Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 11 The Man from Yizhuang
Wu Chengjian had no idea what happened in the yard at that time.
After the child was born, he rushed in, asked if Ye Youyu was safe, and then held the child tightly.
Wu Guoying has already named the child. If it’s a boy, he’ll be called Yaoer.
Looking at the tiny baby in his hands, Wu Chengjian forgot all his worries for a moment, and was only willing to let go of the baby and take it to take a bath after being urged by the midwife.
He came to the bedside and looked at Ye Youyu's tired face. A little regret flashed through his mind and he whispered, "Thank you for your hard work."
Ye Youyu was very sober. Seeing that there was no one around, he suddenly reached out and grabbed him, saying, "The child is born now. You... just stop being angry with me."
Wu Chengjian frowned and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? What's irritating you?"
Ye Youyu said: "How long has it been since you last spoke to me?"
Wu Chengjian said, "We see each other every day, why don't you talk?"
"We met and talked every day. " Ye Youyu said, "But you didn't tell me what was in your heart. You were mad at me, right? Angry that I kicked her off the boat, right? Originally, because you were pregnant, you were afraid that I would get a miscarriage, so you didn't dare to scold me, so you suppressed your anger, right? But now the child is born. If you want to scold me, just do it. You will feel better if you scold me..."
"Don't let your imagination run wild." Wu Chengjian interrupted her: "I'm not mad at you. You didn't do anything wrong."
"But……"
At this moment, there were urgent footsteps outside the green gauze cabinet, followed by Xia Qing running in, shouting: "Hao Guan, Hao Guan!"
"Hmm?" Wu Chengjian saw Xia Qing's anxious face and asked, "What's wrong?"
Xia Qing looked at Ye Youyu lying on the bed, and thought she had no way out. She was afraid that the bad news would affect Ye Youyu who had just given birth, so she pulled Wu Chengjian into the yard.
Ye Youyu looked at his back as he hurried away. Although he guessed that something must have happened, otherwise Xia Qing would not be so abrupt, he still felt sad.
When Wu Chengjian arrived in the yard, Xia Qing said, "Go and see the young master. He is dying."
When Wu Chengjian heard this, his face changed drastically.
Charity cemetery.
Tan Sanniang became busy again.
As soon as the cold weather came, she was busy running around the village, checking the fever of the sick here and the legs and feet of the elderly there. After checking all these, she went to the back of the charity village to see the two lunatics who were locked up there.
At the turn of summer and autumn this year, the charity estate had been completed, the houses were basically built, the farmland was rented out, and a crop of mulberry leaves was harvested in the spring, but the old prostitutes were used to the flesh trade of spreading legs for money, and they could not stand the hardship. It was their first time raising silkworms, so most of them died. Fortunately, there was still some money left to spend. With this experience, next year will surely be better. The fish fry are doing well. The fish meat sent to the village every month by the fish farm owners is almost enough to allow the people in the charity estate to have fish for every two meals without the need for additional subsidies.
The rent collected before winter was dried and stored in the warehouse. A rough calculation showed that it was enough for the whole village to have enough food for two years. As long as nothing went wrong, the charity village would be able to survive on its own even if it lost the support from the Wu family. Thinking of this, the old prostitutes in the village felt relieved.
Tan Sanniang was so busy that she seemed to have forgotten many things and seemed to be living a fulfilling life. But Bihe, who was following her, became more and more anxious day by day.
Before the fire at Thirteen Hongs, the third young lady of the Wu family came on board and forced Tan Sanniang to leave. Tan Sanniang was so stubborn that she left the boat with nothing. Bihe, the people of Tanka Village, and the people of Yizhuang were all angry about this. Everyone was waiting for Wu Chengjian to come to justice for Tan Sanniang after he was released from prison. Although Tan Sanniang had no status, everyone in Shenxianzhou knew about the relationship between Haoguan and Tan Sanniang. After all these years of getting along, even if there was no love, there was still gratitude. How could he treat Tan Sanniang like this?
Unexpectedly, the situation changed suddenly. A fire burned Guangzhou to the ground. Everyone knew that something big had happened in Guangzhou. After that, the Thirteen Hongs were in turmoil, and Wu Chengjian was at the center of the turmoil. Many things revolved around him. Whether it was the people of Shenxianzhou, Huachahao, Tanka Village, or Yizhuang, no one dared to disturb him for their children's love affairs.
Compared with the devastating fire in the Thirteenth Floor, the grievances of a former courtesan were really not worth mentioning, so her existence was gradually forgotten. Even though Shenxianzhou was a gathering place for gossip, there were more fascinating sights and sounds every day in the past two months.
Only the people around Tan Sanniang became more and more anxious for her the more they saw her being treated coldly.
Regarding the ship seizure incident, the Wu and Ye families would not say anything to the outside world before and after. For many people who did not know the inside story, it was just a topic of conversation for a while and was forgotten afterwards. Only close friends like Bihe vaguely felt that the Wu family's third young lady's coercion to seize the ship that day might have some connection with the overall situation of the Wu family.
