The cloth shoes they wore were passed down from one person to another.
Gu Lili wore it too small, so Gu Erniu wore it; Gu Erniu wore it too small, so Gu Huanhuan wore it, and then it was Gu Sigou's turn.
If it gets damaged, just patch it up with fabric and keep wearing it.
"Sister, are you making new shoes? Or maybe we should just mend them and keep wearing them." Gu Huanhuan had originally planned to use the remaining fabric to mend the uppers of the four people's shoes.
Gu Lili looked at Gu Huanhuan's shoes, then at her own; they were both tattered beyond recognition.
Most importantly, if the soles of their own shoes are worn through, the soles of the three siblings' shoes are probably in no better condition.
"Let's just get a new pair; these are all tattered," Gu Lili said with a smile.
Huanhuan nodded, then took out the fabric and prepared to cut it.
Gu Lili taught her a bit first, then helped her draw the design, and then let her do it herself.
For this first pair, Gu Huanhuan made her own.
It wasn't that she was selfish; she was thinking that since she didn't know how to make it herself, and it might not look good if her older sister, older brother, or younger brother wore it, it would be better to experiment with it on her own first.
Gu Lili uncovered the straw and saw that many wheat sprouts had already emerged. They should be able to make maltose tomorrow.
After covering the wheat, Gu Lili continued to help Gu Huanhuan cut the soles of her shoes.
The soles of these shoes are made of fabric, which needs to be cut layer by layer, then glued together with rice paste, and finally fixed with needle and thread. That's how a shoe sole is made.
The two sisters worked together, one drawing with charcoal and the other cutting, and soon they had cut out many pieces.
As dusk approached, Gu Lili told Gu Huanhuan to pack her things, boil water, wash up, and go to bed.
Looking at the small basin in front of her, Gu Lili added another item to her shopping list: a bathtub.
How wonderful it would be to take a relaxing hot bath after a long day!
After washing up, the siblings lay in bed and followed Gu Lili to learn multiplication tables. After a while, they all slowly drifted off to sleep.
While Gu Jingsheng's family was still on their way home, the villagers who had come to the market that day had spread the word throughout Gu Village about the family's shameful deeds.
The residents of Gu Village, who usually go to bed early, are still chatting in bed while listening to the sounds outside.
In the quiet of the night, footsteps seem especially loud.
The more triumphant the Gu family was when they rode to Donghai Town in their carriage, the more disheveled they became on their way back.
As soon as Aunt Zhang heard footsteps outside, she immediately nudged Uncle Zhang.
Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang jumped up and ran to their own courtyard gate.
"Oh, Uncle Gu, Gu Chuan, you're back!" Aunt Zhang said sarcastically.
Along the way, Gu Jingsheng and the other three were exhausted and had no energy left to argue with anyone.
Niu Cuihua was beaten the most severely. She was also fat, and the others, who had already been beaten, had to help her up.
At that moment, all they wanted was to go back quickly, lie in bed, apply some medicine, and get a good night's sleep.
Aunt Zhang has a loud voice, and the neighbors around heard the noise and came out to greet the family of three.
Gu Jingsheng felt that this was the longest road he had ever walked in his life.
The short distance of a few hundred meters felt longer than my life.
Gu Chuan was furious at the villagers' sarcastic remarks and shoved Niu Cuihua aside.
He limped home quickly.
Niu Cuihua suddenly lost her balance and fell to the ground.
My already burning buttocks were now being fueled even more.
In an instant, screams of agony filled the still relatively quiet Gu Village, sounding like a pig being slaughtered.
"Ouch! Gu Chuan, you heartless bastard, how could you let go without saying a word!" Niu Cuihua wailed.
The neighbors who were watching the commotion couldn't help but burst into laughter when they saw Niu Cuihua's comical appearance in the moonlight.
Gu Jingsheng and his wife also felt they couldn't bear the shame, so they quickened their pace and headed home.
Seeing that no one cared about her anymore, Niu Cuihua endured the pain and limped home.
Unexpectedly, before he even had a chance to drink some water after returning home, Gu Chuan slapped him to the ground again.
"It's all because of you, you damned woman! You're always causing trouble, making our whole family suffer and lose face because of you. Tomorrow you pack your things and get out of here. I'm divorcing you!" Gu Chuan cursed hysterically.
Before Niu Cuihua could even scream, she heard Gu Chuan say he was going to divorce her, and she immediately jumped up.
"Why do you want to divorce me! I gave birth to a son who will become a high-ranking official for you, why do you want to divorce me!" Niu Cuihua cried and made a scene as she rammed into Gu Chuan.
Gu Chuan was knocked off balance and became even angrier, and the two of them started fighting.
Gu Jingsheng's house instantly descended into chaos. The house was completely dark, as there were no lights to begin with.
Gu Jingsheng and his mother were so anxious that they were jumping up and down, fearing that the two would fight and cause serious injury.
But if you want to break up a fight, you can't see who's who, so you can only stand by and worry.
The two fought for an unknown amount of time, and probably stopped when they got tired.
Only then did Gu Jingsheng remember to light a torch to take a look.
The moment the torch was lit, the elderly couple were startled. Gu Chuan's face was covered in blood from Niu Cuihua's scratches, a horrifying sight.
Actually, Niu Cuihua wasn't much better off; she got kicked in the stomach by Gu Chuan several times.
When Grandma Gu saw her son being beaten like this by her daughter-in-law, she instantly went berserk.
Ignoring the pain in her buttocks, he grabbed Niu Cuihua and gave her another beating.
Niu Cuihua was not about to let herself be taken advantage of, so she immediately grabbed Old Madam Gu's hair and started fighting with her.
With the torches providing illumination, Gu Chuan and Gu Jingsheng could see the two fighting clearly.
Seeing their wife and mother being beaten, the two could not bear it.
They all joined the battle, and in an instant, only Niu Cuihua's screams remained in the room.
The neighbors around were getting goosebumps from hearing it, but no one was willing to intervene and break up the fight.
After a while, Niu Cuihua's screams gradually subsided, and Gu Jingsheng regained some of his composure.
"Old woman, Gu Chuan, stop hitting him! If you kill him, who will do the housework?" Gu Jingsheng said in a deep voice.
Gu Chuan and his wife finally stopped.
At this moment, Niu Cuihua stared blankly at the roof, completely motionless, as if she had lost all her breath.
Gu Chuan was startled, thinking someone had died, and quickly reached out to check Niu Cuihua's breathing.
Who knew that when Niu Cuihua saw Gu Chuan's hand reach out, she suddenly bit Gu Chuan's index finger hard.
Gu Chuan cried out in pain instantly, but Niu Cuihua's mouth only tightened its grip.
Niu Cuihua never expected that her in-laws, whom she considered family, would beat her so viciously.
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