A little girl of a few years old was the cutest. Her pink face had a little baby fat. There was nothing cuter than this. Moreover, a little girl of this age was more timid. Her timid appearance was very distressing. No wonder Tang Er liked her.
"Shuang 'er, where is your home? Uncle will take you home, okay? "
Ang Lee gently stroked Shuang 'er's head and asked with a smile.
"En …"
Shuang 'er muttered for a long time, but she still couldn't say the location.
Tang Er took Shuang 'er's little hand and said, "Shuang' er, don't be afraid. This is my father, not a bad person. Let's get in the car first! You just need to tell me where my home is. "
After saying that, without waiting for Shuang 'er's consent, he domineeringly pulled Shuang' er into Ang Lee's car. He didn't leave any room for negotiation for Shuang 'er.
"Tang Er, my home is over there. It's a little far, but not too far. It's still a little far."
Shuang 'er's words were a little incoherent. It seemed that she didn't know how to express herself. But at least she said the direction, so they could set off.
Sitting in the car, Shuang 'er was a little nervous at first, but she slowly became excited. Perhaps it was because it was her first time in a car!
He didn't look carefully just now. He only looked at the little girl's face and ignored her clothes. At this moment, he found that the child's clothes were very shabby and even had some patches. It was just that these patches were just right. At first glance, it was obvious that they were made by a good female worker. So, if it was far away, it wouldn't be easy to see. It was just like new clothes.
In addition, although the little girl's clothes were very shabby, they were very clean and tidy. At such a close distance, there was no smell at all. It could be seen that Shuang 'er's family also loved cleanliness. Or more accurately, this child had a mother who loved cleanliness.
When visiting someone else's house, how could he not buy some gifts? He had to buy some gifts. Li An stopped midway and went to the roadside to buy some pastries and fruits. These were all delicacies that children liked to eat. He bought dozens of kilograms of them, but Tang'er felt that it was too little. She should have bought more, but the car was only so big, and could not carry any more.
Among the students in the school, except for the Tang Er who lived the furthest away, the rest of the children lived relatively close. Therefore, it did not take long for them to arrive.
"Yes, this is the place. This is my home."
Shuang 'er pointed to a house by the side of the road, and opened her mouth to ask them to move.
Ang Lee looked up and saw that the house was really shabby. It was definitely a slum. The houses in the countryside were probably much better than this house.
In front of the house was a yard. The yard seemed to have a fence, but because of disrepair, the broken fence had long been broken. Only a few places could barely block the view. Naturally, the gate was no longer there, because it was meaningless to exist. The wall was no longer there, so what was the use of the gate? The yard was not small, and there were all kinds of shabby pots and jars scattered around. Even if a thief came, he or she wouldn't bother to look at these shabby things in the yard. After all, thieves were too lazy to take worthless things.
Although there were no valuable items in the yard, it was very clean. There was almost no extra leaf. The broom was also placed neatly and was not thrown around casually. As for the pots and jars scattered in the yard, they seemed a little scattered, but they were all in their proper places. They were deliberately placed there for convenience.
Among them, the most distinctive thing was that there was a shabby small pavilion in the middle of the yard. It was made of branches and thatch. It could be completed by one's own hands, and the cost was almost zero. Below the pavilion was a shabby stone platform that was picked up from somewhere, and there were several stone stools next to it.
The material of this shabby stone platform wasn't too bad, but it was too dilapidated. The platform was full of potholes, like a crab hole on the beach, but it had been wiped clean. The small stone bench was made of the same material as the stone platform, and it was obvious that they were a set. It was also full of potholes, and there were traces of vandalism.
In Li An's opinion, this set of stone tables and small stone stools were low-grade furniture. However, even if they were low-grade furniture, they were not something that ordinary people could own. After all, this kind of stone table was unique to aristocrats for leisure. If ordinary people did not have a table at home, they would definitely make a wooden one or bamboo one. Who would be so free and idle? It was very difficult to move a whole set of heavy stone tables and stools at home. Moreover, when the weather was cold, it would be very cold to sit on it. In short, it was very impractical. Only elegant people would pursue this kind of furniture made of stone.
