At noon in midsummer, the city was sparsely populated, and the pursuers behind them were fierce. Yin Xiao and Qing Fei were running around in the alleys of the city, and when they saw that they were about to be overtaken, the door of a nearby house suddenly opened a crack, and a skinny hand grabbed them. He grabbed her arm and pulled the two of them inside.
She was dragged in and her mouth was covered before she could speak.
"Shh-"
She raised her eyes and faced an ordinary face.
She is an ordinary-looking woman, about 20 years old, with an ordinary build and ordinary clothes. She wears a simple indigo coarse cloth gown. Her hair is pulled up and tied with a cloth bag of the same color.
It wasn't a man, she was slightly relieved.
"The soldiers chasing me outside can't find this place for a while. Where did you come from?"
The ordinary-looking woman looked at her and Qing Fei.
"Chasing you?" She widened her eyes and said angrily, "You didn't tell us earlier. Why didn't you remind us when you were running with us along the way?"
The woman squatted down with a smile and put her ear against the wall, listening to what was going on outside.
She said leisurely.
"You want to run away on your own, it's none of my business."
Shen Yinxiao had a sullen face and was about to open the door with Qing Fei.
"Are you going to Chang'an?"
She paused in her steps and turned to look at the woman who was already sitting leisurely cross-legged on the floor.
"Just in time, I'm going to Chang'an too, how about we be companions?"
Yin Xiao shook his head: "It seems too dangerous to follow you. You should find another companion."
She was about to leave, but she paused: "How did you know that I was going to Chang'an?"
The woman smiled and said: "I not only know that you are going to Chang'an, I also know who you are. Your name is Shen Yinxiao. You come from Youzhou and go to Chang'an. Wei Cheng from Youzhou is looking for you everywhere. As soon as you step out of this door , their people will..."
A dagger was placed across her neck, and the cold blade rubbed the thin skin between her neck, and blood flowed under the skin.
"Who are you?" Yin Xiao's eyes were cold.
"My name is Xu Fu."
Xufu raised his hand, grasped the blade between his neck, moved it slightly away two inches, and said with a smile: "Have you not seen this name on the reward notice?"
Her expression changed, and she glanced at it, as if she had really seen this name.
"I want to go to Chang'an too, but my leg is injured." She pointed to her leg, Yinxiao looked down her finger, and could no longer see the original color of the shoes and socks. Red blood came out.
"You happen to be going too, why don't we come together."
"How do you know I'm going to Chang'an?" She took back the dagger, sat down, and looked at the sky: "It's getting late. We need to find a place to rest. The owner of this family will find us if he comes back. .”
"Don't worry, this is an abandoned house. The original owner has not been back for a long time. There is no way to return to the ruined temple. Let's rest here tonight."
Xufu said leisurely, tearing off the sleeves of his shirt, rolling up his trouser legs, pulling off his socks, and began to bandage himself.
"You have three cunning rabbit holes. Keep a few more as spares. Look, you'll need them today. Don't worry, I have experience."
"Besides, I not only know that you are going to Chang'an, but I also know that you have no money."
Yin Xiao frowned, looked at Qing Fei, and subconsciously covered his purse.
"Don't panic. I can tell fortunes and read fortunes. Do you want me to tell your fortune? Today we are destined. I won't accept fortune telling, but I won't do it next time."
"What are you doing in Chang'an?"
"Me?" Xufu smiled softly.
After bandaging, she stood up and took two steps.
He stretched out his index finger and pointed to the sky: "I want to save the common people and help the Lord."
Yin Xiao was silent for a moment, and then she sneered.
"Why are you laughing?" Xufu frowned.
"I have seen many people who say this. Before I left Youzhou, I was surrounded by big shots who spoke loudly and silently about the world's trends. They spoke grandly, but in fact they only pursued power and wealth."
"What's wrong with being powerful and wealthy?" Xufu still frowned: "Power and money are great supplements in life. The prosperity of the world is for profit, and the hustle and bustle of the world is for profit. What you say is too biased."
She tilted her head and said, "If you're biased, let's be biased. I don't have that big ambition. What I want is just to live a peaceful life. When I get to Chang'an, I can settle down and open a store to support myself and her."
——
Xufu promised to pay her when she arrived in Chang'an, but she had to be wary of others. She decided to let Xufu earn for her along the way, lest Xufu in Chang'an would deny her credit.
While driving and setting up a stall, the three of them changed their names. Xufu tied up his hair and put on his beard and pretended to be a Taoist priest. Yinxiao and Qingfei became her junior brothers. They changed their surname to Wang, Xufu changed to Wang Fu, and Shen Yinxiao changed her name to Wang Xiao. , Qing Fei should be Wang Qing.
Xufu told passers-by and received divination gold, which was 46 points, Yinxiao received 6 points, and Xufu received 4 points. In return, Yinxiao would give her medicine every night.
Only then did she realize that Xufu's injuries were very serious. There were knife wounds not only on his legs, but also on his back and arms. The weather was hot, the wounds were ulcerated, red and swollen, and the flesh in some places had rotted, giving off a faint stench.
No wonder someone needs to take care of her.
