Beautiful Peasant Girl: The Young Marquis's Beloved

When Liu Xu came back from washing clothes, it was almost 1:00 PM. Needless to say, they must have finished their lunch and had a nap.

Poor girl, she had only eaten a mixed flour steamed bun in the morning, along with half a cake that Xing'er kindly gave her. At this moment, the feeling of hunger had already surged over her like a tide, making her feel dizzy and weak all over.

Unexpectedly, when she finished hanging the clothes and walked into the kitchen, she was shocked to find that Grandma Zhang had not even left any food for her. The endless fatigue and unbearable hunger intertwined with each other, causing the anger in her heart to rise like a burning flame, and just when it was about to explode.

Her mother heard her coming back. She pulled her back to the room and gave her a steamed bun. Liu Xu knew that this must have been secretly saved by her mother. She felt warm and sad in her heart. She held Xu Ruolan's arm and looked at her with admiration: "Mom, you are the best to me."

"Silly child, you must be hungry, eat quickly!" Xu Ruolan stroked her little head and said gently.

Seeing her finish the steamed bun in a hurry and drink two large bowls of water, she lay on the bed and didn't want to move at all. Xu Ruolan's eyes were dry and she choked in a low voice:

"Damn it, it's all because of my uselessness that I've wronged you."

Seeing this, Liu Xu quickly turned over and got up, leaning against her mother, and raised her hand to touch Xu Ruolan's belly: "Mom, don't say that, I'm fine, aren't I? You have to be fine too, when the younger brother and sister are born, we will find a way to move out, okay." The actions of Zhang and Liu Dongcheng's family made her more determined to separate from the family.

"Move out? Where to?" Xu Ruolan looked at her daughter in surprise.

Liu Xu bit her lip and looked at her mother firmly: "Mom, let's separate! Only by separating, we won't be bullied and oppressed by them endlessly."

"Xu'er, why do you think so? Your grandparents are still alive, how can you divide the family?"

"But mother, haven't you noticed that grandpa and grandma don't even see us, only uncle's family. We do the most work in this family, but eat the least. They don't even consider us as family members." Xu Ruolan hesitated when she heard this. Seeing this, Liu Xu hurriedly continued to persuade:

"Besides, mother, have you ever thought that when you give birth, you won't be able to work anymore. Who knows how grandma and the others will torture us three then? If we don't get food and water like we are doing now, can you bear to let your little brother starve?"

Xu Ruolan frowned. Yes, she could just endure the hunger, but what about the children? She didn't know when the father would come back. What if... Xu'er and the child in her belly were his only remaining bloodline?

"But...Xu'er, even if we split up, given your grandma's personality, we might not get anything. Wouldn't it be even more..."

Seeing her mother relent, Liu Xu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, her mother cared about her and the baby in her belly and was not a foolish filial son.

"Mom, don't be impatient. I'm not saying we should break up now. We need to think about it and find the right time to bring it up. My brother will take the imperial examination and become a high-ranking official in the future. We can't let them have the opportunity to accuse us of being unfilial."

"You girl..." Xu Ruolan couldn't help but feel at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

Seeing Xu Ruolan smile, Liu Xu knew that her mother had tacitly agreed to the division of the family.

But she should worry about this matter, so he changed the subject.

"Also, Mom, before that, we have to save some money just in case." Liu Xu felt that since her mother could accept the breakup, she could also accept saving money in private.

"We need to save some. When your father was alive, Mom could still keep some money for herself, but since your father passed away... Hey, where can we save money in the short term? I don't know how your father is doing now..."

As Xu Ruolan was talking, she thought of her husband again. When her husband was around, they didn't have much food or clothes, but at least they had enough food and clothing. But now... Xu Ruolan looked at the roof, her face showing her longing for her husband.

Seeing this, Liu Xu held her hand tightly and said, "Mom, don't worry, I'm here! Let's work hard together and wait for Daddy to come back!"

"I hope your father can return safely!"

"Yeah, by the way, Mom. I found a way to make money today." Afraid that Xu Ruolan would worry too much, Liu Xu quickly changed the subject.

"Huh? What way to make money?" Sure enough, Xu Ruolan's attention was drawn to her, and she looked at her daughter with a puzzled look.

"It was this morning when I went to collect grass for the pigs. Xing'er and I discovered it..." Liu Xu told Xu Ruolan about the discovery of the chickweed flowers in the morning and what he and Liu Xing'er were going to do next.

"Oh my God, Xu'er, how can you be so bold? How can you eat that mushroom casually? What if it is poisonous? What will you let your mother do?" Liu Xu didn't expect that after her mother heard it, she didn't ask about the money to sell it, but was worried that she would get sick from eating it, and her heart couldn't help but feel warm. In her previous life, her parents divorced and each had their own families. No one was happy to see her as a daughter. The only grandmother who treated her well passed away when she was a freshman. She can be said to have tasted the bitterness of loneliness. Now, she has lived a new life. Although her life is a little harder now, she has a mother who really loves her, and in her memory, her father Liu Donglai also dotes on her. Not only has he never treated her harshly because she is a daughter, but he treats her like a treasure. Therefore, she must cherish her and work hard to make her family live a good life!

"It's okay, Mom. Look, I'm fine, aren't I? Besides, this is what Dad taught me. If you don't believe me, don't you believe my dad either? Would he betray his precious daughter?" Liu Xu said playfully.

"You are so shameless!" Xu Ruolan couldn't help but tap Liu Xu's forehead in reproach when she heard her daughter's playful words.

"Since it's your father who said so, then it's definitely okay. But you have to talk to Xing'er about this. You must not let your grandmother and uncle know about it, otherwise it will cause trouble again. As for your Aunt Chen, I'll find time to talk to her as well."

