Chapter 2 Liu Huixiang
"Don't worry, sir. Everything will get better slowly." Tofu Xishi comforted.
Su Xian felt that the bed was really soft and fragrant, so he hugged the embroidered quilt, rolled around twice, closed his eyes and said in a daze: "Madam, is there anything to eat? I'm so hungry!"
lady?!
Tofu Xishi was stunned, and her bright eyes flashed with confusion, shame, anger, and entanglement.
Although Su Xian also called her "Mrs. Liu" in the past, she was very sensitive and could tell that "Mrs." meant wife.
The female man with a face full of flesh walked to , opened the quilt and pulled him off the bed, shouting angrily: "Who is your wife? Come down!"
"What? You are not..." Su Xian was dragged off the bed, stunned. Was he being too self-indulgent?
"Mr. Su, my husband has passed away for several years, and I have been a widow for several years."
Tofu Beauty was filled with shame and indignation, her cheeks flushed red, making her look even more beautiful. She said angrily, "Today, Master Su fainted in the street, so I resorted to this desperate measure... But I didn't expect that Master Su would say such rude words. I hope Master... respect yourself!"
A flash of lightning flashed through Su Xian's heart, and he remembered.
This tofu beauty is named "Liu Huixiang" and she is a widow!
Several years ago, although Liu Huixiang was a daughter of a prominent family, her father promised her to a sick man to bring good luck. On the wedding night, the groom died before they even entered the bridal chamber.
The etiquette at that time was not very strict, and soon after, a matchmaker came again to propose marriage.
As a result, two days before the wedding, the groom was robbed and killed by bandits.
Later, she was preparing to marry again. A few days before the wedding, the groom's family was thrown into jail...
This happened several times, and anyone who was introduced by the matchmaker either died or suffered a disaster.
So for several years, Liu Huixiang still didn't get married.
Matchmakers who came to visit also met with accidents one after another, either falling into a pond or being hit by a carriage...
Later, people in Liu Huixiang's family died abnormally or became bedridden, which was very strange. The situation did not improve until Liu Huixiang was driven out of the house.
Therefore, Liu Huixiang is not only unlucky in marriage, she is also unlucky in marriage for matchmakers and anyone who is close to her.
Although she was only twenty-five or twenty-six years old and had a beautiful face, she was still a virgin, but no one dared to approach her anymore, let alone a matchmaker.
Fortunately, thanks to the woman with a waist as thick as a bucket and a face full of flesh, who was loyal to her master and took care of both the inside and outside of the house, she was able to set up a tofu stall in Leshou County, and her life became more and more prosperous.
However, her bad reputation of "bringing bad luck to husbands, matchmakers, and anyone close to her" became more and more mysterious as it spread, and neighbors near and far were all afraid of her.
Liu Huixiang rarely went out, and the tofu stall was almost entirely left to the tomboy to manage...
And Su Xian is Liu Huixiang’s neighbor!
The two houses are next to each other!
After realizing this, Su Xian bowed and apologized, saying, "I'm sorry, Madam Liu, please don't blame me. I forgot a lot of things and didn't think of them for a while. Please don't blame me..."
Under the gaze of the fleshy-faced macho, Su Xian ran out of the door and onto the street.
It was already dark, and the streets were deserted and quiet.
A cool breeze blew, and Su Xian shuddered all over and woke up.
He scanned the strange yet familiar streets left and right, and finally, his sight stopped on a two-story wooden building. That was his home.
He walked over quickly, took out the key and opened the door.
Fumbling to light the oil lamp, looking at the familiar rotten wooden benches, old tables, broken doors and windows, the memories of the original body gradually emerged -
It turned out that Su Xian came from a prominent family in the capital.
But from the perspective of his father, he is just an insignificant bastard.
When Su Xian was born, he was a bastard's child and was very unpopular.
Later, due to being ostracized by the family, my parents simply set up their own business and moved far away to a place called Yingzhou to settle down.
A few years ago, his parents passed away one after another. Their wish was that Su Xian could study more and preferably pass the imperial examination to become a "Jinshi" or "Mingjing" to wipe out the shame of being ostracized by the family!
