I got home at just past 4 p.m.
It was still early, so she and her children continued making bamboo tubes, digging wooden spoons, and carving characters.
However, a casual glance revealed that his younger daughter-in-law, Jing Shui, seemed somewhat distracted.
"Jingshui, what's wrong? Are you tired? Why don't you go back to your room and rest?"
Yan Xia's sudden voice startled Jing Shui, causing her to cut her thumb with the knife in her hand.
"hiss--"
Drops of blood oozed out, and Jing Shui couldn't help but cry out in pain.
However, the next second, Jin Lu wrapped her thumb with a handkerchief.
"Are you out of your mind or stupid? I noticed something was wrong with you last night. You've been acting strangely every day. How could someone your age get cut by a knife? You're so clumsy. Does it hurt? Go sit over there and stop working."
Jinlu's face was full of worry.
But the tone of his voice carried a sense of reproach.
Yan Xia felt ashamed.
What a dead straight man.
If this happened in modern times, he probably wouldn't be able to find a wife.
“Jingshui, go and rest. Your hand is injured. Don’t blame Jinlu for being angry with you. He’s just worried. He’s just not good with words. Look how anxious he is.”
Sigh, I have to help my own son.
Yan Xia spoke up for Jin Lu.
Jing Shui looked at Jin Lu.
Just as Mother said.
Her husband looked anxious; it turned out he was worried about her...
In the end, I only got involved myself, so be it.
Let's just pretend we didn't see anything yesterday.
Treat your husband well in the future, and you will eventually warm his heart.
Wang Jingshui recovered on her own.
She smiled again.
"I'm fine. I just had a bit of an upset stomach last night, so I didn't sleep well. I was a little distracted just now. Mom, I'll make dinner. You guys go ahead with your work. My finger is fine, it doesn't hurt."
I couldn't go against her.
I had no choice but to let her go.
Jing Shui is a lively, hardworking, and simple-minded girl.
Yan Xia was very pleased; she had excellent judgment in choosing people, and she had married the right people for both of her daughters-in-law.
Soon, smoke began to slowly drift out of the kitchen chimney.
The aroma of meat wafted on the wind from the foot of the mountain to the village.
"Oh, which family is eating meat again? Are they trying to make a living? They eat meat every day, and all their money is gone. If this were my daughter-in-law, I would sew her mouth shut with a needle."
"Mom, it smells so good! It smells like meat. I want to eat meat. Mom, can you cook some meat for me? I don't want to eat wild vegetable porridge anymore."
"How can anyone eat this? The smell is so strong, I can't even swallow it."
"Honey, go close the door, the kids are drooling all over the place."
"....."
Every household could smell this overpowering fragrance.
The children clamored for meat, the old people cursed the family that cooked the meat, and the men and women holding their rice bowls couldn't eat a thing.
That really stirred up a lot of hatred.
Baihua Village is located in the inner circle of Shuangqiao Town. If the oxcart is fast, it will take an hour to reach the town, while walking will take an hour and a half to two hours.
On the outskirts of Shuangqiao Town, there is a row of towering mountains, and a village can be vaguely seen on the top of a slightly shorter mountain.
The village is surrounded by cliffs.
The village entrance faces the road down the mountain.
This is the only road that leads down the mountain.
This village is called Yaikou Village, and at the end of the village there is a family that is the poorest in the village.
They were talking about Aunt Tao's house.
Her family had no farmland and could only rely on cultivating crops at the foot of the mountain.
The blue bricks on the house were all stripped off and sold, and mud and wood were used to build an earthen house.
To be fair, Aunt Tao's family was originally considered one of the wealthier families in Yaikou Village.
But before her husband died, all the money was spent on medical treatment. To make matters worse, Aunt Tao's great-granddaughter was born with congenital deficiencies and had to take life-sustaining medicine for six months to grow up safely.
Aunt Tao sold five acres of land, the blue bricks from the house, and her dowry to save her great-granddaughter's life.
Fortunately, Aunt Tao's family is very harmonious. They are united with others, and their sons and grandsons are filial, their daughters-in-law and granddaughters are virtuous, and their great-grandchildren are sensible and well-behaved.
When we work together, there are never any bad days.
In just a few years, they went from eating wild vegetable porridge to having brown rice porridge every day, and occasionally even having a bowl of meat soup.
"Great-Grandma, it's time for pastries!"
"Great-Grandma, I helped Grandma pick mushrooms today!"
"I helped too! I helped Mom feed the chicks!"
"Great-Grandma, I didn't help Mom or Grandma. I'm too young to do anything, but I want some pastries. Please, just a little bit!"
The four children clung to Aunt Tao's legs, acting all cute and affectionate.
The oldest looked to be only six or seven years old, and the youngest was no more than three.
Although they were all small and thin, they had a healthy complexion and did not look like poor children who were pale and thin.
"You've finished your pastries, you little gluttons, but Great-Grandma will allow each of you to have half a peach today—"
This year, Manager Yan has ordered all the peaches, so no one in the family is allowed to eat them.
In order to earn more money, the children would look at the peach tree and salivate every day.
"Yay, time to eat peaches!"
"Great-Grandma is the best at eating peaches~"
"....."
The children didn't look disappointed; they also really enjoyed eating peaches.
One by one, they ran to the kitchen to have Aunt Tao's eldest daughter-in-law cut peaches for them.
"Haha, these little gluttons are fast runners."
Aunt Tao's eyes were very kind.
Her long, silver-black hair was styled in a high bun, making her look very neat and efficient.
Beneath her loose, aged eyelids, her eyes shone brightly. Although she wore clothes covered in patches, she was very clean, with not a speck of dust even under her fingernails.
"Mom, the peaches have filled two more baskets. Let's deliver them tomorrow."
Aunt Tao's eldest son, Ma Yongxiao, carried two baskets of peaches into the woodshed.
To prevent the peaches from getting soaked in a sudden rain.
"Okay, Shunzi and I will leave at the beginning of Yin time tomorrow."
"Mom, don't go. Let Shunzi go alone."
It takes at least 7 hours to walk from the foot of the mountain to the town, and it often takes 10 hours when the roads are slippery due to rain.
My mother is so old.
He was really worried about having to run back and forth like that.
"You're such a busybody. I'm perfectly healthy. Alright, alright, go take Baoshan to chop firewood. I get annoyed just looking at you."
Aunt Tao laughed and scolded.
She was confined to the village by her eldest son every day, not even allowed to climb a tree, let alone work in the fields.
It's so boring.
Going to town was her only source of enjoyment; a round trip took just one day.
I arrived too late last time because I left too late.
This time, Aunt Tao decided to set off at dawn to make sure the peaches were delivered by morning.
The daytime was covered by a black cloth stained with stars.
Both Yaikou Village and Baihua Village fell silent.
Apart from the occasional bark of a dog, there was almost no noise.
The entire land fell into a deep sleep.
Suddenly, a black figure leaped over the low wall of the Chen family's house.
He walked straight to Zhu Wenjuan's house.
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