A ragged cub at the beginning

"Miss Tang, I think you should accept some tuition." Old Madam Du sighed sincerely.

"Madam, that won't do." Tang Xu smiled and blinked his right eye, "I have a little idea."

Old Madam Du asked with amusement, "What's your little thought?" It couldn't be that he has a crush on her Du Yun.

"Find a playmate for July," Tang Xu grinned. "Think about it, our July doesn't like to talk, and it's hard for her to find good friends when she goes out to play. With Zijun and Jiarui, the three of us can study and play together. Isn't that two more good friends? Studying alone is boring, but when three people are together, there's competition. No one wants to lose to their friends, so won't they study harder?"

"You," Mrs. Du sighed, "parents who love their children will plan for them in the long run."

"That's right. Let's not talk about the money. These little things don't cost much. I know how to make money." Tang Xu felt a little proud when he thought about how he sold several embroidery patterns for more than one hundred taels.

In ancient times, it was not an advantage for a girl to be able to make money. A woman's destiny was to take care of her husband and children. But Mrs. Du did not think so. Although she came from a scholarly family and her grandfather was a scholar in the Hanlin Academy, her father was a heretic. After passing the imperial examination, he resigned from his official position after only one year and traveled around.

During his travels, he met her mother, who was from a merchant family. Scholars disliked money-grubbing merchants the most. However, her father insisted on marrying her mother despite the opposition of others. After that, the two traveled together and gave birth to her.

She was taught by her father personally since she was young, so she is definitely not a pedantic person.

She smiled helplessly and dotingly: "Okay, okay, you are awesome."

Tang Xu waved at Du Jiarui with a proud look on his face, "See you tomorrow, little Tangyuan."

"Aunt Xu! See you tomorrow!" Influenced by Fang Zijun, Du Jiarui also called Aunt Xu.

The two little ones went back, and Tang Xu told July the story of Journey to the West.

Qiyue held her Monkey King, and the expression on her little face changed from frowning to laughing depending on the plot. When he laughed, his mouth looked like a heart, which Tang Xu had recently discovered. The longer she spent with Qiyue, the more she liked him. He was well-behaved and obedient, and knew how to feel sorry for Tang Xu. Although he still stuttered a little, he was very smart and had an excellent memory. He could memorize a book completely after reading it twice.

Isn't this the beautiful, strong and miserable hero in the novel? But he won't be miserable anymore. Tang Xu has a little taste of the joy of raising a child. Watching him get better, improve and grow up day by day, he feels a sense of accomplishment. It's like planting a flower and watching it sprout, grow branches and finally bloom into a beautiful flower.

Three days later, Tang Xu came to Shuxiang Street again. This time she paid a month's rent in one go, but this time it was not No. 23, but No. 30 South. It was right next to where she bought the sweet soup last time, and on the right was a scholar selling calligraphy and paintings.

The scholar was very disdainful when he saw that it was a woman who was setting up a stall. Tang Xu greeted him, but he said shameless and turned his back.

???

Tang Xu rolled his eyes and said, "When speaking, one should not forget his parents. Therefore, no bad words come out of his mouth, and no angry words come back upon him. He does not disgrace himself, nor does he bring shame to his parents. This can be called filial piety."

The scholar was stunned, and when he understood the meaning of the words, his face turned red with shame. He never thought that a business woman who was known for her fame had actually studied. This passage sounded very familiar, but he couldn't remember which book it came from after all the years of studying. The woman he looked down upon just spoke without hesitation, which made him even more embarrassed.

Tang Xu didn't take this incident seriously. She carried Qiyue down and gave him a small stool to sit on. She put out the easel and put the umbrella on the cart. But the umbrella was not only big, but also heavy. She couldn't push it up after several attempts.

"Little girl, please move aside. I'll give you a hand." The sweet soup stall was run by a couple. When the wife saw the girl next door was in trouble, she was so anxious that she was sweating all over her forehead and pushed her husband to help.

Tang Xu wiped his sweat and thanked him gratefully.

Little Qiyue had noticed his mother's predicament a long time ago, but he was too young to help, and he stamped his feet anxiously. Now someone came to help and opened the umbrella in no time. He happily said, "Thank you, uncle! Uncle is so nice!"

"It's nothing, no big deal." The man scratched his head and returned to his stall embarrassedly.

As soon as the stall was set up, several people came to ask, all of them were stall owners nearby. The man who wanted to paint portraits of his parents last time, as soon as he saw Tang Xu, he quickly asked someone to look after the stall, and went home to bring his elderly parents over.

