Love Affairs in Chang’an

Chapter 157: A rising tide lifts all boats

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Mrs. Liu was sitting on the bed doing needlework. When she heard Xue Rengui talking to others outside, she couldn't help but be curious. Seeing Wu Meiniang walking in proudly again, she hurriedly got off the kang in surprise and said, "Are you looking for me, girl?"

"Exactly." Wu Meiniang smiled slightly, "Sister-in-law, you don't have to be polite. It's cold, so just sit on the kang!"

"That's fine." Mrs. Liu took a closer look at Wu Meiniang and couldn't help but exclaimed: "The girl is so beautiful, just like a fairy descending to earth! The fairy wind must have blown up today, and a bird flew into our broken cave dwelling. Golden Phoenix! - The girl must be rich or noble. If you don't mind the mess on the kang, why don't you sit down and talk together? I'll pour you some tea."

"Sister-in-law is not busy." Wu Meiniang smiled, stretched out her hand to hold Ms. Liu who was about to leave, and said affectionately, "I feel uneasy about disturbing you, so how dare I trouble my sister-in-law to treat her kindly? I just came to chat with her. Just a few words, no need to stir up trouble. Just ask my sister-in-law to sit down too!"

"That's fine, that's fine." Ms. Liu was obviously flattered. Although she was in her own home, the beautiful little beauty in front of her obviously had a lot of background. In such a remote place, seeing Wu Meiniang, a person with outstanding temperament and extraordinary temperament, Liu, who was simple and lacked knowledge, couldn't help but feel a little panicked.

"Sister-in-law is really good at needlework!" Wu Meiniang casually picked up a pair of handkerchiefs embroidered by Liu and praised with a smile, "I was born stupid, with rough hands and feet like a man and I can't do fine work, but I envy your good sewing skills."

"No, the girl is really making fun of you." Ms. Liu said with a somewhat embarrassed smile, "At first glance, the girl is an extraordinary person of noble birth. How could she need to do such a menial and menial job? Oh, I am so rude. The girl has been in the house for a long time. Sorry, I haven’t even asked her her name yet!”

"I'm Chang'an Wu Zhao. Sister-in-law, it would be great if you don't mind calling me sister." Wu Meiniang said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, I have long heard that people living in cave dwellings are warm in winter and cool in summer. It is true! The cold wind is whistling outside. Yes, the house is so warm. My sister-in-law is so smart and tidy, but if it were me, it would be as messy as a sheep pen."

"Giggle, girl is really good at joking!" Mrs. Liu was amused and laughed happily. Wu Meiniang's casual compliments immediately made Ms. Liu relax a lot and brought them closer to each other. Now Ms. Liu felt that the little beauty in front of her was really gifted with a smart mouth. She was still a woman. If it were a man who was coaxed by her like this, he would have to give her his heart

"Hey! Sister-in-law Liu, my little sister is rude, may I ask how young you are?" Wu Meiniang asked with a smile.

"I am already in my early twenties. We poor people in the countryside look old after working all day long. When I go out, people will think that I am in my thirties or forties. How can I compare with the youth and beauty of Miss Wu?" Mrs. Liu also praised Wu Meiniang. On.

"No, it's obviously not the case." Wu Meiniang said seriously, "If I hadn't known that you were married, I would have thought you were about the same age as me! Calling you sister-in-law is a bit too old for you, so why don't I just call you sister?"

"This...how dare you do this?" Mrs. Liu smiled awkwardly.

"What does it matter? The eldest sister is older than me, haha!" Wu Meiniang said with a smile, "Actually, the eldest sister is really beautiful, but she just neglects to dress up. If she can dress up, she will definitely become a rare beauty. Son."

"This... this is really making fun of me!" Mrs. Liu laughed with joy, worry and a little embarrassment. "My family is poor, so it would be nice to be able to open the house without starving. How can I have the spare money to dress up?"

"Eh, that's not right!" Wu Meiniang said pretending to be surprised, "My sister-in-law is so ingenious and good at needlework, and her husband is so impressive and talented, how could he end up in such poverty?"

"Hey, it's a long story..." Mrs. Liu sighed softly and said, "Actually, my husband's ancestors also produced a famous general named Xue Andu. The Xue family was also a prominent family in Hedong. Unfortunately, from the family My husband has been in decline since his grandfather's generation. Now it's my turn to survive. Although my husband is a poor man, he has a lot of martial arts inherited from his family and has many people to hire. He didn't even go to work as a nursing home attendant. He often said that he would definitely achieve great success in the future, but there was no sign of him. As a woman, I couldn't say much about him, so I had to marry a chicken. Follow the chicken and marry the dog.”

