The next day, the village chickens had already begun crowing.
It was the moment when night was giving way to dawn.
Ding Lan woke from her sleep. When she opened the door, she was greeted by remarkably fresh air.
Trying to find something positive in her miserable situation, she thought to herself, This is probably the only good thing about living here.
Judging by the sky, it was probably around three in the morning.
She didn’t wake Ding Qiao, who was still sound asleep. After quietly closing the door behind her, Ding Lan took the only bucket in the house and headed to the river to fetch water.
She had already been here for several days, yet she still hadn’t taken a proper bath.
Today, she really couldn’t stand it anymore.
She brought a small square towel with her, washed her face by the river, then carried a bucket of water back to the courtyard.
Ding Lan carried the water into the small room where she had first woken up and locked the door.
There was really no privacy here, so this was the only way she could make do with taking a bath.
After quickly washing herself, Ding Lan came out feeling refreshed and returned to the main room.
The room was filled with the lanterns the sisters had made the day before.
Although there were only two of them making them, they had actually managed to produce quite a large number.
Ding Lan spread the red paper out on the table and prepared to cover the lantern frames with it.
This wasn’t difficult. She just needed to be careful and patient.
The traditional lanterns they had made earlier were all covered with bright red paper.
Once the red paper was pasted on, the lanterns actually had quite a festive, New Year’s atmosphere.
However, the red paper looked somewhat strange on the rabbit-shaped lanterns.
It would have been much better if they could use a different color.
Suddenly, Ding Lan had an idea.
Since her useless second brother was studying, there had to be some paper left in his room.
After gently closing the door behind her, Ding Lan headed toward Ding Jing’s room.
As soon as she pushed open the door, she couldn’t help curling her lips.
Ding Jing’s parents had really been willing to spend money on their precious son.
The room had practically everything.
There was even a proper-looking large writing desk, with brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone neatly arranged on top.
Every single thing a scholar needed cost money!
Ding Lan couldn’t help feeling her heart ache over the silver that had been wasted on him.
Ding Jing’s parents really had believed that their son was destined to become the top scholar.
But Ding Lan knew the plot of the novel.
Ding Jing had never done anything good at the private school. He was always targeting the male protagonist, who was also from a poor family.
Later, after framing the male protagonist, he was discovered by the teacher at the school and directly expelled.
Even after that, he refused to accept his fate.
He continued looking for trouble with the male protagonist, only to end up being thoroughly taught a lesson by him.
Ding Lan didn’t think about it any further.
She searched through the writing desk and took only a stack of yellowed xuan paper.
It wasn’t that she was being polite.
She was simply worried that using paper that was too white might carry some bad symbolism, so she deliberately chose some of the yellowed sheets instead.
She noticed a small inkpad on the desk and picked that up as well.
Finally, she casually took a calligraphy brush from the brush rack before leaving.
When Ding Lan returned, Ding Qiao had already woken up.
The moment she got out of bed, she had sat down on the small stool and continued weaving lanterns.
Seeing her elder sister return with so many things, Ding Qiao blinked curiously.
“Big Sis, what are you carrying?”
Ding Lan gently placed everything on the table.
“I took a few things from Ding Jing’s room to make our lanterns.”
Ding Qiao stared at her in surprise.
“Second Brother won’t let us touch his things. He’ll definitely get angry!”
Ding Lan raised an eyebrow.
“We can’t even afford enough food to eat. Why should I be afraid of him getting angry?”
She was very confident about this.
Ding Lan picked up one of the rabbit-shaped lantern frames.
Because of its shape, she had to use the xuan paper to trace the outline and cut it accordingly.
Once the pieces were cut, she used paste to attach the paper to the frame.
After completely covering the rabbit lantern, Ding Lan picked up the calligraphy brush, dipped it into the red cinnabar, and added two bright red eyes to the little rabbit.
The moment the eyes were added, the rabbit’s expression suddenly came alive.
