Curious about what the two sisters were up to, He Jiuniang came over to watch the commotion, while Sun Shi hurriedly helped them up.
"Stand up and speak. What do you two girls mean by this? Why do you kneel down at the drop of a hat?"
The two girls refused to get up; despite their young age, they were surprisingly strong, and Sun couldn't lift them up.
"Grandma Lu, we're giving you all the grain and silver. Can we eat with you?"
The one who spoke was a slightly older girl named Daya. Her voice trembled as she spoke, and she looked very scared, but she still continued, "We were sold by our parents not long after we left home, and then we were captured by bandits and taken to a cave. Our lives were saved by Grandma Lu's family. We are willing to serve Grandma Lu's family as slaves and maids. We sisters will do anything!"
He Jiuniang watched quietly without offering any opinion. These two sisters were quite clever to come up with this idea.
Upon hearing this, Madam Sun immediately became agitated: "What kind of peasant keeps maids? My whole family is struggling to survive, how can I possibly support you two sisters? We've already shared all the grain and water we get with you. You two should be frugal and you'll naturally make it to Anzhou. Once you get there, it's your own business which wealthy family you choose to serve as slaves or maids. It has nothing to do with the Lu family. Little girl, you must learn to be content!"
After saying that, he glared at the two sisters fiercely, then pulled Youya away and kept his distance from them.
The two girls burst into tears and kept kowtowing to Madam Sun, pleading, "Grandma Lu, please take us sisters in! Please!"
In this era, girls were not valued. When people were starving, they would often resort to cannibalism. It was not easy for these two sisters to survive until now. They just wanted to find a family to take them in.
At first, they didn't have this idea, but seeing that the Lu family treated their daughters and sons the same way, with the son eating as much as the daughter, and that they hadn't been sold along the way.
The two sisters then had an idea: even if they were just maids, they wouldn't starve to death.
"Don't you two understand what I'm saying?"
Sun almost jumped up in anger. How could rescuing someone have turned into rescuing a burden?
He Jiuniang narrowed her eyes and suddenly said, "You can stay as well."
The Lu family looked at He Jiu Niang in horror, and Sun Shi even cursed, "Third son's wife, have you been kicked in the head by a donkey?"
He Jiuniang ignored Sun Shi and continued speaking to the two Liu sisters: "If you stay with us and live on your own, you might be able to reach Anzhou safely. But if you really become servants of our Lu family, then you'll have to give us most of your food. Moreover, if we encounter slave traders on the road, we can arrange to sell you to pay off your debts. You need to understand that the world is not good these days. Even your own parents could sell you, let alone us, who have no connection with you."
She spoke in a lazy, nonchalant manner, yet it startled the two sisters so much that their backs were soaked with sweat.
Being sold by one's own parents is the greatest pain in one's heart. One had hoped to find a good family to live with, but the cruelty was right in front of them. Even if they have a place to live now, they will still not be at peace in the future.
Madam Sun glanced at He Jiu Niang slowly. Fortunately, this third daughter-in-law knew her place. If she really wanted to keep her here, she might as well give up her position as head of the household! Let whoever wants it take it!
At this moment, a woman surnamed Qi from the clan said, "You two girls are really ungrateful. Uncle Xing's family has already done us a great favor by saving us, and you still expect them to support you. Your own parents don't even support you, so why should Uncle Xing's family support you? Even if Uncle Xing's family hadn't given us food and money, we wouldn't have said no!"
Li, Tiedan's mother, chimed in, "That's right! You're not old, but you're quite shrewd! You're not even part of our clan. Uncle Xing's family has already done a great service by taking care of you. How can you expect so much? If you're willing, come with us to Anzhou to settle down. If you try to cause any more trouble, we won't tolerate you two sisters!"
The Liu sisters blushed as they were told what to do. All they wanted was a place to stay, and they had a son who was about to grow up. They could accept being raised as child brides, so why couldn't they just stay?
"So, have you made up your mind?"
He Jiuniang looked at them with a half-smile. The two sisters hesitated to speak. Qi Shi continued, "What are you still thinking about? Hurry up and get some food. We need to get going after we eat! You're always causing trouble!"
Qi was also a member of the Lu family. At this moment, she was only accompanied by her young daughter. Her husband had been killed by bandits, and she wanted to go to Ganzhou City as soon as possible to see if she could meet any of her family members and see if her son was still alive. She had no mood to watch the two little girls fooling around here!
After being scolded, the two sisters naturally dared not say anything more and silently got up to cook with the other people.
They weren't members of the Lu family and weren't very familiar with each other. The only pot they had was one they'd scavenged from a bandit's den. After the two sisters' commotion, everyone else had their porridge, but they had to cook it all over again.
He Jiuniang looked at Qi Shi and Li Shi and said, "Thank you, sisters-in-law."
"What's the big deal! My husband is gone, and I don't know how I'll manage in Anzhou. I'm counting on your family to help me out! Sigh!"
Qi is a straightforward person who speaks her mind. If they really can't find their family, the Lu family will indeed have to help them.
Li nodded in agreement, agreeing with Qi's statement.
"Sister-in-law, you're too kind. We're all relatives, it's only right."
When He Jiuniang was in the other world, she didn't know what it felt like to have family, but after coming here, she experienced it firsthand.
According to the original owner's memories, the Lu family members in the village would occasionally have some minor conflicts, but they would always stand together against outsiders when something happened. This era valued family ties very much, and as long as it wasn't too outrageous, they would try their best to maintain good relationships among family members.
Although Sun felt that He Jiuniang's immediate agreement without even asking them seemed a bit immature, she didn't say anything. While it was true that a group of women and children would be a burden, it was only right that they risked their lives to rescue them, otherwise they wouldn't have done so knowingly.
Everyone continued with their own tasks, while the still-naive puppy pointed at the two sisters not far away and murmured, "Mother, bad people, Mother, bad people!"
Although he was young, he could still understand what the adults meant. His family didn't like the two sisters; they must be bad people.
He Jiuniang couldn't help but laugh and said, "They're not bad people, they just want to find a way out for themselves."
He Jiuniang didn't think they had done anything wrong; they had just had inappropriate thoughts.
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