Chapter 121: Liang Zhu (VI)

Luo Jun's life in Shu land was no different from that in Shanghai. He didn't go out, didn't socialize, and sat on the sofa every day to read novels.

Qin Huai followed Luo Jun to read novels for an afternoon and found that there was less gossip and dog-blood in the family, and more immortal martial arts where you fight if you don't agree.

For these different types of novels, Luo Jun treated them equally, reading them all. When he saw the latest serialization, he went to the study to write letters. The letters that had already been written and saved to be mailed together were a full foot thick. One could tell that even if he couldn't follow the serialization updates in real-time, it didn't hinder Luo Jun from publishing comments.

Delayed comments are also comments.

Compared to Luo Jun's otaku life that had no difference before and after marriage, Seeing Liu Tao's married life was very rich.

Luo Jun's house didn't hire servants to clean the rooms specifically; daily cleaning work was undertaken by Seeing Liu Tao. However, there were no ornaments and furniture in Luo Jun's house, basically all newspapers and cabinets for books. Qin Huai had reason to suspect that they didn't have servants because they were afraid that servants would mess up Luo Jun's precious newspapers.

All the newspapers in the living room were arranged in order according to the type of newspaper and date. To prevent the newspapers from getting moldy, Seeing Liu Tao had to put the newspapers in the courtyard to dry regularly.

Today wasn't a day for drying newspapers, but Qin Huai heard Seeing Liu Tao tell the children outside to find more children to come over to dry newspapers tomorrow.

On days when they didn't dry newspapers, Seeing Liu Tao sat in the courtyard to bask in the sun and incidentally listen to novels.

Seeing Liu Tao was illiterate and only recognized numbers and dates. I don't know whose genius idea it was, but they actually hired a female student to come home every afternoon to read novels to Seeing Liu Tao, and it was Zhang Henshui's.

Unlike the simple decoration inside the house and the mess caused by too many newspapers, the small courtyard where Seeing Liu Tao listened to books every day was a different scene.

Large slabs of bluestone were laid on the ground, and a frame was set up in the courtyard, with morning glories and loofahs climbing on the vines. In addition, many lush flowers and plants that Qin Huai couldn't name were raised in the courtyard, and there was a small table for tea, with chairs supported by the side of the small table.

Such a courtyard, if Qin Luo came to check in and take photos, the text should be: "Drink tea when free, years are quiet and good."

It is a pity that such a beautiful small courtyard has nothing to do with "years are quiet and good," and it is even a bit noisy.

As soon as it was time to read in the afternoon, the small courtyard was full of people. There were children, girls, and female relatives. The only common point of these people was that they didn't look very wealthy.

Those in better condition wore cotton cloth, and those in worse condition wore linen. Everyone's clothes were washed to fading, and some were torn and needed mending. However, it wasn't that there were no advantages; these people looked very clean, and one could tell at a glance that they had specially washed and changed into clean clothes to come over.

The student girl's voice was very soft and her articulation clear. Perhaps to ensure Seeing Liu Tao could understand, her speech sounded like a combination of local dialect and the soft, melodic Wu dialect, yet one could vaguely discern it was also Mandarin.

Seeing Liu Tao accepted it very well, but the bystanders listened very hard. Qin Huai could often see the listening crowd showing a blank expression while listening, and only chattered and communicated with each other in dialect after the female student finished a paragraph and drank water to rest, asking others if they understood what had just been said.

Although they couldn't understand much, it didn't hinder everyone from listening very happily.

Qin Huai understood this feeling. The book listening in the courtyard was like Seeing Liu Tao paying out of her own pocket to buy the only TV in the village. The villagers might not necessarily understand what was being broadcast on the TV drama, but it didn't hinder everyone from loving to watch.

When the sky began to turn slightly dark, the book listening activity ended.

The eavesdropping audience members spoke all at once, using a mix of strange-sounding local dialect and Wu dialect to express their gratitude to Seeing Liu Tao. Luo Jun had bought the books and invited the people, while they had come empty-handed without even bringing a gift, so they could only offer a few auspicious words.

The people who came to listen for free all dispersed. The female student who read the book was still standing in the courtyard. Seeing Liu Tao went into the house to get money for the female student. When she went in, she found that Luo Jun wasn't reading the newspaper, but eating the fruit-shaped pastries left over from noon.

