Zi Yan said while adding firewood to the stove: "The small building we live in is all lived by maids, and I live next door to you." The courtyard on the east side is full of sisters, the guests come in the front two yards, and the two yards in the back are where the little guys live and the firewood kitchen, each yard has its own wing room and thatched house. The big aisle is in the middle of the two courtyards, which means that there are a total of six courtyards in the 'Fengyue Building'. ”

Mengyun nodded. She raised her face to look at Zi Yan with a serious face, and couldn't help asking, "How did you get here?" ”

Zi Yan was silent for a while......

She sighed lightly and said, "My grandma died early, and Abba owes a lot of gambling debts outside. He sold me here to pay off the debt. ”

After saying that, she lowered her head deeply and looked at the fire in the stove. The bright firelight reflected on Zi Yanhong's fluttering little face, and Mengyun clearly saw that a crystal tear was shed in the corner of her eye......

Soon, the hot water was boiling.

Mengyun and Zi Yan poured hot water into the big wooden bucket together and mixed it with some cold water.

Zi Yan rolled up her sleeves and stretched out her little hand, she tested the temperature of the water, and said softly: "Okay, you can wash it." ”

Mengyun glanced at the door, hesitating whether to take off her clothes now.

Zi Yan seemed to see through her thoughts, and said with a smile: "The door is closed, what are you afraid of?" You can wash it with confidence! This room is where the maids bathe. Everyone here knows that no outsiders will come. ”

Mengyun smiled embarrassedly.

She took off all her dirty laundry, jumped in, and sat down slowly in a wooden bucket filled with warm water. She thought to herself, "Although this 'Fengyue Tower' is not a good place, at least it has food, clothing, and a room where I can sleep peacefully." What if it's outside! Maybe really starve to death. Forget it, I still don't want to think about it yet, this bath is really comfortable! It's been a long time since I've taken a shower like this. ”

Zi Yan stood next to Mengyun, babbling about some of the rules here. It's nothing more than what a maid can and can't do. The most important thing is that you can't run away. Because the people who are sold here all have a 'deed of sale'. If you want to leave here, you can only use the silver to go to Aunt Feng to redeem the 'deed of sale'.

Mengyun listened absentmindedly, but what was on her mind was how she got here......

There was a brief blank in her memory, and all she remembered was that she smelled a strange scent and then someone covered her mouth and nose from behind......

Mengyun sat in the warm water and soaked, and Zi Yan gently helped her rub her shoulders behind her.

"Hey, what is this?" She pointed to Mengyun's right arm and asked curiously.

Mengyun glanced at his arm and replied, "It's a plum blossom tattoo, which my aunt tattooed when I was a child." ”

She remembered her grandmother, and the plum blossom tattoo on her right arm was a mark she had made. Mengyun still clearly remembered that there was also an identical one on Sister A's right arm. It's just that I haven't seen Sister A for many years, and I don't know where she is now? Is it good to live?

Zi Yan said casually: "You look like Dongmei here!" Like a pair of sisters. ”

Mengyun's heart moved, and she asked her curiously, "Who is Dongmei?" ”

Zi Yan replied while throwing flower petals into the bathtub: "Dongmei is the number one sister here, and there is no maid to serve now!" Aunt Feng is very likely to let you serve her, she is beautiful! How else can you be the top card in the 'Fengyue Building'! ”

Mengyun then asked her, "Which sister are you serving now?" ”

Zi Yan replied: "It's Sister Qiulan, but this Sister Qiulan's temperament is a bit weird." She talks a lot when she is with guests, and she looks very happy. When I was with our maid, I didn't like to talk much, and I always had a cold expression. Moreover, her relationship with Dongmei is not very good. You must be careful when you live here, talk less and work more. It's best not to worry about the affairs between sisters. ”

Mengyun nodded vigorously and said, "I know, thank you!" Sister Ziyan. ”

Zi Yan blushed shyly, and said softly: "I'm not my sister, my sister is going to pick up guests, I'm still young!" I'm just a little girl, just like you. Let's go back after washing, I'm going to dress you up and see if you look beautiful! ”

Mengyun said yes and jumped out of the barrel.

She gently wiped the water on her body and put on the clothes handed by Zi Yan again.

Together, the two of them emptied the bath water from the wooden bucket. After a brief tidying up of the ground, they left the wing room together......

Mengyun sat in front of the dresser in the room, letting Zi Yan fiddle with her hair.

Although her freshly washed hair was still a little wet, Zi Yan didn't seem to care. She combed Mengyun's hair and praised her, "Your hair is dark and long, and your hair quality is really good." It's not like my hair, which is burnt and yellow. ”

Mengyun said: "This may have something to do with the water in my hometown, where I often drink spring water from the mountains when I am at home. ”

Zi Yan said: "I have never drunk the spring water in the mountains, I have drunk the water from the well since I was a child. ”

Soon, Zi Yan helped Mengyun comb her temples. She picked up the lip grease on the dresser again and helped Mengyun apply her lips, then the thrush, and finally a faint layer of rouge on Mengyun's face.