He is a filial son, but his parents are getting old and in poor health. After seeing Tang Xu's paintings, he immediately thought of his parents and wanted to make them happy. When his parents are a hundred years old, they can still leave a memory for him.

Qiyue set up his own little easel. Yes, he also had his own easel! He held the brush, looked around, and decided to draw his mother. His mother was the best mother in the world, the most beautiful person.

Tang Xu looked at the old couple opposite. The old man asked his wife to sit down first, and then he sat down. The two smiled and helped each other to fix their hair and clothes. Touched by the love between them, she asked, "Do you want to draw your younger self or your current self?"

The old woman was surprised and asked, "Can you still draw when you were young?"

Tang Xu nodded, "Of course I can. I can infer what you two looked like when you were young from your bones, but I can't guarantee that they are the same. I can only say that they won't be much different."

The old woman looked at her husband and asked for his opinion.

"Just paint her when she was young. I haven't seen her for a long time," he said to his son with a smile, "your mother was the most beautiful girl in the village when she was young."

The old woman smiled and lowered her head, saying angrily, "Nonsense again."

"My mother is also the most beautiful now!" said the stall owner confidently.

Tang Xu got the answer and started writing. Judging from the old woman's bones, she must have been beautiful when she was young. But a person's beauty is not only about appearance, but also about temperament and dressing. These are all influencing factors. As of now, the old woman has a relaxed and smiling face, her husband loves her, and her son is filial. If a person lives a comfortable and happy life, she will also become more beautiful.

Tang Xu spent nearly an hour to finish this painting, which shows a young couple leaning against each other with smiles on their faces.

"This," the old man stood up in surprise, holding the painting. His hands trembled slightly, revealing his inner restlessness. "It's exactly the same, exactly the same... It's so well painted! So good!" As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes, revealing a nostalgic expression.

The old woman said nothing, but her expression was exactly the same as her husband's.

In fact, they are not exactly the same. People always have some filters for the people they like, not to mention the happy past, the filter will be even bigger. And what Tang Xu drew was two people with filters added.

"Was my father so handsome when he was young?" The stall owner asked doubtfully, and was slapped by his father who had recovered. He grinned and wanted to complain to his mother, but was glared at by his mother. He shut his mouth. This happened frequently in the past, and he was a little used to it. He turned his head and looked at Tang Xu earnestly, "Can you draw another one? Add me in too?"

Before Tang Xu could say anything, the people in the queue were already unhappy, "No! Go queue up behind me! I haven't finished drawing yet! I've been waiting for so long!"

"What a great painting! You can even paint your younger self. When will it be my turn? I want to paint too!"

"Old lady, let me take a look!"

"Don't grab it, let me see it!"

Hearing that it can also be used to draw young faces, many passers-by stopped and more and more people gathered around. Many people crowded outside and had no idea what was going on inside, but they also came to join in the fun.

"What are you looking at? Let me see it too!"

The man who had just pushed the stall owner who wanted to add more paintings came closer. He was just watching the fun and had not decided whether to paint or not. When he heard that the girl could infer the appearance from the bone structure, he immediately became interested, "It's my turn, it's my turn! Girl, since you can tell from the bone structure, can you draw me a picture of me when I'm thin?" He looked white and fat, but his temperament was gentle and not greasy, and he looked a bit blessed.

Tang Xu glanced at him and said, "Can I ask why?"

"I was sick when I was a child, and I became extremely skinny after I recovered. My mother felt sorry for me, and supplemented me every day. I supplemented me until I became like this. I just wanted to see what I would look like when I lose weight?" He didn't look distressed by the obesity; he was just curious.

Tang Xu looked at his gorgeous clothes and said, "More money!"

"Add more! How much do you want to add?"

"Thirty cents a piece."

"Here, here, here. Can I just sit here?"

"Yes, you can move around if you get tired of sitting, but don't move too much."

"I won't move! Please draw it better for me."

This time it was quick, and she finished the painting in about twenty minutes.

The little fat boy was very satisfied, "I knew I would be very handsome when I lost weight!" After saying that, he walked away with satisfaction holding the painting. He wanted to go home and ask his mother to ask her not to give him supplements anymore, as he would not look good if he was fat.

"I'm next!"

"It's my turn!"

"I came first!"

Tang Xu looked at the crowd in front of him with a headache, holding on to the easel that was being squeezed all over the place. "Come one by one, don't crowd. Who came first?"

At this time, Qiyue came over, pulled Tang Xu's sleeve, and pointed at one of the men, "This uncle, he came first."

Tang Xu looked at him in surprise, "Do you remember?"

