mtl008 Chapter 184 Niuniu
Chapter 184 Niuniu
After the three of them finished their shopping, even a horse-drawn carriage could not carry all the books. A merchant in the alley saw that they had bought so many books, so he asked An Qiao to spend 5 cents to send the remaining books back before they could finish moving.
A few people returned to the restaurant and immediately began to decorate the bookstores on both sides. The notice has been posted and both sides will be open for business tomorrow, so they have to get everything ready now.
"Young lady, can we really read books too?" A girl asked timidly as she looked at An Qiao who was moving books inside.
An Qiao knew this little girl. Since she moved to this street, she could often see her selling flowers. Perhaps her family was not doing well.
"Yes, you can read it. You only need to spend three cents and you can read it here for a whole day." An Qiao even bought some enlightenment books that teach people to read and write.
The little girl scratched her fingers. Although three cents was not cheap for her, she wanted to study very much. She wanted to study even more since her younger brother went to school.
But her family was poor, and her mother pulled her aside, telling her that no academy would accept girls, and that girls who could read and write came from extremely wealthy families, and a family like hers could not afford a female teacher.
The little girl knew that her mother did not lie to her because every time she sent her brother to school, she never saw any girls in the academy.
Girls can only stand outside the door and watch.
Now that she had the opportunity to learn some words, she was extremely happy. With 3 cents, as long as she saved some money and worked hard, she could read at least three times a month.
Seeing the little girl smiling, An Qiao also smiled.
She believes that more girls will be able to read, learn to read, understand many principles, and learn the skills they want to learn in the future.
Seeing the little girl standing at the door looking around excitedly, An Qiao walked inside carrying the books, looking back as she walked, "Go home quickly, it's getting dark, come back tomorrow."
The girl ran home smiling.
Her brother should have finished school, and she couldn't wait to tell everyone in the family that she could read and write.
When I pushed the door open and walked in, I saw my mother stirring the porridge in the pot and my father sitting in the porch without saying a word.
She didn't dare to make a sound and tried to make her voice as inaudible as possible, but soon, deafening arguments attacked her like mushrooms after rain.
"What should we do? What should we do? We only have two children. What are you going to do now?" The woman's sobs were heard one after another.
My father was puffing on his pipe, his face full of thoughts of lawsuit.
When the mother saw that the father did not respond, she cried angrily, "Sell me away, you heartless man, sell me away!"
The little girl didn't know what was going on and was waiting helplessly.
Until the younger brother came back, the father took him away, held him in his arms, told him to study hard, then put him in the house, and then walked out and took the little girl's hand and was about to leave.
The little girl looked confused and at a loss as to what her father was going to do.
Before he could react, his mother rushed out with a kitchen knife and chopped his father hard.
The blood spurted several meters away. The father was stunned, but before he turned his head back, the person was gone with his eyes open.
Before the little girl could cry, the mother looked at her desperately and said, "Bring your brother out."
The little girl nodded, she didn't dare to disobey.
The younger brother had heard the noise a long time ago, but he didn't know what happened. When he was pulled out by his sister, he burst into tears.
The little girl didn't know what to do, but she knew that no one could hear her crying at this moment, so she covered her brother's mouth tightly.
"Don't cry, if you cry you won't have a mother anymore." The girl was so calm that her brother blinked and asked, "What about Dad?"
The girl shook her head firmly, "Don't cry."
The dazed woman sitting on the ground also reacted, but this was the time when everyone was leaving court and going home, and there were a lot of people coming and going, making it difficult to deal with.
The smell of blood had dyed the entire courtyard red. The woman took a deep breath and called the little girl over. "Niuniu, your father promised Wang Mazi's family to sell you as a child bride. Although he is dead, you can't escape this fate. Go to the pawnbroker tomorrow and sell your indenture. You are not willing to be a slave or a maid, but you are not a good family to marry a dying woman."
The mother's voice was mumbling, as if she was explaining something, or making a statement.
After she finished speaking, she waved her hand and called her younger brother over. "Be strong. Your father sold your sister for gambling today, and he will sell you tomorrow. I have no choice but to do this. This family has to break up. I know an old man in this alley. I'll go ask him if he wants you to be his servant."
Basically every wealthy family would have a servant boy. Even families that were not rich needed servant boys to do chores. Most of these servant boys came from poor families who could not afford to go to school. They would help copy books, grind ink, and wash brushes in the academy in exchange for tuition fees.
The little boy looked at his mother blankly, tears streaming down his face.
Niuniu noticed something and said, "Mom, no, Mom, no, we can't live without you."
Niu Niu finally started crying and kept begging her mother.
The woman seemed powerless to struggle, "Niuniu, there is nothing I can do even if I am here..."
The floor was a mess, Niuniu, who had already agreed to be sold, and myself, who had not worked for years.
Niuniu seemed to have thought of something. "Mom, the young lady in the Kyoto restaurant is very good. I will ask her to let you go to work. Dad... we will deal with it after dark. Mom, please!"
The woman's eyes lit up, then dimmed again, "Don't make things difficult for others. This is fate."
Niu Niu felt so aggrieved. Why didn’t her mother let her try?
While her mother took her brother to see the teacher at the academy, Niu Niu slipped out of the house.
Head straight to Kyoto Restaurant.
At this time, An Qiao was sitting at the door resting bored. After a busy day, she was sweating profusely. Then she saw the little girl she saw in the afternoon coming again.
"Young lady, are you still short of workers? My mother can do all kinds of work, and she is very efficient." She swallowed her grievances and said in a light tone.
"Really? What will your mother do?" An Qiao asked with a smile.
Maybe because the girl was cute, An Qiao didn't refuse.
"My mother can sweep the floor, wash clothes and mop the floor." Her face was full of pride and she praised her mother very much.
An Qiao said, "You are the one who asked how to do the work, where is your mother?"
Although Anqiao is in great need of people, it is not a charity after all. It is impossible for everyone who asks to agree. We have to see if the work can be done.
Niuniu smiled and said, "Mom is cooking at home now. I'll go call her over."
But the moment Niu Niu turned around, An Qiao could no longer laugh. There was a trail of blood on the child's back, which looked like it was sprayed out.