[75] Zhao Yan falls into a dream

On the eighth day of June in the first year of Kangding, it is an auspicious day for marriage.It's not surprising that a house in Tongfang Lane, Xiatuqiao, Kaifeng Prefecture held a wedding. As long as it is a good day, there is no shortage of people in the capital to hold weddings.But this house is different, so different that everyone who knows the details came to see the excitement, and the alley was crowded with people.

What is different?It was the bride who was married in this family. Other people's family married their daughters to their granddaughters, but this family was married to the head of the house.Not only is she remarried, but she is remarried for the second time. The two previous husbands have both passed away. Such a woman is commonly called a Kefu by the world. It is not easy to remarry after the first husband is killed, let alone two times. , but this woman is different.First look at the dowry at the door, which is 64 tables in the whole hall, and it is full of lifts; then look at the people who send the dowry, Mr. Zhan from Kaifeng Mansion, the pretty boss of Renji fast food restaurant, and the youngest scholar in the dynasty according to legend.What kind of abilities does this beautiful woman who married for the third time have, and who did she marry?And listen to me one by one.

In the winter solstice of the second year of Jingyou, "Aunt Liu, today is the winter solstice, can you bring some meat back when you buy vegetables? Make dumplings for us to eat at night, so that the ears will not freeze off after eating dumplings during the winter solstice." Mu Yan went to the store to explain Liu Shi.

"Hey, don't worry, go, I'll be there in a while." Mrs. Liu agreed with a smile in the room, still hugging the child in her arms.A year ago, she gave birth to her son in her arms safely, and Liu's pain was as painful as her eyeball.She knew that although Mu Yan and her younger brother treated her well, she would rely on the child in her arms in the future. The patriarch gave her the name Xingyun, and having the patriarch's name was a formal recognition of her status as the head of the family.

Now relying on Mu Yan's fast food restaurant, life at home is getting better and better.Their family has been living in the county for a year, and Mu Yan has fulfilled her promise one by one, sending Xing Chen to a private school, and respecting herself like her own mother.For her birthday this year, Mu Yan gave herself a rented hairpin, and said that she would give it to her every year in the future until she couldn't carry it anymore.Thinking of the days to come, Liu's face showed a smile.A sudden pain on the scalp brought Liu Shi back to his thoughts.Looking down, it was Xingyun in her arms who was grabbing her hair and pulling the strands out of the child's hands. Mrs. Liu put Xingyun in a cotton-padded jacket and trousers, put them in a bamboo basket, and went out to the market with the child on her back.

Now walking around the market all day, Mrs. Liu is still not as excited as when she first came to the county market.I walked directly across the main street to the butcher shop, and went to the shop where I usually buy meat, but found that the boss had changed today.In the past, the owner of the store was a couple. The man sold butcher and the woman collected money. Even though she was also a big-hearted Mu Yan, she was very friendly. When I saw it today, the store was still the same, but the people had changed.Now standing behind the meat table is a thick and strong man with a fierce face, the most frightening thing is that there is a horizontal scar on his face from his forehead to the corner of his mouth, which made the originally unfriendly face even more terrifying.Immediately, Mrs. Liu was so frightened that she stood there, not knowing whether to continue buying meat or turn around and leave. After a long pause, she asked timidly, "Is sister-in-law Ah Cai not here? I want to buy meat."

"A Cai and the second idiot have returned to their hometown, and the shop gave me the plate. How much meat do you want, sister-in-law?" Although the big man looked fierce, he spoke kindly, and gradually Liu's heart stopped beating. That's great.Hearing his explanation, Mrs. Liu remembered that the previous butcher shop owner said that the old people in the family were getting old and wanted them to go back and sell the shop.

Seeing Liu's silence, the big man thought to himself: This woman seems to understand, maybe she is an idiot, and she has to wait for a long time to say a word?In desperation, I had to ask again: "Sister-in-law, how much meat do you want to cut?"

"Oh, cut two catties of front legs for me, and I'm chopping half a piece of ribs. Chop the front legs into minced meat, thank you." Suddenly, Liu said what she wanted to buy, and couldn't help complaining that she was distracted again. I thought I should go and see what's wrong with the doctor.

Watching the big man cut meat and ribs with his hands and feet.Mrs. Liu patted Xingyun behind her, and in order not to disturb the sound of minced meat, Mrs. Liu stayed away from the meat case and stood by the door. "Boss Han, cut two catties of meat, and it needs to be fatter." Following the voice, a middle-aged woman came in, wearing a silver-red trousers, an autumn-colored cotton skirt, and a silk flower on her head. There was a pungent scent of powder on the ground.Seeing Mrs. Liu standing by the door, she exclaimed exaggeratedly; "Oh, how could Boss Han let such an unlucky person stand in the shop? How to sell it..."

