Chen Ming said apologetically, "It's because of my illness that you and this family have suffered. Without it, we would have been able to live a good life with your exquisite embroidery skills."
Mrs. Wang answered with a rebuke, "As the head of the family, if it weren't for you, our home would have fallen apart. It's because of you that we can continue living. Especially Afu, the person she should be most grateful to is you…"
Dabao busily said, "Not only my mother should be filial to her grandpa, but I should too."
After some idle chatter, while Mrs. Wang was embroidering, Dabao held Afu's hand and went to the west room to rest. Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang resided in the west room, while Afu and Dabao stayed in the east room.
There was a large bed near the window in the east room. At the end of the bed, there were a couple of cabinets, a worn-out table, and two stools on the floor.
Dabao took off his shoes and jumped onto the bed, pulling out a quilt from the cabinet and spread it on the bed. The quilt was full of rings, presumably his handiwork, though it couldn't be ruled out that the original owner contributed to it. The quilt wasn't spread out evenly, it was wrinkled and crooked.
He stood on the bed and said, "Mom, come over, Dabao will help you undress."
Afu's cheeks turned a deeper shade of red as she replied, "Mother ---- I can do it myself." But despite her words, she moved next to him.
The little blue top she was wearing was fastened diagonally, not with ties, but with disc buttons. These small buttons were tight and didn't open easily. After Afu had struggled for a while, she managed to undo two buttons. Dabao undid the rest.
The tie of her skirt was a detachable buckle, making it easier to unfasten. With one pull, the skirt fell to the floor. She sat on the bed, and Dabao got down to help her pick up the skirt.
"Mother should rest on the bed, we're out of firewood at home. Uncle and I are going to gather some," Dabao said as he covered Afu with a blanket. As he left, he took dirty clothes with him and closed the door behind him.
"What terrible living conditions could turn a child into this?!" Afu felt a pang of heartache.
The surroundings suddenly fell quiet, broken only by the distant barking of dogs and the occasional laughter of children.
Afu closed her eyes and sorted through the events that had occurred before and after her reincarnation.
In her previous life, she owned a two-bedroom flat, a car, and had savings of over ten thousand. Liu Xudong also gave her a three-bedroom flat and savings of one million. These all added up to millions of USD, she wondered whether it was seized by the government or went to her cousins who never contacted her. If she had left a will, she would have donated all the money to an orphanage.
But, none of that was in her control now.
In this life, she reincarnated into the body of a simple-minded girl, who is fifteen this year, with a father, mother, younger brother, and a son. Based on what she had learned, their home was in Xiangluo Village, a dozen miles from Sanqing County, with convenient traffic. Given the vast expanse of fertile farmland stretching down the road, this area could be considered an affluent land of fish and rice.
Although their family has three acres of dry land, her father was in poor health, her mother had to earn money by embroidering, her younger brother was only ten, and her son, Dabao, was just four. The land was leased to her eldest uncle, Chen Ye, who paid sixty percent of the rent to their family every year.
Her mother, Mrs. Wang's embroidery work was excellent. She toiled day and night and could earn six to seven hundred coins a month, which was higher than the total income of some families. This is how she was able to support her family and pay for the treatment of Chen Ming and Afu.
But her mother, Mrs. Wang's eyesight was deteriorating, she was nearsighted and also sensitive to light. This was most likely caused by overworking her eyes. If she continued this way, her eyes would go blind in a few years.
When Chen Ming's health improved a bit, he was able to weave some grass baskets, hats, and shoes, but it didn't earn much. They had five hens at home, and the eggs laid were mainly for nourishing Chen Ming and Afu, and sometimes, the two children could also have one.
They had a milk mother who lived with their eldest uncle. Eldest uncle had three children. Their eldest son was Chen Agu, who was married to Mrs. Gao at twenty years old. The second daughter's name was Chen Alan, who was about to get married at the end of the year, and the third daughter was Chen Aju, who was twelve years old. Chen Agu had a son and a daughter, the son Chen Dahu was four years old, and the daughter Chen Daya was two years old.
They also had a Third Uncle Chen Shi who was doing a small business in the capital city and his family lived there, only coming back to stay for over half a month during Lunar New Year.
So far, this was all the information Afu had.
Oh, and there was also that sparrow, the one she saw in her mind before her death, the same one she would occasionally dream about. Strange though that in her dreams, she couldn't understand the bird language it spoke. She only saw it flapping about and chirping here and there, often quite agitated. Sparrows usually make gentle murmuring sounds, yet this sparrow prattled on noisily like a sparrow.
She dozed off and dreamed of that sparrow again. Its feathers were blue-black and glowed. Its chest and belly were golden, and its sharp beak was golden too. It was currently aiming its watery-green eyes at her, which were as sharp as a knife, as it started ranting, "Chirp! You're too stupid, just stupid! I've wasted an entire life with you, not even seeing daylight, nor a single piece of gold, constantly living in an old house. I didn't even get to see the Dubai Pearl, Sydney Opera House, the Bird's Nest currently in legend. This is infuriating! Chirp chirp chirp…"
Ignoring the unfriendly content, the sound was like a baby's, mellow and very pleasant to the ears.
But those green eyes were too frightening, full of hatred. The gaze was like several bursts of green laser light, randomly flying in front of Afu.
Afu woke up in fright. It took her moment to realize where she was. Looking at the dilapidated house and smelling the urine-stained bedding, she confirmed that she had indeed reincarnated.
Just as she was about to think again about that strange little sparrow, she heard the sound of chopping vegetables from the kitchen and the faint sound of Mrs. Wang and Mr. Chen talking.
Mrs. Wang was saying, "…..Originally, I thought since Afu is a bit slow and clumsy, she would suffer if we married her off. So I planned to let her stay unmarried for life and let our family take care of her. Although Alu is good, I was worried that his future wife might not be good, and would mistreat Afu….It so happened that I found Dabao in the forest, so I thought about letting Afu recognize Dabao as her son, then establish a female household for her, where she could live with her son. After we pass away, Afu won't suffer, there will be someone to take care of her, show filial respect to her, and worship her after she passes away. But now, Afu seems to have gotten better. If she fully recovers, it would be best if she gets married. But having Dabao with her, how will she find a good family?"
After contemplating for a moment, Chen Ming said, "If that is the case, we should foster Dabao as our son. This way, Dabao will not be Afu's burden, but would instead be a support for Afu and Alu in the future. That child is intelligent, he will surely be successful when he grows up."
Mrs. Wang seemed to think so too and laughed, "The head of the family always has good ideas. This would be the best solution. Although Dabao was found, we have raised him for four years, and we've grown attached to him. I really regard him as my biological grandson. Not only is that child intelligent, but he is also sensible, treating Afu with filial piety as if she were his biological mother."
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