Zhuangzhuang nodded seriously this time, "Mom, I understand."

The heavy rain lasted for three days. Fortunately, we cut more grass at that time, otherwise the calf would have no grass to eat.

At dawn, after three days of heavy rain outside, the air was filled with the smell of wet soil. The air was also very clear. Breathing it into the lungs felt like a spa. The fresh air made people feel comfortable both physically and mentally. Sure enough, after the storm, there was a clear sky.

The people in the village who had been staying together for several days now gathered at the entrance of the village to chat. The children could also go out for a good run. Xiaoguo took Zhuangzhuang out after breakfast. They both led a small cow in their hands. Zhuangzhuang was free yesterday and even gave them names. The male cow led by Zhuangzhuang was called Dahei and the female cow led by Xiaoguo was called Xiaobai. In fact, Zhuangzhuang named Xiaohu and Xiaohua at first, but it would be bad if Mrs. Yang next door knew about it, so he quickly changed them to Dahei and Xiaobai, which were very appropriate. Dahei had more black spots on his body, and Xiaobai had more white spots on his body.

The two did not go up the mountain, but went to the river on the other side. When they passed the village entrance, someone in the village saw Xiaoguo and called Xiaoguo, "Jiang's family, Jiang's family."

Xiaoguo heard someone calling him to stop and looked towards the source of the voice. There was a woman in a patched long gown with two highland red spots on her face. She had a pointed face and monkey-like features. There was not much flesh on her face, but her body was bulging.

Xiaoguo recalled her name. The woman who married to Taohua Village in the same year as herself was called Li Zhaodi. When the women at the entrance of the village heard Li Zhaodi's shouting, they looked up and pointed at Xiaoguo, muttering something.

Xiaoguo did not go there. She stopped, said hello and left. She didn't want to go because a group of women were surrounding there. If she went, she didn't know what they would say. Besides, Li Zhaodi was against the original owner because she wanted to marry Jiang Shanhe at first, but he fell in love with Qin Xiaoguo, so she had no choice but to accept the proposal of another family because they were both going to marry into Taohua Village. After Li Zhaodi knew that Jiang Shanhe died in the battle, she often came to ridicule Xiaoguo.

Here, Li Zhaodi saw Xiaoguo turned around, her face changed and she said "Pooh", "Shame on you, you have lost your man, but you still wear such fancy clothes." Li Zhaodi looked at the small waist in the distance. As they both had given birth to children, Qin Xiaoguo was getting more and more beautiful. Her face was still so white and tender, and her hair was black and shiny. She looked so beautiful even when it was casually tied up. Unlike her, her hair was all stuck together like dead grass. She was wearing the same patched clothes, but she was dressed like the people in the town, while she was like someone in the pit.

The woman next to her tried to curry favor with Li Zhaodi, "Don't bother with her. What's the point of being fancy? Her husband is dead, and she's a widow and orphan. I heard that she makes a living by picking tree bark. You're not as lucky as you. Your husband has made achievements and got promoted. He also gets five taels of silver every month. When you return home after the war, you'll be the wife of an official. Why bother with a widow like her?"

Li Zhaodi was originally indignant, but then she thought of her man and her face became proud again. Yes, why was she so proud of herself? She was a widow and her husband had been promoted. He would take her to live in the county in the future. So what if she, Qin Xiaoguo, was pretty? No matter how handsome the man she married was, he would die young and she would become a widow at a young age. Fortunately, she did not marry Jiang Shanhe, otherwise she would be the widow.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help showing a smug look on her face. Listening to the flattery from the people around her, Li Zhaodi hummed and talked about Qin Xiaoguo with others, calling her a widow and a flirt. The men at the houses nearby were so angry that they wanted to slap her. The people around her held her down and advised, "Who made her husband do the meritorious service? He saved the general's life and blocked the sword for him. Even when the village distributed seeds, her family got twice as much. You better bear with it."

The woman snorted and stood up and left. Gradually, many people left, leaving only a group of people around Li Zhaodi who were still there to flatter her.

When Xiaoguo came to the river, she loosened the rope around the cow's neck and let Zhuangzhuang watch the calves graze. She sat on a rock by the river to rest. Zhuangzhuang laughed while playing with the cow. Zhuangzhuang made wreaths for the cow and himself, then came to Xiaoguo with another wreath and put it on her head. "Mom, it's so beautiful."