When Liu heard this, she trembled with anger and couldn't say a word.She knew the person who came. It was the Liang family from her natal back mountain village.Before Mu Yu's father passed away, she went back to her mother's house by herself. Before her elder brother and sister-in-law said anything, she said in the village that her fate was hard, and later she wanted to tell her elder brother that she would be married to a dead person. After being scolded by her elder brother and sister-in-law, she kicked her out She had a grudge with her family, and now she came to the county for some reason.

Mrs. Liang's voice was so loud that he suddenly startled the sleeping Xingchen behind him, and the child started crying.Mrs. Liu didn't have time to argue with Mrs. Liang and hurriedly put down the bamboo basket, hugging the child in front of her and comforting her. "Tsk tsk tsk, I just said that you are a human killer. It is not enough to kill one and kill another. Now you have a drag bottle. Why do you think you are doing it? You will have to be judged by Hades when you go underground tomorrow." You split the two halves to two men, you are committing crimes!" As Liang said, he did not hide his gloating expression.

No matter how good-tempered Mrs. Liu is now, she couldn't help but was about to retort. "Why are you talking so much, woman. My shop is too small to accommodate a great god like you, so hurry up." The big butcher seller stood behind Mrs. Liang at some point, with an impatient look on his face.As soon as Mrs. Liang turned her head and was about to curse, she was frightened by the kitchen knife raised by the big man and shut her mouth. She went out resentfully, and when she reached the door, she spat out a mouthful of thick phlegm and cursed bitterly on the ground: "Dog man and woman" and walked away. go.

Seeing Mrs. Liang go out, she coaxed Xing Chen for a while until he fell asleep again, and then gently put the child back into the bamboo basket.Only then did Liu realize that the big man had been standing not far in front of her, watching her silently.

"Brother, I'm really sorry for disturbing your business." Mrs. Liu was a little embarrassed. The death of her two husbands by herself has always been a thorn in her heart.Although she is highly respected in the Ren family, she is still cautious, because she is afraid that the name of Kefu will bring misfortune to herself again. Now that this past is presented naked in front of a stranger, Liu is not only heartbroken. Sadness is more embarrassing to be explored.

"It's nothing, little sister-in-law, it doesn't matter if you don't do this kind of gossip business. Here are your ribs and minced meat, you take it. It's 630 seven coins in total, and you can just give 630 coins." Liu hurriedly took out the broken silver and handed it to The big man took the spare ribs from the big man's hand and the tight minced meat wrapped in oiled paper, thanked him and left in a hurry.

After returning home, Mrs. Liu hid in her room with Xingyun in her arms. The more she thought about it, the more sad she became.It wasn't until Xingchen came back from school early to wake her up that Mrs. Liu realized that it was already afternoon.

Knead the dough in a hurry and mix the dumpling stuffing.While busy, Mu Yan took Mu Yu back home, and seeing Liu's red eyes from crying, she couldn't help but wonder, "Aunt Liu, is someone bullying you?" Tears broke down, and she told Mu Yan what Mrs. Liang said today.

After hearing Liu's cries and worries, Mu Yan didn't know what to say.She was an atheist before, but it was against common sense for her to resurrect her own body.She didn't dare to say whether what happened to Lord Yan was accurate or not.I can only comfort Mrs. Liu to find out if there is any way to crack it, and if there is, just do it.But she thought it would happen, after all, Mrs. Liu was not the first person to remarry, widows remarried since ancient times, and Lord Yan thought it was not the first time to do such a thing.

After the winter solstice, it was getting colder every day. Liu's Tmall unpacked and washed thick cotton clothes for everyone at home, and didn't come to the store when there was nothing to do.Muyan and Xiao Muyu are guarding the store every day.At noon that day, diners were bustling with each other, a woman in red and green came by the door, and wanted to talk to Mu Yan as soon as she came in.Ask her what's the matter, she looks mysterious, and the aunt who helps her let her into the back hall.Mu Yan was paying the bills for several vegetable farmers, and Mu Yu was helping to find the bills, counting the copper coins and was very busy.I didn't realize the existence of this woman until I sent everyone away.

Just as she was about to ask her why she came, Mrs. Liang said first: "This girl is really handsome, and she knows how to settle accounts. I don't know which one will get the better deal in the future." As she spoke, she reached out to touch Mu Yan's hand, and Mu Yan looked at her. She looked like a matchmaker, and asked her impatiently: "What's the matter, ma'am?" Seeing Mu Yan's impatient look, Mrs. Liang curled her lips, and recalled the scene when she saw Mrs. Liu at Boss Han's butcher's shop that day. After some embellishment, Leng described buying meat as an affair between a man and a woman.He also said that not only that day, but even now that Mrs. Liu is still in the Han's shop, she doesn't care about face.

