The Legend of the Farm Girl

The first rest day passed quickly, and it was time for Yunfang to go back to work again.

There are two quilt covers in Yunfang's embroidery room. In order to catch up with the progress, Yunfang embroidered the previous quilt cover so much that her eyes were swollen. She didn't dare to continue. Yunfang planned to finish two quilt covers in half a month. In this way, she should be able to get 15 taels of silver when she gets paid.

According to Yunfang's own plan, she goes to work, embroiders, goes home and studies step by step. Her life is extremely fulfilling and she is making progress every day.

On the last day of this month, Yunfang completed two quilt covers, each of which was valued at seven taels and five cents. In the past half month, Yunfang received a total of fifteen taels of wages, which was not a small amount among all the embroiderers. In less than half a year, Yunfang could be promoted to a third-level embroiderer.

It was another day off. Before going to rest, Tian Tian said to Yun Fang, "Little Yun Fang, I'm going to my grandparents' house with my mother to give them New Year gifts. What are you going to do?"

Yunfang replied: "I should just go shopping with my mother!"

When she got home, Yunfang gave half of her wages to her mother and asked her, "I have another day off tomorrow, where are we going?"

Yun Fangniang said, "Let's go to the north of the city tomorrow to look for the Li family. We were able to escape the riots in the north thanks to the Li family. The New Year is coming soon, and I will feel bad if I don't find them."

Yunfang knew that her mother was always worried about the Li family, so she agreed immediately.

The next morning, Yunfang and her mother went to the north of the city, leaving Yunfeng at home to look after Yunying.

When they arrived in the north of the city, Yunfang began to inquire, but there was still no news about the Li family. The two walked around aimlessly, but met an unexpected person: Tian Tian's fiancé Xu Jin.

After meeting Tian Tian and Xu Jin last time, when they went to work again, Tian Tian and Yun Fang apologized, saying that Xu Jin had a bad attitude that day and explained that it was because Xu Jin was in a hurry.

Tian Tian didn't care whether Yunfang could understand her and Xu Jin's love story. She told Yunfang the whole story about how they were childhood sweethearts, and how Xu Jin always bullied her when they were young, and how she realized when she grew up that the bullying was actually a form of love.

Yunfang asked in surprise: "She bullied you when you were a child, don't you hate her?"

Tian Tian said: "He just doesn't know how to express himself. Just like when he saw you, he didn't mean it."

Yunfang didn't understand, but she had come into contact with too few men, so she couldn't make any comments.

But the Xu Jin I saw today was completely different from the one I saw last time, and was also different from what Tian Tian said to her.

Xu Jin followed a woman, holding a lot of things in his hands, but the woman had nothing in her hands. Xu Jin's face was full of tenderness when he spoke to the woman, as if he had become a different person.

Yunfang felt something was wrong and looked at her mother. Her mother shook her head at her and signaled her not to make any noise.

But Xu Jin seemed to feel Yunfang's gaze. When he turned around, he saw Yunfang and her mother.

He panicked, but then pretended to be calm, put the things on the ground, said a few words to the woman, then walked up to Yunfang and said to her, "Do you remember me? Tian Tian and I met you last time. She is my cousin. Why did you come to Chengbei?"

Yunfang replied, "I came to the north of the city to look for someone. Your cousin lives in the north of the city, do you come here often? Do you know a family named Li who just moved here from Wendong Province?"

Xu Jin really knew that this house was just opposite the house of the woman next to him, but this woman was not his cousin at all. She was a girl she bought on the street to sell herself for her father's burial. She didn't dare tell anyone else. It happened that his father had a house in the north of the city, which he no longer lived in, so he asked him to rent it out, and he let the woman live there.

I originally thought that I wouldn't meet any acquaintances in Chengbei, but I didn't expect to meet Yunfang. If Tian Tian knew about this, it would be a disaster.

Xu Jin could only say: "I haven't heard of it. I'll keep an eye out for you. I'll let Tian Tian tell you if there's any news."

