Tao Qing brought three catties of pork to Taoyuan Village. Although it wasn't much, there were only a few of them, so it was enough for them to eat during the New Year.
Xiao Jiu thought she wouldn't be back until 3 or 4 pm, or even evening, but she never expected that she would leave at 12 pm and arrive at 2 pm.
That anxious and urgent look is something that only one's own child can truly understand.
"Have you really found Xiao Wu? Is she really in Niujia Village? Which family?"
The elderly couple were nearly overwhelmed by the barrage of questions.
"Xiao Ju and Xiao Lian, don't rush. Sit down and have some water first, then warm yourself by the fire."
Grandma sat under the gate, warming herself by the fire and picking corn, something they often did in winter.
The area under the main door is sheltered from the wind. Once the door is closed, it isolates you from everything outside. When the brazier is set up, your knees will feel warm and comfortable.
Although it produces a lot of smoke, it's good for roasting sweet potatoes and potatoes. Little Jiu likes to snuggle up to his grandma and warm himself by the fire.
The older brothers were sent inside by their grandparents to do their homework.
Today is only the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, and everything that needs to be prepared is ready. We're just waiting to start steaming buns, dumplings, and frying other things on the 26th. These past few days have been mainly spent cleaning the house. My brothers have already cleaned the house, so my grandparents can save some trouble.
An iron rack was placed on top of the brazier, and a kettle was placed on it. Whenever any of the brothers were thirsty, they would simply grab a bowl and run over to pour water.
Grandma put two bright green dried wormwood stalks in a bowl, poured in hot water, and soon the water turned greenish-blue.
"Drink some mugwort water. I picked and dried it last January. It has a very rich flavor and tastes great. It's also good for your health."
The older sisters were extremely anxious, but Grandma still had the leisure to offer them water. The two sisters had no choice but to grit their teeth and drink the water from the bowl.
After they finished drinking the water, the old lady glanced at Xiaojiu sideways.
"What are you looking at me for? You think you're so capable? Then go tell your sisters."
Xiao Jiu was amused by her grandmother, but she knew she was just teasing her. She turned her head away with a smile, but when she mentioned Daya's experience, she couldn't laugh anymore. She even told the two sisters the time they had agreed to meet.
The two sisters were stunned after hearing this, staring at Xiao Jiu in disbelief.
"You mean, Grandma didn't see it, only you did, and you arranged a time to escape with her without even confirming if it was our family—uh, I mean, Fifth Sister? How could you be so bold? Aren't you afraid she'll think we're bad guys? What if she tells that family, won't we get beaten up?"
Xiao Jiu couldn't help but roll her eyes. "So, Sister Ju and Sister Lian aren't planning on going?"
"Who said that? You've already made plans with them, why shouldn't we go? I just think you're too bold. It's lucky no one saw us. If someone had, they would have come to your house and caused trouble for your godparents and grandparents. Judging from your description, that family must be very difficult to deal with."
"It's more than that, it was absolutely vicious. She almost destroyed Daya. You didn't see what she was like. If you had, you wouldn't say I didn't consider the consequences. Under those circumstances, it's already a testament to your forbearance that you didn't burn down her house."
Cuiju's lips twitched violently: "You little girl, you're so young and you have such a big temper. You can't do that. In the future, you should just tell us about these things. You're still a child!"
"I'm already six years old, what do you mean 'little'? Since you've agreed, Sister Ju, why don't you go and talk to Sister Cuihua tomorrow and see if she'll be back on New Year's Eve?"
"Well, the employers told her to go over on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year and return home on the thirtieth. If they weren't worried about the large number of relatives visiting each other during the New Year, making her a big target and potentially getting reported, they wouldn't have let her go home!"
After understanding the whole story, Cuiju finally felt relieved.
"The fifth one is already twelve, so the fourth one must be fourteen this year, right? Maybe she's already deaf?"
The fourth son was sent to Dongliuzhuang. He became deaf from a childhood illness and married a deaf man when he grew up. Actually, he lived a pretty good life. If it weren't for Cao Amei's interference and constant demands for money, he wouldn't have been disliked by his in-laws and driven insane. He died before he was forty.
She's 44 this year, and she's already a young woman. When she turns 15, people will be looking for someone to marry her.
Cuiju mechanically peeled the corn kernels, feeling increasingly uncertain the more she thought about it.
It's great that my sister has been found, but how are we going to raise her?
The three sisters still rely on the Tao family for support; they can't all be supported by the Tao family, can they?
Even if the Tao family agreed, they wouldn't have the face to do so.
Therefore, the most urgent task is to have the ability to support oneself before one dares to make that decision.
Even though the old lady didn't say anything, she could tell what Cuiju was worried about just by glancing at her.
