Miao Chu

Chapter 219 Cleaning up
The little girl who came was naturally Xiao Lian.

As soon as she got home, a lovely girl came out to greet her, and Song Miao couldn't help but pat her little head.

The hair on its head is sparse, but it's soft and feels great to the touch.

She smiled and pointed behind her, saying softly, "Look who's coming."

As they were talking, Liang Yan also jumped off the carriage.

Xiao Lian looked up, was first stunned, then overjoyed, and exclaimed, "Brother Liang Yan! Brother Liang!"

Liang Yan was turning around to take the luggage from the carriage when Xiao Lian called his name. He quickly said "Yes" and then turned back to give her an embarrassed smile.

Seeing the coachman, bodyguard, and Liang Yan all unloading luggage from the carriage, Xiao Lian suddenly felt a sense of crisis. She immediately let go of Song Miao's hand, stood on tiptoe to take the bag from her, and hurriedly said, "Let me take it, let me help my sister!"

Song Miao's bundle was quite heavy, so she didn't dare to put it down. She stepped aside to let her pass and pointed to the back of the carriage, saying, "Go and get that for your sister. There are two small wooden boxes inside. Please help your sister carry them into the room gently."

Xiao Lian, as if she had received the most important and demanding task in the world, readily agreed and ran over, asking Liang Yan, "Where is my sister's little wooden box?"

Liang Yan quickly pointed it out to her. He saw Xiao Lian climb onto the carriage on a stool and go looking for the wooden box. However, the wooden box was placed at the back and was blocked by all the luggage. He was really worried, so he grabbed his bundle and followed her onto the mule cart.

The two children buried themselves in the pile of luggage, studying it over and over.

Seeing that there were bodyguards inside, and that the two children weren't naughty, Song Miao turned around with her luggage when she saw another person hurriedly step out of the threshold, his face full of joy, and exclaim, "My wife is finally back!"

He reached out to take the luggage from her arms and said, "Are you tired? Take a rest, let me take your bags!"

It was Cheng Erniang.

After not seeing her for a while, Song Miao smiled and called out "Second Madam," then said, "Thank you and Xiao Lian for looking after the house all this time—I'll take it myself. You can give them directions so they can go in and put their things away."

For once, Cheng Erniang didn't immediately respond. Instead, she awkwardly stepped aside and said, "Without your permission, madam, I've already tidied up the house myself—take a look and if it's not suitable, I'll have someone come and fix it..."

Song Miao was taken aback, then laughed and said, "I entrusted my home to Second Madam for the best reason. Since you've started tidying up, it must be done properly—I'd like to see what our Fuzhou ladies are capable of!"

With that, he stepped inside.

When she looked up and saw the scene inside, she was still slightly taken aback, even though she was prepared.

Two months had passed since I last returned home, and the furnishings and layout of the house remained unchanged, but as soon as I entered, I felt a sense of brightness.

Upon closer inspection, nothing else had changed except the walls—the interior walls had been repainted white from top to bottom.

Song Miao stood still and sized her up for a while.

As Cheng Erniang was leading people inside, she saw Song Miao staring at the wall with a surprised look on her face. She couldn't help but rub her hands together, her ears turning red, and said, "I did it myself, without spending any money on labor or wages. I just bought lime and hemp paper! If there are any places that are not painted well, please don't mind, madam. We will send someone to fix them!"

Despite saying this, her words were filled with an eager anticipation of being praised, which she couldn't hide at all.

Before Song Miao left the capital, Cheng Erniang refused to accept her monthly allowance for nothing, so she told her about her idea of ​​renovating the house and asked her to inquire about prices in the capital, from materials to labor, so that she could compare them when she returned.

She did this partly to reassure the other party about receiving the money, and partly to compare the figures so that she would have a better understanding of the situation when construction actually began.

Who would have thought that the woman from Fuzhou was truly remarkable, capable of managing the household and getting things done, and had given such a wonderful surprise!
She couldn't help but go forward to take a look.

The hemp paper had been cut into very fine pieces and mixed with lime mortar. It was then brushed onto the wall, leaving it white and smooth to the touch. It was clear to the naked eye that the "wall painter" had put in a lot of effort.

At this moment, they were packing their luggage, and people were coming and going, so it wasn't appropriate to talk about anything. However, when Song Miao met Cheng Erniang face to face again, she couldn't help but gently nudge her arm.

"Where did you learn your skills, Second Sister? This wall is painted exactly to my liking! It's wonderful!"

As she spoke, her eyes kept glancing at the wall, clearly showing that she genuinely liked it and that it suited her taste.

