Shen Rui was full of doubts, but he didn't dare to act casually. He raised his toes and touched the door of the east chamber first. A general lock half the size of a child's arm held the door.
Then I touched the door of the main room, which was also locked. However, the side room between the guest room and the kitchen room in the west wing was not locked, and there was no one around.
Shen Rui entered the ear room, got used to it for a while, and looked around with misty eyes. There was only a small stove here. I wonder if the owner's biological mother lingered on the bed before she died, and medicine was often boiled here, so the smell of medicine still lingers here.
There was nothing to eat on the small stove, only a few bottles and jars. Shen Rui opened them one by one and was pleasantly surprised to find half a jar of honey and a jar of rock sugar at the bottom.
Shen Rui was very hungry for a long time, so he raised the honey and swallowed it twice. Even though it was sweet in his mouth, there was something in his stomach.
He looked through all the remaining bottles and jars. The other jars contained salt, vinegar and other condiments, but found nothing.
Since there were seasonings and the small stove was overheated, Shen Ruirui felt that he had some motivation. He rummaged through the small kitchen in the dark and found a few paper packets in the two small baskets hanging on the wall. There were two packages of dry goods and two packages of powder. After identification, they were found to be Tremella fungus and dried goldenrod. The powder was almond flour and lotus root powder. There was also an empty paper package. Although there was nothing left in it, the strong scent of osmanthus still remained. It should have been for dried osmanthus. of.
From the wooden cabinet in the corner of the room, I took out two more cloth bags, which contained rice and millet. After being hungry for a long time, the smell of raw rice penetrated my nose. The irritation made my stomach rumble even more.
If it weren't for the two big mouthfuls of honey just now, Shen Rui would have swallowed raw rice.
When she touched a few round things next to the cloth pocket, Shen Rui was about to burst into tears.
He sat on the ground leaning against the stove, cracked open an egg, and swallowed it raw.
The fishy smell and creamy feeling make me not tired for the first time, but full of joy.
Shen Rui knew that he would not become a starving ghost for the time being.
There were four eggs in total, none of them were left alive, and they were all eaten alive.
The noisy stomach finally calmed down. Although the hunger was still strong, Shen Rui knew that it was almost over. If he really had to eat until he was full, his small intestines couldn't bear it.
There were only eggshells left on hand. Since Lao An was waiting for him to "make trouble", he had to be careful with the disposal of these eggshells. Shen Rui thought for a moment, crushed a few eggshells in his hands, and walked to the wooden cabinet. , insert the hand holding the broken eggshell into the half-foot-high rice bag, and don't let go until it reaches the bottom.
No one will find the broken eggshell until the bag of rice is eaten to the end.
Thinking of Lao An's malicious intent, Shen Rui did not dare to take the honey jar and sugar jar.
Listening to the meaning of what Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Hao said, this owner was blamed for fainting on the day his biological mother died. It is already the fifth day. The day after tomorrow will be the day of "burning seven". Maybe the turning point will be on that day.
In this case, all he needs to get through is tomorrow.
Shen Rui poured out all the rock candy at the bottom of the jar. There were about a dozen of them. They wrapped them in the empty paper. He originally wanted to pour two handfuls of lotus root starch on top, but he hesitated and decided not to. It was time to be hungry. You have to be hungry, otherwise your previous hunger was not in vain.
After putting all the bottles, cans, baskets and paper bags in their original places, and carefully closing the wooden cabinet containing the rice, he came out quietly.
Before he reached the door, he heard the sound of footsteps in the distance, and there was a vague light shaking. Shen Rui hurriedly avoided the door of the courtyard, held his breath and huddled in the darkness behind the door.
I heard a woman complain: "This yard has been empty for several days, why are we patrolling in the middle of the night? Before Lao An said anything, Mrs. Hao used goose feathers as command arrows. Did she really think she could be the housekeeper?" The second mother is about to straighten herself up, but it is her turn to have a mother-in-law to point her fingers. When the mother-in-law was here, had she ever tormented someone like this?"
The other woman took a breath and whispered: "Sister, please lower your voice and be careful so that others can hear you... But things have changed, so it's better to be careful in the future..."
The mother-in-law who complained earlier said angrily: "Whoever doesn't praise such a charitable person like my wife is good, but Lao An people look down on her. Now that the eldest brother is guarding the mourning hall, who still remembers that the second brother is the mother's direct blood and flesh and blood? What an old man!" The sky has no eyes..." The last sentence was already unheard.
The two women were talking, and when they came closer, the courtyard door was pushed open with a "squeak" sound.
At this moment, a white shadow "swished" out.
The two women said "Oh my God!" and were so shocked that they almost dropped the lanterns in their hands. However, the white figure stopped, said "Aim", and then rushed into the passage behind the wing.
It was a big white cat that was originally squatting on the Moon Gate. When Shen Rui came, he kept his breath and did not disturb the cat. The two women held lanterns in their hands and shook the cat's eyes, and the big white cat jumped out.
"Amitabha, Amitabha..." the timid woman kept chanting: "It's really terrifying."
Before he finished speaking, a gust of night wind blew, and the lamp in the woman's hand started to sway again.
