Chapter 16: She was stunned by the kiss.
The road from Zhao's house to the foot of the mountain is a long, steep slope. It's not very steep, but it's long and bumpy. Pushing a cart down the mountain in the morning was already difficult enough. With the current road conditions, getting an oxcart up the mountain would be a huge undertaking. First of all, the old ox isn't familiar with them. If they try to force it, the ox will probably give up halfway.
"Brother Zhao, let's use the cart to push the things upstairs, we can leave the oxcart here for now—"
Before he could finish speaking, the old ox began to huff and puff as it walked up the slope, stumbling and looking like it might fall at any moment. Each time it was about to fall, it managed to steady itself. Its back view was both stubborn and heartbreaking.
Zhou Mujiao suppressed her surprise.
Although her constitution might allow the animals to work automatically, it's fine once or twice, but if it happens too often, others will definitely notice the secret, and then it will be troublesome.
"A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime." She is currently just a pitiful little girl living in someone else's house, without any skills. If people find out that she has this secret, she will definitely be taken advantage of. In that case, she will become someone else's cash cow, while she will only be placed under house arrest.
Moreover, this road needs to be repaired for easier travel.
Before they had gone halfway, Zhou Mujiao heard Shi Ba's voice calling out, "Big brother! Sister!"
The little one swung down like a gust of wind, immediately nestling into Zhou Mujiao's arms, hugging her neck and whispering, "Sister, I'll tell you a secret."
Zhou Mujiao steadied herself and replied in a low voice, "What secret?"
"Last night, I dreamt of my older sister. She took me to the street, bought me new clothes and shoes, and gave me candy." The little girl lowered her voice even further. "And, I've grown taller, look, sister!"
Yesterday, my pants were just short enough to show my ankles, but today they've shrunk up by half an inch.
The little girl's eyes sparkled with admiration: "Sister, you're so amazing! You really do grow taller at eighteen!"
Zhou Mujiao picked her up and kissed her on the cheek, making her fair face blush: "Eat your fill every day, and you'll be as tall as me soon as you're eighteen."
Eighteen was stunned by the kiss, and she stammered, "Sister, sister, I, you, you..."
After placing the person on the oxcart, Zhou Mujiao gave her another kiss on the other cheek: "Let's go home, I have a secret to share with you!"
Soon, the oxcart arrived steadily at the Zhao family's door. The old ox mooed, attracting everyone inside to come out.
Eighteen realized that all the things in this truck belonged to their family.
Zhou Mujiao stifled her scream with a piece of candy, then picked up two small bundles, scooped her up, and rushed into the room. They met Xiao Wu at the door, and Zhou Mujiao shoved one of the bundles into his hands: "Little brother, go to Brother Zhao's room!"
Xiao Wu scratched his head, watching the door slam shut in front of him, and suddenly sensed danger.
Why does his older sister like Shiba so much? She always hugs Shiba but not him. Is it because he's too weak?
As if she could hear his thoughts, Zhou Mujiao opened the door: "Brother, come here."
Xiao Wu walked over, and then someone kissed him on the forehead. He froze: "Sister..."
"Go on, put on your new clothes, and let your older sister see how handsome our little fifth brother is!"
So these are new clothes? His older sister bought him new clothes!
Xiao Wu ran to Zhao Yun Jing's room, opened the bundle, and saw neatly folded new clothes inside. His eyes were red, and he cried as he changed his clothes. After he finished changing, his tears stopped.
His sister bought him new clothes, and in the future, he would also buy his sister many, many beautiful clothes. He would also let his sister live in a big house, be picked up and dropped off by carriage, and be served by maids and servants!
The little boy, dressed in new clothes, had a completely different demeanor, looking like a young master raised in a wealthy family.
When Xiao Wu arrived at the courtyard, he found that the people on the sixth and ninth days of the lunar new year had changed into new clothes and shoes. The two were very happy and rushed over to Xiao Wu as soon as they saw him: "Xiao Wu! Your clothes are so nice! You are so handsome!"
Xiao Wu has been sick since he was a child and rarely leaves his room more than a few times a year. Therefore, he has no companions. At first, he was very uncomfortable with so many peers around him, but after getting to know them, he felt it was not bad. He just wished that Chu Liu would not carry him on his back so often.
Xiao Wu smiled slightly: "Chu Liu and Chu Jiu are also very handsome."
On the ninth day, he clapped his hands and exclaimed, "All three of us are handsome!"
The door to the east wing opened, and Zhou Mujiao asked with a smile, "What about Eighteen? Isn't Eighteen handsome?"
Eighteen was wearing a pink dress, her hair was styled in two small buns, her face was rosy, and her eyes were bright. She walked to the middle of the courtyard, lifted her skirt, twirled around, and blinked her big eyes: "Mother, eldest brother, the sixth and ninth days of the month, and fifth brother, you still haven't answered me, isn't Eighteen pretty?"
Chu Jiu: "Handsome! Even more handsome than Chu Jiu!"
Xiao Wu: "They're just as handsome as the golden boys and jade maidens under the tutelage of Guanyin!"
On the sixth day, after thinking for a moment, he said, "Eighteen, you are very handsome, beautiful, cute, and have a great temperament. You are especially, especially good-looking!"
Aunt Zhao kept wiping away her tears; she had shed more tears in the past two days than she had in the entire previous year.
Zhou Mujiao praised Xiao Wu from head to toe until he blushed before she stopped.
She took two cloth bags from the oxcart and walked towards Aunt Zhao: "Auntie, these are your and Uncle Zhao's new clothes and shoes, hurry up and change into them."
Aunt Zhao was taken aback. She had one too?
Zhou Mujiao patted her hand: "Auntie, our family's life will get better and better in the future. You can relax, take good care of your health, and you will definitely see them make a name for themselves."
Aunt Zhao carried the two cloth bags back to her room and calmed down for a while before changing her clothes.
The blue-green cloth skirt was made of ordinary material, but it was durable, wear-resistant, and lightweight. Aunt Zhao gently stroked the new clothes, and she couldn't help but shed tears.
"It's really beautiful," Uncle Zhao suddenly said.
Aunt Zhao wiped away her tears and quickly bent down to ask, "Are you thirsty or hungry? Or do you need to relieve yourself?"
"I said, you're really beautiful." Uncle Zhao raised his hand and touched her face. "Xiuzhu, you've suffered all these years."
“Brother Zhao, Xiuzhu is not suffering. If I could choose again, I would still choose to marry you, Brother Zhao.”
The couple held hands and looked at each other, their eyes filled with tears.
Outside the courtyard, Zhao Yunjing had already unloaded all the goods and driven the old ox to the empty vegetable field to keep the wild boar company. When he returned, his gaze inadvertently glanced at the vegetable field on the left, and he froze, then quickly walked over.
He saw the seedlings, lush and green, delicate and fragile, as if they might break at any moment, but they were indeed seedlings, and this whole bunch of them were!
On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, he walked over, his little face serious but unable to hide his excitement. Pointing to the vegetables, he said, "My sister planted them yesterday, and they sprouted this morning. I forgot to mention it earlier. Big brother, our vegetable garden can grow vegetables now! We won't have to eat wild vegetables anymore!"
Chu Jiu also came over and chimed in, "Big brother, next time you go to the county, buy more vegetable seeds. My sister and I will plant all the vegetables in this garden. If we can't finish them, we can take them to the county to sell for money. With the money, we can buy grain. With grain, none of us will go hungry!"
When did the two children say such a long string of words, and speak so clearly?
Zhao Yunjing remained calm, picked up a dark object from the ground and handed it over: "Take it over there and eat it while you play. Half for each of you, no fighting over it!"
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