Unlike modern times, in this era, difficult childbirth can be addressed with a cesarean section; the only option is for the mother to deliver naturally.

Given her mother's premature birth, breech presentation, and difficult labor, it would have been very dangerous even with modern medical technology.

Besides, no one can guarantee whether the child her mother risked her life to give birth to will survive.

A seven-month-old baby who has been trapped in the womb all night has a very small chance of surviving.

If she were present, she would probably have suggested sacrificing the lesser to save the greater, in order to protect the person she cares about.

Aunt Yang said with relief, "It's good that you can figure it out."

Having obtained the information she wanted to know, Xiao Yunying stopped asking about her own affairs and instead tried to inquire about her third sister, whom she had not yet met.

"Auntie, you said my sister wasn't so dark-skinned when she was little. Can you tell me about her?"

Aunt Yang's expression stiffened for a moment: "When your sister was little, she was just like the other children in the village. She wasn't as fair-skinned and pleasing as you, but she wasn't bad either. As she grew up, she became one of the best-looking and capable girls in the village."

Xiao Yunying thought to herself, "This expression and this tone mean she doesn't want to say more."

Does Aunt Yang dislike her third sister?

Xiao Yunying didn't ask any further questions, but glanced at the already dark sky outside and said, "Oh dear, it's already dark."

Fang Rou said, "That's right, we were so busy talking that we didn't notice the sky."

Xiao Yunying picked up the now-cold hawthorn water and drank it all in a few gulps.

It's quite sweet; they must have added a lot of rock sugar.

He put down his bowl, stood up, and said, "Auntie, I have to go to the city tomorrow, so I need to go home and sleep early. I'll come visit again later."

"Okay, hurry back, I'll get you a lantern."

"No need, there's moonlight outside and the road isn't far, I'm going."

Xiao Yunying called to the children, "Let's come back to play another time. It's getting dark, we should go home."

After leaving the main room, Aunt Yang went to the kitchen to light lanterns. Xiao Yunying said to Fang Rou, "Tell Auntie not to light the lanterns. I'm leaving now. By the way, I guess your charcoal is almost used up. Remember to come to my house to get some when you run out."

The Yang family couldn't bear to use silver frost charcoal every day. They had a lot of wood scraps, so they burned firewood during the day and long-burning charcoal at night.

Since they also couldn't buy charcoal, Xiao Yunying told them to come to her house to get some.

Saying "take it" was just a polite gesture, since no matter how good the relationship was, they weren't family. The Yang family couldn't bring themselves to actually take it for free, so Xiao Yunying converted the price into silver and sold it to them in smaller quantities at market value.

"Okay, take care."

Yang Tianyun came out of the house: "Yun Ying, let me take you there."

Xiao Yunying?

"No need, Brother Yang, I can go back by myself."

Yang Tianyun walked to the door and said, "It's getting dark. I'm worried about you going back alone."

What are you worried about?! I have four kids and two dogs with me, I'm not alone!

“Really, no need. It’s just a few steps. You all go inside. Xin’er, come here, let Mom hold you. Luo Li, stop playing with the dog and let’s go home.”

Xiao Yunying scooped Luo Xin up and held her in her arms, then turned and left without giving her a moment to reply.

After walking a distance, he looked back to make sure no one was following, breathed a sigh of relief, and put Luo Xin on the ground.

Ouch, I hugged the little girl too hard just now, and it pulled on the bruises on my arms and hips. It really hurts.

Holding Luo Xin's small hand, he slowed his pace: "Little girl, you've gained a lot of weight recently."

Not only Luo Xin, but all the children in the family have gained weight under her care.

Among them, the one who gained the most weight was the gluttonous Luo Li, whose little face had become noticeably rounder.

Luo Xin pinched her cheek: "Xin'er, have you gained weight? Do you want to lose weight?"

Xiao Yunying laughed and said, "You don't need to lose weight. You used to be too thin. Now you're just right. Babies are cuter when they're chubby."

"Okay, then whatever Mother likes, Xin'er will grow up to look like that."

Xiao Yunying rubbed the little girl's head: "That's not right. No matter what Xin'er looks like, Mother will love her."

"Really?"

"Really, our Xin'er is so cute, she'll definitely grow up to be a beautiful girl."

"Xin'er must grow up to be as beautiful as her mother."

"Hahaha, you little rascal, your words are getting sweeter and sweeter."

Xiao Yunying took the children home and had them feed the puppy. Hearing the sheep bleating in the backyard, she took a flashlight and went to the stable while the children were away.

After raising them for a few days, she learned that sheep would bleat when they were hungry, so she forked two sprigs of grass into the stone trough and said, "Stop bleating, eat up."

I went back to the living room, took the kettle from the stove, added warm water, and after the children washed up, we went back to the house.

Xiao Yunying lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), coaxed Luo Xin to sleep, and then pondered her own thoughts.

Why did Aunt Yang have that attitude when she mentioned her third sister?

In her memory, the third sister she had forgotten was named Xiao Yuntao, who was a little over a year older than her and got married just after turning sixteen.

Xiao Yuntao's temperament is similar to her mother's in some ways, but completely different in others.

The Xiao Yuntao I remember was very gentle and spoke softly, which was completely unlike her mother.

She appears to be a gentle and mild-mannered girl, but deep down she has the stubbornness that her parents both possess, and when she gets tough, she's just as assertive as her mother.

Her parents tried their best to treat their children equally in raising them, but there were some things that they couldn't take care of both sisters perfectly, so they would lean slightly towards the original owner.

For example, when she was learning embroidery, her master only accepted one student. The original owner of the body was unwilling to give up and insisted on going. Xiao Yuntao took the initiative to give up and let her younger sister go. Her mother had no choice but to send Xiao Yuntao to another embroidery workshop that was not as famous as her master.

It may seem like a trivial matter, but after experiencing it many times, it's inevitable that she would feel resentful that her parents favored her younger sister. However, Xiao Yuntao never distanced herself from or even hated the original owner because of these things.

Occasionally, when the original owner went too far, her third sister would get angry and argue with her. But after the argument, once the anger subsided, she would still treat the original owner very well and would never really hold a grudge.

Since Xiao Yuntao got married, she only came back two or three times a year, so they hadn't seen each other much.

After the original owner got married, she saw him even less often. The last time was on the second day of the Lunar New Year this year, when her son-in-law went to visit his mother-in-law. Xiao Yuntao came to see the original owner once.

Xiao Yuntao married into a village that was neither too far nor too close to Donglin City; it would probably take about three hours by oxcart.

In ancient times, a married daughter was considered to be "water spilled out" and belonged to her husband's family. She could not return to her parents' home at will; she needed her husband's family's permission to do so.

Unless you marry someone from the same village as her, so close that you can walk there in no time.

Or perhaps there's no man, no in-laws, and no one to control them.

Because the original owner never cared about other people's affairs, she only knew that Xiao Yuntao's husband's family was quite well-off, and that the man seemed to be the manager of a shop in the city, but she didn't know the specifics.