Chapter 84 Ancient World: Stepmother (1)
"Tomorrow, when the constable comes, just say you're sixteen years old, understand?"
Changqing raised his head and looked at the woman speaking opposite him. She looked to be in her thirties, with a thin figure, dark skin, and a few gray hairs mixed in with her hair. She had a submissive appearance, but at this moment her expression was somewhat impatient.
"mom."
He called out and lowered his head to eat. The bowl contained mixed grains, and judging from his clothing, he initially determined that this was an ancient place.
Beside him was a petite girl. Seeing that Changqing was slow to react, she poked him with her hand and timidly called him "brother".
The man in the main seat was in his forties, also dark-skinned and looking much older. He was frowning as he looked at him. On the other side of the table was a pretty young woman, dressed in unexpectedly bright clothes, with very fair skin, who seemed out of place in her surroundings.
Changqing quickly figured out all the relationships.
The woman speaking to him was his biological mother, Zhao Lianhua, while the man in the main seat was his stepfather, Li Fusheng. Beside him was his younger sister, Li Huanxi, and the girl on the other side was Li Xiangling, the daughter of Li Futai's ex-wife.
The original owner's deceased father was from the same clan as Li Fusheng, so although it was a blended family, the children all shared the same surname.
Seeing Changqing's dull expression, Li Xiangling scoffed.
"Your mother is talking to you."
When Zhao Lianhua married into the family, Li Xiangling was already quite old. She didn't acknowledge this mother as her, so it was reasonable for her to address her as "your mother."
"ah?"
Changqing raised his head again, looking completely bewildered.
He already knew that the original owner of this body was dull, honest, and slow-witted in this family, so he had no pressure playing the role.
Zhao Lianhua's eyelids twitched as she suppressed her anger. This son was just like his father, dull and unable to do anything right.
"If someone asks you how old you are tomorrow, just say sixteen, sixteen! Do you understand?"
She emphasized it again.
Changqing seemed to understand this time, and he nodded.
"Okay, sixteen!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Changqing noticed that his stepfather Li Fusheng's expression relaxed slightly. He sneered inwardly, thinking that this stepfather was truly kind on the outside but ruthless on the inside. He let his own mother play the villain, while he didn't say a word.
Heh, how could I let you have your way?
There were only a few dishes on the table, mostly cabbage and radishes, with little oil. An egg was fried and placed directly into Li Xiangling's bowl. The Changqing siblings were treated the same as the two adults, with mixed grain rice and vegetarian dishes without any oil. No wonder they were both pale and thin.
After dinner, Zhao Lianhua, the biological mother, started assigning tasks.
Changqing is now fourteen years old, a young boy. Today he went to the mountain to chop firewood. His younger sister, Li Huanxi, is twelve years old and also does what she can. The family only has livestock, so their regular work is cutting grass.
As for Li Xiangling, she didn't need her stepmother to arrange her work; she went to town every day to learn embroidery.
The original owner was an honest and hardworking person, and Changqing didn't say much either. After finishing his meal, he went out with his sister.
Li Huanxi was dark-skinned and thin, twelve years old, and her height was estimated to be less than 1.3 meters. With a basket on her back, her small body was almost completely covered. Changqing was not tall either, fourteen years old, and his height was estimated to be less than 1.5 meters. He was considered short in this era. He ate very little oil every day, so how could he possibly grow tall?
The brother and sister went out one after the other. Changqing noticed that his sister hesitated several times, looking very conflicted.
Changqing stopped and turned to look at his sister.
"Huanxi, is there anything you want to say?"
Li Huanxi was startled. "Brother, are you... are you not stupid?"
Changqing:...
The original owner wasn't exactly stupid; in fact, he was quite lively as a child. However, after his mother married Li Fusheng, he lacked care and suffered setbacks everywhere, gradually becoming silent. In fact, many people in the village called him "Second Fool."
"I'm not stupid."
He said seriously.
The little girl's face lit up with joy. She glanced around cautiously, and seeing that no one was around, she approached nervously.
