"Shut up!" Fang Hao was an honest man. He squatted down and said, "Tuanbao, your uncle's family is poor, but with one more mouth to feed, we won't starve. It's just that you eat too much at one meal. You have to go to the toilet after eating. You should eat less and stay home and play with Sister Ling."
Tuanbao looked at the girl next to him who was smiling happily. The next day, she was sleeping when Xiaoling kicked her out of bed to do chores. She was so hungry that she had no strength.
Tuanbao quickly shook her head; she would rather go to the mountains to find food than accept this disdain.
Qiuyue and Xiaoling helped urge Fanghao to send Tuanbao away. Youjie crouched down to eavesdrop, clapping her hands from time to time. Since Tuanbao arrived, she hasn't been able to enjoy her meals properly.
Fang Hao still had some conscience. He went to find the village chief, who rang a bell at the village entrance, and all the villagers who hadn't gone to the fields came.
"Everyone, Tuanbao is five years old this year. Fang Hao picked him up from Rose Mountain. Everyone knows that his family is poor. If any of you need a child, please take him home and raise him."
"Village chief, who wants that stinky thing? All she does is eat and poop. We can't afford her."
"That's right. The Fang family brought her back out of kindness. I heard she ate more than a dozen steamed buns in one meal. No family could support that."
The villagers believed everything they heard. Tuanbao frowned slightly. She had only eaten two large steamed buns and two large bowls of rice when she arrived, all of which were given to her by Fang Hao. She hadn't stolen anything.
Later, Qiuyue came over and slapped her, insisting on getting some food out of her. For her meal, she was given a dirty steamed bun and half a bowl of porridge. When she went to the outhouse, Qiuyue deliberately went to the village to tell them, and Fang Hao believed it. Now that the villagers were saying this, there was even less reason for her to stay and suffer.
"Village Chief of Mudan Village, my family is willing to raise them, but we need to make the conditions clear."
Old Lady Lin from the neighboring Jasmine Village went out to find a child bride to bring good luck to her son. She immediately took a liking to Tuanbao, but her son had broken his leg, so she didn't know if the other party would be willing.
"Mrs. Lin, what brings you here?" The village chief happily went up the mountain to ask the villagers to make way for him.
"What's your name? How old are you? Do you still live at home?"
"My name is Tuanbao, I'm five years old, and I'm the only one in my family. I'm hard to feed, I eat a lot and do very little." Tuanbao noticed that she wasn't dressed very well, even less attractively than Qiuyue. However, Old Lady Lin was a good person, and she didn't want to hold her back, so she decided not to come down the mountain anymore; she was too tired.
"What a coincidence! The kind of wife I want is one who eats a lot, and there are other people at home to take care of the housework, so I don't have to do any work!"
Tuanbao's eyes widened. Was there really someone willing to support this glutton? Her stomach was three times the size of others; she wouldn't be so easy to feed.
The villagers quickly ran away, lest Old Lady Lin change her mind; they didn't want that stinking thing in their house!
Tuanbao looked up at Old Lady Lin, who was over forty years old and had a really good character, but she was afraid that Lin would eat her family out of house and home.
"Auntie," Tuanbao called out, her voice incredibly soft and sweet.
“Tuanbao, let me tell you about my family first.” Old Mrs. Lin squatted down to look Tuanbao in the eye. “I have five children, three sons and two daughters. My daughters are all married, and my eldest and second sons are the only ones left. They are both married. But my youngest son, Lin Mei, is ten years old this year and has a leg disability. You’re coming home with me to be his wife.”
Tuanbao nodded and said very seriously, "Then I'm the Lin family's child bride?"
"Yes, if you don't want to live with my son, I'll send you back home. There will be plenty of food. Even if you eat a dozen or more steamed buns in one meal, my family can afford to feed you!"
"I... I can't eat that much. Just give me three steamed buns and some rice and vegetables."
Tuanbao blushed for the first time. She agreed to be Lin Laoniang's child bride. If it was like Mudan Village in two or three days, she would really leave and never come out again.
"Da Niu, Er Niu, come out quickly! Xiao Wu's wife is here!"
Old Lady Lin had a loud voice, and two tall men in their early twenties, looking quite energetic, rushed out of the house.
"Mom, how old is she? Can she stay with Xiao Wu?" Lin Erniu looked at Tuanbao with some worry, as she was too young.
“Tuanbao, you tell us.” Old Lady Lin hit it off with Tuanbao the moment they met and told her the story.
"Hello, brothers. My name is Tuanbao. I'm five years old. As long as you give me enough food, I'll be a good girl." She's a big eater and can only work or think when she's full.
Lin Daniu and Lin Erniu were very satisfied. They went over and took Tuanbao's hand, leading him into Lin Mei's house.
As soon as Tuanbao entered the room, he saw a clean-looking boy sitting in a chair with wheels on both sides.
"I, I'm Tuanbao." Tuanbao stammered when she saw Lin Mei; she truly believed in love at first sight.
"Mother, the new bride is shy, this will work out."
When Lin's mother heard the noise, she came in, her face beaming with joy, and told Wang Tian to take Tuanbao to take a bath.
Lin Mei remained expressionless. Despite his young age, he had already grown into a handsome young man, and he was quite dissatisfied with this marriage.
"Mother, she's only five years old. I've become like this now, don't hold her back."
"Xiao Wu!" Lin Erniu interrupted him, "This is an adult matter. Just live your life well every day."
"Yes, from now on you'll eat at the same table and sleep together. You can't refuse!"
Lin's mother had Lin Erniu carry Lin Mei to the bed to lie down. The two-wheeled vehicle had just been made, and Lin Mei was still very resistant to it. But Lin Erniu's judgment of people was usually right; Tuanbao would definitely be able to help Lin Mei get back on her feet.
"Phew~" Tuanbao soaked in the hot water. She'd only used the outhouse once in three days, and Qiuyue had spread rumors that she was a stinky thing. The Lin family seemed nice; she hoped to settle down here.
She went out after she finished washing up. Wang Tian was a new bride. She and Lin Daniu were childhood sweethearts and had only been married for two months.
"From now on, you can call me Sister-in-law Sweetie. We're all family. Let's go eat."
Wang Tian held Tuanbao's soft little hand and saw that she was dressed in shabby clothes. She was sixteen years old, and the clothes were too big for Tuanbao to wear.
"Mom, let's go to the market tomorrow and buy some clothes and shoes for Tuanbao."
Wang Tian called from outside, and Old Lady Lin came out rubbing her hands, holding an empty plate.
"We really need to buy clothes and shoes; consider them a wedding gift from Mom to Tuanbao."
"Mom, Sister-in-law Tian, just feed me enough." This was the first time Tuanbao had been treated like a treasure. Starting when she was three years old, Uncle Zhang would send her down the mountain, and no matter which family she went to, she would be kicked around.
"Let's feed you first." Wang Tian led Tuanbao into Lin Mei's room. "But you still need to wear clothes and shoes. It's winter now, you can't wear such shabby clothes."
Wang Tian covered Tuanbao with a light blanket and had her sit opposite Lin Mei before letting Lin Daniu bring out the food.
On the table were fish, several small dishes, several pancakes, six steamed buns, and two bowls of mixed grain rice.
Tuanbao started drooling when she saw them. Old Lady Lin hadn't lied to her; this time she could have a hearty meal.
"Why aren't you eating?" Tuanbao took a few bites of the pancake and saw that Lin Mei was just staring at the food. Such delicious food, it would be a waste not to eat it!
"I'm not hungry!" Lin Mei said coldly.
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