The streets of Shanghai in 1933 were really lively! On both sides of the road, with its dilapidated shops on one side and its magnificent Atlantic architecture on the other, it was as if they were two completely different worlds, but they were so harmoniously huddled together.
Everyone was dressed in dusty clothes and hurried away. However, every time someone passes by that tattered little shop, called "Gusu Li Lao Recommending Head", they can't help but take a few glances inside and see what is going on inside.
It seems that as long as you sniff it, the faint milky fragrance wafts in the wind, as if you can vaguely see the mother who is ready to breastfeed inside through the hazy aroma.
The village women waiting in front of the store, their breasts plump from nursing their children, holding their heads high, like lions of confidence, show off their demeanor.
Huixian happened to be here at this time, she was wearing an old dress full of patches, which made people feel distressed when she looked at it, huddled in the cold wind, shivering.
They come in a variety of positions, but their purpose is the same – to find someone who needs a wet nurse. They all want to get a job as a wet nurse, although each has a different posture and way of behaving.
【Recommended shop hired】
Huixian had just given birth, her chest was swollen and painful, and the thin cloth on her chest was soaked with milk. Passers-by couldn't help but look at her a few more times, with some curiosity and concern in their eyes.
Huixian bent over, trying to use this posture to hide the strong sense of shame in her heart.
She tried to avoid the curious glances of passers-by, but she stubbornly sat on the bench in front of the store and refused to leave.
If she couldn't be a wet nurse, she and her husband's family might soon disappear in the muddy fields of the Huangpu River. Really, it's scary to think about.
They have always lived in poor conditions, and it can even be said that they are quite poor. Life is tight, and there is not much time for it.
Bad luck is like a hemp rope that binds the hard-working Huixian and her husband tightly, and keeps winding around them. Their homeland was overwhelmed by natural disasters and wars, and they had to wander around, living in a state of displacement. In the end, in the big city of Shanghai, they found the dirtiest and messiest place, built a broken shed to live in, and their lives were like a broken house leaking on all sides, not to mention how uncomfortable it was.
When a new life comes, even if it is difficult, it will not stop. When the mother-in-law and her husband saw this fragile little guy, they both frowned in unison.
How can there be extra money to raise this child? Either we should send her away or give her away sooner!
Huixian is usually very gentle, but this time she suddenly became firm and insisted on keeping her baby daughter.
Although we only rely on odd jobs to do pulp, wash and sew, and my husband works hard every day to help at the docks to earn a meager salary, our family can barely make ends meet. Although life is tight, it can get by.
But ah, fate is like a tight hemp rope, getting tighter and tighter. My husband was smashed by the pile of tall goods, and in an instant, he changed from the pillar of the family to the heaviest burden.
Although Huixian was busy washing clothes all day and working day and night, such an income could not support the expenses of the whole family.
So, after the persuasion of her sister-in-law, she came to Old Man Li's recommendation shop, hoping to find a job.
If you use the current statement to explain, the "head recommendation line" can probably be regarded as a small half of the talent market. To put it bluntly, it's about bridging the gap between people looking for jobs and companies that need people.
Hui Xian came to this recommendation shop, which is a well-known "nurse introduction shop". The owner of this store, Li Jiantou, proudly shows off his business every time he meets someone.
Oops, you know what? In this place in Shanghai, half of the young masters and young ladies grew up drinking my mother's milk when they were young! Really, it feels close to you just thinking about it!
Huixian walked to the door of the store with some trepidation because she listened to the introduction of her sister-in-law from the same village, wanting to find a new way out for her family. She hopes it will make some changes to her family and make life better.
She's so young, so innocent that people think it's cute. In this competitive and stressful society, how can there be so many "good jobs" that are both easy and well-paid?
When Hui Xian learned that she had been selected by her employer, she was so happy and happy.
She was not very good at talking, and always sat there in silence, and as a result, of course, no employer was interested in her. She is introverted and not very good at expressing herself, so she can only wait for opportunities silently, but it is difficult for her to attract the attention of employers.
