The maid's road to success

The carriage slowly arrived at Huai County, Qingzhou. Bihe looked at the provincial capital which was much more prosperous than before and felt deeply moved.

"I have only been to the state capital once before, when I was sold. You could also say that when I was a child, the only time I went out, apart from my own home and my grandmother's, was when I was sold."

Wen Niang looked at Bihe with pity, and still found a clean and safe inn to stay in.

There were still quite a few guests in the inn, but they were all busy with their own things and no one paid attention to them, which saved Bihe from embarrassment.

"Mrs. Wen, when I heard you talk about your experiences before, I always felt that I was better than you. At least I wasn't beaten or scolded every day when I was young, and at least I had food to eat. But after going through so many things, I don't think my experience is any better than yours."

When Wen Niang was in Suzhou, she no longer thought about the past after she knew that Chen Luoxi gave An Dahai five hundred taels of silver to buy out the father-daughter relationship. She just looked at Bihe with heartache and gently rubbed her palm.

Be a good listener.

"When I was a kid, it was actually not bad when I was alone at home. Although I had to do a lot of work since I can remember, I could still have enough food to eat. My grandmother would occasionally come over and secretly bring me some rock candy."

"Later, my younger brother was born. That year, the harvest was poor and we had no money to buy fine grains. We only had cornmeal and black bean flour that made our throats ache. My mother had no milk, so my aunt gave us some advice."

Bihe's tears kept falling down her cheeks, and Wen Niang helped her wipe her tears and continued to listen to her.

"My aunt said that I was pretty and could be sold for money to buy flour for my mother and brother. My father believed her and wanted to sell me."

"My aunt has bad intentions. There is an old man in the county who likes young girls. She took money from him and persuaded him to sell me to a middle-class man. Then the man could buy me back naturally."

"But I was sweet-mouthed, so I gave all the candies I had hidden on me to the daughter of the Zhongqiu family. She saw that I was the same age as her daughter and couldn't bear it, so before the official came, she sent me to the carriage to be a maid in Kyoto."

Wen Niang never thought that such a smart person like Bihe would have such a stupid father. He was instigated by others to sell his child for a few dollars and almost sent the child to the hands of the devil.

"Now that I have money and don't need to rely on anyone, I want to let them see that the daughter who was once unpopular is no longer someone they can buy and sell at will. I also want to make my aunt suffer a little and pay the price for her viciousness."

Wen Niang nodded. She agreed with Bihe's idea. Although people always say that they should forgive others when they can, that is because they are not the ones who are hurt. If they are really hurt, they will remember it for the rest of their lives. Even in their dreams, there have been countless scenes of punishing those evil people and taking revenge.

Bihe took Wen Niang's hand and talked to her.

"Actually, the main reason I came this time was to see my grandma. She loved me very much. Her family conditions were not very good, but every time she came to visit my mother, she would secretly give me some candies. I always looked forward to her coming."

Wen Niang nodded. In fact, she had a general idea in her mind on the way. After following Chen Luoxi for so long, although she had no way to deal with powerful people, Bihe's aunt and parents were just farmers in the countryside. If she wanted to punish them and let Bihe vent her anger, it would still be possible.

"I plan to buy a small farm near your home. It doesn't have to be too big, just enough for us to observe your family. When we have settled things here, we can leave the farm for grandma to live in in her old age. What do you think?"

Bihe nodded, she looked at Wen Niang and An Ning and lowered her head embarrassedly.

"Would you think I was cruel? My own parents have been holding a grudge against me for so long? Actually, I don't want to take revenge, but I really can't stand it, my aunt."

Wen Niang clapped her hands and said.

"Don't think too much. If parents really have great difficulties and have to sell their children, the children should not always bear grudges. But your family can have enough food, but they sold you just to buy some fine grains for your brother. This is wrong. Your mother is not the only one in the village who gave birth to a child. If possible, you can take the food and money and ask someone else to breastfeed your brother."

An Ning and An Ping nodded and agreed.

"Why are you blaming yourself? Parents like this find so many excuses. It's obvious that they just have a son and dislike their daughter. The harvest is bad and they don't have money to buy food. Farmers' children are all raised on fine flour. When they have no milk, they are sent to the families in the village who have given birth to children and raised them in exchange for some milk. If they have money, they give money. If they don't have money, they give food. They can even work to replace food. I've never heard of a brother buying flour from his sister because he has no flour to eat."

Several people persuaded Bihe and encouraged her, and Bihe nodded happily.

"We'll talk about these things later. I remember my grandmother said that the most famous snack in Qingzhou is red fish cake, which is shaped like a red carp and tastes sweet and soft. The braised beef and wontons here are also delicious, but I didn't eat them before I left. Let's try them all today."

A girl's happiness is so simple. She can forget her worries just now by thinking of delicious food, jewelry and clothes. Wen Niang took Bihe to change into clean and simple clothes, put on a veil and went to find delicious food to soothe her soul.