July nodded and mentioned the next few.

"This kid has a good memory. I was here first."

"What a clever doll."

Tang Xu was proud of it. She looked at the sky and estimated that she could draw five more people before lunch. After lunch, she would take a break and draw six or seven people in the afternoon. She tore off a piece of paper and wrote down eleven numbers, and distributed them in order. "In order not to waste everyone's time, those who don't get the number paper please come back tomorrow. The guests after five should come back after lunch."

As soon as these words were spoken, more than half of the people left the place. Some people who were just looking for fun stayed to see how the painting was done.

"It takes about one stick of incense to finish one painting. You can arrange your own time according to your number to avoid waiting." But it's hard to say for sure. If you are like that couple, one stick of incense won't be enough. One stick of incense is about half an hour, but it won't be too much different.

After a morning of painting, Tang Xu's wrists were sore. She rubbed her wrists and took July to find something to eat, because they had to watch the stalls and couldn't stay too far away.

There weren't many foods on this street, not even steamed buns or noodles. The rent was high, and stalls with low profits couldn't survive. After walking around and not knowing what to eat, Tang Xu returned to the stall in a dilemma.

At this time, the back door of the house behind opened, and a man came out with a food box and walked to the other side. The sound of dishes being announced came from inside the house. It was a restaurant! Tang Xu led Qiyue in through the back door. It was busy inside. Some were washing dishes, some were serving dishes, and there was the sound of the chef scolding the kitchen helper. There was also the aroma of various dishes mixed in the air, which made people's appetites grow.

Business is so good! The taste must be good, right? This house doesn't look very luxurious, the price should not be too expensive? Tang Xu was thinking, a woman came over, frowned and asked: "What do you do? No one is allowed in here."

"I want to eat." Tang Xu looked back at her stall and decided to order takeout. Her cart could be used as a table, and it wouldn't take long for someone to steal her food. Besides, there was nothing to steal from her cart, and she had all her money on her.

"Let's go to the front to eat." The woman's expression relaxed and she pointed to the middle door.

"Okay." Tang Xu nodded, and walked to the front where it was even more lively. The hall looked quite large, but it was packed with people, and the shop assistants were busy as hell.

Tang Xu walked to the counter, where two middle-aged men stood. One was busy with an abacus and occasionally writing something on a piece of paper. The other saw her coming over, smiled, and asked, "Are you going to have dinner? How many people?"

"You two, but I'm not eating here." Tang Xu said.

"Want to take it away? You need to pay a deposit." The shopkeeper said familiarly.

"I'll set up a stall outside your back door. Can I order a few dishes? You can prepare them and send them to me. I can pay first." Tang Xu said.

The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment. He had never seen anyone who set up a stall and then came to the restaurant to order food. What kind of business was so profitable? But he didn't show it on his face. He smiled and said, "Sure, what do you want? We have most of the home-cooked dishes here, as well as fresh river and mountain food."

"Steamed egg with minced meat, mushroom and tofu soup, potatoes with shredded pork and two bowls of rice." Tang Xu thought about it and ordered two dishes and a soup, both suitable for children.

"Sure, the steamed egg is 15 cents, the soup has mushrooms for 30 cents, the potatoes and shredded pork are 20 cents, and the rice is 2 cents." The shopkeeper counted on the abacus, "a total of 67 cents."

Mushrooms are really expensive. Tang Xu gave the money and went back through the back door.

It's not good to eat like this every day, I can't save money. Otherwise, I can do it when I go back, but it's more tiring.

Returning to the stall, Qiyue yawned. He had developed the habit of taking a nap, and now he was beginning to feel sleepy, but there was no place for him to sleep. It would be nice to have a stall, where he could not only take a nap but also cook at noon.

Or maybe you should not buy the house first, or save money to buy a house with a shop in front and a yard in the back?

Tang Xu thought as he poured a cup of mung bean soup for Qiyue. He had made this soup in the morning and brought a can of hot water and a can of mung bean soup with him when he left the house.

July has stopped taking medicine, and his toes have scabbed over. He is just waiting for new nails to grow out. The bruises on his body have basically healed, and he will be nursed back to health.

Less than half an hour later, two waiters came out with the dishes. Tang Xu went over to them and said, "I ordered this. Put it here."

The waiters quickly arranged the dishes for her one by one, put down their bowls and chopsticks, and said they would come and clear them away when she was done.

Tang Xu thanked him and invited July to have dinner.

There was a sneer from the side, "She didn't make much money, but she's eating out in a restaurant. It's true that women are short-sighted."