Pastoral Splendor

The early spring breeze was still a bit chilly. Poems like "apricot blossom rain that dampens clothes" and "willow breeze that blows on the face without chilling" were only written by poets with leisure and refined tastes. Yan Ying shivered and glanced at the faded floral dress she was wearing. The sleeves were too short, and her two pale arms were exposed. It was indeed a bit cold.

"Wang Fugui, say something!" Yan Ying stared at Wang Fugui, feeling indignant but still mindful of Da Hua's opinion. She could only ask the so-called brother-in-law standing in front of her, "Don't keep your mouth shut. What exactly do you plan to do? Your parents aren't here right now, so tell me what's on your mind!"

Wang Fugui's face flushed slightly. Looking at Xiao Dahua and her daughter, he stammered for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a sentence: "I...I will listen to my father and mother."

Da Hua stared at Wang Fugui with her mouth agape, hardly believing her ears: "Fugui, don't you care about our marriage? Didn't you say we'd spend our lives together?"

Wang Fugui drooped his eyebrows and scratched his head: "You didn't have a girl back then! Look at your family, they're all girls. I'm sure you're destined to only have girls too!" He pointed to Chunye in Dahua's arms and said, "This first one, isn't she a girl? If you always had girls, wouldn't our Wang family be eaten into poverty by these money-losing babies?"

Xiao Wangshi chuckled sinisterly from the side: "Fugui, I advised you back then, but you wouldn't listen. You were like a ghost, obsessed with marrying her. Now look what happened! She lived in your house for three years, eating and drinking for free, and gave birth to a money-losing child. Now she's pregnant with another one!"

Wang Fugui shuddered and handed over the floral cloth bundle on his back: "Dahua, these are your and Ye'er's clothes. You can stay at your mother's house for now and see if your belly can cooperate."

Erhua snatched the bundle away, her eyes reddening. "Brother-in-law, how could you say such a thing? Even if Chunye is a girl, she's still your child. Aren't you going to care about her?" Although Xiao Laoda had seven daughters and longed for a son, he didn't despise them. He worked tirelessly outside to earn money to support his family. Erhua's tears fell as she thought of Xiao Laoda's kindness.

"You still call him brother-in-law?" Yan Ying stepped forward and threw the paper at Wang Fugui's face. "Wang Fugui, boys and girls are people too. If you don't acknowledge Chunye, my older sister, and the child in her belly, then there's no need to wait any longer. Our Xiao family is severing all ties with your Wang family. We don't need to be in-laws anymore! Go back and tell your parents that our family will come to deliver the divorce papers in a few days!"

"Sanhua, you certainly have a temper!" Madam Xiao pulled Xiaoshitou back a step, her face showing that ambiguous smile again. She glanced at the mud-brick house of the Xiao family's eldest son and chuckled, "Your family dares to sever all ties with the Wang family? Every time, didn't you rely on Dahua to send some private money to support your maternal family? If you lose this money tree, your family will be without food for half a year!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Fugui suddenly seemed to gain confidence and straightened his back a bit: "Dahua, just wait and see. If you really have another girl, that's your fate, not because I, Wang Fugui, am unfaithful."

"Get lost!" Yan Ying glanced coldly at Wang Fugui, her gaze icy, like a small knife whistling towards him, making him shiver involuntarily. But then he remembered how much better the Wang family was than the Xiao family, and he regained his confidence, smirking as he looked at Yan Ying: "Who do you think you are? Get your parents out here. This isn't your place to act tough!"

"Sanhua!" Erhua and Dahua cried out in alarm. Yanying had already leaped into the air, her leg sweeping straight towards Wang Fugui's face. With a "thud," Wang Fugui fell to the ground. After landing, Yanying nimbly stomped one foot on him: "Wang Fugui, this is our Xiao family. It's not your place to act wildly!"

Xiao Wangshi watched in stunned silence, feeling terrified. She tried to pull Xiao Shitou out of the courtyard, but Xiao Shitou stubbornly refused to move, saying, "I want to see a fight!"

Yan Ying glanced at the little boy with a smile. Was this her cousin? Just as she was about to say something to him, Xiao Wangshi had already dragged him out quickly, muttering, "What's so interesting!" She glanced back at Yan Ying, "So fierce! She'll never get married and will be stuck at home as an old maid!"

"Whether I get married or not is none of your business." Yan Ying bent down and stomped on Wang Fugui with some force, making him cry out in pain, "Third Sister, be gentle, be gentle!"

"Pah! Who's your third sister? Don't you even look at yourself in the mirror!" Yan Ying kicked him hard, and Wang Fugui rolled to the threshold, where a large rock hit him squarely on the butt. He rubbed the spot in pain, his eyebrows drooping as he looked at Yan Ying: "Xiao Sanhua, how dare you kick your brother-in-law!"

"What wouldn't I dare to do? Anyone who dares to bully my sister, I'll beat them up!" Yan Ying stepped forward, scaring Wang Fugui so much that he scrambled to his feet and ran away as fast as he could. He ran like the wind, not daring to look back, as if a ghost was chasing him.

“Sanhua…” Dahua called out pitifully to Yanying, gently patting Ye’er in her arms with one hand: “It’s my fault, please stop chasing after him and hitting him.”

Looking at the figures rushing away on the road outside the door, Yan Ying was really angry. Then she went over to look at Da Hua, who looked aggrieved and still had tears in her eyes. She squatted down and reached out to wipe away Da Hua's tears: "Big sister, don't cry. What's there to cry about? You should be happy."

"Happy?" Da Hua stared blankly at Yan Ying: "I've come this far, and you still want me to be happy?"