"Yeah, mom is the best." Liu Xu hugged her mother's arm and rubbed it, saying coquettishly.

"Okay, it's still early, so go get some sleep. When the sun goes down in the afternoon, mom still has to go weeding in the fields! Your injury isn't fully healed yet, so just rest at home. Otherwise, you can go play with Xing'er, but stay away from your grandma, okay?" After being busy all morning and talking for so long, Xu Ruolan could no longer hold back and began to yawn.

"Yeah, mom, let's take a break!"

Liujia Village was even hotter in the afternoon than in the morning. The mother and daughter snuggled up to each other and soon fell asleep.

When Liu Xu woke up again, Xu Ruolan was no longer around. She got up and went out to wash her face. She guessed that everyone else was still resting in the house, and there was no one in the yard. Looking at the sky, it was still early before dark, so Liu Xu walked towards Xing'er's house.

On the way, I ran into Xing'er's father Liu Changshun, who was heading to the fields:

"Hey, girl Xu, where are you going? Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, much better, thank you Uncle Shun. I'll go find Xing'er. Is Xing'er at home?" Liu Xu replied with a smile.

"I'm here, tinkering with the things you brought back this morning. Come on!" Liu Changshun said mysteriously.

Liu Xu couldn't help but laugh when she saw this, and replied with a smile: "Okay, Third Uncle, then you get busy!"

Liu Changsheng smiled and shook his head, then walked towards the field.

Xing'er lived in the east of the village, not far from Liuxu's home. She walked slowly along the way. It was time to go to the fields. She met many people on the road, and they all cared about her injuries. Liuxu was moved. At this moment, she deeply liked this simple mountain village and made up her mind to work hard to change it and let these kind people live a good life.

But now, save yourself first!

Second Grandpa's family was large, so they separated early on. Xing'er's family had a small courtyard all to themselves. I came to the door and knocked. Soon I heard footsteps coming from inside.

With a creak, the door opened and a young boy stood inside. It was Liu Xing'er's brother, Liu Shuisheng:

"Xu'er, it's you. Xing'er is in the room." The young boy scratched his head and smiled naively.

"Yeah, thank you, Brother Shuisheng!" Liu Xu smiled and ran to Xing'er's room. Liu Shuisheng closed the door behind him.

The yard was very tidy, and the owner was a clean person. Not far from the wall were two dustpans, in which the mushrooms they had picked that morning were drying.

As soon as I reached the door of the room, I saw Liu Xing'er coming out with an embroidered basket.

"Hey, Xuer, why are you here?" Seeing it was Liu Xu, he greeted her happily.

"Hehe, let me see the results of our labor!" Liu Xu's eyebrows were curved, and her little bestie was very hardworking.

"Hehe, I started drying it as soon as I came back. I just took a look. You have to be careful when drying this thing, otherwise it will break easily. It will be a shame if we can't sell it then." Liu Xing'er said as she pulled Liu Xu to sit down and poured her a glass of water.

Liu Xu took a sip and replied, "Yeah, we need to find a basket to put it in and put some hay in it to prevent it from getting damaged."

Liu Xing'er nodded and said, "Then I'll ask my brother to do it later. We can install it after the sun goes down."

Liu Xu was so pleased with her best friend. She was so capable.

"Oh, Xing'er, let's let Brother Shuisheng come with us tomorrow, and we'll give him some of the money we make. Mushrooms grow fast, and if we don't pick them quickly, they'll go bad."

"I think it's okay. I'll tell my mom later. Anyway, there's not much work to do on my farm, so it doesn't matter if he goes or not. Let him save some pocket money, hehe!"

Liu Xing'er was overjoyed to hear that Liu Xu was willing to make money with her brother. She didn't even ask her brother and agreed. She didn't even worry about whether it could be sold or not. She trusted Liu Xu wholeheartedly.

The two chatted for a long time, and when the sun began to set, Liu Xu helped to collect the mushrooms. They agreed to meet in the morning, and Liu Xu went home in a good mood.

As soon as she entered the door, she ran into her grandmother, Zhang. When old lady Zhang saw her coming back from outside, she couldn't help but frowned.

"You silly girl, you've been out playing outside again, why don't you come and help me cook?"

Liu Xu was in a good mood and didn't argue with her. Anyway, if she cooked earlier, she could eat earlier when her mother came back. So, she replied cheerfully, "Okay, grandma, I'll be right there. Do you want to pick the vegetables? Or should we just light a fire?"

Seeing her like this, Old Lady Zhang looked at her suspiciously and said, "You pick the vegetables first. I'll go call your aunt to cook!"

After saying that, she turned around and went to the other side of the main room. Liu Xu heard her muttering quietly, "Did this damn girl take the wrong medicine?"

I don't know if it was because of her attitude today or if the old woman had a change of heart, but today's dinner was exceptionally quiet. Although the mother and daughter still didn't have a chance to sit at the table, at least they were 70% full, which was unprecedented.

While they were eating, Liu Xu secretly washed the chicken mushroom flowers she had brought back in the morning and cooked a vegetarian soup. After the mother and daughter had eaten and drunk their fill, Liu Xu even burped in satisfaction, which made her mother say that she looked weird.

After clearing away the dishes, the mother and daughter washed away their tiredness with the water that had been dried in the afternoon, lay on the bed, and smiled at each other.

"Xu'er, you know what, the mushrooms you picked taste really good. I've never tasted such delicious soup. I believe you can sell them for a good price later."

"Hehe, of course. Mom, just wait until I make a lot of money and lead you to a good life! By then, we can eat fine food every day, and I can buy new clothes for you and my brother."

Liu Xu smiled proudly, and Xu Ruolan nodded her head in a reproachful manner.

After a while of chattering, the mother and daughter fell asleep with their dreams filled with anticipation for the future.