"You wretched girl, you wicked creature! Look what you've done to my precious grandson! You've done something terrible! Ah Ping, quickly take him to get checked out, lest he suffer any lasting damage."
While scolding, Old Mrs. Sheng urged Sheng Ping to take Sheng Muchen to the village's barefoot doctor.
After saying that.
The family rushed Sheng Muchen, whose nose was bleeding profusely, towards the village.
Alright.
I didn't get to freeload lunch, and I even brought bad luck upon myself.
Sheng Qian wanted to remind Sheng Ping of the benefits he deserved, but she didn't have a chance to mention them.
Sheng Qian was reluctant to leave.
"You brat, what are you standing there for? You come with me. Let's go to the brigade and settle this. You hurt my precious grandson, so the Long family has to pay compensation." Old Mrs. Sheng didn't forget to squeeze some more money out of Sheng Qian.
Sheng Qian chuckled, "Alright, let the brigade and village chief judge this for me. Uncle Sheng pocketed the money the Long family gave him and even tried to smear me, a weak woman. We can explain to everyone why his big nose is bleeding. Oh, and while we're at it, let's invite the Long family to town. If they want compensation, you can ask them yourselves."
The Long family isn't made of clay, to be molded into the hands of some old shrew from the village.
"Mom, this has nothing to do with Qian'er. Let's take Muchen to see a doctor about her nose right away, or she'll bleed to death." Sheng Ping quickly stepped forward to stop his family's recklessness.
Calling the Long family here and then causing trouble at the brigade is just asking for trouble.
Upon hearing the words "blood flowing freely," Grandma Sheng immediately helped her beloved grandson walk outside.
Sheng Hongyang said with an unfriendly expression, "I'll deal with you, you little brat, when I get back."
Sheng Qian chuckled, her eyes bright. "I'll be waiting at home."
Since the family isn't good people, it's best for her to leave them.
To avoid having people around you getting in the way.
Sheng Ping's family had all left, leaving only Sheng Ting standing in front of the kitchen door, lost in thought.
Sheng Qian turned to look at her and asked, "Is there anything to eat?"
She was hungry.
"Qianqian, you, how could you..."
"What, you really want to marry Liang Qiushen? If you want, I can find a way to force him to marry you." Sheng Qian said as she walked into the kitchen: "Now that everyone's gone, we can't go hungry."
Sheng Ting shook her head: "Qianqian, I, I don't want to get married. I'm illiterate, how can I be worthy of someone like Liang Qiushen?"
Looking at Sheng Ting, who was hanging her head in self-consciousness, and seeing the patches on the girl's clothes, her calloused hands, and even the shoes that were sandals patched with hard plastic, her toes were red from the cold and covered with some black dirt that couldn't be washed off.
It wasn't dirt, but because of years of working in the fields, even if it was washed today, it would be stuck on again the next day, and over time a layer of black stains would remain stuck in the cracked flesh.
The weather in January was bitterly cold, and she was dressed very lightly.
Unlike Sheng Muchen's thick clothes, her slender body was completely exposed.
Sheng Qian lamented the lowly fate of girls in this era.
Sheng Qian had no way to help her at the moment, so she walked into the house and exclaimed, "Wow! Is this the food you made? It smells so good! With this kind of food, you could open a restaurant!"
Sheng Ting blushed slightly: "It's not as good as you say. I just cooked whatever. Qianqian, while Grandma and the others aren't here, you should eat something."
Sheng Ting quickly filled a bowl with rice for Sheng Qian and loosened the rice with a rice spoon so that it wouldn't be obvious that someone had eaten it.
The food looked untouched, which made Sheng Qian feel a little strange.
"Eat quickly, I'll wash the dishes after you're done, then they won't notice."
Sheng Qian felt a little embarrassed.
"Um...aren't you going to eat?"
"I... I'll wait a bit longer," Sheng Ting said, not daring to sneak a bite.
It's okay to sneak a bite if it's just for one person, but if there are two of you, you'll definitely get caught.
Remembering the rattan cane in Grandma Sheng's hand, Sheng Ting's face turned pale instantly.
Sheng Qian took out another bowl and divided it in half: "Let's eat together."
Sheng Ting looked at Sheng Qian, then picked up her chopsticks and started eating quickly.
She hadn't eaten breakfast, had worked most of the day, and still had to go into the kitchen to help out when she got back. She was really hungry, tired, and cold.
If it weren't for the firewood warming her body, she probably would have been too cold to move.
Although Sheng Ting was a few months older than Sheng Qian, she was much thinner and smaller.
At least Sheng Qian had cloth shoes to wear at home, and a couple of thick clothes, but Sheng Ting was in a much worse situation.
They did the dirtiest work, ate the least, and wore tattered clothes, several of which were hand-me-downs from the woman in front of them.
When her older sister was alive, Sheng Ting had someone to share the burden, and the two of them had each other for company.
Her life became increasingly difficult after her older sister got married.
I heard that my older sister married into the next town and is not doing well either. She is beaten every day, has three children, and is now pregnant with another one.
Actually, Sheng Ting has an older sister and a younger sister, but they were abandoned at birth.
Even Sheng Qian, who had two older sisters and a younger sister, was abandoned.
Due to limited resources, girls often face many hardships from birth, either being abandoned or raised in a subpar manner.
Sometimes living isn't necessarily more comfortable than dying.
The preference for sons over daughters was so severe that even families with some money wouldn't send their daughters to school.
They all argued that a girl's marriage is like water spilled from a cup, a waste of money and energy.
Unless a girl marries into a family with different ideas, she can only enjoy that little bit of good fortune.
But how many of the thousands of families have this awareness?
"Qianqian, the person you married..." Sheng Ting's eyes showed sympathy for Sheng Qian, yet she was powerless to help her.
"It's nothing special. That family is quite nice; they're rich and intellectuals. They live in the provincial capital, so I'll be living a life of luxury with them. Isn't that great?" Sheng Qian said with a relaxed expression.
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