The maid's road to success

The next day, we packed up and hired two horse-drawn carriages to deliver the purchased items to Wangjia Village. The scenery here is nice. It is backed by the mountains and there is a stream in the village.

Lush trees can be seen everywhere, as well as earth-yellow houses and occasional green brick and tile houses. It is obvious that these families are the wealthy ones in the village.

Along the way, An Ning and An Ping sat in the front of the carriage wearing long gowns made of high-quality cotton cloth. Horse-drawn carriages were rarely seen in the village, so many people stood on the side of the road to watch, sometimes pointing and talking about something inaudible.

Bihe looked nervously at the faces outside the carriage, some of which were familiar and some were unfamiliar. Finally, she saw a couple who looked very hunchbacked and said.

"Those are my parents. My aunt and grandmother are standing in front of the brick house in the back."

Wen Niang carefully lifted the curtain and took a look at the people Bihe mentioned. Her parents didn't look like they had a good life in recent years. They looked very old and haggard.

The aunt not far away was wearing clothes made of linen, but they were bright green. The old man next to her was also wearing blue linen, which was much better than the gray and patched clothes worn by Bihe's parents.

"Your parents don't seem to be doing well these years. Do you want to find out what's going on?"

Bihe's face turned pale, she clutched the handkerchief tightly and held Wen Niang's hand and said.

"Mother Wen, I have hated my father, mother, my brother, and my aunt over the years, but seeing that they are not living well, I don't want to take revenge and make them suffer. Do you think I am too cowardly?"

Wen Niang patted her back soothingly and advised her not to worry.

"If they are not doing well and know they are wrong, we should not care about it and let them struggle on their own. But I don't think your aunt is a good person, so we should find out more about her before making a decision."

Bihe nodded, and Wen Niang lowered the curtain. She had made up her mind. Bihe's aunt looked like a mean and sarcastic woman, a village woman wearing jewelry. The old man next to her seemed to be wearing clean clothes, but he had a bitter look on his face, a very hunched body, and calluses on his hands.

It seems that there seems to be something wrong here.

Bihe's parents are not good to Bihe, but they are good to Bihe's younger brother. So why does Bihe's younger brother rarely come home now? Is he an ungrateful person?

A few children from the village followed behind the carriage, watching curiously as the people were carrying a lot of things off the carriage. Wen Niang thought for a while and asked Bihe to clean up first. She took a bag of candy and walked up to the people.

"Do you want some candy?"

The children nodded and came up to take it, but Wen Niang withdrew her hand, looked at them and said with a smile.

"You can't take the candy for free. You guys need to tell me a story. How about I tell you a story about your village?"

An older child looked at Wen Niang with obvious wariness and asked her.

“Why do you want to hear stories about our village?”

Wen Niang smiled and put a candy in his mouth.

"Because I'm going to live here in the future, I naturally want to know more about the village. It's okay if you don't want to talk, but I can't give you so much. I was thinking of giving five candies to whoever speaks well."

After all, children are children. They cannot resist the temptation of sweets and rush to talk about things in the village.

Wen Niang had been listening to stories from six or seven villages about someone's dog giving birth to more than a dozen puppies, or someone getting bitten by a snake while picking fruit in the mountains. Finally, someone told the story of Bihe.

"My sister doesn't like to listen to your stories. I have a good story. It's about Uncle Wang Dahu's family who lived in the middle of the village. I heard it from my grandmother and others."

When Wen Niang saw that he mentioned Wang Dahu, she immediately stuffed five candies into his hands and asked him to tell the story in detail.

"My grandmother said that Wang Dahu was a simple and honest man. He married a wife and had a daughter. He was looked down upon by the Fourth Master Wang's family. Oh, that is, Wang Dahu's parents' family was separated early and had to pay 50 yuan to the old house every month. Later, Wang Dahu gave birth to a son, but he had no milk to drink. The child was born weak and couldn't even swallow ordinary rice porridge. It was the people in the old house who said that fine noodles could be cooked into a paste and he could eat it. All the spoiled young masters in the town are like this."

"Then Wang Dahu sold his daughter and exchanged her for fine noodles."

The older child who was on guard at the beginning opened his mouth and spoke.

"He was deceived. Brother Wang is not a bad person at all. When he found out that his sister was sold to him in exchange for fine noodles, he rushed to the old house to ask about it. He was beaten and left. He lived in his grandmother's house and never came back."

When the child heard that he was being interrupted while telling a story, he became unhappy and argued with the man.

"You have a good relationship with Brother Wang Er and speak for him. How can he eat the food he got from selling his sister? Why doesn't he go and save his sister?"

The older child was obviously angry and started talking by pulling his collar.

"How did Wang Erge know that the food he needed to survive was exchanged for his sister when he was just born? How do you know that Wang Erge doesn't want to find his sister? But the family had moved away long ago, and his sister was sold to another place. How can he save her?"

After several people quarreled for a long time, Wen Niang quickly stopped them, divided the remaining candy equally among them, told them that it was too late today, and asked them to go back and eat. The children immediately forgot about the quarrel and jumped away.

Only the oldest child muttered

"Brother Wang is really a good man."

Wen Niang roughly filtered out useful information from the words of several children. Wang Dahu is Wen Niang's father, Wang Siye is Wen Niang's grandfather, and Wang Erge mentioned by those children is Bihe's younger brother.

When Bihe's younger brother was born, he had no milk and could not eat ordinary rice porridge. It was the people in the old house who told them that if they wanted the child to survive, he could imitate the people in the town and eat the most expensive fine flour porridge.

