Xiao She'er closed the door and plugged in. Everything was still the same as when she left, he was still basking in the sun in the courtyard. Hearing the sound of the door opening and closing, he didn't even raise his eyes, but asked in an old voice, "I'm back." ”

The voice seemed to ask, and it seemed to be talking to itself; It seems careless, but extremely caring. For six years, they depended on each other, although Xiao She'er was a maid, but she was sold here when she was seven years old, and was disgusted by her wife, and was assigned to this heart garden to serve this old man whose origin no one knows.

He is rarely mentioned, as if he did not exist at all, and when he is mentioned by chance, he is either called a "crazy old man" or a "dumb man" [Note 1].

He was suddenly not crazy or dumb when Xiao She'er was a child with a fever, Xiao She'er heard the human voice, and saw this crazy old man who was silent all day long and smiled at himself, his eyes were full of care and pity, and he gently hummed a song that he didn't understand and was very familiar with, and slowly felt at ease and fell asleep.

From then on, she knew that he was neither crazy nor dumb, but only when it was just the two of them. Xiao She'er went to the housekeeper to get food, lamps and candles, and clothes, and sent the clothes to be changed to the Huan Wash girl who pointed out to Yangxinyuan (finally the housekeeper took pity on himself and helped extraordinarily)...... Gradually, very few people came here. In addition to asking his wife for peace twice a month at the beginning of the fifteenth month, and telling his wife about the situation here, no one disturbs the old man and the other when he urinates, and occasionally the little house also helps the old man to walk in the back garden and bask in the sun, but he does not dare to go too far and walk too long.

After a long day of nothing, the old man began to teach Xiao She'er to read, but found that Xiao She'er already knew a lot of words.

Xiao She'er was sold to the housekeeper by someone else, and the housekeeper saw that she was cute, smart and sensible, so he asked the housekeeper to take her into the house, wanting to honor the old lady. The old lady has the most maids in the house, and the rewards are also the most, and when she entered the house from a young age, she followed Fu Mu [Note 2] to learn and serve the grandmothers, and became a big girl. can use her goddaughter to climb the door to do good family affairs, sometimes she is better than her son!

It's a pity that the housekeeper made a good calculation, so that the wife took a look at it and refused. The person has not yet been brought to the old lady, and it happens that there is a shortage of people here in Yangxin Garden, so he is assigned here. The butler's words of admitting his daughter could no longer be spoken. Only Lilac was brought by the butler like her, so Lilac was extra kind to her.

The old man was puzzled, so he asked Xiao She'er how to read.

Xiao She'er said that when she was a child, she was in the "Spring Breeze Building", and she was originally following a young woman in her twenties, teaching her to read, write, dance and play the piano. She taught other young girls, and Xiao She'er was watching from the side, but she was much stricter than teaching herself. Everyone else calls her "Sister Wen", but she wants to call her "Aunt Wen" herself.

One day the housekeeper went to Chunfeng Building, and Aunt Wen let the housekeeper go to her room, took Xiao She'er out, and talked for a long time, Xiao She'er remembered, Aunt Wen begged the housekeeper to bring her into the palace as a maid, and gave the housekeeper a lot of gold and silver jewelry.

The housekeeper was full of promises and asked Xiao She'er to go with him with the little burden given by Aunt Wen.

The old man nodded, and he knew that this Chunfeng Building was one of the most famous washers in the capital [Note 3], a restaurant run by the imperial court, and most of the young ladies in it were so-called "official prostitutes". I want to come to Aunt Wen, which is to teach the "teaching" of the young ladies.

So he didn't mention Xiao She'er's life experience anymore, and only taught her to read and write. This palace was originally the old residence of the Cao family in the capital, and this Yangxin Garden was built by the ancestor of the lord and the father of Guohua Gong. Later, a new house was built, and many dilapidated books, utensils, tables and chairs were piled up here.

At first, the old man just taught her to read and write, chatting to pass the lonely light, and after a month, the old man found that Xiao She'er was smart and wise, not only knew and learned a lot, but also read by herself, often with some unique opinions.

One day, he suddenly blessed his soul and passed on the most proud and profound art of his life - medical skills to Xiao She'er. The two of them spoke their hearts, and they were also teachers and friends, and six years have passed in a flash.

Thinking of the days of getting along all these years, once they are about to be separated, Xiao She'er is attached to her heart in every way. Hearing the old man ask like this, he couldn't help crying: "Father-in-law [Note 4], I'm back. ”

The old man beckoned her over, "That's what happened?" ”

"Well," Xiao She'er sat on a small chair beside the old man's lap, "Father-in-law is really like a god!" Over the years, I went to ask my wife to say goodbye, and I put this Rausch on my face, and sure enough, I have been fine. It was so close that my wife looked at me carefully, and she didn't say anything. ”

"It's just to keep you okay for the time being, and when you leave here in the future, there are living people all around, so don't show your flaws." The old man's tone was as calm as he could, but his hands were already trembling slightly. He stretched out his hand to stroke Xiao She'er's head, and suddenly old tears broke down.

Xiao She'er couldn't bear it anymore, lay on the old man's lap, and cried.

[Note 1] The so-called "man" and "old man" of the Song people are all contemptuous terms that despise people.

[Note 2] Fu Mu: An elderly woman who tutored and nursed the children of nobles in ancient times.

[Note 3] During the Song and Yuan dynasties, people called commercial amusement venues "Washe" (or "Wazi", "Washi", "Washi", etc.), and the theaters set up in Washe were called "Goolan" (or "Goolan", "Goolan", etc.). Wu Zimu said in the nineteenth volume of "Dream Lianglu": "The person who washes is said to be 'disintegrating when he comes, and disintegrating when he goes', and it is easy to gather and disperse. Later it came to refer specifically to brothels.

[Note 4] Gonggong: An honorific title given to an older man in the Song Dynasty.