Ding Lan then went into the courtyard and brought back the bamboo sticks the original owner had prepared.
They weren’t very long, but they were just right for making handles for handheld lanterns.
She carried all the bamboo sticks into the room and used thin string to suspend the lanterns from the sticks.
A delicate handheld lantern was complete.
Ding Lan looked at her finished creation and was quite satisfied.
Once night came and a candle was lit inside, the effect would definitely be even more eye-catching.
She glanced outside.
It was still early.
They weren’t leaving until the afternoon, so they might as well use the remaining time to make as many lanterns as possible.
The two sisters divided the work clearly.
Ding Qiao continued weaving the lantern frames, while Ding Lan covered the lanterns they had woven the day before with xuan paper and attached the handles.
That was when each lantern was considered finished.
They worked all the way until noon.
Only when Ding Qiao’s stomach began growling loudly did Ding Lan, completely absorbed in her work, finally realize how much time had passed.
She smiled.
“You’re hungry? Why didn’t you say anything?”
Ding Qiao’s face turned bright red as she answered shyly,
“Big Sis, I’m not very hungry…”
Ding Lan raised her eyebrows and declared confidently,
“From now on, if you follow Big Sis, I’ll make sure you get enough to eat every day. And you’ll even get meat!”
Although she said it confidently, the truth was that Ding Lan couldn’t afford meat right now.
She turned around, went into the kitchen, and boiled some sweet potatoes.
For now, they would have to make do with that to fill their stomachs.
After finishing the sweet potatoes, Ding Lan smacked her lips.
Her mouth had practically forgotten what real flavor tasted like.
All she wanted was some meat.
She secretly swore that once she earned some money that evening, she would treat herself to a proper meal.
After the two sisters finished lunch, they continued making lanterns.
After a while, Auntie Liu’s voice came from outside the courtyard.
“Xiaolan, are you ready? We’re leaving soon.”
Ding Lan called back loudly from inside,
“Okay!”
She put the small bag of candles prepared by the original owner into a bamboo basket.
The finished lanterns were stacked on top.
They had made quite a lot, and a single basket couldn’t hold everything.
So Ding Qiao carried the rest in both hands.
The two sisters left the courtyard and happened to see Auntie Liu and Uncle Liu driving their donkey over.
Ding Lan greeted them with a smile before the two sisters climbed onto the flatbed cart behind the donkey.
The cart was already loaded with many things, leaving little room.
Fortunately, the lanterns were very light, so they could simply be placed on top.
Once the sisters were seated securely, Uncle Liu drove the donkey cart toward town.
Uncle Liu wasn’t originally from the local area.
More than ten years ago, a famine had forced him to wander away from his hometown until he eventually ended up in Ding Family Village.
Later, he married Auntie Liu in the village and finally settled down there.
Normally, besides farming, he relied on this donkey cart to transport vegetables to town and earn a little extra money.
The only main road at the entrance of the village led directly to Qingshan Town.
Qingshan Town was only ten li away from Ding Family Village, which meant it was about half an hour on foot.
Compared with several other villages in more remote locations, Ding Family Village was already considered relatively prosperous.
Take Uncle Liu, for example.
Every day, he would leave for town with his donkey cart during the Yin hour, around three to five in the morning, to sell vegetables.
With such convenient geographical conditions, as long as someone wasn’t the sort who was lazy and unwilling to work, they wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry.
Ding Lan’s parents had also never relied solely on the family’s few mu of good farmland.
Every day, they would go into town to take on odd jobs and supplement the household income.
By tightening their belts and saving wherever they could, they had somehow managed to support Ding Jing’s education.
The afternoon sun was harsh and scorching.
It made Ding Lan feel dizzy and light-headed.
There wasn’t much to see along the road, either.
The surroundings were mostly forests, with the occasional patch of land being cleared for cultivation.
