With the teacher's guidance, the children at home learned to read at a speed as if inspired by God.

Although life was still poor, all the difficulties were borne by the adults and the two older brothers.

The children in the family still did not have a hard time. In fact, because they lived in the city, they did not have to collect firewood, so their life was actually easier.

When Yuan has free time, he is still happy to talk to Sister Li Tian who lives diagonally across the street.

Except for Aunt Fang who loves to curse, most of the other neighbors sympathize with Sister Li Tian. However, because of Aunt Fang, although they feel some sympathy, they will not associate with her.

Xingzi likes to go with Yuan, but mostly because Li Tian is very good at making dim sum and will leave a few pieces for them to eat.

Li Tian gets up early every day to make a few pots of dim sum and sells them to teahouses and pubs, which is enough for her to live on.

She didn't expect to make money from this, and was also afraid of attracting attention. She got up early every day to sell snacks and then stayed at home without going out.

She loves to talk and laugh but the neighbors nearby don't dare to pay attention to her and she doesn't have any good friends, so she welcomes Yuan and Xingzi and doesn't care about the snacks.

The two children were often fed in the village and they didn't think it was a big deal. The adults in Lao Fu's family didn't stop them when they found out.

But when there was good food, she would ask them to send some over. When you are friends, you should always reciprocate. How the children treat her is the business of those three people.

Adults don't always want to interfere, but they always have to show their appreciation.

New Year’s Eve is here in the blink of an eye.

However, neither family was prepared to celebrate the festival.

Old Fu didn't have the time to think about it as he was busy making money. Li Tian was alone and didn't know how to survive, so she fried some potato and meatballs and ate them with her two children, Yuan and Xingzi.

A Yuan was sitting at the kitchen table in Li Tian's house, his little feet dangling in the air, eating a meatball happily, his little mouth shining with oil.

Xingzi's cheeks are bulging from eating so much.

Li Tian wiped the oil off their mouths with a handkerchief and said proudly:

"It's delicious! Other things are fine, but I make these meatballs the best. Come back tomorrow and I'll make you some vinegar meatballs with the remaining meatballs."

The two children kept nodding their heads. After they finished eating, they washed the dishes. The three of them each took a recliner and sat outside under a thin blanket to bask in the sun. They could also look at the unmelted snow on the eaves outside and the birds flying down from time to time.

Li Tian squinted lazily:

"It's comfortable! My father specially asked someone to make this chair for me.

I thought our family of three could bask in the sun and enjoy the scenery together, but in the end it never happened.

He was always changing his mind, having a new idea at the moment, and even if the chair was delivered to his home, it would just be left there gathering dust.

Now that I think about it, when he wanted to make the chair, he probably wasn't drinking, and when the chair was delivered, he was probably drinking. "

"Wine is really not a good thing!"

Yuan closed his eyes. The warm sunlight made him feel sleepy.

Xingzi still had some energy left, and asked curiously while holding onto the handrail:

"Why doesn't Uncle Li stop drinking?"

Li Tian glanced at her, then turned away with a somewhat lonely look:

"If he quit, maybe it would be fine. Maybe it's not that he can't quit, but that he doesn't want to.

When you get married in the future, you must let your elders see what that person looks like when drunk. Some people will use drunkenness as an excuse for many things.

An addiction to alcohol can sometimes be as terrible as an addiction to gambling.”

Xingzi didn't quite understand what she said but still agreed. Yuan tilted his head, thinking that she was very sad, so he carefully changed the subject:

"Sister Li, what kind of person do you want to marry in the future?"

Li Tian's face turned red, and she scolded her:

"Girl, do you know what it means to get married?"

A Yuan was full of confidence, touching his bulging belly through the quilt:

"I understand. Isn't it just living with adults? Even if there are things I don't understand, I will understand them in the future!"

That's quite true.

Li Tian was shy for a while, but she didn't hide anything. Instead, she told the truth:

"I want to marry a man in the future."

He stopped talking after just one sentence. Xingzi was shocked:

"So you can actually marry a girl, right?!"

Yuan frowned:

"I didn't mean to ask whether you want to marry a man or a woman. I meant...what kind of person do you want to marry?"

The two kids had such bizarre ideas that they decided after just two sentences that they could marry a woman.

Li Tian choked:

"That's not what I meant!

When you grow up, you will understand that there are many men, but not so many real men! "

Yuan and Xingzi often heard words like - you will understand when you grow up.

The more you hear it, the more you will understand. When adults say this, they probably won’t explain it any further.

The two children did not ask any further questions, but just looked at Li Tian. After today, she would only be sixteen years old. She felt like a big sister, not much older than them, but she was indeed an adult.

If you don't get married after you turn 18, you have to pay five times the head tax.

But: "Sister Li, men are so hard to find, why aren't you anxious?"

A Yuan was a little worried and anxious for her. If there were a girl of this age in the village, her family would have already started looking for someone to date, but Sister Li's parents...

It seemed like no one was going to make plans for her and her relatives were unreliable. What should she do?

At least Yuan and Xingzi have never seen a girl looking for a date for them. If they did that, no matter what the reason, some unpleasant things would definitely be said about them.

And you may not be able to find a good family.

The two children were anxious and worried.

Li Tian couldn't tell whether she was anxious or not, she could only say:

"Well, it depends on fate. Maybe God will give me one someday."

Yuan thought about it, sat up and said to her earnestly:

"Then you have to give God a chance. You won't get a man if you stay in your room all day. The men who marry older girls are..."

Xingzi continued, "Your rogue uncle, the water delivery man, the firewood seller, and the thief!"

In order to avoid suspicion, the water delivery man and firewood seller Li Tian were never allowed to enter the yard. They always left the items at the door and brought them in themselves.

Not to mention that gangster-like second uncle, Li Tian can't possibly marry a thief, right?

But apart from these types of people, there are no other men who would come to your house on their own initiative!

Yuan and Xingzi explained it to her for a while, and then Yuan concluded:

"You have to go out! You have to give them a chance to let the man God sent meet you!"

This makes sense, and Li Tian was moved, but:

"I'm afraid I won't meet a man, but will meet a playboy and be taken home as a concubine."

Yuan and Xingzi immediately thought of Wan Niang.

The two children's shoulders slumped and they lay back exhausted.

"It's so hard for good-looking girls like us!"

Li Tian almost laughed out loud:

"You guys! You may be pretty, but you are still little girls. You should stay away from such troubles!"

That's true.

The three of them rocked on the recliners, looked at the square sky above their heads, and soon fell asleep with peace of mind.

Covered with a blanket and basking in the sun, it wasn’t too cold.

If you encounter a chapter error, please click Report Error (no need to log in)