As Shuiqing opened her eyes, she saw the dilapidated room, half a piece of darkened bread, and five children with malnutrition, their faces full of concern. Eldest sister-in-law sneered, “It’s ...
Not placing her in the same large room doesn't mean she's being mistreated.
Sun Jinhua was surprised that Hu Shuiqing would take the initiative to invite her to go see it, and followed along suspiciously.
She kept up with the pace, but deep down she still refused to believe that Hu Shuiqing would provide the two girls with nice houses and big rooms!
When a girl reaches a certain age, she will eventually get married and leave home. What's the point of living in a nice, big house? Wouldn't that be a waste of the house?
"The two side rooms next to the main house, Yanqiu, being the eldest sister, lives in the east room, while Xinghui lives in the west room."
My husband and I thought that since these two houses were close to us and also close to the outhouse, it would be safer for us to get up at night." Shuiqing smiled brightly and explained in great detail.
After saying that, she added, "We were all daughters once, how could we not know that when we were little we wanted to be closer to our parents? And we felt more at ease with them by our side."
Sun Jinhua didn't believe that the room with her three nephews was better, so she pushed open the door first.
A wooden screen came into view, blocking everyone's view.
The village has many people but few houses. In the poorest families, each child lives in a separate room, while in the better-off families, boys have one room and girls have another.
With several people in one room, who would think about blocking their view?
Everyone felt their eyes had been opened.
Then, following Sun Jinhua's footsteps, we walked inside and found that the house was not only more spacious than the one Jiang Hehu had lived in, but it was also thoughtfully divided into several areas.
Outside was a long wooden table, on which were not the needles and thread that a young woman usually used, but writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones!
It has everything: chairs and wardrobes.
Inside was a large bed covered with a small green floral quilt they had never seen before, and the style of the quilt was unfamiliar to them.
"The flowers on this quilt are so beautiful! They look so real. I've never seen such beautiful flowers in all my years." Grandma Xu murmured as she carefully stroked the quilt fabric with her rough, withered hands.
Shui Qing: .....Because this is something from China, it's normal that you haven't seen it before.
That's right, Shuiqing bought this from the mall. It's both pretty and convenient. She removed the zipper and sewed on a few ties, making it easy to take apart and wash.
"What kind of fabric is this? It feels even more comfortable than the fine cotton we just had!" Wu's wife exclaimed in amazement.
"Oh, the shopkeeper said the new goods from the capital are a bit expensive, so the children's father couldn't bear to buy too many and only bought some for his two daughters."
As for those three boys, they're tough and thick-skinned, fine cotton will suffice. But for girls, things need to be more delicate." Shui Qing looked at Sun Jinhua, her words carrying a hidden meaning.
Sun Jinhua stubbornly pretended not to hear.
She pretended not to hear, but the women who had come with her wouldn't allow her not to hear, and they all reminded her: "Jinhua, did you see that? The girl's room is not only big, but also very exquisite."
"Strange, you're willing to buy all the newest goods in the capital. Let's see who can say you're not treating your daughter well!"
"Jinhua, you should learn from your sister-in-law and treat Zhaodi better!"
Sun Jinhua glared, about to argue, when Shui Qing said leisurely, "Now that we're mothers, of course we should give our daughters the best, so they don't have to suffer the hardships we did when we were young, and make up for what we lacked as children, right?"
All the women present were stunned upon hearing this.
Even Sun Jinhua, who was about to get angry, froze on the spot.