"What's wrong?" I took a clean bowl and opened the lid. Seeing that there was still some beancurd left, I scooped out half the bowl for myself: "Aniang, you mean my errand?"
Auntie cut off a piece of tofu and handed it to the customer in front of her. She turned around and glared at me: "Looking at you like this, I'm afraid it won't work? That damn fat guy, I know you can't be trusted."
Maybe I was too hungry, so the usually unappetizing tofu pudding became sweeter. After finishing half the bowl, I wanted to add more, but my mother held me down: "You said you were tired of it, but when I saw it
Do you feel like vomiting all the beans?"
"I...I'm hungry."
Auntie took out five coins from her purse and stuffed them into my hand: "Go, go, have something to eat. Go shopping by yourself to see if there is any suitable job. It is better to ask for yourself than to ask for others. Don't give up all hope.
On that damn fat guy."
"Yes." I replied. Looking at the money in my hand, I couldn't help but feel a little ashamed: It's not easy for my mother-in-law to work so hard to support me so much. Hey, I am a grown man, but I still have to rely on her selling tofu to make a living.
, even if others don’t laugh at me, I don’t have the shame to see others.
Find a job...find a job...It's easy to say, but where can you find a suitable job?
"Xu County Magistrate has given out porridge, and there are also big white steamed buns. Go to the county government office to get them!" someone shouted.
"Steamed buns! There are steamed buns to eat!"
"Go, go, go!"
…
The crowd became restless and rushed to the county government office. It seems that there are quite a few hungry people in Xiangzhou City. Between life and face, all dignity should be put aside. Thinking of this, I
Went with the large army.
A long queue had formed in front of the county government office. Several pots of steaming food exuded an attractive aroma. There were government servants standing beside the pots, each holding a stick in their hand. They looked quite majestic.
"Come on, come on, the county magistrate is here." Someone shouted.
I stood on tiptoe and looked from a distance, and sure enough I saw a man in green official uniform, surrounded by several entourages, arriving under the shed at the door. I saw that he was in his thirties or forties, with a good appearance and a mustache.
He looks quite upright and awe-inspiring.
"Greetings to the Ming Dynasty!" All the people raised their heads and bowed their hands in confusion.
I also quickly clasped my hands and saw that County Magistrate Xu had waved to everyone with a smile, then cleared his throat and shouted: "Fellows, there is no need to be polite. My dear Xu Luo, since I am the County Magistrate of Xiangzhou City,
We should work diligently, love the people, and sympathize with the sufferings of the people.
A few days ago, the county government allocated some money to open the Huichuntang Medical Center, and invited the doctors there to hold free clinics for three days to cure the people's illnesses. From today on, I will give porridge and distribute steamed buns here at noon every day.
, those in need can queue up to receive them one by one. But they must pay attention to order, no looting, and no waste, otherwise they will all be thrown into jail!"
"Yes. The Ming Dynasty is wise!" Everyone clapped and praised.
Magistrate Xu nodded with satisfaction, said a few words to the government servants beside the pot, and left on his own, and the government officials began to serve steamed buns.
I swallowed and said to myself: "This Magistrate Xu is not bad. It is a blessing to the people of Xiangzhou City to have such a good official!"
"Yes, yes. In today's world, how many officials still care about the lives of the people?" An old woman in front also sighed.
"In my opinion, I'm afraid it's just a show." A man in his forties or fifties behind him said in a low voice.
I was confused: "Why did you say this?"
"This Magistrate Xu has been a magistrate in Xiangzhou City for several years. Why haven't I seen him so generous before? I just want to show off because the imperial envoy is here. Have you heard about the magistrate of Yongqing County in the west?
Just because he was incompetent and neglected his duties, his legs were directly broken by the imperial envoy and he was dismissed from office."
Another person also took over: "Yes, yes, I happened to pass by that day and saw with my own eyes the beating that Yongqing County Magistrate received outside the governor's office. Haha, nowadays, officials of all sizes in this place are afraid that something will be done to them.
The imperial envoys are all busy and have done a lot of practical things for the people!"
Everyone talked about it, and the overall conclusion was that since the imperial envoy came to Xiangzhou, all officials have become more diligent and caring for the people. This is of course a rare and happy event.
Everyone laughed for a while, and finally it was our turn. The officer who distributed the steamed buns was unfair. He gave it to everyone in front and behind me, but he didn't give it to me. He looked at me suspiciously and asked
: "Where did you flee from?"
"Me? I'm a local." I answered honestly.
"Then you'll come to get the steamed buns too?"
I was even more confused: "You didn't say it, just give it to people who are fleeing?"
The yamen servant pointed with his hand: "What I mean is: You are a grown man, you have hands and feet, and you have not suffered any hardships. You don't know how to earn money to buy food by yourself? Do you insist on coming here to take advantage? Just see for yourself.
Most of them are refugees, as well as the elderly, weak, women and children. There are only so many steamed buns and porridge every day. How dare you fight with them?"
I was stunned at first, but when I looked carefully, I was the only young man who came to receive the free lunch. The yamen servant had a loud voice, and he spoke plausibly, which instantly attracted everyone's attention to me. I felt
His face felt a little hot, he smiled awkwardly at everyone, and ran away as if running for his life.
…
***
After a few days, I finally felt relieved. In fact, if I couldn't find a suitable job, I wouldn't starve to death. At worst, I could inherit my grandmother's craftsmanship and sell tofu for the rest of my life.
However, my mother-in-law is still a little unwilling. She is a person who can't hide things. My hunch has always been accurate. It seems that I will not be able to escape a scolding today.
Sure enough, from grandma's dissatisfaction with me getting up too late, to her dissatisfaction with my slow grinding of beans, to her dissatisfaction with my cooking the bean juice at too high a heat, to her dissatisfaction with my pressing the molds for too long... nothing satisfied her.
