Chapter 4: The Scheming Old Lady

Unfortunately, there has been very little rain in the past two years.

The spring water in the bamboo pole drips like an old man who can't stop peeing.

Normally, we use jugs to collect water at home.

It takes three days to fill a small tank, which is barely enough. If you want to wash, you have to fetch water from the river.

On the right side of the front yard, there is a persimmon tree. It provides shade in the summer and you can eat sweet persimmons in the fall. It’s okay if you can’t finish them. After drying them in the sun, you can make persimmon cakes. It’s a unique flavor to eat one while warming yourself by the fire in the winter.

Persimmon trees are so common in the village that almost every household has one.

But the Jiang family was too poor. The persimmons harvested last year were transported to the town by the eldest and second uncles and sold in exchange for some brown rice, which allowed the Jiang family to barely get through the winter.

After Jiang Fubao walked around the front yard, he went to the back yard.

The backyard is quite large. On the left is a pigsty, but there are no pigs in it. On the right are two thatched houses, one is a toilet and the other is a utility room, where farm tools are kept. Vegetables are planted in the private plot in the backyard, and they are just beginning to sprout. From what I remember, they should be eggplants or something like that.

After touring the Jiang family, she returned to her room, closed her eyes, and planned for the future.

Before I knew it, I fell asleep again.

When I woke up, it was already daybreak.

She was the only one left in the room. Outside the window, she could vaguely hear the sound of someone chopping wood with an axe.

On the small wooden table beside the bed, there was a set of clean clothes, which belonged to the original owner.

The size is a bit large, and the cuffs and trouser legs are folded up twice and roughly sewn with twine.

It's enough even if you wear it until you are seven years old.

Jiang Fubao picked up the clothes and tried to put them on.

It is early spring now and we have taken off our cotton clothes.

Different from the modern emphasis on keeping warm in spring and keeping cool in autumn, here people advocate keeping cool in spring and warm in autumn, so Jiang Fubao only has this not-too-thick, narrow-sleeved outer shirt over his inner clothes.

There are four or five patches on it.

One piece in the east, another piece in the west.

Colors vary.

There are yellow, gray, and black.

There is no beauty.

After walking out of the house.

Jiang Fubao just happened to see grandma coming out of the kitchen.

"Fubao, are you awake? You've been so obedient today. You've even put on your clothes by yourself. Come here, let grandma wash your face. It's time for breakfast soon. It's really strange. The rice jar was empty last night, but how come there's more this morning? The brown rice has become smaller and yellower, and it tastes sticky and soft. Is it bad?"

After hearing what grandma said, Jiang Fubao's body became a little stiff.

But she was overthinking it.

She was just a child, so her grandmother would never question her about these things. She just said a few words out of boredom.

After his grandmother roughly washed his face with a sackcloth, Jiang Fubao refused her offer to feed him and ate a mixture of millet and brown rice with a bowl and spoon.

It's soft and hard, not very tasty, but acceptable.

After breakfast, she sat in the yard and watched her grandmother mend clothes.

Half an hour later, Zhang Jinlan put away her needle and thread.

Took Jiang Fubao to the village entrance.

There is a century-old tree at the entrance of the village, which is evergreen all year round.

No matter spring, summer, autumn or winter, the trees would be filled with women, chatting about village gossip and their laughter could be heard from all directions.

This big tree is also jokingly called the long-tongue tree by the villagers.

Because the crops have not been planted yet.

No one is busy.

When we arrived at the entrance of the village, there were a few people sitting sparsely under the trees.

Chatting.

Jiang Fubao held grandma's hand.

Follow her obediently.

"Auntie Lan, come and sit down. Is your Fubao okay? I was really scared yesterday. When I just got down the mountain, I saw your Tongjin running home with the soaking wet Fubao in his arms. Did he fall into the river?"

A young woman saw Zhang Jinlan and quickly asked her to sit over.

"Hey, I get so angry when you mention this. Last night, our whole family went to the clan leader's house and made a fuss for a long time. His third daughter secretly took my Fubao to the river and pushed her down. This little girl is really vicious. Did my Fubao provoke her? Fortunately, my Tongjin just came down the mountain after chopping firewood and saved Fubao, otherwise my granddaughter would have been killed by her."

After hearing what grandma said, Jiang Fubao suddenly understood.

She finally understood why her grandmother brought her to the village entrance so early in the morning.

It turned out that it was to publicize Jiang Sanniu's ugly deeds.

She likes this scheme!

Jiang Fubao, who grew up in an orphanage, has never been a pushover.

She also hated buns the most in her life.

He dared not fight back when being bullied.

Live a simple and simple life!

"What? Is this true? Sanniu is so vicious? Normally, she would smile and call me aunt when she saw me. How dare she kill someone behind my back? You can't judge a person by his appearance. She is only seven years old but she is so cruel. What will she be like when she grows up? I will keep my children away from her in the future!"

The woman was shocked.

Her home was far away from the clan leader's home, so she had no idea what happened last night.

"I also heard the noise last night, but I didn't dare to ask you, Jinlan, did Sanniu really do these things?"

Another old lady of the same age as Zhang Jinlan asked half-doubtfully.

"Can I still frame you? You don't know who I am? If you dare to harm my Fu Bao, she has to consider whether she can bear it! This stinky girl was scolded by me for a few times, and then she did everything.

At first, Chen Qiuju refused to admit it. I scolded her and she didn't dare to say a word! In the end, she compensated my family with thirty eggs and half an ounce of silver. Only then was the matter settled. Otherwise, I would have taken her to the government to seek justice!"

Think of eggs and silver.

Zhang Jinlan couldn't help but smile.

The family is already struggling to make ends meet.

Even when his granddaughter fell into the river, he had no money to see a doctor.

I can't even afford good food to nourish my body.

The eggs and silver came at the right time, if I hadn't been worried about being too harsh and being bullied by the clan leader.

She wanted to cheat him of at least five taels of silver before she would compromise.

The patriarch wants to save face.

When the trouble happened last night, his door was closed.

Naturally, many people in the village did not know.

That's why she came under the tree early to chat with the villagers.

Just losing the eggs and money is not enough.

She wants to make this damn girl Jiang Sanniu infamous in Jiangjia Village!

Dare to kill her granddaughter.

She let Jiang Sanniu pay it back for her entire life!

There was a hint of triumphant smile on Zhang Jinlan's lips.

She continued to loudly tell about the bad things Jiang Sanniu had done. Quarter of an hour later, the tree was full of people, including several famous gossips in the village.

After achieving her goal, Zhang Jinlan felt relieved and changed the topic.

"It only rained once last year, and the fields were very dry. If there wasn't a river in the village, I'm afraid all the crops would have dried up."

After saying this, Zhang Jinlan looked up at the sky.

It's not morning yet.

The sun is shining.

If summer comes, how will the crops survive?

"Yes, it's unusually cold this year. A few days ago, when I went to the town to buy food, I heard people on the street saying that Yingnan Prefecture had a snowstorm before the New Year, and many people died."

"Yingnan Prefecture is located in the north, so it is normal for it to snow in winter. It is also very cold in our south this year."

"I hope it rains more in the spring. The water level in the river is up to my waist. What should I do?"

"That's right, otherwise how could Fubao be pulled out if she fell in? The water level is very shallow."