When Bihe's younger brother grew up and knew that he was able to survive as a child because his family sold his sister, he refused to live at home.

It seems that Bihe's brother is obviously a conscientious and kind-hearted person.

Wen Niang went in and told Bihe what she had just learned. Bihe looked a little depressed and spoke softly while sitting on a chair.

"So what if he's a good person? After all, it was because of him that my family sold me out."

Anping took the opportunity to come up and comfort Bihe.

"Don't feel too bad. Who knows if your brother was really weak at the time? It's also possible that your aunt deliberately deceived your parents."

Anping's words were just to comfort Bihe. After all, what made Bihe most upset was that her family sold her for her brother. Anping thought that saying this would make Bihe not care too much about her family's favoritism.

But Wen Niang noticed An Ping's words, and she suddenly thought of something.

"Bihe, when did you say your aunt wanted to collude with that perverted waiter to sell you out?"

Bihe didn't understand why Wen Niang asked this and thought about it before answering.

"It was probably when my mother was still pregnant with my brother. My aunt mentioned it to my parents once, but my mother kicked her out, saying that she was not the kind of person who would sell her daughter, and if she wanted to sell her daughter, she could do it herself."

Wen Niang thought about it carefully and asked again.

"Do you know what your brother looked like when he was born? And why can't he eat normal rice cereal?"

Bihe thought for a long time before speaking.

"My younger brother was born just like all the other kids in the village. My grandmother delivered him at home. He was fine when he was born, but he kept crying because he had no milk. After two or three days, he became very thin and couldn't even eat rice porridge."

Wen Niang then nodded and took Bihe's hand and spoke solemnly.

"Bihe, maybe your father was really tricked by your aunt when he sold you."

Bihe was a little confused, but she just felt that Wen Niang was comforting her, so she smiled bitterly and told her not to comfort her.

"It's true. I just noticed in the carriage that there seemed to be herbs drying in your aunt's yard, which means she knows something about herbs. Moreover, she had already mentioned to your mother that she wanted to sell you to a wealthy man. That's when I became suspicious. Your aunt seems to be a petty and vindictive person."

"After failing to persuade her once, your mother scolded her and she will definitely not give up. That's why I asked if there was any difference when your brother gave birth. Farmers may have some setbacks when giving birth, but there are very few children who can only eat fine noodles and can't eat rice paste. Your aunt knows about herbs and has always wanted to sell you to a clerk. It is very likely that she will take action against your brother and instigate your father to exchange you for money."

An Ning could never have imagined that there could be such a vicious person in the family, and looked at Wen Niang and Bi He in surprise.

"That official must have promised your aunt a favor, which made her plot like this. But this is just my guess. As for the specific situation, I guess your brother must have known something, otherwise he wouldn't have left his parents who gave birth to him and walked away. Whatever your parents say, it's still good for your brother. If he is really an upright person, he won't even care about his parents."

Bihe felt that what Wen Niang said made some sense, and she began to recall her childhood again. She was less than six years old when she was sold, and she could not remember much, but she vaguely remembered that her grandmother and aunt had a quarrel in the old house on the day her mother gave birth, but she didn't know what they quarreled about or what they quarreled about.

I also remember that when my mother had just given birth, she said that her chest was swollen and painful, and she wanted my grandmother to help her squeeze out the milk. My aunt went to help, and my mother fainted from the pain. After waking up, she said that my brother had no milk to drink.

"Niang Wen, what should we do?"

Bihe held Wen Niang's hand, looking excited.

Even though she had been cruel for so many years, she still hoped many times that her parents still cared about her. Now that she knew there might be some hidden story behind her being sold, how could she not be excited?

"After you settle down, go find your grandmother. It's said that your brother has been living in your grandmother's house since then. Let's go there and ask around. Maybe we can meet your brother."

Bihe excitedly helped several people to clean up the house as quickly as possible. The materials used in this house were all good. Although it was close to the back mountain, the courtyard wall was very high and covered with rough porcelain tiles. The door was also thick, so it was generally very safe.

At night, Wen Niang and Bi He slept in the main house. Bi He excitedly pulled Wen Niang and asked her what she should do if there was really a hidden story behind this matter.

"Follow your heart. If you are willing to forgive your parents, leave them some money for their retirement. Leave this yard to your grandmother. If your brother is a good person, we will also help him to buy a small property. If you want to stay, then stay. If you don't want to stay, we can go out and play together."

Bihe shook her head firmly.

"No, I won't stay. Even if I really knew there was a love affair, I can't forgive them without caring. After all, they sold me out. I suffered so much, and no one has ever felt sorry for me. Over the years, you have been more like my family than they are."

Wen Niang nodded. Before Bihe left, she took out all her jewelry and savings, a total of two to three thousand taels. These were the compensation given by the ancestors to the maids later, and she used them to make jewelry.

Also, when the Huaiyuan Marquis's mansion was searched, Bihe wrapped her own silver and money in a clay jar and hid it in a hole in the corner under the bed, and she also saved a lot.

If Bihe took it out, it would be enough for her and her parents to live a wealthy life in Huai County for the rest of their lives, and she would not have to wander around with him.

"Niang Wen, please don't leave me. I am willing to see all the beautiful scenery in this world with you."

Wen Niang nodded, took Bihe's hand, patted her and coaxed her to sleep. Bihe was very nervous when she suddenly knew that there might be other reasons for her being sold. She was afraid that if it was true, her hatred for so many years was unreasonable. She was also afraid that if it was false, all her expectations would be in vain.

She kept tossing and turning and couldn't fall asleep, so Wen Niang could only comfort her little by little and coax her to sleep peacefully.