After putting on her makeup, Zi Yan looked at Mengyun's face carefully, and said in a tone full of envy: "You were originally very beautiful, but after my careful dressing, you are now even more beautiful than those sisters!" ”

Mengyun smiled shyly, and she looked at herself in the bronze mirror on the dresser. Not to mention, Zi Yan's makeup is really good, grandma hasn't put on makeup for herself like this when she was at home before.

Mengyun said modestly: "I'm not good-looking, I haven't grown up yet!" ”

Zi Yan smiled and said, "You haven't grown up yet, have you?" In my hometown, there are many girls who are married when they are fourteen or fifteen years old. ”

Mengyun smiled and teased Ziyan, she said, "Could it be that you also want to get married?" ”

Zi Yan shook her head and said, "I thought about it when I was at home before. Since I came here, I have never thought about it, how can the girl here get married? ”

With that, she sighed and continued, "There are only two paths for the sisters here. One is to wait for a guest to redeem himself, and the other is to save enough money to redeem himself. Like us who are maids, don't think about saving money to redeem ourselves, Aunt Feng only gives one or two silver a month for pocket money, which is not enough to buy herself a good dress. Let's be a monk for a day and hit the clock for a day, and we have to get by. ”

Mengyun praised Zi Yan, she said, "The makeup you put on me looks good, how did you get it?" ”

Zi Yan said: "I didn't know before, I learned it all after here." I have to serve my sister every day, I can't wear makeup, I will teach you when I have time. Okay, it's not too early, you should rest early, I still have to go to Sister Qiulan in the front building. ”

Mengyun stood up and sent Zi Yan out of the room......

Mengyun lies in bed tossing and turning, and it is difficult to sleep. When I was a child, my sister's missing sister, my grandmother's instructions before she died, and in the days to come, these thoughts alternately appeared in my mind, and I didn't know when I fell asleep......

The next day, I had lunch. Aunt Feng found a sister for Mengyun to serve, and Zi Yan was responsible for taking her there......

On the way, Zi Yan smiled and said to her, "I guessed right, Aunt Feng really asked you to serve Sister Dongmei." But don't worry! Sister Dongmei's temperament is very gentle, and she is also very kind to the maids. However, she always has a cold expression when she accompanies guests. ”

Mengyun asked Zi Yan suspiciously: "Since Sister Dongmei is the number one sister here, why doesn't she have a maid to serve?" ”

Zi Yan replied: "Sister Dongmei used to have a maid named Huaxiang. However, half a year ago, she accidentally fell into the well and drowned while fetching water from a well in her backyard. ”

Mengyun asked again: "How many top sisters are there in this 'Fengyue Tower'?" ”

Zi Yan replied: "There are only four top brands, which are Spring Peach, Summer Lotus, Autumn Orchid, and Winter Plum. ”

Mengyun took Zi Yan's hand and said, "Thank you, Zi Yan." I'm new here, I don't know anything, you must take care of me in the future. ”

Zi Yan smiled and nodded......

While they were talking, they came to Dongmei's door.

Zi Yan whispered to her, "Remember, after you go in, you have to say it first, Sister Dongmei is good!" ”

Mengyun let out a soft "um", and she felt a little nervous.

Zi Yan raised her hand and knocked on the door gently, and said softly, "Sister Dongmei, are you there?" I'm Ziyan. ”

"Come in!" There was a weak voice in the room.

Zi Yan pushed open the door and walked in first, Mengyun lowered her head and followed cautiously.

"Hello Sister Dongmei!" Mengyun felt that her voice was a little tight, and her voice was so small that she couldn't even hear it clearly.

"Well, you're the new girl, aren't you?" There was a hint of obvious tiredness in Dongmei's voice.

Mengyun nodded.

Dongmei continued: "Raise your head and let me see what you look like!" ”

Mengyun raised her head slightly, and she saw Dongmei sitting on a stool in front of the dresser, looking at her carefully.

She didn't dare to look directly into Dongmei's eyes, so she could only let Dongmei's gaze sweep over her body......

I saw that Dongmei was silent for a while, then opened her mouth first, and she said delicately: "She looks so beautiful!" It's a little similar to my appearance, as if it's my sister. ”

After a pause, she sighed lightly and continued: "My sister is also as old as you, I haven't seen her for a long time, and I don't know how she is now?" Come over and help me comb my hair. ”

Hearing Dongmei's words, Mengyun hurriedly stepped forward.

She picked up the wooden comb on the dresser and gently stroked Dongmei's jet-black hair, and a strong sense of familiarity arose.