Hearing this, Song He'er roughly understood some of it.
Perhaps Qin Xiaoniang gave birth to a stillborn child, but in order to protect herself, she had to adopt a child from elsewhere. However, for a woman born in this era, if she gave birth to a girl, she would be useless. It would be better to give birth to a boy, so that she could stand up straight in the future.
“Mother, but... why did you choose me? Given your situation at the time, if you had given birth to a boy, you would have gained status through your son, and perhaps the people in the household wouldn't have treated you so badly.”
Qin Xiaoniang gave a bitter smile and shook her head helplessly. "Given my situation at the time, if I had given birth to a boy, the eldest mistress certainly wouldn't have kept me. She hadn't borne a legitimate son for many years. If she had known I had given birth to a boy, how could she have survived to this day? So I could only take a baby girl. Even if the General's Mansion doesn't value this child, they will still take me out temporarily and save my life because she is of the Song family bloodline..."
Upon hearing this, Song He'er felt a tightness in her chest. She only knew that the original owner's mother was a woman with a tragic fate, suffering constant exclusion and cold treatment in the mansion, and never having enjoyed a good life.
Now that she knows all this, she feels even more sorry for the original owner of this body.
She could have been born into an ordinary family and enjoyed the company of her biological parents, but by a twist of fate, she ended up in the General's Mansion. Not only did she suffer greatly alongside Qin Xiaoniang, but she also died young.
Alas, it is the fault of this era. The demands placed on women are too high. Many things are mostly benefited by unfaithful men, while the only ones who suffer the ridicule and scorn of the world are the powerless women.
“Mother, don’t be sad. Since Heaven has arranged for us to be mother and daughter, I will definitely take good care of you. From now on, no one will dare to bully us anymore. That old fox Song Xiaoqi won’t live much longer…”
Qin Xiaoniang's tears still streamed down her face uncontrollably. Between sobs, she replied, "It's good that you don't blame me. It's all my fault, all my fault, that's why you've suffered so much..."
"What are you two, mother and daughter, talking about behind our backs?" Zhang Xiu'e's shout really startled everyone.
Song He'er quickly wiped away Qin Xiaoniang's tears, then stepped forward and replied with a smile, "Third Aunt, I could smell the aroma of the dishes as soon as you came in. What did you make today? I really want to try it."
"Hey, didn't you go to Jiangning with that person? Jiangning has all sorts of good food, did you come back hungry?"
"I...I'm not full. What's wrong with eating some of Auntie's cooking? Is it because Auntie is too stingy and doesn't want me to have a bite?"
“You child, how could I be so stingy? I just heard from your third uncle that he saw you enter this room and saw that Qin Niangzi did not leave, so I thought that you two were having a private conversation, so I did not ask anyone to disturb you. But now the food is getting cold, and it will not taste good if you do not eat it soon.”
“Eat? Who said you weren’t going to eat? My mother just said she was very hungry and wanted to eat more later!”
After saying that, Song He'er turned around and pulled Qin Xiaoniang.
After a while, Qin Xiaoniang's eyes weren't so red anymore, but her complexion was still a little unnatural.
Zhang Xiue was not good at reading people's expressions, so she didn't look closely or ask too many questions. She simply invited the two of them to eat in the main room outside.
“Mother, let’s go. Huan’er might be hungry too. This morning I heard Fourth Aunt say that Huan’er can already walk. When the weather gets warmer, we can take him to the market. It’s not good to keep a boy cooped up in the house all the time.”
Everyone smiled and went to the main room to eat.
Tian Niangzi is an excellent cook. We hadn't noticed her talent before because we didn't have better ingredients and seasonings. Now that they've earned their own money, they can buy fresh vegetables and seasonings, so the food they make is naturally much tastier than when they were on the run.
"By the way, He'er, have you considered that thing I told you about opening a herbal medicine shop?"
Song He'er picked up a slice of lotus root and put it in her mouth. "Hmm, I've thought about it. In Jiangning City, most of the shops are restaurants, teahouses, and entertainment venues. I haven't seen many decent pharmacies. Even if there are doctors there, they are mediocre. I think those with good medical skills are all around the capital. There aren't any in Jiangning."
Song Xiaoyu nodded in agreement. “That’s true. Although I’ve never been to Jiangning, I’ve heard from the merchants who come and go that you have to go to a place called Chenghu to see a doctor. It’s not far from the capital and is heavily guarded. Many people can’t even get a chance to see a doctor!”
While eating, Zhang Xiue asked with some doubt, "Really? The local people have to spend a lot of money to rent a car to go to the foot of the capital for medical treatment?"
Song Xiaoyu was speechless. "Whose family is about to die, and they're still dragging their feet on treatment?"
“There are doctors around here, is it really necessary to make such a fuss? Besides, even if a doctor’s skills are not very good, they can still treat minor ailments like headaches and fevers. There’s no need to travel that far.”
"So you mean you don't approve of us opening a herbal medicine shop?"
"I didn't mean that. It's just that we're all stuck here now, unable to even get out of Xiaoyangzhuang, let alone Jiangning. Besides, we've only paid back half of the money we owe others. We still need to eat and build houses. We really can't open a pharmacy so soon!"
Zhang Xiu'e's words were not entirely unreasonable. The investment cost of opening a raw medicine shop is the largest. In addition to rent, there are also expensive medicinal materials. Without several hundred taels, it is impossible to open a raw medicine shop.
Song Xiaoyu was a man, so he naturally thought of taking a gamble. If he could go to Jiangning, he would rather give up the two small shops here.
"Third Uncle, Third Aunt, you two shouldn't argue anymore. Let's save up some money first, and then discuss the herbal medicine shop when things have calmed down."
"Okay, sure." Song Xiaoyu nodded and continued eating.
......
Life in Xiaoyangzhuang was really boring; having nothing to do made it feel strange.
So during this time, Zhang Xiu'e and Qin Xiaoniang planted all kinds of vegetables around the house and also built a fence to raise chickens, ducks and geese.
Song He'er hadn't received any news from Jiang Huaifu for a long time, and she was very worried. If no one sent a message back soon, she would have to spend a lot of money to send someone to Xizhou to find out the news.
"He'er! A'lu, who's with Young Master Jiang, has arrived!"
Zhang Xiue called out in this direction while holding a hoe.
Song He'er followed her gaze and saw that the person not far away looked a little unwell and stood listlessly in the sun.
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