Cui Cao'er clearly had a fever, but she refused to go to the clinic. They had no choice but to soak a towel in water and cover her forehead to cool her down. Although she had medicine, she had to be careful because some people were allergic to it, so she dared not give it out easily.
In fact, Cui Cao had seen similar situations in her previous life. Some of her female classmates even rolled around in pain in the middle of the night and called 120 (the emergency number in China) on their own. It's no exaggeration. She was more lucky; she had never experienced such pain during her period. At most, she felt a dragging sensation.
But having been given a second chance at life, it's still unknown how Tao Tao's body will be, since she's still young and doesn't have those kinds of problems.
Given her condition, she definitely couldn't attend classes, so the people in the dormitory told the dormitory supervisor and asked her to look after her.
However, before two classes had even started, we heard that Cui Cao had been taken to the hospital by the teacher and was delirious with fever.
What surprised everyone even more was that Cui Cao passed away that very night!
The reason was that her parents directly gave up on treatment, believing that rescue would cost too much money, and their family didn't have that much money...
The dormitory supervisor's voice choked as she spoke, "The school teachers all said they could help borrow money to get her blood transfused and the surgery done. We have to ensure her safety, but they actually gave up. Is it easy to raise a child? Especially such an outstanding girl, just because she's a girl, they gave up on her..."
It turned out that Cui Cao not only had menstrual cramps, but also acute appendicitis, and her appendix was already filled with pus. She hadn't taken it seriously, and this kind of pain wasn't a one-off occurrence. However, this time, the two problems combined brought her unprecedented suffering.
Her death shocked all the girls like never before. Even when her family came to the school to pack up their belongings, no one helped them. Instead, they stared at them with extremely angry eyes.
After they left, the girls all fell silent. It was hard for anyone to understand how a mere few hundred yuan could take a life. Such a vibrant life! They were talking to them yesterday, and today they were taken home, their bodies cold and lifeless.
What is home?
Oh, what a warm harbor!
Just because she's a girl, just because she has a younger brother, does she have to be abandoned?
The reason is that they don't want to take on foreign debt?
Foolish, foolish parents. With such an outstanding daughter, how could they possibly let her take on this so-called debt in the future?
Anger, resentment, helplessness, sympathy, pity...
When all her emotions erupted, Xiao Jiu once again felt the hardships that girls face in this era.
I also deeply understand that it is even more difficult for the sisters who were sent away to be able to return to this home.
Not to mention her adopted daughter, who grew up in such an environment, it would be hard to find one person out of a hundred who is as lucky as her.
Without comparison, there is no harm.
Not long after the start of the school year, two lives were lost around her.
They were all girls, all at the prime of their youth.
Lying in her dorm room that night, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She knew that she wasn't the only one; all the other girls were in the same boat. Despite their silence, they all knew in their hearts that as girls, they were born to be the ones who could be sacrificed at any moment.
Just because you'll get married sooner or later, and they've raised you only to have you marry someone else, you're like water spilled from a cup. Once they infringe on their interests, regardless of whether you're their biological child or not, they might abandon you without even consulting you.
This situation spurred every girl still in school to work harder than usual.
Only by standing out from the crowd, getting into university, and living a valuable life can one avoid being abandoned by them.
Xiao Jiu, with her adult mind, remained much calmer than the girls who were feeling uneasy.
Because from childhood to adulthood, she had witnessed far more evil than this. Whether it was in the news of her previous life, or the tragic fate of her eight older sisters in this life, or the fate of the girls in the village, which one of them didn't look down on them with prejudiced eyes?
Therefore, she greatly admired her eldest sister, admiring her courage to stand up for the family and to use her own future to support her sisters.
Of course, her second and third sisters also convinced her. They said they wouldn't get married, and they didn't. No matter how good their conditions were, they were nothing special in their eyes.
As long as their parents are alive, and as long as they have a lot of relatives, they don't want any of them. Even if they want to marry, they want to marry into families with simple relationships, even if they are poor. As long as the person is hardworking, and as long as they have no parents or relatives to burden them, they won't have to serve a whole family after marriage.
Whether in the city or the countryside, these kinds of families are often discriminated against and frequently bullied. They are looked down upon because they are not large enough or have a strong family network. Anyone can bully them, and they have no power to defend themselves. Children raised in such families often lack their own opinions.
