Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Awakening
There was an extra breathing sound in the room, which made Yu Li very uncomfortable, and he instinctively wanted to stifle it.
She squeezed her hands and repeatedly reminded herself not to act rashly.
Fortunately, when she woke up last night, she had no strength due to heatstroke in this body, so she didn't make a big mistake. Otherwise... she probably wouldn't be able to sit peacefully in the Fu family and drink bean porridge today.
At present, Yu Li still wants to stay in the Fu family. Although she is here to be a maid, there are bean porridge, pickles and vegetable soup.
The food here is all natural, without any pollution, and not artificially synthesized. Even the coarse grains taste better than the nutritional supplements and compressed dry food that are synthesized from some dark material. Even drinking a sip of water is a pleasure.
Fortunately, her body is still feeling uncomfortable. Even though Yu Li is not used to it, she cannot resist the message that her body wants to rest. With the faint sound of shallow breathing, she gradually falls into a deep sleep.
Sleep till dawn.
After dawn, Yu Li woke up and found that his body was still soft and weak. The omnipresent discomfort was still there and had not disappeared, as if something had been lurking in his body, trying hard to break out.
Her eyes were a little dull, and it took her a long time to get up.
While washing up, Yu Li discovered that the water in the water tank was almost empty.
She thought about it and remembered that if the country people didn't have a well at home, they had to fetch water from the river.
The Fu family did not have a well, so they went to the river to fetch water for cooking, washing, etc.
After breakfast, Yu Li asked, "Mom, there's no water in the jar. Where's the bucket? I'll go get some water."
There are many people in this family, one is lying unconscious in bed, one is old and weak, and two are young and weak. None of them can do any work, so naturally, the job of fetching water has to be done by her.
Yu Li defines her identity in the Fu family as a "maid" and knows that she has to work hard to have food to eat.
Zhou looked at Yu Li's thin body and couldn't help asking, "Can you do it?"
Although she knew that she might be very strong, people are always deceived by appearances. Seeing her skinny appearance, Zhou couldn't help but feel a little pity for her.
"Forget it, I'll ask Da Zhuang next door to help me fetch some water later."
Although she wanted to bring good luck by bringing the bride into the family, Zhou still felt somewhat guilty.
It was this guilt that made her always want to be nicer to her daughter-in-law. Apart from asking her to take care of her younger son, she did not force her to do anything, and she would not let her be busy like a top all day long like she was in the Yu family.
"Sure." Yu Li said, "Although I don't have much strength now, carrying two buckets of water is nothing."
If it was her body in her previous life, she would have no problem carrying the water jar to the river and filling it with water. But now she is too weak and can only carry a bucket to fetch water.
Zhou was still very hesitant, but seeing that she insisted, she had to find out the wooden bucket for carrying water and a shoulder pole, thinking that if she couldn't carry the water, she would ask Dazhuang for help, and then give Dazhuang's family some coarse grains such as beans as compensation.
They ask their neighbors to help fetch the water they need for their family.
Yu Li took the wooden barrel and carrying pole and went out.
There is a river passing through Qingshi Village. When villagers need water, they go to the upper reaches of the river to fetch water. That place is a special place for villagers to fetch water. Most villagers do not go there to wash clothes.
Following his memory, Yu Li came to a river not far from the Fu family.
The sun had already risen by then, and there were many villagers washing clothes by the river. Most of them were married women, with only a few unmarried girls.
Seeing Yu Li passing by carrying two wooden barrels, people by the river couldn't help but look over and quickly recognized her.
Someone called out to her, "Li Niang!"
Yu Li turned his head and saw a plump lady with a very friendly face. He recognized her as Aunt Feng who lived next door to the Yu family.
Yu Li called out "Aunt Feng" obediently.
Aunt Feng smiled and said, "Are you here to fetch water, Li Niang?"
Yu Li nodded, went to the upstream, filled two wooden buckets with water, then lifted them up and carried them away on a shoulder pole.
The people by the river watched her leave with water, then continued with their work and chatted.
"Li Niang is such a pitiful child. The Yu family did something dishonest. If something really happened to Fu Wenxiao..."
"It's not surprising. That's twenty taels of betrothal money. Who wouldn't be tempted?"
"It's only the second day after the wedding, and Li Niang has to go out to fetch water. Who would be willing to let the bride do such rough work? It's true that this wedding ceremony is different from a normal engagement."
"I think Aunt Zhou is a kind person. She won't treat Li Niang harshly, right?"
"It's hard to say. Even the most kind-hearted person will change when faced with the matter of their own son."
…………
The news that the Yu family accepted 20 taels of silver from the Fu family and sent the second wife's eldest daughter, Yu Li, to marry the Fu family for good fortune had spread throughout the village. Many families who loved their daughters thought that the Yu family had gone too far by marrying their daughter to a dying man.
It’s just that the Yu family has two scholars, and the eldest brother Yu is also a capable person. They dare not say anything in front of them, but they despise him in private.
As he was speaking, Yu Li came over with two empty buckets and continued to fetch water.
This time she did not carry water with a shoulder pole. Instead, she filled the buckets with water and walked away carrying the two buckets.
Most people carry water using a shoulder pole, which saves energy. Few people carry the water with both hands like she does, and she seems to be walking very fast.
Seeing this scene, those who were still talking suddenly shut up.
Someone asked in surprise: "Why does it look like Li Niang is quite strong?"
