Chapter 99: Filial Piety of Tuniang

  Zhong Niangzi gritted her teeth in anger. This cunning little girl was so cautious, even thinking of such a method to guard against others.

  "Does she always buy like this?!" Zhong Niangzi asked.

  That fellow nodded and said: "I've been here several times, and I always buy like this..."

  Zhong Niangzi was at a loss for good ideas and reluctantly said, "Then pack the several seasonings she bought too much of for me to try at home..."

  "...the flavor is indeed different, you'll know once you try it at home."

  Zhong Niangzi paid the money, took the package of ingredients and left. That girl... how come she has so many thoughts, in order to prevent others, every time she buys some other ingredients, if it weren't for her having the package of sauce ingredients, how would she know, this is too sinister...

  Did she get those seasonings from somewhere else?! How sneaky!

  Zhong Niangzi thought that the silver she had just obtained would soon be gone, and her heart was filled with frustration as she returned home. No matter what, she had to give it a try before giving up.

  After Da Bao saw Zhong Niangzi enter the spice shop, he furrowed his brow but didn't say anything else. Shen Sisi wasn't paying attention at all and returned to the gathering spot, where Er Gouzi and the others had been waiting for a while. Each of them was holding a string of candied hawthorns, which were the only things they bought because they were cheap - three copper coins per string, five copper coins for two strings. They didn't have much money in their hands after all, and it wasn't easy to earn it, so even if there were other things they wanted, they couldn't bear to buy them due to being too thrifty. But having a candied hawthorn made them feel content already. In the past, people at home wouldn't often buy these for them to eat, mainly because this was something they earned themselves, and it made them incredibly proud.

  One side was licking while looking around at the people and scenery in the city, one side excitedly said: "Tuniang, the city is really fun..."

  This scene is a bit similar to when she and Da Bao first came to the city, she smiled: "Later you will come every day and see it, after a long time, you will think it's just like that..."

  The two dogs didn't mind either, laughing and running with excitement in their eyes. They carried the cymbals and small table on their backs without complaining of fatigue. Their energy was more than enough, and they were extremely nice to Tuniang as well. They found that as long as they followed Tuniang, there would be food to eat. In the past when they were young, she had taught them how to catch fish, shrimp, and snakes to eat; now it was her taking them out to make money...

  There are girls with rich parents, their days are really wonderful.

  Back home, the two dogs immediately ran off as soon as they put down their things. On one hand, they were rushing back home to eat dinner; on the other hand, they were eager to show off the sugar gourds and money they had earned. Shen Sisi was speechless at how thoroughly they had licked the sugar gourds all along the way, and she felt a wave of disgust. But for children in this village who had never been to the city and had never tasted any snacks, the temptation was extraordinary. They were just kids after all, and Shen Sisi couldn't help but smile.

  Dabao took the gong frame and small table to wash, He Qiaoxiu had already cooked dinner and was waiting for them to eat. As soon as they returned, she smiled and ordered dinner to be served. Shen Sisi entered the kitchen to serve dishes and said: "Mother, I bought some green fabric and floral fabric. The green fabric is for Father and Dabao, Erbao, Sanbao, and Sibao to each make a set of clothes. The floral fabric is for you and Xiaohua to each make a set, and I'll also make one. Now that autumn has arrived, our family hasn't added new clothes in a long time. It's just right for the autumn season. When it gets colder later, we can add another set of winter clothes..."

  He Axiu touched the fabric displayed by Da Bao, smiled and said: "Good, good, I'll hurry up with Xiaohua, it'll be ready in a few days. This fabric is great, sturdy..." She hadn't bought fabric for a long time, at home they had been wearing clothes from eight years ago, mending and patching until they were worn out. Now seeing the long-awaited new fabric, she felt a lump in her throat, afraid of scaring the child, she quickly held back her tears.

  Xiao Hua sat by the fire, and upon hearing this, her face turned red with embarrassment, saying: "......Tuni, I won't have any..."

  Shen Sisi carefully placed the dishes, smiled and said: "We're all family now, Xiaohua, don't be polite. By the way, Mother, Xiaohua, I bought each of you a silver hairpin, take a look and see if you like it..."

  Shen Sisi took out the hairpins and handed them over to them. The one she gave to He Axiu was a moderate style, while the one she gave to Xiaohua was more lively and looked very vivid. "Try it on, do you like it?"

  He Qiu looked at the hairpin and tears came streaming down, saying: "It's really beautiful, Tuni is so filial..."

  Xiao Hua clutched the hairpin, looking stupid and at a loss, and also cried, hugging the hairpin and crying very emotionally. Shen Si saw it and felt some heartache.

  In the village, having a silver hairpin was already considered good jewelry, so this thing was quite precious to her. Niu Xiaohua cried out: "...Tuniu, you're...really good to me..." Better than her own mother.

  Shen Sisi let out a sigh, and He Axiu wiped away her tears, coming over to say: "Come, Xiaohua, I'll help you put up your hair..." At the same time, she couldn't help but laugh and say: "It really does look good, that country girl's taste is really great..."

  "Mother, I'll also put it up for you..." Shen Sisi said with a smile.

