She touched the water in the large vat in the yard; the temperature was perfect for a bath. She took out a large wooden basin, scooped up some water, and put her two younger brothers naked into the basin.
Then she left the two boys alone. It's fine for them to play in the water in this hot weather. She'll deal with them after she's done cleaning herself up.
Qian Xiao was washing the dirty clothes she and her brother had changed out of. In the kitchen, the old lady was cooking. Several people with rolled-up trousers and carrying farm tools came in through the gate.
She quickly greeted them, "Grandpa, Second Uncle, Third Uncle, Mom, Second Aunt, Third Aunt, you're back! Hurry up and wash up, Grandma will have dinner ready soon."
The old man walking ahead patted his granddaughter's head: "Erdan didn't go out to play today?"
Qian Xiao's face immediately turned red with anger, her cheeks puffed out: "Grandpa, can you please stop calling me by my nickname and just call me Xiaoxiao?"
The adults behind her chuckled, and Qian Xiao rolled her eyes. What are you laughing at? As if your nicknames are better than mine.
A woman with a slightly dark complexion patted Qian Xiao on the back: "What's with that face, you brat? What? Can't we call you by your nickname?"
Qian Xiao forced a smile: "Hehe, how could that be? Isn't a nickname meant to be called? But I'm an adult now, if I still use a nickname, people will laugh at me, won't they?"
"No matter how old you are, you're still my daughter. How could you possibly become my mother?"
"No, no, that's not possible."
Qian Xiao knew she couldn't reason with her mother, so she quickly hung the clothes in her hands to dry in the yard and emptied the water in the basin, replacing it with clean water.
I took the basket from my second uncle, pulled out two little babies of the same size from it, stripped them naked, and put them in a basin of water. These were my second uncle's twin brothers, three years old this year, who would play with me in the fields all day long.
My grandmother could only look after my third uncle's one-year-old twins by herself, so the two of them could only stay with the adults in the family and got tanned like charcoal.
The second uncle stretched his shoulders and smiled with a simple and honest expression. His eldest niece was really capable. Although she was small, she was as strong as a strong laborer. If they hadn't stopped her, she would have been working in the fields with them every day.
Uncle San chuckled and came over: "Erdan, what did you do today? I heard you got beaten up by that scoundrel from the Wang family?"
Qian rolled her eyes. She had already said not to use nicknames, so why did she still use them? She thought, "Who has a girl whose nickname is Erdan? I'd rather be called Daya."
Uncle San didn't get angry even when his niece glared at him. He was a lively person and could play with his seven-year-old niece.
"Tell your third uncle that if that kid bullies you, he'll go and beat him up for you."
Speaking of this, Qian Xiao was indignant: "That good-for-nothing Wang Xuewen, how could he possibly bully me? That idiot even dared to rob me. I'll show him why the flowers are so red."
Uncle San chuckled and chimed in, "That's right. You tell me, who in our village can beat my Erdan? Good job beating him! That kid deserved it. Don't worry, Uncle San is here for you. If you can't beat him, just tell Uncle San, and Uncle San will help you get revenge."
No sooner had he finished speaking than his third uncle received a slap on the back of the head: "You're still my third uncle? Can't you be a little more serious? You're always teaching your niece to fight. That's what girls should do!"
Uncle San rubbed the back of his head, turned around and saw his mother. His face immediately plastered with a fawning smile: "Oh my mother, I was just worried that my eldest niece would be bullied when she went out."
"You're showing off. I'd like to see who dares to bully my granddaughter. I'll go and chop them up. Go check on your son. Those two brats are giving me a headache every day."
Qian Xiao smiled smugly. Serves you right, calling me by my nickname all the time. Your mother must have given you a beating.
Thinking of this, and seeing the glare her mother gave her, Qian Xiao quickly lowered her head to bathe her two younger brothers. She'd better be careful; her mother didn't know about their trip up the mountain today, and she didn't want things to turn out badly.
Old Man Qian leaned against the threshold, smoking the welding fumes and watching with amusement. He never cared about how his children got along. As long as no one bullied them at home, he was a kind old man.
My aunt washed her hands and quickly came over to bathe her son; she didn't have the habit of letting a child help her with chores. But as soon as she approached, the two boys started splashing around in the water, waving their arms and legs excitedly.
"Cough cough..."
Hearing the voice, the two boys immediately became obedient, much to their aunt's amusement and exasperation. These two boys had been afraid of their eldest niece since birth. No matter how naughty they were, they would immediately become the most well-behaved children as soon as they saw their older sister.
This is what... what was it again? Right, bloodline suppression. My own niece used that term, and it's actually quite fitting.
"Second Aunt, you rest for a while, I'll take care of it, so they don't splash water all over the place."
To be honest, for some reason, even her two youngest brothers are afraid of her, and she's quite proud of that. What does that mean? It means that she firmly holds the position of the eldest daughter in her generation.
Li Guizhi arrived at the kitchen and said, "Mother, let me do it. You rest."
Li Guizhi, Qian Xiao's mother, is also the eldest daughter-in-law in this family, and she has the air of an elder sister-in-law.
The old lady smiled and said, "No need. You've all worked all day and must be tired. I'll be done soon. Are you hungry? We can eat right away."
"Not tired at all. How could such a small job be tiring? Why do I smell meat?" Could it be that I'm hallucinating because I haven't eaten meat for two months?
"This is the meat Erdan brought back from the mountain today. I thought you've worked hard, so I made some to nourish you. There's also a lot that's been marinated. We'll cook it when the autumn harvest comes, so you'll have the strength to work."
Although she's called an old lady, Grandma Qian is only in her forties. But people at this age look old, and besides, she's already seeing her grandchildren, so of course she can call her an old lady.
The old lady was a wife that the old man picked up halfway through his life. She was beautiful and hardworking when she was young, but she had bound feet and couldn't do farm work.
Hearing this, Li Guizhi turned and left the kitchen, grabbing a stick from beside the kitchen door. The old lady, seeing this, exclaimed, "Oh no! Did she blurt it out?"
She quickly called over her second daughter-in-law: "Second daughter-in-law, come and watch the pot!" She hurriedly chased after her on her bound feet.
Sure enough, as soon as she stepped out of the kitchen, she saw her eldest daughter-in-law chasing after her granddaughter with a stick. The old lady quickly pulled her granddaughter behind her.
"What are you doing? What are you doing? Just talk to me, why are you hitting me?"
Li Guizhi quickly stopped the car: "Mom, don't protect this little brat. If we don't teach her a lesson, she'll be climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles."
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