Chapter 69: The Mud Doll

In Pear Blossom Lane, An Chunfeng and the others had already entered the courtyard. Since the new home was not yet tidied up, Rong Xue was temporarily settled in the floral hall on this side.

Little Linzi and Heidou quickly hurried over to make the bed and arrange the table.

The sudden arrival of a new household in Pear Blossom Lane, coupled with Mother An bustling about, naturally attracted other residents in the alley to come over and inquire about the news.

An Chunfeng stood at the doorway and said to those asking about the situation, "They are the children of an older sister from my old hometown. They only recently sent word and entrusted them to my care."

"Oh! Is that your husband's sister or your maiden family's sister?" some busybody continued to pry.

An Chunfeng smiled. "The closest ones!"

Such a reply was... as good as saying nothing.

Which side was the closest?

Two married women began to argue:

The husband's family!

The maiden family?

A married woman should naturally treat her husband's family as her own.

No matter how much a woman marries out, the only flesh and blood connection that lasts forever is her maiden family.

An Chunfeng offered no explanation. In her opinion, the bank-note-wielding older sister was the closest of all.

There were many renters here, and people moving in and out was a common occurrence. After taking a look around, the noisy crowd of onlookers all dispersed.

An Chunfeng did not notice that a short man was still mixed in behind the crowd, peering from not far away before vanishing in an instant.

At noon, Little Linzi went to the tavern to buy some food and dishes. By the time Little Douzi returned, everyone gathered for a meal in the new courtyard, which could also be considered a celebration of their housewarming.

Only, the disheveled state in which Little Douzi returned truly startled everyone.

The clothes he had just changed into when leaving in the morning were once again caked with mud, his fingernails were full of dirt, and even his hair was tangled with blades of grass. He looked precisely as though he had gotten into a brawl with someone.

An Chunfeng had originally intended to make up for lost time and cram into the role of a good mother starting today, but seeing Little Douzi caused her to break character in three seconds flat. Unable to bear it any longer, she gave him a kick and sent him off to take a bath.

Once Heidou and Little Linzi had scrubbed Little Douzi clean and brought him out, the few of them sat around the table to eat.

This household consisted entirely of children, with only An Chunfeng as the elder regardless of status, so no one fussed over who was the master and who was the guest.

Although Little Linzi and the others maintained a master-servant relationship with Rong Xue, they outwardly appeared as four siblings, and thus they sat down casually according to their old habits without dividing themselves by high or low status.

The dishes on the table were all favorites of the children: sweet and sour pork ribs, braised chicken in casserole, boiled fish in chili oil, and a final bowl of salted vegetables simmered with tofu—which was also the dish the four siblings usually ate the most.

With the dishes and rice served, Little Linzi and Heidou did not rush to eat themselves. Instead, they first served food to An Chunfeng, then placed chicken and ribs onto the plates of Rong Xue and Little Douzi, while they themselves ate only the salted vegetable and tofu soup.

Little Douzi, who had originally appeared like a restless little monkey, also behaved properly now, keeping his hands off his chopsticks and waiting for the older children to distribute food to him before eating.

If An Chunfeng had not witnessed it with her own eyes, she could never have connected these four well-mannered children dining together with destitute refugees, beggars, and the daughter of a courtesan.

Unable to resist his cravings, Little Douzi finally focused on eating. Only after he was full did he bring up what Qin Mu had told him to say: "The young master of the Tang family said that tomorrow he wants the fiercest older brother to go to the West City, because he has serious business to attend to!"

The fiercest older brother?

Everyone looked at him. Whom was he talking about?

Seeing his eldest brother glaring at him again, Little Douzi grinned and hurriedly said, "I told them Heidou-ge is the fiercest, so the young master must want him to go!"

Heidou, who was currently collecting the bowls and chopsticks, replied in a muffled voice, "What business?"

"I don't know. I asked, but the young master wouldn't tell me."

Little Douzi felt somewhat aggrieved; he dared not admit that he had gotten into a fight with the young master, which was why the young master refused to tell him.

An Chunfeng asked about the situation at the Tang household once more and found nothing particularly unusual. Thinking that Tang Mu was only six years old, perhaps he just wanted an older child to play with, she instructed, "Tomorrow, Heidou can go and take a look! Rong Xue can come to my courtyard to learn how to weave decorative knots."

