Chapter 87: Attending a Wedding Banquet
Chapter 87: Attending a Wedding Banquet
Inside the workshop...
The other apprentices finished their work and took a rare break to gather in a ventilated corner to drink tea and chat.
The martial arts workshop is not a black-hearted factory, and it is not at the stage of squeezing bones to produce oil.
It doesn’t matter if the apprentices are slow, they just need to complete the tasks on time and have the rest of the time to allocate freely to doing anything.
In the entire workshop, only Xia Zhouyou was still working.
He was busy at his workstation, smoking a basket of pills, turning them over and over to allow the moisture to evaporate evenly.
No one knew that he was doing private work. The raw materials for tiger bone paste had been prepared long ago, and now he was busy preparing the raw materials for the heart-protecting pill.
The workshop conditions are good and the tools are complete, so it shouldn’t be too easy to do private work.
"Experience +70, Pharmaceutical Level 7→Iv8."
After Zhou You finished smoking this basket of pills, he stretched his body and handed in his task for today.
Lu Qiang checked the raw materials delivered by Zhou You. The quality was solid and there was nothing wrong with them. He nodded with satisfaction.
"Big Brother, I would like to ask for two days' leave."
"Is there something going on at home?"
Zhou You nodded and said, "Song Fugui is getting married, and he invited my family to attend the wedding."
Who is Song Fugui?
Lu Qian thought for a moment before realizing that it was a new apprentice in Zhou You's room who had been eliminated early on.
Such a person has no future in the world of martial arts and is destined to become one of the mediocre people.
This family makes a living by selling oil, so they are not considered wealthy.
Zhou You still keeps in touch with him today, so he is obviously a nostalgic person.
"Go!"
Zhou You returned home a few days ago and asked his father to buy the remaining medicinal herbs. He learned the news that Song Fugui was getting married.
The girl's family moved here from Sucheng. They were well-off and not a refugee family.
"The bride's dowry was generous, and she agreed to help him open an oil shop, which fulfilled the dream of three generations of the Song family."
Zhou You had heard Song Fugui mention earlier that since his grandfather's generation, they would buy oil on credit from the village mill and sell it outside, working from dawn to dusk with the dream of opening an oil shop in the city.
But how difficult is it to open a store in the city?
From grandfather to father and then to Song Fugui, the money accumulated by three generations of selling oil is still a long way from enough to buy a shop.
Father Zhou You sighed and said, "No matter what, it is a complete success."
Song Fugui delivered oil to Zhou You's home every few days and was very respectful to Zhou You's parents, which left a good impression on the old couple.
He went to invite them that day and the Zhou family readily agreed.
Old Man Zhou specially used this month's dividend to exchange for a piece of expensive silk to make new clothes for the whole family.
Zhou You asked for leave today to go back home so that he could take his parents to the wedding banquet.
After returning home, there were several large boxes piled in the room, all of which were medicinal herbs that my father bought from the business.
"You'er, these herbs are all at cost price. I'll pick the best quality ones for you."
Old Man Zhou was wearing a new silk suit, holding a golden cigarette holder in his hand, and his face was full of joy.
Mother was holding folded new clothes and asked Zhou You to try them on for size.
My mother has a good craftsmanship. The clothes fit perfectly and are both stylish and comfortable to wear.
"Mom, put on your gold jewelry too."
Zhou You saw that his mother's hands and head were clean without any jewelry, and he couldn't help but frown and remind her.
Mother quickly explained, "It's not safe on the streets these days. I don't even dare to wear a silver hairpin."
There were refugees everywhere in the city, so hungry that their eyes turned red and they would chop off a woman's hand for a copper bracelet.
"What are you afraid of? I'm here to protect you today. Who dares to move?"
Zhou You patted his chest, a murderous look on his face.
The family packed up, locked the door and went out. Zhou You was holding the gift that his father had specially prepared for him, and in his arms was a red envelope that he had prepared.
When you go to a wedding, you cannot go empty-handed, it's etiquette.
"Uncle, aunt, are you out?"
When he went out, he saw Widow Li, wearing a headscarf and with a dark face, walking to the door to pour water.
"Yes, I went to Youer's friend's house for a wedding banquet."
Old Man Zhou’s face was flushed and his voice was loud.
Zhou You was curious about Widow Li's appearance. She usually dressed up gorgeously, but why was she...
On the way, Zhou Youniang told the truth.
"Isn't it because of the flower thieves who have committed evil and harmed so many daughters of good families?"
"No way. I heard that flower thieves are very selective and only target wealthy families."
The flower thief has emerged in the past one or two months. It is rumored that his real identity is a martial arts master from Sucheng.
He moved high and low, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, and his targets were the women of the wealthy families in the city.
In recent days, a number of unmarried ladies have been raped and killed.
The third daughter of Mr. Zhang, the owner of the South City Grain Store, the niece of Captain Qu, the immediate superior of Constable Liu, and the granddaughter of the second elder of the Crazy Horse Gang... all fell victim to the murder.
I've never heard of this guy attacking ordinary people.
"Shock, you don't know, the flower thieves are getting more and more crazy, they are no longer satisfied with the rich families, they are targeting any pretty girl on the street."
"Remember Sister Cui Er from the pastry shop on the next street?"
Zhou You's mother reminded Zhou You, "Is that the one you and Gao Qiang secretly watched when you were little?"
"Mom, don't talk about the past anymore."
Sister Cui'er is the dream lover of young people in the surrounding streets, and is nicknamed... Pastry Xishi.
In Zhou You's memory, Sister Cui'er had a pair of slender fingers as white as green onions, and she nimbly picked out cakes and packed them, attracting the young boys to peek at her.
Every piece of pastry touched by her hands is sweeter and more fragrant than honey!
When Zhou You was a child, he dreamed of getting married, but of course he doesn’t think about that anymore.
"Sister Cui'er, you were also abused a few days ago. You hanged yourself before dawn. What a sin!"
Zhou Youniang said bitterly, "Neighbors, anyone with a female family would smear soot on their faces, fearing that they would be harmed."
Normally, the young girls and wives in the neighborhood would put rouge on their faces, but now they want to make themselves as uglier as possible.
Zhou You then realized that along the way, almost all the people walking on the road were men, and there were very few women.
"You'er, our family is protected by the martial arts school, so we won't have any problems for now."
Zhou Youniang hesitated and mentioned something, "Widow Li is alone with her child. She is scared at night and wants to live in our house..."
"No, absolutely not. Doesn't she have Constable Liu?"
Zhou You flatly refused. Once this door was opened, anyone would dare to come close to him.
"The niece of Constable Liu's boss has been raped. Even an official can't protect her!"
Father Zhou sighed, "Your mother is soft-hearted. I don't agree with this. Widow Li hooked up with Constable Liu. Her reputation is not good. It's not right for her to live in our house. Your father also has to respect himself."
In other words, what if there is some scandal?
Seeing that both men in the family disagreed, Zhou Youniang had to give up.
A family of three was walking on the street, wearing new clothes, and the mother was wearing gold jewelry, attracting many covetous eyes.
In the street corners, dark alleys and other places where there is no light, there are many refugees hiding with sad eyes.
However, when these gazes fell on Zhou You, they shrank back in fear as if they were burned by hot irons or charcoal.
The identity of an apprentice in a martial arts school can still scare off the villains. These vagrants can survive to this day because they are good at bullying the weak and fearing the strong. They would never dare to provoke people who practice martial arts, otherwise they would have been beaten to death long ago.
(End of this chapter)