A ragged cub at the beginning

After the seasoning sauce was developed, Tang Xu taught it to Dong Wanwan, who tasted it and liked it very much.

It was served in the shop within two days. People who were almost tired of it tasted the new dish and praised it highly.

Foreman Tao ended his vacation and found Fang Yuanqin. Tang Xu took him to the kindergarten, although it was just a deserted house.

"This is a big job. I have to go back and find more people. We can start working only after we clean it up." Foreman Tao was not worried about the wasteland. Instead, he was happy about it. The big job took a long time, but he could get paid as long as he worked.

Moreover, this was not the first time he worked for Tang Xu. Miss Tang was not difficult to deal with and was always willing to pay. Everyone in the family liked such a head of the family.

"You can do whatever you want, but there is one thing. There will be a lot of children here in the future, and there must not be any safety hazards. It's too expensive to cover the entire floor with bluestone slabs, but they have to be rammed tightly and solidly. If that doesn't work, you can lay some pebbles, but no sharp ones can be used." Tang Xu explained.

"Okay, I promise to get it done for you. Check it carefully when it's done. If it doesn't work, redo it. There's no problem on my side." Foreman Tao patted his chest and made the promise.

"Master Tao has a good reputation and was recommended by my brother-in-law, so I naturally trust you. But children's matters are big matters, and I dare not take it lightly." Tang Xu said.

"I save that." Foreman Tao nodded repeatedly.

"Then I'll leave this to you. I'll send you the drawings tomorrow and we'll discuss it." Tang Xu said.

"Okay, then I'll go back and find someone, and we can start work tomorrow." Foreman Tao noted the location.

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, the house was started, and the foreman Tao brought 40 people. The cleaning work was not difficult, and the wages were not high, but as long as you shouted in the village, everyone who had free time would rush to do it. It was not easy to find a job these days, and most of the time, only acquaintances who knew each other well were needed, not to mention the hard work of cleaning the place.

Tang Xu walked around and saw that everyone was working very hard, so she went back. The shop had a reservation today, so Qi Qing specifically told her about it.

When she arrived, no one was there. A few moments later, an old couple came in, supporting each other. The old lady had pointed cheeks and serious features that looked a bit mean, but the old man was smiling.

Behind the two of them was a little girl who looked no more than 11 or 12 years old. She had a pair of bright almond-shaped eyes and looked very clever and lively.

As soon as she entered the room, she saw Tang Xu and asked with a smile, "Are you Painter Tang?"

Tang Xu smiled back, "Yes, do you want a portrait?"

"Yes, I want to paint. Paint more and find a good husband for me." The girl said without any reservation.

"Yujun!" The old lady called her and scolded her, "How can you get married if you are so outspoken?"

"Little kid, don't be shy." The old man patted his wife's hand, "Yujun, don't make grandma angry, be good."

"Got it." Wu Yujun stuck out her tongue and blinked her right eye at Tang Xu.

Are you already dating at such a young age? She looks like an elementary school student! But it seems to be like this now, getting married early, having children early, and dying early.

"Please sit inside." Tang Xu motioned the little girl to come over.

"Grandpa, can the three of us draw a picture together?" Wu Yujun took two steps and turned back.

"Okay!" The old man agreed and just stood up. The old lady said: "Half of our bodies are buried in the ground, why are you painting this? Just paint it yourself."

"Grandpa~" Wu Yujun pouted, "But I think we all draw, so if anything happens in the future, we can still have something to think about."

"Okay, draw, draw." The old man turned around and said to his wife, "Draw one, it's not troublesome, be good."

The old lady's face froze, "You are so old, why should you be obedient..." Although she was complaining, she had already stood up. She said to her granddaughter, "You are the only one who has so many tricks up your sleeve."

"Hehe..." Wu Yujun held grandma's arm and helped her sit inside. She held grandma's hand, and grandpa was on the other side of grandma.

She had a happy smile on her face, and she carefully leaned on her grandmother's shoulder, as if she was afraid of being rejected, and she didn't even dare to look up at her grandmother's expression. So she didn't notice the gentle and reluctant smile on her grandmother's face when she looked down at her.

The old man sat happily on the side, holding his wife's hand. When his wife struggled twice, he whispered, "Be good."

The old lady said that she was too old to be ashamed, but there was a light of happiness in her eyes.

Tang Xu likes to paint such happy people the most, and he seems to have some of that in common.

After the three people finished painting, the old lady asked to draw three portraits for the little girl. She didn't have to be too pretty, and an uglier look was best.

Tang Xu was puzzled, "Why do you want to draw ugly pictures?"

The old lady looked at the portraits of the three people and smiled. Her previous harshness seemed to be an illusion. Perhaps because she was satisfied with the painting, she patiently explained: "The face will age easily. If you like Yujun because she is beautiful, it will not last long. Besides, the portrait is ugly. After marriage, if you find that the real person is more beautiful, you will feel happy and like her more."

