Literary Heroes of the Republic of China

After breakfast, Zhu Wanwan and Mu Changyu started to wash the clothes again, washing the mended clothes of the sand shipyard workers.

Their family had just arrived in Shanghai not long ago, and they didn't know anyone. Zhu Wanwan couldn't find such a job. She was able to do this, thanks to Aunt Zhao who lived in the yard with them.

Zhu Wanwan followed Aunt Zhao to the Sand Shipyard to get those clothes, otherwise the men in the Sha Shipyard would not have casually given them clothes to a woman who was completely unfamiliar to them.

It's just that, in doing so, she accepted Aunt Zhao's affection... In the end, what Zhu Wanwan got was the dirtiest and tattered clothes, which were troublesome not only to mend, but also to wash.

Even because they didn't have wooden barrels and basins for washing, they had to borrow from Aunt Zhao's house, and they had to use Aunt Zhao's saponins... In the end, they even washed the clothes that Aunt Zhao should have washed.

Mu Qiong didn't know this, but seeing Zhu Wanwan and Mu Changyu's hands turning white in the water, it was difficult for him to rest peacefully: "Mother, I'll wash with you."

"You're a man, how can you do your laundry?" Zhu Wanwan refused without even thinking about it: "Qiong'er, go and rest, you're not in good health yet."

It is true that Mu Qiong's health is still not good, he is weak all over, and coughs from time to time, if not for this, he would not have to wait until tomorrow to find a job.

But even so, he couldn't stand by and watch Zhu Wanwan and Mu Changyu busy: "I'm fine, I'll get better faster if I move more... That's what the teachers at school say."

"That's it..." Zhu Wanwan believed it, but... "Then why don't you walk around the yard a few times, Qiong'er, you have to do big things, how can you do laundry?"

Mu Changyu also nodded in agreement: "Yes brother, washing clothes is something women do."

Although the original owner Mu Changqiong's ability to withstand blows is a bit weak, he is not bad.

When his grandfather was four or five years old, he hired a scholar to teach him to read, and he lived up to expectations. His grandfather attached great importance to him and took him with him to teach him personally.

After studying for several years, wealthy families in Suzhou began to send their children to new-style schools, and his grandfather sent him to new-style schools.

At that time, the new schools in Suzhou had to learn several subjects, but as long as they did well in Chinese and mathematics, they could skip grades.After the original master entered school, because he had a very good foundation in Chinese and his brain was flexible, he learned mathematics quickly, so he skipped grades repeatedly, and finally became the youngest student in the class.

When he went to Beijing, he had already attended middle school in Suzhou, and he was still a famous figure in the school.

It's a pity that although he was a genius in Suzhou, he became a bumpkin in Beijing, and because he didn't know anything about English, he couldn't even get into middle school, so he had to go to elementary school with his brother who was many years younger than him...

But even so, Zhu Wanwan still kept in mind the words of her deceased father-in-law, and felt that her son would be promising.

No matter what Mu Qiong said, Zhu Wanwan and Mu Changyu didn't allow him to wash clothes, so Mu Qiong could only do the next best thing and fetch water for them.

Zhu Wanwan didn't stop him from doing this.

In Shanghai, there has never been a lack of water, and good people will dig a well. The Yao family they rented was considered a big family before, so they naturally have a well.

The Yao family built two sheds next to the gate, one was used as a kitchen for the tenants, the other was used to store sundries, and there was a well in the middle of the shed.

The well was built with blue bricks, and the wellhead was made of stones in a hexagonal shape. the ditch.

The wooden bucket used to fetch water was placed next to it. Mu Qiong threw the wooden bucket into the water to fetch water, but the bucket just floated on the water...

Fortunately, he tried a few more times, kept throwing the rope, and finally filled a bucket of water.

It's a pity that the water was full, but he couldn't lift it up. With a little effort, he couldn't stop coughing.

"Pfft!" A laugh came from behind Mu Qiong.

Mu Qiong turned his head and saw a well-developed, plump woman in her twenties standing behind him.

This woman was wearing a brand-new pan-cut top and a calf-length skirt. Her dress was completely different from those women in the yard, but it was similar to the clothes worn by female students of this period in some film and television dramas he had watched before.

Because of her attire, Mu Qiong originally thought she was the daughter of Mrs. Yao, the landlord, but suddenly realized that the age was wrong—Mrs. Yao's two daughters were said to be both young.

Just as Mu Qiong was wondering, he saw Aunt Zhao who had given him pickles come in: "Chunjuan, are the apples washed?"

As soon as Aunt Zhao opened her mouth, Mu Qiong noticed that the woman was holding two apples in her hand.

And... this woman is from the Zhao family?

Those two apples were a bit shriveled, and they didn't look very good, but even so, apples were a rarity, and it wasn't like people like the Zhao family would buy them.

"Mom, someone is fetching water." The young woman looked at Aunt Zhao.

"It's Xiao Mu!" Aunt Zhao also saw Mu Qiong at this time: "Are you... can't carry it?"

Mu Qiong was a little embarrassed, he really couldn't carry it.

If he only carried half a bucket of water, he could still lift it up, but now that the bucket is full, he can't pour out the water in the bucket—controlling the bucket with a rope is really not a simple matter.

"Let me come." Aunt Zhao said, she stepped forward and lifted Mu Qiong's wooden bucket full of water, and took the two apples from her daughter's hand to wash in the bucket washed.