Cowardly, timid, or even living a miserable life.
She didn't understand what use a man like that was.
The older sister then smiled and pinched her nose as she spoke.
"To carry on the family line, but not for their family, it's for our family,"
Xiao Jiu immediately realized that this was a live-in son-in-law!
Do live-in sons-in-law really need so many tricks up their sleeves?
Can't the eldest sister recruit them all by herself?
Upon hearing this, the second sister laughed and said, "Not enough, not enough. I don't want to leave our family either. If a suitable one comes along, I'll find one for myself. Your third sister has a stable job, so she'll be able to find a good husband in the future. As for your fourth sister, if she marries into another family, they'll definitely treat her badly. Although they can't bully her, it's safer for her to stay at home. If she's willing in the future, we'll find her a reliable one. The fifth and sixth sisters will both become government officials in the future, so we can't control them. The seventh and eighth sisters are all grown up, so we'll see what they want."
The thoughtful older sisters have already thoroughly analyzed every single person in this family!
Actually, earlier, Grandpa and Grandma had intended for Cuihua to marry her older brother Taozui. Although Cuihua was three years older than Taozui, the saying goes, "A woman three years older brings good fortune." In addition, they knew Cuihua's character well, and the two families had such a good relationship. Even if Taozui went to the army and came back less often in the future, Cuihua would definitely be a good helper at home and would be the most suitable candidate for the eldest daughter-in-law.
Unfortunately, Tao Zui wasn't attracted to Cuihua and made it clear to his grandparents that she could only be his sister, not his wife. He wanted to choose his own wife and didn't want anyone to play matchmaker for him.
His main concern was that the family's relationships had fallen into chaos after Cuihua married into the family.
Isn't it good to be an older sister?
Parents who lack daughters will feel more proud to have so many goddaughters when visiting relatives, making it unnecessary to marry them.
She overheard these words secretly. In fact, she knew that after her older brother got into university, his standards rose, so how could he possibly marry her older sister?
Even without her older sister, she wouldn't be interested in any girl in the village, or even in the county town.
If the eldest brother was like this, then the second and third brothers, including Zhou Xing and Zhou Yue later on, must have been the same.
This is how circles of people talk about different levels of society. People are grouped by their kind, and isn't this where class divisions begin?
Tao Tao forced herself not to worry about those things. She just focused on providing her sisters with food, vegetables, and eggs. She didn't ask or inquire about anything else. They had more ideas for how to arrange things than she did, so there was no need for someone as insignificant as her to offer advice.
She didn't spend much time at home to begin with, and during those short breaks, her grandma wanted to give her more nutrition. Even though they ate mostly coarse grains at home, she pulled out a bag of buckwheat that her dad had bought before, and her grandma told her to hide it.
“People are starving now. The colder it gets, the more people die. There are always people on duty every day. They don’t die from starvation, but from other diseases caused by hunger. Haven’t you seen how unsteady people are walking in the village? During the busy farming season, the canteen provides some food, but now that we’re hibernating, they don’t need you anymore. So they let you go back to eat your own food. You can chew on a dried radish green all day. Compared to other families, we can at least eat some dry food, even if it’s the same stuff we used to feed pigs, chickens, and ducks. It’s still better than what they have.”
"Oh, Grandma, you can't keep eating like this. You'll ruin your health. What about the millet porridge I saved last week? Have you drunk it? Even if it's tough, it's still better than in the summer, right? I don't care how other people eat, I only care how you two eat. If your health collapses, I'll quit school and come home to be with you, watching you eat!"
“Why are you still angry, child? We know how much food we have. How could we let ourselves go hungry? We have to set aside some to deal with those who like to come and visit. You have no idea how many people are watching our house. Everyone wants to come and visit us, especially around mealtimes. It's so bad that your grandfather and I eat nothing but bran and wild vegetables all day long. We only dare to eat something better after they leave or at night. We remember to eat one of the eggs you saved every day, otherwise our health would have collapsed long ago.”
"Really?" Xiao Jiu clearly didn't believe it, and the old lady was also helpless. "Go ask your eldest sister. You can believe what your eldest sister says, right?"
