Chapter 324 Staying where he is waiting

Chapter 324 Staying where he is waiting

Chapter 324 Staying where he is waiting

Entering the courtyard where the woman was,

Lu Yunyi immediately saw several old spinning wheels piled up in a corner of the courtyard.

It was covered with dust and there were some cobwebs hanging on it.

Seeing him looking over, Yin Haoran also looked at the old spinning wheels, with some regret in his eyes, and said softly:
"General Lu, that is the spinning wheel I picked up from the cloth workshop in the city.
I originally thought that if the spinning wheel in the courtyard broke down, I could dismantle one or two of them and repair them.

But unexpectedly, the spinning wheel in the cloth workshop was used together with the jacquard machine.

The spinning wheel in the yard is an old item from many years ago. It is not used and has been left here forever.”

Listening to Yin Haoran's narration,

Lu Yunyi nodded gently.
Now some larger cloth mills use jacquard machines.

The cloth coming out of the spinning wheel can directly enter the jacquard machine for processing to increase the beauty of the cloth.

Especially in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, I heard that more advanced technology has been developed.

The more delicate silk carvings on silk are very popular among some dignitaries.

With such a status as this, the orphanage could only afford the most old-fashioned hand-cranked spinning wheel.

Lu Yunyi waved forward, signaling Yin Haoran to continue leading the way.

Yin Haoran bowed slightly and walked quickly.

The courtyard is not big, and there is not much space left except for the spinning wheels.
Soon I walked over and saw a house with an open door in front of me.
The house was quite large, and one could vaguely see the plainly dressed women sitting inside.
As he walked, Lu Yunyi slowly stopped in front of the mottled door.

Listening quietly to the deep and powerful hum of the spinning wheel,
The sound echoed softly, carrying an indescribable sense of depression and heaviness.

Following the sound, I saw that the furnishings in the house were extremely simple, with only a few old spinning wheels.

They are placed neatly around the room.

Beside the spinning wheel, there were women sitting or standing.

The hands operate the spinning wheel skillfully, the movements are mechanical and repetitive.
Most of them were in their thirties or forties, with pale and thin faces.

There was no expression on his face, as if he had lost his soul.

As they moved, the spun cotton threads were thin and fragile, but they continued to stretch and began to intertwine little by little.

Not far away, there were some women doing auxiliary work.

Or tidying up cotton wool, or mending torn cloth,
They are younger, and their faces are also filled with fatigue and numbness.

Lu Yunyi immediately saw Chunniang folding the coarse cloth.
Her skin is still as fair as ever.
She has a toughness that is different from other women.
During the activity, his lips were tightly pursed, his eyes showed determination, and his movements were particularly fast.
This also caused a thin layer of sweat to appear on her forehead, and she raised her arm from time to time to quickly wipe her forehead.

Yin Haoran, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but sigh when he saw this:
"General Lu, Chunniang is the most attentive and diligent worker."

Lu Yunyi nodded and asked softly:

"How much money can you earn doing these jobs? Is it enough to cover the expenses of the poorhouse?"

Everyone looked at Yin Haoran, hoping to get his answer.

Yin Haoran hesitated and shook his head slowly:

"Reporting to General Lu, the only jobs we can take on in the orphanage are to process some scraps of cloth and do some of the simplest work.

There is not much money in these jobs.
After working all day, you may only earn enough to buy half a day's meal.

Fortunately, with the rice and flour distributed by the imperial court, the orphanage was able to hold on."

After these words were spoken, Lu Yunyi's face remained calm and he nodded, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

The guards around and Mu Chuting felt a little uncomfortable.
It’s so hard to earn only half a day’s food money after a busy day.

At this time, Yin Haoran showed a bit of pity on his face, and said in a deep voice:

"When there were men here in the past, they could do some hard labor.
Although they were not strong enough, several people could still do it as one man.
Li Fu gave a lot of money.
There will be some surplus and life will be better.

