"Xiaoya, go and fetch two buckets of water."
The middle-aged woman held a young baby boy in her arms and coaxed the little baby in her arms.
A petite figure skillfully put the two barrels on a thick long stick and picked them up.
The heavy weight of the barrel and the burden made the little girl's shoulders sway slightly, and her face turned a little sallow. The heavy pressure made her feel a little overwhelmed by her shoulders, but she quickly stabilized.
The little girl raised a smile and smiled at her mother.
"Mom, I'll go get some water right away."
The sample of a middle-aged woman has a good appearance. Her skin is not delicate and white due to the waste of life, but it still retains some color.
Looking at my daughter's cute smiling face, carrying two medium-sized wooden barrels, I felt soft in my heart.
"Go quickly, my mother will prepare a bowl of eggs for you later."
The little girl walked steadily towards the door.
The woman looked at the little girl's retreating figure and couldn't help but feel a little doubtful in her heart.
Xiaoya has been in good health since she was born.
When she was born, she was wasted by her mother-in-law during the confinement period. She was only 3 pounds and 6 pounds when she was born. She was a girl and was not well raised. However, she got better and better as she was raised, and there was no root cause of disease in her body.
As they grew to the age of four, they also discovered that Xiaoya seemed to be stronger than other little boys of the same age.
Only then did he take on the chores at home.
There was nothing I could do about it. My youngest son Jinbao had just been born, and it was rare for me to have free time and not need to go to the fields.
It was precisely because she was a boy that her mother-in-law was lenient. Her men often let her go to the fields instead of letting her stay at home to take care of her son. Her mother-in-law didn't say anything when she found out.
The little girl can do these tasks first.
…………
Xiaoya walked on the path in the forest carrying a load.
There is no well in Peijia Village. If you want to drink water, you have to go to the river in Peijia Village.
She was walking along the path in the forest. The muddy ground under her feet had been flattened by the villagers because of the recent spring rain. It had been wet and made the soles of her straw shoes sticky.
But her strength is indeed greater than that of ordinary children.
She knew that she was doing these jobs now to gain some face in front of her mother.
The dirt road underfoot was not dry, and there were some gravels in it. It was not very smooth. Xiaoya walked slowly with a load on her back, but she could not help but step on the gravels.
Before her brother was born, she and her mother had only one child. Even though she was a girl, her parents still treated her well, so she only started doing these tasks after her brother was born.
Xiaoya endured the stinging pain under her feet from time to time and finally reached the edge of the river.
She put down the barrel, and the swaying barrel suddenly fell to the ground and started spinning leisurely. She couldn't help but rub her sore shoulders.
Xiaoya took a handful of water and slapped it on her face.
She was washing the leaves and dust that had just stuck to her face in the lower reaches of the river. She had just sweated and it was all stuck to her face.
After washing, a small face was reflected on the clear river.
She didn't have a serious name, and girls were not taken seriously in this small mountain village. Ever since her mother became pregnant with her younger brother, she felt that her parents valued that child, and even more so after she was born and found out that the baby was a boy.
Unlike her younger brother, who was happily named Jinbao when he was born, she was so small that she couldn't even be fed, so she was always called Xiaoya or Pei Xiaoya.
Her small face was reflected in the river, and her beautiful facial features were reflected. Even if her skin color was a bit yellow, it did not cover up her naturally delicate facial features.
Her father and mother are both the most handsome in the village. When she was born, she was born with the best looks of her father and mother. Although she is small and has a sallow complexion, you can still see the exquisiteness of her facial features.
A pair of pure black eyes are exceptionally bright.
She didn't know why, but it seemed that she was different from the children of the same age in the village since she was a child. She seemed to have a clear understanding from a very early age, and she could clearly write down everything that happened around her.
Just like what the uncle who teaches in the village said, people are born with precocious wisdom.
She didn't know if she was like this.
How could a girl's parents let her go to school? She only watched it secretly and listened to as many lessons as possible from the teacher.
The children next to me had to turn around several times before they could figure out what the words the teacher taught them were, but she seemed to remember them all just by looking at them.
Xiaoya licked the dry skin on her mouth to relieve the slight sting of her lip skin.
She realized earlier than the little girls in the village that in the eyes of adults, boys and girls seemed to be different.
But.
Why.
she does not know.
All she could do was to do more work so that her father and mother would not turn all their attention to her younger brother. She understood her father and mother's attitude towards her earlier than other children of the same age around her, and it might be her only support.
She lifted the barrel, and the rough wooden surface made her palms feel uncomfortable.
She sank all the barrels into the river, then lifted them up with all her strength. Two buckets of water were filled, and she picked up the two buckets of water again.
Heavier.
The pressure caused her figure to sway slightly.
She gritted her teeth and stood up, feeling a slight tingling sensation on her shoulder. She couldn't help but bite her lower lip, but her peeled lower lip even felt a bit itchy.
The small river next to it was gurgling and making a slight gurgling sound.
She couldn't help but glance back.
The river reflected her little face.
She is young, but she knows it clearly.
She knew clearly since her brother was born that she was not willing to be treated badly like this.
………………
"Look at your little girl, she's really sensible. Her little face is growing more and more like you. She's pretty."
There was an aunt sitting at home.
Forty or fifty years old.
Looks honest.
She peeled open the raw peanuts on the wooden table, and the peanut shells were scattered all over the table.
But her mother next to her looked at the fat lady in front of her with almost humility.
Xiaoya sweetly called out "Hello, Auntie," then carried two buckets of water to the big vat in the woodshed, placed a small wooden stool on it, and poured the water in.
She was a little uneasy and looked at the yard across a woodshed door.
This fat lady didn't seem to be from their village, and her mother even took out the peanuts hidden at home.
Looking at the fat woman's clothes, they don't look like the coarse linen clothes in the village, but rather shiny silk and satin.
Especially the eyes looking at her made her feel a little uncomfortable.
It's like looking at a piece of goods.
But she didn't dare to eavesdrop. The chickens outside were crowing, making a noise that she couldn't hear clearly even if she leaned against the door. If she lingered here for too long, it would make her mother think too much.
When she went out again, she saw the fat lady walking away.
Her mother sent the fat woman away with a smile on her face.
He turned around and looked back at Pei Xiaoya. There seemed to be thoughts in his eyes that Xiaoya couldn't see clearly.
She was only four years old, and even though she was smarter than other children, she still couldn't figure out what her mother was thinking.
She raised her little face and smiled at her mother.
"Mom, I've already poured it into the water tank."
Zhang Hua just turned around and saw his little daughter. She looked well-behaved. Even though she was a little thinner and her complexion was sallow, she could still see the beauty in her facial features.
Xiaoya obediently picked up the water and looked at herself with bright eyes, which made her feel a little guilty, but it quickly dissipated.
She was looking for a good future for Xiaoya, so there was nothing to feel guilty about.