One day, two days...... And so it passed.
The past few days have passed so fast, watching the nurses rushing in and out one by one, Huixian began to mumble in her heart.
When I saw the two new women, dressed like rich wives, my eyes lit up.
They were dressed in jewels, and there were two servants beside them who were reluctant to follow, and as soon as they entered the store, Li Jiantou couldn't wait to greet them.
Two wives, do you have anything you need? The nurses in our store are all the best in Shanghai, and the quality is guaranteed!
He was smiling all over his face and seemed a little stammering, but the two rich ladies didn't pay much attention to him, just frowning and covering their noses, while listening to the maid introduce their respective identities.
The two of them turned out to be the wives of the Guo Mansion, the older one who wanted to find a wet nurse to take care of his newborn grandson. The younger one, on the other hand, came for her youngest daughter and wanted to find a suitable person to take care of her.
Huixian's nurses also hurriedly gathered around, scrambling to show off their skills, and chattering non-stop.
Some people have no scruples, directly showing their breasts full of milk, and they just want to be chosen.
When people are so poor that they clang, face is really not worth mentioning. In that turbulent era, in order to make more money, let alone show your breasts, even if you were generously naked, no one would take a second look. Everyone is busy with their lives, and who has time to care about that.
However, the two rich ladies are even more annoying to these eager wet nurses. They were startled by the sudden gathering of nurses, but instead noticed the quiet, well-behaved and quail-like Huixian in the corner.
Li Jiantou, a clever ghost, suddenly squeezed into the crowd and began to introduce Huixian to his wives.
She is only 19 years old, when she is young and strong, this is her first time as a mother, and it is also the first time to breastfeed, and the milk is enough!
Huixian glanced at Li Jiantou, who was trying to give her a look, stood up cautiously, and rubbed in front of the wives little by little. Her face turned red, but she couldn't hold back a word for a long time.
Hurry up, don't be in a daze! Show your milk to the wives! Let them see!
Li Jiantou was a little anxious, and he urged Huixian to quickly show his advantages to the guests. Hui Xian hesitated, but still trembled and unbuttoned the clothes on her chest, revealing her white chest.
Mother Wu, who was next to the second wife, got her hint, and walked forward like inspecting a commodity, and carefully examined Huixian's breasts.
She examined Huixian from beginning to end, and gently pressed her breasts, and saw that white milk was flowing out, so she let go of her hand with satisfaction.
Two ladies, what do you think of this? The body is well-proportioned and healthy, and the milk is also very good, which is definitely a good choice.
Where are you from?
Seeing that Huixian couldn't understand Shanghainese, the eldest lady looked confused, and couldn't help frowning, and her tone became cold.
This doesn't work, he can't understand what we're saying, so let's find another way or try another way.
She wanted to leave, but the second wife was very optimistic about Huixian, looked her up and down again, took her hand, and smiled from ear to ear at Li Jiantou.
I think this thing is pretty good, and since my sister doesn't want it, let me keep it.
Hui Xian had just recovered from the experience of being inspected like an animal, and she was immediately surprised and delighted. But what happened next made her deeply realize that the job of a wet nurse may not be as simple as she imagined.
【Broken Dreams】
The Guo Mansion is really luxurious, but it is a pity that the Guo family does not have a large population. This mansion, which cost 100,000 taels of silver, was actually only lived in by Master Guo, his two wives, and his daughter and son-in-law.
Huixian followed Wu's mother into the mansion and stopped in front of a row of bungalows. Wu's mother told her that the bungalows were for the family's maids. This mansion is quite large, and there is such a row of bungalows next to the bungalows.
In those days, the rich people's homes were full of delicacies from the mountains and the sea, but there were people outside who were freezing like something. Even the house where those servants lived was much better than the broken shack that Huixian and her family squeezed in, it couldn't be compared!
