Taohua's grandfather passed away early, and her grandmother and her only son finally arrived in a peaceful world. Seeing that life was beginning to look promising, Taohua's father got into gambling again, and within a few years, the family's land was sold for a fortune. , Taohua’s grandmother was pissed to death by her son.
Once Taohua's mother left, no one could control Taohua's father. So when Taohua was nine years old, her father owed gambling debts and couldn't repay them, but creditors blocked the door. Taohua's father started to sell his daughter. idea.
It can be considered that he still has a little bit of conscience. He did not pay the peach blossoms to the creditor. Instead, he walked around a few migrant households in the village who were living reasonably well, and said that he would sell the peach blossoms to their children as wives. He also said that , if they don't sell it, he will have no choice but to sell the peach blossoms to the brothel.
However, no one is willing to do so. Although her father keeps saying that Peach Blossom is for sale, who knows if Peach Blossom will be taken advantage of by this gambler. In the end, Li Ping'an and his aunt Li Dafang couldn't bear the peach blossom being sold to a brothel and wasted, so they spent two thousand dollars to buy the peach blossom to be Zhang Xiaoshan's wife.
Li Dafang was not afraid of being tricked by Taohua's father. She was strong enough and Zhang Yu could beat him. If Taohua's father dared to trick Taohua into their home, they would break his legs.
It turns out that Taohua's father also agreed, but Taohua's mother put forward a condition. Taohua had to stay at home and work until she was thirteen years old before marrying into Li Dafang's family.
Li Dafang also agreed, and the two parties signed a written agreement under the witness of the then village chief Chen An.
After this incident, Taohua's father not only refused to repent, but even worsened his situation. Within two years, he owed a gambling debt again, and he started thinking about having a second daughter again. However, Cao Ya did not have the same fate as Tao Hua, and was directly sold to a brothel.
However, just the day before Caoya was taken away, a fire broke out at Taohua's house. Taohua's parents and her five-year-old brother were burned to death, while Taohua happened to be taking Zhaodi to wash her clothes by the stream. Clothes, escaped.
But since that day, everyone has never seen Cao Ya again.
What is intriguing is that Taohua and Zhaodi's clothes and quilts, as well as iron pots of rice and other items were placed outside the courtyard entrance and were not burned in the sea of fire.
Most people in the village guessed that the fire was started by Cao Ya, but when the government came to inquire, the villagers unanimously agreed that it was an accidental fire, and the government hastily closed the case. Afterwards, everyone built a thatched house for Taohua and Zhaodi so that the two sisters could have a place to stay.
The remaining two sisters depended on each other for their lives. Fortunately, Taohua was strong enough and quickly cheered up. Although they lived in poverty, they still didn't have enough food and clothing, but at least they didn't have to be beaten or scolded. Because Zhaodi was still young, Taohua specifically discussed with Li Dafang whether to marry Zhang Xiaoshan a few years later. She was unwilling to marry Zhaodi with her.
It's not that she dislikes Zhaodi as a drag, but that Li Dafang's family doesn't have the responsibility to help her raise Zhaodi, and she doesn't want Zhaodi to live under someone else's roof.
Li Dafang felt that Taohua's life was too bitter, and he tried to persuade her just to give her a pair of chopsticks. But seeing that Taohua still insisted, she had no choice but to agree and let Zhang Xiaoshan take care of her more often. He would do whatever he could to help. Send some rice during the New Year holidays, and if there is delicious food at home, I don’t forget to send some to Taohua.
…
Hearing Li Ping'an talk about herself, Zhao Di blushed all of a sudden, waved her hands hurriedly, and stammered: "Ping, Brother Ping'an, don't talk nonsense, I'm used to being hungry... No, no, I'm not hungry, I'll eat later. Yeah, it’s okay.”
It doesn't matter if she eats later. She has never been full once in her life. When her parents were still alive, she sometimes only had two mouthfuls of rice soup that her eldest sister left for her in a day. There were ten grains in the rice soup. There is no rice. Now it's just a late meal, nothing more.
In the current situation, she and her eldest sister could only live and eat with Brother Xiaoshan and his family. She had no objection to when to eat or how much to eat. She didn't dare to ask, and she couldn't ask, for fear of accidentally annoying others. Regardless of her and her eldest sister, they can only wait to die.
Taohua next to her felt sad in her heart when she saw her little sister's helpless expression. They have endured hunger and stumbling to survive to this age. They have obviously lived such a miserable life. Why is it that God still refuses to let them go?
"Mom, Ping'an is right. I don't know when dad will come back. Let's eat first." Zhang Xiaoshan also quickly advised.
Li Dafang also listened to the advice, "Then eat first, and then go after Dashan."
Zhang Dashan said hello, which lasted for about an hour and a half, and Li Ping'an didn't wait around. He asked Zhang Dashan to call him after he finished eating, and then walked away.
He went to his uncle's place to comfort his grandma, and then returned to his place at home to play with little Ruyi for a while. When Zhang Dashan came over after dinner, he rubbed little Ruyi's head and said, "Ruyi, go talk to grandma for a while." Just talk, if you make grandma happy, big brother will reward you with a piece of candy."
Little Ruyi's eyes lit up and she ran towards her grandma, "Milk, milk..."
Li Ping'an smiled, and he and Zhang Dashan walked up the mountain holding torches. Seeing this, others quickly sent someone to follow them.
The junction between the deep mountain and the front mountain was illuminated by fire. Li Ping'an never thought of taking a step forward. He stood up straight and looked into the dense forest. He saw nothing but darkness. The mountain wind rustled the leaves, and the trees in the dense forest were filled with noise. Occasionally, weird sounds come out, which makes people feel creepy.
I don't know how long it took, but finally a little fire appeared in Li Ping'an's sight, then two, then three... and finally it was like a fire dragon, slowly moving in this direction.
Li Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief, "They're back, they're back."
Everyone waiting here also put down their worries and laughed happily. Some people turned around and ran away with torches, anxious to go back and tell their families. The person who saw them cursed and quickly asked a few people to follow them to avoid that person. Something unexpected happened on the way.
There is still some distance from here to the hay shed, and no one can guarantee that the road will be safe.
The fire dragon was getting closer and closer. Li Ping'an saw Li Erlin, but he only saw Li Erlin, and he couldn't help but feel nervous.
Zhang Dashan didn't see his father and asked anxiously: "Second uncle, where is my father?"
"Everything is fine in the back!"
Li Erlin's voice came over, and Li Ping'an could even hear the joy mixed with it. While he felt settled, he couldn't help but become curious.
After Li Erlin came out, he asked: "Dad, why did you come back so late?"
Li Erlin chuckled and looked back, but did not answer. Li Ping'an could only stand on tiptoe and look around. After a while, he saw his brother-in-law, three uncles and several villagers working together to carry two wild boars!
"A lot of time was wasted for these two big guys." Li Erlin said.
No wonder he came back so late.
But from a consequentialist point of view, everyone is safe, and it’s worth wasting time to get these two wild boars!
