A ragged cub at the beginning

I'm laughing at you like a little bird with its feathers blown up. This sentence suddenly popped up in Du Yun's mind. He once saved a wounded bird. When the bird first saw him, its feathers exploded all over its body. It tried to make itself bigger in order to scare him away. He tilted his head and cleared his throat, suppressing his messy thoughts, and said, "If you are discovered, do you know that people's words are scary? What you did before was unheard of, and there are many people who talk about you behind your back."

Seeing his concern, Tang Xu glanced at him sideways, then turned his gaze to Qiyue, saying indifferently, "Everything I do is just to protect myself. In a lifetime, apart from eating and sleeping, how much time do we have when we are young and confused when we are old? If we are always hesitant and timid, what's the point of living under the rules of others in this life? I have never thought of hurting anyone, so what do they have to do with what I do or say."

Du Yun was silent. How should he tell her that a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind? Being different will inevitably lead to suppression. But it was precisely because of her beauty that he often looked at her, wasn't it?

Tang Xu suddenly remembered a sentence he had heard somewhere before, "I once heard a sentence that all things in the world can be divided into three types: what it has to do with me, what it has to do with you, and what it has to do with him. If it has to do with me, keep your heart. If it has to do with you, go your own way. If it has to do with him, control your emotions. If you don't have the intention to harm others, don't do things that harm others, and keep these three gates, you are already a very rare person in this world."

Du Yun was curious for the third time, what kind of place did Tang Xu grow up in? The principles she talked about might be applicable to the place where she was. Maybe everyone there was equal, or maybe it was peaceful and comfortable, which made people say such free and easy words. People would be forced by others to do things they don't want to do, unable to refuse, powerless to resist, and helpless. So, he would rather live here.

The conversation between the two came to an end and it was time for the children to continue their classes.

Tang Xu can only paint a limited number of people in one day, so he started taking reservations. He accepts reservations within three days, and the time can be set by the customer, as long as there are no customers during that time period.

Dong Wanwan thought it was a good idea. This way there wouldn't be too many people in the store, and she wouldn't have to stay there all the time, so she could take care of the kids in her spare time.

But Tang Xu wanted her help with something else, which had troubled Tang Xu for several days and he couldn't think of a solution.

Today, Tang Ling suddenly asked to eat the pig's trotters from that time, and Tang Xuru suddenly had an idea.

What was she worried about? Of course, it was the women that the Zhu family had rescued. Apart from the one who had left, there were still six left. These six people needed money for food and lodging, so it was definitely not okay to keep them for nothing.

She had been thinking about what she could do with them, and since two of them were good at embroidery, she recommended them to Sansi Embroidery House. Shopkeeper Qin gave her face and accepted her after a brief inspection, but asked her to bring new embroidery patterns as soon as possible.

There were four other students and she originally wanted to teach them how to paint, but it was not something that could be learned in a day or two and she did not have much time.

Now she had a new idea. She originally intended to help the Fang family. Dong Wanwan cooked delicious food. Last time, she braised pork and everyone praised her. So she thought of giving the braised pork recipe to Dong Wanwan. Now she also wanted Dong Wanwan to hire the four girls to work. It didn't have to be a big money, but supporting herself would definitely not be a problem.

Dong Wanwan thought it was okay, but the two of them started arguing about the profit sharing. Tang Xu thought that he only provided the recipe, so a symbolic 10% would be enough. But Dong Wanwan thought that she was taking too much, so she insisted on an 80/20 split. Tang Xu would take 80% and she would take 20%. She would also pay for the girls' salaries, because without the recipe, the work would not be done.

Tang Xu was already overwhelmed, but this time Dong Wanwan was very insistent. She felt that she had taken too many advantages from Tang Xu, her children went to school for free, and she had to charge money for helping to run a shop and make clothes. Since Tang Xu always said that brothers should settle accounts clearly, she also insisted on settling accounts clearly.

The two of them couldn't come to an agreement, and the four girls had to spend money every day. After a long discussion, they agreed to split the profits 50-50. Tang Xu was exhausted, and secretly planned to save the profits and buy a shop for Dong Wanwan.

Since it was a 50-50 split, and Dong Wanwan was responsible for the wages, then she would be responsible for the costs. Dong Wanwan wanted to say something, but Tang Xu pretended to be angry, and finally made her stop talking.

