Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 5 1.5 Thanks to the strong man for taking care of me
Volume One

1.5 Thank you for taking care of me
"Does this old man want to hit the top?" Looking at the slightly old carriage under the shed in front of the store, Zhou Yang raised his hand to the old man who was driving the carriage, but found that he didn't even turn his head, raised his legs and jumped off steadily. The carriage looks like it is ready to lead the horse.

"I'm sorry, shopkeeper, but Uncle Liu has bad ears. Could you please make it easier for him to drive the car to the yard and let the slaves and our grandma rest for a while." A clear female voice came from the carriage, which made Zhou Yang He was a little confused, but he was very aware of the restrictions on women in this era. Logically speaking, there should not be a situation where a carriage and a driver could pull a pair of masters and servants out of the city.

"Shopkeeper?" Probably because Zhou Yang didn't respond, the female voice came again, but for some reason, the voice was obviously trembling. This was even more strange, because under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be so cold in the carriage.

"No problem!" Zhou Yang frowned, turned the horse's head in greeting, and drove the carriage from the courtyard gate into the yard. As soon as the carriage was tied up, a wooden pedal was taken off the handlebar and placed in front of the door. Then he turned around and evaded in the store lobby, which he did very skillfully.

First, a girl dressed as a maid jumped out of the carriage, and then she supported a well-dressed young woman and slowly got out of the carriage. It was at this time that Zhou Yang finally knew that the two of them were cold and even violated ethics. Reasons for showing up at a stranger's house.

Half of the clothes on the upper body of the two people were already wet, and there were even signs of freezing. They were all very cold. Although they didn't know where they came from, they had obviously walked for a long time. If they continued to walk ten miles into the city, , in this cold winter where the temperature has reached minus [-] degrees or even lower, even if you can't freeze to death, you will definitely become seriously ill.

Look at the car that has turned into an ice cellar and the soaked floor, plus the residual snow on the roof that has not yet melted. If nothing unexpected happens, the two of them should be burning charcoal in the car to keep warm. The snow melted, and snow water accumulated on the roof of the cotton-padded carriage. When the "water capacity" exceeded the standard, it dripped into the carriage, which finally brought the two of them to their current state.

In this case, people with a little bit of intelligence will choose to adapt. There must be women who absolutely abide by etiquette and would rather die than violate it. But if there are really many, the "Biography of Women" in the history books of the past dynasties will also be included. There won’t be only a thin roll every time, or even none at all.

The maid looks young, but she should be in her 20s. The style of her bun shows that she is not married. She is dressed in pink and green women's clothing. Her beautiful face makes her look quite attractive, but she is already freezing at the moment. Turning blue makes people feel distressed.

The young woman's attire is much more expensive. Not to mention the snow-white embroidered jacket and hooded fur windbreaker that are obviously well-made, the snow-white plush collar around her neck is not something that a small family can support. Coupled with his demeanor, he could only be from a noble family.

What's more, until this moment, she was still wearing a hood that was completely soaked, and she chose to face Zhou Yang sideways, always lowering her head and saying nothing. It was obvious that she had avoided it as much as possible without any other choice.

"Forgive me, you two. Although this humble house is simple, it can still keep you warm. If you two don't mind and have brought spare clothes, you might as well go in and change - Qingwen, help take care of it." Seeing the strange difference between the two of them. Zhou Yang knew that he could not hold on any longer. If they were allowed to stand half wet in the courtyard, they might not be able to hold on for long.

"Yes, Master." Qingwen said softly, then stretched out her hand to pull the maid to enter the house, but found that the young woman did not move, but turned to look at Zhou Yang.

It was only at this time that Zhou Yang finally saw the young woman's appearance. She was obviously pampered and beautiful, with a reassuring gentleness and plainness. Although she was as green as the maid, she still maintained her dignity.

What he said just now is not only a violation of ethics. Just "changing clothes" can be classified as a "disciple", but at this time, he can't care about so much. He can't watch the two of them have a good relationship. If I am frozen, I will not care about bullshit "feudal ethics".

He also knew that he couldn't be as casual as modern people, so after saying that, he was going to the hotel lobby to avoid suspicion. The young woman's face surprised him a little, but he quickly returned to normal. After nodding with a smile, he turned around and left. The back door of the lobby is closed and locked.

"Thank you, brave man." Zhou Yang heard the young woman's voice through the door. If the scene had not been quiet, the small voice might have been ignored, but he still smiled and replied, "You're welcome."

