Gu Zi remained calm and patiently explained, "I am from the Lin family, but I am not Lin Miao. We were switched at birth when we were babies. My name is Gu Zi."
There was a flicker of surprise in Zhang Cuihua's eyes, but then she smiled warmly and said, "You must be the city-raised girl, huh? I knew you looked different from the local girls."
The people who had gathered outside, originally drawn by the commotion, now joined the conversation.
"Oh my, this girl is so fair, like she's made of dough."
"Yeah, she's as beautiful as a flower."
"She's a city girl for sure! She's so pretty; she must be way better than that Lin Miao from the countryside!"
Listening to the comments from the villagers, Zhang Cuihua thought about the past when Lin Miao had demanded a huge dowry, and then suddenly decided to leave for the city, claiming she had found her biological parents and didn't want to stay with Su Shen anymore.
Zhang Cuihua's house was right next to the Su family's, so she had heard about the dowry and felt indignant. Three thousand yuan as a dowry was already a hefty sum, and even in the city, it was considered excessive.
Now that the biological daughter of the Lin family had come, looking like a fairy descended from the heavens, Zhang Cuihua couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. "You've been through a lot, coming here to fulfill the marriage arrangement."
"Mr. Su is a good man, and the three children are good too. I don't feel wronged at all," Gu Zi replied with a smile.
Not only Zhang Cuihua but also the other villagers started to think highly of Gu Zi. They praised her for her beauty and kindness, and they all felt that Su Shen had great luck to marry such a lovely wife.
However, children have different priorities from adults.
The chubby boy next to Zhang Cuihua couldn't take his eyes off the empty dog bowl, drooling as he stared at it. "It smells so good! It's really fragrant!"
The boy looked at Gu Zi with hopeful eyes and asked, "Fairy sister, your family's food smells so good, even the dog's food smells delicious."
Gu Zi, now holding Su Le and standing by the courtyard gate, reached into her pocket, took out a few candies, and handed them to the boy with a warm smile. "Here, have some candy. In the future, you can come here to eat."
The boy instinctively reached for the candy but was stopped by Zhang Cuihua, his grandmother. He looked at the candy with longing eyes.
Zhang Cuihua was clearly exasperated and said to the child, "Look at how greedy you are. You took Auntie's candy and didn't even say thank you!"
The boy quickly grabbed a piece of candy, unwrapped it, and put it into his mouth. Then, he smiled happily at Gu Zi.
Zhang Cuihua couldn't help but chuckle. This child was such a glutton. When she spoke to him, she said, "Look at how greedy you are, taking Auntie's candy. Say thank you to the fairy sister."
The little fatty heaved a sigh of relief. His gaze fell on Gu Zi's face. "Thank you, Fairy Sister!"
Gu Zi smiled and said, "Good boy. Just call me Auntie in the future."
The boy, with his mouth full of candy, shook his head. "No, I'll call you Fairy sister, you look just like a fairy!"
Gu Zi hadn't expected the child to be so eloquent. She smiled and patted his head.
The other villagers, who had gathered to watch, were surprised. "These candies are quite expensive. Is she rich since she's from the city?"
"Yeah, you'd think she's loaded, unlike us."
"Look at how she spends money. Can she really survive in our village?"
"I doubt it!"
While the Su family had money, in the eyes of the villagers, they were still not as well-off as city folks. They found it hard to believe that this young and beautiful girl would willingly stay in the village, especially with her apparent extravagance.