Yu Hemiao: "Why don't you listen? These are such good pens, just use one and give the rest to your sister later."
Yu Lanlan's voice was very low: "But... I like this red one, and I also like this blue one..."
"It's good enough to have a red one, why do you need a blue one? What a waste! Child, why are you so ignorant now? You are the older sister, you know, you are the older sister! An older sister should act like an older sister! You have to give in to your younger sister!"
Yu Hemiao's voice suddenly became so loud.
This made Yu Lanlan's voice seem even weaker: "But, Mom, my aunt said that this is specially for... me, only for me, my sister... there are other things..."
Yu Hemiao: "Auntie says this because she loves you, but don't you feel bad for me? I'm about to have a baby myself, and I have plenty of places to spend money, yet I still buy you such expensive things. You should save some money, maybe you can give them to your younger brothers and sisters in the future! When mom was your age, she saved everything for your aunt and uncle, so why do you have to make me say it so many times?"
Yu Sui was listening to this outside, and her heart was suddenly filled with sadness.
He wanted to blame Yu Hemiao, but for a moment he couldn't say the words.
Indeed, this era is too poor. If a family has several children, which family doesn’t have to have the older ones take care of the younger ones?
The same goes for food. If there is not enough food, the older ones have to give way to the younger ones.
If not, life would be even more difficult.
Don’t older children really feel wronged?
As someone who had never truly lived with her brothers and sisters, she felt so wronged just thinking about it!
Yu Sui took a deep breath and rushed in with the things.
As soon as Yu Lanlan saw her come in, she quickly lowered her tearful eyes.
Yu Sui pretended not to see and said to Yu Lanlan, "Lanlan, I bought Guoguo a speaker. It sounds great, but it's a bit noisy if you play it in the kitchen. Why don't you take your sister to the room to play together? Auntie wants to talk to your mother."
"Okay, auntie." Yu Lanlan walked very sensibly to her mother, took her sister who could walk unsteadily, and went to her mother's small room.
Yu Sui sat down next to Yu He Miao and held her sister's hand.
Yu Hemiao's hands are completely those of a rural person who has been working all year round.
If you only look at her hands, you can't tell that this woman is only twenty-five or twenty-six years old.
Yu Sui: "Sister, I heard everything you said just now. I want to ask you, when I was a child, I was always naughty and would break things, but Mom couldn't help but blame you, the eldest sister, did you feel wronged?"
Yu Hemiao was stunned and was speechless for a moment: "Second sister, what are you talking about?"
Yu Sui: "I was very naughty when I was little, wasn't I? Mom always said so. Mom said that one time when I was just learning to walk, I knocked over a bottle of oil. Mom couldn't beat me because she was young after all, and she was afraid of killing me. So she pressed you on the well platform and beat you so hard that you couldn't sit down for days, and you wouldn't even eat properly. Is that true?"
Yu Hemiao's mouth opened wider and wider, and she finally managed a laugh: "Oh, it's been so long! Mom, I forgot about it when I told you this!"
However, her voice had changed in pitch and became too nasal to be ignored.
Yu Sui: "Mom told me this because she was very sorry for you. You may have forgotten, but she took it to heart because she knew she had wronged you and shouldn't have put my mistakes on you. She was just embarrassed to tell you in person."
After hearing this, Yu Hemiao finally couldn't hold it in anymore. Her mouth trembled for a long time, and finally she burst into tears: "I... little sister, I didn't take good care of you. Our family is poor, and one bottle of oil needs to last a year. Mother couldn't bear it, and beating me... was right... Wuwu, I... I didn't take it to heart... Wuwu..."
Yu Sui hugged Yu He Miao.
Yu Hemiao cried so hard that she was out of breath.
Yu Sui patted her gently, showing rare patience:
"Sister, we are sisters. If you have been wronged, there is no need to complain. We are all human beings for the first time and no one owes anyone anything. So, it is right for me to feel sorry for you. It is also good that you understand her. You don't have to take all the problems on yourself.
Only in this way will you not be easily bullied, and the children you raise will not be easily bullied. I specifically tell you this because I see that you are treating Lanlan the same way your mother treated you, so I am talking to you and reminding you.
If you want Lanlan to always give in and not speak out when bullied, then you can continue; if you want her to be strong and resilient, you must treat her fairly and not label her as someone who must give in in everything just because she is the eldest. Sister, do you understand what I mean?
Since Yu Sui mentioned Lanlan, Yu Hemiao’s crying became quieter.
This proved that she started thinking.
Yu Sui sat aside and waited patiently.
Gradually, Yu Hemiao stopped crying and looked up at Yu Sui with her red eyes: "Second sister... am I... am I really like this?"
"Really? Lanlan is only six, but you seem to think that she should do all the housework, that taking care of her younger sister is necessary, and that saving things for her younger sister is sensible. Even though she told you I bought the crayons specifically for her, you still think it's right to leave them to her younger siblings. Sister, you've overlooked that she's only six. She's your child, too, and she needs your love, too."
Yu Hemiao was a little overwhelmed: "I...but if she doesn't help me, I won't be able to take care of it all by myself. Besides, we're living with my mother now, and I'm already eating poorly. I can't let Lanlan..."
Yu Sui held her hand the entire time, very gently:
"Sister, you can let her do the housework within her ability, but don't plant the seeds of 'you should have it' in her mind and use it to control her! Take the incident when we were kids that I just told you about. You said you forgot about it and that you didn't feel wronged, but do you really not feel wronged? When I first learned to walk, weren't you only as old as Lanlan?
You helped with the housework and took care of me, which was already great, but Mom beat you like that. Have you really let it go? In fact, it's just that this environment has trapped you. Everyone expects this of girls, everyone expects this of the eldest sister, and everyone regards taking care of younger siblings as a necessity. Over time, you succumb.
Of course, we are all poor, and the older ones have to take care of the younger ones. There is nothing we can do about it. But we can tell Lanlan, 'You are very good, you have tried hard to help, and mom is very happy. Auntie bought these for you because you are very well-behaved. Just take them and play with them. Mom won't let your sister take them away from you.'
Would Lanlan feel more comfortable with this? From now on, her mindset will no longer be based on 'I must be sensible, I must be tolerant, I must share', but rather on 'I've done well, I deserve it, I help Mom take care of my sister, Mom loves me, I deserve love'. When a child like this grows up and is treated unfairly, she will resist instead of submitting to it and looking down on herself. "Sister, do you understand what I mean?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