Su Xian is really a nerd. He is really devoted to studying and has no knowledge of worldly economics. As a result...
He stood there for a long time holding the oil lamp, and was finally awakened by the growling of his stomach.
"I'm so hungry, let me make some porridge first."
I followed my memory to the kitchen on the first floor and opened the lid of the rice jar. It was empty, without a single grain of rice.
Su Xian was stunned for a moment, and suddenly remembered that his family had run out of food a few days ago!
He also used the last copper coin in the house to buy a steamed bun two days ago...
Su Xian did not give up. He held an oil lamp and searched the house inside and out, but he did not find a single copper coin.
"Oh my God!"
Su Xian sighed to the sky: "I am Su Xian, a landlord with a monthly income of tens of thousands, and a well-known scholar in the local cultural circle... Why did you let me come to this place!?"
"Forget it, let's sleep until tomorrow."
I went up to the second floor along the creaking wooden stairs, opened the door, and saw a bed, a set of chairs, and a wardrobe as tall as a person.
When I approached the bed, I saw a tattered quilt with holes on it, and I could see the bed board underneath through the holes.
"Rubbish!"
Su Xian simply pulled up the tattered quilt and threw it on the ground with disgust.
As a result, all that was left on the bed was a bed board made of several wooden boards and a pillow that had not been washed in many years.
Fortunately, the weather has been hot recently, so it is okay not to cover yourself with a quilt. Su Xian lies down with her clothes on and forces herself to close her eyes and sleep.
The night is cool as water.
Ding ding!
"It's dry, be careful with fire..."
There was the sound of night watchmen beating in the distance, occasionally mixed with the barking of dogs.
The faint moonlight shines through the window, vaguely showing the mottled texture on the wall.
"well!"
Su Xian became more awake as he slept. He gritted his teeth and turned over to get up, cursing, "Is this bed made of steel? It hurts my back."
Su Xian was used to sleeping on a soft mattress, so he felt uncomfortable sleeping on a flat and hard wooden bed.
He got up, put on his Confucian robe and cloth shoes, glanced at the tattered quilt thrown on the ground, resisted the urge to pick it up, opened the door and went downstairs with the oil lamp.
He planned to borrow a quilt from his neighbor and put it on the bed board which was as hard as steel.
As he walked down the stairs, more memories slowly came to Su Xian's mind, which were related to the current situation in the world:
"This is Yingzhou of the Daliang Dynasty. Across Cangzhou to the east is Bohai."
"South of the Qinling Mountains and the Huai River, there are three countries: Shu, Southern Chu, and Southern Chen... This obviously does not match the dynasties in history!"
After going downstairs and casually placing the oil lamp on the old wooden table, Su Xian suddenly realized: "Oh, the trajectory of history has changed since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty."
"According to the timeline of official history, it should be the Wu Zhou Dynasty with Wu Zetian as the emperor..."
"Wait, the current emperor of Daliang is really a female emperor..."
"In the feudal era , there was no sense of security. Now I have problems eating and sleeping!"
Open the door and come to the street.
Su Xian made up his mind: "Since I'm here, I'll make the best of it. Let's not talk about having many wives and concubines and living a shameless life. But at least I have to ensure my personal safety. I don't want to be caught and beheaded for no reason."
Leshou County, Yingzhou, is a "central county", but perhaps because it is located in the southeast corner of the city, Su Xian did not see anyone on the street.
He glanced at the door of Liu Huixiang's house and turned to walk to the other side.
At the same time, he thought, "Don't worry about that for now, let's find a way to solve the problem of food and clothing first."
Bang bang bang!
Su Xian knocked on a neighbor's door and called out, "Uncle Liu, Uncle Liu, open the door."
"Who is it, so late at night..."
"Uncle Liu, I'm Su Xian."
"Su...Su Xian? Oh, I'm sorry. I just broke my leg and can't get out of bed. I'm sorry..."
Su Xian knocked for a while, but no one answered.
He scratched his head and knocked on the door of another neighbor: "Manager Luo, open the door. Your student Su Xian wants to ask you something."
