Chapter 3 — Hoa Ky in the middle of Hoe Hoa Alley

Ba Dang coughed next to him. "Don't pretend to be busy. You're holding the ax upside down." That night, Co Y Nuong had a high fever. Doctor Chu cut off her sleeve, and we saw that her wrists were full of rope marks, and two places were rotten. There was also a whip mark on Duong Am's back. She tried to support herself all the way, but as soon as she entered the house, she fell down. I sat by the bed changing water, so angry that I gritted my teeth. When the fever reached the point of coma, Duong Am kept saying: "Mother, I'm not sick." Co Y Nuong closed her eyes and replied: "Don't sign. We don't accept." Only then will we ask clearly. The market forced them to give their fingerprints to admit that the Luc family had embezzled food, promising that if they confessed, they would divide the two female models into families with light jobs. Duong Am bit his finger and refused to press it down. In the past, this girl was afraid of the dark, and when there was thunder and lightning, she forced her maid to light two lamps. I pulled the blanket for her. The bitten finger is still swollen, I don't call you big lady anymore. That night, the four of us shared two hard cakes. Outside the door, someone used charcoal to write the word "Cung". 8 As soon as it was dawn, the Cung family arrived. The head administrator wore a blue brocade shirt and held a sealed contract in his hand. "The Co and her daughter have been pre-ordered by my second family. If you hand me over, the money will be returned to you." I asked: "Where is the official seal?" "What?" "Buying and selling in the market must be guaranteed by officials. Your paper only has the Cung Gia seal, is it used to scare mice?" The manager's face darkened. Co Y Nuong walked out of the room. She was so sick that her lips turned white, but her shirt was still neatly arranged. "I would like you to pass on the message to Second Master Cung. Eighteen years ago, he secretly changed the gambling debt in the Luc family's books. As my husband, I respected his old love so he kept the matter down. Now that the Luc family has failed, and he still wants to buy the Luc family's woman, it's best to think about whether he is clean or not." The administrator didn't expect her to even dare to speak up. “You are now a sinner.” “So what are you afraid of?” Before leaving, he kicked over a jar of water. The four of us stood in the middle of the mud and water, no one said anything. After a while, Duong Am picked up the wooden pot. “I'm going to ask for water.” In the past, the eldest lady of the Luc family would frown as long as the water to wash her face was slightly cold. Now, she wears rough clothes, modified from mine, and goes to the well to line up. When people pointed at her, she did not turn her head. Co Y Nuong looked at her back. “It has changed.” “As long as we live, everything will change.” “You have changed too.” “I was also poor before.” She was silenced by me, but she burst out laughing. We don't have a pot, so we can only rent clothes for others. Duong Am didn't know how to rub the linen, his knuckles were torn. Co Y Nuong's health was weak. After washing two sets of clothes, she was gasping for breath. I didn't let them wash anymore, so I took the remaining few dozen coins to the smithy to buy the pot on credit. The blacksmith disagreed. I sat in front of the door until sunset, telling him how many bowls I sold each day and when I could pay, each item by amount. He was so annoying that he couldn't stand it. "Okay, okay. Old pot, five hundred dong. Pay once every ten days, if you're one dong short, I'll come and take down your roof." When I carried the pot back to the alley, Duong Am used a scrap piece of board to write four words: "Hoa Ky wonton." She said in a low voice: "You should also have your own sign." I looked for a long time. “The word Hoa is written a little larger.” At the beginning of the alley, a figure suddenly flashed. The next day, Cung Nhi personally came. 9 The day we reopened, we only had three kilos of flour, a chicken skeleton and half a bowl of meat filling. Co Y Nuong sat on a low chair wrapping wontons. Her fingers are long and slender, the folds are more beautiful than mine but too slow. I urged: “Hurry up.” She said gently: "What's the hurry? The crust won't run away." “Guests will run.” Duong Am stood next to the student collecting money. Every time she received five coins, she drew a line on the paper. She was afraid of making a mistake, counting the money three times in a bowl of wontons, causing the guests behind her to roll their eyes. “Eldest Miss, if you collect like this, you won't be able to finish it until evening.” Her face turned red. “Don't call me big lady.” “So what is it called?” “Duong Am.” I opened my mouth but did not call out loudly. She also didn't force me. First pot m

Halfway through the sale, Cung Nhi arrived. He was over forty years old, with dark blue eyes and two walnuts in his hand. "Does anyone even dare to eat food made by the female relatives of sinners?" The customer immediately put down his spoon. I picked up a wonton from the pot and ate it right in front of him. "If there is poison, I will be the first to die. You are next." Cung Nhi smiled but extended his hand towards Duong Am. "It's a pity that Miss Luc's hands are used to carry the bowl. Follow me back, I'll let you..." I swung the large holed spoon, splashing the hot soup in front of his feet. “If you take another step forward, I will yell at someone who is rude.” “Do you dare?” “I still dare to buy sinners, am I afraid of you?” He grabbed my apron. Uncle Dang suddenly rang the gong at the beginning of the street. "The second master of the palace snatched a woman in broad daylight! Come out and see!" The windows opened one after another. Cung Nhi let go and lowered his voice: "You can protect her for a day, but you can't protect her for a lifetime."