He added, "The people living in the north of the city are a mixed bunch. You may run into danger here. I'll help you find out later. You'd better not come here."

Yun Fang Niang nodded and said, "Okay. Thank you for your help."

After saying that, he took Yunfang home.

Yunfang still felt something was wrong and wanted to ask Xu Jin a few more questions, but her mother dragged her home and she had no choice but to give up.

On the way home, Yunfang said to her mother, "Mom, is what Brother Xu Jin just said true? Will he ask us about Grandma Li's home?"

"Xu Jin didn't say a single true word except that the north of the city is full of mixed people."

"Isn't it true what he said about that woman being her cousin?"

"It can't be true. If it were true, why would he be so flustered and not even dare to let the woman talk to us? There must be something fishy going on."

"Ah? Mom, how could this happen? What about Tian Tian? Should I tell her?"

Yunfang's mother didn't know what to do, so she asked Yunfang, "What kind of person is Tian Tian's mother?"

Yunfang asked: "What does this have to do with her mother?"

"If Tian Tian's mother is the type who supports her daughter unconditionally and loves her daughter, then you can talk to Tian Tian and she will naturally make the decision for her. If not, Tian Tian is already engaged to Xu Jin, and breaking off the engagement will have a huge impact on a girl's reputation. If her family still doesn't support it, then Tian Tian might as well not know about it."

"Mom, I have never met Tian Tianniang. I only know that she is a first-class embroiderer at Linglong Embroidery Workshop and her salary is very good."

"Fang'er, I know you want to stand up for Tian Tian, ​​but it's hard for a judge to judge family affairs. She is closer to Tian Tian than you are to her. You'd better not tell Tian Tian about it easily, okay?"

Yunfang nodded. "Then will we come to visit Grandma Li again in the future?"

Yun Fang's mother said, "I won't come to Chengbei for the time being. I'll talk to you later. I think your grandmother Li's three sons are all capable and they will have a good life wherever they go."

On the second day, when Yunfang entered the embroidery room, the shopkeeper Ma came up to her and said to her, "You have finished embroidering the three quilt covers I gave you before. I want to ask you what you want to embroider next. I will go get the raw materials for you."

"Shopkeeper Ma, I'm still embroidering quilt covers. Could you please bring me some?"

"Okay, I'll come as soon as I go."

After a while, Shopkeeper Ma brought four blank quilt covers.

In the morning, Yunfang was still embroidering a quilt cover in the embroidery room, but she was a little uneasy. She embroidered very slowly. Thinking about seeing Tian Tian at lunch, Yunfang felt very uncomfortable.

But the passage of time will not change with one's subjective mood. Yunfang also has to go to eat.

Yunfang, who was taking her time to eat, found that Tian Tian was not as energetic as usual today. When she saw her, she just smiled at her and didn't talk to her enthusiastically.

After dinner, Tian Tian said to Yun Fang: "Walk with me!"

Tian Tian and Yun Fang were walking in the yard. The sunlight shone through the mottled shadows of the trees onto Tian Tian's face. The ground was covered with fallen leaves, which made a rustling sound when they stepped on them. Yun Fang wrapped her clothes tightly. It was a bit cold in Yiqing in the twelfth lunar month, Yun Fang thought.

Tian Tian asked in a low voice: "Yunfang, what do you think is more important between people, love or money?"

Yunfang was stunned by this question and couldn't answer for a long time.

Tian Tian burst out laughing when she saw Yunfang’s dazed look.

"I really have a problem with my brain. What can you understand when I ask a little kid like you?"

Yunfang was worried and ignored Tian Tian's teasing. She asked worriedly, "What's wrong with you, Tian Tian?"

"Since you asked, I'll tell you. Otherwise, I'll feel uncomfortable."

"Yesterday, I went to my grandparents' house with my parents to give them New Year gifts! In front of my father and me, my grandparents asked my parents to adopt my uncle's child. My uncle has six sons. They said that I, a girl, could not support the family. They said that I was going to get married and a daughter who is married off is like spilled water. My grandparents loved me the most, but they actually said this to me."