I bit the bullet and let her vent all morning, but it didn't seem to have much effect until I helped her carry two big piles of prepared tofu into the city. She said a few words "be careful" along the way. I just said
I think she still cares about me, and is afraid that I will break her, uh...or maybe she is just afraid that I will break her tofu.
"Hey, morning, Mrs. Song. What a blessing. Your son is here to help you again?" Before reaching the stall, Aunt Chen, who was selling needles, threads and brains on the right, greeted her.
"What kind of blessing? You don't have to suffer this sin if you can enjoy his blessing." Auntie still didn't have a nice word to say, so she put down the bean curd in the bucket and wiped the sweat: "Put it here."
"Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings, don't worry, haha." Uncle Qin, who sells pastries on the left, still persuaded him unhurriedly, placing bags of pastries exuding oily fragrance on the table.
I took off my burden, rubbed my sore shoulders, and looked up. The sun was showing its red smile, and there were more and more people on the street, taking advantage of the coolness to buy their daily necessities.
Grandma untied a small table and four small stools that were tied together on the tree trunk behind her, wiped the dust on them, and placed them next to the box of tofu. The stall, which was originally more than one foot wide, became crowded.
"Here comes a pack of red bean cake." came a nice voice.
I couldn't help but look for the sound, and it turned out that he was exactly as he sounded. He was a handsome man with a jade tree in the wind, an appearance like Pan An, and a silver-white loose robe that made him even more chic.
"Thank you. Please go slowly, sir." Uncle Qin took the man's copper coins and threw them into the iron box behind him. The crisp sound made me feel itchy in my heart, and it seemed to be a disguised cry: he has opened.
"Good morning, sir, would you like to try some fresh bean curd?" Of course, my mother was not to be outdone. When she saw the man passing by our stall, she hurriedly greeted him.
"That's right, we got up early and ground it freshly. Tofu costs two cents a piece, and a bowl of tofu is also two cents." I said, lifting the gauze covering the tofu, and pointed to the tofu in the barrel.
The man looked at me. He must have thought that I was as handsome as him and he didn't want to make me look bad. He smiled slightly and said, "Have a bowl of tofu here to eat. The tofu looks fresh and tender, but it's not convenient to carry."
"Convenient and convenient." I saw that grandma had taken out a bowl from the cloth bag to beat the tofu. I quickly took out a clean lotus leaf and spread it out on the table. I cut off a piece of tofu and put it on it, and then wrapped it quickly.
He tied it with a string and said, "Mr. Sir, please see, you can just carry it home like this. As long as you don't shake it hard, it will definitely not be broken."
"Okay, let's take it." The man was happy, took out four coins and handed them to the mother-in-law, then sat down and ate the bean curd.
Auntie shook the Kaiyuan Tongbao in her hand, and her expression finally became much calmer. People who do business inevitably want to make a good fortune, so the first business is completed, which means that the goods are sold smoothly on this day.
Fearing that she was too proud for the moment, Aniang threw the copper plate in her hand too high and failed to catch one, falling to the ground. She immediately bent down to pick it up, but suddenly her face changed and she yelled "Ah".
"What's wrong, mother?"
"Don't touch me, it hurts." Grandma looked very painful: "I felt like I had a stiff neck last night. I have been feeling pain from my neck to my shoulders. I lowered my head just now and pulled it again."
I also frowned. No wonder I felt that she was behaving strangely when I woke up early in the morning. She always ordered me to work alone, but I didn't expect that she was feeling unwell. Fortunately, she still carried a large bucket of beancurd.
"Mom, if you can trust me, you might as well let me show it to you." The man eating the tofu pudding spoke up.
"Are you a doctor?" I looked at him doubtfully.
"yes."
"No, no, it'll be fine in a moment." Auntie smiled and waved her hands.
I knew she was worried about money. Mother and son had been busy for an hour at dawn, and then drove for nearly half an hour. After selling these six boxes of tofu and a bucket of bean curd, they estimated that they could earn more than 200 yuan.
Excluding the daily stall fee and the cost of buying soybeans, I am afraid it will only cost 120 yuan. There is also firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea every day. If you see a doctor again...
"Ah!" Aniang shouted sadly.
When I came back to my senses, I was even more shocked to see that the man who claimed to be a doctor actually grabbed my mother-in-law's arm and pushed it back hard.
"Let go of my mother! You..."
"Hey, okay, okay."
I grabbed his collar with my left hand, and punched his abdomen with the fist of my right hand, but my mother's excited voice came over.
I bet he is treating my mother!
But, it’s too late to withdraw my fist, what should I do?
When I was helpless, one hand held my fist, and his other hand also grabbed my hand holding his collar. I felt my hands were numb, and naturally let go of him.
"It's okay. I've already helped your mother get back to her original position, changed the pillows at home, and remember not to move too much when doing things."
Auntie quickly thanked her: "Thank you so much, doctor. I didn't know the medical fee..."
"No, it's just a little effort. Farewell."
It wasn't until he walked away carrying the pastries and tofu that my hands recovered.
"He is a good man, and he has great medical skills. He cured me in just one stroke." Auntie shook her head and seemed to have recovered.
"He is so powerful. I thought he was bullying you. I obviously saw him grabbing your arm and I wanted to hit him. How did he catch my fist?" I also became excited for a moment: "
Auntie, tell me, does he know martial arts?"
"How do I know this? Okay, didn't you say that you would sell tofu with me for the rest of your life? Why don't you shout? I tell you, you won't be able to eat until you sell out!" As soon as my mother recovered from her illness, her lion's roar skills improved even more.
Greatly increased skill. This chapter has been completed!