Cheng Erniang was initially a little nervous, but seeing Song Miao's reaction, all her nervousness turned into joy. She was so pleased with the praise that she was all smiles, and she even seemed to be walking on tiptoe.

She first pointed to the person and walked towards the backyard, then couldn't help but turn back to tug at Song Miao's sleeve and whispered, "It's a bit dark today, so it's not very clear. Madam, take a closer look tomorrow. There might be some areas that haven't been painted properly! I'll come and fix them then!"

—Even though she's not young, she still can't help but act cute.

***
Song Miao had a lot of things when she set off, including pots and pans, household items, and a lot of dried goods and food, which filled half of the car.

Now that they've returned, the old ways have been emptied and the new ones replaced. Although some of the food has been eaten and used up, they've received gifts from the cooks and their wives, local specialties, and the head cook insisted on stuffing in several jars of various pickled foods he made himself, plus several large jars of plum syrup that Song Miao had prepared in advance.

Even with four adults and two children working together, it took them quite a while to move all the luggage back into the house.

Song Miao originally wanted the镖师 (bodyguard) and coachman to stay for a meal, but the two were in a hurry to return to the镖局 (bodyguard agency) in the capital to hand over the goods and collect their payment. Since they said there was food available there, they only drank a cup of tea before taking their leave.

It was already late, and Song Miao and Liang Yan were exhausted from traveling for days. Although it was dinnertime, they had little appetite, perhaps because they had been swaying in the carriage for so long.

Liang Yan even said to Song Miao, "Sister Song, I'm not hungry. I'll just have a couple of sips of water tonight!"

It's impossible to just drink water.

Knowing her cooking skills were mediocre, Cheng Erniang quickly said, "I'll go outside and buy some cooked food to welcome my wife and Xiao Yan back!"

She went out the door carrying a basket.

Song Miao thought for a moment, then beckoned Xiao Lian over and said, "Your brother Liang Yan is staying at home tonight. He needs to wash up first. Can you help me look after him?"

Although she didn't know what was going on, Xiao Lian was overjoyed to have a playmate at home and to be assigned tasks by Song Miao. She quickly agreed and hurriedly brought out her usual comb, wooden basin, soap, and other items, saying, "Brother Liangzi, I'll let you use my things!"

When Song Miao finished washing up and changed her clothes, she saw Liang Yan still washing his hair. Xiao Lian had moved two small tables to the front hall, one for sitting and the other for placing a half-full bowl. She was holding a palm leaf fan and fanning the bowl.

Hearing the commotion, she looked up and saw Song Miao. She immediately stood up, pointed to the empty recliner next to her, and said, "Sister, sister, quick! Sit here!"

Seeing the child so anxious, Song Miao sat down curiously and asked, "What's wrong?"

The recliner had been repaired when Han Li came earlier, and a bamboo footrest had been made underneath so that it could be dragged out.

Xiao Lian pulled out the footrest and set it up so Song Miao could use it. Then she fetched the cup of water and brought it to Song Miao. She took out the small table from before, placed it next to the recliner, took off her shoes, stepped on it, and whispered, "Sister, let me massage your shoulders!" She added softly, "When Mother comes back tired from working, I always massage her shoulders. She says it feels so good!"

“I asked my uncle a long time ago, and he said it would take many days to get here from Huazhou. My mother also said that my sister must have had a very tiring journey and her back must be sore. You try it, you try to see if my massage feels good!”

As he spoke, he began to massage Song Miao's back, and then started pounding her legs.

She was small in stature and not very strong. When her fists pounded her legs, it was okay, but when her palms pinched her back, it was really only slightly worse than tickling.

But Song Miao immediately understood why Cheng Erniang had said "it's so comfortable" back then.

When such a considerate person massages your shoulders from behind, who could say they feel uncomfortable?
The large bowl she was holding contained a perilla drink, which Cheng Erniang had specially prepared before leaving home. Xiao Lian had been fanning it for half a day, and after taking a sip, she found the temperature to be just right. She then turned her head to thank the child.

"You're welcome!" Xiaolian blushed, as if she had mustered up her courage for a thousand years. After a long while, she leaned close to Song Miao's ear and whispered, "Sister, you've been gone for so long. I missed you so much."

***
Huazhou was, after all, a foreign land, and no matter how good the official post station was, it was still just a temporary lodging.

Song Miao returned to Suanzao Lane, tidied herself up, ate a little something for dinner, went back to her room, and lay down to sleep.

The house, room, and bed that this body is most familiar with, when lying on the bed, you can roll to the left if you want, stretch your arms and kick your legs if you want, and even your sleeping posture is the one that is most comfortable for you.

She slept very soundly, only waking up twice sporadically. Her eyelids barely lifted twice, and although it was clearly light outside, her mind was still blank. She thought it was still dark, so she closed her eyes and fell asleep again.

