Chapter 256: Three Little Sisters
Taoya nodded her head frantically like a chicken pecking at grain.
“Yes, she called for you. Quick, let’s take Brother Shu over to Auntie’s house, and then we’ll head straight to the manor.”
Time was of the essence. Before Xing Ya could fully process what was happening, she and Taoya grabbed Brother Shu by the hands and sprinted toward Lin Daniang’s house.
Lin Daniang, for her part, wasn’t afraid of looking after children—her house had been bustling with people over the past few days. Lin Sanniang had brought back several more sets of clothes for them to work on, so the sisters came over every day to sew, sometimes even staying the night.
Some even brought their own children and rice, eating together during the day and heading back in the evening.
Lin Daniang asked, bewildered, “Is Xing Ya going too?”
Taoya was ten years old and could handle some manual labor, but Xing Ya was only seven or eight. What could she possibly do? Lin Daniang truly couldn’t wrap her head around it.
But Taoya and Xing Ya shook their heads in unison, their eyes shining with vibrant energy. “We are going to school to learn needlework!”
“Huh?”
Lin Daniang was even more mystified. Both she and Lin Sanniang knew needlework, and if all else failed, Hehua and Yuxiang could teach them. Why on earth did they have to go all the way to the manor to learn?
But the moment she heard that the manor provided meals, Lin Daniang decisively scooped up the loudly wailing Brother Shu. “Off you two go! Be careful on the road.”
Meals were provided!
It seemed that the kind-hearted young Manor Owner had shown her benevolence once again, calling these two little ones over just so they could eat their fill.
Lin Daniang knew the food at the manor was exceptional. Every time Lin Sanniang brought back those lotus-leaf bundles, she would share some with her. The household had enjoyed plenty of rich, nourishing oil lately; the children all looked like they were putting on weight, and she even felt they had grown a bit taller.
As long as Taoya and Xing Ya could eat their fill, anything was fine.
Lin Daniang watched as the two little girls ran out the door, hand in hand.
Once they left the city and reached the Goddess Temple, Xing Ya still found it hard to believe.
“The voice I heard earlier telling me to go to school—was that really the Sister Manor Owner’s voice?”
Xing Ya hadn’t dared to mention it to anyone, but she had actually dreamed about coming to the manor with her mother and big sister countless times. So when she heard that voice in her mind earlier, she thought her head was just spinning from her eldest aunt’s shouting. She hadn’t expected the Sister Manor Owner to actually call for her.
Taoya said, “The voice Mother and I heard was different, so I don’t know if yours is the same. But either way, it’s correct. I know the Sister Manor Owner called for you.”
The cave entrance, invisible to outsiders, slowly unfurled before the sisters.
It was pitch black inside, and Xing Ya felt a bit frightened, but Taoya grabbed her hand and plunged right in.
The two little sisters held hands tightly, and before they had walked very far, they spotted a bright light ahead.
Emerging from the cave, Xing Ya looked back, only to see deep, dense grass; the cave entrance was nowhere to be found.
But she had no time to dwell on that now; she was utterly struck by the mountain of vibrant green before her eyes.
“Heavens! Look how many fruits and wild vegetables there are! You could dig in these mountains forever and never finish!”
By the time she saw the six large, bright, and immaculate buildings arranged in a row before her, Xing Ya was completely stunned into silence.
It was also Taoya’s first time appearing in the pavilion. After taking a moment to orient herself, she turned her head and spotted someone around her own age squatting on the corner of the pavilion roof… a little beggar?
At that moment, Xu Sanniu, with her bird’s-nest hair and pitch-black face, knit her brows as she glared down at Taoya and Xing Ya.
She was inherently resistant to children her own age, because the kids in Xujia Village always bullied her.
Seeing Taoya and Xing Ya arrive, Xu Sanniu’s instinct was to bolt.
But in the next instant, a warm, youthful voice drifted up to her: “Are you here to go to school at the manor too? This is my first time seeing you.”
They weren’t driving her away or shouting curses at her?
Xu Sanniu turned back. She didn’t speak, but her eyes darted back and forth between Taoya’s and Xing Ya’s faces.
Hearing Taoya ask this, Xing Ya felt immensely joyful. While unable to resist scanning the surrounding scenery, she walked toward Xu Sanniu. Then, she happily took her by the hand. “Are you new here too? Today is my very first day. Heavens! I’ve never seen such a massive, bright building in my life!”
