"Girl, this is your first year here, and you're not very familiar with things here, but you have to listen to me. I've been here before, and I know a lot about these things."
She came from her own home, and as soon as she took Xia Anyan's hand, she started talking non-stop.
Xia Anyan's lips twitched; she really didn't want to hear her say these things.
If Xia Anyan hadn't felt it wasn't a good idea to just dump him now, she would have just quit and left.
What she wants to do is her own business and has nothing to do with others. She was just making a kind invitation. If she doesn't want to do it, she doesn't have to. Why drag others into growing vegetables together?
In the end, Xia Anyan couldn't help but pull her hand away from Sun Xiuzhi's: "Sister-in-law, I also think it's not good to go to the toilet so far away in the middle of winter when it's so cold."
"Moreover, I'm only making a simple plan now. Whether or not we should do it will depend on what Gu Shen says after we come back."
Sun Xiuzhi knew that Xia Anyan was really unhappy, so she shut her mouth in a huff.
However, seeing that the area Zhang Junan had drawn was indeed quite large, her heart ached.
Who would have thought that she came from a poor rural area where people starved to death a few years ago? She witnessed it with her own eyes.
The famine of those years was too severe, and she really didn't want to go through that experience again. That's why she wanted to make full use of every available resource and, ideally, have those around her join her.
But Xia Anyan came from a big city and didn't understand these things, so she couldn't say much. In the end, she could only keep quiet and hope that Gu Shen could explain things to Xia Anyan when he came back, and that he would not let her do anything reckless.
Both of them had their own thoughts on their minds, so they kept quiet.
The old man came out of the inner room and saw that the atmosphere between the two of them was a bit awkward. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Xia Anyan, then turned to look at Sun Xiuzhi.
“Comrade Xiao Sun, I heard what you said just now. My daughter has never done any work since she was little, but my son and I both came from the brigade, and we have suffered before.”
“But things are different now than a few years ago. There’s no need to push ourselves so hard. As long as we can grow enough to eat, that’s fine. I see you have quite a few vegetables in your yard. Can you finish them all?”
Upon hearing what Grandpa Xia said, Sun Xiuzhi felt as if she had finally found someone who understood her, and she ran to the old man and began to complain to him.
Xia Anyan then learned that Sun Xiuzhi and her husband had already had two children, but both were girls, so her mother-in-law had taken them to the countryside.
She worried that her two daughters would suffer in the countryside, so every year she would send some of the vegetables and other produce she grew back to her hometown.
In this way, even if the grandmother doesn't like her granddaughter, the child won't go hungry.
After hearing what she said, Xia Anyan frowned deeply.
She couldn't really understand these things. If she was so worried that her daughter would suffer in the countryside, why send her back? Why couldn't she force her to stay?
Xia Anyan wanted to say something, but considering that her relationship with Sun Xiuzhi wasn't that good, she thought that saying too much might upset Sun Xiuzhi, so she kept quiet.
Just because Xia Anyan doesn't say anything doesn't mean Sun Xiuzhi won't say anything.
She tearfully recounted her ordeal, saying, "My two daughters were taken away by my mother-in-law shortly after they were born. She said that if I couldn't give birth to a son, I couldn't bring my daughters back. Now my two daughters are 5 and 3 years old, and I haven't seen them for a long time."
“If it weren’t for the fact that my husband has a vacation every year to take me back to see those two children, I wouldn’t even know if they were still alive.”
When the old man heard Sun Xiuzhi say that, his lips pursed tightly.
He has a granddaughter, and he knows what kind of life his granddaughter has lived since she was a child.
Hearing Sun Xiuzhi say this now, he felt a little uncomfortable.
"Comrade Sun, if you're worried about your child, then talk to your husband and bring the child over."
"You know what kind of personality your mother-in-law has, and you know what kind of person she is. You still feel comfortable leaving your child there. Should I say you're carefree, or should I say you're too weak?"
"If you can't stand up and protect your own daughter, who do you expect to protect them? Do you expect them to protect themselves when they grow up?"
“I come from the countryside. In places like that, not to mention anything else, the education is terrible.”
"Moreover, most girls are betrothed around the age of fourteen or fifteen. Your two children are still young, but your husband is a soldier after all. What if someone takes a liking to them because of their father's status and they're betrothed too early... By then, it will be too late for you to regret it."
The old man knew he shouldn't have said these things, but he did anyway.
He wanted to speak up because he knew what kind of life his daughter would lead in the countryside, and he hoped that what he was saying would help Sun Xiuzhi understand and see things clearly.
Even if she can't resist her in-laws, she still has to find a way to take better care of her two children.
At this moment, Sun Xiuzhi was terrified.
She suddenly thought of something that happened a few years ago.
When she was thirteen or fourteen, Erlaizi from the next village came to her house.
He wouldn't let go of her and insisted on marrying her.
If she hadn't been so young at the time, and if her mother hadn't felt she should be raised for a few more years and made to work for a few more years, and if she hadn't wanted to marry a capable man and get a higher dowry, she probably would have been taken away by that scoundrel.
Her two daughters took after her and grew up to be exceptionally beautiful. While they might not be as delicate as Xia Anyan, they were still considered outstanding in a rural area.
The old lady had been nagging her about how beautiful the two girls were, saying they would definitely marry good men and earn back all the money they had spent on food over the years.
Thinking of this, Sun Xiuzhi could no longer control herself and suddenly stood up from her seat.
Xia Anyan and the old man were both startled by her actions.
But Sun Xiuzhi seemed oblivious to everything.
She ran out without even saying goodbye.
Watching her run away, Xia Anyan was also a little puzzled.
"Grandpa, she..."
Grandpa Xia shook his head: "Although what I said just now was a bit harsh, she definitely took it to heart, so just leave it alone."
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