Gu Yuanfeng stared at the swaddled infant, her eyes filled with resentnt. Everyone had said she was carrying a boy, so how had it turned into a little girl?
’What good is a girl? The He Family won’t want her, and it’s even less likely that Seventh will agree to raise her.’
’If I had known this would be the outco, I should have listened to Mother. One dose of dicine, and I wouldn’t have this problem now.’
Li Cuicui ca in carrying a bowl of soup. Seeing Gu Yuanfeng’s tears still falling, she sighed. "Stop crying. You’ll ruin your eyes, and then you’ll really have sothing to regret."
"Mother, how did it turn into a girl? What good is this useless burden?" Gu Yuanfeng wiped away her tears. "The He Family definitely won’t want her."
Li Cuicui placed the bowl on the cabinet. "I told you long ago that their whole family was unreliable, but you refused to believe . Did you really think I didn’t know you were secretly eting with He Tiping?
I just couldn’t be bothered to interfere. Besides, I figured since the child is their He family’s flesh and blood, the best choice would be for them to take it back after it was born.
Now that the baby is here, I’ll have your brothers take her to them in a little while."
"But..." Gu Yuanfeng hesitated. "Let’s wait a little longer."
"Wait for what?" Li Cuicui said sarcastically. "For them to co and take you back themselves? Let make this perfectly clear: if you go to the He Family again, don’t even think about coming back to this ho."
"Tuping..."
"Shut up. ntion him one more ti and you can leave right now."
The baby’s cries made Li Cuicui hold her tongue. "Hurry up and drink the soup. You need to feed the child."
"What kind of soup is this?" Gu Yuanfeng glanced at the pickled vegetable soup. "Mother, is there no at in the house?"
Li Cuicui said, "No one went to the market, so where would we get at for you to eat?
And the few chickens we started raising this spring haven’t even laid a single egg yet."
Gu Yuanfeng asked, "Can’t you just kill a chicken?"
"These chickens are about to start laying. It would be a waste to kill one. Besides, who was it that got greedy a while back? You and your father finished off all the roosters we had."
"Mother, haven’t my brothers co to see today either?" Gu Yuanfeng asked, picking up the soup and drinking it.
Li Cuicui peeked at the little girl, noticing her small mouth sucking and her features faintly resembling Gu Yuanfeng’s. "What’s there to see? You’re just staying at ho. They’ve been in the county town helping your seventh brother, so they’re probably not ho right now."
"Then my sisters-in-law must be ho, right? It’s just a short walk away, but they can’t even be bothered to co over and see ."
Seeing her put the bowl down, Li Cuicui picked it up and walked out. "You have to wait on you, and you’re still complaining? You should be grateful. When you gave birth to Xiaocao, you were back to work and cooking for that whole big family on the very sa day. You’re spoiled."
Gu Yuanfeng pouted and turned to stare at the swaddled baby. ’Truly useless. Why couldn’t you have been a boy? If you were a boy, I’d have a life of endless comfort ahead of .’
...
＆
"Why are you back today?" Li Cuicui had just stepped out the main gate when she saw Ancient Wen Heng and Jin Qianqian pushing the door open.
"Mother, we ca back to see you," Ancient Wen Heng said, taking the hoe from her hand. "Where’s Father?"
"He wandered off sowhere early this morning," Li Cuicui said, her tone filled with helplessness. Gu Dashishi had completely given up; he wouldn’t lift a finger for any chore, whether at ho or in the fields.
She’d argued and cursed, but Li Cuicui had long since given up hope. She just treated him like a mascot in the house; at least this way, she didn’t have to bear the title of widow.
Ancient Wen Heng called Granny Song and Luo Gang over to Li Cuicui and had them greet her. "Granny Song can help you with the household chores, so you won’t have to work so hard.
As for the fieldwork, if you want to do any, just send Luo Gang."
Li Cuicui’s eyes widened. "No, this won’t do! It’s not proper! I’ve done farm work my whole life, why would I need soone to wait on ?
You need them more where you are. Hurry up and take them back."
Jin Qianqian went over and took Li Cuicui’s arm. "Mother, it’s too hard for you to manage everything by yourself. Besides, now that your son is capable, he should naturally let you live a better life. From now on, work if you want to, and if you don’t, you can just take walks around the village."
"But this is too extravagant. Besides, there’s no place for them to live here." Li Cuicui looked embarrassed; they were hiring help but didn’t even have a place for them to stay.
Jin Qianqian smiled and said, "We’ve already thought of that. They’ll work here during the day and stay at our place at night. They can also help us tidy up our house a bit."
"Well..." Li Cuicui was still a bit uneasy. "We’re still hale and hearty. I don’t know what the villagers will say about this."
Jin Qianqian helped her inside. "Mother, what matters is that we live our lives comfortably. We can’t have my husband and I living well in the city while you continue to suffer here!
Honestly, with them here to keep you company, Ancient Wen Heng will be more at ease when he’s away."
"Is Seventh going on another long trip?" Li Cuicui imdiately looked up at Ancient Wen Heng. This son before her felt both familiar and strange. He was the sa person, but at so point, he had grown to a point she almost didn’t recognize.
Jin Qianqian quickly told her the date of the provincial exam Ancient Wen Heng was going to take. "He needs to leave a bit early for it this ti, so it will be a long while before he can co back to see you again."
Li Cuicui clasped her hands together and bowed repeatedly to the empty air. "May all the gods and spirits protect him. May my son’s exam to beco a scholar go smoothly..."
"Mother, we have guests," Gu Yuanfeng called out loudly from her room. "I think I hear Seventh’s voice. Are they back?"
Only then did Li Cuicui rember the other "great Buddha" in the house. "Your sixth sister gave birth yesterday, to a daughter. But Seventh, you two shouldn’t go in. He’s preparing for the scholar exam; don’t risk any bad luck."
Ancient Wen Heng hadn’t wanted to go in for a visit anyway, and now that his mother had given him a perfect excuse, he was happy to stay put.
"What do you an? I’m his older sister, can’t he even co see ?" Gu Yuanfeng lifted the door curtain to co out but was quickly blocked by Li Cuicui.
"What are you coming out for?"
"Isn’t that Seventh and his wife? They’re back. I’m going out to talk to them about sothing.
They won’t co into my room, so it’s fine if I go out to see them, right?" Gu Yuanfeng tried to get around Li Cuicui, but Li Cuicui grabbed her hand, holding her in place.
"Just settle down. Seventh is about to take the scholar exam. Don’t you know your own situation right now?"
"Seventh is going to take the scholar exam?" Gu Yuanfeng was a little surprised. "He’s only been studying with that old scholar for a few years. Is he really that capable?"
"That’s because Seventh is lucky and smart," Li Cuicui said, her face full of pride. "Soon he’ll be a respected scholar."
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