Rebirth: Ordinary Life and Living

Feeling dizzy and very uncomfortable, Zhou Xinyue finally woke up. Erdan looked at her worriedly.

Zhou Xinyue gestured that she wanted to sit up, and Erdan quickly put a cushion behind her. Zhou Xinyue looked out the window. It seemed to be noon, and the birds were chirping. The sun was shining into the house, and the shadows on the window were imprinted in the house. From time to time, a butterfly flew in. The quiet afternoon made people feel peaceful.

Zhou Xinyue looked outside the house and at the half-opened flower window and couldn't help but sigh: "It would be perfect if I had a spoon and a watermelon, and a computer to watch movies."

Erdan came over with the medicine and said with a smile, "You are talking nonsense again. You keep saying words I don't understand."

Zhou Xinyue also shook her head helplessly and said, "I am just bored, so I just say this occasionally. You just ignore it and forget about it. There is no need to delve into it."

Erdan handed it to her, and she took the medicine and drank it all. After wiping her mouth, Zhou Xinyue asked, "Yesterday..."

"Yesterday, Sandan and I were waiting for you to come back in the courtyard. We didn't want to wait for too long, and we were so sleepy that we fell asleep in the courtyard. Unexpectedly, there was a noise at the door of the courtyard, and we were awakened. We ran out and saw that you had fainted again. I knew that you must have experienced a lot of things yesterday. You fainted, and I didn't want to trouble the lady again, so I helped you in and let you have a good rest. I took care of you for a while, and seeing that you were sleeping soundly, Sandan and I took turns to look after you. Sandan had prepared this medicine early in the morning."

Zhou Xinyue was moved and grabbed Erdan's hand and said, "Thank you for your hard work, sincerely. Without you, I don't know how to survive here."

"Why do you say such inappropriate things to each other, sisters?"

Zhou Xinyue smiled foolishly, and suddenly thought of something: "Sister, has the mistress been here?"

Erdan nodded and said, "Yes, Grandma Li came this morning. Seeing that you were sleeping very soundly, she didn't have the heart to call you. She wanted you to have a good rest. They will probably come in a while. Oh, by the way, Third Aunt also came and said she wanted to come and talk to you in the evening."

Zhou Xinyue nodded and said, "Yes, okay, I know. Sister, how is your back injury recovering?"

Erdan smiled and replied, "The wound is not deep. The medicine you applied to me was very effective. I am fine now."

Zhou Xinyue breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good, sister. By the way, sister, I want to ask you a question. Have I ever encountered many dangers before?"

"Of course, you fell into the pond for no apparent reason and nearly drowned, you were bitten by a poisonous snake for no apparent reason, and you also... Never mind, there are many things, I won't say them. You finally got a break today, I don't want to talk about these things that make you unhappy."

Zhou Xinyue nodded and said, "Alas, it's not easy for this Gou Dan to grow up. That uncle, he..."

Erdan shook his head and said, "I don't know. We in the outer courtyard don't know anything about what happened in the inner courtyard yesterday. Even if we asked, no one would dare to tell us."

Zhou Xinyue frowned and said, "I'm so worried about that uncle."

Erdan looked at Zhou Xinyue's expression, touched her brow with his hand and comforted her: "I'd better worry about you. You get dizzy all the time now, and I don't know what to do."

Zhou Xinyue shook her head helplessly and said, "Well, let it be."

Erdan lifted the small quilt to Goudan and said, "I'm going to work now. You have a good rest."

Zhou Xinyue nodded, and looked at Erdan's back as he left, wondering whether she should tell him. She often heard him mention her adoptive father, but she didn't know what the uncle was like. She would wait until the lady came to ask for clarification before deciding whether to tell him or not. Zhou Xinyue half-lying down, resting her head on a cushion, closed her eyes, and decided to take a nap.

I didn't know how long I slept. When I opened my eyes, it was already dusk. Feeling limp all over, Zhou Xinyue stood up and jumped, doing some simple exercises.

Still feeling a little dizzy, he hurriedly poured some of the incense ash that the master of Donghua Temple had given her into the teacup, and his headache was instantly relieved.

Erdan came in with food and said, "Are you awake? The lady came twice and saw that you were sleeping so well. She couldn't bear to disturb you and left. Come, eat quickly."

Zhou Xinyue stretched and said, "Haha, although my body feels soft, I still feel much better. Come, sister, let's eat together."

Erdan said embarrassedly: "Haha, I couldn't help it just now, and Sandan and I ate in the backyard. You should eat quickly. These are all the exquisite meals that the lady ordered to be prepared for you. Eat them quickly."

Zhou Xinyue saw the delicious food and started to eat it voraciously. After she had eaten her fill, she was picking at the food between her teeth. Then the eldest lady and Grandma Li came in with red eyes.

Zhou Xinyue looked at their sad faces, quickly closed her mouth, and pretended to be sad and said: "Auntie...Oh, no, I should call you grandma."

The mistress finally couldn't hold it anymore and started crying: "My poor granddaughter, you are my only granddaughter in this world. My poor child, my poor baby, I am so sad, little girl, I can't even marry you off. I can't be with you anymore, my poor granddaughter. Your grandfather only thinks you are a family disgrace, a hot potato, and he wants to send you out of the city in a hurry, to Shuozhou, away from Cangdu, and even told the eldest girl that there is no need to hold a banquet there and just send you to a decent in-law family. How can I accept this? This damn thing, I feel so sad."

Zhou Xinyue looked at the lady crying so hard that she couldn't breathe, and she felt very suffocated in her heart.

Zhou Xinyue hurriedly comforted her, "Grandma, let me call you grandma. Grandma, my going here may not be a bad thing. Maybe, I can meet someone I like? I can even marry the person I like. The world out there is so big, and I actually like that kind of life. I'll tell you the truth, grandma, I don't like those wealthy families. Instead, I like the life of the common people, the freedom, and the life not bound by these worldly constraints. This is the life I want. Really, grandma, I'm not lying to you."

After hearing this, Grandma Li burst into tears and said, "Madam, look at how filial Dan Ytou is. This silly girl is still trying to comfort you."

Zhou Xinyue said in a very affirmative tone: "What I said is the truth, grandma, don't worry, I will definitely come to see you in the future."

Zhou Xinyue and the eldest lady, Grandma Li, said many words of comfort to each other, until the grandmother took out a stack of banknotes from her collar, and Zhou Xinyue's eyes widened.

The eldest lady said with red eyes: "In two days, the initiation ceremony will begin. After the ceremony, you will follow the eldest lady to Shuozhou. Grandma doesn't have much to leave for you. You keep this money. When you go there, you must listen to the eldest lady and take good care of yourself. Don't be naughty and don't cause trouble. I can no longer protect you, girl."

After saying that, the mistress suddenly hugged Zhou Xinyue into her arms, which moved Zhou Xinyue so much that she cried.