Today was the Mid-Autumn Festival. After classes ended, Ding Jing went out to enjoy the festivities with some familiar classmates. The night was dark, and it was only when they got closer that he realized the person ahead was actually his eldest sister. He happened to have something to discuss with her as well.
After quietly saying a few words to his companions, he walked straight toward Ding Lan.
Ding Lan had actually noticed Ding Jing a long time ago. Seeing him walking down the street with several young men who clearly came from well-off families, their arms casually slung over one another’s shoulders, she could not help thinking that he looked nothing like a scholar.
If he were not wearing a long ink-colored robe, she would have taken him for one of the street thugs!
Ding Lan raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She quietly slipped the money pouch in her arms into the basket on the donkey cart.
After making sure the money was hidden, she pretended not to see Ding Jing and continued preparing to climb onto the donkey cart to return to the village.
Ding Jing’s impatient voice came from behind her.
“Big Sister, why haven’t you sent my school fees yet?”
Ding Lan secretly rolled her eyes, but on the surface, she put on a troubled expression.
“We’ve sold everything in the house that could be sold. I really couldn’t come up with any more money.”
Ding Jing was furious.
“Then can’t you borrow some? Have you forgotten Mother’s dying words?”
Ding Lan immediately acted as though the mention of those dying words had completely crushed her.
Her entire body seemed to lose its strength, and she sank down onto the ground, looking up at the sky.
“Mother, I’m sorry!”
Her loud cry quickly attracted the attention of passersby. One after another, people gathered around to watch the spectacle, their curious and gossiping eyes fixed on the two main characters.
Ding Jing was completely stunned by Ding Lan’s performance.
But Ding Lan paid him no attention and continued acting.
“Ever since you left us, I’ve been doing several jobs every day. As long as there was money to be made, I did it. I even gave up my marriage arrangement. I sold all the good farmland our family had, all so that Second Brother could continue his studies.”
Ding Lan continued her tearful complaint.
“Now our family has reached the point where there is absolutely nothing left. I can’t produce even a single coin. I truly don’t know what else I can do.”
She broke into loud sobs.
“Mother, just take me with you!”
When Auntie Liu heard Ding Lan’s words, she actually became afraid that the girl might be thinking of taking her own life and hurried over to pull her away.
Unexpectedly, an even more heartbreaking cry suddenly rang out from beside them.
Ding Lan was startled by the sudden scream.
This cry was far more impressive than hers. Not only was it louder, but the emotion behind it was also incredibly convincing.
In an instant, everyone’s attention shifted toward the person who had let out the cry.
The owner of the voice had already thrown herself onto Ding Lan and was crying at the top of her lungs.
“Big Sister, if you’re going to die, then I won’t live either!”
The corners of Ding Lan’s mouth twitched.
Her little sister had previously said that her voice was loud and clear, and she really had not been exaggerating.
It was a pity that they had not put that talent to use while selling lanterns. Instead, it was proving extremely useful right now.
The two sisters sat on the ground, holding each other and crying bitterly, as though they were competing to see who could make their situation sound more miserable.
Their cries rose and fell, each one louder than the last.
After hearing everything and looking at the clothing of the three people involved, how could the surrounding villagers and townspeople possibly not understand what had happened?
Ding Jing watched helplessly as the situation spiraled further and further out of control.
He had merely come to ask his eldest sister for some money.
How had things somehow turned into this?
Seeing the passersby pointing at him and whispering, and even hearing his companions who had come out to enjoy the festival with him quietly discussing the matter, Ding Jing felt utterly humiliated.
He angrily flung his sleeves and walked away.
Auntie Liu hurried over and helped Ding Lan and Ding Qiao, who were still sitting on the ground, onto the donkey cart.
Once everyone was seated, Uncle Liu finally drove the donkey back toward the village.
The two sisters sat on the wooden cart and slowly calmed themselves down.
Ding Qiao had probably cried too hard because she was still quietly sobbing and hiccupping even after getting onto the cart.
The atmosphere on the cart was somewhat heavy, and no one spoke.
Ding Lan rubbed her sore knees and thought to herself:
I can’t keep crying like this. It’s way too exhausting. I really need to think of a way to properly deal with that Ding Jing.
Auntie Liu had not expected such a scene to happen tonight either.
Looking at Ding Lan’s reddened eyes, she softly comforted her.
“Xiao Lan, don’t think too much about it. You’ve already done everything you could. Ding Jing is simply the one who has failed you. If your mother knew about this, she wouldn’t blame you.”
Ding Lan’s face was so tense from crying that she could barely manage to force out a smile.
“I’m sorry everyone had to witness such an embarrassing scene today.”
To Auntie Liu, that expression was clearly a forced smile.
Auntie Liu patted her hand.
“How is this an embarrassment? If you didn’t tell people about your hardships, who would know everything you’ve done for your family?”
Auntie Liu was absolutely right.
The original Ding Lan had always silently devoted herself to the family.
When Ding Lan’s parents went to town to work, all the family’s farmland was left for her to manage by herself. Ding Jing never helped with anything.
Whenever the original Ding Lan went to work in the fields, she even had to take Ding Qiao with her and look after her there. When it was time to eat, she had to carry Ding Qiao home on her back just so she could cook for Ding Jing.
And even after all that, Ding Lan’s parents had never once taken the time to ask how she was doing.
The more Ding Lan thought about it, the more she felt that it was unfair to the original Ding Lan.
The mountain road at night was not particularly safe. There was always the possibility of encountering wolves on the way home.
So Uncle Liu drove his donkey to meet the other villagers outside Qingshan Town. Everyone traveled back together so that they could look out for one another along the way.
Some of the people who had gathered around earlier were also villagers from Ding Family Village. They were now quietly discussing what had happened in town.