"So that's it... It seems that your husband has high ambitions, which is a good thing. A man's ambitions are all over the place, and once he becomes powerful, there's no doubt that he will rise to heaven." Wu Meiniang said, "Sister-in-law is right. I am a woman who has nothing to do with men. There are too many things. But what can we do to help them?”

"What are you doing?" Ms. Liu's curiosity was aroused and she asked.

"Sister-in-law may not know something." Wu Meiniang said with a smile, "My late father, Shi Yu, was a hero in the founding of the Tang Dynasty and one of the eight prime ministers during the Wude period. Now my eldest brother has inherited the empire he left behind. Duke. But now, my Wu family is in decline. The official family is looking down on me and there is no one in the court. It is already on the verge of decline. Although I am a female, I have been working as an official since last year. It's despising, but I have done some practical things and made a lot of money. In this way, I can live a prosperous life and don't have to rely on others. Let them look down on me. What’s wrong with relying on your own efforts to make money to support yourself?”

"Ah!! It turns out that the girl is a daughter of a famous family? How disrespectful!" Mrs. Liu suddenly felt frightened, blinked her eyes a few more times as if she suddenly remembered something, and exclaimed, "By the way! I went to the county town today to catch the morning market, and I heard that someone A female boss from the Wu family came from Chang'an to provide relief to the people and reward the soldiers. She was praised by everyone in Jishan, but is it you? "

"It's my little sister." Wu Meiniang giggled, "Sister-in-law Liu, look, I've earned so much money that I can't spend it all. I can still donate money to help many people. I can help others when they are in trouble. Isn’t this a great thing? What’s wrong with businessmen? In fact, businessmen are the most diligent and hard-working people. If not, they would be losing money.”

"Miss Wu, you are so amazing!" Madam Liu stared at Wu Meiniang with wide eyes and an expression of admiration.

"Hehe, in fact, you can be a sister-in-law too!" Wu Meiniang said, "Because I am a daughter who has not yet left the court, so when I travel around the country, most of the businessmen I bring with me are women, most of whom are the daughters of poor families in their twenties. I talk to them We are like sisters who share the joys and sorrows, and it took us a year of hard work to achieve what we have achieved today. From the beginning, we didn’t understand anything, so we slowly explored and studied hard. Now they can also stand alone!"

"Really? Miss Wu, you are so capable! And your sisters, they are all great people! How can blind, ignorant women like us from the backcountry compare with you?" Mrs. Liu said with envy and shame.

"Not necessarily!" Wu Meiniang said with a smile, "In fact, as long as you work hard, there is nothing you can't accomplish. If my sister-in-law has this intention, I would be willing to take her to run a business together. If you don't understand, Just follow the women around me for a while, and once you get to know each other, everything will be easy. In fact, it’s very easy to make money, really! As long as you work hard, you’ll still have a cave dwelling and an adobe kang. Tomorrow I can lie on the golden mattress in a mansion in Chang'an, listen to music and eat snacks!"

"No, it won't be that easy, right?" Ms. Liu opened her mouth in shock, obviously not believing it, but her heart was ready to move.

Everyone in the world loves wealth, but who really likes living in poverty? … For a poor man, money and a wealthy life are too attractive!

"Gee, sister-in-law, don't be nervous, I'll just talk about it casually." Wu Meiniang said with a relaxed smile, "You who are married are no better than single women like us. If I leave you... Brother won't be used to it either!"

Mrs. Liu was startled when she heard this. She just heard that she could take her into business to make money. Who wouldn't want to live a good life? But now the conversation has changed... It seems that he dislikes her because she already has a family and it is inconvenient to take her away.

Half of the pie in the sky has fallen, why did it stop

Mrs. Liu was a little anxious.

"Miss Wu, in fact, my husband's side is not very inconvenient." Ms. Liu said, "Although he is a bit stubborn, he has always been very tolerant and trustful of me. If I leave home to do something to make money, he will He will agree generously. Of course, he can only feel at ease if he goes out with someone who is well-known and trustworthy like the girl."

"Really?" Wu Meiniang blinked her eyes a few times, "Can you really convince your husband to go to Chang'an to do business with me? Has your sister-in-law ever heard of Qin Xianjiu? I opened a restaurant in Chang'an called 'The Best Wine in the World' The big wine shop specializes in this kind of royal wine, and the business is so good that it is making money every day. Now, people like my sister-in-law, who are smart and polite, can be admitted at any time, so I can turn over the accountant. It’s up to you. As for the rest, I won’t treat you badly!”

"Really?" Mrs. Liu was overjoyed, but also hesitant, "It's just... you and I met by chance, why did you suddenly treat me so well?"

