Chapter 16 One should be grateful and repay kindness.

As the saying goes, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. No matter what happened in the past, the wealth passed down from their ancestors is enough for the Tao family to live a good life.

When Zhao Lingli returned to the front yard and told the three Tang sisters about her plan, Tang Cuihua was stunned.

"Auntie, is what you're saying true? Can we really stay here? But... but won't my relationship with my sister cause you trouble?"

In this day and age, it's considered taboo for children who are given away to get close to their adoptive families. This is a sign of respect for the adoptive family and a matter of self-respect for the adoptive parents.

Tang Cuihua should have severed all ties after accepting money from the Tao family, but she still came to their door asking them to introduce her to a job. This was a form of moral blackmail. How could Zhao Lingli not see that they just wanted to stay at their house?

But seeing her three daughters' expressions, she couldn't bring herself to kick them out again, especially since they said their cousins ​​were still with them, all for that one million yuan. Look how far they've driven people.

Tang Cuihua looked at Zhao Lingli with tears streaming down her face, and finally pulled her sister to kneel down and kowtow three times.

"Auntie, we will never forget your great kindness. Don't worry, we will work hard and never waste your food."

That night, Tang Cuihua secretly left the Tao family's house and went to the back mountain of their house. She dug out the one million yuan that she had buried deep underground and carefully returned to the Tao family's house overnight. She was panting heavily as she ran to catch up. Zhao Di was stunned when she saw the sack on the ground.

"Sis, why did you carry it back again?"

“I think this million is a disaster for our family, we can’t accept it. Look, Aunt Zhao has taken us in now, how can we take the money from selling our sister? We’ll return this million to the Tao family, and then the three of us will stay at the Tao family’s house to take care of our sister and help Aunt Zhao with chores.”

"Sister, are we not going home? What will happen to Dad and Mom? Even if we don't care about them, we still have to take care of our land, otherwise what will happen to the grain?"

Tang Cuihua gritted her teeth and made up her mind: "You know what kind of people Dad and Mom are. One takes care of her own family, and the other takes care of their own family. It's just the three of us who are busy from morning till night. Aren't you tired? Don't you want to see how they live when we're not home?"

Tang Zhaodi initially felt uneasy, but then the thought of the three sisters living in the Tang family made her feel uncomfortable, as if she had thorns all over her body. She couldn't help but reveal a wicked smile.

“Big sister is right. We should teach them a lesson. As for the work in the fields, if they don’t do it, we won’t be able to harvest any crops. If we can’t harvest any crops, they’ll go hungry. They have to do it whether they want to or not. Okay, let’s listen to big sister. Let’s harden our hearts and leave them alone. Let’s see how lazy they can get. Let them see if their brothers, nephews, and nieces will still listen to them or help them when we’re not home!”

Tang Pandi looked at the sack on the ground with some regret: "This money was originally intended for our mother's medical treatment, but knowing her temper, if we give it to her, it might end up in our grandparents' pockets. Forget it, let's give it to Aunt Zhao instead. We're only able to stay here because of her kindness, and we can't be ungrateful."

And so, the three sisters reached a consensus. Since they had just arrived, Zhao Lingli did not make them do any work, and everything would start from the next day.

That night was the best night's sleep the three sisters had ever had. However, walking around last night had taken a lot of energy, so Tang Cuihua couldn't get up early the next morning. Pandi and Zhaodi got up first to help cook in the kitchen. Anyway, these things were no big deal for them.

When Tang Cuihua woke up, it was already broad daylight. In a hurry, she quickly slipped on her shoes, tidied her hair, and ran out.

Pandi was strolling around the courtyard with Xiaojiu in her arms, while Zhaodi and Grandma Tao were busy in the kitchen. When they saw her come out, they quickly greeted her.

"Sis, you're awake?"

Cuihua couldn't help but say to her sister, "Why didn't you call me?"

"Sister, it's okay. We told them you didn't sleep well last night. We've finished all the work: feeding the chickens and ducks, taking care of the kids, cooking, and cleaning the yard. Look, we've even washed the clothes. Auntie and the others have gone to work in the fields, and Xiaojiu's brothers have gone to collect cicada shells. They won't be back for dinner for a while. You should wash up quickly."

Cuihua looked down and saw Xiaojiu staring intently at her. Her big, round eyes and chubby, pink arms and legs were so adorable. Cuihua was about to reach out and hug her when Pandi turned around abruptly.

"Sis, you haven't washed yet. Wash yourself before you hold her. Grandma told us to be clean when taking care of Xiaojiu and not to be lazy. When you hold her, you must cover her little bottom with a diaper and not let it touch her. Adults touch this and that all day, so their hands are dirty. Look how well I'm holding her! Xiaojiu was just smiling at me. She has two little dimples when she smiles. I wonder who she's copied from in our family. I don't know anyone in our family who has dimples, right?"

Upon hearing this, Cuihua quickly went to the kitchen to greet her grandmother. Then, under her grandmother's guidance, she washed her face with a suitable basin, and Pandi even brought her a toothbrush.

"This is what Auntie gave the three of us this morning, one for each of us. There's toothpaste on the windowsill over there. When you brush, squeeze some toothpaste onto your toothbrush and brush up and down, inside the toothbrush too, like this, like this, yes, like this. After you're done brushing, lick your teeth. If they feel smooth, then they're clean. We've only ever heard of this before, never seen it. I didn't expect that they would prepare this for us so soon after we arrived. No wonder they're city people. No, some city people don't even need this. The Tao family is quite wealthy. Xiao Jiu won't suffer if she goes with them. Sister, you made a great choice. I'm so envious of Xiao Jiu."

Cuihua was demonstrating how to brush her teeth when she heard her sister say that, so she quickly nudged her arm.

“Pandi, don’t talk nonsense. Why are you saying this in front of the children? We are not allowed to discuss the Tao family. They gave us toothbrushes for personal hygiene. Otherwise, would they feel comfortable eating with us and taking care of the children together? Last night, Auntie even found a lot of her old clothes for the three of us to change into. She was very thoughtful and meant well, but you are not allowed to talk nonsense.”

Pandi stuck out her tongue. "Okay, sis. Then hurry up and pack. They should be back soon. We need to check if we've forgotten anything."

After quickly brushing her teeth, Cuihua went to the east wing, where they stored grain (where they now lived), folded their bedding, and cleaned it. Only then did she open the windows and doors to ventilate the room, because the grain storage room needed to be kept dry at all times, so the doors and windows had to be kept open as long as it wasn't raining.

She tidied up her own room, then went to the main hall to tidy up the reception area. She wouldn't enter the master bedroom without permission.

In the summer, they ate at a stone table under the grape trellis. The stone table wasn't big enough, so they also placed a four-cornered wooden table next to it.