The woman was skillful and quickly tied two pretty buns, and braided them into pigtails that hung around her ears, making her face look small and cute.
To make up for his earlier mistake, Zheng Ruqian leaned close to Jiang Sheng and praised her with all his might, "Beautiful, so beautiful, these two caterpillars are really pretty."
Upon hearing this, even the composed Xu Mo couldn't help but cough twice.
Not to mention the other brothers who were already laughing so hard they were practically falling over.
Jiang Sheng turned around, glared at her second brother again, and lowered her head without saying a word.
Zheng Ruqian thought she was angry, so he went over to coax her, "I was wrong, Jiang Sheng. Your braid is so pretty, really pretty."
But Jiang Sheng kept her head down and didn't say anything.
Zheng Ruqian panicked and knelt down in front of her, only to find that the little girl was pursing her lips and her big eyes were filled with a layer of crystal-clear tears.
He finally panicked completely.
"Jiang Sheng, please, please don't cry. Second brother was wrong, second brother was really wrong."
The brothers, who were swaying and staggering nearby, couldn't sit still any longer and came over to offer their concern.
"Jiang Sheng, I'll beat up your second brother for you. Don't be sad. I'll beat him black and blue," Fang Heng comforted her.
“I’ll prick him with a needle,” Wen Zhiyun said fiercely.
“Don’t give him any food,” Chang Yan chimed in.
Liu Cui and Zhang Qiquan, sitting on the carriage shaft, couldn't help but smile as they watched.
These kids are so lovely.
Finally, just as Zheng Ruqian was about to be riddled with glares, Jiang Sheng raised her head, looked at the direction of Shilipu Village with a wronged expression, and said softly, "It has nothing to do with Second Brother."
Zheng Ruqian breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Sheng touched her hair and choked up as she said, "Jiang Sheng just remembered her aunt. Her aunt would always braid her hair into such pretty little braids."
Just now, they passed by the Zhou family's door, but none of them dared to visit Aunt Zhang.
Because of the endless arguing and shouting inside.
Also, after the cotton-padded jacket incident, Aunt Zhang secretly held Jiang Sheng's little hand and told her, "If you see Zhou Zhiqiang in the future, avoid him and don't go to the Zhou family."
But her aunt was the only person who came to see Jiang Sheng off after she was forced to leave.
He was also the only person who fed her and braided her hair when she was begging.
Aunt Zhang embodies all of Jiang Sheng's longing for a mother throughout her wandering life.
Jiang Sheng misses her aunt.
“If you miss her, we’ll go see her,” Xu Mo said softly.
Jiang Sheng remained silent for a moment, then shook her head.
She didn't want to see Zhou Zhiqiang hitting her aunt, and she didn't want to see her aunt looking ashamed and embarrassed every time outsiders saw it.
The little girl stared at Liu Cui with envy, "If only my aunt could leave like Aunt Cui'er."
The carriage was suddenly stopped.
Fang Heng turned around and said, "Perhaps we can ask Auntie. What if she's willing to leave too?"
A sense of anticipation rose in Xiao Jiangsheng's eyes.
Really? Auntie can leave that awful home? She'll never have to be beaten and scolded again, busy with chores and cooking every day, only to sit in the kitchen eating vegetable soup?
"But we can't go empty-handed." Xu Mo looked at Shili Town, which was just a stone's throw away.
Fang Heng understood immediately, rode over, and prepared to buy two bags of pastries.
It was the same amount of food as when visiting Zhang Qi's family.
Seeing this, Liu Cui felt a pang of pity and said, "Good child, don't buy the pastries."
Fang Heng was puzzled.
“These pastries are expensive and come in small quantities, and most importantly, they’re not practical. If you really want to visit relatives and friends, just buy some brown sugar and bring a couple of jars of wine. It won’t cost much, and it’ll look nicer,” Liu Cui explained patiently.
Only wealthy families were accustomed to taking pastries; in reality, ordinary farming families might not even get to eat them twice a year.
Unlike brown sugar, which can be dissolved in water, used in medicine, and even served to guests.
When poor families have relatives visiting, they are willing to serve a bowl of sweet soup, but only close relatives.
Fang Heng was taken aback, not expecting that buying a gift would involve so many twists and turns.
Jiang Sheng had recovered by now. She stuffed half a tael of silver into Liu Cui's hand and said in a coquettish tone, "Auntie, please help me buy it. Third Brother is clumsy and doesn't know how to choose things."
Liu Cui had no children of her own, and she adored sweet and gentle little girls. Her heart was completely melted, and she nodded hastily, "Okay, okay, Auntie will go."
Before long, carrying two bundles of brown sugar and two palm-sized bottles of wine, he spent less than a hundred coins in total.
The carriage returned to Shilipu Village once more, this time with a clear destination: the Zhou family.
Jiang Sheng's expression changed from anticipation to tension, and even a little hesitation.
Finally, the carriage stopped.
Fang Heng stepped forward and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" It was Zhou Zhiqiang's voice. "Go open it."
He was probably directing Aunt Zhang.
Before long, the door latch came off, revealing a pretty but haggard face with clearly visible finger marks on her cheek.
When she saw Jiang Sheng standing outside the door, she was both surprised and delighted. She quickly turned around to look into the courtyard and lowered her voice, saying, "Little Jiang Sheng, you're back. How have you been these past few days? Have you been eating well?"
Only after asking did I realize that what I said was pointless.
Half a year later, Xiao Jiang Sheng has grown half a head taller and is wearing a clean and tidy little dress, a far cry from her previous dirty appearance.
"Good child, as long as you're doing well, that's all that matters."
Aunt Zhang's eyes welled up with tears.
Inside, Zhou Zhiqiang asked again, "Who exactly is it?"
"Nobody's here." Aunt Zhang called out, and was about to come out and close the door when Zhou Zhiqiang came out in his cloth shoes.
When he saw Jiang Sheng, he first frowned and his face showed disgust.
But when she saw Fang Heng behind her holding brown sugar and white wine, she smiled and pushed Aunt Zhang aside, saying with a grin, "Why don't you come inside to chat with our guests? And you even brought things. Tell me how embarrassing that is."
Naturally accept everything.
Aunt Zhang's face turned red, but she couldn't say a word.
Zhou Zhiqiang put down his things and joked with her, "You didn't steal my food for her all those years ago, did you? Now you know how to reciprocate. But it's a little too little. Buy more next time."
Aunt Zhang, unable to bear it any longer, said, "Can you please stop talking?"
"What? You think I'm a disgrace? If you think I'm a disgrace, then don't eat or drink my food." Zhou Zhiqiang's expression suddenly changed. "Zhang Xianglian, get this straight, I'm the one supporting you!"
“If it weren’t for me, you would have starved to death long ago and ended up wandering the streets like this little beast.”
He grumbled and cursed as he went back inside and lay down.
Aunt Zhang was filled with shame and anger, wishing she could hide somewhere.
Jiang Sheng stood there with tears in her eyes, once again questioning whether it was right or wrong for her to come to visit her aunt.
Xu Mo and his younger brothers all turned to the side, no longer facing the door, to avoid embarrassing her further.
Zhang Qiquan sighed. He knew the Zhou family was a scoundrel, but he never expected them to be this despicable.
Only Liu Cui clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, "Sister Zhang, why can't you stand up for yourself? Do you really have to rely on him? Being with someone like that is worse than going out to beg for food!"
"Can't you have some backbone?"
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