Tang Xu looked at the old woman deeply and was moved by her wisdom and her plans for her granddaughter.

Following the old man's wishes, she made the girl's face look a little ugly. The old man and the girl looked indifferent and left it to the old lady to decide. The old lady was very satisfied and paid the money readily.

Qi Qing stared at the three people in a daze. Tang Xu stretched out his hand and waved it in front of her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"It would be great if I had such grandparents who spoil me." After Qi Qing said this, he lowered his head and smiled. Perhaps, what happened later would not have happened.

Tang Xu sighed secretly, thought for a moment and said: "But you don't have it, and neither do I. So, we have to pamper ourselves. If you don't like yourself, how can you expect others to like you. When you like yourself a little more, you will find that it is not so important whether others like you or not. It's great if they do, but it doesn't matter if they don't."

"Like myself? Do I, don't like myself?" Qi Qing asked herself. Yes, she didn't like herself. She didn't like herself who was abandoned by her father, who was bullied by Zhu Tou, and who was not liked by anyone.

"If there is only one person in this world who likes you, it must be you. Loving someone is like growing flowers. Others can see whether you grow your flowers well or not." After Tang Xu finished speaking, he walked away, leaving her to think for herself.

Yes, no one likes me. If even I don’t like myself, that would be too pitiful. Qi Qing thought, I should like myself and be nicer to myself.

She looked down at her gray dress. She didn't dare to wear brightly colored clothes, and she didn't dare to look up when walking on the road. She didn't dare to comb her hair into a beautiful bun. She was afraid. She was afraid of meeting someone like Zhu Tou again, afraid that she would attract other people's attention. She didn't dare to imagine.

Wang Hong and her friends didn't even dare to go out. They stayed in the yard and in front of the stove every day. They only dared to wear old-fashioned colors for the New Year. They were all afraid. They confined themselves to the yard and imprisoned themselves.

They seem relaxed, but there is a part of their heart that is always tense.

Qi Qing thought about it for a long time, and only when he closed the shop in the evening did he hesitantly ask the question that had troubled him all afternoon, "Miss Xu, don't you think I'm dirty?"

Tang Xu stared at her with wide eyes and asked incredulously: "Where are you dirty? You haven't taken a shower for a month?"

Qi Qing was confused by her words, and explained with a blushing face that he washed his clothes every day and changed his underwear every day.

Tang Xu actually did it on purpose. She put away her surprise and patted Qi Qing's shoulder in a soothing manner with a smile, "You are not dirty. A woman's chastity is never beneath her skirt. That was not your fault, and you don't need to repent or feel guilty. You have to be nicer to yourself. The scars of the past may be difficult to heal, but you have to learn to let yourself go. There are so many beautiful things in this world. We don't live to protect our physical chastity and then dedicate it to a stranger. Do you remember the young lady who came to see me with two maids some time ago? What she wanted to do most was to walk around and enjoy the beautiful scenery. But she couldn't do it due to physical reasons. She was born weak."

"Ah?" Qi Qing didn't expect that a young lady who looked so beautiful and wealthy actually had troubles.

"If you don't know what you want to do in the future, think about it slowly. You are still young and your life is long. We don't have to get married. What's the point of getting married? Taking care of a man who may not love you, giving birth to children for him, serving the elderly, and seeing the end of your life. What's the point? You are alone now, you get paid every month, you can buy beautiful clothes you like, eat the food you like, and go out shopping with your sisters, appreciate flowers and go boating. Isn't that good? This is the meaning of life." Tang Xu looked at her and asked solemnly, "Isn't it good?"

"Is it okay?" Qi Qing asked back.

"Of course, you can have a day off tomorrow! I'll tell Sister Wan, and the three girls will discuss among themselves and choose one to have a day off tomorrow. You can take turns to rest and go out to play. Don't always wear these old grey colors. You are so young, but you live like an old man." Tang Xu waved his hand, "Go home, go home."

Qi Qing covered his mouth and smiled, "Miss Xu, wait for me, you are speaking like an elder now."

"That's not the case. I have a lot of experience." Tang Xu said proudly.

Qi Qing smiled but said nothing, since they were all about the same age.

Before going to bed at night, Qi Qing told the other three girls in the yard about her conversation with Tang Xu during the day.

Everyone was silent for a long time. Wang Yun covered her mouth and sobbed softly. She loved crying, and everyone was used to it. But no one tried to persuade her today, and everyone was thinking about what she had said.

Especially the sentence that we live not to protect our chastity and then give it to another stranger man.

This sentence was like a wake-up call. Yes, why? Do we live only for chastity? If we lose it, we will die? Is chastity more important than life? Reputation is more important than life? They were not willing, but everyone seemed to think so.

