A ragged cub at the beginning

After dinner, it was class time as usual. Tang Xu sat in the yard, glancing at the door from time to time. When Mrs. Du came with Du Jiarui, she felt a little disappointed.

Mrs. Du saw her expression and smiled knowingly. She said, "It was his uncle who came, but he was called away before he left."

Huh? Tang Xu blinked, wondering why Mrs. Du suddenly mentioned Du Yun's whereabouts.

Seeing that she didn't understand, Mrs. Du chuckled and said no more.

After finishing the Three Character Classic, Tang Xu began to teach the Thousand Character Classic.

"The sky and the earth are dark and yellow, and the universe is primitive."

"The sky and the earth are dark and yellow, and the universe is primitive."

"What does this mean? God, it's just..."

Half an hour passed in a flash, and the children listened to a story jokingly before going home.

There were a lot of things to do today, and Tang Xu was very tired. He took a bath for himself and Qiyue. He didn't paint, but went to bed directly.

The next morning, Tang Xu packed up the embroidery patterns and prepared to sell them today. When he took Qiyue to Fang's house, Zhao Yunniang squatted at the gate of the courtyard with her knees hugged, looking towards the Zhao family.

The little girl was very different from when they first met. At that time, she was even a little domineering in front of Fang Zijun. Now she looked like an eggplant hit by frost, with red and swollen eyes, and it looked like she had cried again. Her clothes were a little dirty, her hair was tied up without being combed, and there was some black dust at the corners of her mouth. I don't know what she ate.

Tang Xu calculated the days and her mother should be out of confinement soon. The Zhao family had been quarreling for a long time. Mrs. Zhao and Zhao Sanping often quarreled. Whenever they quarreled, the baby would cry. She couldn't ask too much about other people's affairs, but she felt a little pitiful when she saw Zhao Yunniang. The lively and lovely girl was now like an orphan without parents.

When Dong Wanwan came out, she saw Tang Xu staring at Yunniang in a trance. She couldn't help but sigh and whispered, "This morning, Mrs. Zhao said Yunniang cheated on her and beat her. Sanping stopped her and sent her here. Poor thing, she used to smile all day long, but now without her mother's supervision, she's living a miserable life. Her mother was injured during childbirth and couldn't even get out of bed. I went to see her yesterday and she looked so pale that she had trouble speaking."

Tang Xu asked doubtfully: "Didn't you go to see a doctor?"

"Why didn't you see it?" Dong Wanwan put her hand up to cover her mouth. "The doctor prescribed some medicine, saying I have to drink it for half a year. I can't do any heavy work and I have to take good care of myself, otherwise it will be bad for my age. Mrs. Zhao held on to the money in the family and refused to buy medicine. Zhao Sanping was so angry that he borrowed money everywhere to buy medicine for Xiaotao. My family even borrowed 500 coins. As a result, Mrs. Zhao wouldn't make medicine for her, so Zhao Sanping could only drink it at home. Tell me, isn't this a waste of money? How can you get better by drinking medicine like this? I said why not make it for me and I'll feed it to you every day. As a result, Mrs. Zhao wouldn't let me in! What a sin! She doesn't want Xiaotao to live."

Dong Wanwan was a little angry when she said this, "She only has one brother left in her family. He went out to do business last year and has not been heard from since. If her brother was still alive, how could Mrs. Zhao dare to do this!" As she spoke, her voice gradually became smaller, and she looked at Dandan with a look of sadness on her face, "It was the same when I gave birth to Dandan. She didn't eat well during the confinement period. Dandan had no milk to drink, and she cried every day because of hunger, and she was so thin. Fortunately, Dandan's father was strong and packed up his things to go to my house to be a son-in-law. The villagers pointed at him and scolded him for being unfilial, but he came to my house with his neck stiffened. He said he wanted to go out to make money and asked my mother to help take care of him. But my two brothers have started families, and there is no room for us to live in our house. My father discussed with my brothers and took out money for us to rent a house. Now that the money has been paid off, Dandan's father said he would try harder and try to buy a house." She smiled, with some sweetness and yearning for the future.

