The laundry bucket contains the clothes of the girls in the hook rack. These clothes were once worn on her body, but now she wears rough linen clothes. Her once delicate hands have also been damaged by long-term work. Some calluses and tears.
When she arrived at the laundry area, she chose a suitable location. There were brothels and Goulan nearby. The seven or eight women working here were also women who had been in brothels and Goulan.
It's just that they don't really want to communicate with other people, and over the years, everyone has become accustomed to doing their own thing silently.
What can we say about communication? Is it possible to talk about the past?
"Bang" and "bang" were constantly being knocked. Several women of different ages, but the youngest were all in their thirties and approaching forties, were knocking on the wood in their hands one after another.
But no one noticed behind them. At some point, a woman sat on the river bank not far from them. Soon, the soft sound of a guitar suddenly sounded.
However, the sudden sound of musical instruments did not make any of these women stop their movements. They were like robots, constantly tapping the clothes in their hands.
There are brothels all around, and any woman who doesn’t know how to play the piano will listen to it countless times every day.
However, I don’t know when, a soft female voice started singing next to me.
"Because I dreamed of you leaving."
"I woke up crying."
"Look at the night wind blowing across the window sill, can you feel my love..." A soft female voice passed into their ears. The straightforward singing made their movements pause somewhat, but only for a moment. .
They all know that this is a song invented by His Highness King Qin. Princess Baling once sang a song called "Cang Hai Yi Yi Laugh" before. That was written by His Highness, and after His Highness invented similar songs, many people wrote many similar songs.
After all, if His Highness likes it, then if you can make songs that His Highness likes, you might be able to get His Highness's appreciation.
It's just that people didn't know that His Highness liked similar songs before. As long as they knew that His Highness liked it, the rest would be much simpler. It's not hard for those music masters to do something.
But when the next line was sung, the movements of these women's hands involuntarily slowed down.
"When the day comes when I grow old, will you still be by my side? Look at those oaths and lies, slowly drifting away with the past..."
The soft female voice has a little more vicissitudes of life and a little more insight.
If these few lines of singing made them slow down the movements of their hands and their ears could not help but focus on the singing, the next line of lyrics made them all break their defenses.
"How many people once admired your appearance when you were young."
"Do you know who is willing to endure the ruthless changes of time?"
“How many people have come and gone in your life.”
"Is there someone who will protect your oath and be by your side?"
…
The four short lyrics made Qing Ling's movements in her hands stop completely. When the female voice began to repeat the previous lyrics again, Qing Ling discovered that drops of water had fallen in front of her at some point. On clothes.
And those... were her tears.
I don't know when she burst into tears.
"Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo of of close by.
Qing Ling held back her tears, picked up the laundry tool in her hand again, and started tapping the clothes in her hand with a "bang" and "bang".
Even though the tears in her eyes had already blurred her eyes, she couldn't see clearly what she was doing.
But she still gritted her teeth and kept doing the work she was doing. The singing seemed to be gradually fading away, but those few lyrics were always echoing in her mind.
Almost all of the people who were doing laundry here were in tears. Their individual states were different, but they all had their defenses broken.
Qing Ling's tears gradually disappeared, and the singing had already faded away. She raised her head and glanced, wondering who was singing. But she could tell that the girl was at most twenty years old. To be able to sing such emotions at this age must have some experience.
And similarly, the sound of the instrument she used should be the guitar invented by His Highness. The name is a bit weird. I don't know why it is called this, but His Highness gave it to me, so everyone called it this.
Everyone in every brothel has one of these musical instruments, so they must learn it. It is not difficult to learn, at least it is much simpler than Pipa.
Qingling shook her head, not knowing why she was thinking about these things. These things had long been far away from her life.
After silently washing and packing the things, Qing Ling began to walk back.
After returning to Goulan and drying all the clothes, the shopkeeper of Goulan came over and said, "Qingling."
This title made her mentally confused for a moment. She had not heard this title for a long time. After working here for so many years, she often called them here and there. The person responsible for managing them didn't even have a title. No more.
"The shopkeeper's."
"You go to the back courtyard to gather, there's something to do." The shopkeeper left without saying a word.
Qing Ling was stunned for a moment, but she silently packed up her things and walked to the yard behind.
When she walked over, Qing Ling was stunned for a moment because she saw several sisters like her walking in this direction.
After arriving at the side courtyard, Qing Ling found that more than twenty people had gathered here, all of whom were similar to her.
Seeing these people, Qing Ling had a bad feeling. Could it be that he wanted to fire them? Otherwise, why would they all be gathered together, and there are more people here.
When more than thirty former sisters gathered here, Qing Ling felt unspeakably uncomfortable. On weekdays, everyone could not see each other. Most of them were busy with their own affairs. Even if Yes, the most I can do is smile and say hello.
There are only two or three people who can chat together.
Now seeing these former sisters, Qing Ling is somewhat in a trance, as if she has returned to their young days, when there were all kinds of laughter.
Now, almost all of them have white hair on their heads. The oldest one is almost sixty years old. Her body is a little stooped, her waist cannot be straightened, and her hair is almost completely white.
Rough skin and wrinkles on her face, maybe this is what she will look like many years later.
Just when everyone was looking around, wanting to ask what they were doing, the door to the side courtyard opened, and a young and beautiful figure walked into the courtyard.