For farming families in the village, having more children while they were young was considered a way to ensure they would have someone to rely on in their old age.
As a result, many families had several sons and daughters. It was difficult for parents to treat every child equally, and naturally, some children ended up being favored more than others.
But parents like Ding Lan’s were truly rare.
The villagers looked at the two Ding sisters with pity in their eyes.
A little girl tugged at her father’s sleeve and innocently said,
“They’re so pitiful…”
Her father quickly signaled for her to stop talking nonsense and awkwardly glanced at Ding Lan sitting in the donkey cart.
Ding Lan naturally heard the little girl’s words, but she did not care in the slightest.
In fact, this was not necessarily a bad thing.
She would not even have to spread the story herself throughout the village.
By tomorrow morning, she suspected the entire village would already know what had happened.
She really wanted to see how Ding Jing would manage to face everyone in the village after this!
The villagers chatted and laughed along the way until they finally entered the village.
Uncle Liu stopped the cart in front of the Ding family’s house.
After Ding Lan carried her basket down from the cart, she took out the two copper coins she had prepared beforehand and handed them to Auntie Liu with a smile.
“Auntie Liu, this is our fare.”
Auntie Liu immediately waved her hands.
“We were coming this way anyway. How could I take your money?”
Ding Lan firmly pressed the copper coins into Auntie Liu’s hand.
“If you don’t take them, I’ll be too embarrassed to ride in your cart next time.”
After paying the fare, Ding Lan was afraid Auntie Liu might try to return the coins to her later, so she immediately took Ding Qiao and hurried into their own courtyard.
Auntie Liu looked down at the copper coins in her hand and sighed.
“What a good girl Ding Lan is…”
Uncle Liu rarely offered his opinion, but this time he said,
“She really is an honest and sincere person.”
The two sisters were exhausted after such a long day.
Ding Lan carried the basket into the house but had no energy left to organize anything.
She forced herself to stay awake long enough to fill a basin with water from the water jar in the courtyard.
The two of them washed their faces, then collapsed into bed.
Before long, the faint sound of snoring could be heard from the bed.
The next morning, perhaps because she had gone to bed late the previous night, Ding Lan woke up a little later than usual.
Ding Qiao was still asleep.
Ding Lan got up and began sorting through the basket that she had not had time to organize the night before.
The packaged pastries were placed on the square table. They could eat them for breakfast later.
The rice, white flour, and seasonings all needed to be put away in the kitchen.
Oh, right…
There was also the money pouch.
That definitely needed to be hidden somewhere safe!
Ding Lan poured out all the copper coins and counted them.
There were 155 wen in total.
To be safe, she divided the money into two portions.
One portion was 55 wen. She put it back into the money pouch. This would be the money she kept openly and carried with her.
As for the other 100 wen, she wrapped them in a piece of worn-out cloth.
Ding Lan walked around the room, thinking about where she could hide it.
In the end, she decided to place it in a hidden compartment behind the wardrobe.
This would be her private savings.
Once the money was safely hidden, Ding Lan carried the rice, flour, and other supplies into the kitchen.
There was a large rice jar in the kitchen, with a heavy wooden board covering the top so that mice could not get inside and steal the food.
After putting away the rice, flour, and seasonings, Ding Lan returned to the room.
Ding Qiao was already awake.
She was standing foolishly in front of the table, staring at the pastries with drool practically dripping from her mouth.
Ding Lan could not help laughing.
“We bought them to eat. If you want one, just eat it!”
Ding Qiao smiled sweetly.
She first picked up a pastry and handed it to Ding Lan, ingratiating herself as she said,
“Big Sister, you eat first.”
Ding Lan smiled and accepted it.
She took a small bite and could not help frowning.
The texture was completely different from the pastries she remembered from modern times. Instead, it was more like a type of flat cake.
She secretly wondered if pastries as she knew them had not yet appeared in this era.
I’ll have to go back to town someday and find out more.
The two sisters finished eating the pastries, which counted as breakfast.
Ding Lan then picked up the coarse cotton cloth she had bought the previous day and immediately became worried.
The original owner had made clothes before, but Ding Lan herself had never done it.
She could only slowly recall the details of how the original owner used to make clothing, step by step.
She picked up the scissors but hesitated for a long time before making the first cut.
This was all hard-earned money!
If she ruined the fabric, how heartbreaking would that be?
Ding Qiao stared curiously at her eldest sister.
“Big Sister, why aren’t you cutting it?”
Ding Lan had no choice but to steel herself and begin cutting the fabric.
Once she made the first cut, the rest became much easier.
After a short while, all the pieces of fabric needed for one outfit had been cut.
Now all she had to do was sew the pieces together, and the outfit would be finished!
Ding Lan threaded the needle and officially began sewing.
Needlework was an extremely tedious task.
She was the kind of person who had very little patience, and after sewing for a while, she suddenly remembered something her grandmother had once told her.
In ancient times, girls were expected to learn needlework from a young age.
It was even considered one of the standards by which a girl’s virtue and domestic abilities were judged.
For some reason, Ding Lan turned her head and glanced at Ding Qiao.
Ding Qiao was staring eagerly at the needle and thread in her hands.
It was obvious that Ding Qiao was very interested in needlework too.
An idea suddenly occurred to Ding Lan.
Why not teach her how to sew?
Ding Lan held up the piece of clothing she was working on and spoke in an encouraging, almost tempting tone.
“Little sister, do you want to learn how to do this? You can sew pretty clothes for yourself…”
Ding Qiao’s eyes immediately lit up.
“I want to learn this!”
It was obvious how happy the child was.
Ding Lan pretended to cough twice.
This wasn’t child labor.
She was simply cultivating the child’s interests!