A ragged cub at the beginning

"Man is born good." A clear and sweet female voice.

"Man is born good." A childish voice.

Dong Wanwan was listening to the sound of reading next door while hanging clothes. She felt happy. Her son could read and write. The brat wanted to go out to play just now, but he turned around and ran to Tang's house again. The two pieces of meat were still hanging in the kitchen. She thought about cooking early and asking the Tang family to come over to eat. Teaching is a hard job, so they have to eat well. In two days, the child's father will be back. If he knows that Dandan can read, he will definitely be grinning from ear to ear.

Dong Wanwan was happily preparing the food, while Tang Xu gave each child a stick and asked them to write on the ground.

Du Jiarui was still a little confused. He was playing games, so why did he start reading? His uncle said he was going to teach him, but his grandmother said he was still young and didn't need to start so early. His little head couldn't understand it, but seeing that Dandan and Qiyue were so serious, he didn't dare to ask or say anything, and just followed and learned.

Children cannot concentrate for very long. Seeing that they began to lose focus frequently, Tang Xu stopped and let them play for a while while he drew in front of the easel.

When the smoke from the cooking started to rise, Tang Xu remembered that it was time to eat. "Zijun, you play with your brothers. I'll go cook."

"Okay, Aunt Xu!" Fang Zijun threw away the wooden stick and pulled his younger brothers to start playing hopscotch again.

"Sister! Xiaoxu! I've prepared dinner, bring the children over to eat." Dong Wanwan shouted across the yard.

Tang Xu had just dug out the rice and hadn't washed it yet. When he heard this, he walked out and said helplessly, "Sister Wan, how can I eat at your house every day? I can cook it myself. Dandan, go back and eat."

"That won't do. I've cooked for four people. You can't finish it if you don't come." Dong Wanwan had already prepared everything, so how could she refuse? She said to her son directly, "Dandan, bring your brother over. It's time to eat."

"Mrs. Fang, have you seen Jiarui?" A clear and gentle voice sounded outside the yard.

Tang Xu's ears moved. This voice was so beautiful.

"Mr. Du, Jiarui is next door. We play and study together in the morning." Dong Wanwan replied with a smile.

Then the door was knocked three times, and Tang Xu hurried to open it. Outside the door stood a young man who was as slender as a bamboo. He was wearing a green robe and his hair was neatly tied behind his head with a cloth. When he saw Tang Xu, he bowed slightly and said, "Excuse me, I'm Du Yun. Is Du Jiarui here?"

It was the first time that Tang Xu saw the scholar's spirit embodied in a person. As soon as she opened her mouth, it was like a spring breeze blowing on her face. She subconsciously lowered her voice, "I'm here, Jiarui," as if speaking louder would be rude.

"Uncle! Uncle! Look, look at what I wrote! I can write." Du Jiarui got up quickly and pulled Du Yun's sleeve towards him.

"Don't be in a hurry, go slow." Du Yun reached out and gathered Jiarui's messy hair, then walked over following his force.

The three characters "人之初" were written crookedly on the ground. The first two characters were fine, but the character "初" was split, making it look like four characters. Du Yun looked at it carefully, first praising the fact that there were not many strokes, and then slowly pointed out the mistakes.

Du Jiarui nodded, his little face full of seriousness.

"Then we should thank this person," Du Yun looked at Tang Xu and was about to ask her last name.

"My name is Tang Xu! Don't be polite. We are all children, playing together. I just taught you two words." Tang Xu waved his hand quickly.

"Of course I should thank you. Miss Tang teaches without expecting anything in return and is tireless in her teaching. That is truly righteous." Du Yun bowed.

Tang Xu was shocked. How could she deserve such high praise? Her face turned red with shame. "No, no, no, I'm just teaching you for fun."

"Thank you, Auntie Tang." Du Jiarui imitated his uncle and bowed. The fat boy was top-heavy and almost fell down with his feet together. Du Yun pulled him up.

"You're welcome." Tang Xu stepped aside to let him pass.

"Then we'll take our leave." Du Yun said goodbye and left with his nephew.