In the evening, Tang Xu closed the shop and went home. Dong Wanwan had already bought pig's trotters and pork belly. Tang Xu relied on his intuition to calculate the amount of spices. This was not easy to teach, so Dong Wanwan had to figure it out on her own. She followed the steps from last time and Dong Wanwan followed behind with a serious face, taking notes. She could not read, so she could only read it out loud to deepen her impression.

"If you're doing business, braised pig's head is also good. Vegetarian dishes can also be braised, such as lotus root and peanuts. Bone-cooked dishes need to be braised for a longer time, while pure meat dishes need to be braised for a shorter time. The size of the meat pieces will also have an impact." Tang Xu turned down the heat and saw that Dong Wanwan was still memorizing the seasoning. "Sister Wan, your cooking is delicious. Go back and try making it a few times. Maybe you can make it better than mine. And different people will make different flavors with the same recipe. Don't be too nervous."

Dong Wanwan nodded and continued to identify the spices one by one.

Tang Xu did not disturb her, but went outside Tang Ling's house. After the last incident, her feelings towards Tang Ling changed drastically. Tang Ling looked indifferent, but he was very soft-hearted towards her. No matter how unwilling Tang Ling was, as long as she pestered him a few more times, he would compromise. In addition, she spared no effort to help, and even endured the wound by herself. Tang Xu developed a special kind of pity for her. Tang Ling's indifference and lack of sympathy were just because of the environment she grew up in, and it was not her fault.

Tang Ling opened the door, with a look of impatience in his eyes, but he waited patiently for her to explain her purpose.

"Sister, let me take a look at your room to see if anything is missing." Tang Xu said with a smile.

Tang Ling stepped aside to open the door, and watched Tang Xu walk around the room, muttering, "I have the bed, the table and chairs, the cabinet, um, the clothes are being made, fill it up. As for the dressing table, do you want rouge? Let's prepare some..."

"No." Tang Ling said.

"Ah?" Tang Xu was interrupted and didn't react for a moment. He turned around and looked at her and asked, "What don't you want?"

"rouge."

"Well, what about jewelry? Buy a hairpin?" Tang Xu said, looking at Tang Ling's neat high ponytail. It seemed that she didn't need it. However, Tang Ling not only had a nice voice, but also beautiful facial features. She had a cold face, and because of her lack of expression, she had a temperament that was a bit otherworldly.

"No."

"Okay, how about a teapot and teacups?" Tang Xu looked at the empty table.

"casual."

"Whatever you want, I'll go pick one. I'll take some time to pick it out tomorrow at noon." Tang Xu liked buying tableware. She couldn't tell why, but looking at those porcelains made her happy. She glanced at the quilt on the bed, "Do you want a pillow?"

"I'll buy it myself, get out." Tang Ling couldn't bear it anymore and knocked on the door.

"What you bought isn't nice-looking. Look, your clothes are all black, and your hairband is black too. Let me choose. I have a good sense of aesthetics. I'm an art student! I'll pick the nice-looking ones... Hey..." Tang Xu was still muttering when Tang Ling grabbed his arm and dragged him out.

Humph! She has a stern face every day. You are just being hard-mouthed but soft-hearted! Buy her a softer pillow. If it is too soft, will it cause neck pain?

"Xiao Xu, who are you talking to?" Dong Wanwan originally thought she was talking to her, but when she turned around, she found that she had entered the house.

"Ah, then..." Tang Xu didn't want to lie to Dong Wanwan, so he confessed: "It's my sister. She came to me for help."

"Ah? Not your sister?" Dong Wanwan was surprised.

"She's not July's mother, but another sister." Tang Xu explained.

Dong Wanwan was surprised at first, then happy. She was happy for her from the bottom of her heart. She thought there was no one at home, but it turned out that there was a sister. A girl was alone with a child, and no one took care of her. Now she is fine.

She didn't ask why July didn't let her sister take care of her. Seeing that she had to come to her sister for help, she probably didn't have the ability to make money. "That's good. It's good to have a sister. She can help you when you encounter any problems."

"Yes," Tang Xu nodded. He helped her a lot.

"When you mentioned your sister, I remembered something." Dong Wanwan finally remembered what was wrong. "You said there were four more girls coming to work. Where did these four girls come from? Are they all your sisters?"