"Was it too noisy today because there were too many people?" Seeing Liu Tao asked. "If it was noisy for you, I won't let them come tomorrow."

"No," Luo Jun said faintly, a bit melancholy. "Finished reading."

Seeing Liu Tao laughed: "You read books really fast. It takes me a month to listen to a book. You finished so many newspapers in a few days."

Saying this, Seeing Liu Tao took two bills from her wallet and walked out: "I'm going to pay Miss Zhang, and after paying, we'll go to Master Jiang's for dinner. I've already asked Uncle Liang to buy the ingredients and send them over."

Luo Jun nodded slightly.

Seeing Liu Tao took the money and walked quickly to the courtyard, handing the money to Miss Zhang. Miss Zhang took the money, glanced at it, folded the money and put it into her purse, and put the purse close to her body, with no intention of leaving.

"Mrs. Luo, after finishing this book, I'm afraid I can't read to you anymore," Miss Zhang said. Seeing Liu Tao was a bit surprised: "Why? Is the money too little? I've inquired, the price I give is very reasonable, and this salary is half of that of a teacher in a girls' school."

Miss Zhang shook her head repeatedly: "It's not a question of salary. You and Mr. Luo are both very generous. Giving me this job is very decent and very easy. It's my problem. My father's business failed and he owed a large sum of high-interest debt. I have to marry into Zhongyuan to be a third concubine for a wealthy family in two months, so I have no chance to read novels to you again."

Seeing Liu Tao was silent for a moment and asked: "Your future husband, this year..."

"Forty-seven."

Seeing Liu Tao could only sigh slightly. Thinking for a moment, she took off the gemstone earring on her right ear and handed it to Miss Zhang.

"According to what is written in the novel, I should give you the novel at this time. But the novel was bought by my husband, and the jewelry on my body was also given to me by my husband. Only this earring was bought for me by the troupe leader of our opera troupe when I got married to support my face, because it was too expensive, he could only afford one, and the other one was given to me by my husband."

"I am from the lower nine streams of opera singing and have been looked down upon all my life. Even if I married my husband and became his legitimate wife, the ladies who played mahjong and watched operas together still looked down on me."

"Before in Shanghai, my husband also hired other female students to read novels to me. Some wanted to be my husband's concubines, some wanted to do business with my husband, some looked down on me for being vulgar and the books I listened to having no cultivation, and some taught me to pursue some freedom and democracy, and some advised me to divorce, but no one like you would stop and tell me the plot when I couldn't understand it."

"You are a cultured person like my husband, and you have never looked down on me."

"The troupe leader gave me this earring and wished me peace all my life and not to be driven out, and even if I was driven out, I could have a piece of jewelry to sell for money so I wouldn't starve to death."

"I give this earring to you, and I also wish you peace all your life."

Miss Zhang took the earring silently and whispered: "Thank you."

"You will be safe all your life."

Miss Zhang left.

Seeing Liu Tao wanted to go back to the house to call Luo Jun, but found that Luo Jun was already standing at the door, smiling and touching his empty earlobe: "I gave the earring to Miss Zhang."

"Just buy another one," Luo Jun said indifferently. "Is it time to find someone new to read novels?"

Seeing Liu Tao nodded.

"Then find another one. This time find one who is married; there will be less trouble."

"And don't buy that carrot next time. It tastes terrible; how can there be such a terrible thing."

"I heard from Dr. Liu that eating carrots is good for the eyes, brightening the eyes."

"If you want to brighten your eyes, eat Gu, which is much better than eating carrots."

"What is Gu?"

"Xi bird, a kind of bird in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. It looks like a crow and has white patterns. A useless bird."

Qin Huai:...

No, it's fine if you scold plant spirits, why do you even scold your own kind? And you even recommend a recipe.

"Is it for sale?" Seeing Liu Tao didn't know much about the Classic of Mountains and Seas and thought it was a cookbook. "Should I ask Uncle Liang to find it and buy one to stew soup for you?"

Luo Jun:...

"No need," Luo Jun said stiffly. "I'll just eat carrots."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 122 =====

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