"Husband, why are you back at this time?"
"If I don't come back, are you going to hang out with these men who have seduced your soul? Huh? While I'm not around, flirt with them! Shameless!"
The strong black man from the iron tower cursed angrily, and then grabbed Liu Niang's long hair. Liu Niang, a delicate beauty, was no match for his strength, so she was grabbed and pulled behind the curtain.
"Bitch, let's see how I teach you a lesson!"
A woman's wails and screams were heard from behind the curtain. It was so miserable. Immediately, the guests in the tea shop dispersed, "Let's leave! If you don't leave, I'm afraid you'll be beaten as an adulterer!"
Everyone dispersed, leaving only one horse dealer standing there blankly, looking anxious. He lingered at the door for a long time before he mustered up the courage to rescue Liu Niang.
"Liu Niang, are you okay?"
"Ah! Kind brother, please leave quickly and leave me alone! The more you take care of me, the harder he will hit me!"
The woman inside was beaten and screamed, but she still asked him to leave out of consideration for his safety.
"You bitch! You dare to seduce a man in front of me! I can't beat you to death!"
The beating and scolding inside became more intense, and this time, the horse dealer also fled.
Xu Ling transported the jars of Qiuli paste to the house, cleaned the pottery urns, and prepared to cook another round of Qiuli paste while it was still early.
When he came out, the crying outside had become much weaker, and only Liu Niang's scolding voice could be heard: "You ignorant bastard, it hurts my hair! Don't touch me again!"
"Good Sister Liu, my dearest wife, aren't my hands too big and I don't know what's important? Can you please forgive me this time?"
"Get out! If you call me again tonight, get out!"
Xu Ling heard the sound getting closer and closer. He stood in the yard and looked out curiously, and saw Liu Niang in the tea shop in front of her, followed by a tall man. She looked like a fairy, but the man was pregnant. Copper skin and iron bones, fierce spirit.
Noticing Xu Ling's attention, Liu Niang looked over and said a little embarrassedly: "Did I scare you just now?"
Xu Ling said: "What?"
Liu Niang's eyes rolled, she immediately covered her mouth and said with a smile: "Look at me, I should have trained this fool at home, so that you can see it, I'm afraid you will be afraid of me too."
Xu Ling thought that she was probably afraid that outsiders would find out that her husband was a strict wife, but he was not a feudal and rigid man. Seeing this, not only did he not think that Liu Niang was fierce, but he thought that she was good at taming her husband.
He just smiled and said to the fierce man: "You two have a deep love for each other. He respects you, so he treats you like this. How can I be afraid? This eldest brother, my name is Xu Ling, and I am your new mover." Neighbor."
The fierce man looked at Xu Ling and said, "My name is Wang Zhu, what do you do?"
Liu Niang explained before Xu Ling that Wang Zhu only knew that Xu Ling could boil sugar.
Seeing that Xu Ling didn't understand the explanation, he simply admitted it.
The three of them chatted for a while, then they heard a child crying and a woman beating and scolding coming from the back door. The sound didn't stop all morning.
Liu Niang rolled her eyes and said, "This family beats their children or their wives all day long. They really don't have any leisure time."
Xu Ling smiled and said nothing.
Liu Niang and Wang Zhu returned to their courtyard.
Xu Ling continued to be busy cooking Qiuli paste. He planned to boil some more and store it at home. It would be fifteen in a few days, and Lingbao Temple was a good place to sell things. He would stock up more Qiuli paste to sell.
Making autumn pear paste is a boring job. It has to be simmered over low heat without burning the pot, and it has to be stirred constantly. After a whole morning, Xu Ling's arms were extremely sore and swollen, and he couldn't take any time off at all.
I don't even have time to eat.
Who would have expected that at noon, Wang Zhu next door would bring food over.
"Liu Mei said that you gave her a jar of sugarpaste. Seeing that you don't even have a woman at home, you asked me to bring you some food as a thank you."
Xu Ling had no doubt that he was there and thanked him repeatedly.
"Thank you very much. Just put the food on the table and I'll eat it when I'm done."
Wang Zhu saw that he kept stirring with a stick and looked over curiously, "You haven't married yet?"
"Married, and I have a daughter."
"Then why didn't your woman follow you?"
"I have an old mother at home, and I have accomplished nothing. She also suffers when I come out with me."
"You can't say that. At least I can help you cook a meal and keep your bed warm. We men can't leave a woman for a day."
Wang Zhu spoke very harshly, but he was very thoughtful and insisted on helping Xu Ling stir the Qiuli paste and let him eat.
Xu Ling had no choice but to follow the instructions. Liu Niang's cooking was very good. This meal included vegetables and meat. There was some meat in the cabbage stew with tofu, which was very delicious. He ate heartily and chatted with Wang Zhu.
We also learned some information about the couple.
Wang Zhu has no father or mother. He used to work as a handyman in an acrobatic troupe, where he met Liu Niang. The two of them got married, but the acrobatic troupe kicked them out. The two used their saved money to rent a house in Lingbao Town. He opened a tea shop for Liu Niang and went to the dock to carry goods and do hard work.
"Now we just want to save more money and buy a house of our own. We can decide on it when the time comes. She will give me a few babies, so I don't have any other ideas!"
Not to mention, people in ancient and modern times have the same idea, buy a house and have children and struggle for a lifetime.
Xu Ling understood his difficulties very well. After chatting for a long time, he soon became a good friend.
After Xu Ling finished eating, Wang Zhu helped him cut wood plugs. Xu Ling was happy to have someone to chat with and help with work. He didn't think about anything else at all.
It wasn't until Liu Niang came over to call Wang Zhu and scolded him that he didn't know how to go home for a long time after delivering a meal, then Wang Zhu went back dejectedly.
Xu Ling was not stupid either. He knew that the process of making Qiuli paste was not difficult and that others could learn it if they were willing. In the afternoon, he moved most of the process indoors and only cooked Qiuli paste in the yard.
After working continuously for two or three days, Xu Ling consumed all the pears in the space and made 95 cans of autumn pear paste.
After finishing these tasks, he asked someone to make a sign, a bamboo pole with a cloth flag hanging on it, and a few big words written on it: a century-old prescription that can cure coughs.
Then he carried a bamboo basket and a bamboo pole and went out to sell things.
Xu Ling has been so busy these days. Sometimes Liu Niang will bring him food, and sometimes he goes out to buy food from the stalls.
For several days, I didn't notice that the tea shop in front of the yard was not open.
On this day, not long after he left, Liu's Tea Shop, which had been closed for a few days, opened.
Liu Niang covered her face with a fan, set up tables, chairs and benches, and was about to go back to the house to boil water.
A man rushed over from around the corner of the house.
"Liu Niang... you finally opened the door. How are you these days?"
Liu Niang turned around in surprise and saw the horse dealer. Her red lips slightly opened and she asked in disbelief: "It's you... why are you here again?"
