Jiang Shuyue looked at the mother and son, who were dressed in cotton clothes, and felt as if they were both fallen from the world.
"I'm willing to go, but I have to pay rent for the house."
When the little boy heard that Jiang Shuyue was willing to go, he happily pulled Jiang Shuyue's sleeve, as if he was afraid that she would regret it.
The woman did not refuse. She introduced herself: "My husband's family name is Su. From now on, the girl can call me aunt."
"I am Nan Nan, Nan Ke Yimeng's Nan."
"My surname is Jiang and my given name is Shuyue. Nannan can call me Sister Yue'er." Seeing Nannan's cute appearance, Jiang Shuyue couldn't help but touch his little head.
"Auntie, Qiu Ju is with me. She is waiting for me in front. We haven't had lunch yet. Let's go back after eating together!"
Jiang Shuyue looked at the woman's washed cotton dress, which turned white. She must have fainted from hunger because she couldn't bear to eat.
"Let the girl spend money." Aunt Su nodded and smiled gracefully.
As long as the girl goes with her and the Su family takes care of her in the future, she can return the favor.
What Mrs. Su didn't expect was what kind of changes Jiang Shuyue would bring to the Su family.
Under the leadership of Aunt Su, Jiang Shuyue went to buy some cotton wool and cotton cloth.
Qiu Ju smiled happily when she learned that her whereabouts had been found.
Finally, I no longer have to live a homeless life.
Seeing Mrs. Su's kind face, she was relieved.
With cash in hand, Jiang Shuyue found a small restaurant and ordered three meat dishes, two vegetarian dishes and one soup.
Seeing Mrs. Su eating elegantly, Jiang Shuyue confirmed her suspicion that the Su family were by no means ordinary villagers.
After the meal, Mrs. Su bought a few kilograms of brown rice and a little salt to take back.
Jiang Shuyue heard from Mrs. Su that they would take an ox cart back to the village in a while.
She asked Qiu Ju to buy rice, flour, oil and some daily necessities.
After leaving the county town, we walked down the official road and walked into a small road. After walking for about an hour, we finally arrived at the foot of Yunling Mountain.
This is a small mountain village surrounded by mountains on three sides, with rolling hills behind the village.
"Ms. Su's wife went to the county town today. Is this a guest at your house?" the woman with something to do asked, looking at the mule cart.
"Yes! They are my mother's family." Mrs. Su led Jiang Shuyue and Qiu Ju back home without saying much to those women.
The Su family lives at the end of the village.
Along the way, villagers cast curious glances.
Nannan seemed to have read through Jiang Shuyue's thoughts. He lowered his voice and said, "Sister Yue'er, when you are not driving the mule cart on weekdays, you can walk along the path beside the fields."
After walking through another bamboo forest, we saw three tile-roofed houses and two thatched houses.
"Sister Yue'er, this is our home, the old house is over there."
Following the direction of Nannan's finger, there were two tile-roofed houses and a thatched house separated by a piece of land.
It can be seen from the fallen fence that the house has not been occupied for a long time.
Outside the fence, there are deep green bamboos. Although it is winter, there are many lush trees on both sides of the path.
"Green bamboo enters the quiet path, and green radish touches the clothes." Jiang Shuyue blurted out.
What a hideaway in a mountain village.
"Mom! Brother, this is..."
While Jiang Shuyue was looking at the old house in the distance, a little girl about twelve years old came out of the house.
"Hui'er, come quickly and meet Sister Su and Miss Qiu Ju." Aunt Su waved to the little girl.
The little girl stepped forward and made a blessing ceremony to Jiang Shuyue and Qiu Ju with standard movements.
Jiang Shuyue and Qiu Ju quickly returned the gift, Jiang Shuyue said: "Sister Hui'er, don't be polite, I will bother you in the future."
The little girl has eyebrows like crescent moons and a pair of big, dark, clear eyes, as bright as black grapes.
With her fair oval face, cherry lips and beautiful nose, she looks like a beauty at first glance.
She smiled and said: "Sister, please don't say naonuo. There are only elder and younger brothers in the family. Hui'er finally has a companion."
"Sister, where are dad and eldest brother!" Nannan led Jiang Shuyue toward home like a little grown-up.
"Dad and my eldest brother went up to the mountain to burn charcoal. We won't be able to come back today."
It is the custom of mountain people to go to the mountains to barbecue before it snows. The worst ones keep it at home for the winter, and select the best charcoal to sell in the county, just to get a good price.
Aunt Su said to Jiang Shuyue: "You and Qiu Ju will stay at our house tonight, and tomorrow we will clean up the old house together."
Qiu Ju and Nan Nan led the mule cart into the courtyard. Su Hui learned that her mother and Jiang Shuyue had lunch in the county seat and served mint tea and pine nuts.
After a while of greetings, Jiang Shuyue learned that Aunt Su's husband, Su Huairen, had been successful in the imperial examination.
Su Huairen served as Xie Lvlang in Taichang Temple. He was a member of the eighth rank and worked conscientiously.
Juren of Wanling Kingdom can also continue their studies and participate in the imperial examination.
Su Huairen was lucky. Later he passed the Jinshi examination and became the Minister of Rites.
But he was also unfortunate. He was framed by a villain, his house was confiscated and he was demoted back to his place of origin, and he was almost exiled.
Returning to their hometown, Su Huairen's parents could not bear this huge blow, and they both passed away in the second year after returning to their hometown.
The imperial court issued an order that the descendants of demoted officials were not allowed to enter the officialdom. Su Huairen did not give up teaching his three children to study.
He said that all things are of inferior quality, but reading is the only way to achieve enlightenment and enlightenment.
Speaking of her husband, Aunt Su's eyes were filled with light, which shows how much love they have as a couple.
After a short rest, Aunt Su took Jiang Shuyue to see the old house.
"This house was where my husband lived before he was elected. After we returned to our place of origin, there were too many people to live in, so we borrowed money from our parents' family to build the current house."
When Aunt Su talked about the past, she had no trouble in her eyes, which showed that she had looked down upon the past and was content to be a peasant woman.
Jiang Shuyue walked into the small courtyard. The weeds in the stone slabs in the courtyard were already withered and yellow.
The mottled window lattice is covered with spider webs.
There are two main rooms. Behind the main room is a bedroom, and the other room has no partition walls, making it look much more spacious.
The floor of the house is paved with bluestone slabs, which looks pretty good.
The beds, tables and chairs in the room are very old, and they show their age at first glance.
"When Su Jin comes home, let him find some wood and hammer it together to make it stable." Aunt Su pushed the table and chairs, which were shaking a little. The mortise and tenon joints of the table and chairs were already loose.
Before she saw Su Jin, Jiang Shuyue could tell that if it weren't for Su Jin, the family would be broken up.
In front of the thatched house is a woodshed and stove, and at the back is a small utility room.
Aunt Su said that if this house is empty, it will be empty. It will be more lively if someone lives in it. She does not charge rent.
Jiang Shuyue insisted on giving one tael of silver, otherwise she would not keep it.
Aunt Su couldn't resist her, so she had to accept it.
In this way, Jiang Shuyue and Qiu Ju settled down in this remote village.
On the tenth day of June of the following year, a baby's cry echoed through the sky.
A little boy was born.
"Yue'er, look how handsome this child is." Aunt Su sent Po Wen away, then turned around and held the child to show Jiang Shuyue.
Qiu Ju cleaned up the blood-stained mat, turned around and stretched her neck to look at the little guy wrapped in fine cotton.
"Look, miss, the young master's face is as red as a monkey's butt!"