"Gee, sister-in-law, are you suspicious?" Wu Meiniang smiled lightly and whispered shyly, "To be honest, General Qin Mubai, who came to your home last time, is my unmarried husband. Hehe! He and you My husband hit it off immediately. Seeing that his hero is stuck in the quagmire and frustrated, he always hopes to help you with something. But Brother Xue is stubborn and refuses to become an official, and he doesn't like to force others to do anything. So I thought if I could help my sister-in-law, I would like to deal with you first. I am very happy if I can help you a little and give Mu Bai some relief!"

"That's it! Miss Wu, you virtuous couple are really great benefactors to our family! I, I'm going to kowtow to you!" Mrs. Liu suddenly burst into tears of gratitude and was about to climb down from the kang.

"Sister-in-law, please don't do this!" Wu Meiniang hurriedly grabbed her and said, "I am a businessman, and I will not give free help or charity to anyone. Whoever I hire is not a hire, so why not hire a sister-in-law to work in my store? Sister-in-law It's only natural that I go to work and get paid. It's not like I'm taking any advantage. Chang'an is a good place where every inch of land is cheap. As long as you work hard and make a living for your family, there's no telling if your husband Xue will become famous one day. My eldest brother doesn't want to be an official, and my husband is an honest man and doesn't want to do anything difficult. But he couldn't bear it when he saw that you two were living in such a difficult situation. He wanted to give me some gold and silver directly, but he was afraid that Brother Xue would be arrogant and arrogant. I look down upon these yellow and white things... Therefore, I thought of inviting my sister-in-law to find a job in Chang'an. Who said that we women can only give birth to children and make a living? "

"Okay, okay. Miss Wu is really a natural genius. I am a stupid woman who is willing to go to Chang'an with you! I know I am stupid and can't do anything, but you can leave some dishes to be washed by me. , I will clean it for you!" Mrs. Liu said excitedly.

"No, I said the accounting office means the accounting office. I won't let you do those menial jobs. If you don't know how, I will send someone to teach you until you can." Wu Meiniang smiled, but she was very nervous. He said seriously, "But sister-in-law, don't you want to discuss it with Brother Xue first before making a decision?"

"Hmph! I won't discuss it with him now because of his elm-headed head! He left Hanshan to shoot his wild geese while I went to Chang'an to manage my accounting office. He doesn't think about me, and I have to think about our future children. ! If the child dies without even eating rice porridge, I’ll see how he can explain it to his ancestors! Miss Wu, don’t worry, I will definitely be able to convince him!” Liu said confidently.

"This is the best." Wu Meiniang said happily, "It turns out that my sister-in-law is pregnant with Liujia. Congratulations! While your body is still healthy, come with me to Chang'an as soon as possible! The work in the accounting office is not tiring, and it will be delicious when you arrive in Chang'an. It’s easy to raise a baby! You’re right, even if you don’t think about yourself, you should think about your unborn child. As a woman, besides your husband, your children are the most important thing, right?”

"Wu Meiniang is right, these words are heart-warming!" Mrs. Liu smiled happily, grabbed Wu Meiniang's hand and patted it gently, "You are really a fairy and living Bodhisattva from heaven! You are beautiful, You are so capable and kind-hearted. Only an extraordinary man like General Qin is lucky enough to marry you!"

"Hehe, I haven't passed the exam yet!..." Wu Meiniang smiled lightly, and her heart was filled with joy: Great, I convinced Mrs. Liu!

If Mrs. Liu leaves, can Xue Rengui be able to stay alone in Longmen? If Mrs. Liu goes to Chang'an with me, it will be easy to invite Xue Rengui to go to Chang'an too. After all, it is good for the couple to reunite, and she is pregnant and needs to be taken care of.

Besides, if a grown man has to rely on women to support his family, how can he live with his face? Hum, this is like a rising tide lifting all boats. If you, Xue Rengui, have to rely on women to support you, then you are not worthy of Mu Bai thinking so highly of you. Until then, I don’t believe you can still stay at home and not be an official!

"Haha, it's almost done!" Wu Meiniang snickered with surprise in her heart, "When the time comes, Xue Rengui and his wife will be brought to Chang'an. Mrs. Liu will work in my shop, and Xue Rengui will work for Baiqi under Mu Bai. This family We all benefited from our kindness... If one day Xue Rengui becomes a successful person, how can he not think about our old relationship? Apart from anything else, this honest and kind-hearted Mrs. Liu would like to worship me as a Bodhisattva. How can she not blow it on her pillow? Are you trying to fool Xue Rengui to make you fall in love with Mu Bai? Haha!"