"Of course, you should be glad you saw through this scumbag early on." Yan Ying was very indignant. This Wang Fugui, a respectable man, insisted on marrying Da Hua because he thought she was beautiful. Now, only three years later, he's coming to force Da Hua along with his unreasonable parents. Is he even human?

“But…” Da Hua reached out and touched Chun Ye’s head, her voice filled with sorrow: “If I get a divorce, Ye’er will have no father.”

"A father like that is better off without." Yan Ying reached out and hugged Ye'er, smiling as she tapped her chubby little face: "Ye'er, how about your third aunt boils some eggs for you?"

Ye'er nodded, showing no shyness whatsoever, her eyes sparkling like black grapes.

"Sanhua." Dahua panicked a little when Yanying immediately said she wanted to boil eggs for her daughter. She had come back to add another mouth to feed, but at least she could help with some chores. Now that Ye'er had also been sent back, her parents' burden was even heavier. She felt a little sad and stood up, saying, "My coming back today will definitely add to the family's burden. I'd better go after Fugui and beg him to take Chunye and me home."

Even Erhua couldn't stand it anymore and grabbed Dahua, saying, "Big sister, don't go!"

"If I don't go, what should I do?" Da Hua looked bewildered. "I just came back like this, adding two more mouths to feed in the family. We're waiting for the baby to be born in the fall, and if it's a girl..." She trembled, covered her face with her hands, and cried, "I'm so useless, so useless!"

"Big sister, don't worry about staying at home. To tell you the truth, things are much better at home now than before. We won't shortchange you and Ye'er!" Yan Ying carried Chun Hua into the house. "Second sister, bring big sister in. Let's prepare breakfast."

"Breakfast?" Da Hua was a little confused: "You can still have white rice in the morning? Don't you just make do with a pancake?"

Yan Ying straightened her back and strode forward: "Big sister, don't worry about these things. Our family's future will only get better and better."

Inside the house, Sihua was cooking by the stove. Wuhua and Liuhua were nowhere to be seen; they were probably keeping Aunt Xiao company. When Dahua came in, Sihua added some firewood to the stove, stood up to greet her, and wiped her eyes, saying, "Big sister, you're finally back."

Seeing that Sihua had grown up to her shoulder, Dahua smiled through her tears, "Sihua has grown so much, that's wonderful." Glancing at the stove, where the red flames licked the black bottom of the rice pot, Dahua was somewhat surprised, "Our family can really eat white rice now?"

“Isn’t that right?” Sihua nodded and pointed at Yanying, saying, “Third Sister brought them all back.”

"Sanhua, you're so capable!" Dahua looked at Sanhua with a face full of shame: "I can't even compare to half of you! If you need me to do anything in the future, just tell me. I may not be good at anything else, but I'm a master at doing chores!"

Yan Ying smiled and pressed Da Hua down to sit down: "You're pregnant, how can we let you overwork yourself? Just take good care of yourself!"

"It's alright, it's alright. When I gave birth to Ye'er, I was working until I was nine months pregnant. That day, I went to feed the pigs and my stomach hurt so badly that my mother-in-law told me to rest. I gave birth two days later." She smiled at Yan Ying and said, "San Hua, please don't make me sit still. I'm just sitting around anyway, so I might as well move around a bit."

Yan Ying felt a pang of sadness as she listened to Da Hua's words and nodded: "Big sister, you've really suffered! Why are you still so reluctant to leave a family like the Wang family? I'm telling you, you should break off your relationship with Wang Fugui as soon as possible. You're only twenty years old, still in the prime of your youth. Why hang yourself on that crooked tree?"

These words left Da Hua somewhat bewildered. She looked at Chun Hua in Yan Ying's arms, her face full of doubt: "I'm in this state, how can I expect to have a good life?"

The early spring breeze was still a bit chilly. Poems like "apricot blossom rain that dampens clothes" and "willow breeze that blows on the face without chilling" were only written by poets with leisure and refined tastes. Yan Ying shivered and glanced at the faded floral dress she was wearing. The sleeves were too short, and her two pale arms were exposed. It was indeed a bit cold.

"Wang Fugui, say something!" Yan Ying stared at Wang Fugui, feeling indignant but still mindful of Da Hua's opinion. She could only ask the so-called brother-in-law standing in front of her, "Don't keep your mouth shut. What exactly do you plan to do? Your parents aren't here right now, so tell me what's on your mind!"

Wang Fugui's face flushed slightly. Looking at Xiao Dahua and her daughter, he stammered for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a sentence: "I...I will listen to my father and mother."

Da Hua stared at Wang Fugui with her mouth agape, hardly believing her ears: "Fugui, don't you care about our marriage? Didn't you say we'd spend our lives together?"

Wang Fugui drooped his eyebrows and scratched his head: "You didn't have a girl back then! Look at your family, they're all girls. I'm sure you're destined to only have girls too!" He pointed to Chunye in Dahua's arms and said, "This first one, isn't she a girl? If you always had girls, wouldn't our Wang family be eaten into poverty by these money-losing babies?"

Xiao Wangshi chuckled sinisterly from the side: "Fugui, I advised you back then, but you wouldn't listen. You were like a ghost, obsessed with marrying her. Now look what happened! She lived in your house for three years, eating and drinking for free, and gave birth to a money-losing child. Now she's pregnant with another one!"

Wang Fugui shuddered and handed over the floral cloth bundle on his back: "Dahua, these are your and Ye'er's clothes. You can stay at your mother's house for now and see if your belly can cooperate."

Erhua snatched the bundle away, her eyes reddening. "Brother-in-law, how could you say such a thing? Even if Chunye is a girl, she's still your child. Aren't you going to care about her?" Although Xiao Laoda had seven daughters and longed for a son, he didn't despise them. He worked tirelessly outside to earn money to support his family. Erhua's tears fell as she thought of Xiao Laoda's kindness.