Tang Xu was stunned for a moment. She had forgotten about this. Thinking about it, she leaned close to Dong Wanwan and whispered, "Sister Wan, I'm telling you this. Don't tell anyone else."

"Okay." Dong Wanwan nodded. She was always very tight-lipped.

"Those four girls were picked up by my sister. It is said that they escaped from Zhu Tou's house on the day of the fire. Because they were..." She paused, not wanting to say "waste", as this word objectified them. People often talk about wasting things, but how can people be compared with things? Although it also has the meaning of insulting and ravaging, it is not a good word after all. She didn't finish her words, but Dong Wanwan must have understood, "So they didn't want to go home, so I came up with this idea so that they can support themselves. In fact, I originally wanted to give this recipe directly to you and your brother-in-law, but now there are a few more people, don't mind."

"Poor thing, she might not survive if she goes back. Even if she survives, her family will marry her off randomly, which is shameful. She will be criticized for the rest of her life," Dong Wanwan sighed and glared at Tang Xu in reproach. "What do you mean by whether you mind or not? It's yours originally, give it to whoever you want. It's such a big benefit, why should I mind. But, can a small braised meat stall attract so many people?" Dong Wanwan was a little confused.

"Well, I don't know. Let's try it first. We'll see if we can do something else with more people." Tang Xu didn't think too much about it, but she couldn't just sit back and watch the girls suffer. If she didn't have the ability, it would be fine, but if she had the strength to spare and encountered them again, she wanted to help them. She couldn't just watch them die.

When she first met them, those girls almost had death in their eyes. So she deliberately left such cruel words at that time, just to force them to survive. Only when people are alive can there be hope. They have suffered unbearable pain and had such embarrassing experiences. In this era where women's chastity is more important than life, living requires more courage than dying. If her help can save four children who are only teenagers, why can't she lend a hand to help them?

"Okay." Dong Wanwan nodded.

Tang Xu giggled a few times, and the matter was over. She then asked in a low voice: "Sister Wan, do you look down on them?"

Dong Wanwan put away her joking expression and shook her head solemnly, "What's there to look down upon? They are all just miserable people."

Tang Xu sighed, and the gate slammed against the wall, which scared her.

"It smells so good!" Fang Zijun ran over with Qiyue. They had just seen the pig's trotters and felt curious, so they kept reaching out to touch them, but were chased back to the Fang family yard by Dong Wanwan. Now they smelled the fragrance and ran back.

"Fang! Zi! Jun! How did you open the door! Are you a wild boar?" Not to mention Tang Xu, Dong Wanwan was also frightened. She was immediately furious and took a few steps forward to twist his ear.

"Have mercy! Mom! I won't dare to do it again next time! I really won't dare to do it again!" Fang Zijun shouted miserably, but secretly made faces at Tang Xu.

Tang Xu covered his mouth and laughed, but Dong Wanwan didn't notice the eye contact between the two, and was still scolding Fang Zijun.

"Pig's trotter! Meat!" July pounced on Tang Xu and hugged her and acted coquettishly.

Tang Xu picked him up and found that he was getting heavier. "Has Qiyue grown taller? It wasn't like this when I held him before."

Dong Wanwan looked over and said, "Yes, he has grown taller. I see his ears are now as tall as his balls. He has grown quite a lot. He has also gained a lot of weight, and his face has become puffy."

Qiyue twisted herself to get down to the ground, compared herself with Fang Zijun, and happily ran around the yard. "I've grown taller again~ Oh~ I've grown taller again~"

"Brother July, you have to eat more so that you can be as tall as me in the future!" Fang Zijun was held by his mother's ears and could only speak with his head tilted.

Dong Wanwan finally let her son go, smelling the increasingly fragrant meat, and asked, "Is it time to put the pork belly in?"

"If you can pierce the pig's trotter with chopsticks, it's ready to cook." Tang Xu said and turned into the kitchen. Dong Wanwan took out a pair of chopsticks to try it, then poured the blanched pork belly into the pot.

Tang Xu glanced at the sky. Usually, they would have eaten at this time, but today they were delayed because of the stewing of meat. "Dinner should be late, so let's rest today. When Yunniang and Jiarui arrive later, let them eat something. I will tell stories to the children in the evening."

"It doesn't matter, it's up to you."

