Zhen Mingku lowered his head and thought about it, then raised his head and said: "Mrs. Lin, let's do it, don't worry, your mother-in-law and grandson have no place to go for the time being, it is better to go to my house to rest first, and tell me in detail what happened to you, don't miss anything at all, now that the matter has passed for three or four days, you can't be in a hurry, you can only think of a way slowly." ”

The old woman had seen Zhen Mingku's skills, and when she heard him say this, she suddenly relaxed as if she had a backbone, nodded, and then a trace of embarrassment appeared on her face, and said, "Brother Zhen, the old woman is cheeky and begs you something." ”

"You say."

"Can you give my little finch something to eat, as long as she can eat, in order to stay here, she has followed me and I haven't eaten anything for two days, I'm an old woman is nothing, it's nothing to be hungry for a few days, I'm afraid she will be hungry."

Zhen Ming laughed bitterly: "I thought something was wrong, I just didn't eat, let's take you to a restaurant to eat." ”

The old woman hurriedly shook her head and waved her hand and said, "How can you let Brother Zhen spend so much, do you have a stove at home?" Why don't you give some money to the old woman, the old woman goes to the vegetable market to buy some simple vegetables and come back to cook, these years of war and chaos, it is not easy to make money, you can save it, I think Brother Zhen, you haven't cleaned up much for a few days, it is better to go home first and take a shower and change clean clothes, and the old woman's meal will be cooked at this time. ”

Zhen Ming thought for a while and said, "What you said is true, then it will trouble Mrs. Lin." ”

……

Sitting at the dinner table, Zhen Mingku, who had already taken a shower and changed into clean clothes, picked up the dishes and chopsticks, and put in front of him a few home-cooked side dishes, which were good in color and flavor, and were not inferior to those meals in the restaurant.

He gave Lin Po a tael of silver, and Lin Po bought a lot of things back, including meat, wine and various seasonings, but it only cost half a tael of silver.

The little finch had already eaten first, and fell asleep in Lin Po's arms.

Lin Po was a little embarrassed on her face: "Brother Zhen, I'm really sorry for you, Xiao Qi'er has been making trouble to eat, so let her eat first." ”

"It's okay, I see that the little finch is tired, put her on my bed, sleep more comfortably."

"No, no, no, how can I put it on your bed, she hasn't taken a shower for several days, and her body is dirty, don't dirty your bed, I'll just sleep with her in my arms."

Zhen Ming smiled bitterly and said, "Didn't I also beg for food on the street with you at the beginning?" I'm not that particular about this person. ”

Lin Po felt a lot closer, and said with a smile: "How can this be the same, you are now a little master with status and status, and it is already impossible to repay the little finch for being able to get your food to eat, how can you occupy the magpie's nest again, I don't know what to do." ”

It is the first time to be called a little master, Zhen Mingku, laughing quite freshly, and no longer reluctantly, the bones of people in this era are deep-rooted hierarchical concepts, especially such an old woman, I am afraid that it will not be able to change her for a while.

picked up the dishes and chopsticks, ate a few bites, and praised them repeatedly, but found that Lin Po was just watching from the sidelines and did not move the chopsticks, only to find that there was no other person's share on the table except for his pair of dishes and chopsticks.

"Lin Po, I see that you have been hungry for two days, let's eat together."

The old woman hurriedly shook her head: "No, no, no, when you are full, I will eat again, just leave some soup for the old woman to eat, Brother Zhen, is the food to your taste?" ”

Zhen Ming nodded bitterly: "I have also eaten a lot of food in restaurants, and your skills are no worse than those chefs in restaurants, Lin Po." ”

"Hehe, cooking for decades, how much will be a little experience, when I used to be in my hometown, I opened a small restaurant, and the business was also very prosperous, if it wasn't for a few years ago I was squeezed out by a big restaurant, and the tax money collected by the yamen was too strong, and I couldn't continue to operate, and I encountered drought for many years, ran away, died, and my wife would not have to come to Luoyang to join relatives and friends, and live on the streets, and now ...... Ay! ”

"Where is Granny Lin's house?"

"I'm from Weicheng, East County."

Zhen asked bitterly: "Where is Xiaoque'er's father?" ”

"His father was arrested to repair the canal, and there has been no news for several years, and I have heard many people who have fled back from hard labor said that many of the people who repaired the river are tired and die by the canal, and no one has informed their families, so they are buried on the spot, and even if they are alive, they are afraid that they will not be able to come back...... Xiao Qi'er's mother's family saw that my family was declining, so they let people come and take her mother away, and I was afraid that she would also remarry someone else, so Xiao Qi'er has been following me......"

Although Lin Po said very calmly and said a word, but the story of this experience, I am afraid that only she, the person concerned, can understand the bitterness.

Zhen Mingku didn't answer, just silently eating the dishes, in fact, he had heard a lot of such stories, Feilong's, Yue'er's, Sun Langzhong's, all had similar experiences, it seems that in this era, no one can escape this kind of oppression, the fate of being displaced, for these things, he doesn't know how to comfort, because any words of comfort for those of them who have experienced hardships are in vain, it is better to directly give her a few taels of silver.

Fortunately, this Lin Po suddenly diverted the topic at this time and talked about the Zhang family.

"Actually, my niece is not related to me by blood."

"More than ten years ago, when Emperor Wen was still there, Weicheng was very prosperous because of Luoyang, and the people were very rich, my Lin family was also a big family in Weicheng, and they were making tofu for generations, at that time I had a younger brother named Lin Gui, who opened a tofu workshop, which was the most famous Lin's tofu in Weicheng, my younger brother, who had polio since he was a child, paralyzed lower limbs, inconvenient to walk, and slurred speech, my father felt that he had lost the face of the Lin family, so he casually gave him a tofu workshop and broke off his relationship. My brother has been married to a daughter-in-law for forty years......"

Lin Po paused, a long time ago, and age, the memory is inevitably a little vague, thought for a while and said: "I remember that he was just forty years old that year, but he encountered a thing that made the whole Weicheng people talk about it, I heard that he took the peach blossom luck, picked up a flower-like wife and a seven or eight-year-old, very cute girl, and later inquired, only to know that he found two hungry and dying mother and daughter in his cellar, rescued them, saw that they had nowhere to go, and left them in their own home, As a result, it attracted rumors from others. ”

When Mrs. Lin said this, her face was a little ashamed: "I, my younger brother, has been a stubborn temper since he was a child, regardless of the discussions of the people around him, insisted on keeping them in his own home, giving them food and shelter, and caring for them, the little girl was sick because of the wind and cold, and he also spent money to hire a doctor to treat her, I was influenced by my father at the time, and I also felt that he had lost the face of the Lin family, so he has rarely contacted their family, and some of their things are also known from others." ”