She had never been married or dated in her previous life, but her parents' marriage was very smooth. She thought she could also find a man like her father to marry and live a peaceful life. Little did she know that her life would undergo such a dramatic change. When she woke up, she found herself in the tumultuous 1950s.
She also went through a dramatic and absurd situation of being given away; her experiences in the past two years were even more exciting than her entire previous life.
Women of this era, in particular, truly embody the traditional roles of men working outside the home and women staying at home. It's only because the Tao family are business people that the mother has been a waitress since childhood; otherwise, she would probably have had the same life. In most cases, being out in public is seen as an indication that men are useless. But their family is different. In the past, the grandmother also stood in front of the counter to serve customers, so she looked down on the old ways of society.
She personally helped raise this daughter-in-law, and she doesn't care what other people say, as long as they are comfortable.
Xiao Jiu had helped her grandmother sort through some of her old clothes, and she saw many beautiful cheongsams, including some in her mother's wardrobe.
"What a pity! Times have changed. These clothes are now considered low-class and can't be worn anymore. Otherwise, it would have been so good to keep these for you to wear in the future. Back then, they were made with the finest materials, including the embroidery patterns. They were all made by professional embroiderers from the South. Your grandfather and I specially bought them when we went to the South to purchase goods. It's such a waste of such good materials!"
Grandma's eyes were moist, probably thinking of the past. Now her hands were covered in calluses. She wanted to touch the embroidery, but she was afraid of pricking the threads, so she carefully folded it up and placed it at the bottom of the camphor wood chest.
“Your mother has quite a few too. Some were gifts from me, and some were clothes I wore to her years ago. She loved them. What woman doesn’t love to look beautiful? It’s a pity she won’t be able to wear them anymore!”
Xiao Jiu noticed that the slits on these cheongsams went all the way up to the back of the calves, unlike the cheongsams of later generations, many of which had slits that went all the way up to the buttocks. It was simply indecent. Clothing in this era paid more attention to propriety and etiquette. Moreover, the colors of the cheongsams were also very diverse, with some being simple and some being high-end silk. If a woman with a perfect figure wore these, she would look absolutely stunning!
Besides the cheongsam, she also saw embroidered shoes. Grandma smiled at Xiaojiu and said, "Your mother still has a long dress she couldn't bear to wear. It's so beautiful. Back then, she wore two braids and that long dress, and she captivated your father so much that he couldn't see anyone else."
When I recall the past, my grandmother's eyes welled up with tears, and her eyes shone brightly and gleamed, unlike some people whose eyes turn yellow at a young age. My grandmother took good care of herself, had no bad habits, went to bed early and got up early, and was hardworking and down-to-earth, so her eyes were very clear. She was neither hunched over nor stooped, and she was not deaf. No matter the time, she was always very clean.
She likes and admires such elderly people.
My grandfather was the kind of person who didn't talk much, but he got things done, and he had the demeanor of a patriarch of a large family.
Grandma now wears simple, coarse cloth clothes. Her and Grandpa's clothes even have frog buttons. She knows that only in the summer do her father and brothers wear clothes with frog buttons, like those white frog button undershirts, which every man in the family has.
In the past, the older generation only knew what to wear from TV dramas, and much of it was unrealistic. Now that Grandma is right here in front of me, it feels so real. It's just a little heartbreaking. She doesn't know why, even though they're not related by blood, the two of them are so close, as if it's a blessing from a past life.
Grandma doted on her, treating her like a precious gem. Whenever she cooked something delicious, she would always call her over first and secretly give her a piece of meat, ostensibly to let her taste the saltiness, but really just to let her indulge her craving. This was because she noticed that Grandma always tasted the vegetables, while giving her the meat.
“In the past, only your younger brother in our family received this treatment, but now it’s my little brother’s turn. So, does that count as the reason why you don’t want to go to the preschool?”
Xiao Jiu chuckled, "Of course! If I go to the nursery, there will be no one to keep Grandma company. The older sisters are nice, but none of them can please you like Xiao Jiu. I don't want to go to the nursery and play with those other kids. If they're all like Xiao Hu, I'd rather stay home and help Grandma take care of the animals!"
"You, at such a young age, you've already grown a sharp tongue. I was worried that you'd become less sociable if you were with me, but now I'm not worried anymore. If you don't want to go, then don't go. It's better for you to stay at home, so you won't be bullied. When your brother first started school, he cried a lot, but now he's adapted. We should send him to elementary school in the second half of this year."
It's so great that we don't have to learn English these days. When she was in school, she started learning English in elementary school.
She doesn't even need to practice dance, learn piano, tennis, calligraphy, or play the guzheng. She has no idea how many classes her parents have enrolled her in to enrich her extracurricular life.
This does not include tutoring classes for English, math, and Chinese within the curriculum, which are for advanced learning rather than synchronous training.
She was a top student from a young age, always paying attention in class and generally handling exams quite well. Seeing this, her parents enrolled her in many advanced classes. If it weren't for such a solid family background that provided her with one-on-one tutoring all the way, she might not have been able to get into university through the guaranteed admission program.
However, instead of repaying them, she ended up here, and she didn't know how to comfort herself.
Compared to the era when she studied in her previous life, children today are so much happier.
At least they didn't spend more than an hour doing homework at home. The rest of the time they were either running around playing or cutting grass and doing chores. Every day was fulfilling and happy. Unlike the children of later generations, who are confined to their seats during breaks except to go to the toilet.
Without comparison, there is no harm; it seems that conditions have improved, but in fact, education is in a state of regression.
That night, everyone was sleeping soundly when suddenly screams came from the brothers' room, startling Xiao Jiu so much that she sat up straight in bed.
Zhao Di and Pan Di were also awakened. "What's wrong? Who's shouting?"
"Sis, you guys go check it out! It's my brother's voice. He seems to have been quite frightened!"
So everyone quickly put on their clothes and shoes and ran towards the west wing. Father and grandfather opened the door at the same time, but grandmother was a little slower.
When they all ran into the west wing, the eldest brother and the others had already lit the kerosene lamp. The youngest brother, pale as a ghost, was vomiting by the bedside, and the third brother was comforting him...
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