The timid woman's legs were as smooth as a comb, and her teeth were chattering: "Sister, the people in this yard are careful... Could it be the lady? The lady hasn't gone far..."
The complaining woman said: "It's not us who are guilty, what are you afraid of?" She said this, but she was still afraid. She bowed to all the people and said: "Old slaves are all irrelevant, and they respect you in their hearts. Madam. If you haven’t left yet, just keep your second brother safe...don’t hold any grudges..."
Floating clouds covered the moon in the sky, and everything became darker and darker.
The night wind blew, and the already stationary lantern began to sway again. The two women were so frightened that they waved the lantern randomly and said, "I've seen it, I've seen it, let's go!"
Not daring to stop for a moment, he hurriedly closed the door. The footsteps were very fast, but after a while, silence returned. He had already walked far away.
Shen Rui stood behind the door, but his eyesight turned black and he felt like he had a splitting headache.
A two or three-year-old boy in red, waving his little arms, rushed towards a thirty-year-old woman, calling "Mother, mother", but was hugged by a fifty-year-old woman. The old woman touched his head lovingly and said, "Your mother is busy taking care of the house. Brother Rui, please don't disturb your mother. Grandma asked you to make cakes."
The young woman only looked on with a smile and did not step forward to hold the child.
When he saw the young woman again, the boy just called "Mother" lightly and concentrated on eating half a plate of Osmanthus Tang rice cake.
When the boy was five or six years old, he was followed by two boys. One was carrying a birdcage, and the other was doing somersaults on the ground. He said: "Second brother, don't be that nerd, stupid and looked down upon by others. You need to be a hero." You're so impressive. The second brother is the legitimate son of the fourth brother of the Shen family. He has a distinguished status, so there's nothing to be afraid of."
In the school, the boy looked at the "Three Character Classic" in front of him with disgust on his face.
When the boy was seven or eight years old, the servant woman beside him said angrily: "The master is partial, he only loves the second mother and the eldest brother, the second brother is the legitimate son, the foxy son is very clever, and the evil son raised by the little wife is trying to steal the limelight from the second brother. Xie is not a good person, second brother, don't give them a good look, or you will be regarded as easy to bully."
In the school, the teacher was praising a young boy. The boy turned around, his little face tensed up, and knives could shoot out of his eyes.
In the hall, a middle-aged man stroked his beard and praised the boy a few times. He looked satisfied when he answered. The boy lowered his head and clenched his fists hard.
The middle-aged man left, and the young man turned around, touched the boy's child, and said softly: "I will teach my second brother to memorize. If my second brother can memorize the Three Character Classic, my father will also praise my second brother."
The boy knocked the young man's hand off, stared at him and said, "You are the son of a bitch raised by a young woman, who wants you to teach me!"
The young man's hands froze and his face turned pale.
The boy snorted proudly, turned around and ran away.
The boy had grown up to be about the same size now. The young woman was no longer young. She looked a bit old, with a pale face. Lying on the bed, she looked at him lovingly and said, "I don't want my son to be noble. I just want him to be noble."
My son is safe."
The boy looked puzzled, but he was well-behaved and not domineering or willful in front of other people.
The woman chuckled and said, "Don't force yourself to read if you don't like reading. Just know the etiquette and the laws. But don't think about becoming a knight-errant. Being a knight-errant will hurt you if you get beaten, and you are not a good citizen.
You might be thrown into jail at some point."
The boy said angrily: "He passed the boy's examination... everyone laughed at me..."
The woman stretched out her hand, rubbed the boy's head, and said with a smile: "There are ghosts in the minds of those who gossip. My son must have a clear mind and don't act impulsively. If you don't work hard, don't talk about harvest, pie will not fall in the sky. He can
Today, I have also experienced ten years of cold and heat, and I never take my hands off the book every day, which is respectable and not enviable. Although the family attaches great importance to reading, there are also many family members who have passed down agricultural roots.
Man, my son just needs to be a free man. But don’t forget that the Shen family is a loyal family. Don’t treat the tenant servants harshly, and do more good deeds. If you really want to argue with him, don’t treat him coldly.
, Harsh words hurt others, get married and have children early in the future, so that you can teach my grandson how to study. You are brothers after all, don't make shortcomings in front of others."
The boy pulled the woman's sleeve and looked at the skin and bones exposed under her sleeve. He said with red eyes: "When my son grows up, he will no longer be as ignorant as he was when he was a child. He will also be a good member of the Communist Party of China in the future, and my mother will do the same."
Listen to your son, take medicine and get well soon."
The woman nodded, but her eyes were a little blurry.
When the scene changed, it was still in the woman's room.
The woman was already lying on the bed, her eyes closed tightly, and the floor was full of crying women and maids.
The boy stood blankly in front of the window, not knowing what he was thinking.
Several people came in at the door. The boy turned his head and looked at those people coldly. His eyes fell on a pretty woman and she opened her mouth to say something.
The woman was stunned for a moment, then her eyes filled with tears and she was about to collapse.
The boy became more and more annoyed, pointing at the woman and saying something. The middle-aged man next to the woman looked livid and moved forward, but was pulled by the arm of the young man next to him.
The young man stepped forward with red eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but the boy pushed hard. The young man fell to the ground, his forehead hit the bill next to him, and blood gushed out...