When my grandmother and father met, they had nothing to talk about. She just kept stuffing fruits and snacks into my father's hands: "...I bought these from Li Ji Fried Food Store in the city...These are grown at home. I fertilized them specially in the spring, and the fruits are fragrant and sweet. Even if you buy them in the city, they are not as fresh as this..."

My father smiled awkwardly.

He doesn't like to eat these things.

He was raised by his stepmother. Apart from the natural blood relationship, his living habits and eating habits were nothing like his biological mother's. However, he still took the melon seeds in his hand and cracked them slowly.

Grandmother also sensed my father's discomfort. She smiled with a hint of embarrassment and asked, "When are you coming to pick up Shougu?" After asking, she felt that this question was inappropriate and added, "I mean, I have never been to school and I don't understand the rules of those wealthy families. It's okay for Shougu to come to my place occasionally, but if she stays here for a long time, I'm afraid it will delay her."

My father said, "I will come to pick up Shougu after I have arranged everything." Then, thinking that they had something in common to talk about, he added, "I also think it's not a good idea for her to stay with Wang. Sixth sister-in-law over there is a very nice person and she also gets along well with Shougu. I still have to stay in Kyoto for a few more years, so I am thinking about letting her stay with Sixth sister-in-law."

Grandmother nodded, "That's good! I heard that the Sixth Madam was born in a wealthy family in Jiangnan. Sometimes even the Second Madam would ask the Sixth Madam about things she was unsure about, and everyone would praise her. This shows that the Sixth Madam is very capable. Shougu will be able to gain some experience by following her." As she spoke, she mentioned my father's stepmother, "...If you hadn't grown up with her, how could you be where you are today?"

My father lowered his head and smiled, saying, "My mother treats me very well."

"I know," said the grandmother. "One time I secretly went to see you and saw Madam hitting your palms with a bamboo stick. While hitting you, she asked, 'Do you still dare?' You said with tears in your eyes that you didn't dare. But as soon as Madam put down the bamboo stick, you made faces at her and asked her, 'Can I go out and play now?' ... From then on, I was truly relieved."

Dou Shiying and Dou Zhao didn't know about this and were stunned when they heard it.

My grandmother sighed and said, "If only Madam could live a few more years!"

My father's eyes turned red.

Grandma laughed and said, "Look at me, why are you saying all this? It's a rare visit for you, why don't you stay here for lunch? I'll have someone kill the old hen..."

"No, no." My father said hurriedly, "I have a lot of things to do at home. I have to go back early. I will come to see you in a few days."

Grandma thought about it and said, "Then I'll take you out!"

His father did not refuse again, and his grandmother took Dou Zhao's hand and sent Dou Shiying away.

Everyone in the village was curious about my father's identity. They hid behind doors or in corners to look at him. Some people, relying on their good relationship with my grandmother, picked up an empty bamboo basket and walked towards me, pretending to meet her by chance. They smiled and bowed to my grandmother, saying, "Master, are there guests?"

The whole village depends on helping the grandmother to farm for a living. In the Dou family, the grandmother is not a prominent figure, but here, her words can decide the life and death of these people.

My grandmother straightened her back and uttered “hmm” without saying anything else.

Dou Zhao had heard Cui Da's wife say that when my grandmother first arrived at the farm, people said all kinds of things. People from the Cui family complained for my grandmother, but my grandmother stopped them and said, "We have done everything, why don't we let people talk about it?" She was calm and didn't look at those who flattered her differently, nor did she deliberately make things difficult for those who said bad things about her. Good or bad all depended on who planted the best crops. Over time, sometimes when the harvest was bad, my grandmother would reduce their rent. If a child wanted to go to school, she would give money to help; if a child wanted to find a shop to be an apprentice, she would also find a way to arrange it. My grandmother gradually won the respect of these people. Later, the Cui family and some people on the farm finally decided to follow Dou Zhao, whose future was uncertain, to Kyoto, all for the sake of his grandmother. To be honest, Dou Zhao was influenced by his grandmother.

Go up the mountain to hunt birds and go down to the river to fish.

In the bright month of May, Dou Zhao relived his farm life in his memory.

But she was no longer the naive child. After just two or three days, she was so tired that her whole body ached when she moved her arms.

Tuo Niang was so anxious that she asked her grandmother, "What should we do?"

"If she moves more, she'll be fine." Grandma laughed, "She doesn't move enough." Then she pulled Dou Zhao and said, "Come on, let's go catch bugs on the melon vines."

Dou Zhao didn't want to go.

Tuoniang naturally protected her.

My grandmother laughed and said, "She is a girl. If she doesn't work hard now, how can she grow strong? How can she have children in the future? Look at the girls from rich families, so many of them die in childbirth. It's because they don't move after they get pregnant, for fear that something unexpected will happen to their offspring. The more they fear, the more it will happen. Look at us farmers, we have several girls who have difficulty in childbirth and some who can't even be raised!" When she said this, my grandmother sighed endlessly.

Dou Zhao thought about his past life...it was just like his grandmother said, although his body was injured, he did not die.