"My father was so angry that he brought my mother and me back without even eating. My mother was so angry that she kept crying, but my father ignored her. Don't you think my grandparents just wanted the money my mother had saved over the years?"

As she spoke, Tian Tian burst into tears.

Yunfang didn’t know how to comfort Tian Tian, ​​and she was hiding a secret in her heart, and now she didn’t dare to tell Tian Tian.

Yunfang could only ask: "What did your mother say?"

Tian Tian cried and said, "My mother would definitely not agree, but my grandfather said that if my mother doesn't agree, he would not acknowledge her as his daughter!"

"My mother has been crying since she came back. She even asked for leave and didn't come to work today."

"If I hadn't been engaged to Brother Xu Jin, I would have wanted to find a live-in son-in-law, so that my father and mother wouldn't have to worry, and my grandfather wouldn't force my mother to adopt my uncle's son."

Yunfang thought, it would be good to have a son-in-law who lives with the family. Xu Jin is not a good person. If Tian Tian can break off the engagement with him, it would not be bad to find a son-in-law who lives with the family!

But now Tian Tian doesn’t want to cancel the engagement with Xu Jin, and Yun Fang hesitates again, wondering whether she should talk to Tian Tian about it.

Yunfang asked her, "If you and Xu Jin break off the engagement and find a son-in-law, will your parents agree?"

"How could I possibly break off the engagement with Brother Xu Jin? Our birth dates are compatible, and now we just need a matchmaker and six gifts to set a date. My mother did say before that she wanted to find a live-in son-in-law for me, but the families of live-in sons-in-law are not well-off, and my father is afraid that the live-in son-in-law will treat me badly. Brother Xu Jin and I grew up together, and he has always liked me since he was a child, so my parents agreed for my happiness."

When Yunfang heard this, she thought this might be a possibility. Tian Tian and her family hadn't formally proposed yet, so there was still room for maneuver.

Moreover, Tian Tian's parents love her very much and know Xu Jin's character. They will definitely make the decision for her and cancel the marriage.

When Yunfang was thinking about when to tell Tian Tian, ​​she heard Tian Tian say: "After the New Year, Brother Xu Jin's family will come to propose marriage. I haven't gotten married yet, but my grandparents are forcing my mother like this. If I get married, my mother's life will be even more difficult!" She cried even more sadly as she spoke.

Yunfang comforted her: "There will be a solution. The adults are definitely better than us. Tian Tian, ​​you told me before that Xu Jin always bullied you when you were a child. Do you like him?"

Tian Tian's attention was diverted, and a sweet look appeared on her face when she thought of Xu Jin.

"When I was little, I hated him so much. He was two years older than me and he always snatched my things. He also called me a tomboy and said that a girl like me shouldn't play with them. I really hated him at that time."

Yunfang was curious, "What happened next?"

"Later, I stopped playing with him and didn't want to go out to play. I stayed at home and learned embroidery from my mother."

"Last year, after I was hired as an embroiderer at Linglong Embroidery Workshop, many people came to propose marriage, including his family. I was very confused at the time. He hated me and bullied me when we were young, so why would he come to propose marriage to me?"

"I asked him to meet me, and I found out that he had liked me since he was a child, and he bullied me just to get my attention. My mother also said that many boys bully girls because they like them."

"Others proposed to me because I had a good job, but not him. He was afraid that I would marry someone else. He really liked me and had liked me since childhood. He was also handsome and treated me much better than when I was a child, so I agreed to marry him."

After hearing this, Yunfang didn't know whether she should say it or not. Yunfang, who was only ten years old, really didn't know how to evaluate matters of love, and couldn't tell who was sincere or not.

Seeing Yunfang was confused by her story again, Tian Tian chuckled: "Okay, Yunfang, you are only ten years old, how can you understand these? Go back to the embroidery room and have a rest. You still have to work in the afternoon!"