So what are we living for?

On the morning of the second day, Lu Xiaoye said, "Sisters, let me rest today. I haven't been out to play for a long time. Sister Qi Qing and I will go out to play and buy beautiful silk flowers for you sisters!"

Wang Yun paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Go ahead, I want my silk flowers to be pink."

"I want the blue one." said Wang Xiaohong.

"Okay~!" Lu Xiaoye agreed in a long tone. Everyone was amused by her and the atmosphere in the yard was more cheerful than ever.

"Wang Yun, do you want to go to the shop to help? I heard from Sister Wan that she is too busy and has a hard time every day." Wang Xiaohong said to Wang Yun who was washing clothes while washing vegetables.

Wang Yun stopped rubbing the clothes and said, "I, I need to think about it. I'm afraid people will recognize me."

"I'm afraid too, but we can't stay at home forever." Wang Xiaohong pursed her lips, exhaled deeply, and said, "Then I'll go."

"No, let's take turns." Wang Yun said and continued washing clothes.

"Good sister!" Wang Xiaohong was silent for a while and said, "I want to live for myself."

Wang Yun's hands were rubbing the clothes slower and slower until they stopped. She looked at her fingers. Before the accident, she had to do a lot of work every day. There were cracks on her fingers, and the cracks were filled with mud that could not be washed away. Her nails were dry and dull. Now she still works every day, but the cracks on her fingers are gone, her hands have become white, and her nails have a pink sheen. She whispered, "I want to, too."

Wang Xiaohong was peeling potatoes and said, "I didn't sleep last night and thought about it for a long time. Why don't we four live together? What's the point of that man? We can take care of each other when we get old. You see, Miss Tang's son is not her own. If she doesn't say it, who would know. Let's save some money. If she likes it, we can pick up a child and raise him to take care of us in our old age. We don't have to serve our parents-in-law and husband, and just live for ourselves."

Wang Yun exhaled and chuckled, "Great."

"It's settled!" said Wang Xiaohong.

Qi Qing was on holiday, and Tang Xu went to open the shop alone. With nothing to do, she started designing the walls of the kindergarten.

Blue sky, white clouds, rainbows, flowers, plants, animals, fish in the ocean, some cute little round houses, windmills, rice fields, in short, it should be childlike.

I don’t know what myths there are in this era, but perhaps I can add some familiar characters.

Maybe Du Yun could help, he should be able to draw, right? There should be someone who can draw in the academy, please ask Du Yun to help find a few lively people to paint the walls of the kindergarten. Otherwise, she will have to paint by herself until the end of time?

After dinner, Du Yun went to class with Du Jiarui as usual. Tang Xu took this opportunity to talk to him about this matter, although it was still too early.

"Sure, there are some students in the academy who are good at painting, but I don't know if they can meet your requirements. As for me, I'll just follow your orders." Du Yun looked at her with a smile as he said the last sentence.

"Let me show you what I'm going to draw." Tang Xu pulled him to her desk. She had just drawn a few things.

The round and colorful flowers, the mushroom-like trees, and the chubby clouds are a little distorted but not unrecognizable and are quite cute.

"I've never painted this before, but it doesn't look complicated." Du Yun was confident at the first sight. This kind of painting has simple lines and is easy to do. "I think it will be fine for the students in the academy, but we have to find something more lively, otherwise I'm afraid they won't be able to accept this style."

"Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Du." Tang Xu playfully bowed to him and blinked his right eye.

"Naughty." Du Yun smiled dotingly and gently rubbed her cheek with his fingers, restrained yet lingering.

Tang Xu dodged for a moment, then raised his hand, pinched his hand, and rubbed it with his face.

Du Yun had thought about it countless times: he really wanted to get married soon.

After returning home, he urged his mother politely.

Mrs. Du was stunned for a moment before she reacted. After he left, she laughed so hard that she fell backwards. Not only did she laugh herself, she also greeted her old sisters and said, "Yuwen, look at him, he's getting anxious. Oh, the old-fashioned guy has come to this day."

Yu Wen followed suit and laughed, "Miss, please don't laugh like that in front of the young master, or he will be embarrassed to death."

"I'm holding it in." Madam Du laughed for a long time before she stopped. "I'll send someone to Feiyun Temple tomorrow to ask if Taoist Priest Feiyun has returned."

"Okay, I'll remember it. It's getting late, and you should rest, Miss." Yu Wen reminded her.

"Yes, yes, you go back first. Is Tong Yue's wife going to give birth soon? You should go back early to take care of her." Old Madam Du pushed the old sister's arm and said, "Go back."

"I will leave after the young lady falls asleep. I am worried about the little maid doing the job." Yu Wen ignored her and asked the little maid to fetch some water.

"You love to worry even when you're old." Old Madam Du complained with a smile. Let her do what she wants.