Not mentioning the young woman's master and servant, he glanced in the lobby and couldn't find the handlebar who had just come over. He didn't find him until he entered the kitchen, only to find that in such a short period of time, the lady was already leaning on the pile of firewood. , with the warmth of the stewed pot stove that could not be extinguished and kept on a low fire, he fell asleep wrapped in a cotton coat.Shaking his head speechlessly, Zhou Yang didn't care. He opened the door and looked at the snow particles that hadn't stopped. In addition, the time was at least past four o'clock in the afternoon, so that even the sky became dark. Naturally, the light is even worse. Unfortunately, in this day and age, even lighting a lamp is a luxury. At least at home, he only has an oil lamp, not even a candle.

Pushing open the front window, he saw in front of him a snowy field that extended to infinity and merged with the sky. He breathed a sigh of relief. The only two ruts on the official road had been destroyed by the combined action of snow particles and cold wind. It became gradually blurred, and only seeing the traces extending far away towards the west mountain, it seems that the young woman's master and servant should have returned to the city from the "manor area" over there.

The upper class of the Zhou Dynasty did not care about military culture, and generally had the habit of "residences" inside the city and "manors" outside the city. Even the royal family was no exception. In fact, the manors were not completely scattered. They were basically located in the Xishan Mountain to the west of the capital. The most famous one Naturally, it is the royal Xiangshan Palace, and I don’t know when I will be able to get into one.

"Ah -" Just as he was thinking about something, a scream suddenly came from the yard. Zhou Yang's face changed suddenly. He drew out his Bayi bayonet and rushed over without hesitation, and even pushed him away unceremoniously. The door, but the scene in front of him made him quite speechless.

"There is a mouse." The maid pointed to a dead mouse on the ground tremblingly, and then looked at Qingwen, who was also holding a broom with a speechless expression. The process was obvious. It seemed that these two people really came from a big family, and they were well-known in the world. Too little.

"Okay, what's so scary if they're all dead?" Zhou Yang shook his head and retracted the bayonet. He turned around, picked up the dead mouse and was about to leave. Then he saw the "scenery" in front of him and couldn't help but whistle.

The young woman was only wearing a snow-white undershirt, with her hair disheveled and her back turned to her. She lowered her head and wanted to bury her face into the wall. This was not the most important thing, because a pair of underwear of the same style as the shirt was hanging down beside the kang.
"Ahem -" He concealed his embarrassment, and quickly left under the murderous gaze of the maid who had already put on her obscene clothes. Before leaving, he did not forget to mutter "Who told you to be so rare?", and then he saw a The gold hairpin smashed against his side, and he was so frightened that he simply ran away.

In this embarrassing atmosphere, coupled with the generally slow and time-consuming process of women changing clothes and putting on makeup, by the time the young woman's master and servant finally finished their work, the sky was already basically dark and there was no visibility at all. The most important thing was that The snow particles and the north wind never stop.

"Thank you for today, brave man." The young woman's head was completely hidden in the hood, and her voice was frighteningly low. It was obvious that she was preparing to leave, but the maid next to her was still staring at him angrily.

"Are you ready to go back to the city?" Zhou Yang simply interrupted her, pointed to the sky and said, "Not to mention the weather in front of you, and not to mention the ice water in your car. Although we are not far from the city now, you don't have to worry about it. Forgot, the city gate 'closes at sunset', so what if you arrive? Unless there are very special circumstances, I can't ask the King of Heaven to open the door!"

"Then what do you think we should do? Do you want us to live here?" The young woman didn't say anything, and the maid shouted angrily, with disdain on her face, "Live in a place like this?"

"Qingwen, go prepare something to eat, and remember not to wake up the old man who is driving the car." Zhou Yang was too lazy to pay attention to the maid, turned around and made arrangements before going back to the house, "I'll go and put the kang stove in the other room." Order it, you guys can make it together tonight, don’t forget to take out the things in the car and bake them, they will be dry and ready for use tomorrow morning.”

"You—" The servant girl wanted to continue the theory angrily, but was stopped by the young woman, and she stopped talking. The two helped each other and began to clear things out of the carriage, but it was obvious that they had never done physical work, but It was just some quilts, mats, etc., but they were panting from exhaustion. This did not include the cotton cover on the roof of the car, which they could not remove at all.

There was no trouble for Zhou Yang. He took out a shovelful of coal that was still burning from the kang stove in his bedroom, filled it directly into the kang stove in Qingwen's room, and then added enough coal to the two stoves, and soon the entire The kang will warm you up, but if you don't pay attention to controlling the heat, the bedding may be scorched.

"Thank you for taking care of me, strong man!" After finishing his work, he clapped his hands and stood up. Just when Zhou Yang was about to go to the kitchen to take a look, a soft voice came into his ears. Only then did he realize that the young woman was standing behind him, with a round and pretty face like jade, in front of the stove. Under the light of the fire, it looks rosy and beautiful!

(End of this chapter)