Granny Chang took the veil back home and praised Sun Caiping's skills in the village. Soon the news spread throughout the village.
Early the next morning, several village women came to the Sun family's door, asking, "Is Caiping home?"
Sun Miao'er went to open the door, but she didn't expect that they were all coming for Sun Caiping. They were even carrying embroidery frames, making quite a show of force, which really startled Sun Caiping.
She rarely left the Jiang family home, and due to their financial difficulties, she hadn't paid much attention to her appearance for a long time, dressing rather haphazardly. When she heard someone was coming to see her, she would at least put on a simple dressing up, no matter how perfunctory she was.
We'll borrow Sun Miao'er's rouge again. Although the color is a bit too pink, Sun Caiping is pretty, so it doesn't look out of place.
"Caiping, why are you still hiding and refusing to see us?" The speaker was Li Pozi's daughter-in-law. Her family had suffered a disaster in the fields this year, and she wanted to find some odd jobs to supplement her family's income. Doing needlework was the perfect thing for her.
However, none of the female workers were particularly outstanding, so they couldn't get good prices. They all came to ask for guidance after hearing Granny Chang praise Sun Caiping's skills.
Sun Caiping was taken aback by the enthusiasm of the group and didn't know how to deal with them for a moment. She was flustered and said, "What are you all doing? Take your time, I'll look at them one by one."
“Sister Caiping, do you still remember me? When we were little, we liked to make flower wreaths together, and you even put one on me!” The person next to her also crowded forward, making the small room feel cramped.
Sun Caiping had no recollection of it at all, and was now just giving a perfunctory answer based on her feelings, saying, "I remember, I remember."
"Sister, can you help me fix this? Why can't I embroider it well?" Li handed over the embroidery frame.
Sun Caiping did not refuse and took it. She examined it carefully for a while and said, "The stitches here are not placed well. If you insert the stitches at a slight angle, it will look much more natural."
Li did as Sun Caiping said, and the problem was indeed solved.
Sun Caiping then gave guidance to the next few women one by one. The village women stayed from noon until dark before leaving. Sun Caiping was so tired that her eyes ached, and she realized that the day had passed just like that.
"Auntie, are you tired? I made some cassia seed tea, it's good for your eyes." Sun Miao'er handed her the tea. The village women, having learned their lesson, insisted on visiting again tomorrow.
Sun Caiping couldn't resist any longer, and since she's now the type who can't say no, she had no choice but to agree.
Sun Caiping was stunned for a long time before asking in disbelief, "Miao'er, are they all here for me?"
"What else can we do, Auntie? Are you going to come after me?" Sun Miao'er teased. "Auntie's cooking is excellent. Gold should always shine. It's such a pity to bury it in household chores!"
Sun Caiping looked up as if waking from a dream, "But Yutao didn't say that..."
What did he say?
Sun Caiping's lips moved slightly. "Yu Tao said I should be a good wife and mother, and manage the Jiang family well. That's the right thing to do."
Sun Miao'er sneered, "That's true, but has Aunt ever thought about it? You've been managing the household for him so diligently, but has he ever thought about you at all? Over the years, you've used up all your dowry to make up for it, and this time he even forced you to come back and ask Grandma for a bride price. Is he really a good husband?"
“But…” Sun Caiping’s words, “I thought it was all my fault,” were stuck in her throat, and she couldn’t say them. In the end, she swallowed them down because she couldn’t even convince herself if she said it.
When Jiang Yutao was around, she felt that he was her everything, and his words carried more weight than imperial edicts. But these past few days, staying at her parents' home, she had the opportunity to meet people from the outside world, instead of being confined to the Jiang family's small world.
Seeing that she was no longer as extreme as before, Sun Miao'er advised, "Aunt, don't be afraid of him. We all have people in our family. I, Xiaoman, and Xiaoning are all on your side. Although Grandma is old, she still loves you. If that Jiang guy really cares about you, would he have the heart to leave you here alone to go back? Besides, seven or eight days have passed, and he hasn't even sent you a single message..."
The next day, Sun Caiping didn't mention Jiang Yutao again, because she had too many things to do. Granny Chang sent her some more work, and even gave her twenty more coins than before. The village women who came because of her reputation came to visit her every day.
"Sister, I'm back!" Xiaoman skipped and hopped into the house, carrying the small cloth bag sewn by Sun Miao'er on his back. He and Xiaoning had just returned from Tongsheng's house. After attending school for two days, Xiaoman was much more well-behaved than before.
They would even say things like "Don't talk while eating or sleeping," and they became much more well-behaved while eating.
Xiao Ning silently lowered her head and began to do her homework.
Sun Miao'er was preparing dinner when she patted Xiaoman's head and said, "Hurry up and do your homework. Xiaoning is almost done."
Xiaoman pouted, "Hmph, Xiaoning has a good foundation and learns much faster than me. The teacher teaches us different things. I haven't even learned all the characters yet, but he's already starting to memorize articles!"
"Don't rush, take your time." Sun Miao'er comforted the child in front of her. He had grown taller and was now up to her chest.
Xiaoman lost his bag and before he could even start writing, he was beckoned over by the group of village women. He was pleasing to the eye and had a sweet tongue, and despite his young age, he often managed to make the old women laugh.
The village women, seeing him now, naturally wouldn't let him go and wanted to call him over to tease him.
"Oh my, Xiaoman is in school now?"
Xiaoman stood in front of Sun Caiping, first sweetly greeting her, "Hello, Auntie," and then calling out to the women in the room in turn.
“Caiping, I really envy your good fortune. Everyone says that your nephew is your lifeline. With a nephew like Xiaoman, you will have plenty to enjoy when you get old.”
"Exactly! And look at my little brat! If I had a nephew like that, who would bother with that brat? All he does is annoy me all day!"
Sun Caiping felt embarrassed by what they said, and although she knew that these people were only saying that because they wanted something from her, she was still happy.
"Auntie, I'll recite a poem for you!" Xiaoman knew that Sun Caiping was sullen all day long, and he was very good at coaxing people. He spent a lot of time every day trying to cheer Sun Caiping up.
"The sun sets beyond the mountains, the Yellow River flows into the sea—" Xiaoman said, swaying her head as she began to recite the poem.
A warm feeling welled up in Sun Caiping's heart, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up, and she actually smiled.
When Xiaoman saw Sun Caiping smile, she excitedly said, "Auntie finally smiled! Auntie looks so beautiful when she smiles. If you like listening to Xiaoman recite poems, Xiaoman will recite them for you every day from now on."
"Okay." Sun Caiping's eyes welled up with tears as she smiled, but she couldn't let it out in front of everyone, so she turned her head away and forced back the tears. So this was what home felt like.
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