I didn't expect that the man who looked a little thin yesterday would have such courage. She nodded and praised: "Brother-in-law is a clear-headed person."

"Of course not," Dong Wanwan raised her head proudly, but soon sighed, "Sanping is actually a good man. It's Mrs. Zhao... Oh... Forget it, let's not talk about her. What are you doing here? You've got your veil on, are you going out?"

"Yes, I'm going out for a while. Please help take care of July for a while. I'll try to come back as early as possible." After thinking for a while, she explained, "I'm going to sell some embroidery samples. It's not convenient to take July with me."

Dong Wanwan was stunned, and was happy for her that she had another way to make money. She pushed her out and said, "Okay, go ahead. I will take good care of the child for you."

"Then I'll go. Thank you, Sister Wan."

"You're so polite. Go quickly."

Shopkeeper Qin was very satisfied with the drawing. He only complained a few words that she was drawing too slowly and gave her one hundred and five taels as the bill.

Tang Xu thought happily as he held the silver in his hands, "I have a house, a shop, and a cute and sensible child to play with. What a wonderful retirement life this is! I don't want to work anymore. I want to retire and lie down!"

When passing by the clinic, Tang Xu limped in. Unexpectedly, the old doctor still remembered her and asked about her child's recent situation.

Tang Xu immediately became proud, "I took good care of myself. I have gained weight recently."

The old doctor rolled his eyes and said, "That child won't get fat even if he gains another ten pounds. So why are you here? What's wrong with you?"

"My wrist hurts all the time. It hurts when I put too much force on it." Tang Xu stretched out her hand. The old doctor restrained his expression and pressed on her wrist bone with both hands. "What do you do every day? Why is your wrist so severely strained?"

"She's a painter." Tang Xu thought, it's not that serious. She has only been setting up the stall for more than a month, how serious can it be? Could it be the original owner? The original owner did have a hard time practicing martial arts in the past, and was often injured.

The old doctor looked up at her when he heard this and thought that this girl didn't look like a painter. Her five fingers were strong and her palms were calloused, like someone who practiced martial arts. "I'll prescribe you an ointment. Go back and apply one patch every night before bed. Don't paint for too long every day, otherwise you'll feel pain."

"Okay, okay." Tang Xu agreed hastily and went to the counter to pay. The medicine boy gave her a jar of black ointment and a stack of square papers, and taught her how much to take at a time and where to stick them. She wrote them down one by one, and was about to leave when she suddenly smelled a familiar fragrance. Star anise! She looked back and saw that the medicine boy was distributing the medicine, and there were indeed a few star anise in it! She pointed at the star anise and said, "Give me some of this."

The medicine boy was confused, "Huh? You want this? Did Doctor Bai prescribe this medicine?"

Tang Xu asked excitedly, "Do you have any bay leaves? Angelica dahurica, white cardamom, astragalus, tsaoko, tangerine peel, cinnamon, give me some of each!"

"What do you want these for?" the medicine boy asked, but his hands obediently grabbed a little. "Is it enough?"

"I didn't prescribe these. Why do you want these medicines?" Old Doctor Bai walked over and glanced at the herbs she wanted, which were all appetizers.

Tang Xu chuckled and said, "Cook."

"Cooking? Medicine is three-quarters poison, so don't eat it carelessly!" Doctor Bai showed a look of disapproval.

"It's okay. I have experience with this." Tang Xu waved his hand, "Give me more."

Doctor Bai was about to reprimand them, but when he saw that they were all appetizers, they would be suitable for cooking to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor. He tried to hold back, but still couldn't help but mutter, "Put less, it will cause internal heat."

"Don't worry, I'll only put a few in at a time." Tang Xu was very confident. People have been eating marinated food for many years and no one has ever heard of anything going wrong.

After leaving the clinic, she bought some paper, as she didn't have much at home. She also bought a roast chicken as an extra dish for dinner. She also bought some snacks and preserved fruits for her three children to eat when they were tired from class. Finally, she went to the market to buy vegetables, but she forgot to bring a basket, so she had to buy them on the spot. As soon as she reached the entrance of the alley, she saw several people dressed as servants stopping passers-by to ask questions.

