That night after dinner, Li Fangting burrowed into the blankets and slept next to Gu Yunshuang. She rubbed the soft cotton quilts. These were not like the Li family’s blankets, which were stiff and so thin that they were practically weightless.
“Mother…”
She raised her head and looked at Gu Yunshuang blissfully. “Elder Cousin says she’s getting engaged in a few days’ time, and she’ll make me a new set of clothes.”
Gu Yunshuang patted her head. “In the future, you must learn to get along with your elder cousin. She’s smart and mature. You must learn from her, alright?”
“Uhm!” Li Fangting nodded obediently.
That night, Gu Qingyao lingered in her interspace, practicing her calligraphy and painting. But no matter how she wrote, nothing pleased her.
In the end, she flung her pen aside in irritation. She wouldn’t write anymore!
She was annoyed and filled with rage. She must settle the score with the Li family. She could not hold back her feelings!
When Gu Qingyao got up the next morning, she found Li Fangting sweeping the yard with an enormous broom.
There was still snow on the ground. They had cleared part of the yard earlier, and several of the important paths were lined with stones. The girl was using a huge broom to sweep the piles of snow.
“Ting Ting!” Gu Qingyao called.
Li Fangting turned and smiled. “Elder Cousin, you’re awake! I’ll get water for you to wash your face. Breakfast is ready, you can eat now!”
Gu Qingyao was surprised. She looked in the kitchen and sure enough, there was hot water on the stove. The pot contained rice gruel, and the sorghum bread was warming above it.
During the new year, she had made plenty of sorghum bread and some buns. They just had to be steamed to reheat them.
Before Gu Qingyao could say anything, Li Fangting poured the hot water into a basin and added cold water so that it was just right.
“Elder Cousin, you can wash your face first. We can eat later when our grandparents get up.”
Li Fangting looked excited.
Breakfast!
She had never eaten breakfast in the Li family. The few times they had breakfast, the older cousins had eaten it. She had never had breakfast before.
Last night, she heard Elder Cousin say that she would make breakfast this morning. She asked what they would eat and when Elder Cousin told her, she woke up early to prepare everything.
This was her grandmother’s house. She would get a share too.
Gu Qingyao looked at the little girl in front of her. She was slightly bloated from starvation, and so tiny.
It was clear that the child was used to doing all these things in the Li family.
Damn it!
Gu Qingyao ground her teeth. If she did not punch that old woman, she would be in a bad mood during her engagement.
“Ting Ting, this is your grandmother’s family, not the Li family. In the future, you don’t need to get up so early. Look, the sky is only beginning to brighten now. Grandmother and the others don’t get up so early either, because if it’s too dark, they can’t see to work in the cowshed. Do you understand?
“In the future, you can leave the cooking to me! Grandmother can cook too, and when your mother is better, she can cook as well. You only need to lend a hand here and there. A young child shouldn’t get up so early. If you work too hard, you might exhaust yourself, and then you won’t grow tall.”
Li Fangting just stood there and listened to Gu Qingyao. After she had listened for a long time, she replied with just four words. “Thank you, Elder Cousin!”
Gu Qingyao’s heart ached even more!
On the evening of the seventh day, Mo Beihan came to look for Gu Qingyao. He said that Old Madam Li had gone out that day, and probably would not be back until late. And she was alone.
Gu Qingyao was taken aback!
Mo Beihan smiled. “If I don’t bring you to vent your spleen, you’ll probably be in a bad mood during our engagement. I can’t bear that!”