"There's no one in the room!" Shopkeeper Luo shouted, pinching his nose.
"I go!"
"Uncle Zhang, I have something to ask you, please open the door."
"My dear nephew Su, just go with peace of mind. I will burn paper for you...May the Bodhisattva bless you, may the Buddha bless you, my nephew Su, just go with peace of mind..."
Su Xian: “?”
He didn't believe it and knocked on the doors of all the neighbors around him, but no one responded, as if no one was in the house.
He left a sentence "People's hearts are no longer the same as they used to be" and returned to his dark and dilapidated home.
Lying on the wooden bed as hard as steel again, Su Xian tried hard to adapt.
Adapt, adapt , and adapt again...
"Damn it! I can't adapt!"
He turned over and stood up again, looking at the hard bed board and felt like crying but had no tears.
At this moment, he couldn't help but think of the bed in Liu Huixiang's home, which was soft and fragrant, and the quilt was embroidered with silk silk ribbons.
Although Liu Huixiang has a bad reputation, her tofu stall business is booming and she makes a lot of money. Compared to Su Xian's shabby bedroom, her living environment is simply a paradise!
Just now, Su Xian knocked on the doors of all the neighbors around, but he didn't knock on Liu Huixiang's house.
After all, she is a widow living at home and is not easy to disturb.
But... Su Xian rubbed his aching back and shoulders, and said with a wry smile: "My delicate back, what can I do to save you?"
After hesitating for a while, Su Xian finally went downstairs again, opened the door, and sneaked to the door of Liu Huixiang's house.
Boom boom boom!
"Who is it?"
The tomboy with a waist as thick as a bucket spoke softly and nervously.
Yes, there were two women living in this room, one of whom was a stunningly beautiful widow. Besides, it was late at night, so they couldn't help but be careful and cautious.
"Sister Zhang, it's me, Su Xian." The female man's name was "Zhang Cuihua".
The footsteps approached, and soon, Zhang Cuihua's voice came through the door: "Mr. Su? What do you want so late at night?"
"I'm sorry, I want to borrow a quilt. My bed is too hard and I can't sleep." Su Xian didn't beat around the bush.
There was silence behind the door for a while. Zhang Cuihua probably felt that the request was too abrupt.
Borrow a quilt from a widow?
After a while, Zhang Cuihua said, "Wait," and the sound of footsteps fading away was heard from inside the house.
After waiting for a while, footsteps were heard approaching inside the house, the bolt was pulled open, and only one of the two doors of the room was opened, and Zhang Cuihua stepped out.
She held a quilt in one hand and a food box in the other.
Looking at Su Xian, he said, "My young lady has agreed. We are neighbors, so there is no need to talk about borrowing. This quilt will be considered as a gift to Mr. Su."
Su Xian took the soft quilt and was about to thank him when Zhang Cuihua handed him the food box and said, "My lady knows that you didn't have lunch or dinner, so you must be very hungry. Although this is leftovers, it is clean. I hope Mr. Su will not dislike it."
"Of course I won't mind. Thank you, Madam Liu, and thank you, Sister Zhang."
Su Xian was so hungry, but it didn't matter as long as he had something to eat. He hugged the quilt and bowed before taking the food box.
Su Xian, who had gained a lot, turned around and left. He really had no obstacles in his heart. At the moment, staying alive was the most important thing. All the propriety, righteousness, and integrity were nonsense! And at the moment, only Tofu Xishi would pay attention to him... Hey, we are both wanderers in the world, so why should we know each other when we meet?
After taking only two steps, he found Zhang Cuihua following him carrying a large wooden barrel.
"Sister Zhang, what are you doing?"
"Oh, these are rotten tofu. They can't be sold. I suggest you throw them away."
"Stinky tofu..." A flash of lightning flashed through Su Xian's mind. If tofu can go bad, it means that it is too much. Instead of leaving it to go bad, it is better to make it into another delicacy. So he said happily: "Sister Zhang, have you heard of 'stinky tofu'?"
"Stinky tofu? I've never heard of it. How can tofu be smelly?" Zhang Cuihua shook her head.
