Under the intimidation of Old Lady Xia, Li and Zhao returned to their rooms in shame.
Xia Tian's mother went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the family. Xia Yue and Xia Chen also went to help. Now Xia Tian was alone in the room.
Xia Tian looked around the small room and opened the bundle on the big wooden box to take a look. Inside were some old clothes she had worn before, as well as a pair of green coarse cloth shoes that her sister Xia Yue had secretly given her last night.
After going to bed last night, Xia Yue rummaged through the wooden box on the kang for a long time and found a pair of shoes. She said they were made for her and asked her to put them in her bag when she got married tomorrow.
This was also the only new dowry she had when she got married.
Xia Tian touched the shoes and knew that these were the shoes Xia Yue made for her to wear when she got married. Xia Tian's marriage was only announced yesterday, so how would Xia Yue know that she was going to get married?
Xia Tian thanked her and accepted the shoes. He felt grateful for her elder sister Xia Yue's kindness and planned to repay her if he had the chance in the future.
This is also the first warmth I feel after traveling through summer.
When the sky was just getting light, the Xia family's breakfast was ready. The Xia family members sat around the table in the main hall. Because there were too many people, they ate at two tables, one for men and one for women and children.
At the men's table, Old Man Xia and Old Lady Xia sat at the top, and on their right sat Uncle Xia Zhengping and his three sons, Xia Shan, Xia Chuan, and Xia He.
On the left is Xia Zhengfeng, the third uncle of the Xia family, and his eldest son Xia Dong. The ones who attacked the most were Xia Tian’s father Xia Zhengan and her eldest brother Xia Yang.
My fourth uncle, Xia Zhengnian, is still studying in the county town and only comes back once every few months.
At the women's table, on the right were aunt Li Lanxiang and her daughter Daya, as well as her eldest daughter-in-law Li Ying and the two-year-old great-grandson of the Xia family, Xia Xiang.
On the left are Third Aunt Zhao Guilan and San Ya, as well as Xia Nan, who just turned six years old. The ones behind are her mother Chen Taohua and her four siblings.
Judging from the order of their meal, one can see the status of the second branch in the Xia family.
After the meal was served, after Old Lady Xia said "Let's eat", the only sounds that could be heard were the clashing of dishes and the slurping and swallowing of food.
There was only mixed grain porridge and pickles on the Xia family's breakfast table, and only the men's table was given one coarse flour pancake per person. At the women's table, only two-year-old Xia Xiang and six-year-old Xia Nan each got half a piece, and even Xia Shi didn't get any.
It can be seen that Mrs. Xia is partial, but she is the one in power and she has the final say on who eats what.
In the past, the original owner often argued with Old Lady Xia about this matter, and was often beaten.
No one spoke at the table, and the meal was finished in less than a quarter of an hour.
In summer, it feels like eating nothing.
After dinner, Xia's mother took Xia Yue and Xia Chen to clean up the table. Xia Tian looked at his uncle and third uncle's family who went back to their rooms, curled his lips, and said nothing in the end.
In this matter, the second wife has to be tough on her own.
Otherwise, it will be useless no matter who comes.
Xiatian didn't go to the kitchen to help. He moved a small stool and sat under the eaves, staring at the yard in a daze.
At about six o'clock, matchmaker Liu came to pick up the bride.
They said they were here to pick up the bride, but only matchmaker Liu came. How perfunctory of them.
Judging from the man's attitude, Xia Tian no longer has any illusions about her future dining partner.
There was nothing lively to see at the Xia family's side. Only a few neighbors were standing at the gate looking into the yard.
Everyone knew it well. To put it nicely, it was marrying off a daughter, but to put it bluntly, it was selling Si Ya to a dying sickly man as a wife.
This Xia family is really uncouth. They are not even willing to put in the effort to be polite, yet they still boast that there are scholars in their family.
When we heard that the betrothal gift was thirty taels, everyone was quite jealous, wondering why this good thing didn't happen to them.
Later, when people heard that she was marrying the dying sickly man who had fled from famine, everyone stopped being envious and jealous. Even if the daughter was a loss-making commodity, she was still their own daughter. However, there were still many people who felt sorry for Si Ya.
But in this era, selling children is common, and no one has the time to worry about other people's affairs. When it is mentioned, it is just treated as a joke.
Xia Tian sat there motionless, watching Matchmaker Liu coming in from the courtyard gate.
In the yard, Old Lady Xia and Matchmaker Liu were greeting each other, "Sister Liu, you're here. Si Ya will be ready soon. Please sit down and have a drink of water first."
Matchmaker Liu swung the handkerchief in her hand and smiled as she walked in, "Sister Xia, is the girl ready? If so, she can leave early so that you can go to work in the fields."
You know the man's family, he's all alone now. His younger brother just passed away, and he's still in mourning, so I came here to pick him up myself. Don't be picky, old sister!
"No, no, I know everything."
Old Lady Xia poured a bowl of water for Matchmaker Liu and urged Xia Tian to hurry up while talking to her. "Si Ya, why are you sitting here like an idiot instead of cleaning up? Hurry up and don't waste your Grandma Liu's time."
"Grandma, did you forget to give me something?" Xia Tian looked at Old Lady Xia and said coldly.
"Old sister, please sit down for a while," Old Lady Xia said to Matchmaker Liu hurriedly. She turned around and glared at Xia Tian fiercely. She walked over to her and whispered in a low voice, "Come in with me."
Xia Tian followed her in, and Old Lady Xia raised her hand and twisted her arm.
Xia Tiancai didn't tolerate her bad habits. He grabbed Old Lady Xia's wrist and asked her coldly, "Grandma, do you still want me to go out today?"
Old Lady Xia looked at Xia Tian's cold eyes and finally didn't dare to make trouble anymore. She cursed softly, "You money-loser, don't come back to this house if you have the guts." She took out a tael of silver from her bosom and stuffed it into Xia Tian's arms, then turned around and left.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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