But food is important, and Bihe's matter this time is equally important. In order to better implement the subsequent plans, Wen Niang specially called a few clever little beggars, bought them roast chicken, and asked them to go to Huai County to inquire whether Bihe's parents and grandmother are still in Huai County, and don't move away like her own parents.

"Find out what you know and come find us at the Hongyun Inn. I'll give each of you thirty copper coins then."

The little beggar put down the roast chicken that had been eaten till there was not much meat left, and asked excitedly if what Wen Niang said was true. When he heard Wen Niang's assurance that he would definitely have the money as long as he found out clearly, he immediately asked for two copper coins and left.

After arranging everything, Wen Niang and the others started to walk around the streets. The customs of Qingzhou are very different from those of Kyoto and Luzhou. The people here are relatively slow and leisurely, not impatient.

The business people were not in a hurry, and the diners were sipping tea slowly and waiting for their dishes to be served. This feeling was something Wen Niang and the others had never seen before, and their previous irritability and boredom gradually subsided.

When it was getting dark, a few little beggars came back.

"The family you mentioned are still here, in Wangjia Village in Huai County. Wang Dahu seemed to have fallen down some time ago and is now recuperating in bed. His wife has returned to her parents' home. The son you mentioned has not been seen. The villagers also said that he has been working as an apprentice outside and rarely comes back. The woman you mentioned, Wang Jiang, is also in the village. She is really mean. She wanted to let the dog bite us when she saw us in front of her house. I also heard that her daughter seemed to have found a good marriage and will be married soon."

Wen Niang knew that these little beggars were not lying because they asked for more details than she had instructed. Looking at the dirt on the children, she knew that they were probably chased and bullied while they were asking about things in the village, and their toes were exposed under their shoes.

"Take the money, buy clean clothes, eat enough, find a cheap house to rent and find a job, it's much better than begging for food."

Wen Niang directly took out one or two taels of silver from her bosom and gave them to them. The youngest of the children was eight or nine years old, and the oldest was only twelve or thirteen. They were all smart and capable. If they dressed neatly, were more nimble, and spoke sweetly, it would not be difficult for them to find a job running errands and pouring tea in a teahouse or stage.

"This is too much, girl. We agreed on thirty copper coins per person."

Wen Niang admired these children very much. Although they were cunning, they were still honest and not greedy.

"The information you got is worth the money. Remember, don't waste it. Find a job to last long."

The three children lowered their heads with red eyes, not wanting Wen Niang to see their tears. They stretched out their dirty little hands tremblingly, not daring to touch Wen Niang's skin, and carefully took the silver, even though it was very small.

But it was also the most money they had ever seen. In the past, they were busy begging every day, but they could only earn a few copper coins, enough to fill their stomachs. When they were sick, they could not even afford medicine and could only endure it. Many people could not make it and would be thrown into a mass grave by the sewage collectors in the city.

Wen Niang looked at the child's back and felt a lot of emotions in her heart. She and Bihe were lucky to be sold directly to the ancestor and did not suffer much.

On the contrary, she lives a more comfortable life than the daughters of ordinary families.

These three children are much more pitiful than them. Anping Ning is also a pitiful person. He is also a good person.

Wen Niang was thinking about buying a small farm, so she took a look at the land prices and rents in Qingzhou.

In Qingzhou, a room in a slum only cost 80 copper coins a month. One copper coin was enough to buy a white flour steamed bun and three corn dumplings.

As long as these three people are smart and find a job selling cakes and melon seeds or running errands, they will have no problem making a living.

It wasn't possible in the past because no one would ever give them so much money to rent a house. They had to wear dirty clothes with holes in them every day, and the money they begged for was only enough to eat something for the day.

Who would use the money that Wen Niang gave them? If they planned it well, rented a house, bought some clothes and packed up, they could still find a job. Even if they couldn't be waiters, they could become apprentices, where they would still have food and drink and could learn something. It would just be harder in the first few years and they would have to serve the master for a few years.

This is good enough. After all, who can live a good life as a beggar? Dying on the street will only make people despise you and think you are unlucky.

After making the decision, Wen Niang went to Huai County with the other two the next day and bought a small villa directly at the end of Wangjia Village.

Wangjia Village is actually a place with beautiful mountains and rivers, but the land is not good fertile farmland. A businessman who originally bought land and built a farm here wanted to plant fruit trees, but he had no harvest for several years, so he sold the farm and the land.

Farmland is easier to sell, and farmers with money will buy some land, but this farm has not been sold for several years.

After all, everyone knows that the harvest from the land in Wangjia Village is average, and the price of this farm is not low. It can barely be considered a small house with eight rooms inside and outside. It is not too big or too small, but it is sold for thirty taels. Most people don't want it.

After all, it only costs less than ten taels for the villagers to build four or five large tiled houses.

Zhong Jue happily took the money and said that he would prepare the deeds and send them to the people tomorrow.

After resolving this matter, Wen Niang and her friends found the largest inn in Huai County and stayed there. They would go directly to Wangjia Village the next day after purchasing some furniture and receiving the deed.