“Brother, I overheard Mom and Dad talking last night. They told you to give them a higher age because they want you to be sent to do forced labor.”
As she spoke, the little girl's eyes reddened.
"Brother, what should we do? A few years ago, Uncle went to do forced labor and came back with a broken leg. You, you..."
She looked extremely worried, but there was nothing she could do. As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.
Changqing: ......
To be honest, he was still somewhat moved.
The younger sister is not very old, but she is quite clever, much better than the dull and submissive original protagonist. When the two of them are together, the younger sister takes care of the older brother more.
However, she was young and a girl. In ancient times, girls had a very low status and could do very little, and could not fight for many benefits. Even if she was clever, she could not escape her tragic fate.
"I won't go."
Changqing reached out his rough hand and touched the little girl's yellowish hair, his voice softening slightly.
"Really?"
Li Huanxi felt a little happy, but also a little incredulous. Her brother used to always listen to their mother and do whatever she told him to do. Now, had he changed?
Changqing nodded and said nothing more.
The original owner was a man of few words, which was in line with his personality.
However, Li Huanxi was clearly still worried. Along the way, she chattered on about many bad examples from the village of people who had gone to perform corvée labor, such as Uncle Li San breaking his leg, Uncle Zhao returning home and falling seriously ill for two months without getting out of bed, and others who went and never came back…
Finally, she summed it up in one sentence: "Brother, all you have to do tomorrow is say you're fifteen when the police come. You're still a few months shy of sixteen, so it's not like you're lying."
Sixteen years old is considered adulthood, the age at which one begins to perform corvée labor.
Changqing nodded in agreement.
In the story, the original owner didn't listen to his sister's advice and instead followed his mother's instructions. As a result, he was conscripted for corvée labor. He was young, and although he had worked year-round, what kind of labor intensity was corvée labor? Even a strong adult would be exhausted, let alone him.
Two months of forced labor nearly killed him, and upon returning home, he fell seriously ill, his health deteriorating ever since.
“Eh..…”
Changqing sighed inwardly. The experiences of the original owner and his sister made him feel a tightness in his chest.
This is a world derived from a novel called "[Stepmother is Also a Mother]", which tells the story of Zhao Lianhua's second marriage to Li Fusheng. After Li Fusheng's death, the stepmother becomes the biological mother and painstakingly raises the child.
Of course, it was Li Fusheng's two children who were being raised.
His son, Li Qingyue, was the second-highest scorer in the imperial examination, caught the eye of the royal family, and became their son-in-law.
Although his daughter, Li Xiangling, was not well-educated, she was skilled in embroidery and was quite famous in the capital. She married her brother's classmate and became the wife of an official.
The book devotes a large portion to describing Zhao Lianhua's hardships and the difficult journey she and her two children went from initial awkwardness to mutual understanding.
Classic scenes include:
After Li Fusheng's death, the two children were lost and helpless in the mourning hall. Zhao Lianhua cut off her finger and vowed to raise her husband's children to adulthood, which moved Li's relatives and friends and shocked the villagers.
While her children were studying and learning embroidery, she worked hard, not only farming but also staying up late to do laundry for others, earning meager commissions. She lived frugally, and fainted from hunger several times while working, but she never lacked money for her children's education.
When Li Qingyue got into trouble, she personally went to apologize. Since Li Qingyue didn't have enough money for his exams, she disregarded her pride and knelt outside the Li clan head's door all night, borrowing five taels of silver...
In short, she gave everything. People in the village said that even if her own mother were still alive, she might not have been able to do as well as she did.
Her efforts naturally moved Li Qingyue and his sister.
Originally unwilling to acknowledge her, Li Qingyue brought his sister home on the day he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. The two siblings cooked a meal to celebrate her birthday and kowtowed to her, calling her "Mother" with tears in their eyes.
Narrator: At that moment, Zhao Lianhua felt as if her heart was filled with cotton candy, and tears of emotion involuntarily streamed down her face. All her efforts over the years had finally paid off. She had done right by Fusheng. She thought to herself, even if she died at this moment, she would have the face to meet Fusheng in the afterlife.
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