The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

Xia Mianwan was somewhat concerned about the person Rumeng mentioned. Manager Chen was indeed a good person, but in ancient times, getting married was not a one-person thing. She would have to return to the capital sooner or later. If Rumeng stayed in Xiyang, then she would have to rely on herself for everything.

Ruzhu and Rumeng were the two maids who had been with her the longest. They were almost at the age of marriage. Ruzhu had expressed to her many times that she did not want to get married and only wanted to accompany her in the future. Xia Mianwan would not force Ruzhu. If Ruzhu wanted to marry someone, she could marry. If she did not have someone she wanted to marry, she would support Ruzhu. Anyway, she would not have a bad life with her.

As for Rumeng, since she said she wanted to stay in Xiyang, Xia Mianwan would have to make some arrangements for her.

Xia Mianwan asked someone to inquire about Chen Xiaosheng. Chen Xiaosheng seemed to be a good person indeed. He had no bad habits and looked gentle and polite. He would always lend a hand when someone needed help.

Xia Mianwan observed Rumeng carefully. Rumeng was already deeply in love with Chen Xiaosheng, so Xia Mianwan decided to take another look at Chen Xiaosheng's family. If there was no problem, she would keep Rumeng in Xiyang.

However, this matter is not suitable to be publicized for the time being. Xia Mianwan thought about asking Qinghe and Zizhu to go to the Chen family to inquire about the character of the Chen family members.

Qinghe is calm and Zizhu is smart, so I feel relieved to leave the summer sleep night to these two people.

Qinghe and Zizhu dressed up a little, changed their hairpins and rings, and went to Daniu Village where the Chen family lived.

In the early years, Danniu Village was a very poor village, and the road from the village to the county was not good. In the past two years, the county magistrate has worked hard to renovate the road. The road has become smooth and travel between the village and the county has become more convenient. The villagers can also go to the town or county to work or do small business.

Qinghe and Zizhu's carriage stopped a little before the entrance of the village, and then they walked to Daniu Village. In the past two years, more and more people from other villages came to the village to buy wild delicacies, and the villagers did not look at them with any scrutiny, but were happy.

Qinghe asked an old lady who was washing clothes by the river about the location of Chen's house. The old lady was very enthusiastic and happily told Qinghe the location.

Seeing that the old lady was quite talkative, Zizhu asked, "Auntie, I want to ask you something. I heard that someone from the Chen family is a manager in the county town. I want to do business with the Chen family, but I am a small business and it is my first time to do business. Since my father broke his leg, the burden of the family has fallen on my mother. My sister and I want to help and took out all the money we have to do business, but we are really worried, so... I want to... ask you. If there is no problem, I will put my life and property on it.

When the old lady heard what Zizhu said, she looked distressed. "It's not easy for my daughter to go through so much at such a young age. There's nothing wrong with the Chen family. Father and Mother Chen are both honest and warm-hearted people. They're good people. Don't worry about doing business with them."

Zizhu and Qinghe looked at each other and said hurriedly, "Thank you very much, Auntie. We will go and take a look now."

Zizhu and Qinghe arrived at the Chen family's courtyard. Mother and father were busy in the yard. Sister-in-law Chen held a basket of fish and said with disdain, "Mom, this fish is quite big. Kill it and feed it to Huzi. Huzi is studying and needs nourishment."

Mother Chen said cheerfully, "Okay, give it to Huzi."

Chen Xiaomei looked unhappy and said, "Second brother will be back tomorrow, let's eat together with him."

Mrs. Chen rolled her eyes at Little Sister Chen and said, "Your second brother has nothing to eat in the county, and you are worrying too much. Huzi is a scholar, and he needs to eat well so that he can study."

Zizhu and Qinghe were both disgusted when they saw this scene.

Mother Chen saw Zizhu and Qinghe and asked with a smile, "What are you two doing..."

Qing He suppressed the unhappiness in her heart and said, "Auntie, this is what I heard. I heard that your family sells wild delicacies. Let's take a look."

When Chen's mother heard that she was here to buy goods, she smiled and said, "We do sell wild delicacies. What do you want to buy, young lady?"

Qing He thought for a moment and said, "Can you take me to see the goods first?"

Mrs. Chen came out at this time, and Chen's mother said, "These two girls are here to look at the goods."

When Mrs. Chen heard that it was a business trip, she smiled and said, "You can see the goods. I'll take you to see them right away."

Zizhu and Qinghe followed Mrs. Chen to the Chen family's warehouse. It was called a warehouse, but it was just a side room with all kinds of shelves inside.

"Girls, look, these are all my family's goods." Mrs. Chen said enthusiastically.

Qing He looked around and suddenly saw a bed against the wall, so he asked curiously, "Why is there another bed here?"

Seeing the disdain in Qinghe's eyes, Mrs. Chen smiled and explained, "This is my little sister's bed. There is no room at home for these mountain products, so my little sister lives here temporarily."

Zizhu suddenly said, "We heard that Manager Chen's family sells mountain products. Manager Chen is highly appreciated by the owner of the wine shop and is very kind to us guests. That's why we decided to come and take a look. But... it's okay to put food together with people's homes, but it's a bit awkward to sell it. Sister Chen, please let us think about it."

Mrs. Chen asked hesitantly, "If you want to buy, how much do you want to buy?"

Zizhu said, "We came here in person because we wanted a lot of goods and were worried that the goods were not good. Manager Chen is a very nice person and he does things meticulously, so we thought of coming here to take a look. But... we can't accept your goods. The goods we sell must be clean."

When Mrs. Chen heard this, she thought it was a big customer, and hurriedly said, "Our things are all clean. How about this, if you mind, we can get another batch, and this time I'll let my younger sister move it out, and you can rest assured that it will definitely be clean."

Zizhu looked at Qinghe hesitantly, "Is this... okay, sister?"

Qing He looked at Mrs. Chen hesitantly and said, "But where will your little sister live? We would feel bad if a little girl had no place to live because of our business."

"It's okay, she's just a girl, don't worry, she's fine." Mrs. Chen said nonchalantly.

Qinghe and Zizhu already had an idea in their minds. Qinghe smiled and said, "How about this, you let us go back and think about it."

"Okay, okay, go back and think about it."

Qinghe and Zizhu said goodbye to the Chen family with a smile and left the village. After getting on the carriage, both of them were a little dissatisfied. The Chen family seemed to have no problem, but they felt a little uncomfortable with the attitude of Mrs. Chen who looked down on the girl.