Fang Zijun had already taken July home. Tang Xu sighed, packed up a few dishes from the kitchen and carried them over.

"Why are you still taking things? Take them back quickly." Dong Wanwan waved her hand to signal her to go back.

"That won't do. These are fresh vegetables I bought this morning. If you don't eat them today, they will be stale tomorrow. I can't finish them since I don't have a stove at home, so I had to bring them here." Tang Xu saw Dong Wanwan's temper, so he walked into the kitchen, put the vegetables down, and took the cooked dishes outside.

Dong Wanwan sighed, knowing that this man was determined, and stopped talking. She thought that being too calculative would only hurt their relationship. But this kind of give-and-take made people feel more comfortable.

Tang Xu and Dong Wanwan chatted while eating, and the two little ones leaned their heads against each other and whispered a few words from time to time. The adults and children did not interfere with each other and were having a great time.

When they were almost done eating, Tang Xu said, "I have to go out for something this afternoon, so I might be back late."

"Are you going to do something? Is there anyone to take care of July? If not, just leave him at my house and the two children can take a nap together at noon." Dong Wanwan suggested.

"Is it too much trouble?" Tang Xu was a little tempted. She planned to go to Sansi Embroidery House to sell embroidery samples in the afternoon. It would be inconvenient to bring a child with her. It would be great if someone could take care of her.

"No! I'll take my brother with me!" Fang Zijun patted his chest and promised, apparently forgetting how difficult it was for him to take a nap.

"Yes, don't worry, I'm at home and I promise to take good care of you." Dong Wanwan did not expose the fact that her son had to be beaten every time he took a nap before he would behave himself. She just looked at him seriously and gave him a look that told him to be obedient.

Tang Xu no longer refused, "Then thank you for your help. Qiyue needs to take some medicine. I will feed him the medicine later and bring it back."

"Okay." Dong Wanwan pushed Tang Xu, who wanted to wash the dishes before going back, out and said, "Hurry up, hurry up, I'll finish washing these dishes in two seconds, go and do your work."

Distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. The ancients were right.

The basic pattern at that time was that the east was rich, the west was rich, the south was poor, and the north was cheap. The Sansi Embroidery House was on Magnolia Street in the west, and the Tang Family was on Dingxiang Street in the south. The clothes worn by pedestrians on the two streets were very different.

Magnolia Street is mostly filled with horse-drawn carriages and sedan chairs. Those walking are either young masters and young ladies calling their servants, or maids and attendants coming out to do shopping.

It was rare to see someone like Tang Xu who was dressed in ordinary clothes and not dressed like a maid. She hesitated in front of the exquisite and gorgeous three-story Sansi Embroidery Building. Would she be driven out? If they were driven out, they would be driven out. They didn't know the value of gold and jade!

"What would this lady like to see?" The waiter in the embroidery building was a girl of about thirteen or fourteen with double buns. When he saw her wandering outside, he came up to her with a friendly smile, and he was not as respectful to her clothes as she had imagined.

Tang Xu breathed a sigh of relief and walked in. There were not many people in the embroidery building. As soon as she entered, she could smell a light and elegant fragrance, which made her feel relaxed. She pinched the drawings in her hand and said, "Is your shopkeeper here? I have something I want to show her."

Qin Wen had just lifted the beaded curtain and walked out when she heard this. She casually replied, "I'm here. Let me see what this girl has."

Tang Xu turned her head. The shopkeeper looked about thirty years old and was dressed in gorgeous clothes. She looked at people carelessly, but her beautiful features were stunning. She cleared her throat and handed over the drawings in her hand, "These are them."

Qin Wen took it, her eyes lit up at first, then she frowned, "Why don't you try it?"

Tang Xu touched his nose and said frankly: "It's too expensive. I can't afford it."

Qin Wen was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help laughing when she saw Tang Xu's calm expression. She carefully read the drawings and shook her head and sighed, "My last name is Qin, what's your last name, young lady? Are these all from your hand?"

"No matter your surname is Tang, it is indeed me who painted this."