It's just that although there is a lot of Gua gold, Xufu uses a lot of medicine, and the speed of saving money is almost slow. In addition, the three of them are fleeing, and they have to always be wary of the pursuers behind them. They walked from Shangdang to Anyi in Hedong County. , the three of them walked away for almost three months.
Within three months, the wounds on Xufu's body healed, then cracked and festered, the pus cleared and then healed, often over and over again. If there were not good enough conditions for her to recuperate, she would die sooner or later.
Taking into account her injuries, they now had a little more money, so they rented a house in Anyi for the time being and planned to rest for a while and let Xufu recover from her injuries.
The house is on the second floor of a two-story building facing the street among the houses in the city. Go up the stairs to the eastmost room. There is a large bed and a small couch, with a table between the bed and the couch. With a desk and two huts, the room was so small that it was difficult for three people to move around while standing together. Fortunately, there was a place to shelter from the wind and rain, and prices in the city were cheap.
During these days, the three of them were exhausted from running around and working hard. The three of them rested in the house for several days.
Especially Yin Xiao, who has been drowsy all day long, waking up only three hours a day every day. When he wakes up, he also has a splitting headache. His body was originally pampered and well-maintained in Xiyuan, but now after struggling for so long, he is faintly losing both energy and blood. His complexion was not as rosy and fair as before he came out, and was slightly sallow.
She used to have smooth black hair all over her head, but now the ends of her hair are also withered and yellow.
The rented house did not have a stove, so she had to share the kitchen with others. Yinxiao found it troublesome, so she asked Qingfei to go directly to the street stalls to buy food and bring it in. Street snacks are not expensive, and can be used by one person. A bowl of wontons or dumplings costs only seven or eight yuan. Even so, the three of them have no income. If they continue like this, they will sooner or later be left with nothing.
Yinxiao then asked Qing Fei to buy some fabrics and needlework. Every day when he couldn't sleep, he would sit and wait to make children's clothes. Every morning when he went to the market, when there were the most people on the street, he and Qing Fei would pick them up and sell them. .
She had already visited the city twice before, and both of them were mostly tailor-made shops for adults.
Children are precious. No matter whether the family is rich or poor, they will take care of them when they have them. Instead of selling them to make money for adults, it is better to make money for children. Moreover, children's clothes save fabric and are not much cheaper than clothes for adults, so the profit is greater.
Children's things are all fine, and the fabrics are all soft cotton and silk. Better people are more particular and like to use silk. She is afraid that the cost will be too high and she won't be able to sell them, so she buys them all cheaply and softly. She used to make a lot of small clothes for Peilin when she was pregnant with the cotton, linen and silk. Now she is very handy. She made prints and drew the patterns, and Qing Fei and Xu Fu helped cut the cloth.
After she makes it stitch by stitch, in order to be different, she will also embroider exquisite and detailed piping and patterns on the cuffs, neckline or skirt.
There are jade rabbits worshiping the moon, lotus flowers on their stems, orchids and butterflies, carps leaping over the dragon gate, and other festive and beautiful embroideries.
The more complicated the embroidery, the more expensive the price. A set without embroidery costs 200 yuan, and a set with embroidery costs 300 yuan.
On the first day, the market-goers on the street saw two unfamiliar faces. Only three women stopped to look at them all morning. They left early and came back late the whole day, and only two sets of baby clothes were sold.
They are all embroidered, and it seems that her embroidery is what I like.
In any case, I made 600 yuan today, which is a good start.
After excluding the cost of buying fabrics and needlework, the remaining net profit was two hundred and sixty-five cents.
It’s much more profitable than opening a Douhua shop.
She squeezed the money bag and listened to the clatter of copper coins. She and Qing Fei looked at each other and smiled, and the corners of their lips couldn't help but curl up.
In the three months since they escaped from Youzhou, this was the first time that she and Qing Fei were so happy.
It's even happier than letting Xu Fu set up a stall and tell fortunes to collect gold.
Even happier than taking out a few hundred taels of silver from Xiyuan.
After more than a year, she once again tasted the taste of making money by herself. She took Qing Fei to a restaurant in the city for dinner. She ordered two meat dishes, one vegetarian dish and one soup. She packed some for Xu Fu and packed them up, and brought them to her after she finished eating. go back.
Today seems to be particularly lively. The storyteller in the restaurant somehow failed to tell stories. He talked about the current general trend of the world, and also talked about the prefectures and counties around Chang'an. As he talked, he talked about the Wei family in Youzhou.
She poured a bowl of soup without changing her expression, but her ears couldn't help but pay attention.
"Wei Cheng, the governor of Youzhou, has just got married. It is said that Mrs. Xie of Wei is not only of noble birth, but also of great literary talent. She assists her husband by her side. The couple plays the piano and the harp in harmony, and they are very loving. They are highly praised by the Wei family. It’s not good at all…”
The people below quickly asked what was wrong.
"Everyone doesn't know that before the Wei governor got married, he had a daughter who was still in infancy and her biological mother is unknown. Mrs. I am very unhappy. I feel sorry for this young lady who lost her mother at a young age. She is not loved by her aunt, and is neglected by her father. She can only be raised by servants outside the house and suffers bullying..."