Auntie Wang was standing at the door eating sunflower seeds. She quietly walked over and asked, "What are these people doing?"

Aunt Wang was still wondering who this was when she saw her approaching. When she heard the voice, she recognized Tang Xu. She smiled and gave her some melon seeds, saying, "They said they were looking for a girl with three children. Not long ago, Young Master Zhu tried to snatch the mother and the children back here, but was stopped. Now he's out looking for her again. It's totally unfair. They are beasts, a family of human traffickers. No one can control them." After saying that, she spat, with a look of disgust on her face.

He actually came to my house? Could he really find me? Tang Xu was a little annoyed. Thinking of the look in that man's eyes at that time, he felt disgusted and angry. What a pervert! This kind of person should be caught and castrated!

"Why are you wearing this today?" Aunt Wang narrowed her eyes and suddenly realized, "A woman with a child, could it be you?"

Tang Xu laughed and didn't respond, "Auntie, I want some cotton cloth."

"Okay." Aunt Wang saw that she didn't want to talk, so she didn't ask any more questions. She patted the melon seed crumbs on her hands and brought out a few pieces of cloth. "Take a look, which color do you want?"

Tang Xu touched it and felt that it felt good. "How much cloth do I need for my clothes? How much does my child need?"

Seeing that she only bought cloth but didn't make clothes, Auntie Wang was a little disappointed, as she would lose a lot of money. But she was also happy to buy cloth, after all, it was to take care of her own business, so she explained: "It depends on what style you make. Short coats and long coats are different, and the amount of cloth is also different. The amount of cloth used for tops and pants is even more different."

"It's so troublesome." Tang Xu scratched his head. He decided to give the money to Sister Wan to buy it herself. She always knew how much she needed for each item. "How much does a piece of cloth like this cost?"

Aunt Wang said, "20 coins per foot, and a piece of 790 feet long, that's coins for you."

Tang Xu nodded, "Okay, I'll go back and ask."

"Okay, come back after you say hello." Aunt Wang smiled and walked her to the door, adding, "Young Master Zhu is the most petty-minded. There are many people in the alley who gossip. You are an orphan and a widow, so you should be more careful."

Tang Xu paused, turned around and said, "Thank you, Auntie. I understand."

Aunt Wang watched Tang Xu leave, turned around and muttered, "How could a good girl be entangled with that kind of person, ah."

Tang Xu lowered his head as he passed by the two servants when he was suddenly stopped.

"Hey, the one wearing the hat, take off your hat so I can see it." A man stopped in front of her and said.

Look at your sister! Tang Xu raised his hand to hold down his hat, and fired back a barrage of questions like a machine gun, "Why? Who are you? You stop a girl on the street and look at others. Where do you live? How many people are there? Do you have a wife? Do you have a sister? Do your mother, wife, and sister know that you did this? What if your mother, wife, and sister were stopped like this? Aren't you afraid that your ancestors will come out of their graves in the middle of the night to look for you after doing this?" After saying that, he slipped away before anyone could react.

The servant was stunned and watched the man walk away. When he came to his senses, he could not see the shadow. He scratched his cheek and thought to himself: Hey, what a fierce girl, she is really good at talking.

Tang Xu went to Fang's house first. The gate was ajar. Dong Wanwan was sitting under the eaves making clothes. Four children were playing football in the yard. They were all sweating and laughing. Zhao Yunniang seemed to have forgotten the beating she received in the morning. She laughed and shouted for the ball to be given to her.

Dong Wanwan looked up and saw someone, and said with a smile, "Are you back?"

"Yes, I'll drink some water first." Then he went into the kitchen and took out roast chicken, snacks, and meat vegetables from his backpack.

"Hey, don't drink that water. There's boiled water in the room. I'll pour it for you." Dong Wanwan put down her things and shouted, then turned to the main room to pour water.

"I'm here." Tang Xu stuffed the things into the cupboard, pretended to be nothing and went to the living room to drink water. While drinking, he said, "Sister Wan, I don't know what size of fabric I need. Why don't I give you money and you go and help buy it?"

