The Whole Village Thrives After Adopting a Lucky Girl

Xu Qiuniang was speaking when her gaze fell upon a large bamboo basket full of gifts on the floor. Her heart sank, “My elder sister really has become wealthy, she brought so many things home this time. Sigh, we really can’t compare to my elder sister.”

Old Lady Xu reprimanded, “What are you talking about? These are for your uncles.”

Old Lady Xu’s two brothers lived in the neighboring village. Every year, Chunniang would visit her two uncles to wish them a happy new year and present them with some modest gifts as a token of her regard.

“What fortune? We’re just managing to feed ourselves.” Chunniang pulled her children closer, “Wish your aunt a Happy New Year.” Yingbao stepped forward to pay her respects, “Aunt, Happy New Year.”

Xiaojie and Xiaowu followed, “Aunt, Happy New Year.”

“All good, all good.” Xu Qiuniang pulled out two coins from her sleeve, giving one to Xiaojie and the other to Xiaowu, “Go buy some sweets. Don’t think it’s too little, your aunt is not as well off as your mother now.”

Chunniang felt unhappy seeing her sister not giving any New Year’s money to her daughter, but she didn’t say anything.

Old Lady Xu couldn’t keep a straight face, hurriedly took out twenty coins and gave them to Yingbao, “Good girl, this is the New Year’s money from your grandma.” She also gave twenty coins each to Xiaojie and Xiaowu.

Xu Qiuniang raised an eyebrow in surprise, “Mother, why are you giving so much to the children? I gave you two hundred coins, surely you’re not spending all of it on my elder sister’s children.”

Old Lady Xu ignored her second daughter and pulled Yingbao up to sit on the kang, “Good girl, it’s warm up here.”

The two brothers also climbed onto the kang and sat with their sister.

Seeing that her mother wasn’t paying attention to her, Xu Qiuniang stomped out of the room, calling from outside, “Jinjin! Yuyu! Hurry over and wish your grandma a happy New Year! Grandma is giving out New Year’s money!”

In a little while, two children ran in. The eight or nine-year-old boy was Qian Jin, and the six-year-old girl was Qian Yu.

Xu Qiuniang pushed the two children forward, “Go and ask your great aunt for New Year’s money. And your grandmother will also give you New Year’s money.”

Qian Jin was puzzled, “Hasn’t grandma already given us New Year’s money?”

“What does she give! Grandma gave you ten coins this morning, you still need ten more,” Xu Qiuniang said.

At these words, Old Lady Xu was so angry she nearly fell over, but since she was the one who had made the mistake, she didn’t say anything.

Chunniang was unhappy, but she didn’t want to argue with a child, so she took out twenty coins and divided them between Qian Jin and Qian Yu.

Qian Jin and Qian Yu were clever children. They paid their respects to their great aunt, “Great aunt, may you get rich in the New Year.”

Then they turned to their grandmother, “Grandma, you still owe us ten coins of

New Year’s money.”

What could Old Lady Xu do? She had to take out twenty coins and divide them between the two.

This second daughter was spoiled by her father from a young age. Not only was she wilful, but also extremely selfish, always wanting to compete with her elder sister over everything.

Only when Xu Qiuniang saw that her mother had given her children additional New Year’s money, she finally became satisfied, “Elder sister, since your family has planted the golden ear and become rich, why don’t you help out your parents’ home a bit? As for me, your little sister, that’s one thing, but you don’t even bother to help out our elder brother. It’s really true a woman’s heart leans outward. Once married, she doesn’t care about her own family.”

Chunniang didn’t want to bother arguing with her, so she didn’t respond.

Last year she had already suggested to her elder brother and his wife that they also plant the golden ear, but her elder brother was a bit slow. He was only consumed by thoughts of farming and had no interest in planting the golden ear.

What could Chunniang do? She couldn’t exactly just give them money directly.

“What are you saying!” If it wasn’t New Year, Old Lady Xu would have already reprimanded her second daughter.

“How come your elder sister doesn’t help your elder brother? Your elder sister already gave five taels of silver for Daniu’s engagement last time, what did you give?”

“Oh, listen to you! Isn’t it because we don’t have money? If we had, wouldn’t we give?” Xu Qiuniang curled her lips, “If I had money, why would I give only five taels? I’d give at least fifty taels.”