Auntie Liu looked at the little rabbit lantern Ding Qiao was carrying and exclaimed in amazement.
“Xiaolan, the design of this lantern is really beautiful! I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Ding Lan gave a faint smile and generously handed her one.
“Auntie Liu, if you like it, I’ll give you one. It isn’t worth much.”
Auntie Liu quickly pushed it back.
She laughed.
“I just thought it looked unusual. You should take it and sell it for a few more coins.”
Ding Lan didn’t pretend to refuse.
She immediately followed up with a smile.
“Then when Dazhuang gets married, I’ll make a few more and put them in the newlyweds’ room.”
That made Auntie Liu beam.
Her son, Liu Dazhuang, was fourteen this year, which meant he would soon be old enough to start looking for a wife.
Ding Lan glanced at the cooking pot on the donkey cart.
“Auntie Liu, what are you taking to town to sell?”
Auntie Liu opened the basket beside her and showed Ding Lan.
“I’m going to sell some spring pancakes. I might as well save up some money for my son’s wedding!”
Auntie Liu’s son was named Liu Dazhuang.
In her younger years, Auntie Liu had often been in poor health.
Later, after Uncle Liu finally had a son in his later years, he treated the boy like a precious treasure.
Now Dazhuang would be getting married next year, so naturally his parents needed to save as much money as possible for him.
Ding Lan had seen Liu Dazhuang from a distance once.
He was still only a big child, with skin darkened from the sun.
His personality was very similar to Uncle Liu’s.
Both father and son were quiet, honest people who didn’t talk much.
Whenever Dazhuang smiled, he looked particularly shy.
Ding Lan praised him at just the right moment.
“Dazhuang is an honest and hardworking boy. I’m sure he won’t have any trouble finding a wife.”
Auntie Liu was very pleased by Ding Lan’s words.
But then, as her thoughts shifted, she remembered Ding Lan’s situation.
“Ah… It’s such a shame that your parents passed away so suddenly. Otherwise, your marriage to that boy from the Cheng family definitely wouldn’t have fallen through.”
Ding Lan searched through the memories in her mind and finally remembered what had happened with the Cheng family.
The original Ding Lan had been engaged to a young man from Cheng Family Village.
Unexpectedly, Ding Lan’s mother suddenly passed away, and the Cheng family had come over to see what the situation was like.
Although the Ding family was now completely destitute, the Cheng family was still fairly sentimental. They were willing to marry their son to their daughter-in-law-to-be despite her family’s poverty.
However, the original Ding Lan had said that even after marrying into their family, she would still fulfill her parents’ dying wish and support her younger brother Ding Jing in continuing his studies so that he could become a scholar.
The Cheng family had immediately refused.
What kind of marriage was that supposed to be?
They were expected to marry a wife and then pay to educate her younger brother so he could become a scholar?
And so the engagement was called off.
Ding Lan was already sixteen now.
In the village, she was already considered an older unmarried girl.
Yet she still hadn’t married.
The main reason was that her expectations and conditions had been far too demanding, and in the end, she had delayed her own marriage.
Ding Lan deliberately put on a sorrowful expression.
“I suppose we just weren’t meant to be.”
After saying that, she let out a soft sigh.
Seeing her like this, Auntie Liu couldn’t help reminding her,
“You really should think about yourself more. You can’t give all your money to Ding Jing. That boy doesn’t have a bit of gratitude in him!”
Ding Lan gave a quiet response and didn’t say anything else.
Sitting beside her, Ding Qiao had listened to the entire conversation.
She secretly made up her mind.
Big Sis has sacrificed so much for Second Brother.
From now on, we mustn’t give him any more money!
The donkey cart moved at a fairly good pace.
After a while, they began seeing more and more people on the road.
Farmers, drenched in sweat, carried shoulder poles or drove carts as they made their way into town.
They were all farmers hoping to take advantage of the festival crowds and earn a little hard-earned money.