"Calculate the exact time, let the water droplets dry, and all of those big jars have to be thoroughly cleaned and dried as well."
Xiao Bei and Ji Xinhe were arranging the grapes for drying while Ji Dong started to scrub the ten big jars clean.
As the siblings were busily at work, they suddenly heard a mocking voice: "Oh, so these sour wild grapes are worth like treasures, fetching all the way from the back hill, thinking you’ve hit a big fortune? As far as I can see, hmm, not so impressive."
Ji Xinhe looked up to see Ji Xiulan’s face full of smugness and malice.
Although they had split the family, living in the same courtyard and occasionally seeing each other was inevitable. But ever since Ji Xinhe had a fierce fight with Lady Ding, they ceased all contact, and Lady Ding even resorted to avoiding her.
However, to her surprise, Ji Xiulan dared to show her face here today.
Ji Xinhe glanced at her, lowered her head, and continued to work without responding. Xiao Bei, who always listened to his sister, naturally didn’t bother either. They were content to live their simple life with hope for better days.
Ji Dong also didn’t want outsiders to know they were brewing grape wine, so he silently continued cleaning the jars without uttering a word.
Seeing herself blatantly ignored, Ji Xiulan became furious, "Are you all mute? Disgusting to see your poor and sour faces!"
Ji Xinhe couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing the two words "poor and sour". She thought Lady Ding’s family was the least eligible to use these words to mock others. Everyone knew what the Ji family was now like and not to mention the fact that Ji Xiaobao had stormed in to steal food just a few days ago.
However, the way Ji Xiulan confidently uttered these words must have a reason behind it. Ji Xinhe took a closer look at Ji Xiulan’s attire; it seemed like a new skirt made of satin. Such a skirt must have cost a small fortune, not to mention the new vermilion hairpin in her hair.
Ji Xinhe didn’t need to think to know where she had gotten the money.
It seems Ji Dashan really did sell the two acres they had, using up his family’s inheritance to indulge an adopted daughter. It was hard to say whether he was trash or simply foolish!
Ji Xinhe pretended she didn’t hear Ji Xiulan’s sarcastic remarks and splashed a basin of water out.
Startled, Ji Xiulan lifted her skirt to dodge, but still ended up splashed with numerous water droplets. She jumped up in rage, hurling abuse, "Ji Xinhe, how dare you splash water on me!"
Ji Xinhe let out a cold laugh, "Sorry, I didn’t notice there was someone there. If you’re scared of being splashed, you’d better stay away. I’ve still got more water to splash."
While saying this, she splashed another basin of water.
They had just washed the grapes and left many buckets filled with water that hadn’t been thrown away. If Ji Xiulan continued to be an eyesore, she wouldn’t hesitate to drench her completely.
Ji Xiulan shrieked and jumped away, ready to burst out in a stream of curses; however, Gao Zhiru walked in, "What’s going on here?"
Ji Xiulan immediately dropped her sharp-tongued persona and clung to Gao Zhiru with a weepy face, "Zhiru, look at her! She’s splashing water at me. She loves to bully me."
Gao Zhiru frowned at Ji Xinhe, revealing a touch of disdain. As a scholar, he detested unrefined behavior, and naturally looked down upon this.
Ji Xinhe shot him a cold look, "Better take her and get lost before things get worse than just a splash."
A disdainful look from a poor scholar? As though she would care!
Hearing these words, Gao Zhiru’s face turned pale, fear surged in his eyes. He hurriedly pulled Ji Xiulan away, daring not to linger another second. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Ji Xinhe sneered, "Coward, thinking he could play the hero?"
Then she quickly turned her head and said to Ji Dong, "Brother, in the future, if anyone from their family dares to roam in front of us without any reason, just ignore them. You don’t need to waste your words on people like them."
Ji Dong, however, was standing there in a daze, not moving, seemingly lost in thought.
Surprised, Ji Xinhe dried her hands on the cotton apron, got up and walked over, "Brother, what’s wrong with you?"
Ji Dong regretfully said, "I should have bought you some nice clothes a long time ago."
It turns out he was thinking about this because he had just seen Ji Xiulan wearing a new dress.
Ji Xinhe found this amusing and said, "Why would I need that? As long as we have food and clothing in our home, I do not care about such things."
Despite her response, Ji Dong scolded seriously, "How can you say that? You’re a girl, already fifteen years old, the right age to think about marriage. How can your brother let you continue to live so frugally? I am awaiting to see you get married."
Ji Xinhe was stunned, married? It seemed she had never really thought about it.
However, Ji Dong was clearly more concerned than she was, "Today, we will dry the grapes and pack them up, then tomorrow, we’ll go into town. I will buy you two sets of new clothes, and some jewelry if possible. You’re a grown girl now, it’s about time you dressed up a bit. I’m sure that if you were really to get dressed up, you would be no worse than Ji Xiulan."
Why should Ji Xiulan be the only one cared for by a man? Why should his sister continue to live so frugally?
Especially considering her age, if she didn’t start taking care of herself, what if no one came to propose marriage in the future?
"Yes, yes, you should be more worried about yourself. When you gonna bring us a sister-in-law home?" Ji Xinhe said jokingly.
"No proper manners!" Ji Dong was thin-skinned, blushing as soon as he was teased, he waved his hand and continued to scrub the cans.
Ji Xinhe didn’t say anything more, laughing to herself. She thought that Ji Dong was just making a casual comment, but to her surprise, he really dragged her to town early the next morning. After all, Ji Dong was a man, and it wasn’t easy for him to pick out these things for Ji Xinhe. There were no other women in their family, so they could only ask Hong Qin for help.
In the end, they also brought along Hong Qin, who had a close relationship with Ji Xinhe.
Hong Qin was Aunt Lin’s eldest daughter from next door. Because they lived close by and were of similar age, she was closer to Xin He than others, unlike Xiulan who despised the village girls and would not associate with them.
When Hong Qin heard that Ji Dong was going to buy new clothes for Ji Xinhe, she was extremely envious, "Your brother is really nice."
This was the first time Ji Xinhe had been envied by anyone since she came here. She felt a moment of happiness, it seemed she was starting to like this life.
Upon reaching the town, Hong Qin immediately picked out a floral foundation fabric for Ji Xinhe. It looked fresh and appealing.
Ji Xinhe also really liked it, "Let’s go with this one."
In addition, they chose a light water green skirt. Originally, Ji Xinhe didn’t want to buy ready-made clothes because they were more expensive, but Ji Dong and Xiao Bei insisted that she did, so she reluctantly agreed. The floral foundation cotton cloth was cheap, only costing thirty cash, but the ready-made clothes were expensive due to the labour costs, costing one silver. Ji Dong hesitated not, immediately paying for it all, causing Ji Xinhe to wince at the cost.
Ji Dong said very seriously, "Isn’t it time to start taking care of yourself like the marriage-age girl that you are? Otherwise, no one will come to propose."
In essence, he was simply thinking about her future marriage.
Ji Xinhe didn’t dare to mention that she was a broken woman. Who could she possibly marry?!
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