Dong Wanwan answered without hesitation and asked about the color, style and fabric. After the two of them confirmed it, Fang Yuanqin came back with a craftsman. He said he was an acquaintance and had been in this business for many years. He had two apprentices under him. It was just painting the wall, which could be done in three or four days.

Tang Xu trusted the Fang couple very much, so he only asked about the price. He learned that he could buy the materials himself or ask the craftsman to do it. The craftsman had connections and it would be cheaper. Fang Yuanqin suggested that he let the craftsman do it directly and the remuneration could be paid after the work was completed.

After listening to him, she nodded and gave the money directly to Fang Yuanqin. She also took out two taels of silver to buy cloth for Dong Wanwan to make clothes, and the five taels of silver she got from the embroidery building were all spent.

"Okay, I'll return the extra money to you when the time comes." Dong Wanwan accepted it readily.

"It's the same here." Fang Yuanqin said.

Tang Xu responded: "Okay, then I'll take Qiyue back to cook."

"Okay, go ahead. I'm almost ready to cook." Then he went to the kitchen.

Tang Xu was anxious, and now she found out that she was going to pull the strings again. She looked at the silver in Dong Wanwan's hand and said, "Sister Wan! I just told Aunt Wang that I want to buy cloth! Why don't you go now! I'm waiting to wear new clothes."

Dong Wanwan was a little confused and asked, "Is it so urgent? Can't I go after lunch?"

"I haven't worn new clothes for a long time, I'm so anxious." Tang Xu said.

Dong Wanwan said with a smile: "You kid, what you said is so pitiful. Okay, I'll go right away."

"Okay, then I'll take all the children home." After saying that, she called the little kids to follow her and told them stories.

The three boys cheered and rushed out. Zhao Yunniang frowned and her mouth flattened. She was angry that Fang Zijun didn't wait for her. She wanted to follow him, but she felt unfamiliar and didn't know if others would let her go in to play. The little figure stood in the yard, looking at the backs of her friends from afar, hesitating and tangled.

Tang Xu walked over and held the little girl's hand, "Come on, let's go to my house and listen to stories."

Zhao Yunniang pursed her lips, as if trying to suppress the smile on her lips, and whispered, "Thank you, Aunt Xu."

"So cute." Tang Xu praised her. Seeing that her hair was different from this morning, he thought Sister Wan had recombed it for her. This double-ring bun was really pretty, but it was a pity that she only knew how to tie a ponytail.

After telling the kids a story about waiting for the rabbit to come to you, Tang Xu went to cook and asked Fang Zijun to play with them.

Dong Wanwan hurried to cook after buying the fabrics. She was stunned when she opened the cupboard, and then thought about what happened just now. She couldn't help but scold the girl for being too polite. But she knew she was sincere, and she didn't like to tug and pull, so she didn't take it back. She thought that she would finish the clothes quickly, and she must not charge her for the labor fee. These things are not cheap, how can she take advantage of them.

Zhao Yunniang and Fang Zijun went back to eat lunch, but Du Jiarui didn't want to go back. Tang Xu wanted to keep him for lunch, but was afraid that his family had already prepared the food. So he tore a chicken leg for him and Qiyue. Before they finished eating, Mrs. Du came to pick up the children.

Seeing her grandson smiling at her with a mouthful of grease, she scolded him for being greedy. Then she said to Tang Xu embarrassedly, "This is really disturbing. Next time we have dinner, I will send him back home."

"Mrs. Du is too polite. He can only eat so much. If he doesn't go back next time, he can just eat at my house." Tang Xu said with a smile.

"That won't do." Madam Du shook her head, beckoned Tang Xu to come over and said, "The guy on the street is looking for you? Is he the same Zhu Tou from last time?"

Tang Xu nodded, and Madam Du frowned and said in a deep voice: "The Zhu family is getting worse and worse. When Xiaoyun comes back, I will ask him to think of a solution. You should stay out of the house for the next few days. If you have any problems, call me."

"How can I trouble you? I can handle it, it's okay." Although he said this, Tang Xu was actually unsure.

"You are a girl, you can't get involved with that kind of person. How do you deal with it?" Mrs. Du sighed when she saw that she didn't listen. She thought about waiting for Du Yun to come back and then think of a way.