Since it was a piece of furniture that could only be owned by people who pursued elegance, naturally it could not be broken. If it was damaged, it was natural to throw it away. Thieves would not steal this. Firstly, this guy was too heavy and it was really difficult to transport. Secondly, there was no possibility of selling the stolen goods after stealing it. Elegant people would not buy a shabby one, and poor people would not buy a stone. Therefore, this thing was destined not to be stolen.
The shabby pots and jars in the courtyard were all furniture that had been used for a long time. At first glance, they were all old objects. The wooden pots were all damaged, and the jars were also chipped. If one was not careful when using them, one might cut their hands. Only very poor people would use these things.
There were two fruit trees on both sides of the pavilion. They were the most common pomegranate. At this time, the fruit trees had not sprouted, but the shape of the trees was very good. At first glance, one could see that it had been pruned. It looked very comfortable. There were also some flower trees planted around the two trees. They were also dry, and it would take half a month for them to germinate.
It could be said that there were houses on three sides of the courtyard. The front was three shabby thatched huts. The walls were made of mud, and the roof was relatively flat. Although there was a house on the left and right sides, there was not even a decent wall. It was supported by a few branches, and it was surrounded by smaller branches to form a simple wall.
One of them was for sundries, and the other was the kitchen for cooking. There was a large vat at the door of the kitchen. The vat was filled with water, and the lid was half covered.
At this time, it was dinner time. However, there was no smoke in the kitchen. Shuang'er naturally had eaten in the school, but her family should also have eaten. How could there be no smoke?
Ang Lee asked the servants to put the fruits and pastries on the stone table in the courtyard. Then, he waved his hand and asked them to retreat, so as not to scare the master with too many people.
"Where should we sit?"
Shuang'er wiped the small stone table with her hand and felt that it was still too cold. She wanted to move a wooden stool, but found that the wooden stool was too shabby. No matter what chair was used, it seemed that it was difficult to match the noble status of Ang Lee and Tang Er.
Ang Lee smiled and touched Shuang'er's forehead. He whispered, "It's okay, we can just stand. Why is there no one in your house?"
Shuang'er went to the kitchen and looked around. She shouted, "Mother, there are guests at home."
"Who is it?"
A young lady came out of the house. The moment she raised her eyes and saw Ang Lee, she was unconsciously stunned. She looked very surprised, and there was a steamed bun in her mouth that she had not swallowed.
Although it was a bit indecent, Ang Lee felt very comfortable. Although the lady in front of him was shabby, her appearance was not bad. If she dressed up, she would definitely be a beauty. Otherwise, she would not have given birth to such a beautiful lady like Shuang'er.
"Please forgive me for disturbing you."
Ang Lee bowed like a gentleman.
Tang Er smiled and called her concubine mother. His little mouth was very sweet.
"Shuang'er, come here."
The woman waved her hand and asked Shuang'er to come over. Then, she whispered, "Shuang'er, who are these two?"
"Mother, this is Tang Er and his father. They came to our house to play."
Shuang'er said.
"Who is Tang Er? What did he come to our house for? "
The woman looked a little puzzled. She seemed to think that rich people in gorgeous clothes should not come to her house.
"Tang Er is a classmate in the school! He is a very good person. "
Shuang'er whispered.
The woman was still a little puzzled, but she still came out.
"Oh, you even bought so many fruits. Look, how embarrassing it is! Is there anything important that you came to our house for? The child's father has not come back yet. As a woman, I dare not make the decision. "
The woman did not have stage fright and asked with a smile.
Ang Lee smiled and said, "It's nothing. It's not that I want to come. It's my son, Tang Er, who insisted on coming to Shuang'er's house. How can I be at ease with such a young child? I'm afraid that there will be an accident on the way, so I can only accompany him. Please forgive me for disturbing you! "
"It's okay, it's okay. We're all poor families. There's no need to disturb us. Please sit down, sit down."
The woman wiped the stone stool, put on her headscarf, and asked Ang Lee to sit down. Perhaps in this house, there was no better stool than these stone stools. So, Ang Lee could only be wronged.
