Cen Ximian patiently persuaded for a long time, and Mrs. Cen finally stopped crying, but she still couldn't help pinching her handkerchief and sobbing and complaining:

"I knew that I would suffer such a big sin, and I would not have asked you to go to the Laoshzi banquet in the palace! …… Okay, go to that horse farm and do something! Plain to make you suffer......"

Mrs. Cen rarely looked like this, but when she saw Cen Ximian lying on the bed unable to move, she couldn't help but feel angry in her heart.

"Mother, don't be angry, my son is fine, it's good to recuperate for a while, and the Wang family will give an explanation for this matter."

There was a faint smile on the corner of Cen Xi's mouth, which was no different from ordinary, but no one knew about the hardship in his heart.

"You too...... What a hero! Don't you know how to hide when you see that crazy horse coming? I want to save others......"

"Mother, you are the most gentle and kind person, if the son really dies and does not save him, the mother will also complain about the son at that time."

Cen Xijun was injured this time to save Yu Jin, but he knew that his mother had always protected his shortcomings, so he was afraid that his mother would have some resentment towards Yu Jin because of this incident, so he did not tell his mother the truth, but only said that he saved a pony stable, and he was injured after he couldn't dodge for a while.

"Alas...... You can argue with me, I don't bother to care about you, so I can make you have a long memory! ”

Mrs. Cen had a bunch of complaints in her stomach and was blocked back by Cen Ximian with a word, staring at her eyes and being a little annoyed, but she couldn't do anything about Cen Ximian, just looking at her son and still having the spirit to fight with her, she was not as sad as before.

"Yes, yes, the mother's lesson is that the son will pay attention in the future and promise not to be injured again."

Cen Xijun looked at her mother's expression, and knew that she was fine, so she hurriedly said a few good words with a smiling face, and the matter was over.

"It's past lunchtime, are you hungry? I'm going to make you some porridge and fill your stomach first? ”

Mrs. Cen glanced out and realized that it was not too early, Cen Xijun came back and talked with her, but now it has been delayed for a while, if she didn't eat in the palace, she would be hungry.

"My son is indeed a little hungry and wants to eat the hazelnut and wolfberry porridge that his mother boiled with his own hands."

Cen Xijun came back in a hurry because he had something in his heart, and he didn't have lunch in the palace, so he was really hungry. Originally, there was no need for Mrs. Cen to do it herself, but Cen Xijun thought about it and took this opportunity to separate Mrs. Cen.

When Mrs. Cen heard that her son was hungry and said that she wanted to eat the porridge she had boiled with her own hands, she immediately went to the kitchen to prepare, and when she walked to the door, she called the little maid who served Cen Ximian into the house to take care of Cen Ximi.

"Ah Yan, bring the pen and ink."

Cen Xi sat up with his support, moved the small table that was resting aside to the collapse, took the pen and ink and wrote a letter.

"You sent someone to deliver this letter to Miss Yujin of Yufu."

Cen Ximi's current physical condition is not convenient to go out, so he had to write a letter to Yu Jin and ask her about her situation.

"Yes, young master."

Ah Yan took the envelope and turned to go out.

Although Cen Xijun arranged everything, he was still unstable in his heart. I was obviously very tired, but I didn't feel the slightest sleep, so I had to write with the pen and ink on my hand, which was supposed to calm my mind.

——————————

Seven treasures in the west of the city

It is a gathering place for the poor and beggars in Shanghai. A narrow and cramped alley, just a few low tiled houses scattered around. Some houses are not only covered with straw, but even the dark walls are crooked, as if they have been caught by fire.

This place is very remote, not to mention people, even flowers and plants do not grow here, and they are all bare as far as the eye can see. Except for the dry straw that the wind lifted off the roof, there was garbage and filth everywhere. Before they could get closer, the air was filled with a foul smell of feces.

Despite this, there are quite a few people who live here. Looking along the base of the wall, there are all beggars sitting on the ground, and there seem to be many people crowded in each room. The prosperity of Shanghai has nothing to do with the people here.

"How much did you sell for today?"

"Fifty wen."

In a tiled room in the alley, a middle-aged woman sat on a wooden chair with a missing backrest, staring at the girl standing with her head hanging in front of her.

The girl stretched out her hand and took out a copper coin wrapped in crumpled rags from her bosom and handed it to the woman, who spread out her handkerchief and counted the blackened copper coins for miles, and then pursed her lips and began to count the girl.