"Do you want to sell these embroidery samples?"

"Yes."

"If you were given paint, you could probably complete all the colors."

"Naturally."

"Come with me."

Tang Xu followed Manager Qin to the backyard, which turned out to be a small garden. A stream came from somewhere, dividing the yard into two parts. One part was planted with flowers and plants, and the other part had a pavilion. After walking across the small bridge over the stream, they entered a study.

The study room looked quite large, but it only had five desks, which made it look a bit crowded. Four elderly women were painting at their desks, and they didn't even look up when someone came in.

Qin Wen pointed to an empty table and said, "You sit here. You can use whatever you want on the table. Color one for me first. If I am satisfied with the coloring, I can satisfy you with the price."

Tang Xu was delighted. He opened all the small jars on the table and looked at them one by one. He had already started mixing colors in his mind.

Qin Wen picked and chose, and chose a pattern she liked and put it on the table. In fact, even if Tang Xu couldn't color, she decided to buy these patterns. To be able to manage such a large embroidery shop, Qin Wen's embroidery skills must be good, and she also learned painting skills. She thought that if this girl couldn't color, she would do it herself. But the price would be very different.

She sat aside, watching Tang Xu skillfully mix the paints to create the colors he wanted, and felt a little relieved.

When she walked out of the Sansi Embroidery Building, Tang Xu held the banknotes to her chest. She sold eight paintings for 150 taels, and she jumped up and down excitedly.

Shopkeeper Qin kept his word and quoted prices according to the complexity of the patterns. The prices were very honest, but he asked her not to sell the same embroidery pattern to others. He also said that if she had other embroidery patterns, she could bring them and Sansi Embroidery House would take them. Of course, it would be even better if she could stay in the embroidery house permanently. Shopkeeper Qin quoted a salary that was so generous that it was hard to refuse. Tang Xu was very tempted, but thinking about taking Qiyue with her, she reluctantly refused.

However, Shopkeeper Qin did not care. Before leaving, he gave her a set of paints and teased her not to be lazy and not paint this time.

Not only did she make money, she also got a set of paint for free. Tang Xu laughed a lot, and passers-by stopped and looked at her several times.

Tang Xu was completely unaware of this. If she hadn't been worried about the paint cans in the box being broken, she would have jumped back.

When she returned, the sun was already setting. Passing by a pastry shop, she generously bought ten pieces of sweet-scented osmanthus cakes that Qiyue liked, and packed a few other pieces to send to Fang's house.

Before she went, she didn't expect it would take so long. She went into a restaurant and ordered a roast chicken. She made some money! Add a dish!

The door of Fang's house was ajar. She reached out and patted it. "Sister Wan, I'm back!"

"Come in, it's time for dinner." Although Dong Wanwan was puzzled by her absence for so long, she didn't care much. As a girl with a child, she naturally had to make a living. She could read and write, and could draw, so Dong Wanwan guessed that she was looking for a job. Thinking of this, Dong Wanwan felt that she had to discuss with the child's father when he came back, and at least pay some money.

Tang Xu didn't know what Dong Wanwan was thinking yet, so he took the roast chicken to the kitchen and said, "Sister Wan, I bought a chicken. Put it on a plate and eat it later."

"Why buy this? I cooked meat tonight." Dong Wanwan said this but still took the plate. The weather was still hot and it would be a waste of money if it went bad.

While eating, Tang Xu suddenly thought of the house and asked, "Sister Wan, do you know how much our house cost?"

Dong Wanwan looked at her curiously, wondering why she suddenly thought of this. Did she have money to buy a house? But she still replied, "I heard Aunt Wang talk about this before. It would cost more than 400 taels."

One hundred and fifty taels suddenly became less than a lot, Tang Xu was a little discouraged. Then he thought that he had only been painting for a few days and had earned one-third of the house price, which was already very lucky.

But without a house, she felt insecure. She had made a lot of money today and was a little arrogant. She would not do anything like setting up a stall to draw pictures. Now she was like a deflated balloon. Not only did she have to earn money to buy a house, but she also had to support July's studies. Judging from the prices of paper, pens and books, it would be a bit tight to rely on embroidery patterns alone.

