Chapter 1 Old Girl

Author: Bai Xia

Chapter 1 Old Girl

The capital of Jingguo, Jingcheng.

The weather was new on March 3rd, and there were many beautiful people by the Luoshui River. On the day when the list was released, there were meandering water bottles on both sides of the river. It was the time when grace and elegance met. Beauties and talents walked along the river bank separately. If they saw each other, they would break willow branches.

They would give each other gifts, then go home and tell their parents, and ask a matchmaker to hire them. In this way, it would be a happy event. However, Tao Yue'er waited eagerly for ten years, but no willow branch came.

As the sun set, the heartbroken man was under the willow tree. After the crowd had been noisy for most of the day, it gradually dispersed, leaving only a starry white figure - the color of the peach-pink clothes after being washed countless times. It was in dilapidated condition.

"Again...no one likes me?"

Tao Yue'er stood by the river, watching the last lame man walking by without looking away, and finally determined... Well, no one still liked her.

This is Tao Yue'er's tenth year to participate in the March Flower Party.

For ten years, her grandfather and grandmother were so angry with her that they closed their eyes one after another. Before leaving, they told her: "As a woman, the most important thing is to find a good family to marry. You should lower your profile and behave yourself.

Never deviate from the truth and make others laugh."

Tao Yue'er has been a timid person since she was a child. She has no independent opinions and obeys the advice of her elders. What her grandparents have instilled in her ears day and night is the three obediences and four virtues. She is obedient and comes here to attend meetings every year.

There is never a year that falls.

She watched her sisters getting married and having children one after another, but ten years later, she was still single.

They all said: "You were born with poor fortune and missed your best age. No good family would dare to ask for her." Not only good people, but also not so good people looked down on her.

She is a well-known lone star in the sky. She killed her mother when she was born. Less than a month old, her father also died in an unknown fire. Now her grandpa and grandma are gone too. She is truly alone.

No worries.

In fact, she doesn't need to attend the March Meeting anymore, but as a woman, from a poor family and with no skills, she doesn't know what else she can do now.

When she was a child, she had extremely great dreams and ambitions. She once heard from a storyteller that on the other side of the sea, in the country of Yong in Qingcangzhou, the queen was respected, and the daughters there did not have to get married and have children. They were the same as the men.

Have equal rights.

She dreamed that one day she would be able to travel far across the sea, go to the Yong Kingdom, and live a life without being ridiculed by others. But this idea was strangled in the cradle at the age of five - she didn't even have the money to go to the Yan Kingdom.

What about crossing the sea?

So she returned her sights to Jizhou. She once heard that in the capital of the neighboring country Yanguo, there were nine academic masters with outstanding literary talents and world-famous reputations. They were all daughters. Because of their literary talents, they lived a worry-free life, and they said that they would never have to worry about anything in their lives.

Marry and serve Wenmo all your life.

There is also the country of Yan, where the weapons forging master is also a woman, and she has three hundred men at her disposal, who she can call upon at will.

…

All these things would sound strange to ordinary people's ears, but to her ears, she felt that this was the life she wanted.

The world is so big and there are many things she can do, but her family only allows her to get married.

When she was fifteen years old, her grandfather and grandmother were seriously ill. They refused to seek medical treatment. Instead, they sold all their family property, cut clothes and combed her hair, and acted as matchmakers, hoping that someone would take a fancy to her at the March Fair and marry her home.

On the one hand, Tao Yue'er's life-long event was solved, and on the other hand, she got an extra betrothal gift, which reduced the burden on her family. But for ten consecutive years, no one cared about her.

Ten years have passed, and those beautiful childhood illusions have been left behind. What is engraved in her heart is only the frustration of being ignored year after year. Now she is twenty-five years old. If she misses this year, she will not be able to get married again.

. And the sisters who were traveling there that year were already preparing their daughters’ outfits for March 3rd.

"Tao Yue'er, give up, you're as skinny as a monkey, it's impossible to have a son!" The old woman selling tea eggs by the river hugged her great-grandson and waved to Tao Yue'er, saying this for the tenth time.

words.

In the past ten years, the old woman has seen many women who were not favored by others, but there has never been a person as persistent as Tao Yuer. She was so persistent that even her great-grandson knew Tao Yuer's name and met Tao Yuer.