"How did you only make so much money? It's not enough for a day's food at home, are you lazy again? ”

Different from the excited expression when counting the money, now facing the thin girl in front of her, the woman's expression is extremely fierce, like a debt collector, not at all like a mother looking at her daughter.

"Mother, I didn't ...... These days, there are a lot of foreign yarns from the West on the market, and the materials are light and cheap...... My veil is only embroidered with inferior fabric, and it is not at all comparable to those foreign yarns, so there are fewer people who buy them...... It's not that I'm lazy. ”

When the girl heard the woman's reprimand, she finally raised her head and explained in a nervous whisper.

The girl was dressed in linen, and she could no longer see the original color because she had washed it many times, and there were big patches on her shoulders and skirt, so she knew that she was in a tight situation at a glance. It's just that the girl was born fair-skinned and delicate, with long black hair tied into braids hanging down behind her, dangling around her thin waist, and carrying a bamboo basket in the crook of her arm, in which embroidered handkerchiefs of various colors were neatly arranged.

The girl stood in a somewhat dimly lit dilapidated room, but she looked like a clear jasmine, and she was pitiful when she looked at it.

"If you embroider more delicately, these veils will not go unsold!"

The woman didn't listen to the girl's explanation, but just blamed.

It's just that this is really wrong. The handkerchief in the basket is a very inferior fabric at a glance, but the embroidery on it is lifelike, whether it is a butterfly or a flower and grass are delicate stitches, exquisite color matching, look at the eyes of the first class embroidery. If you just look at the fabric, don't say that it is fifty wen, it is not a penny that can be earned, and the reason why it can still be sold is nothing more than to look at the embroidery on it. It can be seen that the woman was deliberately reprimanding the girl.

“…… Mother, my daughter is wrong, my daughter will definitely embroider a handkerchief next time, and she will not be lazy again, please forgive her daughter this time! ”

The girl looked at the woman's angry look, paused slightly, and then confessed her mistake, her tone was familiar, and her demeanor was calm, obviously so accustomed to such things, that she did not have any dissatisfaction when she was wronged in this way.

"Since you admit that you are lazy, you will be punished if you are wrong, you don't want to eat dinner today, go embroider a veil, and earn enough 100 wen tomorrow, I will forgive you."

The woman was obviously unreasonable, and not only did she not let the girl eat, but she made such a request very justifiably.

“…… Yes"

When the girl heard this, her heart sank, and she bowed her head in response.

"Okay, okay, don't pestle here, you go to the back mountain to dig some wild vegetables and come back, otherwise your father and brother and brother will not have anything to eat tonight!"

The girl didn't say anything, just put the basket in the corner and went out again. Kankan walked out of the door, and heard the woman's mouth full of bad luck, and without stopping at his feet, he took the hoe and the basket and walked away.

The girl's name was Banzhi, and the woman was her mother.

The name Banzhi was chosen by her father, but it doesn't mean anything, and it sounds a little strange. The reason why she got such a name is only because on the day she was born, his father picked up half of the muntjac left over from the beast in the woods. Originally, it was going to be called half a one, but because it was a daughter, I added a grass and tree next to it and changed it to half a branch.

Banzhi's father's surname is Wang, her brother's surname is Wang, and her younger brother is also surnamed Wang, but she is the only one who is not given the surname Wang by her father, and she is only called Banzhi every time she is called.

There is an elder brother on the half branch, and when the mother was pregnant with her, she once found a half-hung son to check the pulse, saying that this fetus was a boy, and the mother was ready to give birth to her, but she was looking forward to it, and the last one who gave birth was a daughter.

Originally, the Wang family and his wife planned to cover her to death, but her brother stopped her, saying that she was born well, and she could marry someone else to earn a dowry in the future, and when she grew up a little, she could also do housework at home and help her mother share some of the burden. The mother felt sorry for the eldest brother, and the father thought about the dowry, although no one in the family was pitiful for half the branch, but she was allowed to survive after all.

Because of the words of the elder brother of the Wang family, Banzhi became the servant of the entire Wang family. Banzhi is now sixteen years old, a full sixteen years, and there is not a day that he has not been tormented by the Wang family. It was her mother's younger brother, who knew how to call her when he couldn't speak clearly.

Today's events have to be repeated every three or five days, and Banzhi will argue and be wronged at first, but then she will be beaten and starved, and she will learn to be obedient, and she will understand in her heart that she is no different from a beast to the Wang family, and if she longs to be understood from them, she will be stupid.

