Beautiful Peasant Girl: The Young Marquis's Beloved

When I woke up again, it was already bright day.

She was the only one left on the bed, and there were voices in the yard. Liu Xu rubbed her eyes and slowly got up.

The original owner had been to her aunt's house many times before, so Liu Xu was quite familiar with it. She got up and went to the toilet, and then prepared to fetch water to wash up. Before she even reached the kitchen, she saw Qiaoyu coming out with toiletries.

"Miss, you're up! Madam just asked the maid to come and call you!" Qiaoyu said with a smile.

Liu Xu nodded, "Where's my mother?"

"Madam and my aunt are talking in the main room, and Aunt Lin and my cousin are making breakfast."

"Okay, you go and help too, I'll wash up." Qiaoyu responded, put the things on the shelf beside her, and turned into the kitchen.

Nowadays, all the good things in the Liu family's house were exchanged for money, so breakfast was simple. When Liu Xu finished washing up, Aunt Lin had already asked Qiao Yu to serve the meal.

Liu Xu followed them into the main room, where only her mother and aunt were.

"Mom, Auntie!" Liu Xu greeted with a smile.

"You lazy cat, were you woken up by the smell of food?" Xu Ruolan scolded.

"Sister-in-law, you are wrong! You shouldn't say that about our Xu'er. How can she be lazy? She only went to bed in the middle of the night. How long has she slept?"

Before Liu Xu could refute, Liu Xiumei protected her. She then reached out and pulled Liu Xu into a hug, "Don't listen to your mother. You can sleep as long as you want at your aunt's house!"

Liu Xu, who has the body of a loli but an adult, feels a little embarrassed...she can only smile foolishly and say "hehe".

"Puchi, big sister, just spoil her!" Xu Ruolan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but her eyes were full of emotion. Her big sister, like her husband, really doted on her daughter.

"What kind of habit is this!"

"Hey! By the way, Mom, where are Uncle Huairen and the others?"

Liu Xu was embarrassed for a while before she figured it out. She was Liu Xu now, a seven-year-old girl. Couldn't she be kissed, hugged and lifted up?

"Your uncle Huairen and uncle Ming took your little cousin to the town to buy things! He Feng was dragged out by He Lei, saying that they were going to see if there were any wild animals in the mountains of Tuqiao Village."

There are many mountains throughout Qinghe County, but compared to Yuyang Town, the mountains in Yunxi Town are smaller, or farther away from the depths of the Canglong Mountains, so there are fewer wild animals here, and relatively speaking, there are more fields and larger villages.

"Then when will we go back today?" Liu Xu tilted her head.

"Your aunt said that we'll leave after lunch, so we have to clean up the house and ask the neighbors to help keep an eye on it."

"Yes, it is said that a poor family is worth a fortune. Auntie can't always stay in her parents' home, right? Wait until your grandfather Meng has seen your uncle and cousin, and auntie will have to come back!" Liu Xiumei tapped Liu Xu's nose and said softly.

Seeing Liu Hongying and Aunt Lin bringing in dishes and cakes, she greeted them, "Okay, let's eat! Thanks to you, I can have a ready-made meal today!"

Liu Xu wanted to say something, but Xu Ruolan stopped him with her eyes.

"Mom, second aunt, cousin, you guys eat first, I'll go take it to big brother and dad!" Liu Hongying said after putting down the food.

Liu Xiumei nodded, and seeing that Auntie Lin and Qiaoyu were also about to leave, she asked, "It's time for dinner, where are Auntie Lin and Qiaoyu going?"

"Aunt, there's more in the kitchen. We can just go to the kitchen and eat!" Aunt Lin and the other girl bowed and replied.

"This..." Liu Xiumei looked at Xu Ruolan.

Xu Ruolan shook her head gently and said to the two of them, "You go!"

The two of them retreated after hearing this. When the footsteps faded away, Xu Ruolan spoke up, "Sister, they have their own rules. Don't worry, they won't starve!"

Liu Xiumei nodded blankly, feeling that Xu Ruolan at this moment seemed a little different from her former sister-in-law.

"Mom, aunt, let's wait for my cousin. The food is still hot anyway!" Liu Xu saw that the atmosphere was right and spoke quickly.

As expected, Liu Xiumei's attention turned to her. "Oh, our Xu'er is so considerate. Your cousin will be away for a while. What if Xu'er gets hungry?"

"Xu'er is not hungry yet. Let's eat together when cousin comes!" Liu Xu shook her head and then said:

"Aunt, Aunt Lin and the others will not eat with us. Mother asked them to eat together when they were at home. But they didn't want to, saying that servants can't eat at the same table with their masters. Mother said that we don't care about these things in the countryside, but they still didn't want to, saying that the rules cannot be abolished, and if servants eat at the same table with their masters, it would be bullying the masters. Although mother didn't persuade them later, she specifically ordered the kitchen to add more dishes for them. If there are any new foods at home, they will not be left out!"

Liu Xiumei was stunned at first, but then she reacted and looked at Xu Ruolan apologetically. Seeing that Xu Ruolan was still smiling gently, she also smiled, rubbed Liu Xu's head and scolded with a smile: "You clever little ghost!"

"Hehe, of course not!" Liu Xu looked smug.

After they chatted for a while, Liu Hongying came back. Liu Fulin just needed to be brought over, and he could sit and eat by himself. Liu Laishun needed to be fed, not because he couldn't move, but because he would have chest pain and difficulty breathing if he moved a little more frequently.

