Aunt Liu was washing clothes in the yard. When she saw the siblings coming back with their arms around each other's shoulders, she was startled. She quickly stood up and went forward to help support Yu Shu, who obviously didn't look well.
"What's wrong? You came back from school so early, and you're so tired? Look at your sweat, your clothes are all wet. Quickly go into the house and change. Don't catch a cold. I'll go to the kitchen to make some hot noodle soup for you. "
Aunt Liu helped send them into the house and hurriedly went out. Yu Shu was listlessly lying on the bed. Yu Xiaoxiu found two sets of clothes from the wardrobe and threw one to Yu Shu. He then crawled into his own bed and pulled the bed curtain. He changed his sweaty clothes and climbed out to wear his shoes. Seeing that Yu Shu was still lying on the bed, he walked over and kicked her leg that was exposed outside the bed.
"Change your clothes first. I'll wash them. Otherwise, it'll be difficult to dry them at night."
Yu Shu turned over and faced upwards. Looking at Yu Xiaoxiu's little yellow face that was sunburned, she really felt some heartache. Today, when she pretended to faint, she clearly saw the panic on Yu Xiaoxiu's face.
Although in a sense, this child wasn't her biological brother, but as his sister, she was his only hope.
She couldn't imagine what would have happened if she hadn't come to this world and "Yu Shu" had really died in the ancestral hall that night, leaving Yu Xiaoxiu all alone. Without a father to love him and a mother to love him, how would he have lived?
The scene of Yu Xiaoxiu sitting in a wheelchair and secretly crying after he was paralyzed appeared in her mind again. Looking at Yu Xiaoxiu, the indomitable spirit that she had for her brother returned to Yu Shu.
"Okay!"
Yu Shu sat up from the bed and smiled at Yu Xiaoxiu.
"Go out, I want to change clothes."
Yu Xiaoxiu looked strangely at Yu Shu, who was suddenly in high spirits, and went out in confusion.
"After eating, I'll have a good sleep. In the afternoon, I'll look around the streets and see if there's any work I can do," Yu Shu muttered to herself as she unbuttoned her clothes. "Even if I'm going to carry a sandbag, I'll have to buy some paper and ink first. I'll have Xiaoxiu do his homework first."
Strangely enough, this brother and sister pair didn't have any paper and ink at home. One was so stubborn that he would rather be punished, while the other racked his brains to think of ways to get money to buy paper, but neither of them had ever thought of reaching out to the Ji family for money.
***
"I'm going out to play. I'll be back at dinner time."
Yu Shu waved goodbye. Yu Xiaoxiu, who was lying on the bed reading a book, didn't even glance at her. He didn't notice that under Yu Shu's other arm was a ball of his old clothes.
In the afternoon, it was the quietest time in the servants' quarters of the Ji family. The masters were taking a lunch break, and the servants also took the opportunity to rest. There was almost no one outside.
Yu Shu went out and hid in the back room where the clothes were drying. She shook off the blue shirt that she stole from Yu Xiaoxiu, quickly took off the short shirt and skirt, and changed into the men's clothes.
Yu Shu was almost a head taller than Yu Xiaoxiu. Wearing his clothes, of course, she looked like she had shrunk. Fortunately, the clothes of the ancients were big, so she could make do with the shirt.
As for shoes, they usually wore gray cloth shoes. It was hard to tell if they were men or women, so there was no need to change them.
Yu Shu tied the belt, redid her hair, wrapped a small piece of cloth around her bun, and combed her temples neatly with a comb.
When everything was done, she folded the clothes she took off into a ball and stuffed them into the tree hole next to her. She would change into them when she came back at night.
Humming a little tune, Yu Shu paced back and forth a few steps. She looked at the reflection of her figure on the bedsheet on the hanger and walked to the back door with satisfaction. When she passed by the kitchen used by the servants, she slipped in and smeared some ash from the bottom of a pot. She pointed to the water jar and smeared it on her eyebrows to hide the shape of a willow leaf.
