"Look at it here, mother, go to the thatched hut."
Seeing that the tofu at the stall was almost sold, Meng Yunniang pinched the slender hairpin in her pocket, pursed her lips, and said to her son beside her.
"Each piece of water tofu is cut according to the weight. It is two cents a piece, and old tofu is five cents a piece. Don't mix it up."
Now there are only two pieces of watery tofu and one piece of old tofu left in the stall, and Meng Yunniang is not worried about her son making a mistake.
"Um."
Jiang Liu nodded, he didn't think much about it, he just thought it was the beautiful lady who suddenly wanted to go to the toilet, leaving him alone to watch the booth. Meng Yunniang asked the women at the stall next to her to take care of some of her sons, and then she left with confidence.
The market in the county town is very lively. On both sides of the road are small vendors who carry their own goods to sell, and many of them are villagers from the surrounding villages. Therefore, there will be independent latrines on the main streets of the market, which is also for the convenience of these people. use.
Meng Yunniang turned a few corners, instead of walking towards the thatched hut as she said, she went to an old pawnshop.
"How much money can this hairpin be worth?"
She took out a fine silver hairpin, and she could see that its owner loved it very much. The style was a little old, but it was shiny and had no signs of oxidation. I think it was wiped and stroked every night.
"It depends on whether you live or die."
The old shopkeeper took the silver hairpin. The workmanship of this hairpin is not very delicate. It looks heavy, but it is not pure silver. It is also mixed with a layer of copper and inlaid with a piece of jasper. The quality of the jade is not the best. Yes, it can only be said to be ordinary.
"I'll give you two and a half if you die, and one or two if you live. The interest is one hundred cents a month. If you don't take money to redeem it within a year, this silver hairpin will belong to our pawnshop."
The price given by the shopkeeper was slightly lower than Meng Yunniang's expectations, but when she thought that her son still needed the money to buy the four treasures of the study, Meng Yunniang's hesitation eased a lot.
"Little lady, this silver hairpin of yours is not worth much, no matter which pawnshop you go to, it is impossible to give you more than the amount I just said, dead or alive, you are right. ."
The shopkeeper put the silver hairpin on the counter, Meng Yunniang closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and said a death sentence.
When she came out of the pawnshop, Meng Yunniang's purse had more than two and a half silver, but her heart was empty.
She lost her last thought.
Meng Yunniang took a deep breath and walked back with heavy steps.
The past cannot be recalled. For women, the most important thing is always only their children.
*****
"I'll exchange this hare with you for these three pieces of tofu."
On the other side, after Meng Yunniang left, Jiang Liu welcomed the first client he received alone.
The other party was tall and burly, and Jiang Liu had to raise his head to see the other party's appearance. In ancient times, when men were generally only in the early sixties, this man stood out from the crowd and stood out.
His facial features are ordinary, but they are pleasing to the eye. Even if he is dressed tightly, he can see the pimples on his body. Jiang Liu looked at the dead rabbit that can no longer die, and recited Amitabha in his heart, and then began to calculate The braised rabbit is more delicious, or the spicy stir-fry is more flavorful.
It's no wonder he was greedy for meat. After coming to this body, because of his filial piety, he never had the slightest bit of meat and fish. His three daily meals were either tofu or pickles.
And the timing of this rabbit's appearance was very appropriate. Yesterday was the last day of his 27-month hot filial piety. Strictly speaking, he could eat meat today.
"Little brother, these three pieces of tofu do not add up to more than ten copper coins. You can sell at least one or two hundred cents for this rabbit. In exchange, you are considered a loss."
Someone passing by whispered to the burly man, and told him not to be foolish enough to let the tofu stall owner take advantage.
"I don't like meat, I just like tofu."
The strong man said in a loud voice, and then put the rabbit into the empty bamboo basket beside Jiang Liu.
"There are people who don't like meat."
The old man who mentioned the strong man muttered, shook his head and left, talking to the fool, he was afraid that he would become a fool too.
"My mother is not here, why don't you wait for my mother to come back and discuss with my mother yourself."
Jiang Liu had long recognized the person, and the burly and strong man in front of him was Hu Guirong, who was in the original memory with Meng Yunniang, and he was not as pedantic as the original. Although he loved the rebirth mother, he also He felt that his mother should be guarding for his father. If Meng Yunniang could really reconnect with Hu Guirong, Jiang Liu felt that this might also be a good thing.
However, before this old relationship can be renewed, Jiang Liu has to observe and observe this man carefully.
"No, no, my mother is waiting for soft tofu, I just want these pieces of tofu."
Hearing Jiang Liu's words, the man became anxious, put the three pieces of tofu on the chopping board into the big bowl he brought, and walked away quickly.
