Xiao Jiu is still too young to eat coarse food, so in addition to preparing goat milk for her in the morning and evening, I also stew egg custard for her at noon.
Every day when steaming buns, I steam a plate of potatoes, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes, and I steamed a small bun for her separately made with refined grains. The adults ate mixed flour buns made from a mixture of sorghum flour, sweet potato flour, corn flour, and buckwheat flour. The texture was very coarse because they were all ground with the skin on. Only the large husks were dried to make bran to feed the chickens, and the rest were stored in the grain storage jar.
Mixed grain and vegetable steamed buns, mixed grain steamed buns, mixed grain dumplings, and steamed bread are all foods that their family often makes. Because steaming steamed bread is simple and filling, they steam a pot every day to keep on hand. Regardless of whether it tastes good or not, as long as it satisfies their hunger, no one will say anything. In the past, Zhao Di and Pan Di often didn't know where their next meal would come from, and they often ate potatoes and sweet potatoes. The life they live now is something they never dared to dream of before, so they eat with a sense of reverence for food.
Although the four grandsons of the Tao family came from a good life, they should have been able to eat well. However, they probably had the trauma of being cheated on when they were young, so nowadays, as long as they have something to eat and their family is safe, they are already very content and will not be picky about food.
Besides, their family doesn't live like this every day; at least every few days, they can eat refined grains.
As for Xiao Jiu's treatment, no one raised any objections, because she was young and could only eat this much. The children were also very sensible and left all the good food for their little sister.
So Xiaojiu was especially touched. Every time she ate steamed egg custard or small sugar buns, she felt a deep sense of guilt. But every time she specially saved some for others, they would often stuff them back into their own mouths. She felt so frustrated!
To make up for her older siblings' absence, Xiaojiu would secretly organize the fruit in the space, bringing out the seasonal fruits of spring.
When she went out to pick wild vegetables, she would see a lot of wild strawberries. So, when they weren't looking, she would take four or five out of the warehouse, put them in her apron and bib, and happily run to her grandparents and older sisters: "Eat, they're sweet, so sweet!"
The grandparents turned around and were startled. "What did you eat? Spit it out! Quick, check if there's anything in her mouth."
Seeing that their hands were about to pry open her mouth, she quickly covered her mouth and shook her head vigorously.
"I haven't had any wine, I haven't had any, you can have some."
As she spoke, she took out the strawberries from her pocket. She had specifically chosen small strawberries, but in their eyes, they were huge.
He stared at her, dumbfounded: "Strawberries? Where did they come from? I didn't see them?"
Xiao Jiu casually pointed over there, "Here, have some."
Grandpa and Grandma couldn't bear to eat it; this kind of thing, especially one this big, is quite rare. "We're old, we can't eat sour things, you eat it!"
"It's not sour, it's sweet, Grandpa, Grandma, Sister, eat, eat," she said, using her chubby little hands to give one to each of them. In the end, she had the smallest one left, and she tilted her head back and smiled happily: "Mine."
This gesture touched her grandparents deeply, and her grandmother called her "my darling" and picked her up in a hug.
"You're such a sweet and considerate daughter to our family!"
Zhao Di and Pan Di were also filled with emotion.
"This cotton-padded coat is so thoughtful, it even makes my eyes feel warm. She's such a clever little thing, not at all like the selfish Cao Amei was born."
Pandi's words instantly made the atmosphere awkward, and Xiaojiu quickly said angrily, "I was born of my mother, born of Lingli."
Seeing her puffed-up face, the gloom on the grandparents' heads vanished, and they burst into laughter.
Who is Lingli?
“Mother, Xiaojiu’s mother.”
"Oh my, what a clever little thing! But, I was born of a clever person, not some random cat or dog, right?"
Pandi realized she had said the wrong thing and quickly lowered her head. Seeing this, the old man patted her on the shoulder.
"From now on, pretend you don't have a mother. This is your home. Remember that?"
"Grandpa and Grandma, I'm sorry, I won't mention them again."
"Alright, since it's from my sister, let's eat it quickly and see if this big strawberry is delicious."
They wiped the strawberries on their clothes and stuffed them directly into their mouths. The bursting strawberry juice instantly filled their mouths. The unprecedented fresh taste filled their eyes with wonder. They looked at each other and nodded repeatedly.
"It's really sweet! Our little wine is amazing, we've never seen such a big strawberry before!"
"Xiao Jiu, where did you find these strawberries? Take us to see them, let's move them home, maybe then we can eat strawberries we grew ourselves."
Grandma's reminder made Xiao Jiu realize that those tiny bumps on the outside of a ripe strawberry, which are dreaded by people with trypophobia, are actually its seeds.
She hadn't thought about planting them, but now that her grandmother had reminded her, she'd better remember it next year.
As for the wild strawberries outside, she pretended not to remember them. What if she found that there were no strawberries growing on the strawberry plants? Wouldn't that give her away? So she simply pretended to be confused and not know.
When her brothers came home from school, she would secretly feed them strawberries and tell them to keep it a secret. They would imitate her, sticking their fingers to their lips and making a 'shh' sound. Then the siblings would smile broadly. She really wanted to maintain this harmonious atmosphere for a lifetime.
In her previous life, she was a pitiful only child and could not experience this kind of happiness. Now, she not only has an older brother but also an older sister, which can be considered as making up for the regrets of her previous life.
Unfortunately, this only applies before marriage. After marriage, they can only be relatives, not even direct relatives.
This is also the part she can't understand the most.
Once a daughter grows up, she's like water spilled from a cup. As long as her sister-in-law or brother's wife is in her own family, there's no place for her. If she doesn't get along with her husband's family, she might have a fight or a disagreement, and she'll have nowhere to go.
It's quite sad, really.
Fortunately, she never experienced marriage or encountered a scumbag in her previous life, and her life remained in its purest state. However, there was a lot of toxic motivational quotes in her later life, but luckily she didn't delve into them. After all, she hadn't entered society or gotten married, and remained a happy little princess.
She is content with her inner life and lives in a free and harmonious family, so she can view problems very rationally.
Her parents are business people and often tell her about business. They explain why she was so low-key during her school years and why she always kept her distance from her classmates. It's because people's hearts are too scary. The more outstanding you are, the more jealous you will be. You might not even know how you were harmed. So, you should never talk about your family with your classmates and always maintain a sense of mystery.
Therefore, even though she had never been in society, she already knew that people's hearts were no longer what they used to be. If she hadn't been so eager to speak and couldn't help but defend herself, her family wouldn't have been gossiped about by the neighbors because of her. Indeed, when you want something, you will inevitably have to pay for it.
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