  He Qiaoxiu squatted down intimately and conveniently for her to comb her hair, with a smile all over her face.

  "Mother, you look really good..." Shen Sisi said with a smile.

  He Axiu was overjoyed and said: "Xiaohua, from now on you can also call me 'mother' along with Tuni. We're a family, no need to be polite..."

  "Hmm..." Niu Xiaohua's eyes turned red as she said: "Mother..."

  "Ah..." He Axiu lovingly stroked her hair and said, "Don't be restrained here, your brothers and sisters are all good, and your mother and father treat you well. You don't have to think about anything, just consider this... as your own home." He Axiu thought for a moment but couldn't bring herself to say it out loud, as Tian Guihua's household might be a painful place for Xiaohua.

  Niu Xiaohua nodded and looked at Shen Sisi: "Tuniu, didn't you buy hairpins?!"

  Shen Sisi shook her head and said: "I'm only eight years old, and I don't need to pin up my hair, let's buy it later..."

  "Unless I bring you a hairpin..."

  "Me? I'm only eight years old, it's too weird to wear my hair like that. And what if someone pulls it out when I go out? I don't want it, wait till I grow up and buy one..."

  He Axiu smiled and hugged Tuni: "Hmmm, when my Tuni grows up I'll buy the best watch for her..."

  Shen Sisi smiled and said, "Mother, let's eat. We're all hungry after walking for a whole day..."

  He Axiu finally put her down, Shen Sisi went to see Niu Xiaohua holding a bowl and chopsticks, but it was much better than before, and indeed not so constrained. She finally let out a sigh of relief, thinking that after staying at home for a long time, she would slowly become stronger in the future. She had been oppressed by Tian Guihua to be really too weak.

  The family sat around the table eating, now with an additional mouth to feed. Shen Si thought that they would have to buy more grain at home, otherwise it wouldn't be enough to eat. Moreover, Niu Xiaohua had come, and she was already feeling uncomfortable in her heart, being careful about everything she did while eating and working. If she were to suffer any further hardships, who knows how much more miserable she would become.

  Thinking of her, he had given her a lot of dishes, especially meat. Niu Xiaohua's eyes were welling up with tears, wanting to refuse but not refusing, and said: "Tuniu, you eat too, don't always give me food, I have enough to eat..."

  Shen Sisi smiled and said: "I'm eating too, you should eat a bit more..."

  Niu Xiaohua responded with a moved "yes", feeling relieved and grateful in her heart, and finally felt at ease.

  "Mom, I want to eat wontons tonight..." Shen Sisi said helplessly: "Can black flour be used to make wrappers?!"

  He Axiu smiled and said: "It's okay to roll it out, but it must be less delicate than white noodles. I don't know if the taste is smooth or not..."

  Here, wontons are still a delicacy, after all, they need to use white flour, wrap meat and simmer bone soup for seasoning, which family can often eat, only eating once during the New Year's festival.

  "Give it a try... " Zhong Gensheng said: "Next time we go into the city to buy some flour, let's eat some when we make dumplings and wontons, that would be good..."

  He Qiu nodded and said: "To be honest, we haven't had white noodles at home for a long time. I've even forgotten what they taste like."

  Shen Sisi felt heartbroken after hearing that. From then on, she was determined to make sure her family could eat their fill every day and have leftovers too.

  "Mom, things are a bit better at home now, no need to sell eggs anymore. I think we can just keep the eggs for ourselves from now on. Er Bao and San Bao still have to study, they need to eat more to keep up with their brains...”

  Shen Sisi smiled: "I want to eat boiled five-spice eggs, let's boil some this afternoon..."

  "Alright, I'll listen to you...". He Axiu wasn't unwilling to agree, previously it was because there was no other way, they had to sell eggs to exchange for salt, but now that life is a bit better, she couldn't possibly be stingy with a few eggs again. It's just that after listening to Shen Sisi, she felt sorry for the kids, "Let Tuni eat more too, look how thin you are..."

  "Hmm." Shensisi responded, hastily finishing her meal and then went to boil eggs. She counted thirty eggs, put them in the pot, added a seasoning packet, salt, and soy sauce, poured in water, and covered the lid. Niu Xiaohua followed closely behind her, saying: "Tuni, I'll help with the fire..."

  "Alright, Xiaohua, you come and cook. From now on, you don't have to do any heavy chores at home. You just need to help your mother with cooking and taking care of the kitchen. Your father and Dabao will take care of the farm work. Besides, our family's land is not that much, and renting a few more mu is really tiring. Now that we have some income, I've been thinking of telling your father to stop renting those lands and just focus on our own three mu. We can live off of that and won't have to rely on selling grain for a living. These three mu are just enough for us to have food on the table..."

  Niu Xiaohua used to do everything at home, now hearing Shen Sisi say that, she hurriedly said: "Tuniu, don't think I'm useless, actually I can do it all..."

  "I know, I just miss you... " Shen Sisi smiled and said: "In the future, when there's nothing to do, make some clothes, our family has many people, my mother's eyes are not good now, and we'll have to trouble you to make a few more clothes for us. Winter is coming, prepare more, I'm thinking of changing the quilts at home, they've been used for so many years, they're already hard, winter won't be warm..."