One month after the fire, the Third Young Lady of the Wu family also sent people secretly to ask Tan Sanniang to return to Huachahao. Bihe and others wondered whether this was Haoguan's intention, or whether the Third Young Lady was not that bad?
However, after two requests, Tan Sanniang refused. Bihe and the others thought that this was the way it should be. How could you just drive someone away or send them back? How could Tan Sanniang's dignity be maintained in that case?
However, it was impossible for the Third Young Lady to come in person to apologize and ask Sanniang to go back. Everyone in Xiguan knew that the Third Young Lady of the Wu family was about to give birth. As a principal young lady, it was impossible for her to come to the charity cemetery with a big belly and ask a concubine to go back. If this got out, wouldn't people suspect and laugh at her? So the matter was delayed.
It would be fine if Ye Youyu didn't come, Bihe and the others were just angry, but what about Hao Guan? It's been so long since the burning of Thirteen Hongs, and he hasn't come to ask about it. Even Wu Qi hasn't come - what's wrong with Hao Guan? Has he really forgotten Sanniang? Has he really changed his mind?
For two or three months, they could only hear some news about Wu Chengjian from Tietou Junba, because Tietou Junba took his mother to live in Yizhuang and came every few days. Therefore, Bihe knew that Haoguan's business affairs seemed to be going well, and his momentum was even greater than before the burning of Thirteen Hongs. She also knew that Wu Chengjian had been very homely recently and had to accompany the Wu family's third young mistress who was about to give birth almost every day.
After hearing this, Sanniang wanted to say something that seemed to be gratifying, but Bihe and the others were anxious and upset.
Are we going to just let the matter of seizing the boat and driving people away be just like that?
Is it even possible that Haoguan is planning to leave Sanniang in the charity cemetery to live out her life there?
At first, Bihe and the others tried to hold it back, but recently they finally couldn't bear it any more. Mother Wang used to come less than once a month, but she has come no less than three times in the past month. Every time she came, she must have heard some news and thought it was a good opportunity to attract Haoguan's attention and turn the tables. However, she was rejected by Tan Sanniang every time.
Today, Mother Wang came to persuade me again, and then left angrily.
"Ignorant girl, ignorant girl!" Before leaving, Mother Wang could not help but point at the gate of the charity cemetery and scolded: "Do you really want to guard this coffin cemetery until you die? This place is so crowded that even flies don't come here. Don't you think about who else has come to Shenxianzhou in the past two months besides me!"
Bi He was horrified, remembering that since Sanniang came to the charity cemetery, the people from Shenxianzhou had been interacting less and less with the charity cemetery. In the past month, apart from Mother Wang, only Yu Lian'er came occasionally.
Originally, Wu Chengjian still needed Tan Sanniang to control the Immortal Island, but according to Tietou Junba, the Immortal Island was probably no longer as important to Hao Guan as before...
While Bihe was frightened, Yu Lian'er came over with a little maid and asked, "Bihe, sister, Madam Wang, what's wrong? Are you angry like this?"
“This…Alas!”
Yu Lian'er didn't ask any more questions. She walked into the door and took off her shawl. These days, her demeanor has become more stable. The experience of pleasure for a woman is more powerful than the experience of the battlefield for a man.
When she walked into Tan Sanniang's room, she saw her cleaning up the charcoal brazier that was kicked over by Mother Wang. Yu Lian'er saw that although her complexion had not faded, she looked like just a slightly pretty farm girl. As she had been doing all kinds of chores for the past two months and had not done much to dress up and take care of herself, the texture on her hands was not delicate anymore and the skin on her face was a little rough. How could she still be the most beautiful courtesan who overwhelmed the entire Shenxianzhou last year?
When Yu Lian'er saw how Dan Sanniang had become like this in just a few months, she suddenly became interested and thought to herself, "Will I become like this in the future?" She quickly winked at the maid, and the maid went to grab the charcoal brazier.
Tan Sanniang did not argue and let the little maid clean up the mess. She asked, "Lian'er, why are you here?"
Yu Lian'er said, "The weather is getting colder. The sisters from Shenxianzhou have collected some silver and asked me to bring it to the charity cemetery to add charcoal to the fire."
As she spoke, she took out a small bag, and Tan Sanniang did not refuse.
The original intention of establishing this charity cemetery was to provide a way out for the poor people in the Cantonese area. Although the rescue of widows and orphans is not limited to unemployed old prostitutes, as long as there are people who can't make a living in Shenxianzhou, she will try to bring them here and give them a meal - such as the two crazy people in the back, one of whom is Ginkgo, who was unwilling to be taken in by anyone and ended up on the streets.
So when Shenxianzhou raised money for the charity cemetery, Tan Sanniang did not refuse it and accepted it immediately, saying, "This year's charcoal is enough. I will count the money and put it into the public account later."