But later, all the men were recruited by the government to be laborers.
The poorhouse lost a large portion of its income, and life became difficult. It was common for them to go hungry. "

As he spoke, a trace of worry flashed in Yin Haoran's eyes:
"I don't know how they are doing in the Central Army."

Mu Chuting had a complicated expression, pursed her lips, looked at Yin Haoran and asked softly:

"The imperial court distributes six dan of rice every year. Isn't that enough?"

Yin Haoran's breathing quickened a little, a hint of hesitation flashed across his eyes, and his voice became lighter:
"If we go by the number of people, there will certainly be enough rice and flour.

But there are too many people in the orphanage, and the rice and flour provided by the court is far from enough."

He pointed in the direction he came from and looked at the two small courtyards not far away:
"Most of those children and the elderly are not included in the quota of the poorhouse.
They also needed to eat, but the court only gave them so much rice, so they could only do some work to barely survive.

This way, everyone can be a little hungry, but they won’t starve to death.”

"Why didn't the court distribute rice and flour to them?"

Feng Yunfang, who was standing aside, asked the question, with a look of confusion and solemnity on his face.

"According to the imperial court's list, the poorhouse can only accommodate a hundred people.

But now the poorhouse has nearly 200 people.

The court won’t take care of the extra hundred people, so we need to find a way ourselves.”

"Why not ask the court?" Feng Yunfang's brows were still frowned.

After hearing this, Yin Haoran looked strange.
He looked back and forth at Feng Yunfang, not wanting to pay any attention to him.
But considering his identity, he still explained:
"Sir, I can tell from your appearance that you have never had a hard life.

The government is short of food, so it's good enough if we can give it some.
If you want more, there is no way.”

Yin Haoran immediately realized that the tone was wrong and quickly cupped his hands:

"Please forgive me, sir. I got a little carried away."

Feng Yunfang fell into deep thought.

Mu Chuting, who was standing by, knew why the government was short of food.

Because of the poor harvest caused by the continuous wars,

Now, the Ming Dynasty has gradually mobilized nearly 300,000 troops to Yunnan.

The amount of food that people eat and horses chew is huge every day.
If the imperial court had not been transporting grain to Yunnan in recent years, the people of Yunnan Provincial Administration might have suffered from the disaster long ago.

Lu Yunyi's face was calm. Seeing that they were silent, he spoke lightly:
"Call Chunniang out."

Yin Haoran felt as if he had been pardoned and hurried in.

His figure quickly attracted the attention of the women.

Gradually, he noticed the person standing at the door, and he couldn't help showing fear and lowering his head quickly.

Some women looked puzzled.
I stared at the young man in black in front of me, feeling that he was extremely familiar, as if I had seen him somewhere before.

Inside the house, Yin Haoran walked to Chunniang and whispered something.
Chun Niang, who was concentrating all her attention, raised her head and looked towards the door.

In an instant, Chunniang's eyes lit up, as if emitting two rays of divine light!

Then, panic flashed across Chunniang's face.
His vision blurred, and he staggered and ran over quickly.
but,
When she got near the gate,
His steps slowed down a little bit, and fear appeared on his face, as if he didn't dare to move forward.

Time seemed to stand still in the dim and depressing house, and there was an indescribable heaviness and sadness in the air.

The woman from the orphanage looked over at him with a heavy expression on her face.

Chunniang stood not far from the door in a daze, not daring to step forward.

Some time has passed since the tragedy.
The days of the poorhouse were dark and gloomy,

From the conversations of the people here, she had already sensed what had happened in Wushan Village.

I also understood my situation.
I also learned about the young general's original "deception",
Even so, she still didn't want to give up.

Eat heartily every day, work hard, and wait patiently.

As the days passed, the fighting outside Dali City came to an end.
The general who promised to find her husband has not appeared yet
Chunniang gradually became discouraged and wanted to collapse countless times, but she still persevered.

She was waiting, repeating in her heart countless times,

He will come and bring her husband back and her children back.

Fortunately, she waited.