By the time I finally regained full consciousness, it was already past 9 AM.

She was lying in bed when she heard her stomach growling, so she got up.

As soon as she pushed open the door, Cheng Erniang, who was hanging clothes to dry in the yard, saw her and said with a smile, "I've cooked porridge for you, and I've also bought steamed buns, fried dough sticks, mutton buns, and eggs. Come and have breakfast, my lady!"

Upon seeing this scene, Song Miao was momentarily dazed.

She felt as if she had returned to her childhood.

I don't know if she was three or four years old, but she wasn't really at an age where she could remember things very well. One morning, she overslept, and when she woke up, her parents, who were always by her side, were nowhere to be seen. The room was empty, with only two big green pears placed beside her.

She doesn't want pears.

For some reason, her mind was filled with grievances, and she burst into tears. She got up, put on her shoes, hugged the pear, and ran out the door, sobbing.

Aunt Fang was hanging clothes out to dry in the yard when she saw her crying. She quickly threw down her short shirt and came over to hug and comfort her.

"We've left some sweet porridge for Miaomiao, cooked with rock sugar. We've also made millet cakes, jujube cakes, mutton buns, and mushroom and vegetable buns—I'll go eat with you. After we finish eating, Mom and Dad will be back!"

She still remembers the taste of millet cake and jujube cake.

I also remember how disheveled my father looked when Aunt Fang chased and beat him, and he almost ran halfway up the mountain.

Cheng Erniang was naturally not Aunt Fang, and at this moment, she no longer had her parents by her side.

There was no rock sugar in the porridge, and no millet cake or jujube cake on the table, but after waking up, someone specially remembered her and prepared a lot of breakfast. When she sat down at the table, a little girl was busy serving her porridge, running in and out happily to bring her bowls and chopsticks.

Song Miao had a hearty meal.

When Cheng Erniang came out to ask about the arrangements, she said, "Rest for two days first, I have some other things to take care of."

Then he asked, "Brother Cheng, have you had some free time lately?"

Cheng Erniang glanced at the water clock and hurriedly said, "It's almost time for get out of class to end. If you need to find him, Madam, I'll go and call him out in a bit."

Song Miao shook her head and said, "There's no need for that."

She told him what Han Li had asked her to do, and then said, "I'd like to trouble you, Second Sister, to make a trip to the Imperial Academy and ask Brother Cheng to inquire with Master Chen about when he'll be available so I can deliver the letter to him."

"After you finish this matter, please also visit Aunt Zhu on your way and ask her to inquire when Uncle Zhu and Aunt Zhu are free, and also to ask how many people are in their family and how many children they have..."

Cheng Erniang already knew of Mr. Chen's abilities from the previous encounter and wished her younger brother could have more opportunities to make contact with him. Now, having received instructions from Song Miao to visit two different places, she couldn't sit still for a moment, even though she didn't know what it was about. She immediately stood up and said, "I'll go right now!"

He then asked, "But I don't know which day we'll set up our stall—my wife is really tired this time, and the journey has been exhausting. Why don't we rest for a few more days?"

She said that, but in her heart she was already secretly groaning.

With Miss Song gone, the shop's door has been knocked on so often these days that a hole has been made in it. Whenever the shop is closed, people knock on the door and ask when "Song's Shop" will reopen.

But opening the door also had its downsides; when the group of people came up, they almost trampled the threshold.

Every time Cheng Erniang went out, she was asked questions and felt uneasy, especially when she went to the food alley, where she was almost surrounded by people and couldn't get out.

But she didn't dare mention it at the moment, for fear that if Song Miao heard it, she would be in a hurry to set up her stall and wouldn't be able to rest properly.

"I'll rest for a couple of days. It's hard to say what will happen. If anyone asks, just say it will probably take five or eight days."

Cheng Erniang responded and hurried off.

Song Miao then went to pack her things.

She had a lot of luggage yesterday, but she was focused on resting and didn't pay attention to it. Now she was sorting out the things she needed and categorizing them. She had only sorted half of them when she saw someone rushing in. It was Liang Yan.

"My lady, Xiaolian has left. There are two people outside the door whom I don't recognize—they are asking when you will be back."

Song Miao put down what she was holding and followed Liang Yan outside.

As soon as she stepped out of the second gate, she saw two people standing outside. The one in the lead was dressed in silk robes and wore a jade crown. He had his hands half behind his back, but his face was staring in the direction of the second gate, and his expression was extremely aggrieved.

Upon seeing her, his eyes lit up and he shouted, "Miss Song!! When did you get back?! You're finally back!!!"

(End of this chapter)