And this is not just a casual drawing. If you want to sell it at a high price, it must not only be exquisite but also unique. Sketching portraits, on the other hand, only require someone to pay and a model.

She thought for a moment and said to Dong Wanwan, "Sister Wan, I will go out to set up a stall every day to make money from now on."

"Setting up a stall? You are a girl..." Dong Wanwan was about to say that it was not in accordance with the rules for an unmarried girl to do this and it would be bad for her reputation. It would be hard to say what her husband's family would be like in the future. But she had an orphan and a girl in her family. How could she survive without making money? It was not easy to find a job to take care of a child, and now she had to show up in public. She sighed inwardly and asked, "Have you thought about what to do?"

Tang Xu knew what she meant, but it was impossible for her not to make money. As a modern person, she didn't care much about fame. "Paint a portrait for someone, like the one I painted for you and Dandan before."

"You can try this. I've never seen anything like this before." Dong Wanwan nodded. She put the painting away carefully. I wonder if it would be expensive to frame it. She thought of the father of her child who was about to come home. If it wasn't expensive, she would be willing to ask her to paint another family of three. "Have you decided on the price?"

"Fifteen coins per person." This was the price Tang Xu had calculated. One sheet of paper cost 150 coins, and there were 70 sheets. Cutting one sheet into two sheets cost a little more than one coin. Including the use of pencils, one drawing took about half an hour, so fifteen coins was a good deal. She estimated the drawing time herself when she was drawing July Egg and the others these days.

Dong Wanwan nodded. Scholars are so precious these days. Who would be willing to paint your portrait? It costs several coins to write a letter. Moreover, this one is so like her. She said happily for her, "It's not expensive. If it were me, I would also be willing to paint one."

"Well, I hope someone is willing to spend the money." Tang Xu said with a smile, "Then let Dandan come over for breakfast and dinner and study for half an hour each."

Dong Wanwan agreed and asked, "What about July? Do you want to take her with you or leave her at home?"

Qiyue looked over when he heard this, and there seemed to be some trepidation in his eyes. He wanted to follow his mother. Now he would not be beaten, and he could eat and play every day, and he was very happy. Would his mother take him with her? He was very good, and he promised not to talk or make noise.

"I'll take you there." Tang Xu smiled and touched Qiyue's head. "Why don't you go with mom to make some money?"

Qiyue's eyes suddenly widened and she nodded vigorously, almost knocking her head against the table.

"Oh, be careful." Tang Xu was startled and put his hand on his forehead.

Dong Wanwan swallowed the words that July had brought to her. She had this idea because she saw that July was well behaved. If it was a naughty child, she would not think so. This afternoon, July was very well behaved, talking little and sitting still, unlike Dandan, who could not stay idle for a moment and always wanted to run outside.

After dinner, Tang Xu forced Dong Wanwan to sit on a stool, washed the dishes himself, and cleaned the kitchen before returning home.

July needed to take medicine for his body, change the dressing on his feet, and apply medicinal wine on the bruises on his body. After all this, it was already dark. The little guy played all day and fell asleep on the bed.

Tang Xu lit the lamp and drew a picture of a sleeping child. When she bought paper today, she also bought a set of pens for drawing. If some people don't like black and white sketches, it's not impossible to draw in color. The price is custom-made. As long as you have money, you can get everything.

She has no inspiration for embroidery patterns for the time being. She has almost finished drawing some autumn things and will think about some winter elements before slowly drawing.

She gathered her things and climbed into bed.

July lay on her side, with her hands tucked in front of her chest and her knees pressed in front of her hands. She looked like she was thrown into the womb. This sleeping position made her feel insecure. She thought of the Abebe that many children have nowadays. Maybe July also needs one.

She thought of all kinds of animals, which should be strong and give people a sense of security. When she thought of this, an image familiar to all modern children quickly appeared in her mind. Remember to draw the pattern tomorrow, and then ask Aunt Wang to help sew it.