Yingbao, sitting on the kang, was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the conversation.

It seems that whoever is poorer is in the wrong. My Aunt didn’t hesitate to criticize my mother in the past, saying it was because she picked up a useless girl and raised her for someone else’s family that we were poor. If it were her, she would have sold the girl earlier and earned a few taels of silver.

Seeing that her older sister and mother remained silent, Xu Qiuniang became more emboldened, pointing at Yingbao she said: “Your older brother isn’t helping you but you’re raising a bastard who doesn’t know his parents. You really do have money to burn…”

Before she could finish speaking, Xu Qiuniang received a hefty slap to the face

from Chunniang.

With an icy expression, Chunniang said coldly, “Qiuniang, let me tell you, if you dare slander my Baobao like that again, our two families will have nothing to do with each other!”

“You hit me?” Xu Qiuniang covered her slapped cheek, staring incredulously at her older sister. “Because of a foundling bastard… girl, you dare hit me?”

“I’ll say it again, Yingbao is my own daughter. If you insult her, it’s the same as insulting me. Is it not right that I’m allowed to hit you?” Chunniang had always tolerated her only sister, but she never expected her sister to disrespect her more and more.

A few years back, she would ridicule me for my inability to procreate, she would say that I must have committed severe sins in my past life, which is why I am unable to have offsprings in this lifetime.

Now that she has nothing more to say, she continuously belittles me with her words in order to showcase her own superiority.

Chunniang couldn’t understand what she had done to deserve such treatment from her only sister.

Xu Qiuniang, with her hand still covering her face, looked at their elderly mother. Seeing her turn her head away, Qiuniang couldn’t hold back tears, and she cried out loud and ran out of the hut.

The old lady Xu bit her teeth in anger, “This silly girl, she’s always been foul-mouthed. She’ll never change!”

Chunniang was also displeased, the sisters were making a scene during the New Year’s festival. It was very embarrassing.

Jiang Sanlang lifted the curtain and entered, asking, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, ” Chunniang didn’t dare to mention the matter in front of her husband, “It’s good that you’re here; let’s divide up what’s in the basket. We should take it to my uncles’ place.”

“Oh,” Jiang Sanlang agreed, and divided up the gifts with his wife. They then took Yingbao and their two sons to give New Year’s gifts to the two uncles.

The uncles’ homes were not far from the Xu family; they arrived within a quarter of an hour.

The two uncles, after receiving the New Year’s gifts, insisted on hosting a meal, but they were politely declined by Chunniang. The family of five then returned to Xu Da’s house.

Surprisingly, Xu Qiuniang hadn’t left either. She sat by the large dining table with a frosty expression.

“Big girl, set the table.” Xu Da’s wife, seeing her sister-in-law and her family coming back, called her daughter from the kitchen to clean the table and serve the dishes.

“Okay,” the big girl responded, placing a stack of bowls and chopsticks on the table.

Xu Da got Jiang Sanlang to sit at the table, then called Qian Jiu, his younger sister’s husband, to come over and sit down too.

Qian Jiu had a sour expression, sweeping his gaze over Jiang Sanlang in a very spiteful manner.

The atmosphere was tense during the meal, and Jiang Sanlang only had a few sips of alcohol with his brother-in-law before refusing to drink any more.

However, Qian Jiu just kept drinking, his face flushing red and froth started to appear at the corners of his mouth.

“You! Look down on…me?”

Qian Jiu suddenly slammed the table, pointing at Jiang Sanlang and started cursing, “Just…because…you have some bloody money! You dare…look down on

Jiang Sanlang completely ignored this man, finishing his meal quickly, then he stood up and said to Chunniang, “Let’s go home.”

Chunniang nodded, holding hands with her children who had already finished their meal.

Qian Jiu also stood up, staggering over. Xu Da caught him, asking, “What are you doing, brother-in-law?

“Don’t…worry about me!” Qian Jiu violently brushed off Xu Da and pointing at Jiang Sanlang he said, “If it weren’t for…you! Me and Chunniang…”

“Shut up!” Jiang Sanlang could no longer restrain himself. He punched Qian Jiu right in the face..