"You know," Ji Ying said as she took her hand and smoothed her bangs, "my daughter has grown up so much."
Her bangs had long been combed up, revealing a clear and bright forehead. Beneath that, a pair of lively eyes sparkled. From the tiny, frail baby she once was, she had transformed into a graceful young lady in the blink of an eye.
At nineteen, she was unlike any other girl in the village—kind and sensible, yet never causing trouble, endearingly so.
Zhong Juan was only a year older than Nianhua and seemed decent enough daily, but she did some embarrassing things in private with Gao Jianshe.
But Nianhua, in this regard, seemed like a blank sheet of paper.
"I know you want to thank Yicheng, and it’s good to be grateful, but there are things a girl ought to be careful about when it comes to her reputation," she said.
Ji Ying had not wanted to speak of these matters, but seeing her daughter in this situation, Ji Ying feared she might give Yicheng something again or, out of naivete, be taken advantage of. It was with some embarrassment that she spoke these words to her daughter.
But thinking that Nianhua might suffer for her ignorance in the future, Ji Ying cleared her throat and said, "A girl can only have intimate relations after marriage. Before you’re married, you mustn’t let a man get close to you, Nianhua, do you understand?"
Xu Nianhua, who had lived a long life though never married, had never been intimate with a man, but she still understood what Ji Ying meant.
She hadn’t eaten pork, but she had seen pigs run.
Xu Nianhua’s face turned bright red. She looked down and said, "Mom, what are you thinking? I’m still young and have no plans to marry."
In her previous life, she had lived alone, raising an adopted child, constantly earning money to help other children in need. Apart from missing her family, there was nothing regrettable about her life.
Living her life over, Xu Nianhua had not considered marriage at all.
"Mom, it’s just a sweater, nothing serious, not like it’s underwear or something. You’re thinking too much. Next time, I’ll be more careful," Xu Nianhua finally said, no longer the nervous nineteen-year-old after a moment’s embarrassment.
Xu Nianhua changed the subject, "Mom, when will my sister-in-law give me a little nephew?"
"They’ve just gotten married," Ji Ying quickly shifted her attention. It had been half a year since Xu Nianji and Zhou He got married, and there had been no news of a pregnancy, which worried her somewhat, though she didn’t show it.
"Next year, we’ll definitely have a little nephew," Xu Nianhua said, full of hope. "Wonder if it will be a niece or a nephew? Like my big brother or like my sister-in-law?"
"A boy or a girl, it’s all good, your brother and sister-in-law are both good-looking," she replied.
Ji Ying wasn’t one to favor sons over daughters; she just wanted her children to be safe and healthy.
"Mom, make a bit more food for lunch. Ling Dong hurt his hand, and Cheng Hao can’t cook," Nian’an said just after returning from the factory, seeing Ling Dong’s hand tightly wrapped.
"How did he hurt himself?" Ji Ying asked anxiously.
"Cough, Mom, don’t tell anyone, but I overheard Cheng Hao saying he accidentally slipped on a banana peel. Now he’s hiding in the room, embarrassed to meet anyone," Nian’an whispered. He had been stunned himself when he first heard it from Cheng Hao.
Ling Dong seemed so agile, yet somehow he had been so unlucky.