She was frightened and decided to stay and work here even more determined. A wave of horror welled up in her heart, but it also made her more determined to stay in this place and work hard. She was a little scared, but it also made her more determined to work hard here. She chuckled in her heart, but it also made her more determined to continue fighting in this place. She was shocked, but it also made her more determined to stay and work here.
After listening to Wu's mother's detailed explanation of the work content and requirements, she couldn't help but start muttering a little in her heart, feeling that she had made the wrong choice.
The Guo Mansion is near my house, as long as you stand a little higher, you can see our shed, looming.
Originally, I thought that if my home was nearby, and I only needed to be responsible for breastfeeding, and I could take care of the family at the same time, it should not be a big problem, at most, my daughter would eat less milk.
The people over there in the Guo Mansion are really difficult, they are worried that Huixian will pass the disease to Miss, and they are afraid that the second miss will be weaned, so Huixian can only go home once a month, which is really speechless.
When she thought of having a hungry daughter at home, she was anxious like something. But when she met Wu's mother's stern eyes, she was suddenly speechless, and she couldn't say a word.
She really didn't want to lose her job, so she could only blame herself for why she didn't feed her daughter more milk before going out. She really regretted it so much, why didn't she think of it at the time.
Huixian is not only worried that she can't go home, she has more worries.
After feeding, Huixian took a lot of effort to lull the young lady to sleep, and finally had some time to rest, so she could go to eat and rest.
All the dishes served on the table are meat dishes, such as hoof flower soup, crucian carp soup, and hen soup, all of which are white flowers, with a thick layer of grease floating on them, which makes people salivate when they look at it.
The person who delivered the things also told her that this was for Huixian's better milk, and specially prepared a small stove for her. I just hope to make Huixian eat better and make her milk more nutritious.
Huixian hurriedly thanked her, but as soon as she took a small sip, the smile on her face gradually faded.
Although there are a lot of these, there is really no seasoning at all, and it tastes so greasy and tasteless.
Huixian's three meals a day were all covered by this method, and as a result, she felt a little disgusted and wanted to vomit when she saw the meat now. This practice really made her eat enough, and she felt her stomach churn at the sight of something greasy.
She could only swallow it, feeling that this mouthful was like a magic potion to protect her breastfeeding work.
Huixian's careful care has really worked, and Miss is now white and clean, just like those super cute New Year's dolls in the pictorial, which is so likeable!
She was a little happy and proud in her heart, but every time she thought that she could only see her daughter once a month, and because she had been drinking rice soup instead of breast milk, her daughter had grown so thin, she couldn't help but feel heartache. Every time she thought about it, her heart became heavy.
Huixian hugged Miss and saw her sleeping so sweetly, and couldn't help but smile bitterly in her heart.
There may be some differences between people. Some people are born with a golden spoon in their mouths, and they live a good life of eating and drinking every day, as sweet as soaking in a honeypot. But some people don't even have time to take care of their own daughters, and their lives are really different.
Oops, it's really worrying, what Huixian feared the most still happened.
She's running low on milk!
Today she breastfed Miss as usual, and Miss was holding her nipples, but no milk came out as usual.
The child is still young, he doesn't know so much, he knows that he is hungry and wants to eat. He bit Huixian's nipple all at once, and the pain made Huixian's tears flow out.
She hurriedly wanted Miss to let go, but seeing that Miss was biting tightly and refusing to let go, she was so anxious that she slapped Miss directly, but she was afraid of hurting her and didn't dare to do it.
Although the young lady is still just a baby, she also has servants to serve in our Guo Mansion, and we servants are all serving the young lady.
She timidly lowered her hand, and despite the pain, she tried her best to patiently coax the young lady to let go. She gently persuaded and carefully reassured, hoping that the young lady would calm down.
Wu's mother happened to bump into this scene, and she probably guessed eight or nine in her heart.
Huixian will be anxious like an ant on a hot pot, and suddenly finding Wu's mother is like finding a savior, and her heart is suddenly a lot more steady. She followed Wu's mother's instructions, obediently lay on the bed, and let Wu's mother arrange it, so she didn't have to worry about anything.
