After Gao Xiuer received Shen Tianshu's instructions from Zhang Muqiu, he began to think about how to create opportunities for himself to inquire.
Jiang Yuling has four personal maids, but she only has a good relationship with one of them, Qiu Tao.
But this is also based on her understanding of propriety and advance and retreat.
If you keep pestering the other person to inquire about personal affairs, it will be difficult to maintain the relationship.
How to make the other party take the initiative to tell the information she wants to know without feeling that she is deliberately prying. This is the most difficult thing.
No matter what, we must first create opportunities to talk together.
So that afternoon, Gao Xiuer asked Qiu Tao to go to the well at the entrance of the alley to wash clothes.
Jiang Yuling's condition has relapsed recently, so she has to wash more things.
Gao Xiuer spent a long time shopping around at home before managing to collect most of the clothes in the basin, but the clothes in the autumn peach basin were full to the brim.
There were not many people at the well in the afternoon. Apart from the two of them, there were only a few women living in the alley, chatting loudly.
A woman with a long face smiled while washing the clothes in her hands: "Sister-in-law Liu, I saw you cutting meat at the market this morning, carrying such a large piece of meat and leaving. You didn't hear me calling you!"
"It's rare to see you so generous. Money falls from the sky, and it just happens to fall in your yard?"
"Bah! You really can't spit out ivory from a dog's mouth!" Sister-in-law Liu laughed and spat, "Isn't it almost the Mid-Autumn Festival? The greedy boys in my family are stretching their necks in anticipation!
"I was thinking that life at home has been really tight in the past two months, and we don't have much energy in our stomachs, so I'm going to buy a piece of meat to satisfy those guys' cravings.
"But if I go shopping on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the price will definitely increase. I might as well just go there today. It's all meat anyway. It's not enough to eat it on any day, but it's better to save a little!"
"Sister-in-law Liu's family's life is better than my family's. Look at how hard they can live. You don't know that my wife has already said that she wants to eat Gui Fuxiang's dim sum during the Mid-Autumn Festival. More than half of it. A man of his age is more greedy than a half-grown boy, yet he still chooses the expensive ones to eat, what can he do with that money?”
"Hey, the Mid-Autumn Festival only comes once a year, so you can eat something good! If you want to satisfy your craving next time, you'll have to wait until the Chinese New Year."
"That's right. You can't eat it more than once a year..."
Several people were laughing and chatting as if no one was around.
The topic soon ranged from the Mid-Autumn Festival to trivial life matters such as the recent increase in vegetable prices and the disobedient children at home.
Qiutao was washing clothes while listening, but when she heard what happened behind her, she gradually slowed down her movements and sighed quietly.
"Have you been homesick for many days?" Gao Xiuer saw this and took the opportunity to say, "It seems that you may not be able to go back to the Jiang family during the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, so you will have to stay in Yongzhou Mansion."
"My parents and brothers are all working in Zhuangzi in the south. I'm the only one at home. It doesn't matter whether I go back to celebrate the festival or not." Qiu Tao said and glanced at Gao Xiuer with envy, "As capable as you are. There are so few people living with my father, mother, brothers and sister-in-law that I can’t leave here. They don’t have errands and can’t go home casually, so they rarely see each other once a year. It’s been several years since I’ve been with my family. Let’s celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival together.”
"If they can't come, then you can go to Zhuangzi to celebrate the festival!" Gao Xiuer said, "I've been watching these days, and I feel that Mrs. Jiang and Miss Jiang are both very kind people. If you want to visit your parents, can you still do it? Are you not allowed to leave?"
"Well, ever since the girl got this disease, she has been inseparable from others. She also refused to use outsiders, only the four of us who have been with her since childhood.
"Four of us are too busy to work on shift, so how can we get time off to see my parents?"
Gao Xiuer consoled her, "It's okay. Once my wife has completely cured your girl's illness, you can take the time to go home and take a look."
But Qiu Tao shook her head and said: "It's not as easy as you said. Once the girl's illness is cured, it's time to get busy with getting married. By then, you will have to marry with the girl. It will be even harder to see your family in the future.
.”
"No wonder the gift list that Mrs. Chiang received that day included one that was particularly generous. I was thinking at the time, who could give such generous gifts? It was only the Mid-Autumn Festival, not the Chinese New Year, but they actually gave so many things. It turned out to be Miss Chiang's husband's family.
ah?"
"Isn't it true? The old lady in law has not been in good health since the beginning of this year. She always talks about having to watch her grandson get married before she can die.
"When everyone heard this at first, it was just for comfort. They couldn't hurry up and get married just because the old lady said this. Instead, they seemed to be hoping that the old lady would leave soon.
"Who would have thought that the old lady's illness has lasted for more than half a year. Instead of getting better, it has become more and more serious. I have seen many doctors, but they all said they are not optimistic. It is estimated that she will only have a year left at most.
"That's when the people over there got anxious and wanted to get married as soon as possible. Because of this reason, no one could find an excuse to delay, so the girl finally agreed to come out for medical treatment."
"So that's it!" Gao Xiuer suddenly realized after hearing this. No wonder Mrs. Jiang always looked worried. In recent days, Miss Jiang's condition has been relapsing, and she was even more worried.
"So, regardless of whether you are a madam or a girl, you are all very anxious. But Mrs. Tong went out and couldn't come back in time. Our madam is so anxious that her mouth is blistering and she can't eat or drink anything." Qiutao lowered her voice.
Gao Xiu'er could naturally hear the complaint in Qiu Tao's words, but what could she do? Now that the Shen family was doing some mundane things, even if Shen Tianshu didn't want to see Mrs. Xu anymore, he had to pay attention to her death.
"It's just an unlucky time. I was delayed outside for a while, and I will definitely be back in two days.
"Besides, Dr. Zhang's medical skills are also very good. Just keep your heart in your stomach. Since our wife said it can be cured, then it will definitely be cured."
"Oh? Is your wife so capable? How dare you speak so confidently?"
As soon as Gao Xiuer finished speaking, Qiu Tao had not yet spoken, but suddenly a man's voice came from behind.
The voice was so close that it seemed as if it was spoken directly into the ears of two people.
Gao Xiuer and Qiu Tao were both startled, and both turned to look behind them.
They saw a middle-aged man standing behind them with his hands behind his back, blatantly eavesdropping.
"What's wrong with you?" Gao Xiu'er raised her eyebrows and asked, "Looking at your age and your appearance, how could you do such a thing as eavesdropping on others!"
The man straightened up and stood still, and said with a half-smile, "You were talking in public at the entrance of the alley, and I heard you when I got closer. How can you be considered eavesdropping?"
"Are you getting closer? You must have come here on purpose to listen!" Gao Xiuer was so angry that she bent down and picked up the wooden basin and said to Qiutao, "Let's go back! Remember, if you are alone in the future
When you go out, be sure to stay away from such shameless people."
The man was not angry after what she said, he just smiled and watched the two of them packing their clothes.
At this time, someone else walked into the alley. When they saw the man, they immediately turned around and came up to him and said, "Master, the young one is back."
Gao Xiuer squinted her eyes, feeling that this person looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him before.
"Xiu'er, hurry up and go!"
"Hey, here we come." Qiutao's urging interrupted Gao Xiuer's memories. She hurriedly agreed and took a few steps to catch up.
"What's wrong?"
"It's okay, I just look familiar to that person, but I can't remember him."
"Hey, we all live in the same alley. You can't see each other when you look up, but everyone looks familiar!"
Gao Xiuer thought about it and found out that this was indeed the case, and murmured dissatisfiedly: "It's really unlucky to live in an alley with such a person!"