"Mother, what time is it? Why isn't the new bride up and preparing breakfast? Do we have to wait on her hand and foot?"

Aunt Liu Meie complained as she made the pancakes.

"She's still a child, it's normal for her to be sleepy. I'll go wake her up when the food is ready."

Liu Xiuying said softly, and casually pushed the firewood into the stove with a fire poker.

The Han family wasn't large. Liu Xiuying had two sons, the eldest being Han Daping, and his wife Liu Meie. They also had three children: Han Hu, Han Bao, and Han Chunying.

Han Hu is 21 years old this year. He married Cao Qiaoniu, the daughter of the Cao family in the same village. After three years of marriage, they had a baby girl named Niu Niu, but there has been no further news of pregnancy.

Han Bao is nineteen years old this year, which is the age for marriage, but because his family doesn't have money, it has been delayed.

Han Chunying has always been a fiery girl with a very outspoken personality. She is currently fifteen years old, just turned fifteen, and has not yet been engaged.

The second son, Han Erzhu, was always serving in the army. He married Cui Qiaoniang, who died of illness not long after giving birth to Han Yu'an. Han Erzhu traveled a long distance to bring the child back home, but was soon recalled to the army camp and died in battle. Poor Han Yu'an lived with his grandmother from a young age.

Last night, Niu Niu suddenly developed a high fever. His eldest daughter-in-law, Cao Qiaoniu, had to take care of the child, so Liu Meie had to do all the cooking for the family, which made her very resentful.

"I don't know if you married a woman to bring good luck or a jinx. The child got sick as soon as you entered the house. I think your money is just wasted. You would have been better off using it to improve the family's meals."

These days, the Han family has some able-bodied men who go out hunting, but the prey is becoming increasingly scarce, and the Han family is struggling to make ends meet.

They hadn't had any meat in a long time.

"Grandma, I heard you spent eight taels of silver to buy a bride for Third Brother to bring him good luck, but I also heard that she's a notorious jinx in Yushan Village?"

Han Chunying looked at them angrily. Eight taels of silver was a lot of money; it was two years' worth of living expenses for a family.

Who would feel good about buying a jinx like that?

"Chunni, what nonsense are you talking about? That's your third sister-in-law. Now that she's in our family, she's one of us. Don't say things like that again."

Liu Xiuying took a fire poker and hit Han Chunying's buttocks hard twice.

Han Chunying ran away in pain, jumping up and down, not liking her third sister-in-law at all.

"Mother, Chunni is ignorant, but did you really buy that girl for eight taels of silver?"

Liu Meie thought it was a waste of money; she would have been better off using it to find a wife for Han Bao.

Liu Xiuying didn't say anything, just glared at her, and took a bowl of sweet porridge to the bridal chamber.

"Pour out the sweet porridge from the pot and save it for Niu Niu. Don't steal any."

"Hmph, the old woman still has so much silver on her. She wouldn't have been able to arrange a marriage for Han Bao, but she's being generous by giving it to a fool."

After finally calming Niu Niu down, Qiao Niu went out to help her mother-in-law make breakfast, only to hear her constantly complaining.

Cao Qiaoniu was a woman of few words. When she heard her mother-in-law complaining like that, she just smiled and didn't take it to heart or respond.

"Hmph, you're just a coward, all you do is laugh. You'll be crying when they try to bully you."

Liu Meie looked down on Cao Qiaoniu because she hadn't given birth to a son. She scolded her a few times but got no response, so she got bored and got up to follow her out.

Liu Xiuying, worried that Cui Yulu might be nervous, knocked on the door from the outside.

But there was no sound from inside the house.

So they knocked harder, but there was still no response.

At this moment, Liu Meie, still angry, followed along, wanting to see what the eight taels of silver looked like.

As soon as I arrived, I saw my mother-in-law knocking on the door.

"What kind of talk is this? The sun's already high in the sky and they still won't get up. How will they ever amount to anything?"

For a junior to expect an elder to knock on the door and invite him to dinner is utterly disrespectful.

Liu Meie was already angry because her daughter had been beaten, so she kicked the door open.

The two entered the new house together. Han Yu'an was already awake and looking down at the beautiful girl beside him.

He only had the mind of a three-year-old, so he didn't understand matters between men and women. He just thought the woman in front of him was beautiful and he liked her very much.

"Oh dear, he's awake! It's so good that my grandson is awake."

Liu Xiuying happily placed the bowl on the table and went to the kang (a heated brick bed) to check on Han Yu'an's health.

The person who was unconscious yesterday, and whom the doctor said was beyond saving, has actually woken up today. It's a miracle.

It seems that this method of bringing good luck really works.

But what's wrong with this girl? She didn't wake up even with all that noise.

Could it be that Yu'an passed on his illness to that girl Yulu?

"Grandma, who is this?"

Han Yu'an pointed blankly at Cui Yulu, who was lying there motionless, and stared at them with wide, curious eyes.

"She is beautiful."

Looking at his silly expression, with drool practically dripping down his face, Liu Meie couldn't help but want to laugh.

"You fool, she's your wife."

Han Yu'an stared wide-eyed in bewilderment: "Wife, is it delicious?"

Liu Meie burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"It's delicious, as long as you know how to eat it, it's delicious."

Liu Xiuying glared at her.

"It's shameful for an elder to say such things to a junior."

Liu Meie blushed at her words, stopped smiling, and stood still, her gaze shifting to Cui Yulu.

This girl looks like a bean sprout, with a rosy face. She doesn't look like she'll live a long life. Could it be that she's a fool with a strong fate and has been cursed?

"Mother, is she dead?"

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