Seeing that the three of them hadn't eaten yet, he was stunned and said, "Mom, second aunt, cousin, why haven't you eaten yet? It's cold!

"Isn't this waiting for you? Your cousin has to wait for you too!" Liu Xiumei said with a smile.

"Hongying, please sit down quickly. It's too hot just now. It's just right now!" Xu Ruolan greeted her niece with a smile.

"Hey!" Liu Hongying responded simply and rubbed Liu Xu's head with a smile.

Liu Xu: Fortunately, I combed my hair into a bun by myself today.

The meal was simple, multi-grain porridge, a dish of pickled vegetables, two plates of green vegetables and mixed flour steamed buns, but they all enjoyed the meal very much!

"Wow, aunt, the pickles you made are so delicious! Grandma's pickles are so salty, but my mother and the cook at home don't know how to make them. I haven't eaten them for a long time!" Liu Xu complained.

But she was not exaggerating. Her aunt's kimchi was really well pickled, with just the right amount of saltiness, crispy and delicious. If she added some chili, it would definitely taste even better!

"Haha, this kimchi was not pickled by your aunt, it's the work of your cousin! If you like it, I'll bring some back for you or ask your cousin to pickle a jar for you when you get home!" Liu Xiumei said with a smile.

"Yes, sister, the kimchi pickled by Hongying is the most delicious I have ever eaten!" Xu Ruolan also praised.

"If my second aunt and cousin like it, I'll pickle two more jars for you later. As long as the brine is ready, you just need to add the vegetables. I'll teach you how to add salt then!" Liu Hongying said generously.

Liu Xu rolled her eyes when she heard that and had an idea in her mind, but she planned to think about it carefully before going back.

After the four of them finished their meal, Aunt Lin and her two children took away the dishes and washed them. Liu Xiumei asked her daughter to accompany Xu Ruolan and her two children while she went to find a good neighbor to arrange for their departure.

Xu Ruolan told her that it might take some time, as she had chickens and ducks at home and needed to hire someone to help feed them. Although her home was in the middle of the village, there were two idle people in the village, so she had to ask them to help look after the house.

"Hey, Xiumei, where are you going? I saw a carriage coming out of your house this morning. Who is coming to your house?" a woman asked with a gossipy look on her face.

"It's Aunt Wu. There's not many people here, just my sister-in-law and niece from my mother's side!" Liu Xiumei said lightly.

"How is that possible? It's not like I haven't seen your brother before. The man driving the carriage is a strange man!" the woman said loudly, and then her eyes looked thoughtful.

"Oh, the one you are talking about is the servant of my brother's sister-in-law's house! Aunt Wu, I have something else to do, so I'll leave first!" After saying that, he walked around the woman without caring about her stunned look.

"Hiss...Isn't her brother a hunter? He even has servants?" the woman muttered. Liu Xiumei had not walked far and didn't know if she heard it or not, but she didn't stop.

Soon Liu Xu arrived at a mud-brick yard similar to her own and knocked on the door.

A woman's voice came from inside: "Who is it?"

"Ah Qiu, it's me, Xiumei!"

The courtyard door opened, and a woman in her twenties came in, "Sister-in-law, why are you here? Come in quickly."

"Hey!" Liu Xiumei followed the woman into the house.

"Aqiu, is your second brother here?" Liu Xiumei asked.

"Yes, I'm chopping firewood with the children in the backyard. Sister-in-law, wait for me, I'll call you!" After saying that, A Qiu left the house and went to the backyard.

After a while, a little boy about four or five years old ran in before the couple and said, "Auntie!"

"Hey, our Yuanbao is so well-behaved!" Liu Xiumei reached out and picked up the boy, smiling lovingly.

"Sister-in-law, Qiu said you were looking for me, what's wrong?"

"Yuanbao, come down quickly, don't tire your aunt out!"

The man and Aqiu spoke one after the other. The man's name was Liu Jiachang, he was 29 years old, and he was Liu Laishun's cousin. Aqiu's surname was Xu and his given name was Qiu. The couple had two sons. The eldest son, Liu Jinbao, was 11 years old and was studying in a private school in the town.

Liu Jiachang was born in a family of four brothers and two sisters. Naturally, he was not valued by his parents. At that time, his family was poor and Liu Jiachang was often hungry. Liu Laishun was the only son in the family. Seeing that he was so hungry, he often took him home to eat. Therefore, even though Liu Laishun's family fell into poverty, he never despised his eldest brother.

"It's okay, he doesn't weigh that much! Second brother, Qiu, this is it... So, I want you to help me look after the house and feed the chickens and ducks, okay?"

"Okay, there's nothing wrong with that! Sister-in-law, just take my brother and the others with peace of mind. If... if there's a chance of curing them, please send us a message and we'll be happy too!" Liu Jiachang said.

"Okay, great! Don't cook at noon. Bring Yuanbao over for dinner. You've all met my sister-in-law and niece!" Liu Xiumei invited. It's only right to have a meal when asking for help.

"Okay, we'll come over later!" Liu Jiachang replied.

"Okay, I'll go back first. You guys come here earlier!" Liu Xiumei said and left.

Liu Jiachang and his wife looked at each other, with some expectation in their eyes, hoping that their eldest brother (uncle) would get better!