"Sister Miaomiao, open the door quickly, I've brought you firewood!"

While Ruan Miaomiao was feeding the chicks in the yard, she heard the voice of her neighbor Zhou Taohua coming from the gate.

A while ago, because of the argument with Grandma Lü, Ruan Miaomiao stopped exchanging things with the children in the village.

However, there was never a shortage of firewood at home.

The neighbors next door have always been very concerned about Ruan Miaomiao.

In particular, after hearing that Ruan Miaomiao was dating her son (brother), she wanted nothing more than to cherish Ruan Miaomiao.

Sure enough, early in the morning, Zhou Taohua brought firewood to Ruan Miaomiao.

When the courtyard gate opened, Ruan Miaomiao saw that Zhou Taohua's trouser legs and straw sandals were soaked with dew, and her dark hair was also soaked with dew and sweat and stuck to her forehead.

Those big, bright, grape-like eyes stared intently at Ruan Miaomiao. As soon as she saw her come out, she immediately picked up her carrying pole and went into the yard, where she skillfully unloaded the firewood and placed it in the woodpile.

"Sister Miaomiao, I came across a clump of prickly pears when I went to collect firewood. I picked them and brought them back to you later after I removed the thorns and seeds!"

The girl slung the carrying pole over her shoulder, tossed a few of the insects she had caught to the chicks in the yard, and spoke with a bright and cheerful smile.

Ruan Miaomiao knew that this girl didn't want to trade the prickly pear for anything, but genuinely wanted to give it to her, so she spoke up:

"Peach Blossom, you've been working hard all morning. I'll clean up the prickly pear myself!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Taohua, who was playing with the chicks, immediately turned and nervously waved her hands:

"Sister Miaomiao, your hands are so delicate, and there are so many thorns on the prickly pear, how can I let you handle it?"

After saying this, Zhou Taohua seemed to feel it wasn't enough, and added:

"Sister Miaomiao, from now on, if you have any chores, just let me help you. You don't need to do anything, just stay home and rest."

Hmph, she said before that if she were a man, she would definitely marry Sister Miaomiao and take good care of her at home, not letting her do anything.

Unexpectedly, her brother had a stroke of luck and actually started dating Sister Miaomiao.

Doesn't that mean that Sister Miaomiao is also half of her boyfriend?

Shouldn't she take good care of Sister Miaomiao?

Besides, her brother can't have children. The Zhou family has always been sorry to Sister Miaomiao. How could she not dote on Sister Miaomiao more?

Hearing her neighbor's mother calling her at the top of her lungs again, Zhou Taohua greedily glanced at Ruan Miaomiao's beautiful and bright face a few more times before skipping away.

"You brat, where have you been running around so early in the morning?"

Zhao Cuihong was busy sewing and mending all morning. Just as she was thinking that Ruan, the educated youth next door, should have gotten up, she cooked brown sugar eggs and prepared to have Zhou Taohua deliver them to him.

To his surprise, when he opened the door, the bed was empty; he couldn't see anyone at all.

Despite being scolded, Zhou Taohua wasn't angry at all. In a good mood, she skipped and hopped to the water vat to scoop water to wash her face.

"I went to gather firewood for Sister Miaomiao. My brother went to the county town to get her some good food, so I'm taking care of my future sister-in-law in his place."

Upon hearing the words "future sister-in-law," Zhao Cuihong's wrinkled face relaxed, her old face beaming with joy as she gave Zhou Taohua some instructions:

“Indeed, we should take care of her. Ruan, the educated youth, came to our rural area all alone and we can’t do without someone to help her.”

She's dating your brother now, so we should help her out as much as we can, both morally and logically.

Hurry up and wash up, then take the bowl of brown sugar and eggs to her so she can nourish herself!

Poor thing, without any family around, she's gotten so thin!

Zhou Taohua wasn't jealous that her mother cooked delicious food for her future sister-in-law; on the contrary, she felt that Miaomiao deserved to eat well.

Zhou Taohua scooped up some water and wiped her face with her hands. Without even changing her wet clothes, she handed the large earthenware bowl containing brown sugar and eggs to Ruan Miaomiao.

Watching her daughter deliver the things to someone, Zhao Cuihong thought for a moment and reluctantly added some water to the remaining brown sugar water, preparing to cook a brown sugar egg for her daughter as well.

The discord between children is mostly due to the parents' lack of kindness.

She didn't want her daughter to one day blame her for favoring her daughter-in-law, causing discord between them.

Zhou Taohua, who had just returned from delivering eggs, was so moved when she saw her mother cooking brown sugar eggs for her that tears welled up in her eyes.

Holding the bowl, he squatted in the yard, taking small sips and savoring the food with a precious look on his face.

Seeing her daughter like this, Zhao Cuihong felt even more fortunate for what she had just done.

"Peach Blossom, when I went to the field to sow radish seeds, I caught some bugs. Take them to your sister Miaomiao. She's just a city girl, she doesn't know anything about raising chickens!"

Zhou Taohua's father, Zhou Jianjun, shook his head, looking as if he couldn't do without him, and took the small bamboo basket off his waist and handed it to Zhou Taohua.

The latter immediately grabbed a bamboo basket and went next door to find Ruan Miaomiao.

"Master, come in, I have something to tell you!"

Zhao Cuihong winked at Zhou Jianjun, and the two walked into the house one after the other.

"Honey, I've been thinking about it. Given Yunwa's health, it's obvious that Ruan Zhiqing would be at a disadvantage if these two were to date. So I'm thinking of giving Ruan Zhiqing a little extra support on a regular basis."

"How about we wait until the grain is distributed later and exchange some for more refined grains? That way, we can help Ruan, the educated youth, get some extra nutrition."

Zhou Jianjun did not refute his wife's words, but instead added:

"Yes, that's definitely how it should be done."

We only have one son, Yunwazi. Any other children we have will belong to him.

As long as Ruan Zhiqing doesn't look down on our son, we should indeed treat her well.

"Yunwa often goes to the county town, right? Here's what you do: when he comes back this time, take 100 yuan from home and give it to him so he can buy Ruan Zhiqing some good food."

Zhao Cuihong was overjoyed to hear that not only did her husband not accuse her of favoring Ruan, the educated youth, but he was also willing to pay money.

In this village, every family that gets married inevitably encounters some unpleasant troubles.

There aren't many families like his, where everyone is harmonious and even happily anticipating the arrival of their new daughter-in-law.

"Peach Blossom, are you going to see Ruan Zhiqing again?"

Er Ya had just returned from picking wild fruit on the mountain when she saw Zhou Taohua skipping and hopping towards the neighbor's house. She couldn't be more envious.

When Zhou Taohua saw that it was her best friend Zhou Erya, she proudly raised her head, swung the bamboo basket at her waist, and smugly showed off:

"Okay, I'll go feed the chickens for Sister Miaomiao!"

Seeing Zhou Taohua showing off, Er Ya felt both envious and jealous:

Aaaaaahh ...

Why is Peach Blossom's brother so amazing that he was able to win over Ruan Zhiqing?

Why isn't Jingyun my biological brother?

Thinking of Jingyun, and then of her own brother at home, Er Ya felt even more defeated.

It seems that she can't compare to Zhou Taohua, even compared to her brother.

Even though she had three older brothers, she knew in her heart that the three brothers combined couldn't compare to Zhou Taohua's brothers!

Now, Zhou Erya felt even worse, and with red eyes, she rushed home...