The general kneels on the washboard again

Ever since Fu Shichuan left, my grandmother has been depressed. Her legs and feet have become much more agile, but she is no longer talkative.

Starting from the second day of the New Year, Yue Niang prepared a lot of wooden boards and forced Erya and Zhao Xiaoming to do hard labor, paying them twenty cents a day.

On the Lantern Festival, Yue Niang suggested, "Grandma, let's borrow Brother Xiao Ming's ox cart and go for a stroll in the town together."

Old Madam Fu looked at Yue Niang with dry eyes: "Yue'er, go by yourself."

Yue Niang looked to Mother Ji for help. Mother Ji put clothes on Old Lady Fu and said, "Old Madam, we haven't had a good stroll in town yet."

Old Mrs. Fu still couldn't muster the energy and was determined not to go.

Yue Niang went to help her: "Grandma, let's go check on the porridge stall."

Only then did Mrs. Fu show some emotion.

Seeing that it was effective, Yue Niang continued, "Grandma, isn't Third Uncle's action also a way to accumulate virtue and do good? Before he left, he told me to accumulate more merit for the Fu family."

"Did he really say that?" Old Mrs. Fu was also depressed because Fu Shichuan still refused to forgive Fu Shiqing.

Old Madam Fu patted Yue Niang's head and said, "If Shichuan had been the head of the family, would we be better off now?"

Yue Niang was confused by this sentence. If he was in charge, I would not have come to this world!

Of course, she didn't say this out loud, but instead followed Mrs. Fu's lead: "Grandma, are you dissatisfied with Yue'er for not taking good care of her?"

"How could that be? Our Yue'er takes good care of her. Well, forget it, I'll just change my clothes and go with you."

Yue Niang called Erya and Zhou Ruoyan again.

Erya seemed particularly excited: "I heard that the Ding family also prepared a lantern dance today, it's quite lively."

Zhou Ruoyan acted a little abnormally and even smeared some coal ash on her face.

"Sister Ruoyan, are you going to bring your own mask?"

Zhou Ruoyan started to back out again: "Or I won't go and just stay at home to look after the house."

Yue Niang pushed him out and said, "Alright, alright. It's rare that Grandma is happy today, so let's go together. Wear this."

Yue Niang took out a beautiful hibiscus wood-carved mask from the big bag behind her and handed it to Zhou Ruoyan.

"Wash your face. The coal dust is so unpleasant."

Too many people did not survive this winter, too many people were forgotten and abandoned, as if they had never existed.

Many shops in the town have closed.

When they arrived in the town, the vendors had already started preparing busily.

Zhao Xiaoming drove the ox cart to the designated location with ease, took the things off the cart, and put them in an orderly manner.

Not knowing why Zhou Ruoyan was acting so abnormally, Yue Niang thought she must find an opportunity to ask her.

Yue Niang asked Mother Ji to accompany the old lady for a walk.

I stayed and set up a stall with a few others.

Listening to the aunties next to me gossiping, "Did you hear? Madam Ding went to that concubine's place again last night to make trouble."

"No way? Madam Ding doesn't seem to be intolerant, does she?"

"Of course not. The guy next door works for the Ding family."

"Mr. Ding never shows up easily. They say he's eight feet tall and handsome. Countless people have cried and fought to get into his house over the years, but Madam Ding has never made a fuss. How could she lose face just because of a concubine?"

Yue Niang was shocked! Eight feet tall? Handsome and elegant? How was he similar to that eunuch?

"You didn't know yet? It turns out that Master Ding was going to marry that concubine as his principal wife. They had already arranged the wedding, but Madam Ding went to stop him and she spat out a mouthful of blood, cutting off the concubine's path."

"Tsk tsk tsk, I heard that the concubine is just a peasant girl. What does Master Ding think?"

The aunt who had brought up the topic spoke as if it were true: "Let me tell you something in secret. It is said that the concubine was originally a prostitute and is quite skilled in bed."