If you don't cherish your life again, the advantages of your previous life may not come to you without reason. If you misjudge yourself because of this, it will be a terrible thing.

She struggled to get up from the kang and said weakly, "I'll go with you to catch bugs."

Grandma smiled with satisfaction.

Tuoniang, Begonia, Okra, Jasmine, Daylily, and my grandmother's maid, Hong Gu, who helped my grandmother out of the carriage, followed behind them like a string of rice dumplings.

This time they went to catch the prettiest caterpillars.

Haitang and the others screamed in fright, and even Tuoniang's face turned pale.

Dou Zhao chuckled, found a pair of chopsticks, and started catching worms as he saw them. Soon he had a plate full of them.

She threatened Haitang: "Fry it in oil later!"

Haitang leaned against the wall and vomited violently.

Grandmother laughed and scolded Dou Zhao: "Don't say such things again."

Hong Gu praised: "She is indeed worthy of being the granddaughter of the boss."

Grandma's face darkened and she said, "I'll pretend I didn't hear you this time. If you hear something like this again, you can go back home!"

Hong Gu was so frightened that her face turned pale.

Grandmother said, "How can there be order without rules? The fourth young lady is still young. She will take whatever you say as the truth. When she returns to the Dou family, she will say something different. Who do you want her to listen to? It will only make the child suffer." As she spoke, her voice gradually became lower. "Besides, her grandfather has always disliked her father for his poor family background. If she makes any mistakes again, her grandfather will dislike her father even more."

"Boss, it's all my fault." Hong Gu said, bending her knees and about to kneel down to apologize.

Grandmother picked her up and said, "I am just a concubine of the Dou family. I am only equal to you. You don't have to be like this. Just be careful with what you say next time."

Hong Gu nodded repeatedly: "I understand."

Dou Zhao looked at it and thought of Dou Ming.

My grandmother and Wang Yingxue had completely different reactions to the same thing.

In her previous life, she always felt that Dou Ming was happier than her.

In this life, she re-examined herself and for the first time felt that she was happier than Dou Ming.

In her previous life, Dou Ming had a mother who always protected her. As long as she wanted, Wang Yingxue would fight for her, no matter what the cost or sacrifice. However, this made Dou Ming develop a domineering personality. But once she lost Wang Yingxue's protection, she could do nothing but yell and lose her temper. She messed up a good marriage and made it miserable. She didn't know where the problem was and only knew how to blame others.

Although she lost her mother, she still had a grandmother who loved her. She used the simplest methods to influence her life through words and deeds, so that she would not despair in adversity and not be proud in prosperity. She learned how to protect herself and how to strive for happiness.

She couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Suddenly, I no longer felt any resentment.

She even felt grateful to her father for sending her to the farm.

No matter what his purpose was in his previous life, she benefited from it.

Suddenly, Dou Zhao's heart was filled with clouds as vast as the sea and sky.

She knelt sincerely in front of the small shrine of Guanyin, and thanked her wholeheartedly for her care.

Haitang, who was standing by, asked Tuoniang in a low voice, "When are we going back?" Her voice was filled with tears.

Tuoniang glared at her fiercely and said, "If you want to go back, I will tell Aunt Cui tomorrow to send you back alone."

Haitang shrank aside and dared not say a word.

Dou Zhao couldn't help laughing.

She had already met Cui Da, who helped her manage the farm in her previous life. She had not yet met Cui Shisan, who later became the famous manager of the Jining Marquis's Mansion and was known as the "know-it-all", as well as the manager who helped her manage the shop, whose original name was Zhao Gousheng and later changed his name to Zhao Liangbi, and her personal maids Ganlu and Susi...

But there is no rush for these.

Dou Zhao is thinking about Tu Niang's marriage.

In her previous life, Tuoniang was sold to a family surnamed Li as a daughter-in-law. The man was more than ten years older than her and was disabled. Tuoniang gave birth to a son the second year after she got married. Three years later, a plague broke out in the village, and her husband and child died. Her mother-in-law said that she was unlucky and wanted to sell her.

She escaped overnight and wanted to beg for food from the Dou family.

It took her a year to reach Zhending, and all she heard were bad rumors about her mother.

Only then did she angrily find herself.

Because of this, her health deteriorated so badly that she died of illness at the age of 37.

In this life, Tuoniang stayed in the Dou family and changed her name to a more elegant one, "Suxin".

But after the new year, she was already twenty years old.

In the Dou family, she should have been married long ago at this age, but because she was the eldest maid that the elders in the family liked the most, they pretended not to know and let her serve them silently.

Dou Zhao asked his grandmother: "Can you help my mother find a husband? Yuxin is already married."

Grandma laughed and said she was "a little devil".

This is the difference between my grandmother and those people in the Dou family.

If it was someone from the Dou family, the first thing they would probably ask her is "Who told you to say that?"

My grandmother never maliciously guessed what others were thinking. She felt that even if it was Tuoniang's intention, her request was reasonable and should be taken seriously.