Chapter 03 Chapter 3
The eldest son and daughter have grown up and started their own families. Jia Kaiqian and Lin Fei only miss their little daughter who has been spoiled since childhood.
The little daughter is beautiful and delicate, weak and without any offensive power. She is timid and naive, and will not play tricks with others.
It is not okay for her to marry a man who covets her looks, and it is not okay for her to have a powerful mother-in-law at home. How can the little white flower who has been carefully cared for by the whole family be abused outside? It is better to use money to find her an honest and obedient man. After the two elders pass away, her brothers and sisters will also take care of her, and that man will not dare to bully her.
...
Jia Yourui's eyes gradually moistened.
Her brother and sister are eleven years older than her and nine years older than her. They almost raise her as a half-daughter.
Needless to say, the parents loved their daughter even more. They loved her to the core when they unexpectedly had a daughter, a beautiful little girl with pink and white hair. The mother
was already quite old when she gave birth to her. She didn’t have enough breast milk when she was little, and she was so hungry that she couldn’t even cry. The
beautiful pink and white girl was wrapped in swaddling clothes and cried all day long. It was heartbreaking to see her. The mother felt guilty and sad at home.
The father rode his bicycle to the nearby villages to find a woman who could breastfeed. Although he found one, she was not willing to share her milk with her. The family was old-fashioned, and the woman gave birth to the eldest grandson, who was the most precious in the family. She was afraid of taboos if she shared her milk with a little girl.
My father, who was usually very proud and taciturn, took my mother on a bicycle and went to that family to beg for mercy every day. After much persuasion and exchange of five chickens, she finally had enough milk to drink.
When her stomach was no longer weak, her brother and sister always liked to save money to buy delicious food to feed her.
She was sweet and clingy, calling her father, mother, brother and sister affectionately, making the whole family happy. Her
father, mother, brother and sister all loved to hold her. When they were doing things, they carried her in a basket because they were afraid that she would fall. She learned to walk later than others. Relying on her being spoiled, she relied on the backs and arms of her father, brother and sister and refused to get up. When she wanted to learn to walk, her mother followed her with open arms to protect her tightly, for fear that she would bump.
When Jia Yourui was young, she knew that everyone doted on her. When she was wronged, she would pout and cry, and she had to be comforted.
Her father was a strict and authoritarian man. He had the final say at home. Even her brother did not dare to act rashly in front of her father. However, she had been acting like a spoiled child in her father's arms since she was a child. Her father loved to poke her soft little face with his stubble, and watch her giggle while dodging.
Once, she accidentally dropped the precious medicinal wine that her father had been soaking for a long time on the ground. The wine bottle broke into pieces and the wine was all spilled.
Little Jia Yourui was stunned, tears falling.
Jia Kaiqian heard the sound and ran over, but he just picked up the frightened little girl and coaxed her softly: "It's okay, it's okay, don't be afraid, little treasure."
He loved wine and couldn't bear to look at the mess on the ground for a second time, but Jia Kaiqian felt even more sorry for his daughter, so he lied with his eyes open: "Dad doesn't like this wine, Ruirui, don't cry." Then he eagerly lifted up her sleeves and trousers to check her arms and ankles to see if Ruirui was scratched by the fragments.
Thinking of her parents and brothers and sisters, Jia Yourui was in a low mood.
...
There were simple skin care products on the table, and the only thing that could be called cosmetics was a box of crimson rouge.
She had a good foundation, so she looked good even without any makeup.
Jia Yourui stroked her face. This outstanding face had brought her countless praises and envious looks; but it was also this face that pushed her toward depravity.
Because she was unusually beautiful, her family taught her to be on guard since she was young. She was obedient, but she still fell into the hands of a bad-hearted person.
...
Jia Yourui took off her cloth shoes, lay on the bed, closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, but she couldn't fall asleep no matter how she tossed and turned.
Jia Yourui simply sat up, lifted the quilt, put on her shoes and walked out of the room.
The sun outside was very dazzling. She heard movement in the yard, walked to the threshold of the hall, raised her hands to block the sun, and looked straight ahead.
A thick wooden stick was tied tightly to the millstone with iron wire. The peeled wheat was ground into fine powder, which needed to be ground seven times. Jia Guoye pushed the stick around the millstone at a steady speed.
He saw her and stopped.
Jia Yourui shielded her eyes from the glaring sunlight and walked forward.
"Why didn't you take a break?" he asked in a low voice.
Jia Yourui said, "I can't sleep."
She asked, "Do you need my help?"
Jia Guoye shook his head gently and said, "You go in and have a rest. It's too sunny outside."
Jia Yourui's face was a little red from the sun. She said, "You push the mill. I'll stand here for a while and go to sleep when I feel sleepy."
Jia Guoye didn't say anything else and continued to push the mill.
Seeing the millstone again after many years, Jia Yourui felt very novel. She opened her eyes wide and watched the millstone rotating around the bottom of the mill. The wheat grains became smaller and smaller. After grinding once, and then grinding again...
The wheat finally became fine and white powder. Jia Guoye reached out to take the dustpan and sieve on the bench.
Jia Yourui volunteered, "I'll sift, you continue grinding."
Jia Guoye looked at her, and she looked at him with a smile.
He retracted his gaze and said, "Okay."
He held the winnowing basket with one hand, and together with her, they swept the flour into the sieve on the winnowing basket.
Jia Yourui thought that sifting flour was easy, but when she picked up the heavy sieve, her hands suddenly sank, and she realized that she was too naive.
With her little strength, she was panting and her hands were sore after shaking the sieve twice.
Not much flour was sifted, but she was so tired that her hands and back ached.
"Ouch."
Jia Yourui put down the sieve again and rubbed her arms.
"Let me do it."
Jia Guoye walked in front of her, looked at her and said, "The sieve is a bit heavy."
"Okay."
Jia Yourui obediently stepped back two steps to make room.
Jia Guoye grabbed the sieve with both hands and began to sift quickly and frequently.
If the wheat flour she had just sifted fell like a gentle breeze and drizzle, then the flour under Jia Guoye's sieve was like a heavy downpour, pouring down into the winnowing basket.
She lowered her head slightly in shame.
Her porcelain-white cheeks were flushed with red patches.
Four words echoed in Jia Yourui's ears: "It's a bit heavy..."
How could he lie to me?
...
The courtyard door was not closed, Jia Youkai walked in, and saw this scene:
Jia Guoye was in the sieve, and his delicate and beautiful sister was standing beside him holding his hand.
His sister lowered her head, with an embarrassed expression on her face.