So when she encounters such a thing now, she will only immediately bow her head and admit her mistake, or find more wild vegetables to fill her stomach, and nothing else cares.

Seeing that the sun was about to go down, Banzhi had not yet found wild vegetables. This backmountain is not a hidden place. There are poor beggars living nearby, and it is common to dig wild vegetables to satisfy hunger, and over time, the wild vegetables on this mountain are almost eaten up, and it is very difficult to find them.

Half of the branch was a little anxious, the forest was full of thorns and vines, it was very difficult to walk, half of the branch walked tightly, but he slipped without paying attention, and then fell down a small dirt slope.

Banzhi screamed, quickly reacted and raised his arm to protect his head, curled up, and suddenly his body was light, but he fell into a hole.

Fortunately, this pit is not deep, and the half-branch reacted so fast that it was not injured, but only rolled in mud. Banzhi stood up and looked around, and when she saw the thick vines scattered all over the hole, her heart was relieved that she could climb up with them.

With a way to get out, Banzhi is not in a hurry. She walked around the pit again, and sure enough, she saw a patch of wild vegetables in a somewhat damp corner.

Banzhi knew that she was afraid that it would be difficult for her to find wild vegetables in the forest today, so she could only try her luck in this pit full of grass and trees, but she didn't expect to find it.

The hoe didn't know where she had fallen, so she simply dug it by hand. She grabbed the two largest and most tender wild plants, pulled them up with a little force, shook off the soil that was sticking to them, and rubbed the white lumpy fruit on her sleeve and stuffed it into her mouth.

The rich earthy smell and tasteless juice instantly filled the entire mouth, which was really not delicious, but the half-branch still chewed and swallowed in large gulps, and the crunching sound sounded very appetizing.

Banzhi hadn't eaten anything good, but over the years, she had been able to fill her stomach, so she could eat a lot of this wild vegetable.

When Yu Jin was full, he dug out the remaining wild vegetables and put them in the back basket. As I was digging, I suddenly noticed a large clump of grass with small white flowers hidden in the vines. Half a branch felt familiar, and after a closer look, he recognized it as a snake tongue grass.

Snake tongue herb can treat lung heat, cough and asthma, damp heat jaundice and other diseases. Banzhi doesn't know medical science, and the reason why he recognizes it is that when he was selling handkerchiefs, he happened to see the shopkeeper of the pharmacy and the medicine collector when he was collecting medicine.

It seems that this medicine has been in short supply lately! Half a branch smiled, but there was a way to make money.

Half a branch looked left and right, and then stirred up a ball of vines to hide the snake tongue grass, and when he couldn't see the clue, he got up and carried the basket and prepared to go out.

Banzhi wanted to sell this bush of snake tongue grass, but she didn't plan to hand over the money from the sale to the Wang family. Today is obviously not a good time, the Queen Mother will definitely look through her back basket, there is no place to hide herbs on half of the branches, and it is too late to sell medicine. Half of the branch had to hide it first and come back tomorrow.

Half a branch climbed up the vine and climbed up slowly, but fortunately she was light, and she climbed all the way up, and the vine did not break.

……

Hurry up, half a branch finally came back before the sun set. Wang Wu looked at Banzhi's dirty appearance, and inevitably reprimanded her again. Half of the branch didn't care, just buried his head in listening. This submissive look made Wang Wu so boring, and he only sent half of the branch out to cook with great disgust.

She sat in the house by herself, doing nothing, very leisurely.

It was completely dark, and the three of the Wang family came back. Banzhi had already finished the meal and brought it to the table, but now he didn't bother to beg in front of them, so he went back to the utility room alone to embroider the veil.

The tiled house where the Wang family lives is not big, and there are only two houses that can really sleep people. One lives the Wang family and the other is the elder brother and younger brother of Banzhi.

As for Banzhi, he lives in a utility room with no bed and no kang. The room was small and damp, with firewood, straw, and tattered wood and farm tools, and not even a chair. If it weren't for the fact that Banzhi had been careful to tidy up this place on weekdays, I was afraid that weeds would have grown.

It is certainly not good to live in this place, and when Banzhi sleeps at night, he spreads a layer of straw directly on the ground, and sleeps with a bed that they use the remaining cold and hard quilt to half cushion and half cover. When I was doing embroidery, I lit a candle and sat on a wooden stake to embroider slowly. No matter how you look at it, it's a very difficult time.