Divorced woman with child travels through time

The onlookers remained silent, some even moved...

Zhang Laizi said in a low voice, "I only take on jobs that don't kill people and are easy to do. People who really want to kill me won't come to me. Everyone knows I'm timid and cowardly, so they won't ask me for anything. I go to the government office every time there's work. I do all the jobs I can find, like cleaning the river at the end of the year and carrying winter mud."

Suddenly, an old man eating spoke up, "I know this man well and can testify for him. He is telling the truth. He is an orphan, but he really doesn't know anything about the person in the picture."

Liangzi and his brother said in unison, "Brother Laizi is indeed harmless and innocent. We hope Your Excellency will show mercy."

Zhang Laizi knelt down and kowtowed frantically, saying, "Please, Your Honor, have mercy! I promise I will never do it again. I didn't know this medicine was deadly. The letter only said it was a sleeping potion, and it gave me ten taels of silver. I was momentarily blinded by greed and wanted to cure myself, so I took the risk. I will never do such things again, even if I have to pick up garbage. Please, Your Honor, have mercy! Please forgive me, Master Wang and Madam Chen!"

Ah Li sighed, looked at Wang Erniu and Chen Wenfang, as if to say, "What are you two going to do with them?"

Wang Erniu's eyes showed some emotion. He knew Zhang Laizi to some extent; he was indeed not the kind of person who would kill or rob.

Wang Erniu and Chen Wenfang exchanged a glance. Chen Wenfang nodded to him, and Wang Erniu said, "Sir, I know this leper Zhang a little. He is willing to admit his mistake, so we will not pursue this matter any further. We only hope that he will do more good deeds in the future."

Zhang Laizi and the other two kowtowed together in gratitude.

After pondering for a long time, Ah Li said, "Alright, come with me to the county government office. I will handle it accordingly."

The three of them then left with a government official, along with the doctor who had just arrived and was walking slowly.

After the excitement was over and the crowd dispersed, those who were supposed to eat continued eating. Chu Yi, who had been frightened by Zhang Laizi, was still stunned, staring blankly at the counter, lost in thought.

Dazhuang walked over and poked him, saying, "Hey, snap out of it! Collect the money, keep track of the accounts. What are you thinking about?"

Chu Yi took the money, counted it, put it in the money box, and made a note in the ledger before speaking in a low voice, "I felt sorry for that leper. Actually, I know him. Thinking about Shiwu and me, if we didn't have our godmother to take us in, we would probably be like him, those homeless people on the streets, all with something on their bodies." His tone was quite self-deprecating.

Dazhuang patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't think about these things, they're all in the past. Sister-in-law Chen said you have to look forward. We'll be getting our bonuses tomorrow. Why don't you tell me how much I'll get?"

Chu Yi rolled her eyes at him, quickly snapping out of her slump, and said, "You'll know when it's released tomorrow, why ask?"

Da Zhuang chuckled and went back to work.

Moved, Chu Yi continued checking the ledgers, making sure not to make any mistakes.

The next day, after dinner, Chen Wenfang arranged for the distribution of bonuses. From the head chef to the kitchen staff, each person received about two taels of silver. Old Wang also received one tael. This old man was the first to arrive every day and the last to leave at night. It was convenient for him to live next door. After opening the door, he would wipe the table and sweep the floor. Although he was not very nimble, he did his job very cleanly, which was worth the wages. In addition, his granddaughter was also sensible and he usually let her eat with him. Old Wang was even more grateful.

Today was no different. Old Wang received his bonus and then, along with Wang Xiaoer and the others, cleaned up the table.

Dazhuang handed the food container with the leftovers to Old Wang and said, "Uncle Wang, it's getting late, you should go back now. Take these home and eat them."

Old Wang chuckled憨憨地, "Hey, okay, thank you, Brother Wang."

Old Wang, carrying a food box in one hand and holding Xiaoling's hand in the other, happily returned to his home, which was five meters away from Chen's Teahouse.

Xiaoling skipped and hopped all the way, "Grandpa, what delicious food did Uncle Dazhuang bring me today?"

Old Wang replied with a smile, "It's dried bamboo shoot and chicken soup. There's still quite a bit left over from a table of guests. I checked, and there's still half a portion of chicken in it. Chef Wang boiled it again and served it to me. He must have seen that I drank an extra bowl of chicken soup while I was eating, so he specially saved it for me. He's such a good kid."

"Then I want to eat chicken later," Xiaoling said happily, her voice as melodious and clear as a little bell.

"Okay, eat more later." Old Wang was also very happy, his smile so wide that his eyes disappeared. One tael of silver was several months' wages for him.

The two arrived home while talking. Old Wang turned around, waved to Da Zhuang who was standing at the door watching them, and then closed the door.

Da Zhuang waited until the door was firmly closed for a while before closing his own shop door. After all, the two elderly people and the young child were in danger if something happened to them. Although there were good officials in the county town and it was relatively safe, there were still some petty people out there.

Old Wang went inside, lit the lamp, and washed himself by the still-warm water on the stove. Xiao Ling had already finished washing and changed into her own tattered old clothes. She carefully folded her work clothes and placed them by the bed. She couldn't help it; she loved this light green dress so much. It was the prettiest dress she had ever worn, specially made for her by Chunlan from Wangjiazhuang. It even had little bells embroidered by Uncle Dazhuang's mother. There were two sets in total, specially made for her; no one else had them.

This was the first time someone had paid so much attention to her. Xiaoling felt like she belonged to Chen's family. Her grandfather was old, and the family didn't have any land. Apart from a small vegetable garden in the yard where they could grow some radishes and beans, that was all. As far back as she could remember, she ate radishes and beans for every meal. Occasionally, she would eat some steamed buns, which was considered very good. Her clothes were given to her by neighbors out of pity. They weren't fancy, but as long as she had something to wear, that was enough. Her grandfather was already very worried and wouldn't care about these things. Xiaoling was also sensible and never cried or made a fuss. However, she couldn't hide her envy when she saw other young women dressed nicely. Since she got this work uniform, Xiaoling always held her little chest high and worked diligently. It gave her confidence. This time, her older brother in the first year of junior high school also gave her a small red envelope as a reward for her work, which showed that she was also a useful person.

Xiaoling happily munched on the chicken carcass, thoughtfully leaving the remaining chicken leg for her grandfather.

Old Wang was drinking his turbid wine, with a bowl of leftover food under the chicken soup: stir-fried pork with chili peppers and stir-fried lotus root slices with chili peppers, just right to accompany the wine.

"Xiaoling, you eat! Grandpa is old, chicken legs are hard to chew." Old Wang smiled and put the chicken leg into Xiaoling's bowl.

"Grandpa, I've eaten a lot of chicken. I'm full. Grandpa, you can eat slowly." Xiaoling put down her bowl and went back to her room.

Xiaoling was indeed full; it was no lie. Usually, when they ate at the table, the father and son were always too embarrassed to eat more, afraid of being disliked or kicked out. They ate very carefully. But everyone at Chen's was shrewd; one would give her a snack, another would slip her a pastry, so Xiaoling was never hungry. Only Old Wang was too old for anyone to give him snacks. Knowing he liked late-night snacks, Dazhuang would give him two leftovers every day, making sure the father and son didn't go hungry.