As soon as breakfast was eaten, the dumb aunt added a hairy coat, filled the hand stove with charcoal, and looked at everyone, "There are still errands for you to work hard today." The master is not here, Liu Wan, you don't have to study, you can also follow us to learn some housework. ”

Qian'er hurriedly helped Liu Wan and Liu Xue to add cotton clothes, but she didn't ask how to carry out today's work, the two of them talked a lot last night, and she could vaguely guess one or two things, and besides, she had been following the dumb aunt for a long time, she had long been accustomed to the style of the little grandmother, and she always suddenly came up with an idea that others couldn't think of, and she had to stubbornly follow this direction, but fortunately, it was always right to go all the way. So Qian'er simply didn't ask, and cooperated neatly.

The dumb aunt instructed Qian'er: "You go and invite Mama Li to come, just say that I said it, and let her call all the mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law in charge of the house, I have something to explain to you publicly." ”

Qian'er hesitated this time, "Little grandma, how many of them are Mama Li's henchmen in this house, we don't know, so rashly shouting so many people to follow, I'm afraid that there may not be a few who will be towards us at that time." ”

The dumb aunt didn't care, "Let's do it first, how can you know the depth of the water if you don't try." ”

The person quickly shouted, and when the dumb aunt came out of the corner courtyard gate, there were more than a dozen women standing at the door.

There are a few who are old and older than Li's mother, and when they saw the dumb aunt, they had an old face, a face that you can't help me.

The dumb aunt glanced at the front of her lightly, "I spent a day yesterday, and I didn't expect that there were many interesting places in our house." I'm bothering your mother, sister-in-law, and sister to come today, I want to invite everyone to walk together, I'm a junior, I don't understand a lot of things, and I can't do without your guidance. Therefore, when it is time to speak, I hope that you will not be silent and golden. ”

After speaking, Ying Ying bowed.

Everyone else looked at it coldly, but Mama Li pounced on her to help, "Oh, little grandma, don't be so modest, you are now the lady in charge of the house, except for the master, you are more majestic than those aunts, who dare not listen to you, we are subordinates, and everything is obeyed by you!"

The dumb aunt grabbed Li's mother's arm with her backhand and smiled, "With the words of the old sister, I feel much more at ease." Okay, let's just go shopping. ”

Mother Li's face was a little pale, "I'm going to check on the courtyards again?"

The dumb aunt's eyes were bright and she watched quietly.

Mama Li suddenly bumped into this gaze, and couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart, she couldn't tell why, and she was a little scared in her heart.

What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of a teenage girl?

She quickly plucked up her courage and found out what about it, didn't she find out that the second aunt suffered that kind of big crime yesterday, the third aunt's maid was assigned to do rough work and was deducted from charcoal, didn't the child's daughter-in-law not put a single fart, which means that she has no problem with herself, the housekeeper lady, even if she finds out the problem again, it is a big deal that she will make up for the deduction.

After making up her mind, Li's mother became happy and led the way with a smile.

Passing by Aunt Jiu's residence, Mother Li was about to bypass, and the dumb aunt waved her hand: "Let's go see Aunt Nine first." ”

Aunt Jiu Li Wanjiao came out of the house, and it seemed to be a dumb aunt, she looked a little strange, she seemed to welcome it, and she didn't welcome it, but the Yahuan Lanju behind her was clever, and she had already opened the door curtain to greet her.

"Let's take a look at Brother Bao. The dumb aunt smiled and gave Li Wanjiao a salute, and after speaking, she looked down at Liu Bao who was learning to walk on the ground, this child was white and fat, and he was very cute. The dumb aunt hugged her in her arms and kissed her forehead, but she didn't expect that Liu Bao was not afraid of life at all, so she hugged the dumb aunt's neck with her backhand and kissed her fiercely on the face.

