Chapter 19 I Have to Call Her Sister
Having eaten plain noodles for lunch, Song Li ordered two packets of snail rice noodles for dinner to change things up. She put the rice noodles in a ceramic pot, added spring water, and cooked them. Then she sat on the doorstep and read a book.
It wasn't that she was eager to learn, but rather that the weather was about to get cold, and if she didn't make winter clothes soon, she would freeze.
Just as I was following the explanation in the book to thread the needle, my vision suddenly went dark.
Zhao Youchang stood under the melon shed opposite the fence.
"Don't you want to try to salvage your reputation?"
Actually, he was testing her; it was the first time he had ever seen a girl who wasn't in a hurry to defend herself when she was being smeared.
Even the most valiant daughter of a military family would probably not be able to go home and quietly do needlework the moment after being publicly humiliated.
Song Li glanced at him, lifting her eyelids slightly, and said calmly, "I did think about it before, but I've given up on it now."
She gave up when she discovered that the naughty boy was using urination and mud to hit her.
She had clearly clarified the situation before, but the villagers not only failed to stand up for her at the time, but also allowed their children to beat her afterwards.
Since the outcome is the same whether or not to clarify, why bother with all the trouble?
She has limited energy and only wants to protect the people she cares about; she can't be bothered with all this other nonsense.
"But you are a girl."
Looking into the girl's clear eyes, Zhao Youchang couldn't help but ask again.
"..."
Did he even need to remind me?
Song Li glanced sideways at Zhao Youchang.
As the sun sets, brilliant clouds surround him.
Bathed in the glow of the sunset, his fake face had soft lines and looked quite realistic.
However, she had studied medical aesthetics and researched bones and muscles, so her eyesight had long been honed. No matter how many layers of clothing the other person wore, she could see through them at a glance, let alone a mere human skin mask.
Song Li said, "People can say whatever they want, it's just a matter of what they say. If you care about what others say all the time, it may seem like you cherish your reputation and respect yourself, but isn't it exhausting? Besides, what good is a good reputation?"
It's nothing more than a few more words of praise.
Instead of wasting time on this empty fame, she should be figuring out how to make winter clothes!
She didn't believe that the villagers would give her their only winter coat just because of her good reputation!
Zhao Youchang looked at her intently.
He thought she was just giving up, or that she would move to a place where no one knew her and start over once she had made enough money, but she didn't expect her to be so dismissive.
He suddenly found it somewhat amusing.
People generally value a woman's reputation more than her life, but she was completely unaware of this.
Is she magnanimous or naive?
Song Lao Er and He Shi didn't even teach their niece the most basic principles of life. It's a shame that Song Lao Er was a scholar who knew classical Chinese. This shows how harshly they treated her in the past.
He glanced again at Song Li's clumsy attempt at threading the needle and shook his head.
She's never even learned needlework; Madam He must have treated this girl like livestock in the past.
But it's better not to understand; less understanding means less trouble.
On the other side, at Song Lao Er's house.
Because Song Li nailed the doors and windows shut, the three of them had been confined to the main house for the past few days.
"Mother, I want to go out." Song Yu was so bored that she tried to kick the door again.
Mrs. He quickly grabbed him and gave him a candied date to appease him.
There was water, firewood, rice, and flour in the big house, so they weren't thirsty or hungry. In addition, He Shi had a habit of hiding snacks and dried meat in the big house, so they lived relatively comfortably during the few days they were locked up.
But there was no shoulder and leg massage from Song Daya;
Song Daya was no longer serving tea or water;
Without Song Daya, they could vent their anger and beatings on her when things didn't go their way...
They were living a very uncomfortable life!
Furthermore, although it is late autumn now and there is not much farm work, the land must be turned over after the New Year, and seeds must be selected, germinated, and sown... With so much farm work, who will they find to do it if Song Daya is not here?
Aren't they tired of doing it themselves?
Doesn't it cost money to hire a farmhand in town?
Therefore, we still have to use Song Daya.
As for Song Xiaoxiao, although she is only ten years old, she is also a laborer, so it would be a waste not to use her.
“Yu’er, be good. Listen to your mother and be patient for a few more days. We haven’t gone out for three days already. If we wait a few more days, the villagers will definitely not be able to bear it anymore. Considering that we are elders and pitiful, even those who did not help us before will help us.”
He tried to play the victim to force Song Daya and her sister to come back.
Song Lao Er, who was standing to the side, frowned as he listened, because he didn't want his niece to come back.
"I've told you several times already. Song Daya has really offended Wang Laocai. If we keep her around, she'll be a menace. Aren't you afraid that when Wang Laocai takes revenge on Song Daya, he'll drag us down with him?"
He said nonchalantly, "What's there to be afraid of? We've already written a letter of severance of ties at the village head's house. Song Daya has nothing to do with us anymore. I just asked her to come and do some work. If Wang Laocai comes to retaliate, we can just fire her like we fired a farmhand."
Song Lao Er said angrily, "Can't you just pretend she's dead? Anyway, if she hadn't escaped from Wang Lao Cai's clutches, we wouldn't have been able to use her."
He wasn't being kind; he was just afraid that if Old Wang got angry, he would stop caring and kill them all.
"But the problem is that she escaped. Since she's escaped, why should I just leave her around without using her?"
"Besides, that little bitch broke my hand that day. I can't swallow this anger if I don't torment her and get revenge."
When Song Lao Er saw that He Shi refused to listen to his advice, he was so angry that he kept clicking his teeth.
Women are so useless; they always fixate on the smallest, most insignificant gains in front of them!
...
"At birth, people are inherently good; their natures are similar, but their habits differ..."
In the early morning, the sound of students reading aloud could be heard from the bright and clean ancient classroom.
Song Li carried the water buckets and swayed as she walked towards the classroom.
Even with the original owner's memories and muscle memory, she was still not very good at carrying a carrying pole, even when there wasn't a drop of water in the buckets—she was carrying two empty buckets.
She wasn't there to fetch water; she just happened to be interested in the well because it was next to the back window of the village school.
Well, wasn't she suspected by Song Xiaoxiao that she could read? If she doesn't come to the school more often, how can she cover up the fact that she can read?
There were many people drawing water today, and a long queue formed in front of the well. Song Li was in no hurry and leisurely stood at the end of the queue, while eavesdropping on the teacher's lecture in the school.
Learning by doing is worse than learning by doing alone, so Song Li also brought Song Xiaoxiao along.
"Miss Song," Mingyue, disguised as an old woman, called to her.
Song Li was slightly startled, turned her head and chuckled, "Hello, Auntie."
Judging from her bone structure, the woman in front of me was no more than twenty-five years old. Her face was not covered with makeup, yet she still looked like an older woman.
She's clearly the type who looks too young.
Song Xiaoxiao also sweetly called out "Auntie," which earned her a kind response in return.
Right now, he's probably the only one in the village who greets them so cheerfully.
Song Li and Mingyue lined up together and carried water home together.
When they reached the door, the two parted ways. Mingyue entered the front yard through the front door, while Song Li pushed open the side door and entered the back yard.
Watching Song Li's retreating figure, Mingyue sighed silently.
They were living in separate courtyards from Miss Song, and besides, the master had her, a female relative, with him. Yet the villagers still managed to gossip about it. They must have a lot of free time on their hands!
Song Li was awkwardly carrying her load inside when someone called out to her from behind.
"Da Ya... Sister."
The sound was extremely awkward; it was clear that the person was unwilling from the bottom of their heart, yet they had no choice but to make the sound.
Song Li turned around and found that it was Qian Hudan who called her.
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