Light Dance Jiajing

Gradually, Meng'er got to know the old woman. The old woman's family was originally fishermen in this area. Later, her husband and son died one after another, leaving her alone to make a living. It happened that this small island needed someone to do daily chores. Families with relatives did not want to stay on the island for a long time, so she took this job. She stayed here for more than ten years. The old woman was not good at talking to people, so she felt that this place was very good. Although the daily life was a bit hard, where could she find such a paradise? Meng'er asked the old woman where the people who brought her to the island were? The old woman did not know either. She only said that the people gave their siblings to her to take care of and left in a hurry.

These days, Meng'er has been constantly speculating whether the man in black has anything to do with Zaiji's gang. She escaped with Zaihou that day, and it was because of the fierce fight that they had the opportunity to escape. Was there this man in black among the people fighting? It would be great if he was Zaiji's enemy. The enemy of the enemy can be befriended, and perhaps even helped. But where did the man in black go? There were fishing boats docked on this island from time to time, so it was not difficult for Meng'er to leave. However, she was not familiar with anywhere with Zaihou, and maybe Zaiji would catch them as soon as they set foot on land, so she could only calm down and wait. She believed that the man in black would appear sooner or later.

Since there was no other place to go, this small island was a good place to live. No matter how capable Zai Ji was, he would never have thought that they were on such an island. Maybe Zai Ji had given up after searching for a few months. Thinking of this, Meng'er calmed down and took Zaihou to play in the water on the shore every day. Meng'er also taught Zaihou to swim. The two children looked no different from fishermen's children.

But not long after, the island suddenly became lively. Several waves of people came for several consecutive days, and many people also moved into the small courtyard where Meng'er lived. She finally saw the man in black again, but he was too busy to pay attention to her. This time he was no longer dressed in black. He wore a dark blue coat and leggings, and looked very capable. A young woman came with him. This woman was in her early twenties and quite pretty. Meng'er heard her mother-in-law call her the Third Young Master's wife. It turned out that she was the wife of the man in black, the third of the three men, and people called him the Third Young Master. As more and more people came to the island, there were not enough helpers, and Meng'er could not eat for free, so she followed her mother-in-law and started to get busy. When her mother-in-law cooked, she would make a fire. Meng'er was worried about Zaihou, so she had to bring him with her, and Zaihou helped wash the vegetables and clean up.

The Third Young Master's wife was accompanied by two personal servants, one was an elderly woman, and the other was a little girl. The little girl was okay, but the woman was a little busy. She probably thought Meng'er and the others were the children of some fishing family, and asked them to move out with some disgust. The yard was not big, and there were not many rooms. The people living out there were all barefoot men. Fortunately, the Third Young Master still remembered Meng'er and her siblings, and asked someone to clean up a woodshed at the end of the yard for them to live in. They lived there for a few days, and they met the Third Young Master's wife from time to time when they went in and out. Meng'er had never seen this lady's smiling face, and the Third Young Master seldom came to her room, and when he came, he just stayed for a while and left in a hurry. At first, Meng'er thought that the Third Young Master might be too busy, but after a few days, she felt something was wrong. Every time the Third Young Master left, his wife's face became even uglier. Meng'er was always careful to accompany him, for fear that the young lady would have nowhere to vent her anger and would use her as a punching bag.

The Third Young Master came again that day, and this time he stayed for quite a long time. He even had dinner with the Young Madam, and then she didn't know what they said, but the Young Madam started crying. At night, Meng'er thought that the Third Young Master would stay overnight, but just as she had this thought, she heard the Third Young Master's footsteps leaving, and then the Third Young Master's Madam sobbing. The maid named Lai Di stood outside the door, not knowing what to do, and Mrs. Liu sighed and went in to talk to the Young Madam.

Lai Di was only fifteen years old and had been bought for only a few months. The young mistress did not treat her harshly, but she was not attentive either. She only asked her to do some rough work. Liu Pozi had always followed the young mistress. At this moment, Liu Pozi entered the young mistress's room. Lai Di wanted to go back to her room in a daze, but found it boring, so she came to knock on Meng'er's door. Meng'er had become much more familiar with Lai Di in the past few days. Lai Di's family was poor. Her father was seriously ill and bedridden. She had several younger brothers and sisters. Her mother had no choice but to sell her for some money. It happened that the third young master wanted to buy a maid, and bought her because he saw that Lai Di looked honest.

Lai Di didn't know any words except her own name. The 15-year-old girl had never been out of the house except doing farm work and taking care of her younger siblings. When she came here, the young lady didn't like to talk. Mrs. Liu thought she was stupid and didn't bother to talk to her except telling her to do this and that. It was rare for Meng'er to talk to her. Lai Di sighed and said, "The lady didn't sleep well again today, alas!"

Meng'er said strangely: "The Third Young Master seems to be very mean to Madam."

Lai Di shook her head: "No, the Third Master is good to Madam, but he seldom comes over."

Meng'er asked gossipingly, "Why didn't the Third Young Master stay tonight?"

Lai Di shook her head and sighed again, "The Third Young Master has never stayed in Madam's room. Madam, alas! She can't keep the Third Young Master."

Meng'er frowned and thought for a while before saying, "Since the Third Young Master is so good to Madam, why is he like this? Could it be that he has someone else in his heart?"

Lai Di said anxiously, "No, the Third Young Master usually lives in the wing room and is busy with the village affairs every day. The Third Young Master is not that kind of person. He will not let Madam down."

This Meng'er couldn't figure it out. Since he was good to the lady and didn't have any other lovers, then... Meng'er suddenly had an idea and whispered, "Could it be that the Third Young Master has a hidden illness?"

Lai Di didn't understand and asked in a daze, "What hidden disease?"

Mei'er blushed: "Oh, why don't you understand? Forget it."

As time went by, Meng'er slowly figured out the identity of the Third Young Master. There are three water villages along Poyang Lake. There were more than a dozen villages before. After several years, they have gradually formed the three large-scale villages now. Each of the three villages has its own water area, and they do not interfere with each other but share what they have. The relationship has been lukewarm over the years. The Third Young Master is from one of the villages. His father is the village chief. He has two older brothers and a younger brother. This small island is under the jurisdiction of the Third Young Master. He seldom comes here at ordinary times, but these days he suddenly brought his men to the island to set up camp, and no one knows why.