Countdown to Awakening

The two came to a few thatched houses that looked particularly old.

There were three thatched houses, each bearing the marks of time. Her house didn't have a yard either. To be precise, the house didn't belong to Yingdi, but to her in-laws, the Chen family.

Qi Yuanyuan was stunned when she saw it. Why is it so broken?

If you look closely, only the middle room seems to be watertight. The two rooms next to it would be difficult to live in on a rainy day...

The two put their clothes on the stool at the door and went in.

There seemed to be no one in the room, but Sun Panddi still called out "Sister Yingdi". The next moment, a little girl about four or five years old suddenly jumped out of the room.

The little girl had the same short haircut as the boys, almost a buzz cut. Her clothes weren't clean either. Her face was grimy, like a painting eroded by time, a mixture of mud and tears, as if telling them an untold story. She stared blankly at the two intruders, her eyes filled with confusion and emptiness...

If I'm not mistaken, this little girl is Yingdi's eldest daughter Mengdi, who is only four years old this year.

Qi Yuanyuan's face was also filled with confusion. In her memory, Yingdi was married at the age of 18, and now even her eldest daughter was 4 years old?

"Mendi, why didn't you tell me who was coming when I asked you to? What were you looking at?..." After a while, a woman with her braids tied with a red rope also came out of the room.

There were some wrinkles on the woman's face, and her skin was visibly sagging and worn. However, it was not difficult to tell that she was still a girl with a good foundation.

Although she was wearing inconspicuous clothes and an apron, her five-month pregnant belly was visible.

The moment their eyes met, they all seemed stunned.

Sun Pandi's eyes were filled with disbelief. She remembered that Yingdi and her sister used to teach them how to read... How could it have become like this in just four years?

The other party was even more surprised, as if she hadn't expected them to come to see her. "Yuanyuan, Pandi, why... are you here?" Yingdi seemed a little overwhelmed and touched her face.

"Sister Yingdi, we just came to see you..." Sun Panddi was speechless after seeing this scene.

Yingdi was stunned for a moment, then said, "What's so good about this? Isn't this good enough? Hey, come over and sit for a while."

After saying that, she tidied up the messy table beside her. "Jia De had someone over yesterday, and we haven't had time to clean up yet. If you don't mind, you can make do with it for now." After saying that, Ying Di went into the room.

The two of them sat on the stools. Then, Yingdi came out of the room again, holding some delicious food.

The little girl's eyes lit up immediately when she saw the delicious food. These things are usually only served when guests come, or they can only be eaten during the Chinese New Year.

Mengdi immediately stepped forward and grabbed a handful of candy from the fruit bowl.

"Mengdi! You are so rude! This is for the guests. Put it back." Yingdi scolded her. Mengdi had no choice but to obey and put it back reluctantly.

Yingdi found a small towel from somewhere and roughly wiped her face. "Don't you know how to be ashamed? Your face is so dirty... You have to wipe it yourself, okay?"

The two were still at a loss.

"Sister, I want to eat..." Mengdi pointed at the fruit plate on the table, licked her lips, and there was a hint of pleading in her tone.

Seeing her like this, Sun Panddi quickly grabbed a handful of candy and stuffed it into Mengdi's hand.

"Thank you, sister!" She ran into the room quickly after getting the candy.

Yingdi then took off her apron and sat down with them. This made her pregnant belly even more noticeable. "You two are really promising. You got into a key university in the provincial capital. I'm so envious of you..." As she said this, Qi Yuanyuan saw that she looked disappointed.

Sun Pandi also showed sympathy in her eyes.

My sister Yingdi was clearly educated and intelligent. Unfortunately, she was only allowed to continue her studies until she turned 16. Everyone in her family said the same thing: What's the point of a girl studying so much? She'll just get married in a couple of years.

But with Yingdi's insistence, he continued to study until he was 18, but he only studied until he was 18.

Chen Jiade of the Chen family was the man she had been betrothed to as a child. When Yingdi was 18, she became pregnant with his child and was forced to marry him.

Sun Pandi vaguely remembered that Yingdi's sister always taught her how to read and write, and also told her that as a girl she must study hard and not wait to get married. But now...

How did it become like this in just 4 years?

"Sister Yingdi, don't be too discouraged. Your daughter will be able to get into a good university in the provincial capital in the future." Sun Panddi comforted her.

Unexpectedly, Yingdi shook her head. She touched her slightly bulging belly, then looked up and said, "No, Mengdi and Zhaodi just need to find good families to marry into. It's useless for them to study. They'll have to marry someone else eventually, so won't that be someone else's?"

Qi Yuanyuan and Sun Pandi looked at each other in disbelief.

Sun Pandi couldn't help but ask, "Sister Yingdi, didn't you say before that you wanted to be a teacher? You also said that many girls in the village couldn't go to school, and you wanted to teach more girls to read. Have you forgotten all that?"

Yingdi shook her head. "That was in the past. Things are different now. My biggest wish now is that this baby is a boy. My mom has had someone check it out and it's definitely a boy. That way, we'll have someone to carry on the family line and look after us in our old age."

But Sun Pandi clearly still remembered what Yingdi said to her four years ago: "Women hold up half the sky." How could everything have changed in just four years?

"Don't talk about me anymore. I have something to give you two." As she said that, she stood up and went into the room. She came out after a while with two red envelopes in her hands.

Then she gave one to each of them, but they confiscated it.

"What's wrong? What do you mean by 'no'? Do you two think your sister's red envelope is too small?" she asked.

Sun Pandi quickly explained, "Ah, no, we don't feel comfortable accepting red envelopes. Sister, just keep it for yourself. Yuanyuan and I won't use it."

The two knew Yingdi's family situation very well. How could they possibly accept Yingdi's red envelope?

Sun Pandi: "Sister, you know that if my parents knew I took the money, they would definitely scold me. Of course, the money will not be in my hands."

"Then leave it all with Yuanyuan. You two have been like sisters since childhood, and now you've been admitted to the same university. You must accept this money. I prepared it a long time ago. I wanted to give it to you on the day of the banquet. Since you are here today, I will give it to you first. Jiade will give Haifeng his share later."

After saying that, she handed it over again.

The two were still in a dilemma.

Yingdi continued, "Don't worry, this money is my own. It doesn't belong to the Chen family. It's only ten yuan, but it's a token of my appreciation. I don't think the Chen family will necessarily give you the money on the day of the banquet, so I'm giving it to you first as a way of congratulating you."

The two looked at each other, and Qi Yuanyuan took the red envelope and put it away. If she didn't accept it, Yingdi would definitely think that the two of them looked down on her.

Yingdi then smiled: "That's right."

"Sister, are you really not planning to send your daughter to school? This is the rule..." Qi Yuanyuan asked.

Yingdi breathed a sigh of relief. "Few people follow this rule. Look, most of the girls in the village are illiterate. We'll see what happens. If it doesn't work out, let them work after finishing junior high school. That way they can earn some money for the bride price."

She had to fight for a long time to get the names of her two children, Mengdi and Zhaodi, to be "Di" instead of "Di".

"..."

Sun Pandi's mind was filled with the scene of Yingdi holding a book and teaching her to read... She couldn't understand why Yingdi had become like this...

After a while, two little girls came out of the room. "Mengdi, why did you bring your sister out?"