However, Chunniang did not feel the joy she should have felt, but instead suddenly felt a surge of fear.
It's like the lingering before a beautiful dream is shattered.

She didn't dare to go forward, didn't dare to see if her husband was behind the tall figure.

She stood there in a daze, hoping that familiar face would appear and squeeze out from the crowd.

But when Chunniang burst into tears, no familiar face appeared.

Chunniang took one step back, two steps back.

In the astonishment of everyone, he turned around resolutely.

She returned to where she originally worked and continued to be busy.

As always, arms kept rising,
This time what was wiped away was not sweat, but tears.

Lu Yunyi stood there for a long time, feeling extremely complicated.

He raised his foot, hesitated for a long time outside the threshold, and finally fell heavily.
With a heavy sigh, he stepped across the threshold.

Walked towards where Chunniang was.

The cramped and dark room started to get busy again, as if nothing had happened just now.

The sound of the buzzing sound continued to resound. Chunniang seemed not to notice his arrival, and just lowered her head a little.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see many figures entering.

No, no, really not.

Tears rolled down, dripping onto the coarse cloth in my hands.

The midday sun shone through the window.

When the water was applied to the light grey coarse cloth, water stains appeared one after another.

Chunniang pursed her lips, trying to suppress the twitching of her body, and wiped it hurriedly on the coarse cloth.

Until a tall figure appeared in front of her, completely blocking out the light.
The tear marks seemed to disappear without a trace at this moment.

The sound of the spinning wheel stopped.

The room was dead silent, with only the sound of Chunniang trying to suppress her sobs.

A young but steady voice sounded:
"I have killed all the people who caused chaos in Wushan Village.
The man who instigated them to riot was also captured by me.

The court has punished the officials who allowed them to enter the country. "

"And my husband?"

After a long silence, there was finally a sound.

The voice was like a sharp sword, cutting off Lu Yunyi's words.

The hearts of everyone present seemed to be suddenly grabbed.

No matter what she did to remedy the situation, the suffering had already happened and her husband would never come back.

Chunniang remembered something and hurriedly took something out from her bosom.
Clench, stretch, open.

The palms are different from the white cheeks. They are covered with calluses and small wounds.

Between the crisscross,

A folded banknote lies quietly.

Five cents.

Compared to the last time I saw it, the edges of the banknote seemed to be more worn, revealing a greater sense of vicissitudes than before.

"General..this is all I have. Please help me..find my husband back."

Feeling a familiar scene,
Lu Yunyi looked at the worn and folded five-cent banknote and fell silent.

The lunch at the poorhouse was very simple.
The sprouts are boiled in plain water and sprinkled with some meat before serving.

The place for dinner was an empty yard not far away.

There was no table here originally.

Everyone has to squat or stand while holding their bowls to eat.

Because of Lu Yunyi's arrival, a table was specially set up in the courtyard.
In addition to boiled sprouts, there was also a bowl of pickled vegetables on the table.

Lu Yunyi and Mu Chuting sat on one side.
Sitting opposite were Chunniang and another woman.
Sitting on one side was Yin Haoran.

In front of everyone, there is a bowl of "white rice" mixed with bran.
It was steaming hot, but lacked the aroma that rice should have.

Yin Haoran looked at the rice and sprouts with a bit of embarrassment on his face.

The corners of his mouth twitched and he tried to smile several times, but he held it back.

He had no choice but to move the small bowl of pickles closer and make a gesture of invitation.

"General Lu, please bear with me."

Lu Yunyi nodded calmly.

Looking at Chunniang and the woman opposite who had already shown eagerness, he spoke softly:
"Eat."

After the words fell, Chunniang and the woman didn't care.

He picked up the bowl and started to dig, his movements were fast and his expression was ferocious.

Often, before one bite is even swallowed, one has already picked up another with chopsticks.

When Lu Yunyi saw this scene, he was a little surprised, but then he understood.

Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes,
There is competition even in places where people have enough food and warm clothing, let alone in places like this where people are not well fed and clothed.

The competition and survival in the workhouse will only get worse.