While doing the accounting, Mu Yan listened to Mrs. Liang talking right and wrong.Hearing that the woman said that Mrs. Liu also went to the Han family's butcher's shop in the past two days, she had a meal in her hands, and then she settled the accounts as if nothing had happened.After sending the woman away, Mu Yan took Mu Yu and walked towards the butcher shop of Han's.Not far away, I saw Mrs. Liu coming out of the shop, holding a piece of meat wrapped in lotus leaves.In the shop behind him, there was the shadow of a tall man poking behind the counter.

Going back in the evening, Mrs. Liu stewed a pot of meat, and Mu Yan took her younger siblings to finish eating.Observing Liu's expression while eating, it seemed that there was nothing unusual about it.To be honest, Mrs. Liu is only 27 or [-] years old, and she takes care of a litter of children all day long as a stepmother; It is also a dependence.Mu Yan is a modern person who takes this matter very openly, and if she wants to inquire about it, she is afraid that Liu Shi will be annoyed.

Seeing that the Chinese New Year is about to come, the restaurants are closed and they start preparing for the New Year.Telling the shop assistant to buy vegetables, chickens and ducks, Mu Yan made a special trip to the Han family's butcher shop to buy meat for the Chinese New Year.When I entered the store, I saw that it was no different from an ordinary storefront.It's just that the man standing behind the meat table is really eye-catching, but his body is almost like a cow pulling a cart, with a deep scar on his face, which is a bit shocking to look at.

Boss Han saw that the little girl who came in didn't buy meat, he just walked around in the store and stared at his own face, thinking that he, Han Shusheng, was someone who had seen the world, so he felt embarrassed by that look.After seeing off the customers in the store, Boss Han settled down and walked to Mu Yan and asked, "What do you need, Miss?"

"Ah, I'm going to buy some meat for the Chinese New Year. You pick me fat and well-proportioned meat, cut ten catties, and then add a hind leg." Mu Yan explained the meat she needed, and when Han Shusheng turned around, she suddenly asked: "Boss Han? Do you know Mrs. Liu from Tongfang Lane?" Han Shusheng paused, and when he turned around, his originally peaceful face froze, and his eyes became cold: "Young lady is not here to buy things, is she?"

Seeing that he was annoyed, Mu Yan guessed that he might have heard gossip about them, so she cut to the chase: "Liu is my stepmother, Boss Han has heard of it."

Boss Han heaved a sigh of relief when he heard her self-reported family name: "Young lady, what do you want to buy? There are still other things."

Seeing him softening his breath, Mu Yan smiled and said: "It's nothing. It's mainly for buying meat, and I'm just a little curious about Boss Han after hearing some words." Hearing what she said, Han Shusheng said nervously: "Girl, please don't buy meat." Listen to those stupid people, Hu Qin, you and Aunt Liu are innocent. It’s just that she always takes care of my business.” After a few gossips with Han Shusheng, after picking up the meat she bought, Mu Yan went out and took the meat away. Give it to Mrs. Liu, and there is nothing to say all night.

In a blink of an eye, winter goes to spring.The winter jasmine flowers hung on the branches, Mu Yan and the Zhou family jointly opened a new store, and they were so busy that they didn't touch the ground.Mrs. Liu is still taking care of them in the shop, but all the meat supplies in the shop are handed over to Han's butcher shop.Every ten days, Han Shusheng came to pay the bill, Mu Yan looked at it coldly, every time Han Shusheng came, he also brought some delicious and interesting things to Xingyun for an excuse.According to Mu Yan, it was brought to Xingyun, most of them were brought to Liu Shi, but I am too embarrassed to say so.

In the Qingming Festival of this year, Mrs. Liu went back to the village to visit the grave of Ren Xiucai and his wife, and the sun was still shining brightly when they went.On the way back, it started to rain. Halfway down the road, it became more and more serious. The car accidentally slipped into a mud puddle and broke the axle. Liu had no choice but to get out of the car and hug Xingyun to brave the rain and walk towards the county.

As the wind and rain intensified, Mrs. Liu was holding the child again, and the umbrella was unsteady, and the clothes on her body were soaked by the rain, and she couldn't stop crying even with the child.At this moment, Mrs. Liu saw a shack on the side of the road not far away, so she rushed to take shelter from the rain.As soon as she entered, she found a man in the shack, Liu was taken aback, and hurried out. "Little sister-in-law?" An uncertain voice came from the shack.Liu Shi heard the voice was very familiar, so she stopped and turned around to look.It was Han Shusheng who was hiding from the rain in the shack.