Bringing these unfortunate young women home is a small matter; perhaps it's not that they don't want to take them in, but rather that they're afraid they won't be able to support them if they do.
It hasn't been easy being caught in this dilemma for so many years.
They were all still children themselves. The eldest was nineteen, the twentieth was eighteen, and even the youngest was sixteen—all grown women—but none of them thought about their own future. They only wanted to find their younger sisters.
The children are all good children, they just weren't born into a good family. That couple really doesn't deserve to be fathers and mothers.
She only cares about giving birth, not raising them. She wants to see what kind of end result this irresponsible scoundrel will get.
“If we can bring the third son back, that would be a good thing. I heard from your uncle that several factories in the county are hiring temporary workers, and they are especially emphasizing that rural residents are required. I think this is an opportunity.”
If you can be hired, with your combined salaries, you three shouldn't have to worry about supporting yourselves and your sister.
When Lao Wu comes back, let her stay at home, and the three of you go to work in the factory.
When your uncle comes back, I'll ask him to think of a way to get you all in there. Even if it costs money, it'll be worth it.
The old lady's words immediately brightened Cuiju's eyes.
"Milk? Is this real? Is there really a chance?"
"I can't guarantee that, so I'll have to let your uncle worry about it. After all, it's not easy to get even one spot these days, let alone the three of you."
It's fortunate that you guys can read; if you were completely illiterate, you definitely wouldn't have had a chance.
I just don't know how much it will cost; I'd be lucky to get even one spot.
Nowadays, rural people are all scrambling to move to the city, hoping that one day they can get access to government-subsidized grain rations.
But they never considered what was so good about the city. Every time you step outside, you have to spend money; even a single vegetable costs money, let alone food…”
Grandma kept talking, but Second Sister's thoughts had already drifted far away.
Little did they know that the deaf man they spoke of had already been replaced by a different soul after waking up from a high fever four years ago.
Although she lost her hearing and was still illiterate, she was full of curiosity about the world, and her eyes were filled with a thirst for knowledge.
It is worth mentioning that after the high fever, the fourth child gained the ability to be incredibly strong even with little food.
Of course, even her family didn't know about this ability; she had always kept it very well hidden.
As a daughter bought from someone else, she was already in a family with three sons. They weren't exactly good to her, but they weren't bad either.
If she were truly well, I wouldn't have let her have a fever without taking her to the hospital.
Now that she's deaf, they're disappointed, but at least their daughter is a good worker, and they can still exchange her for dowry for their sons in the future.
However, ever since she became deaf, they all felt that their daughter's mind seemed to be a little impaired.
Although he wasn't exactly smart before, he was at least sensible and capable, saving them a lot of trouble.
But ever since she became deaf, she hasn't been able to speak at all.
She doesn't communicate with them every day. If they want to express something, she has to use gestures and teach them step by step.
Gradually, her family stopped letting her go out. After all, as long as she could manage the household chores well, that was a job in itself.
After that day, they started making arrangements to find her a boyfriend.
She has a physical defect, so let's find someone with the same defect. We can exchange as many as we can, it's better than having her at home getting in our way.
After developing a high fever, she had a huge appetite and ate a lot. She even drank water like it was free. They had never seen anyone drink so much water. Several times they almost thought she was going to burst from the water. Even if she was starving, she shouldn't drink water like that.
Strange as it was, she was still given less food than usual, and was even beaten for stealing food.
From then on, she knew that she could not get enough to eat in this house, and that her daily food ration was fixed.
Although she wasn't full, at least she had something to eat. After realizing that her protests were ineffective, she had no choice but to shut up.
She had considered rebelling, but she felt too much fear and unease about this unfamiliar world, so she could only stay and try to understand things before considering other options.
Not having enough to eat at home, she would find a secluded spot and conjure up food herself—fruits, wild vegetables, and even fish?!
Especially those things, each one of them was enormous, an extraordinary size.
She complained that this place had no mountains or water, and that the food in this world was terrible.
But their way of eating is special to her; frying, steaming, and stewing all require fire.
Fire! They actually use fire to cook!
In their country, only those who have rendered meritorious service are entitled to eat food roasted over a fire...
Like a child, she imitated and learned about this completely unfamiliar world.
She only learned about the river five kilometers away from Dongliuzhuang two years after she came into this world.
She was so excited that she was willing to stay up all night and walk for half the night just to go down to the river.
Although the water wasn't the quality she wanted, at least she got to soak in it, just as she had hoped.
They also caught a lot of river delicacies, so they no longer have to worry about going hungry.
Since no one else would give her food, she decided to find food herself.
It was only after coming into this world that she realized how delicious cooked food can be.
Considering how much effort the tribe went through to preserve the fire, here a single match is all it takes?
Fish that's been grilled over a fire tastes so good!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com