In early August, Shanhai and the others successfully arrived at the outskirts of Qinglize. Although we were delayed in many places on the way, we didn't waste too much time.
I don't know if it's the solar term, or if there's plenty of water here, it doesn't make people dizzy from the heat. But the closer we got to the water, the more mosquitoes there were, especially Aluan, who was bullied to pieces by the mosquitoes and made him angry all day long. This time, she was bitten by an unknown poisonous insect. A big bump swelled up on her calf. The skin turned blue instead of red. She screamed in pain every step she took. They tried all the medicine in the medicine cabinet to relieve swelling, pain and itching, but nothing worked and they were still stung.
We were about to reach the village ahead, but it was already starting to get dark. I'm afraid that by the time I get there, there will be no people or medicine to help me. They continued walking along the road for a while, and found a large piece of white something in the middle of the road. From a distance, it looked like a puddle of milk spilled on the ground, still flowing. After walking in, the thing gradually revealed its furry outlines. But it wasn't that close, so one could tell from the soft calls one after another that it was a small flock of sheep.
There was a girl in linen clothes, waving a small whip, driving the sheep behind. She is not tall, has a round face, and has short, brisk hair. She looks to be as old as Aluan.
Shanhai got off his horse and walked towards her. Suddenly, a small yellow and white thing rushed over from a distance. It was a puppy, bravely protecting its owner and barking fiercely at him. But when Mu Wan and Mr. Shi with Aqi also came up, it suddenly wilted and hid behind its owner, not knowing who it was afraid of.
"You scared the dog with your fierceness."
"Ah?" Mu Wan's tone was obviously dissatisfied, "The bad guy will file the complaint first, right? The reason for not being able to protect him is to scare Miss Qi."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Okay, everyone, shut up."
Shan Hai politely bowed to the baffled girl, briefly introduced himself, and told about his apprentice's situation. The girl understood immediately and walked over to look at Aluan's legs sitting on the horse.
"This is easy for you, just put some medicine on it and it will be done. I have it in the house, it's nearby. How about you come home with me?"
The girl is very generous and speaks politely, but her tone is very relaxed and lovable. While leading them, she occasionally looked back at Miss Qi and then at Shi Wuqi. Mu Wan lowered his voice and said to him:
"Look, you must have scared the dog."
"I don't know anything about you."
The girl's cabin was really nearby, just a few steps away, and it was the neatly repaired wooden house on the roadside. And there is a waterproof shed in the sheep pen outside. She said it was rainy here, so she built sheds for the dozen sheep. Entering the hut, she lit the lamp and quickly took out a basket of medicine from the drawer. She also brought a wet cloth, asked Dai Luan to sit down, stepped on the stool with the bitten leg, and squatted down to help her wash off the remaining medicine.
"It's not okay to use medicine indiscriminately. It must be detoxified first, otherwise it will be in vain. Most of the poisonous insects nearby are unique, and suitable antidotes can only be made with local materials."
The girl washed and dried her swollen skin, and dipped her fingers into an orange-red rouge-like plaster. It's amazing to say that the ointment is refreshing and cooling. Once it touches the bag, it doesn't itch. It's just swollen and it will take a while to go away. She washed the wet cloth again and wring it half dry. Dai Luan took the opportunity to bend down hard and smell the smell of the medicine, which was a bit like the fragrance of raw sweet potato sections. The girl gently wrapped a clean cloth around her leg and said to leave it on for a while to let the medicine soak in and get better faster.
Dai Luan noticed that her hands were rough and had some calluses, and she looked like she had done some hard work. Thinking of the neat wooden sheds in front of the door, she felt very impressive. Although she was not immune to the cold, she was still clumsy.
The girl's name is Yuting, a graceful and beautiful girl.
"Hey, you can call me Ting'er." She pronounced the word "er" with a strong accent, "Everyone calls me that."
"It looks like the girl lives alone."
Shan Hai looked around. Although this wooden house was quite spacious, it was only for one person. With five or six people crowded together, it seemed a lot cramped.
"Yes, I live alone," she said without hesitation. "When I was a child, my family was very poor and I had too many brothers and sisters, so my parents sold me to the house as a maid. Listening to my accent, it is obvious that I am from the north. Son."
Shanhai couldn't tell, after all, she had never really met a native local, but she was infected by the words of Miss Yuting. It was obviously a very heavy topic, but it seemed extremely relaxed when she said it in her mouth.
"Don't you miss home?" Dai Luan asked her carefully.
"No feelings, nothing to think about. The people in my house are very nice to me... Although I was always bullied when I first came here, the second young master protected me. He said I looked like his favorite My little sister, but she died of illness. Oh, he also gave me my name. He said there is an idiom called Slim. I have never read a book, so how did I know this? He said it sounds good."