Mrs. Liu knew that she was in a mess right now, but since she was with her child, she couldn't hear an acquaintance calling her, so she turned around and faced Han Shusheng with a little embarrassment. "Why is Boss Han here?" Mrs. Liu asked. "Oh, I went outside to kill pigs today, but I didn't expect it to rain so much when I came back. Come in and hide." Boss Han was also very embarrassed when he saw that Liu's clothes were all wet and his curves were exposed, so he turned his back to Liu and replied.

It was warm in the shack because of the fire.Feeling more and more uncomfortable with the wet clothes tied to his body, Xingyun started crying again.Liu knew that the child must be cold and hungry.But there is a big man nestled here who can't untie his clothes to feed the baby, right?I can only coax softly.Han Shusheng was winking, and when he saw this scene, he let Mrs. Liu go to the bonfire in the hut, and moved outside by himself. "Sister-in-law, the child must be freezing, you bring him in to keep him warm. I will watch at the door." He said, holding an umbrella and guarding the door of the shack.

Mrs. Liu thanked her, turned her back by the campfire, lifted her clothes to feed the baby, and dried the wet clothes on the baby while feeding.After eating milk, Xingyun slowly fell asleep, and the only sound in the shack was the crackling of the bonfire. "Little sister-in-law, why is she traveling alone?" Han Shusheng couldn't stand the atmosphere, so he picked a topic.

"I went to visit my late husband's tomb to pay homage. The children were busy, so I went back alone. Who would have thought that the morning would be fine, but the afternoon would turn out like this, and the hired car broke down." Liu replied helplessly.The two chatted without saying a word, and gradually the sky was getting darker, but the rain was getting heavier.Mrs. Liu was very anxious, what should I do, have I been hiding?

Here Han Shusheng is also thinking, it seems that today can't stop, and if he doesn't go back now, he will spend the night here.I don't care about it, but Liu's reputation will definitely be ruined this night.No, even if I am interested in her, I can't marry her again if I hurt her reputation like this, it will be of no benefit to her.

"Sister-in-law, it's only a dozen miles away from the county seat. We might as well go back quickly. Otherwise, it will be even more difficult to get on the road later." Han Shusheng took off his outer robe and asked Liu to wrap Xingyun.Then he tore off the oilcloth wrapping the pork and asked Mrs. Liu to put it on the child, and the three of them rushed towards the county together.After bumping and walking for more than half an hour, I saw Mu Yan who had been looking all the way from the county.Seeing Liu Shi and Han Shusheng covered in rain and mud, Mu Yan hurriedly let them into the car, and thanked Han Shusheng again and again.Back home, Xingchen had already cooked ginger soup, and the few of them cleaned up and went to bed in a hurry.

Not long after that, the message that had already died down came out again, and Mrs. Liu became the heroine of the rumor again, and it was nothing more than what she was doing with Boss Han.Mu Yan felt that ignoring their gossip, the rumors would pass by themselves.But Mrs. Liu couldn't sit still, she cried and sighed at home all day, and within a few days she lost a lot of weight.Seeing that she was thinking so hard, Mu Yan had a heart-to-heart talk with Mrs. Liu to persuade her to obey her own will and not to pay attention to others.

In the blink of an eye, spring and winter came, and Ren Ji's business got better and better.The store was also gradually handed over to the servants who bought it. Liu Shi and Mu Yan only went to collect the money every day, and paid the bill when the delivery came.After Mu Yan's enlightenment, Mrs. Liu also gradually looked away, and did as she pleased, and no longer cared about those gossips.Now all the Yiying meat in the two stores are supplied by the Han family butcher shop.On weekdays, Han Shusheng does all the hard work at home, and he doesn't shy away from other people's eyes at all.Originally, those gossipers thought that the eldest daughter of Ren's parents would make a big fuss, but they didn't expect the children to be happy to see it happen. They smiled at Han Shusheng all day long, and changed their address from Boss Han to Uncle Han.

When Mu Yan arrived in Kaifeng, she officially entrusted Han Shusheng with the affairs of the store and her family.Only after getting the guarantee from Han Shusheng did he leave with the eldest brother of the Zhou family.But in the next few years, the two made very slow progress. I heard Xingchen said: Han Shusheng proposed several marriages but was rejected by Liu Shi because the children have not grown up yet.It wasn't until Xing Chen passed the examination as a scholar, Xing Yun entered a private school, Mu Yan married Zhan Zhao, and even Mu Yu said he was a good man that he nodded and agreed to the marriage.

On the day of the wedding, Mu Yan personally stuffed the box containing the house deed, ledger, seal and land deed of [-] acres of fertile land to Mrs. Liu.She smiled and told Liu Shi not to wrong herself, and if Han Shusheng treated her badly, she would just leave him and do it alone.Liu said with tears in his eyes and nodded repeatedly.Mu Yan covered Liu's head again with her own hands, and helped her into the sedan chair.Send this elder who silently guards her to a happy tomorrow.