Xiao Thirteen, who was eavesdropping outside the door, stretched out his head and said to Yu Mingzhu: "The girls adopted by my uncle are all abandoned girls, seven or eight years old, five or six years old, my uncle is raised with his own monthly routine, and the slaves have also contributed a little." ”

After Xiao Thirteen finished speaking, he hurriedly slipped away, and Yu Mingzhu said helplessly: "The maid and scholar in Wenlan Courtyard like to listen to the corner of the wall the most, husband, what do you say?" ”

Gu Huaiming said with a smile: "Punish them to copy books." ”

As soon as he heard that he had copied the book, Yu Mingzhu felt that his hands hurt, and he said in his heart that Gu Huaiming really would.

Gu Huaiming sat up from the Luohan collapse and went to close the door.

He took something out of his arms, and Yu Mingzhu frowned.

This is the wax seal of that copper key.

……

Ran Dong brought in a pot of tea, but she never saw her own young lady and aunt, she was a little puzzled.

Ran Dong naturally couldn't find the two, Yu Mingzhu and Gu Huaiming left the Yu family's West Mansion from the small door non-stop.

This is the first time that Yu Mingzhu has not taken a sedan chair out of the house.

Although Jiangnan is more open than other places, the women of the big families are not allowed to go out at will.

Yu Mingzhu put on a veil and followed behind Gu Huaiming.

Gu Huaiming said with a smile: "Ordinary wives can go out with their husbands, and their wives don't have to be so restrained. ”

Yu Mingzhu coughed lightly, and she spoke: "It's just that I feel a little novel." ”

Gu Huaiming seemed to be in a good mood, he took Yu Mingzhu's hand, left the alley where Yu's house was located, and walked towards Chengnanfang City.

The north of Suzhou is home to large households, while the south of the city is home to most of the commercial districts and small residences, and the south of the city is home to the largest textile factory in the south of the Yangtze River.

A clear river flows through the south of the city, where shops and markets are lined up, and there are countless peddlers and poor people.

Although Yu Mingzhu was born in Suzhou, she never got off the carriage and visited the streets of Suzhou.

This is very rude for a woman of her status.

Ahead came a huge ox cart loaded with black coal fires.

Gu Huaiming pulled Yu Mingzhu behind him and said softly: "Ordinary people can't afford to use horses, so they use ox carts and donkey carts. ”

Yu Mingzhu nodded, and the two continued to walk forward, there were all kinds of shops on both sides of the market, rouge gouache, cloth sheets, rice, flour, grain and oil.

There is even a shop that specializes in cutting people's hair.

Yu Mingzhu even saw many women walking together, these women had their hair coiled on their heads, and they were wearing the blue and white clothes of female textile workers.

Gu Huaiming said to Yu Mingzhu: "The handicraft industry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is prosperous, and there are many women who don't want to be bound by their husband's mother's family, so they comb their hair by themselves, so they will not marry for life, several self-combing women support each other, and Hangzhou Yuyao and other places have their own guilds. ”

Yu Mingzhu's eyes widened, these things were things that she had never paid attention to and understood even if she had lived two lifetimes.

They continued to walk forward, this Gu Huaiming turned around, turned to the innermost part of the market, there were extremely low alleys everywhere, dozens of families lived in a courtyard, the road was narrow and only one person could pass, and the nose was full of urine and musty smell.

They came to a very small yard.

Gu Huaiming knocked on the door, a half-old girl opened the door, and after Yu Mingzhu entered, she was immediately shocked, and there was a room of children inside.

Most of them are girls, and a few are more or less disabled.

The tallest of them, a girl who looked to be thirteen or fourteen years old, said to Gu Huaiming: "Brother Huaiming, is this your wife?" ”

"Yes, I brought her to see you today."

Most of these little girls were dark-skinned and their eyes were more evasive, and the girl led the two into the house, which was full of small beds, and there were even a few pregnant women in them.

Those pregnant women don't look very old.

Yu Mingzhu only glanced at it, and then felt uncomfortable, she walked out of the courtyard and said to Gu Huaiming, "What are you bringing me here for?" ”

Gu Huaiming smiled and said: "These children are all refugees from the northwest, their parents sold their daughters in order to survive, Governor Han couldn't stand it, so he bought a lot, and his old man was not used to being served, so he found a place to settle down." ”

"Governor Han is also a second-rank member, how can he place them in such a place."

Gu Huaiming said with a serious expression: "It is not easy to live in Suzhou City, and the food expenses of these children for a month are the teacher's land for a month. ”

Yu Mingzhu smiled.

"Why didn't my husband say it earlier, from now on, I will pay for the food of these children."

Gu Huaiming's expression didn't change much, and he said in a low voice: "Madam knows that what I said is not these, and if you can't eat enough this winter, how can you not stop these children?" ”

Yu Mingzhu looked at the children in the courtyard.

"What I said to my grandfather, my husband knows?"

"The lady is eloquent, and the grandfather has the heart to delegate power."

Yu Mingzhu had doubted before that Gu Huaiming was looking for someone to spy on her, but now it seems that it is.

"You also cleaned the elixir in the gold bracelet?"

"Yes."

Yu Mingzhu was a little angry, she looked at Gu Huaiming with her waist inserted, and then continued to ask, "When did you steal the bracelet from me?" ”

Gu Huaiming conjured a gold bracelet in his left hand, and said with a smile: "Take advantage of Madame's inattention." ”

Yu Mingzhu really didn't expect Gu Huaiming to have this hand.

"Did you steal my belly pocket?"

Gu Huaiming didn't expect Yu Mingzhu to say such a thing, his handsome face was red and white for a while, and then said: "The secret matter in the room, it's better not to talk about it in broad daylight." ”

Yu Mingzhu took out the wax seal of the key from his arms and said, "The key was also secretly taken by you to rematch?" ”

Gu Huaiming said with a smile: "The master of the jewelry shop originally started with locks, and it is considered an old business, we can go back today and get it." ”

Gu Huaiming smiled brightly, but Yu Mingzhu didn't feel good in his heart.

She was really tricked by Gu Huaiming.

"What do you want to do?"

Gu Huaiming put the gold bracelet on Yu Mingzhu's hand and said in a low voice: "Originally, I thought that Madame was just an ordinary rich lady, but after a few days, I found that Madame was ......."

Yu Mingzhu frowned and said impatiently: "Stop!" Don't talk nonsense here, but you can't convince my grandfather to start with me. ”

Gu Huaiming was not annoyed, he continued: "I just believe in you from the bottom of my heart, and you can also believe in me." ”

Gu Huaiming looked straight at her with a pair of eyes, as if he wanted to look at her in his heart.

If it was in the previous life, Yu Mingzhu's heart would probably fall into it.

But at this time, Yu Mingzhu just said coldly: "I can buy twenty boatloads of grain from Annan and other overseas countries, and it may use up one-third of my dowry, if I store the grain until next spring, according to today's situation, the spring harvest will definitely be reduced, and if I sell it at that time, I will have tens of thousands of taels of gold and silver to earn." ”

The light in Gu Huaiming's eyes gradually dimmed, and he said softly, "I know, so I'm begging you." ”