"Mom! That's other people's water!" Zhao Chunjuan disagreed with her mother's behavior.

"Apple is not dirty, and the water can still be used after washing, that is, you have too many things to do, and you still have to wash an apple." Aunt Zhao didn't pay attention at all: "Is it Xiao Mu?"

"Yeah." Mu Qiong smiled.He actually didn't agree with Aunt Zhao's behavior, but this water was used for washing clothes, so it's okay to wash an apple first.

"See?" Aunt Zhao glanced at her daughter with some pride, and picked up the wooden barrel in front of Mu Qiong: "Xiao Mu, you are not in good health, and you can't carry it. I will carry it for you."

As she spoke, she picked up the wooden bucket and put it down in front of Zhu Wanwan who was washing clothes at the door of her house: "You guys are doing laundry! Alas! My daughter came back with two apples! Have you eaten any apples? "

"That's great, Sister Zhao, you can enjoy the blessings of children." Zhu Wanwan smiled.

The Mu family is still rich, and they bought apples before, but they didn't have their share...Of course, she ate them. Her son and daughter got apples and gave them to her to taste.

But now Zhu Wanwan didn't say anything. When she came to rent the house, she was ashamed to mention the past, so she just said that she was from the countryside and her husband was taken away by a strong man... With her status, she naturally didn't May have eaten apples.

What's more, she was really envious of Aunt Zhao.

Although the life of Aunt Zhao's family is not very good, it is much better than hers.

Aunt Zhao enjoyed Zhu Wanwan's envious eyes very much, and said a few more words before leaving.

Seeing her leave, Mu Qiong asked Zhu Wanwan a few words, only to find out that Zhao Chunjuan is Aunt Zhao's eldest daughter, and now she is working as a servant in a wealthy family.

As a maid, not only can she get two yuan a month, but the master's house also provides food and housing, and even makes clothes, which is considered a very good job.

Not to mention that when she comes home occasionally, she can bring back some things that the master's family doesn't want, such as clothes that the master's family wants to throw away, empty cans that the master's family doesn't want after eating canned food, leftovers, etc. The two apples were probably also what her master didn't want.

"Mom, I will also be a servant in the future." Mu Changyu said suddenly.

Before Zhu Wanwan said anything, Mu Qiong had categorically refused: "No!" Mu Changyu has a very good appearance, so she went to do the work of serving others... In the future, she will be a concubine at a good point, but she doesn't know what will happen if she is worse .

Mu Changyu was taken aback for a moment, and Mu Qiong said again: "Changyu, it's not easy to be a servant, you are always called around..."

"That's nothing...but if it's not inappropriate, let it be." Mu Changyu was afraid that Mu Qiong would be angry, so he smiled flatteringly.

Seeing her like this, Mu Qiong felt distressed again.

The Mu family is not short of money, but because of the chaotic world, the original owner's grandfather also hid money and food, and was reluctant to spend it.

At that time, in addition to the long-term laborers who helped with farm work, only a middle-aged woman helped with the work.

This woman works very quickly, but she has a lot to do, and occasionally she has to go to the fields, so both Zhu Wanwan and Mu Changyu have to do the cooking and laundry at home.

Later, when they went to Beijing, there was only an old man running errands and shopping for them. The two of them not only did housework, but also took care of the sick grandmother of the original owner...they did more work than when they were in Suzhou.

Of course, even though he had to work at that time, he didn’t have to worry about eating and drinking, and he didn’t lack all kinds of daily necessities. Compared with now, life is much better. To be a servant.

It took Zhu Wanwan and Mu Changyu all morning to finally wash all the clothes. Mu Qiong also learned to fetch water from the well, giving Zhu Wanwan half buckets and half buckets.

They still ate batter at noon, but they put more flour than the previous meals. Mu Changyu also put the leftover pickles from the morning into the batter and cooked them.

The taste of pickle batter is quite good.

This afternoon, Zhu Wanwan went out with Aunt Zhao and brought back some clothes.

As for Mu Qiong, he slept for a while, and then continued to carry water for Zhu Wanwan.

The clothes of these crew members were really dirty, and they couldn't afford soap, so they couldn't wash them clean without washing them several times.

The second day of his crossing passed in a busy manner.

In the evening, Mu Qiong went to bed early to recharge his batteries for tomorrow's job search.

Probably because he was tired from carrying water during the day, Mu Qiong fell asleep as soon as he lay down this day, and slept very well.

However, it was still dark, and he was suddenly awakened by the sound outside.

Faintly, the sound of "the toilet is empty" came from outside, followed by the sound of opening and closing the door, walking, pouring water...

Mu Qiong woke up all of a sudden, and then "heard" Zhu Wanwan who was lying on the bed beside him turned over and ran out carrying the toilet in the corner of the room and the chamber pot under his bed.

This is not the countryside, there is no latrine, and the toilets are all chamber pots. When Mu Qiong used them before, he was very uncomfortable, especially since their house didn't even have toilet paper, and they used mulberry leaves to wipe their butt...

However, he used it, and he really didn't know that the toilet had to be emptied in the middle of the night.

Zhu Wanwan went out in a slander, came back after a while, and went to bed again. She didn't get up with Mu Changyu until dawn. After putting away the clothes and mattresses used to cover the night, she put the "bed" Demolished.

The door panel was placed against the wall, and two stools were placed side by side beside Mu Qiong's bed for storing things... A new day has begun.