It seemed like she hadn't talked to anyone for a long time, and she talked happily about many things. They had no chance to interrupt, but they were happy to listen. Finally, she simply asked them to stay, saying it was getting late and they would be on their way tomorrow. Although they found it troublesome for her, and the place was really hard to clean up, it was hard to refuse such kindness, so they agreed. She was even happier and started talking with confidence.
The family she worked for back then had a surname of Zhang. They had three young masters, two daughters, and the third one was gone. Master Zhang had many concubines, but the third young master was born to a brothel girl and had to be admitted. Later, a lot of things happened, including various conflicts with Beppu, the Chamber of Commerce, and the court. The second young master told her that in such a big family with a mixed bag of good and bad, you have to be thoughtful to survive. She said that she was too thoughtful, and the second young master sighed and said that he was the same, but fortunately, at least he could protect her.
Later, the master became critically ill, the family was in constant trouble, and the eldest young master lost his life when he went out. But the second young master quietly told her that this matter had something to do with the third young master, because only when he became the only "Master Zhang" could the mother who was born in a brothel make a comeback with him. The second young master also said that he had no nostalgia for this family and wanted to go somewhere far away. He also said that he would take her with him. The other maids had backers and various informants behind them. She was the only one who was weak and pitiful. He said he was worried about leaving her alone. Only to her could he dare to speak his mind.
But in her heart, Master Zhang is the only one like him. But she was too young at that time, just a clumsy girl who couldn't understand anything. Only today did she understand the meaning of that sentence.
——The third young master wants to be the only young master Zhang. Without the eldest young master, the next one will be the second young master.
After that, the family was already in chaos, with external and internal troubles not stopping for a moment. She didn't remember much, she just felt that it was noisy every day, the eldest wife, the second wife, the third aunt and the grandma, none of them stopped. The second young master ate something bad and suddenly died - even though he had lived a cautious life, he still couldn't survive before escaping from the Zhang Mansion.
"But I'm still alive. I just ran away - and no one would care about me at all. Even if they noticed, no one would take care of me. I ran and ran, got into the fleet's cargo ship, and followed all kinds of people ashore. While walking in the caravan, I almost met bad guys and lost my life several times. Fortunately, I was smart. As I walked, I arrived near here... A kind man allowed me to herd sheep and work. After I saved up the money, I bought it from him. He took out some sheep and lived by himself."
"Eh? Aren't you going to continue working? Or is he treating you badly?"
"He wanted me and his stupid son to worship heaven and earth! I'm not stupid, and fortunately he didn't force me, but he was waiting for me to change my mind at any time. I had no choice but to run outside and ask some people I knew well to help me get rid of an old man here. The warehouse was converted into a house.”
"That's awesome."
Mu Wan was not stingy with his praise. She also turned her head and glanced at Dai Luan. Dai Luan noticed it and said angrily, "When I was a child, I never left the door and never took a step forward. How can you compare me to this?"
Everyone laughed.
Yu Ting's own room is very small, and it is full even with a small bed. She said she wanted to squeeze in with Dai Luan and hear interesting things about her childhood. There was no place for the others to rest, so she went to clean the woodshed. She was so busy that it was unreasonable for several adults to stand still, so they all tried their best to help. Only Shi Wuqi stood aside leisurely. Mu Wan was about to go out to get a bucket of water and accused him: "Why are you standing there?"
"Am I not doing this job? Do you think I'm not tired?"
He raised his hand and pointed at Miss Qi, who was diligently wiping the wall.
"I'm too lazy to tell you."
Yuting happened to walk in, passed by Mu Wan, and asked a little strangely: "Hey, sister Liangqiu is not happy?"
"Never mind, they've always been like this." Dai Luan answered, her accent almost gone wrong.
"I've washed the fruits, you guys come and eat them. Remember to leave one for Sister Liangqiu. Oh, Sister Qi, don't be busy and eat some fruit."
"She doesn't like to eat."
Shi Wuqi immediately took the fruit and put it into Dai Luan's hand. Yu Ting's expression was a little confused:
"Speaking of which, Sister Qi hasn't spoken since we met."
"Mute." Shi Wuqi said again.
Dai Luan looked at him with a confused expression. But then I thought about it, maybe I was afraid that telling the truth would scare Miss Yuting.
Yuting nodded thoughtfully.
Shan Hai and Mu Wan came in together, Shan Hai carrying an empty bucket in his hand. They had poured the water into the tank outside. Yuting asked them to sit down and rest. Because there were two stools missing, she kept standing and asked Miss Qi to sit down.
"She's not tired. You can sit down."
Shi Wuqi smiled, his expression no different from before. He stood with Aqi all the time.
It is impossible not to make people murmur. After all, this is clear, isn't it bullying the mute? But everyone else is so well-educated and not like bad people. But in the face of Miss Qi's "unfair" treatment, no one felt inappropriate, and she didn't complain.
Then there must be something wrong with her.
Yu Ting turned his head and glanced at her from time to time. At that time, Shi Wuqi next to her smiled slightly at her.