Mother Wu first gently rubbed Huixian's breasts, and when she touched her hand, she noticed a hard lump that was wrong. She immediately increased her strength and pressed hard, and the force was so strong that Huixian snorted in pain, as if her bones were about to be crushed.
She was so uncomfortable that she wanted to cry, but when she saw that the young lady next to her was sleeping soundly, she couldn't help it and bit her lip vigorously, for fear of waking her up.
It's a pity, although Huixian has gone through so many hardships, her body has never recovered and has not been able to produce milk.
Wu's mother was busy all day looking for various ways to get milk, and she tried all kinds of foods, decoctions and home remedies in the hope of solving the problem.
Huixian also tasted all these messy things, and once was forced to drink a big bowl of pangolin soup with a particularly bad taste, and the home remedies actually included mouse feces, which was unbelievable!
Huixian felt very sick to her stomach, but she had no choice but to bite the bullet and swallow it hard.
I don't know which trick worked, and the milk began to have. Haha, that's great!
However, in the process of busy milking, Huixian really encountered a very strange thing.
Recently, the second wife seems to have breastfed the young lady in private, which is a bit sneaky.
Do you know that young ladies and wives from rich families like the second wife, after they give birth to children, because they want to maintain their figure, and because they think it is too troublesome to feed the children, they often find wet nurses to help feed them. After a long time, there will be no more milk in their own breasts.
Why can the second wife continue to feed the young lady? The doubts in Huixian's heart seem to be solved by the story of another nurse, Manmei.
【The Secret of Milk】
Manmei is the wet nurse hired by the eldest lady later, and is mainly responsible for taking care of and feeding the eldest lady's little grandson, that is, the eldest lady's biological son. She is an experienced, attentive and responsible nurse who is very popular with everyone.
The two of them often met in the courtyard, and every time they hugged the young master and the young lady, and after a long time, the two became acquainted.
Huixian obviously felt that Manmei was not friendly to her, and it could even be said that Manmei looked down on her a little.
Huixian muttered in her heart, and the other servants in the hall chatted with her about gossip in private.
Chatting and chatting, Huixian gradually understood.
Although Manmei is the nurse of this little master, she secretly got involved with the Guo family's son-in-law behind her back. It's a big surprise.
Huixian listened to those rumors, and although she felt uncomfortable, she didn't dare to show it. She was still the same as usual, and only when there was no one in the garden did she quietly lift her clothes to nurse the second lady.
Unfortunately, on this day, she was about to breastfeed the child, but a man dressed up in fancy clothes, his eyes stared straight at her chest, and his mouth said that he wanted to touch the second miss, and his hand was about to touch her. It's really infuriating!
Huixian was startled, but fortunately, a sudden voice from the balcony saved her in time.
Why don't you take the second lady back to sleep? Hurry up!
It was the second wife who was talking, and Huixian hurriedly picked up the second lady and ran quickly, but she still heard the man's dissatisfied and contemptuous tone.
"It's amazing that this nursing maid dares to do anything."
Huixian was so frightened that she didn't dare to look back, wondering if she had been scolded. When she returned to the room, she saw that the second wife's face was whiter and more ugly than herself, and she was so frightened that she didn't dare to ask anything.
To be honest, Huixian has encountered a lot of strange things here, and every time it makes her feel quite magical.
For example, the second wife obviously has milk, but she just doesn't dare to give it to the second lady. For another example, the second wife always likes to go to the master's room during the day to stay for a while, but the eldest lady never cares, and she doesn't feel that the second wife is stealing the limelight from her.
It's very strange, that Manmei, who had a good chat with me a while ago, didn't expect to leave quietly not long after, which made me a little confused.
I heard that she had no milk, and some people said that she had the seed of the Guo family's son-in-law in her stomach. She wanted to make a big fuss, but she didn't expect that Old Man Guo directly gave her a dismount and threw her directly into the Huangpu River.