Unexpectedly, Xiao Jiu actually got up and walked towards the front yard.
Grandpa laughed beside her, "Alright, this girl wasn't raised in vain, she knows how to care for others now."
"That's right. Don't you see who raised him? He's close to whoever raised him. After all these years, don't you understand? Sometimes, it's better to play dumb than anything else. This child might be better than any of ours. Who knows where he'll fly off to in the future? We should cherish him while he's still with us."
When Xiao Jiu arrived at Cuihua's place and heard the whole story, Cuihua was also amused.
“What Grandpa and Grandma said is true. We keep our dogs secretly to keep them from barking. They are very intelligent and won’t bark. If guests come over, your fourth sister will hide them in advance. Although we don’t have many guests, some people are too friendly and insist on asking what you’ve eaten. We always save the best food for dinner. Sometimes, I even secretly bring some to Grandpa and Grandma. So don’t worry, my sister said she’ll take care of them, and she will.”
Xiao Jiu noticed that although the older women were thin, their complexions weren't too pale, and they weren't unsteady or weak when walking. She knew that they valued their lives and knew how to protect themselves, which proved that they hadn't been lazy and had been saving things all those years.
Look at how quickly Seventh Sister and Eighth Sister have gained weight since they came to their house. They're no longer as skinny as before, looking like they'd fall over in the wind. Isn't that a good start?
To prove that they are really doing well, the grandparents made cornbread buns for the two siblings this week—refined grains, not coarse grains.
The golden cornmeal buns, steamed with a mixture of cornmeal and wheat flour, are not bitter at all, but rather sweet, so delicious they bring tears to your eyes.
These are even tastier than real white steamed buns. Although a whole steamer basket was filled, Grandpa and Grandma couldn't bear to eat any of them and packed them all for the two of them.
Five for each person, that's ten in total, not one more.
Xiao Jiu was reluctant to part with the food, but she knew that refusing would be useless. So, when her grandparents weren't looking, she secretly hid two steamed buns in the kitchen basket. She took one for herself and gave the other two to her brother.
On Sunday afternoon, I walked with my brother again. When we left, the sky was very overcast, and everyone said it was going to snow and told us to hurry up and get back to school.
Naturally, no one noticed that Xiao Jiu had saved all the good stuff for them.
It wasn't until he arrived at school that Tao An realized he had been tricked by his younger sister again, receiving two more steamed buns. His nose stung with tears, and he quickly hid himself and composed himself when someone came to his dormitory.
The steamed buns he brought this time were made of fine flour, and he didn't dare to take them out to eat in public. He just wanted to wait until no one was around, or secretly take them to his bed in the middle of the night to eat. That's reality. It's not that he's stingy or unwilling to share, but that's just how things are right now. If he showed any signs of being wealthy, he might just steal them all.
After entering the city, Xiao Jiu would go to residential compounds with suitable conditions to sell his liquor. He would usually sell for two or three hours, earning about ten or twenty yuan, and then he would call it a day.
I thought the snow wouldn't come, but it turned out to be quite heavy. We arrived in the county town at four o'clock, and by five o'clock the roads were already wet. And judging from the situation, the snow was going to be even heavier. The people were very happy and kept chanting rhymes.
"If the wheat is covered with three layers of snow, you'll sleep on a pillow of steamed buns next year!"
But each time she knocked on the door, it wasn't always a harmonious scene. Sometimes, a couple was fighting, and when she knocked, she would be greeted by a fierce-looking man yelling at her, "Who is it? What do you want?"
At this moment, Xiao Jiu only regretted that they hadn't made a sound when she arrived. If there had been even the slightest noise, she wouldn't have gone to check the door!
"I'm sorry, I've got the wrong person. I apologize."
Before she could turn around, the man grabbed her wrist.
"Well, I've finally gotten to know you. You're the little girl who sneaks in to sell vegetables, aren't you? Tell me, where did you get such fresh vegetables in the dead of winter? And why is your land different from everyone else's?"
After being hurt by his grip, Xiao Jiu couldn't help but look up and stare directly at him: "Isn't it different? Haven't you heard of greenhouse cultivation? If not, go ask around. Don't take your anger out on an innocent girl like me. Let go, or I'll call for help!"
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