And what about Zhou Miaomiao? She was sold by her grandmother's family to an old bachelor in the mountains. The man who coaxed her to elope was a liar who actually led her into that terrible den...
Zhou Miaomiao shuddered at the thought. Apart from Cao Yuhua's place, she had nowhere else to go. Return to Yushan County? There was no longer a home for Zhou Miaomiao in Yushan County. What if she ran into Yuan Sixi after returning? What if she was sold out again by the Gu or Zhou families?
The scariest thing was the people in that devil's den. No! Those people couldn't even be called human, they were only demons! If she were caught by those demons, her fate would be horrible. No! She didn't want to live that kind of life! She wanted to live a good life, to be the best!
"Miaomiao, why are you here at the door instead of lying in bed recuperating?" Cao Yuhua went upstairs carrying a piece of pork weighing about a pound, a fish, and a pile of vegetables. When he saw Zhou Miaomiao standing at the door, he thought she was out to pick him up, and couldn't help but say something in surprise.
"Aunt, I'm free anyway, so it's my duty to come out and greet you." A hint of annoyance flashed in Zhou Miaomiao's eyes, but she still took the pile of things from Cao Yuhua's hand and took them into the kitchen.
What annoyed Zhou Miaomiao the most during her two days at Cao Yuhua's house was her constant barrage of questions. When she heard that Gu Dahua had passed away, she burst into tears and dragged her to the hospital, asking how she had died.
For Zhou Miaomiao, Gu Dahua's death was an unspeakable nightmare. Over the past decade or so, Zhou Miaomiao tried not to think about Gu Dahua's death, lest she be frightened and unable to sleep.
Cao Yuhua had no idea that Zhou Miaomiao disliked her. As an elder, Cao Yuhua was worried that Zhou Miaomiao would feel uncomfortable living in her house, so she tried her best to find something to say. Besides, given their friendship, Cao Yuhua wouldn't think there was anything wrong with her caring about Gu Dahua.
Cao Yuhua is 32 years old this year and is Gu Dahua's distant cousin.
Cao Yuhua married Cheng Yuanhui when she was 20. Zhou Miaomiao was already 5 years old when Cao Yuhua got married.
Cao Yuhua and Gu Dahua had a good relationship when they were young. After Cao Yuhua married Cheng Yuanhui, Gu Dahua would talk about Cao Yuhua at home. In Gu Dahua's opinion, Cao Yuhua married into the impoverished Cheng family. Although Cheng Yuanhui was a soldier in the army and had a better future than her husband Zhou Zhiqiang, her life was not as comfortable as Gu Dahua's.
The Cheng family was poor. Cheng's father died when Cheng Yuanhui was only a teenager. His mother was ill all year round. The little allowance Cheng Yuanhui sent back was almost all spent on his mother's medicine and medical treatment.
When Gu Dahua spoke of Cao Yuhua at home, her tone was filled with a sense of superiority. Although Gu Dahua was a bit lazy and greedy, she was still very devoted to Zhou Miaomiao. Using Cao Yuhua as an example, Gu Dahua even "taught" Zhou Miaomiao that she shouldn't choose a poor husband like Cheng Yuanhui in the future, as life would be too tiring.
Before Cao Yuhua joined the army, Gu Dahua and Cao Yuhua had a close relationship. Every time he went to Heping Town, Gu Dahua would bring Zhou Miaomiao with him.
Because of this, Zhou Miaomiao had such a deep memory of Cao Yuhua that even eight years later, when she first saw Cao Yuhua, she could still accurately recognize him and followed him back to the military district family compound.
"Miaomiao, your aunt's place is just like your own home. You can live here with peace of mind and don't be polite to her." Cao Yuhua glanced at Zhou Miaomiao as she walked into the kitchen and started to get busy, her heart full of pity.
The Zhou Miaomiao in Cao Yuhua's memory is the Zhou Miaomiao before she was seven years old. Cao Yuhua took Zhou Miaomiao in to repay Gu Dahua's kindness.
When Cheng's mother was seriously ill, Cao Yuhua borrowed money from every relative she could, but couldn't find enough money for her hospital stay. Even from her own family, Cao Yuhua couldn't get any money. So, just to give it a try, Cao Yuhua asked Gu Dahua for money.
Without hesitation, Gu Dahua took out all her personal savings and lent them to Cao Yuhua. Although the five yuan was never used, by the time Cao Yuhua went to the hospital with the money in hand, Cheng's mother had already passed away. But Cao Yuhua felt she would always remember Gu Dahua's kindness.
After Cheng's mother died, Cao Yuhua went to live with Cheng Yuanhui in the army. She was heartbroken that her family hadn't supported her at a crucial moment. Over the years, Cao Yuhua and her husband had lived comfortably, yet she never mentioned returning to Yushan County. Cheng Yuanhui, with both his parents deceased and his wife and children by his side, considered the army his home.
Because of this, Cao Yuhua and his wife were still unaware of the changes in the Zhou family over the years. Even when Zhou Zhixin became a general, Cheng Yuanhui never expected that the idol she had always admired was actually his fellow townsman and a distant relative of his wife.
Zhou Miaomiao was busy picking vegetables and cooking in the kitchen, and didn't take Cao Yuhua's words to heart at all. In order to stay at Cao Yuhua's house longer, Zhou Miaomiao had to use all her tricks to make Cao Yuhua like her.
Seeing that Zhou Miaomiao was so focused on her work, Cao Yuhua stopped trying to persuade her. Everyone has their own values. If Zhou Miaomiao was just trying to do the work because she felt bad about living in her house for free, Cao Yuhua couldn't forcefully refuse.
It took at least fifty minutes to walk from the military family compound to the nearby market to buy vegetables. With Zhou Miaomiao around, Cao Yuhua bought a bit more vegetables, and carrying them all the way back was a bit tiring.
Anyway, Zhou Miaomiao was doing the kitchen work, so Cao Yuhua patted his sore back, walked into the room, and prepared to rest for a while.
Seeing that Cao Yuhua didn't come to the kitchen to help, but went into the room, Zhou Miaomiao was so angry that she almost dropped a tomato in her hand. What did she say about being good to her? Let her treat this place as her own home? Did this old woman treat herself as a servant?
After taking a shower, Zhou Yuanyuan returned to her room. Looking at the spotless bedroom and the set of bedding with light blue flowers, the corners of her mouth curled up.
Considering that Wen Ziqing understood her preferences so well, Zhou Yuanyuan decided to forgive him.
Burying herself in the pillow that still smelled of sunshine, Zhou Yuanyuan wanted to sleep but couldn't fall asleep.
No wonder, Zhou Yuanyuan slept in the jade mine for ten days! It would be strange if she could still sleep now.
Whenever Zhou Yuanyuan had some free time, she would use her spiritual sense to scan the surroundings. Knowing yourself and your enemy was something Zhou Yuanyuan had always kept in mind over the years.
In the family compound, the wives of the soldiers who were home were already busy preparing lunch. The whole building was filled with the aroma of food.
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