The city gates were technically larger than this building, but they were dusty, dilapidated, and shed sand from the stone cracks.
Held by Xing Ya, Xu Sanniu’s entire body went rigid.
It was the first time… a companion her own age had ever held her hand.
Xing Ya didn’t notice Xu Sanniu’s stiffness at all, because she herself was already caught in a whirlwind of shock, daze, ecstasy, and incoherence…
She had already started chattering away: “Look, look! This wall is so white! You don’t even need to light a lamp inside the room! These windows are larger than doors! Won’t the wind leak through? Why isn’t there any window paper pasted over them?”
“What is that over there? I’ve never seen anything like it!”
Xu Sanniu followed Xing Ya’s gaze. She actually knew what that was, and spoke up: “It’s a faucet.”
“A faucet?” Xing Ya asked in pleasant surprise. “What is it for?”
“For washing hands.”
Xu Sanniu had never spoken to a peer on such equal, affectionate terms before. Although she felt entirely uncomfortable, she steeled herself and didn’t pull her hand back.
Xing Ya could no longer contain her curiosity. Holding Taoya with one hand and Xu Sanniu with the other, she marched toward the vanity sinks.
Once they arrived, Xu Sanniu recalled how Lin Sanniang had turned the faucet. With a solemn, expressionless face, she twisted it open.
With a loud sploosh, a powerful torrent of water burst forth, splashing all three of them squarely across their faces.
“Oh my! Where did this water come from?!”
“Hahaha, you got sprayed too!”
Xing Ya pointed at Taoya and Xu Sanniu, bursting into laughter. Taoya was perfectly fine with it; she loved seeing her little sister happy.
Xu Sanniu, however, felt a wave of embarrassment and annoyance mixed with an inexplicable touch of joy, to the point where she wanted to laugh along with them.
It was so strange. In the past, whenever the village children mocked her, she always felt furious and wanted to fight.
Yet with Xing Ya pointing and laughing at her, she didn’t feel angry at all, just a bit awkward—when she watched Madame Lin turn it earlier, it hadn’t let out such a massive flood of water.
Taoya reached out and twisted the faucet back a bit. “It’s open too wide. Just a small stream is enough.”
Xu Sanniu looked at Taoya. She felt Taoya was peculiar too. Taoya clearly knew how to use the faucet, so why hadn’t she mocked her for pretending to know what she was doing? Why hadn’t she called her a reeking bastard child for touching things recklessly?
The three children gathered around the sink, playing for a good while.
That was until Jian Xingxia’s voice echoed from behind them: “Well now, you three little rascals, why are you playing with water here?”
Jian Xingxia put on a stern face. “Even though this water is drawn from an underground spring, we still shouldn’t waste it.”
Xing Ya recoiled her hand, Taoya quickly shut off the faucets one by one, and Xu Sanniu kept her face completely blank, though her heart panicked—did this count as making a mistake? Would she be driven away now?
Before she could get an answer, Xing Ya tilted her head and threw herself right in front of Jian Xingxia.
“You’re the Sister Manor Owner, aren’t you?”
Jian Xingxia bent down to meet her gaze at eye level. “That’s right, and you’re Xing Ya, aren’t you?”
A joyous starlight welled up in Xing Ya’s eyes. “Yes!”
She had said it before—one day, she would definitely come to the manor!
Looking at Xing Ya’s flushed, rosy cheeks, Jian Xingxia found her absolutely darling, unable to resist reaching out to pinch them. Xing Ya covered her face, her small mouth curving into a bashful smile.
Who wouldn’t love a bright, open little girl like this!
Standing a few paces away, Xu Sanniu watched Xing Ya converse with Jian Xingxia with pure envy. This was something she had never dared to imagine, let alone do.
But in the next second, Jian Xingxia opened both arms, extending them toward her and Taoya.
“Would you like to eat some cake? Auntie Pang specially baked sponge cakes for you.”
Xing Ya gasped in delight, “Yes!”
Taoya smiled and thanked her, “Thank you, Sister Manor Owner.”
Xu Sanniu froze, verifying Jian Xingxia’s gaze repeatedly. At this moment, it was undeniably resting right on her face.
She seemed to be waiting for her answer.
Xu Sanniu asked instinctively, her voice a tiny whisper: “Do I get one too?”