"That's true. Even though Madam Ding is extremely talented and sentimental, she is still a daughter of an official, and there's still a lot of trouble going on."

The conversation ends with: "What a sin~"

This time, Boss Yu was too impatient and only tried this "Kung Fu" for the sake of novelty.

After several contacts with Boss Yu, Yue Niang discovered that all the industries behind the Ding family were managed by Boss Yu.

If a man has a conscience, what more could he ask for if he has a wife like this? If a man has no conscience, it will become that you are really unreasonable.

Yue Niang withdrew her ears, looked at the slowly darkening sky, and called out to everyone, "You should go to Cui Xin Lou to eat something first. We'll be busy when it gets dark. I'll be on guard for now."

The town is really crowded today, and many girls who usually can't leave the house are dressed up beautifully.

Those shops that close in the winter will remain closed in the winter forever, and those that don’t give up will come back to life in the spring.

After the group finished their meal, night fell and the lanterns on the street seemed to light up in an instant.

The crowd was surging, the children were laughing and playing while chasing each other, and the adults had gentle smiles on their faces.

Yue Niang started to sell masks and lanterns: "Masks for sale, lanterns for sale."

Several girls stopped in front of the stall, looked at the dazzling array of colors, and picked one each.

"Masks for sale, masks for sale, 30 cents each, 30 cents each, and the patterns are definitely the same."

In the past, there were only a few styles of masks, which were mass-produced, but the ones sold by Yue Niang definitely don’t have the same patterns or colors.

Soon, these unique patterns and small lanterns attracted a large number of customers to come and choose.

In less than an hour, they were sold out.

At this moment, the crowd roared, "Let's go watch the dance."

Yue Niang took out a few masks and lanterns from under the stall and gave them to the group: "Let's go and watch the dance."

The Ding family prepared a lantern dance, but Ding Jingen and Yucui were not sitting on the stage.

The dancers had fair skin and pretty faces, but it was so cold, and the clothes were covered with a thin veil.

It does provide a legitimate opportunity for those lustful people, even though the dance moves are a bit stiff.

Someone in the crowd shouted again: "Fire, fire."

I saw several hilltops not far away were all blazing with flames and crowded with people. Yue Niang held on to Old Lady Fu tightly, fearing that she would be crushed by the crowd.

After the commotion ended, all the people from the Ding family ran away from the stage, and the audience also dispersed.

Yue Niang squinted her eyes and looked at the direction of the fire. It was the Ding family.

The fire burned down half of his family's property. At that time, Ding Jingen was still immersed in the tenderness of Zhang Lan'er.

Fushou came hurriedly and said: "Master, something happened, something happened, our spice garden is on fire."

Ding Jingen shuddered: "What?"

He put on his clothes and left with Fushou, not caring about Zhang Lan'er who was still in a state of panic.

When he arrived, the elders of the clan and Yucui were already sitting upright.

His second uncle was the first to scold: "You bastard, why didn't you leave someone to guard today?"

Although Yudui was in charge of the family business, the reputation belonged to him alone, and no one else knew about Yudui's management.

He looked at Chalcedony, only to see Chalcedony smiling at him calmly.

Ding Jingen became even more annoyed and kicked Fushou beside him: "Fushou, who do you want to be on duty tonight?"

Fushou said hurriedly: "Master, I don't know."

"What's the point of raising you?" Ding Jingen kicked him again.

Fushou feels pain.

At this time, the second uncle spoke again: "Now it's the time for spring delivery, and this kind of thing has happened. The deficit will be paid from your family."

Ding Jingen smiled and nodded repeatedly.

The third wife, who had remained silent the entire time, became increasingly furious. "You'd better get rid of that mistress of yours as soon as possible. As the head of the family, where were you tonight? I don't need to tell you about it, do I?"

Ding Jingen looked at Chalcedony with a look full of malice, yes, malice!

Chalcedony still showed no emotion and didn't even say a word.

Having hit a snag, Ding Jingen had no choice but to act like a grandson: "Third uncle is right."