But Zhao'er was worried that if she ate too much, Yan Xia would dislike her.
So she lied and said that she only needed to eat a little.
She was trying to let Yan Xia know that she was easy to take care of.
"Grandma has already eaten. This bowl of porridge isn't much, Zhao'er can definitely finish it. Grandma isn't poor, Zhao'er doesn't need to worry about eating me out of house and home. Alright, it'll get cold if you don't eat now, so hurry up and eat." Yan Xia smiled gently, urging Zhao'er to eat quickly. She didn't feed Zhao'er, nor did she let Xiao Ji feed her.
Zhao'er is five years old this year. She has been begging for a long time, so she must have the ability to take care of herself.
From then on, whether she went to school or worked as a maid, she had to rely on her own strength to move forward.
Excessive support could actually harm her.
Yan Xia stood beside Zhao'er and, seeing that her eyes were red, gently stroked her head to comfort her.
The feel isn't actually very good; it's like withered weeds in winter.
"Thank you, Great-Aunt." Yan Xia's words reassured Zhao'er, and she thanked her again before picking up her spoon and slowly starting to eat.
The thick, simmered lean meat porridge, brought here from the kitchen, had gone from scalding hot to lukewarm. No need to blow on it; when you put it in your mouth, it wasn't hot at all, just the right temperature, similar to body temperature.
Zhao'er chewed it with gusto.
During her time as a beggar, she was forced to learn to snatch food, so she ate very quickly.
Like a tornado sweeping over a plate.
Before I could even swallow one spoonful, I was already putting the second spoonful into my mouth.
"Cough cough cough—" As expected, Zhao'er choked.
She was coughing violently.
Yan Xia quickly patted her back.
It took her a while to calm down.
"You don't need to eat so fast. No one will take your food from you here." Even while coughing, Zhao'er held onto her bowl, looking as if she was afraid someone would snatch it away.
This made Yan Xia feel even more sorry for her.
"Yes, I'm sorry, Auntie." Chen Zhao'er lowered her head, like a child who had done something wrong.
"You don't need to apologize to me. You didn't do anything wrong. Eat slowly, all of this is yours." Yan Xia sighed.
He took a handkerchief and wiped away the porridge that she had coughed up.
There wasn't a trace of disdain in his eyes.
It is said that children have the most delicate minds.
Chen Zhao'er looked at Yan Xia, who treated her so gently.
The tears that had been welling up in her eyes finally flowed down her cheeks. She picked up her spoon again and ate while crying. Fortunately, the lean meat porridge was salty, so the tears that flowed into the porridge didn't make it taste bad.
[Target person detected]
Name: Chen Zhao'er
Age: 5 years old
[Favorability: 100]
[Congratulations, host, you have earned 100 points]
Points have been credited to your account; you currently have 100 points.
A system voice sounded in my mind.
Yan Xia's hand, which was wiping away the rice grains, suddenly stopped.
It returned to normal in the next second.
A 100% favorability rating means that the child in front of her will never betray her.
Indeed, children's emotions are the purest.
Yan Xia decided not to test Chen Zhao'er anymore. She handed the handkerchief to Xiao Ji and told her to wash it later. Then she spoke to Zhao'er.
“From today onwards, this will be your room. You will stay with your great-aunt for now. When your great-aunt’s school is completed next year, you will be sent there to study. There will be dormitories in the school, and you will live there when you are in school. The school will have two long holidays every year. During the holidays, you can come to your great-aunt’s to stay and play with your little sister Tuanzi.”
Zhao'er heard this.
Stunned, she put down her spoon, raised her head, and looked at Yan Xia.
"Grandmother, can Zhao'er also study?" Zhao'er thought she had misheard.
In her mind, only boys deserve to study, like her cousin Chen Tiangui.
"Why not?" Yan Xia retorted.
"Last year, Grandma said she wanted to send my cousin to school for his early education. Zhao'er wanted to go too, but Grandma beat her, saying that Zhao'er was a good-for-nothing and didn't deserve to study." Chen Zhao'er lowered her head, somewhat disappointed.
The grandmother she was referring to was Zhu Xiaohua.
Yan Xia sneered. Zhu Xiaohua was still in jail.
She remembered that she was sentenced to five years in prison.
They won't be able to get out in a short time, and ancient prisons are different from modern ones.
Prisoners have no human rights whatsoever; they die inside and no one even knows.
This can be considered retribution.
What kind of good person would beat and scold a four-year-old child so easily?
No wonder they bullied the original owner so much back then; their hearts were rotten.
"Why does Zhao'er want to study?" Judging from Zhao'er's words, she was only four years old last year and already wanted to study, while Yan Xia was four years old and was still drooling and lying on the muddy ground at the entrance of the village, watching the older brother next door play marbles.
Could it be that children in ancient times were precocious?
Yan Xia asked her curiously.
“Last year when I went to town with my mother, I saw big signs hanging in front of all the houses, but I couldn’t read the words on them, and neither could my mother. She said that literate people are capable, and I wanted to be a capable person too, and teach my mother to read so that she could also be a capable person. But… but my mother doesn’t want me anymore. It’s all my fault. I must have done something wrong that my mother doesn’t want me.”
Zhao'er recalled the day Wang Lihua sold her.
She sniffed.
Her voice was choked with sobs.
The little one was curled up together, and Yan Xia felt a little sad looking at him.
“Zhao’er is not wrong. The one who is wrong is your mother. She gave birth to you but did not raise you. So, from now on, you owe each other nothing. Zhao’er just needs to live her own life. Okay, don’t think about her anymore. Hurry up and eat your food. The porridge is getting cold.”
Yan Xia changed the subject, urging Zhao'er to eat quickly and putting the spoon in her hand.
"Mmm!" Zhao'er nodded emphatically. She wiped away her tears with her sleeve, gripped the spoon tightly, and ate the porridge in big mouthfuls.
Although she intentionally slowed down her eating pace, she still finished a full bowl of porridge in fifteen minutes, leaving not a drop of the side dishes, and licking the porridge grains clean.
Zhao'er was so full that he kept burping.
"Are you full? You should stay in bed for now. The doctor said not to get out of bed. I will have the maid bring you three meals a day. If you are bored, sleep more and take good care of yourself. When you can get out of bed, you can go play with your little dumpling sister."
After all, the child is too young and cannot read.
All I can do is stare blankly and sleep.
"Yes, I know, Great-Aunt, Zhao'er will definitely lie there obediently."
Chen Zhao'er's disappointment vanished after she finished eating.
She smiled at Yan Xia with her big, round eyes.
There wasn't a trace of impurity in her eyes; she was incredibly well-behaved.
Yan Xia patted her head again and then left.
Ten days later, in the morning, in Shuxian County.
Two strings of firecrackers were set off outside He's incense and candle shop.
The crackling sound of firecrackers attracted passersby.
Two waiters stood outside the shop, each holding a candle lamp with two dark yellow candles stuck in it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