Heidou immediately gave a muffled assent.

When they lived in the tenement courtyard before, Heidou had to stay at home to keep Rong Xue company and had no way to go out and work.

Now that Rong Xue could stay in the courtyard or go over to An Chunfeng's side, there was no longer any need for someone to stay behind on guard duty.

Rong Xue was naturally willing. She knew that Mother An could weave decorative knots and wanted to learn as well.

She also wanted to make scented sachets to earn money, feeling that she would be quite busy from now on.

After the meal, Little Douzi finally had time to examine his new home. Overjoyed, he scampered about, his excited "whoops" echoing throughout the entire courtyard: "Wow, this room is so big! Is this where Heidou-ge and I will live?"

"Wow, there's a side room here too! We can store things in it!"

"Oh! All our clothes are here, everyone has a clothes chest..."

Little Douzi found his own wooden chest, opened it, and rummaged through it. Amidst a pile of unsorted clothes, his fingers brushed against something hard.

Here it was!

He had known that Heidou-ge and the others would definitely bring along his precious belongings.

Pulling it out for a closer look, it was a pair of faded little clay figurines wrapped in cloth.

They were a pair of joyous dolls dressed in elaborate festive attire, adorned with phoenix crowns and red silk decorations.

With round faces, smiling eyes, and slightly curved corners of the mouth, they were enough to gladden anyone's heart at first glance.

These were merely ordinary clay dolls, available everywhere at street corners for twenty or thirty copper coins a pair.

If one were willing to spend more money, they could buy gold-painted porcelain dolls, which would be even prettier.

Hiding in a corner, Little Douzi used a cloth to wipe the dust off the clay dolls' faces, wrapped them up securely again, cradled them in his arms, and murmured softly, "Father, Mother, Doudou has moved again. Now I have older brothers and sisters, and an auntie as well.

Today Little Douzi ate a lot of rice, and I'm completely full.

Mother, today I made Mother An's son cry from my beating..."

In the North City Slum District

In a small courtyard where brightly colored clothes were hung out to dry, several low tables had been set up. By this time, the food and wine on the tables were already half-consumed, and several wine jugs lay overturned on the ground.

Around the table, seven or eight burly men were still playing drinking games and casting dice, shouting at the top of their lungs, reeking of alcohol.

Skinny Three-Monkey, the petty thief, trotted lightly into the courtyard, ran up to a man in black, and whispered a few words.

The man in black narrowed his eyes, straightened up, and said with delight, "Is this information verified as absolute truth?"

Skinny Three-Monkey nodded. "As true as can be. Have I ever steered you wrong in all the time we've worked together?"

The man in black slammed his fist onto the table and excitedly exclaimed, "Then what are we waiting for? Go quickly and report this to Master Gu!"

Beneath the eaves of the back room, Master Gu was teasing his pet painted thrush.

Watching the little bird shriek as he poked it back and forth with a bamboo skewer, causing its feathers to scatter and blood to drip, a smile finally appeared on Master Gu's face.

He felt that this was the true joy of raising birds.

What was the point of just listening to a little bird sing? It was always the same tune. Only such vibrant liveliness was truly interesting.

Seeing Master Gu teasing the bird, neither the man in black nor Skinny Three-Monkey dared to approach. It wasn't until a trembling little maidservant covered the birdcage with a black cloth and carried it away that the man in black stepped forward and bowed in salute: "Master Gu!"

Dressed in a gorgeous, brightly colored brocade robe with a golden crown securing his hair, Master Gu was in his thirties. His face was lightly powdered and his waist was girded with a silk sash, exuding an air of nobility.

If he were in a picturesque, scenic grand garden, he would instantly project the aura of a wealthy scion.

Unfortunately, the surrounding environment was wretched and clashed completely with such attire, making him look as though he were performing on a stage while standing here.

Gu Feng tossed aside the bamboo skewer, which still had traces of blood on it, glanced briefly at Skinny Three-Monkey, then turned his gaze to the man in black and frowned. "This is not the time for collecting payments. Why are they here?"

The man in black stepped forward with a flattering smile and said, "Master Gu, your humble servant has found a fresh catch!"