Du Yun took Du Jiarui to the outside of the yard and smelled a familiar aroma of meat. Jiarui's eyes lit up, "Aunt Xu is stewing pig's trotters!" He said, and jumped happily on the spot, letting go of his uncle's hand and shouting, "Aunt Xu, I'm here!" He broke the door and rushed in.

There were not only the two people from the Tang family in the room, but also the three people from the Fang family and Zhao Yunniang. Tang Ling didn't want to see outsiders, so he ate alone in the room.

Several children called Jiarui, and Fang Zijun volunteered to help Jiarui serve the meat.

"Help Mr. Du have a bowl as well." Tang Xu instructed.

Du Yun didn't expect that the two families were just having dinner now, so he quickly refused, "No, we've already eaten. Since we're having dinner, we'll come back later."

"I, I, I," Du Jiarui wanted to say that he hadn't eaten it, but he couldn't tell a lie. Seeing that his uncle was about to leave, he talked for a long time but got nothing to say, and his face turned red with anxiety.

"You're not full, right? Brother Jiarui." July added, "My mother said that children have two stomachs, one for rice and the other for delicious food. I'm sure the other stomach that's filled with delicious food is not full yet!" He looked very confident, which made everyone laugh.

"Yes! I have two stomachs! I still have one stomach that is not full!" Du Jiarui nodded vigorously and looked back at his uncle with starry eyes full of anticipation.

Du Yun laughed and was speechless for a moment. But when he met his nephew's eyes, he couldn't say no, "You can eat, but don't be greedy."

"Okay!" Du Jiarui ran into the children's camp, and Fang Zijun staggered over with a bowl in his hand and handed it to Du Yun first. Du Yun thanked him and followed everyone to take a seat.

Seeing that his uncle had already started eating, Du Jiarui became extremely anxious. He followed Fang Zijun closely, wishing he could try it himself.

The Fang family respected Du Yun very much because of his status as a teacher, and they seemed a little embarrassed at the moment, fearing that they had done something wrong and appeared disrespectful.

Tang Xu didn't care at all. She even urged Du Yun to try the pig's trotters.

Du Yun didn't know why she was so impatient, so he took a bite.

Many people with some status and some money actually look down on pig's feet. People with a rich family think it is a waste product and dirty. People with status even dislike pork, let alone pig's feet. Some arrogant scholars are the same, thinking it is not worthy of their status. They think pork is dirty and cheap, and prefer to eat mutton.

Du Yun didn't mind, he just didn't eat it usually. Last time, the pig's trotters were bought by his mother and Jiarui, and it wasn't his turn at all.

As soon as he put the pig's trotter into his mouth, it fell off the bone. Not only did it not have the fishy smell he imagined, but it also had a hint of medicinal aroma. When he chewed it, it was a bit sticky, but also springy, fat but not greasy, and full of meaty aroma.

"How is it?" Tang Xu asked.

Du Yun praised: "It has good color, aroma and taste."

Dong Wanwan was delighted to hear his praise and asked, "Master Du, if it were you, would you be willing to buy it and eat it?"

"Of course I am willing. The fragrance alone is hard to refuse." Du Yun looked at Tang Xu, "Are you going to open a food shop?"

"It's not me, it's Sister Wan. Oh, by the way, the shop, we can rent a shop!" Speaking of renting a shop, Tang Xu remembered that the yard had not been bought yet, and the agent had not come to look for it last time. I don't know what happened. Renting a shop shouldn't be too expensive, the money to buy the yard is enough.

"Rent a shop? Are you going to rent a shop now? It hasn't made any money yet. Why don't you wait until you make some money before renting it? What if, what if the business is not good?" Dong Wanwan couldn't help but worry. She had never made any money before and was very nervous.

Tang Xu lowered her head and thought, and felt that there was some truth in it. What if the business is not good? Although she didn't think the business would be bad, these businesses are very profitable nowadays. However, the consumption concept of the ancients was different, so it is hard to say.

"How about that," Du Yun suggested, "try setting up a stall first. If business is good, rent a shop. If you can't make it work in the first three days, then rent a shop for ten days. After ten days, if there are many returning customers, then make a decision."

Tang Xu and Dong Wanwan looked at each other and both thought this was a good idea.

"Then let's set it at ten days!" Dong Wanwan made the decision.

"Okay." Tang Xu agreed.