When Meng Yunniang came back, Hu Guirong had been gone for a while.
"All the tofu sold?"
Meng Yunniang had already packed up her mood. She started tidying up the stall like nothing else. When she was about to ask her son where the money for selling tofu was, she saw the rabbit in the bamboo basket.
"Where did this hare come from?"
Pointing at the rabbit, Meng Yunniang asked her son with a serious face.
"A strange person just came. He insisted on exchanging that hare for tofu with me. I told him to wait for his mother to come. He seemed frightened, so he picked up the tofu and ran away."
Jiang Liu said while paying attention to Meng Yunniang's expression, trying to see her true thoughts from her eyes.
"And there are such idiots who don't want to put good meat, but change a few pieces of tofu instead?"
Meng Yunniang was shocked. Of course she guessed who her son was talking about, but she couldn't show a trace of throbbing, because she didn't know if there were people who knew her and Hu Guirong on this crowded street.
The son is going to study, and there is no way to have a mother with an infamous reputation, so she can only pretend to be nothing and swallow all the bitterness in her stomach.
"If that weird person comes back in the future, you are not allowed to exchange tofu with him for meat. My mother taught you to be a person with a backbone, and we can't do cheap things."
Quickly packing up her things, Meng Yunniang did not forget to teach her son a few words.
"Mother, I know."
Jiang Liu didn't see anything from Meng Yunniang's expression. He wasn't sure whether the beauty girl had long since lost her feelings for Hu Guirong, or the other party hadn't guessed who he was talking about.
On the way back, Jiang Liu couldn't help but try a few more words.
"Mother, that weird person is really tall today, can I grow that tall in the future?"
This sentence is Jiang Liu's sincere words. He really didn't expect the average height of the ancients to be so worrying. After coming to this world for so long, he has seen a handful of people with a height of more than 1.7 meters, not to mention that they are as close to one as Hu Guirong. Mi Ba is a burly man.
If his memory is correct, the height of the original body does not seem to be very tall in his life. I don't know if he is replaced this time, and if he starts to eat some food to make up his stature earlier, he can make up his stature.
"You can't afford to eat because you are tall, but your head should be bigger, so you can learn things faster in the future."
Meng Yunniang fooled her son a few words, but she didn't see her embarrassed expression after hearing her big-headed theory.
******
"Rongzi, you are back."
Hu Guirong returned to his house at the foot of the mountain with a bowl of tofu, and his blind old lady was waiting for him in the yard on crutches.
"Mother, the weather hasn't turned warm yet. Why did you come out? Be careful not to catch a cold."
Seeing the old lady standing outside the house, Hu Guirong quickly put the bowl of tofu on the edge of the window, then grabbed the old lady's hand and rubbed it in his own to help her keep warm.
"You wait for me in the room, and you'll be able to eat right away. I bought you tofu today. It's so tender and raw, it can be smashed without your teeth. Remember to eat more later."
After settling down the old lady, Hu Guirong went to the kitchen to cook the porridge left over from the morning, and then mixed a bowl of soft tofu.
His mother's teeth were about to fall out, so she ate sweet tofu, and she ate a bowl of porridge more than usual.
"Today's tofu is good. It tastes more fragrant and tender than the one I bought before."
The old lady said with a smile, smiled ridiculously, and sighed again.
"Hey, if it wasn't for my wicked old woman, you and Yunniang's children would have run all over the place."
"Mother, Yun Niang is already married. It's not good to spread this word. Besides, Yun Niang's family asked for 10 taels of dowry, but I can't give it. What does this have to do with you?"
Hu Guirong lowered his head to sort out the tableware and refuted his mother's words.
"Don't comfort me, I know I'm dragging you down."
The old lady was blind and deaf. She knew that when Yunniang said the kiss, the other party came to the house to find Rongzi and asked him to elope with her, but Rongzi refused because he still had to take care of the blind mother.
On the night Yuniang got married, her son cried all night in the house, and she turned to and fro all night with her eyes open.
The next morning, her son went hunting in the mountains like nothing else, taking care of her daily life.
She didn't see all this, but she heard it all.
"Yunniang is a good girl. If she is willing to remarry, I will love her as a daughter, and I will never say anything against her being a widow. If she is willing to bring her child, I will love her as a grandson."
Blind Niang also heard the news that Yun Niang became a widow. Although she felt sorry for the man in front of Yun Niang, she felt that this was her son's chance.
"Mother, don't think about it, I'm fine."
Hu Guirong smiled bitterly, just as Yunniang knew him, he also knew Yunniang.
The Jiang family would not allow her to remarry with Fang Zi and Jiang family's descendants, and Yun Niang would not marry him for the sake of her son.
The fate between him and her may be so shallow, as long as he can watch from a distance and help occasionally, he will be satisfied.