Yue'er opened her mouth and said in a milky voice: "Tao Grandma, are you tired? Don't be sad. Grandma said that when she can't do it anymore, she will give up this position to you, and you will sell tea eggs."

Sell ​​tea eggs for a lifetime."

Tao Yue'er felt like she was struck by lightning. The pain of being called grandma even exceeded the pain of losing the election.

I remember that when she first attended the March Flower Party, the grandson of the old woman selling tea eggs had just reached her waist and said to herself in a childish voice: "Aunt Tao, I will definitely be able to do it next year."

She once thought that she would be able to get married next time. But after ten March Flower Parties, when she was called "grandma" by her grandma's great-grandson, she really had deep doubts about herself.

Tao Yue'er clenched her fists tightly, then released them, and then clenched them again. She turned her head and glanced reluctantly at the place that held all her youth. Finally, she took a deep breath, released her fists, and

Step left.

"Jingchengqiao, Tao Yue'er, have been on blind dates for twenty-five consecutive years;

If you don't look to the east and don't care to the west, you will accomplish nothing and feel embarrassed.

Old girl, you are so useless, no one cares about the Luoshui River..."

A group of children gathered around Tao Yue'er and clapped their hands and sang. This song has been singing for many years, and the first line changes every year. From the age of eighteen to the age of twenty-five, she heard it, and her ears became calloused. But she also

Get used to it.

But today, she was particularly tragic.

Tao Yue'er lives in the suburbs of the city, quite a distance from the Luoshui River. After leaving Chongwenmen and walking south for two hours, she finds her residence - a mud thatched hut. This is her exterior

All the property left to her by her grandparents turned out to be uninhabitable.

It rained continuously for 17 or 18 days, and the soil on the house had been almost washed away. When the wind blew, even the thatch above the head was blown away. The belongings in the house were scattered all over the floor in the storm, and a group of people threw them around

, Tao Yue'er picked up one thing and lost another. A twenty-five-year-old girl was bullied to death by several children. When they all dispersed, she realized that half of her most cherished book was missing.

It was the first book in her life, and it was also the only book. The book had no cover, no author's name, and she couldn't even read. But when she picked it up, it was hers. It didn't matter if she couldn't understand it.

It is a book after all.

That was the only gift in her bleak life - representing the distance she could not reach.

Now half of the book has been torn out, and the remaining half is missing. Those children must have taken it away. Tao Yuer'er was so angry that she finally plucked up the courage to knock on the neighbor's door. After a while, the other party slowly opened it.

After entering the door, shopkeeper Zhao was tall and fat, standing in front of the door with his arms folded. With a contemptuous smile on his lips, he stared straight at Tao Yue'er with his eyes and said, "What do you want to do?"

Tao Yue'er, who was already thin, mustered up a lot of anger to come here, but when he glared at her like this, her momentum was greatly weakened. All her anger disappeared at this moment, and she said with a shy face: "

Zhao, shopkeeper Zhao, my daughter just wants to ask, has your grandson taken away my daughter’s book?”

"Little girl...son? At your age, you still have the nerve to call yourself a little girl? I won't even think there's a problem if you call me 'Lao Shen'!" Shopkeeper Zhao sneered: "Why don't you take a pee and look in the mirror?

How annoying is it that you look so poor? And you want to take your book? My toilet paper is worth more than your book! Come on! Otherwise I will teach you how to eat and walk around!" Shopkeeper Zhao raised his fist as he spoke,

Pretending to teach her a lesson.

"Calm down! Shopkeeper Zhao, calm down!" Tao Yue'er subconsciously held her head and squatted down, hiding in the corner and shaking.

When Shopkeeper Zhao saw her like this, he no longer had any desire to hit her. He sneered twice and closed the door with a bang. Out of sight, out of mind.

The expected fist did not fall. Tao Yue'er raised her head in shock after hearing the sound of the door closing for a long time. After this fright, she completely forgot why she came this time. She saw that the other party had already returned to the house.

He straightened up and patted his chest, thankful that Shopkeeper Zhao didn't hit him after all. He was still a good person after all...

The new article is open, good luck, I hope new and old friends will support you~

2023.02.25 stay
Chapter completed!