tallest building

Chapter 155 Settling In
Wen Mingqian arrived at Wuqiu Nunnery. Sang Er had already made arrangements beforehand, and had spoken with the abbess to arrange for him to stay in two guest rooms.

Of course, we didn't stay for free; as is customary, we offered incense and donations.

A young nun led them to the rooms that had been arranged for them: "Master said that although these two rooms are small, they face the sun and are quiet."

"This place is indeed very tranquil. Thank you for your trouble, Abbot." The most important reason Wen Mingqian chose this place was that most of the people at Wuqiu Nunnery were of a quiet and indifferent nature.

Few people come here to burn incense, so there's no need to worry about noise. Furthermore, the memorial tablets for Ah Shou and Ah Hui are enshrined here, making it convenient to pay respects.

"The room has been cleaned and furnished with simple furnishings. The nunnery provides vegetarian meals every day, which you may share or cook for yourself." This little nun, whose Dharma name is Huiming, is only twelve or thirteen years old. She is an orphan who was abandoned outside the nunnery when she was still an infant. The abbess adopted her and ordained her as a nun at a young age.

"Thank you for the reminder, young master. If there's anything we don't understand, please feel free to ask," Sang Er said with a smile.

Huiming helped them move all their things in, and then left.

“Mother, you should rest first! I’ll tidy up these things.” Sang Er said as she rolled up her sleeves.

“I’ll help you pack. There’s a lot of stuff, and you can’t do it all by yourself. We’re living here, so we should keep things simple,” Wen Mingqian said. “It’s just that it’s been tough on you.”

“What are you saying, Mother? How could I suffer when I’m with you?” Sang Er picked up a rattan box and said, “I’m happy to be free and at peace.”

Wen Mingqian and she tidied up their things briefly and then put the tea stove away.

“It’s still early, I’ll go to the street and buy some good charcoal,” Sanger looked out at the sky. “Although we paid for the incense, the charcoal here is really mediocre, and the smoke is too strong. We still need to buy some better charcoal. Besides, the walls of this house are thin, and it won’t be good if it gets cold.”

The rooms in the nunnery could not compare to the grand mansion of the Earl of Ruyang, but they were still better than those in Shuangxi.

“Actually, it would be better to add another person, otherwise you’ll be too busy. But since they’ve just come out and we don’t know their background, it’s not good to just buy anything,” Wen Mingqian said. “We can only wait a little longer.”

“That’s true. Buying people is easy, but returning them is difficult,” Sang Er said. “Right now, we don’t have to go through the hassle of welcoming and sending off people, and one of me is enough. We can talk about it when we meet a suitable one. There’s no need to rush.”

Although Wen Mingqian left the Ruyang Earl's Mansion and did not take much from it, she was not short of money herself.

Putting everything else aside, the cosmetics, face powders, balms, and sachets she made alone were worth a considerable amount in exchange.

"Take these two hairpins and sell them!" Wen Mingqian opened a jewelry box and took out two relatively ordinary gold hairpins. "It'll be more convenient to get some cash."

Sang Er reached out and took them, examined them closely, and said, "These two hairpins can be sold directly to jewelry stores. They're not considered top-quality items here, but they're still rare treasures for some people."

Sang Er had been doing business with her uncle since she was a child, and she was very knowledgeable about buying and selling, so she wouldn't be fooled.

"I wonder where Chang'an and the others are now," Wen Mingqian sighed. "I hope they encounter little rain or snow and many sunny days on their journey."

"Don't worry, Mother, it will only get warmer as they head south," Sang Er quickly reassured them. "It will take them at least half a month, and at most twenty days, but they will get there eventually."

“Yes, I was overthinking it. With Zhang Ma by his side and the tutor looking after him, nothing will happen,” Wen Mingqian chuckled. “Then Mother, you rest for a while. I’m going to run some errands in town,” Sang Er said.

"The days are short now, so try to go and come back as quickly as possible," Wen Mingqian instructed her. "I'll give you some change so you can hire a car."

After Sang Er left, Wen Mingqian didn't rest. He tidied up the house again.

I was a little tired, so I sat down to read.

Sang Er returned around lunchtime, having bought many things.

They specifically found a plump woman to carry it in on a shoulder pole.

“This window paper is a bit thin, let’s paste another layer.” Sang Er said as she took things out. “The charcoal basket and other things are in the outer room. I also bought some snacks, so Mother can have a snack if she gets hungry while reading at night.”

"Madam, Miss," the plump woman said with a fawning smile to Wen Mingqian and Sang Er, "I'm good at pasting paper windows, why don't you give this job to me? Just give me a few copper coins."

"Then you can do the pasting! Be careful." Wen Mingqian didn't want Sang Er to do these rough tasks anyway.

"Oh! Oh!" The plump woman was overjoyed and quickly and carefully took the window paper and cut it to the size of the window.

They used a clay pot to cook the paste on the tea stove.

"I really can't believe it. This woman looks rough and clumsy, but she's quite meticulous when she's working." Sang Er looked at the woman's skills and found them to be quite good.

“I was born to be poor, what job can’t I do? Ever since I lost my mother when I was three years old, I’ve been watching over my father’s boat.”

I didn't come ashore until I was eight, and I wobbled precariously standing on the bank. Then I worked as a maid at the dock. Because I was clumsy, I could do the work men did too. The woman said with a smile as she worked, "Now, with this carrying pole, I can at least support eight people. I'm not worse off than a man."

"You do such tiring work, so what does your man do?" Sang Er asked curiously.

“Alas! He used to be a capable man, but a few years ago, he caught a cold while carrying timber in the winter, and his health deteriorated ever since. He can no longer do heavy work.” The woman’s tone became low. “He also has to take medicine every now and then.”

But then she raised her voice: "Fortunately, I still have some strength, unlike some families where the man falls ill and the family falls apart."

"Sister-in-law, how should I address you?" Wen Mingqian asked her.

“Everyone calls me Sister-in-law Wang the Third, and my husband is the third in his family,” the woman said.

“I mean your own name,” Wen Mingqian asked again.

“I don’t have a proper name. My maiden name is Zhao. My father didn’t like girls. I was the fourth child my mother had. My father was so angry that he went out into the yard and kicked a basket, breaking it. So he named me Broken Basket. And it makes sense. Look at me now, isn’t my life just like a broken basket? No matter how hard I work, I can never fill it up,” the woman said with a smile.

“Then I’ll call you Sister Zhao. You work hard to support the family and are the pillar of the family.” Wen Mingqian admired Zhao Pokang’s self-reliance and lack of resentment. “From now on, if I have any rough work to do, I’ll use you. I’ll pay you whatever the market price is.”