, I bought it."
I smiled at her: "You will never regret it."
Lin Zhijing laughed: "I believe it, Miss Yuan. It's already noon. After dinner, I asked Miss Yuan for advice on how to make this laundry soap."
I nodded.
Lin Zhijing asked someone to serve food and ate with me herself.
The food was good and I was hungry, so of course you were welcome.
It was quite quiet at the dinner table. She asked ten questions, but I could only answer three or four.
I won't say too much here, just keep it simple.
In the afternoon, I taught her to make a pot of soap. It was already getting late.
I stood up and said goodbye, the deal considered complete.
Lin Zhijing politely persuaded me to stay, but happily gave me ten thousand taels.
Have a house
I first went to the money shop to exchange the silver notes for some loose change. I took one thousand taels of silver notes with me, and deposited the rest in the money shop.
After finishing all this, it was already dark.
The street was getting increasingly deserted, not even a single person could be seen. I wanted to buy some thick clothes, but after looking everywhere, all the clothing stores were closed.
I was so cold that I hunched over and ran around the street for a long time. Finally, I found an inn and went in without saying a word.
There are not many people in this inn, it seems that business is not very good.
"Sir, are you here for a meal or to stay overnight?" Seeing how miserable I looked, the waiter ignored me.
I didn't pay much attention to his attitude. I've seen a lot of people like him.
"Let's get some food first, and then we'll stay in the hotel." The waiter agreed and went to the kitchen to give instructions.
After a while, two dishes, a soup and a bowl of rice were served.
"Xiaoer, do you have anyone selling a house here?" I threw a piece of silver to the waiter.
The waiter's face immediately turned from cloudy to sunny.
"My guest, you asked me the right question. Is there anyone in the whole capital who knows me better than me? I wonder what kind of house your guest wants?"
I picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of food and put it in my mouth. As expected, it was unpalatable.
"Slightly bigger."
"Well, the Xu Mansion on South Street is for sale. The house is not small, but the asking price is a bit high. The Li Mansion on Huagu Street is also for sale. The house is average and the price is not high. Also, the Zhang Mansion on Xuanping Street is also for sale. It¡¯s for sale. This house is nice and the asking price is not high. Mrs. Zhang passed away early. Miss Zhang spent her days wandering around the streets and alleys and ruined the house, so she wants to sell it.¡±
This is the house. Let¡¯s go and see it tomorrow.
It is said that people need clothes and horses need saddles. If the person who goes to buy a house wears clothes that are too tattered, the house owner may not sell it to him.
I went to a clothing store and bought some ready-made clothes. After looking at myself in the mirror, I found that I looked like a pretty lady.
After getting dressed, he asked for the direction of Zhang's residence and headed there.
The location of the Zhang Mansion is quite good. It is located in a prosperous area of the capital, with convenient business and transportation.
Standing outside the house, I took a rough look and found that the house was not that old.
I knocked on the doorknob for a long time before someone answered.
After a while, tired footsteps were heard from inside, and the door slowly opened. A swollen face stretched out from the crack of the door, obviously a result of overindulgence.
"Who are you? Who are you looking for?"
"Is this house for sale?" I really don't like this kind of spendthrift.