She originally thought that it was all gossip among servants, until she heard that someone had fished out a pregnant female corpse in the Huangpu River, and she was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat, and she didn't dare to think about those strange questions. She was afraid that the milk would not flow out, and she was even more afraid of getting a glimpse of the cannibalistic truth hidden in this luxurious mansion.
However, Huixian finally found out that she was still breastfeeding the baby as usual, but that day the unscrupulous guy appeared again, and this time his behavior was even more excessive than last time.
Before Huixian had time to dodge, the eldest lady rushed out in a rage, raised her hand and slapped her.
"Did you seduce my husband?"
Her face looked particularly fierce, as if she had been annoyed by something. At this time, the second wife hurried over and spoke.
Why don't you control the man yourself, but toss her? Find a way to do it yourself first, don't always think about attacking others.
Who would have thought that the eldest lady's face suddenly became ugly, and she pointed directly at the second lady and began to scold loudly.
How special do you think you are? After all, it's just a tool for producing milk. Don't think too highly of yourself.
Seeing that the second wife's face suddenly turned pale, Huixian woke up from a dream and realized that all this was a farce.
That man is very fancy, he is the son-in-law of the Guo family. As for my esteemed second wife, she is actually just a member of the exploited in this big house.
In fact, the reason why Mr. Guo married his second wife was that he listened to his old friend and said that drinking human milk can keep him young.
Master Guo pondered for a long time, and felt that if he wanted to better restore his youth, he had to find a way. Later, he decided to marry a beautiful poor woman, and when she became pregnant, she would be able to drink the most nourishing milk for the first child. When you think about it this way, it's a good deal.
No wonder the second wife is obviously full of milk, but she refuses to breastfeed her daughter. It's no wonder that the eldest lady has never been jealous, and the second wife has been with the old man for longer.
Huixian suddenly understood, but her heart was even more sad.
She thought that those noble rich ladies were living a beautiful life, but she didn't expect that they were just pawns in the upper class, just like higher-level wet nurses. They have no human rights, let alone respect. To put it bluntly, they are just objects to be played with.
As soon as I walked into the heavy courtyard gate, they were all nurses, which were specially used to produce milk, which made people feel very sad to say, and they all had some indescribable ambiguous colors, which was really miserable.
They are wet nurses, like goods to be picked up in the market, but in reality, they are just ordinary people hired by employers to work. And those precious milks, for these women living at the bottom, are like the only "commodity" they can come up with.
In those dark times, society was like a relentless monster that kept devouring people. Layer after layer of class exploitation and oppression makes everyone's life so difficult. Take those nurses who seem to have a good life, although they enjoy good treatment on the surface, but in fact, their lives are not easy. Look at their breasts that are sought, but behind them are hidden flesh and blood that have been crushed to festering by the old society, what a cruel reality!
But she didn't have time to hurt the spring and autumn, after all, the second miss grew up day by day, and the day when Huixian was dismissed was approaching day by day.
Two years later, the second lady finally stepped out of the door of the Guo Mansion. She went home and hurriedly glanced at her husband lying on the bed, life and death were uncertain, and then looked at her thin and short daughter, and her heart was mixed. But life had to go on, and she had to pick up the burden again and return to the head shop to start a new life.
This time, she eagerly stopped the would-be her boss, with a flattering smile on her face, and even a little impatiently puffed up her chest, wanting to show herself to others.
"This friend, my milk is very fresh and tastes very good, and a cup is only five cents, do you want to try it?" "Guest, my milk is of good quality, the taste is first-class, a cup is only five cents, do you want to have a cup to try?" "This guest, my milk here is very good, the price is affordable, a glass is five cents, do you think about buying a cup?" "Come, taste my milk, make sure it tastes good and not expensive, five cents a cup, what do you think?" "Guest, my milk is fresh and delicious, and the price is also very affordable, a glass is five cents, do you want to take a cup away?"