Two days later, the yamen servant suddenly came to report that there was a young woman dressed in a beautiful dress outside the door and asked to see Magistrate Ma. Ma Wencai asked the young woman where she was from and what her name was. The Yamen servant said: That young woman calls herself Bao Hongtu, and she has a close friendship with you. As for where she is from, the subordinate did not ask, and she did not tell her either. I remember she was holding a red cloth bag in her hand.
say no more. Ma Wencai frowned and said to himself angrily: How is this unreasonable? The trouble actually came to the county government office.
The Yamen servant said knowingly: "I am waiting for my orders."
Ma Wencai said: Go back and ask her to leave, saying that I will not see her.
The yamen servant walked out of the courtroom. Ma Wencai followed the direction in which he left. He raised his head and saw a patch of sky above the patio. There were thick clouds and it seemed that there was even a slight drizzle. This was autumn rain. The sultry weather had changed. It was cold, but the suffocation in his heart never went away. He had just walked around the court hall when the Yamen came in again and reported hurriedly, saying that the young woman refused to leave. If you let her go, she would return the 500 taels of silver you gave as a gift to you.
I agree. You can take the 500 taels of silver for me and help the poor people in Linxiang County.
Yes! Before leaving, the yamen servant turned around and praised: Magistrate Ma, you are really a good parent official for the people.
Later, there were fewer and fewer customers drinking at the Donkey Meat Restaurant, and the neighbors discussed that this was the reason why Mei Bin got married. In the past, there were many customers, especially men. It can be said that a large part of them came for the young and beautiful Hong Tu. Ever since the famous flower had an owner and started to bear fruit, those male customers, especially those of similar age, no longer had any illusions, and naturally stopped the urge to come to this donkey meat restaurant to consume. Hong Tea used to be a living advertisement, but now it seems that this living advertisement has been moved away, replaced by a quiet atmosphere.
The neighbors also saw Hong Tu's displeasure from the expression on Hong Tu's stern expression recently. Is it because of the bleak business? In fact, she was wrong. Only Hong Tu knew it: her love for Ma Wencai was frustrated again. Of course, Mei Bin and Hong Tu's masters also knew very well and advised her to accept her fate. Maybe Hong Tu heard this. No matter how indifferent she was to Mei Bin, she certainly wasn't that enthusiastic either.
For Mei Bin, as long as he can have her without being obviously rejected, he is satisfied. This feeling was especially obvious at night when they were sleeping together. Mei Bin hugged her tightly and slowly hugged Hong Tu's belly.
In the blink of an eye, Mei Bin was no longer holding Hong Tu's belly, but the child he had given birth to with her. What made his father-in-law Bao Laizi unhappy was that the child he gave birth to was not a scholar but an embroiderer. He had no choice but to hope for the second one, but when the second one was born, he was still an embroiderer.
Bao Laizi gradually became a seventy-year-old man. His white hair reminded people of the ice-covered winter, and there was a chilling feeling when facing him. But in that winter when it was windy and snowy, he fell ill. He didn't know what the illness was. He lay in bed moaning all day. He asked a doctor to take a pulse and said that his energy and blood were too weak and it was because of his old age. . He was prescribed many Chinese medicines and fried them in earthen pots. After drinking them, he vomited, and finally stopped drinking them, that is, he stopped eating.
At that time, the elder of his two granddaughters was only three years old and the younger was only one year old. He did not like them and frowned all day long because neither of the two embroiderers could continue their incense. For this reason, the neighbors started talking about him, saying that he was suffering from qi disease. On a dark and windy winter night, he died stiffly, and the neighbors whispered that he was angry to death. There may be some truth to this. Before Bao Laizi died, he had a will. He looked at Mei Bin and said: Xian son-in-law, you and Hong Tu are going to have a son who is studying.