When she came out of the kitchen, she was already a shabby young man. It was hard to guess that she looked like a young girl without looking closely at her soft and tender skin.
***
Changmenpu Street seemed to be very lively every day. There was an endless stream of people, a dazzling array of goods and goods, and tempting cries. Yu Shu, who had never seen the world, almost couldn't move her legs.
Changmenpu Street did not refer to a single street. It had a total of three streets from north to south. There were also many teahouses and pubs in the alleys connecting the east and west. It would take an hour to stroll around all of them.
With her sensitivity to numbers and time, Yu Shu roughly converted the time. This hour was about two hours. She would start from the street in the south. If she still couldn't find a job after walking half of the street, she would change to the next one. In this way, the probability of success would fluctuate. If she was lucky, she could find a job before sunset.
"Shopkeeper, do you hire people to settle accounts here?"
Yu Shu looked at a silk and satin shop with good business. She straightened her collar and boldly walked in to apply for a job. In this world, the only thing she could do for the time being was to settle accounts.
"Go away, go away, where did this boy come from? Go away, don't block my door."
Yu Shu didn't even have the chance to introduce herself before she was kicked out, attracting the attention of several customers in the restaurant. Yu Shu touched her nose, turned around, and went to the next restaurant.
She disguised herself as a teenager and looked at most 14 or 15 years old. No wonder the shopkeeper refused. After all, who would dare to settle accounts with such a half-grown child?
"Shopkeeper, do you hire people to settle accounts in your shop? I will prepare an account." Yu Shu walked into a shop selling vases next door.
"No, no, get out, get out."
She was kicked out again, but this time she said one more sentence, which was a good sign. Yu Shu comforted herself and left the shop. She planned to cross the street to the other side, but when she turned her head, she stepped on something.
She bent down and picked it up. It was a delicate and small wooden carved pen holder. Because she had seen such things on Master Liu's table in the private school, she recognized it. However, the one in her hand was obviously a bit coarser.
This thing was not worth much. After a moment of greed, Yu Shu decided to return the money she picked up.
She raised her head and looked around. Not far to the west, she saw a figure carrying several paper bags with both hands. Her sharp eyes saw a penholder tied with a string in the middle of the brightly colored paper bags. It was the same as the one in her hand. It was teetering and looked like it was about to fall. She hurriedly shouted as she chased after it.
"Hey, hey! Don't go, you dropped something! "
Half the people on the street turned their heads to look at her, except for that person. Because the crowd was so crowded, Yu Shu chased after that person for almost half the street. She was always behind that person. When she saw that the person turned at the next corner and was about to disappear into the crowd, she became really anxious and shouted at the top of her voice:
"The one in front wearing flowery clothes! Stop right there! "
This time, everyone on the whole street turned their heads to look at her, including the owner of the pen holder.
Yu Shu quickly squeezed over and handed the pen holder to him. She complained in a low voice with dissatisfaction:
"Didn't you hear me shouting several times? Is there something wrong with your ears? You made me chase you for half the street. Really."
The person saw the pen holder in Yu Shu's hand and realized that he had dropped something. Hearing Yu Shu's scolding, he chuckled and moved the bits and pieces from his left hand to his right hand. He freed his hand to take the pen holder and apologized:
"Sorry, I was thinking about something and didn't hear you shouting. Thank you very much."
Yu Shu was looking up at the young man who was a head taller than her. Seeing his smiling face and hearing his polite thanks, she was too embarrassed to make things difficult for him. She shoved the pen holder back to him and pointed to the other one in his hand. She reminded him in a bad mood and then turned around and went back into the crowd.
"This one is about to fall too. You carry a good thing. If you lose it again, no one will chase after you all the way to return it."
The young man watched as she ran out of sight. He lowered his head and looked at the white gown with green patterns on it. He muttered to himself in puzzlement,
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