Liu Wan also came over, saw his younger brother so cute, liked it from the heart, and wiped a jade bracelet from his wrist, "The old man praised me for writing very well, and I specially rewarded it, give it to Bao'er." ”

Bao'er was curious when she saw the bracelet, so she took it and put it in her mouth. He is in the nature of a child, and everything must be tasted in his mouth first.

"Brother Bao can't eat it-" Yahuan Lanxiang hurriedly came up to stop her.

The dumb aunt quietly observed Li Wanjiao, but Li Wanjiao didn't care, and waved her hand: "Tell him to play, and he won't eat it when the freshness passes." ”

The dumb aunt looked at Li Wanjiao, Li Wanjiao suddenly grabbed the dumb aunt's hand, and there were faint tears in her eyes, "You can be regarded as coming, you don't know that I have been looking forward to it for a long time." ”

The dumb aunt knew that she was asking for herself, so she knew it in her heart, and got up and walked behind the curtain. The two of them sat down on the edge of the bed, and the dumb aunt took the pulse.

Aunt Jiu smiled too bitterly: "I should have invited you as soon as you came, but there are many people in this house, and if you say a word or take an extra step, it will cause trouble, and besides, I have been hiding my illness from my master——"

The dumb aunt nodded, "I understand." No, just removed the biggest stumbling block, it's time to see you. ”

Liu Wan wondered why the dumb aunt hid behind the curtain, and what could she and Aunt Nine mutter. wanted to lift the curtain to take a look, but Qian'er grabbed her arm and stopped in a low voice: "You are a big man, is it appropriate to go to someone's inner room?"

Liu Wan glared angrily. When did he become a big man? He didn't want to be a big man, and being a big man was restricted everywhere.

The dumb aunt put down another thick layer of curtains, and Lanxiang lit the lamp and brought it into the tent. Liu Wan became more and more anxious, and motioned to Qian'er, "What is this for? She won't bully the stinky woman, right?"

Qian'er hugged his arm tightly and didn't allow him to go in to see what was going on.

Aunt Jiu in the tent hurried to undress like a life-saving straw, she was still very reserved when she took off her clothes and checked last year, and she was tortured intermittently by a dark disease for a year, and now she can still care about shame.

The dumb aunt watched slowly by the light, and secretly took a breath of cold air after reading.

"How is it, can it be cured?" Aunt Nine grabbed the dumb aunt's arm with a crying voice and asked, the dumb aunt suppressed the consternation in her heart, and squeezed out a smile on her face: "It's nothing, it's not serious, I just have to stick to the medicine, and I will go back and make some pastes and pills, and it is estimated that it will take a year or two to completely heal." Also, you can't touch a man, not once. ”

Aunt Jiu's face turned pale in an instant, and her eyes were filled with despair, "If you want it, master, I can't stop it, and I don't dare to say that I'm not good." I'm afraid ......."

She was afraid that if she didn't rely on this to tie the master's heart, the old man with a heart would go to find someone else, anyway, there were many aunts and wives in this house, and besides, he could also accept a younger concubine to enter the door.

The dumb aunt sighed in her heart, being born in such an environment is a tragedy for every woman. Even if Aunt Jiu is so young, beautiful and favored, she can't guarantee happiness for a lifetime.

The dumb aunt wrote a prescription, "Let's take this medicine." Later, I will adjust the prescription for you according to your condition. ”

Only then did Liu Wan understand, "It turned out to be a disease, so why do we have to hide, we are not outsiders, and we are not allowed to see it." ”

The dumb aunt stretched out her hand and slapped him on the arm, "Don't treat yourself as a child, Ganluo Twelve is the prime minister, you are now thirteen! ”

As he spoke, he got up and said goodbye, and left with the mother-in-law who was waiting in the courtyard.

Aunt Nine didn't come out to send it off.

