Shipin Dalizheng

After dinner, Chuncao asked Daya to go with her to her room in the west hall. Pointing to the pieces of cloth spread out on the bed, she said, "Daya, pick out a piece of cloth of a color you like and ask your mother to make you a new dress."

Daya waved her hands in panic, "No, Sister Chuncao, I'm eating here, and you're paying for it. I'm already taking advantage of you. You can't ask for anything more."

Chuncao said, "I'm not giving you anything. We agreed to give you clothes for all four seasons. Besides, your clothes are torn today."

She thought at the time that the Third Grandma might scold Daya, so she went to buy some cloth immediately. There was not much luxurious material in the small town, and it was just something she would wear casually in the countryside.

"me……"

Daya was embarrassed, so Chuncao took out a piece of fine cotton material in phoenix red and gave it to her. "This. You are young, and this bright color suits you. Take this."

Daya waved her hand. "No, no, Sister Chuncao, this is too expensive, and it's not convenient to use for work. I'll just take this coarse cotton grey one."

"No, this won't do. It's too ugly. It looks just like those rough men. Girls should wear pretty clothes. This light lotus leaf color one is good."

Daya has a dark complexion, and the hibiscus red one doesn't look good on her. After comparing many, Chuncao finally picked out a light green fine cotton material for her. After forcing Daya into her arms, she finally got her to hold it in her arms.

After leaving the west hall, Chuncao called Shiwazi to see her off. Shiwazi happily agreed and ran to open the door.

But suddenly he said, "Hey," "Third Master, why are you here?"

I saw the third master coming with another basket of mugwort, but for some reason he didn't knock on the door and just walked around outside.

Seeing the door open, the Third Master didn't even turn around. Instead, he walked in hesitantly, "Oh, there were a lot of mosquitoes, so I picked some more wormwood to smoke them out."

Chuncao said, "Third Master, this is my fault. I bought a mosquito net today and didn't tell you."

As he was speaking, Gui Ergou came over and took the basket, then went to light fires in various places in the yard to smoke out mosquitoes.

The Third Master still stretched his neck to look, "Master, are you resting?"

"Probably not yet, is there anything wrong, Grandpa?"

The Third Master did have something to do. Dahai had already told him what happened at the banquet during the day. Only then did he realize that his youngest son had done something wrong and had humiliated his eldest son in public.

Chuncao took it upon herself to call her eldest son to sit at the main table in the main hall, but in reality, she was protecting him. What was even more remarkable was that Rongtang did not expose her, giving his eldest son a lot of face.

After this, Rong Tang left his eldest son behind to do some work alone, and he thought it was for this reason.

The Third Master was in a state of confusion. On the one hand, his eldest son was valued and supported by the Young Master, but on the other hand, he feared his second son had displeased the Young Master and would be abandoned in the future. He wanted to speak up for his second son, but he didn't know how to begin. After all, he knew in his heart that his second son, fearing that his eldest brother had no sons and that the clan would have something to say about him inheriting the position of clan leader, had unknowingly begun to think about replacing him.

He couldn't say this, even if he kept it to himself, otherwise he would become a traitor and be laughed at by outsiders.

"No, no, I'm not looking for the young master. I'll just pick up Daya. We live in this village, and there aren't many houses close to each other. There's really no need to sleep in this courtyard. If there's really a lot of work to do, just ask her to get up early tomorrow morning and come over."

Chuncao smiled and said, "It's not much work, just trivial. You've come at the right time. I was just about to ask Shiwazi to send Daya off. If you're busy today, you won't be so late tomorrow. I'll let Daya go back before dark."

Shi Wazi's eyes lit up, "Third Master, shall I take you there?"

The Third Master patted his head, looking relieved, "No need, just do your work well here, the Master will not treat you unfairly."

After the Third Master and Daya left, Chuncao went to the East Hall where Rongtang lived. Rongtang was watching the Third Master walking away through the crack in the window.

"Chuncao, what happened during the day? What happened to Rong Dashan outside?"

Chuncao curled her lips and recounted Rong Erhe's actions. Finally, she added, "I really don't know what's going on in his head. It's like he's so great just because he gave birth to a boy. Before anyone else says anything, he's already looking down on his own elder brother. Young Master, I hate people like that. If you have any good things in the future, support Rong Dashan and ignore Rong Erhe. Let's see why he's so proud."

Rong Tang knew that Chuncao's habit of standing up for the weak had come back. When she saw Daya being wronged, she wanted to help her. When she saw Rong Dashan being wronged, she wanted to help him. When she saw Li Shiwa being pitiful, she wanted to adopt him.

But there are so many poor people in the world, can we help them?

"Master, I saw that Third Master wanted to talk about this when he came, but I don't know why he didn't open his mouth. He didn't say anything, and you pretended not to know. They are all your sons. There is no reason to be partial just because one gave birth to a boy and the other only gave birth to a girl."

But this is the way the world is. Those who give birth to girls cannot hold their heads up high, even without others saying anything. Rong Dashan and his wife think they are inferior to others, and subconsciously feel sorry for their parents and ancestors. At home, they look at the moods of the second son and his wife and speak to them, trying to curry favor with them in various ways, and think it is their right even if it means hurting their own daughter.

Their ideas cannot be changed in a day or two.

Chuncao went to see Li Shiwa again, only to find that he had chosen a back room closest to the stable, which was shady and damp, and really not suitable for living. So she immediately asked him to move to a room facing the sun and with good ventilation.

Li Shiwa's nose was sore. "Sister Chuncao, this is great. I'm here to feed the horses, so of course I have to be closer to the stable. The straw hut I lived in before wasn't as good as the stable. It leaked when it rained, and it was freezing cold in the winter. This is great."

Chuncao refused to agree. "I asked you to feed the horse, but you don't have to do this. There are plenty of empty houses, and they're not that far away. If you walk a step slower, the horse will starve to death. This house is damp, and you'll get sick if you live here for too long. Be good and move."

She went in to help Shiwazi move his bedding. On the straw mat on the floor lay a tattered mattress, pitch black like a melon vine, its original color barely discernible. A few tattered clothes were piled together haphazardly, and nothing else.

There's really nothing to move.

Chuncao's nose felt sore. She had been so easily sad lately.

"You don't have much to ask for. Forget it, I'll buy it for you tomorrow. Now come with me and sleep in the same room with Gui Ergou.

Gui Ergou, as Rong Tang's only "close friend," was his most trusted male confidant, aside from Chuncao. He placed himself in a very high position. Not only did he occupy the largest room in the east wing, closest to Rong Tang, but it was also beautifully furnished. He had a five-foot-wide bed, a table, chairs, a cabinet, and even new bedding.

He used to be a sloppy person, but since he followed Rong Tang, he felt that his status had risen, and he also liked to be clean, bathing and changing clothes frequently, and there was no more bad smell on his body. At this moment, he scooped a large wooden basin of water and wiped himself with a cloth.

Hearing Chuncao calling him outside, he hurriedly put on his clothes and opened the door.