Ang Lee naturally had to sit down and asked curiously, "How many people are there in your family?"
"There are few people, only my husband and Shuang'er."
The woman said.
"It's quite few, but they are still young. We can have a few more, haha!"
Ang Lee said with a smile.
The woman was a little shy. She smiled and did not answer.
"By the way, it's time for dinner. Other families are cooking. Don't you cook dinner?"
Ang Lee asked curiously.
"Uncle, we don't cook at night. We just eat a dry steamed bun and drink some water."
The woman did not answer. Shuang'er answered on her behalf.
"Oh! How can this be? How can you eat three meals a day like this? It's not good for your health. "
The woman smiled with shame and said, "You're right. How can I not understand this? But our family's conditions are here. If Shuang'er didn't eat three meals a day in school, I'm afraid we would have to starve at night."
"The Tang dynasty is getting richer and richer. How can the common people live like this? What's the head of the family doing? Why can't he feed his wife and children?"
Ang Lee was a little unhappy and asked.
"Alas! My wife is really not capable. She plants trees and flowers for the nobles' families and earns little money. Half of her salary is deducted by the head of the family. Even when we meet unreasonable nobles, they don't give us a penny. They even give us some useless things to make up for our salary. The head of the family is stupid and can't reason with them. As a woman, I can't do anything. Look at the stone table in front of me. It's not something that poor people like us can use. "
She couldn't help crying as she spoke.
"Oh, it's furniture to make up for the salary. I thought it was picked up somewhere. How long is the salary? "
Ang Lee asked.
"What about half a year's salary? The head of the family worked hard for half a year and didn't get a penny. In the end, the foreman said that my husband broke the owner's valuable furniture. Not only did he not give him a salary, but he also had to compensate his family a lot of money. Then, the foreman interceded and said that the owner didn't ask for compensation and gave us this stone table. The foreman was also merciful. Seeing that we didn't stutter, he took some of his money to buy us a lot of rice and noodles. That's how we got through this winter. Now Shuang'er has food and drink in school. Life finally has some hope. "
The woman said.
When Ang Lee heard this, he felt that something was wrong. He always felt that the foreman mentioned by the woman was not a good person. It was very likely that he was a swindler who saw that the woman's husband was honest and bullied him.
Ang Lee had seen a lot of such swindlers. In the money society of later generations, there were countless such shameless swindler foremen. They used deceptive means to recruit many people to work with them. When it was time to get paid, they would tell the workers that they didn't get paid. Then, they would disappear, not answer the phone, or give some promises that could not be fulfilled at all, fooling the workers below.
Therefore, every New Year in later generations, many low-level migrant workers would ask for their salaries. There were pitiful people everywhere in the country who asked for their salaries. Although the imperial court attached great importance to it and took a lot of practical measures, this kind of situation didn't stop. The imperial court could only improve this situation, but could not completely reverse it.
From the experience of later generations, Ang Lee felt that the man of the woman in front of him must have been deceived by the foreman, and the couple was still in the dark.
"It's almost dark. It's time to get off work!"
Ang Lee said casually.
"No, it's still early. I won't get off work until it's dark. It will take some time to come back. "
The woman said.
"Oh, why did you get off work so late?"
Ang Lee asked curiously.
The woman said with a smile, "Isn't it because I owe the foreman a favor? Others can leave early, but my man volunteered to stay and finish up. He put the tools of others in a suitable place. With this delay, he will get off work half an hour later than others. In fact, it's not a big deal. It's the same whether he comes back early or late. It's just that he has to work a little more. "
"I happen to have nothing to do. Why don't I wait for him here? I'm very curious. What kind of person is Shuang 'er's father? How honest is he? Haha! "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
"Hey, then I'll get you a bowl of hot water! It's cold today. "
The woman said politely and went into the kitchen to find hot water.
Ang Lee looked sideways and saw Tang Er and Shuang 'er playing happily. Tang Er quickly familiarized himself with the new environment, while Shuang 'er also got familiar with Ang Lee. She was no longer afraid of him, nor was she as restrained as before.
The Summit
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