Mother Li tentatively came up, "She's still happy, isn't she? She is the most important place here, the person on the tip of the master's heart, everything is the first to do her best." ”

The dumb aunt smiled faintly, "Okay, the old sister has always been the safest to run errands." ”

The group then visited the residences of the second, fifth, sixth, and seventh aunts in the order of several aunts and wives from the largest to the smallest. Everywhere she went, Mama Li and other servants automatically stopped and stood in the courtyard waiting, and the dumb aunt came into the house to talk, but she didn't know what she was saying, and Mama Li couldn't hear it and could only be anxious.

The door of the eighth aunt's shallow water pavilion was open, and the dumb aunt took the lead in entering the door, and saw a woman in the courtyard squatting on the ground to make a fire, the fire was born in a small stove, and it couldn't be finished, so she could only bow down and fan it with a worn-out pu fan in her hand.

A maid took a little girl's hand and prevented the little girl from throwing herself on the stove.

Puffs of smoke poured out of the stove.

Choked the woman and coughed repeatedly.

"What are you doing here?" asked the dumb girl.

The woman who fanned the fire turned her head to see that it was a dumb girl, smiled, realized that her face was covered with soot, and quickly raised her hand to wipe it, and this wipe made her face all over the place.

The dumb aunt also saw clearly that the person who lit the fire was the eighth aunt.

"My mother is like a clown on the stage, I'm going to sing!"

"Why did you do this yourself?" asked the dumb girl, holding back the anger in her heart.

"Let you see the smile. The eighth aunt smiled too hard, "Lan Xiu is small, she can't make a fire, and I do the same." ”

The dumb aunt bent down to see that there were a few pieces of charcoal in a broken frame next to the stove, which was obviously not the smokeless charcoal used in the house, this kind of charcoal smoke was too loud and could only be used for cooking in the stove.

"Then why don't you burn the fire in the house, the stove is kept warm in the house, and even if it burns outside, it still can't warm the house?" asked the dumb girl with a calm face.

At this time, Li's mother and mother-in-law all entered the courtyard, and Hei pressed to stand and watch.

Aunt Eight looked guilty, "It's me who is stupid, I think it's the same everywhere I live." ”

Lan Xiu couldn't hold back any longer, and pushed the little girl in her hand to the front: "Which of our eighth aunts is too stupid, no matter how stupid she is, she won't know that the stove fire house is warmer than the courtyard." It's that this charcoal fire really can't be burned, and if you put it together, the whole house will be full of smoke, and Sister Lian will keep crying. If you don't give birth, it's really freezing and you can't stand it. I can only move the stove out first, burn it out, the smoke will disperse, and then move it in to roast Sister Lian'er. Little grandma, you are now at home, look at it, Sister Lian'er is so cold that her hands and feet are sores. ”

The dumb aunt grabbed the child's little hand and looked at it, sure enough, the back of the hand was swollen, and there was obvious frostbite.

Looking back at Aunt Ba again, her two hands were also rough.

Liu Wan first shouted, "Eighth Aunt is our aunt after all, and she also gave birth to her seventh sister Lian'er, why did her life become like this? Why do you use this kind of charcoal? Doesn't every hospital have a certain amount of smokeless charcoal? What about yours? Look at Sister Lian'er, it's all frozen like this? Why don't you take good care of it?"

As he spoke, he crashed into the house.

Then he ran out again, stamped his feet in the yard and shouted: "The house is like an ice cellar! What is this for people? Go to the next people's room and see, the places where they live are much warmer than here! Who did it? Who withheld your charcoal fire? Tell me, as soon as the master returns, I will tell him, and get justice for you!"

Lan Xiu had tears in her eyes: "We haven't got smokeless charcoal this year, just this black charcoal, there are not many of them, we don't dare to burn more baskets every month, but we can't stand the cold and burn it for a while." ”

The dumb aunt's voice was very clear, and she asked clearly: "What about the heavy snow before, and the increase in the weight of each courtyard? A master has five baskets of smokeless charcoal, one basket for each girl, and three baskets for children." Did you all receive it?"