He spoke in a weak voice, but Mei Bin heard clearly and nodded. When he looked at Bao Laizi again, his eyes were fixed and not closed. This situation of staring at death looked very scary, but Mei Bin was not afraid. He only blamed himself in his heart: If an adopted son is unfilial, it would be great if he had no descendants. Although he is a bride-in-law, why would he not be a queen for his father-in-law?
The business of the donkey meat restaurant is getting sluggish day by day. It can be said that there are only a few cars and horses, and there are only a few people around. However, her mother-in-law Liu Liuying thought that the donkey meat restaurant was guilty of evil spirits. After waiting for a few days, she invited a wizard to go around the restaurant several times, recite some spells, and then asked Liu Liuying to ask questions.
Liu Liuying said: Why is the business of the donkey meat restaurant getting worse and worse? My daughter has given birth to two children, both of whom were embroidered. Do you hope to have one who will study?
The wizard said: This place is full of yin and cannot hold the God of Wealth, so business will certainly not be good. Besides, if the yin energy is strong, most of the babies will be female babies. Hong Tu went around to the wizard and said: Why was business so good before?
In the past, ha... ha... the energy and meridians here used to be harmonious, but now the yin is strong and the yang is weak...
I don’t know if what the wizard said is true or not, it sounds creepy.
Liu Liuying pulled Hong Tu and said: Why not open a donkey meat restaurant here, and go back to her hometown of Baozhuang to open one. The family left immediately, paid the rental fee, and used a few unslaughtered donkeys as leg power to pull several carts of household items before they were able to pull them all.
A donkey brayed "Eeh, eh, eh", scaring the one-year-old girl Bao Lanlan to tears. The driver whipped the donkey as punishment, but it jumped up and ran around, almost overturning a cart full of household items. The driver held on tightly to the reins, and the donkey managed to tame it.
But Bao Lanlan refused to "tame" and cried loudly along the way. When she arrived at Baozhuang, after everything was settled, she was still crying.
Liu Liuying felt a fever when he touched her forehead, and her body was also hot when he touched her. She was very ill, so he asked a doctor to take her pulse and prescribe medicine, which she drank three times before the fever subsided.
On this day, Baozhuang Donkey Meat Restaurant was going to kill a donkey for a banquet to entertain guests. It was said that a fat donkey should be killed to make the restaurant auspicious, but Liu Liuying complained about the stubborn donkey, which was neither fat nor thin, and barked loudly during the move. She especially complained that it frightened her granddaughter and made her sick. In this way, she pulled Mei Bin with a cane, pointed at the stubborn donkey with the cane and said: Kill it.
Before the donkey was put down by the butchers, it also screamed wildly "Eeh, eh, eh". After the sharp knife saw blood, it died, but its bulging eyes were still staring at the shrunken and short Liu Liuying. She was leaning on a cane, as if she would fall if she didn't use the cane.
But she didn't fall. Hong Tu was there to help her. When she staggered into the house, she couldn't stand. Before the opening ceremony came to an end, she fell ill and made a scream that Hong Tu heard was louder than a donkey's scream. Make a nasty moan.
By the fourth day, Liu Liuying was hesitant to speak, and there seemed to be only a faint breath in her throat. Although her voice was very low, Hong Tu and Mei Bin, who were kneeling in front of the bed, could still hear her words: You are already the Bao family. I want to leave a queen for the Bao family!
must! must! Mei Bin said and winked at Hong Tu. When his eyes returned, Liu Liuying had closed her eyes peacefully.
At this time, a crow was croaking on the roof, and a sense of desolation hit the hearts of Baozhuang people. Bao Lanlan, who was just over a year old, was lying on the threshold of the main room and was also crying. This was because she Her parents now have no time to take care of her, and are busy dealing with the old man's funeral affairs while shedding tears. Bao Shuaiying, who was more than three years old, ran to her mother, pointed to Liu Liuying's body ignorantly and said: It's broad daylight, and grandma is still sleeping in.
Hong Tu touched her head and said: Shuaiying, you go over to play, grandma can no longer take care of you! As she spoke, a string of tears fell on the floor.