Aunt Feng took a look and said, "Li Niang is really strong. During the busy farming season, she often works in the fields with her parents, and even helps carry grain home. She is the most capable girl in the Yu family."
Aunt Feng's family lives close to the Yu family, so she knows some of the situations of the Yu family and the situations of the girls in the second branch of the Yu family.
She secretly shook her head in her heart, thinking that some of the Yu family's practices were truly despicable.
Although most people in the world value sons over daughters, there are very few who do not treat their daughters as human beings like the Yu family. The girls from the second branch of the Yu family are really unlucky to have such relatives.
**
Yu Li walked back and forth several times and soon filled the water tank with water.
Zhou was a little worried at first, but when she saw her carrying two buckets of water as if it were flat ground without even taking a breath, she could not help but remain silent.
It seems that this daughter-in-law is really strong.
The summer in Qingshi Village is hot and humid. The temperature rises early in the morning. I took a walk outside and sweated profusely.
Zhou brought a bowl of water over and said with a smile, "You've worked hard, Li Niang. Come and have a drink of water."
Yu Li took it and drank it down, licked the corner of his lips with satisfaction, and looked at Zhou.
Zhou laughed a lot. The expression on her face was easy to understand; it meant she wanted to drink more.
So I poured her another bowl, and when I saw that she was about to continue drinking it, I couldn't help but feel my scalp tingling.
Zhou quickly said, "Li Niang, are you hungry? If you are hungry, just tell me. You don't have to keep drinking water."
She knew the feeling of being hungry, so hungry that she could only fill her stomach with water.
In her opinion, Yu Li's posture of drinking water was similar to that of a person who was very hungry and had to drink water to fill her stomach. She couldn't help but wonder, did she not eat enough for breakfast?
Yu Li was indeed not full, but he was not hungry either. He just couldn't help but want to drink the clean and odorless water when he saw it. He didn't feel sick of it at all.
Not only water, she is interested in anything edible.
She felt that this world was truly wonderful, without any pollution, peaceful and harmonious, and beautiful like a dream.
Zhou thought Yu Li was hungry, so she buried a few sweet potatoes in the stove while boiling the medicine. She stewed them with the ashes in the stove. They tasted fragrant and sticky, and even had honey on them.
Yu Li knew how to roast sweet potatoes. When the original owner was busy in the kitchen with his mother, he would sometimes secretly bury a sweet potato in the stove and bring it back to his room at night to share with his sisters.
For children in the countryside, roasted sweet potatoes are a rare snack that can satisfy their cravings.
Soon a strong smell of medicine filled the room.
This decoction was made for Fu Wenxiao. A dose of the medicine cost quite a bit. Although the doctor said that she could prepare for her funeral, Zhou was not willing to do that. She still held out hope and asked the doctor to prescribe medicine for a few days. She made a bowl of decoction every day and also put ginseng roots in it to keep Fu Wenxiao alive.
The Fu family has a simple population and all their land is rented out, so there is basically nothing to do.
After fetching water, Yu Li had nothing to do, so she sat aside and watched the fire boil the medicine. When the sweet potatoes were ripe, she picked them out of the stove with a fire poker.
Yu Li peeled open a hot sweet potato and smelled the unique sweet aroma of the roasted sweet potato. He swallowed secretly, took a bite carefully, and then his eyes widened.
Two children passing by the kitchen saw her eating roasted sweet potatoes and swallowed hard.
They usually eat roasted sweet potatoes and don’t think there’s anything special about them, but when they see her eating them, they suddenly want to eat them and feel very upset if they can’t have them.
The gazes of the two children were too intense to be ignored. Yu Li glanced at them, then at the roasted sweet potato in his hand, and finally reluctantly gave one to them.
"Thank you, little aunt."
The two children spoke sweetly and smiled at her in an especially cute and lovable manner.
Because the sweet potatoes were just baked and still hot, Yu Li helped them peel off the charred skin on the outside, revealing the soft red flesh soaked in honey, and then handed it to them after it cooled down a little.
A group of two children, one adult and two children, squatted in the kitchen and ate roasted sweet potatoes, not even complaining about the heat.
When Zhou saw this scene, she smiled faintly.
But when he thought of his little son who was still unconscious in the room, the smile on his face disappeared and he looked sad again.
After the medicine was ready, Zhou poured out the juice, put it aside to cool, and then brought it over to feed Fu Wenxiao.
Yu Li went to get a basin of clean water and brought it into the house.
She put the basin away and opened the window to ventilate the room while Zhou was away.
As soon as the window opened, the room suddenly became brighter.
Yu Li came to the bed and finally saw the man on the bed clearly.
Although his skin was so pale that the man lying there looked like a corpse, it must be said that he was really handsome.
He was about twenty years old, with delicate features and a handsome appearance. He lay there quietly, his black hair spread out on the pillow, which made his eyebrows and eyes look picturesque. His whole body was like a sculpture of snow and jade, with a kind of clean and transparent beauty, detached from the mundane world and not like a human being in this world.
This simple country house is illuminated by the person on the bed.
Yu Li was stunned for a moment, looked at the man on the bed a few more times, then calmly wrung out a clean towel.
Although she had only seen it once, she was a good learner and followed Zhou's steps to clean his body.
After cleaning the face, wipe the body.
Yu Li helped the unconscious man up and was about to unzip his shirt when suddenly a hand reached out, grabbed her wrist and stopped her.
Her expression paused, and when she looked up she met a pair of cold and dark eyes.
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