Liu Wan hurriedly shouted: "Your shallow water pavilion is five plus one plus three, a total of nine baskets of smokeless charcoal, where did you go?"

Lan Xiu's face turned white with fright, and the willow lotus in her arms was so frightened that she cried.

Mama Li had already squeezed her eyes for an old mother, and the old mother ran out of the door.

Mother Li squeezed forward at this time: "Brother Wan is right, this little hoof must have been lost, and the nine baskets of smokeless charcoal will be sold for several dollars, such a cheap embryo who selfishly harms the lord, and still don't send her? Quickly call Sister Liu, sell this little hoof, and we will pick a few good ones for Aunt Eight to serve!"

Two mothers-in-law pounced in response and were about to twist Lan Xiu's arm.

Lan Xiu trembled, but she also let go, kowtowed, and cried: "The slave and maid are not, the slave and maid have never done anything sorry for the Reshallow Water Pavilion, it's you, you didn't send what belongs to us at all, and now it's up to me-Aunt Eight is too help--Little Grandma help-"

The eighth aunt looked at this scene too much, but she just cried, and she didn't dare to say a word.

Seeing that people are about to be pulled out.

Liu Wan jumped out and blocked his eyes, "When does the master speak in this mansion, it's not as good as a slave? I'm the eldest son of the Liu family, the eldest young master, and now the lord calls my daughter-in-law to take charge of the house, and the eldest young grandmother hasn't spoken yet, Mother Li, what have you done to be the master? Is your hand too long?"

Mother Li's face darkened, and she quickly calmed down, and looked at the dumb aunt with a smile: "The old body is confused by the little hooves of Lan Xiu's bullying master's back, little grandma, you won't blame me for talking too much, the old body is all for the sake of the house, this big business is big, there are always mistakes, there are too many people who take advantage of loopholes, and it is impossible to prevent it, after all, the little grandma is only in charge, and the old body has to run errands for the little grandma, right?"

The air was almost frozen, and there was silence in the Reshallow Water Pavilion.

Mama Li is openly on the bar with the young masters.

Everyone knows that sooner or later, the eldest lady will die, how can the people cultivated under the eldest lady be easily let by you, a teenage child daughter-in-law.

Liu Wan looked at the dumb aunt with a distressed gaze, and even Liu Xue prayed with her eyes full of pleading. They all felt that Aunt Eight was too pitiful, and Lan Xiu was wronged.

The dumb aunt reached out and touched Liu Lian's hand, looked at Mama Li, and actually gave her a smile, "Old sister, you are all thinking about me, how can I not know this painstaking effort, I am really grateful." I'm young, ignorant, and have no experience in managing a family, so I have to rely on my old sister everywhere. In this way, I see that the old sister will sell me a face today, and this orchid embroidery will not be sold, but she still has to be punished, so she will be dismissed from the monthly rice money for three months. As for the shortage of charcoal in this house, I don't know where there is a mistake, and there is no need to pursue it, the old sister said, this great cause is big, and now there is chaos outside, we can live with the door closed in the big house, and we already have to recite the Bodhisattva. I see, call the charcoal house to put another ten baskets of smokeless charcoal here, as well as Sister Lian'er's clothes, and also buy a few pieces, in case the old man sees his daughter frozen like this one day, I am afraid that my old sister and I will not be able to say clearly. ”

Mother Li smiled and her face blossomed, "Yes, yes, little grandma doesn't look young, but she is the most sensible and sophisticated, this work is not leaky, and she is sympathetic to the difficulty of our subordinates." The things that are in short supply in each courtyard and each house will be made up for by the old body. ”

At this time, the mother-in-law who went out on the mission of Mama Li had already brought someone to carry the charcoal.

Liu Wan was so angry that he gritted his teeth.

Liu Xue also turned white with anger.

Only Qian'er watched quietly, not happy or angry.

"It's a virtue with a stinky woman!" Approaching the door of the shallow water pavilion, Liu Wan glared at Qian'er fiercely.