Lu Yunyi picked up the chopsticks and began to eat in small bites.

The bran rice does not taste as soft and sticky as it should, but instead has a sticky feeling due to friction from a foreign object.

Mu Chuting on the side was a little embarrassed.

Her red lips were tightly closed and her teeth were chewing non-stop, hoping to crush the bran in her mouth.

But after trying for a long time, the rice has turned into a paste.

The bran was still sticky, so I had no choice but to swallow it hard.

Feeling the foreign body sensation in the throat,
Mu Chuting looked at Chun Niang opposite
She had a blank expression on her face and empty eyes.

He just kept shoveling rice into his mouth, chewing it gently twice and then swallowing it.

The tasteless sprouts tasted like delicacies from the land and sea in her mouth.

She turned her head to look at her husband. Although he was eating slowly, he was eating.

Noticing her gaze, Lu Yunyi spoke calmly:
"When we were fighting in the north, the steamed bread we ate was as hard as iron.

Every time I take a bite, I have to use all my strength to bite off some residue, just like eating ice.

It is great to have a hot meal here.”

It sounds easy, but it adds a touch of heaviness to this heavy yard.

Mu Chuting pursed her lips.
She asked herself how hard it was to march and fight.

But today, a simple meal shattered many of her previous thoughts.

It turns out that the people have a hard life, and marching and fighting are also so hard.

While she was thinking, Chunniang across from her had already finished the food in her bowl. Seeing her pick up her bowl and chopsticks and get up to leave,
Yin Haoran, who was standing by, quickly reached out and grabbed her, pulling her back.

"Sit down, the general is still here, you need to know some etiquette."

Chunniang sat there, her face full of death.
She didn't get the answer she wanted, but she already knew the answer.

Lu Yunyi reached out and took the small bowl of rice in front of Mu Chuting and handed it to her.

"Here, eat this."

Chunniang took it without hesitation and started to eat voraciously.

The sprouts in the pot are already empty.
Perhaps it was Yin Haoran's order that neither Chunniang nor the woman touched the pickles.

Even so, she ate the hard-to-swallow rice with relish.

Lu Yunyi's expression changed for the first time, and he spoke slowly with a heavy look on his face:
"This time, I came here under the order of Duke Cao to provide shelter for you women who have suffered disasters."

"If you wish, you can marry the men under my command.
Live a stable life again and don’t have to stay here anymore.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the clanging of dishes and chopsticks in the courtyard suddenly stopped.
Instead, there were more wolf-like and tiger-like eyes.

Lu Yunyi ignored the looks around him and turned to look at Chun Niang, his voice softened:
"I have already avenged your grudge. Now that the old man has passed away, please accept my condolences."

“No matter how bumpy life is, we must live it brilliantly.

There are some kind-hearted brothers among the general, and they will treat you well. "

In the slightly crowded courtyard, only Chunniang's chopsticks were still colliding with the bowl and chopsticks.
She acted as if she didn't hear it and continued eating.

Lu Yunyi was not in a hurry. He just waited there, quietly waiting for her to finish eating.

Yin Haoran, who was standing by, was extremely anxious.

"Mother Chun, it's the same no matter who you live with.
General Lu's soldiers can earn several taels of silver every month, which is enough for you to live a good life."

Chunniang paused.
Tears welled up in my eyes and I ate faster.

Lu Yunyi stretched out his hand and pressed it, signaling Yin Haoran not to speak.

At the same time, he waved to Feng Yunfang behind him.

Feng Yunfang immediately understood, took out a booklet, paper and pen from his pocket, and said as he walked:

"Women who want to leave, follow me."

After the women left, the courtyard became completely quiet, with only the sound of dishes and chopsticks colliding.

Strangely, Chunniang ate slower and slower.
The body was choking more and more.
At some point, she could no longer suppress the sadness in her heart.

Lu Yunyi began to persuade him again.

He told the soldiers about the benefits and the days ahead.

But there was only one answer.

"General Lu, let me stay here."

(End of this chapter)