Chapter 57: Almost Beheaded
Liu Yu and Hua Caoying bargained for a long time, and with the cooperation of the human traffickers, they reduced their monthly salary by half a tael of silver, which added up to 6 taels of silver per year. After signing the lease, they went to the government office to register in the afternoon.
When she went out today, all her wealth was with her. Just in case, she brought not only Guyu, but also the old woman that Mr. Chen San gave her.
The old woman was called Grandma Kui and she was mute.
After coming out of the dental clinic, she gave the key to the Panlou North Street shop that she had just obtained to Guyu, and asked her to go back home and ask Lixia and Jingzhe to come and clean the house.
She and Grandma Kui went to a pawn shop. Grandma Kui was a big girl with a masculine appearance. She stood by and the shopkeeper didn't dare to lower the price too much.
The hairpin is solid and of good quality. The price given by the shopkeeper is 280 taels for a dead pawn and 170 taels for a live pawn. It can be redeemed at any time within five years.
Liu Yu chose the pawn job. After all, the gold hairpin was given to her by the old lady. Maybe if the old lady remembered it one day, she would not be helpless.
After finishing making the hairpins, seeing that it was still early, Liu Yu estimated that Guyu and the others might not have arrived yet. She walked around West Street and the back street of the Second Lane near Panlou North Street. Including Panlou North Street, there were a total of five embroidery workshops.
There are two companies that mainly make coarse cloth clothes and handkerchiefs. Their embroidery is rough, but the quantity is large.
Two of the other three companies mainly serve high-ranking officials and dignitaries. Their embroidery products are relatively exquisite, and the patterns are exactly the most popular styles in Yanjing City at that time.
Compared to these four, the remaining one interested Liu Yu more.
When visiting these four embroidery workshops, she learned that the last one, also located on Panlou North Street, was called Tianxia Diyifang, and the owner was from Jiangnan. It was said that the patterns and designs that were popular in Yanjing City now all flowed into the capital from Tianxia Diyifang.
They not only do business with the rich and powerful in Beijing, but even the clothes and embroidery of the empresses in the palace are made by this number one workshop in the world.
Every embroiderer in the No. 1 Workshop in the World has her own unique skills, and it can be said that it is a place that every embroiderer yearns for.
Liu Yu didn’t know whether this No. 1 workshop in the world was as great as people boasted, but its location and size were beyond her reach.
Compared with her small shop, Xiaojietianxiadiyifang is a two-story building located at the intersection of Panlou North Street. Judging from the endless stream of customers coming in and out, one can't help but envy it.
Just as Liu Yu was about to go in and take a look, she saw Guyu, Lixia and Jingzhe walking from the end of the street.
Liu Yu gave up the idea of entering the No. 1 Place in the World and turned to walk towards them.
When they were less than ten feet apart.
"Guyu..."
Her voice stopped abruptly, and the bamboo frames that were being repaired in the shop opposite all fell towards the street, with Guyu and Madam Liu Yukui among them.
The Beginning of Summer and the Waking of Insects were left in front of the shop by Guyu.
If the bamboo frame falls down, Guyu, her, and Grandma Kui will all be hit, and no one will be spared.
People who practice martial arts have sharp ears and eyes, better than ordinary people. When they heard the bamboo frame creaking, Granny Kui grabbed Liu Yu's waist and quickly retreated to the back.
Liu Yu only felt a flash before her eyes, and when she came to her senses, she was already several feet away from the range of the bamboo frame.
"what…"
"Get out of the way, girl, get out of the way..."
"It's going to kill someone."
"Lady..."
"... "
A chaotic sound suddenly arose.
As he approached, a loud "boom" was heard, which made his eardrums buzz and caused dust to fly all over the ground, temporarily obscuring Liu Yu's vision.
Liu Yu, however, could not care less and resisted the urge to escape. She grabbed the arm of Grandma Kui beside her based on her feeling. She heard Guyu's voice and had to ask Grandma Kui to save Guyu.
As soon as she opened her mouth, before she could say anything, the dust that was floating freely in the air was sucked into her mouth, choking her throat and making it itchy, and she started coughing violently.
"Cough cough cough..."
Grandma Kui immediately supported Liu Yu and patted her on the back.
Liu Yu shook his head, suppressed his cough, and said eagerly in a hoarse voice:
"Granny Kui, I'm fine, hurry...go and save Guyu."
Granny Kui gestured to her. Liu Yu nodded, took two steps back, looked at Granny Kui's sturdy body, and rushed into the dust and haze raised by the bamboo frame.
At this time, the shop under repair across the street knew that something had happened, and someone ran out to check the situation.
Liu Yu stood there pacing restlessly.
It was at this time that Zhao Yan saw her. He was comforting the people around him who had luckily escaped the disaster.
"What did you do? You killed someone. Do you know that?
"No one checked? This is not taking human life seriously!"
"How many people are walking on this street? Can you afford the compensation?"
"... "
Zhao Yan smiled apologetically and said that the Zhao family would compensate everyone involved in the accident, whether injured or dead, and at the same time called the shopkeeper out to coordinate the subsequent compensation arrangements.
When he was trying to appease the masses, he saw Liu Yu at a glance.
Liu Yu was wearing an ordinary azure blue rippled brocade skirt today, and the hat on her head covered most of her body, making her look no different from any other girl walking on the street.
What caught Zhao Yan's attention was not anything else, but Liu Yu's anxious look.
He walked up to Liu Yu and asked in a gentle tone:
"Girl, is it your friend who was hit by our bamboo frame? Sorry, please wait a moment, I have sent someone in the shop to look for him." The voice was full of apology.
"Thank you." Liu Yu didn't even look at him, his eyes fixed on the direction where Grandma Kui went in, without blinking.
This time, an accident occurred in his shop. Zhao Yan apologized again and promised again that no matter whether Liu Yu's friend was injured or had other problems, their shop would be responsible. Then he turned around to comfort others.
Gradually the dust settled and the vision became clear.
But after seeing the situation inside clearly, Liu Yu was stunned for a moment.
Where Guyu had been standing, the person lying down was not Guyu, but a man.
No, to be precise, Guyu was being wrapped in a cloak by the man and protected under his body.
Granny Aoi was standing nearby, not knowing what to do.
Guyu's little head popped out from the man's arms, and when she saw her, her little face instantly turned red.
Seeing that Guyu was fine, Liu Yu breathed a sigh of relief, walked around the bamboo frame across the street, and quickly came to them.
Only then did she realize that the man who was protecting Guyu was unconscious, with his whole body pressing on Guyu.
"My wife," Guyu was both embarrassed and anxious, his face flushed red.
Liu Yu winked at Nanny Kui, and the two of them worked together to get the people up. Many people were hit by the bamboo rack, but fortunately no one noticed them.
"Madam, what should we do?" Guyu asked anxiously, looking at his savior who was still in a coma.
"Help the man into Zhao's shop first, and you go to the pharmacy to find a doctor." Liu Yu ordered decisively.
Zhao Yan, who was helping to check the situation, saw someone fainted and immediately ran over and took over Liu Yu:
"Hurry, help him into the shop."