"Don't bother with that. Who I marry is none of your business. Just take care of yourself. I heard that your daughter had three broken ribs from being beaten by your son-in-law. Why don't you stand up for your daughter and ask her to divorce? She is your biological daughter after all. Why did you let her marry that beast who beats women?"
Gu Shichu said lightly, and her words directly hit Aunt Liu's sore spot. The news she usually heard from all directions was not useless. Didn't she just happen to hear about Aunt Liu's family before? Now it was just right to bring it up and fight back against Aunt Liu.
As expected, when Aunt Liu heard what Gu Shichu said, her face turned red with anger, and she was as choked up as a pig's liver. She said with trembling lips: "You, you... What does this have to do with you?"
"It's none of my business, but weren't you concerned about my marriage just now? I was just reciprocating and caring about your daughter's marriage. Why are you angry? You scolded me just now and I didn't even scold you back..." Gu Shichu raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, his eyes full of sarcasm.
Aunt Liu was choked and speechless. She could only say in a timid tone, "Okay! You take people's kindness for granted! You are so sharp-tongued. I wonder what will happen to you in the future!"
After saying that, he walked away angrily, staying away from Gu Shichu.
Gu Shichu sighed in boredom. This guy’s fighting ability was too poor and he couldn’t even start an argument.
It was time to get off work, and Gu Shichu left with everyone else. When Aunt Liu met her at the edge of the field, she glared at her fiercely, obviously still holding a grudge against her.
After Gu Shichu returned home and rested enough, she continued to repair the house. She had annoyed Ji Mingtao before, so Ji Mingtao didn't come to help her anymore. She could only do it slowly by herself.
Fortunately, this dilapidated house is not big, and it won’t take Gu Shichu long to repair it by himself.
She thought the room was too dark, so she took down the narrow window and replaced it with a large one, and opened another window on the other side. This way, enough light could come in, and the room became much brighter and didn't look as dark and depressing as before.
Just when Gu Shichu was replacing the mud bricks on the wall that had been rotten by rain with new ones, an uninvited guest came to his door.
"Niece Gu! You are at home after all. I came at the right time..." A middle-aged woman with a round waist walked in and said to Gu Shichu with a smile, "What are you doing? Repairing the wall? Oh, you can even repair the wall, you are really capable!"
Gu Shichu put down the work in his hands, went to the yard to scoop water to wash his hands, and then asked: "Aunt Xi, what do you want to see me about? Come in and sit down."
She welcomed him into the house and poured her a bowl of cold boiled water: "Sorry, we don't have any tea leaves at home, only boiled water. You'll have to make do with it."
Of course she has tea, all kinds of top-quality tea, but they are produced in her companion space and cannot be seen by others now, otherwise the source cannot be explained - where can she, an orphan, get such good tea
So I could only treat Aunt Xi with a bowl of boiled water.
Aunt Xi didn't care about it. After all, under the current conditions, other families in the village also used plain water to entertain guests, and only when entertaining distinguished guests might they use some water soaked with sugar.
"Niece Gu, how are you doing now? Aren't you too lonely living alone?" Aunt Xi asked with pity. She looked at the living room of the Gu family. It was indeed very poor. There was only a shabby round table and three or four tattered stools. No one knew how long they had been used and it was impossible to recognize the original appearance of the table and chairs.
Gu Shichu smiled politely and said, "It's OK. I can support myself by working in the fields. It's not bad. I'm used to living alone and don't feel lonely. What's the matter with Aunt Xi?"
She actually knew the purpose of this aunt's visit. Apart from her marriage being plotted against, what other value could she have
I don’t know what day it is today, but so many people are meddling in their own marriage affairs
Aunt Xi took a sip of water and then got straight to the point: "Since you are the only one in your family now, I will tell you directly. Don't be too shy. I am here to propose marriage to you today."
She carefully looked at Gu Shichu's face, and when she saw no signs of displeasure, she breathed a sigh of relief, smiled amiably, and said:
"The one who asked me to propose marriage is Zhou Shitou from the village. You know Zhou Shitou, right? He is the son of Widow Zhou. He is tall and thin. Although he is not very strong, he has a good temper and is obedient and honest! Widow Zhou was the first to take a fancy to you. She thinks you are diligent and capable, and a perfect match for her son! What do you think?"
Hearing what Aunt Xi said, Gu Shichu laughed immediately. She did know that Zhou Shitou. He looked like a bamboo pole, with very little flesh on his body. It was said that he was weak and sickly since birth, so they named him Shitou, hoping that he would live a safe and stable life and not be taken away by the King of Hell.
Zhou Shitou did have a good temper and was quite obedient, but that was because he was controlled by Widow Zhou. Widow Zhou treated him as her life and controlled him very strictly. It was said that he even had to obey her instructions on how much to eat, how many hours to sleep and how much water to drink every day.
So there is actually a more modern word to describe the relationship between Zhou Shitou and his mother: mama's boy.
Zhou Shitou has a good temper and is obedient, but in fact he is cowardly, has no opinion of his own, and listens to his mother in everything. It is impossible to have a good life if you marry into a family like this.
Widow Zhou's possessiveness and desire to protect her son are too strong, and she cannot tolerate her daughter-in-law. Even if she is the daughter-in-law she chose herself, she cannot help but interfere in the couple's affairs, so family conflicts are inevitable.
Besides, Zhou Shitou’s health is not good. Who knows when he will die? Wouldn’t that be harming people
Widow Zhou said that she was impressed by my diligence and ability, and it was obvious that she wanted to find a free nanny so that I could work and support her son. It was a good plan.
Unfortunately, it also depends on whether I am willing to cooperate, Gu Shichu thought.
"Aunt, if I marry, it must be for a better life. I can't marry someone who lives a worse life than I do now, right? If I marry Zhou Shitou, he is weak and can't work, then won't I have to support him? After a few years, when I have a child, Widow Zhou will be old, so I will have to raise the child and mother-in-law by myself, and the whole family will depend on me.
Auntie, do you think that kind of life is good? Before I got married, I only needed to support myself, but if I married him, I would have to support two, three, four, five, six people... Tsk tsk, wouldn't I be exhausted to death?"
Gu Shichu said to Aunt Xi with a smile.
When Aunt Xi heard what Gu Shichu said, she was dumbfounded. She obviously didn't expect Gu Shichu to say such a thing, but what she said was very logical and realistic. It was just too realistic and well-founded that Aunt Xi couldn't refute it even if she wanted to.