Usually, the moment people heard a name like Zhaodi[1], they would know that the family favored boys over girls. Little Zhaodi had been no exception. Her family had always wanted a boy. As the eldest daughter, she had been named Zhaodi. Later on, her younger sisters had been given the names Yindi, Daidi, Sidi, Niandi, and Pandi[2]. Because her family had lived on the mountain and didn’t have a household register, her mother had given birth to one child every year in the hopes of getting a son.

  When she finally gave birth to a son that year, she no longer needed to use names like ‘Xiangdi’ and ‘Laidi[3]’.

  Since they couldn’t afford to raise so many kids, the next baby girls were given away after being named.

  However, this wasn’t enough. Now that they had a son, they had to take good care of him. The only daughters left at home to help with the chores, Zhaodi and Yindi, had to be ‘sent’ away as well.

  As the eldest, Zhaodi had helped her parents with their work for a long time. She was especially diligent and had even said that she could help take care of her younger brother. She had originally thought that this way, she wouldn’t be sent away, but in the end, they’d sent her away anyway.

  Zhaodi was very thin and dark. She didn’t speak much either. She cowered all day and only worked hard.

  She was so young that she couldn’t take care of Zhao Lan at all. However, she didn’t dare disobey Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao, so she did as she was told.

  Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao was very satisfied with what she saw. She would shout for Zhaodi to quickly get to work, for it made her feel like she was ordering Li Zhaodi around.

  She was especially dissatisfied with Li Zhaodi. In the past, everyone in the village had despised and spurned Li Zhaodi. Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao had also despised Li Zhaodi. But now, Li Zhaodi had actually entered the county city to do business, and she was the one who was despised and spurned in the village instead.

  Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao felt aggrieved. Ordering Zhaodi to work satisfied some of her imagination and felt good.

  She was in a good mood and she felt satisfied, but Fu, Lu, and Shou were very dissatisfied. “She’s so dark. I don’t want her to be my wife.”

  “I don’t want that either. She’s so small.”

  “Mom, neither of us wants her.”

  “You don’t want her? If you can, go find a wife yourselves!” Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao was dissatisfied.

  “Anyway, we don’t want her. Whoever wants such a dark girl can have her. Everyone will laugh at us. No family has a child bride. Only our family has one.”

  “Then help me take care of your grandmother. Don’t I need a helper too?”

  “That won’t do. She’s really smelly and dirty!”

  There was a commotion in the courtyard. Upon hearing this, Little Zhaodi felt terrified. She was afraid that she would be chased away from this place too. She gritted her teeth and, not minding the dirt, mustered all her strength to turn Zhao Lan around.

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  Upon hearing the commotion outside, Zhao Lan couldn’t stop crying. “What a sin! This is retribution from heaven.”

  The son and grandsons she had once doted on so much now despised her. Their promises to buy her leather shoes and a car in the past had just been meant to coax her.

  After crying for a while, she looked at the timid Little Zhaodi. It was rare for Zhao Lan’s compassion to be stirred. “You’re so young. Stop tormenting yourself. Just let it be dirty. I can’t continue to sin.”

  Zhao Lan asked Little Zhaodi to go out. As soon as Little Zhaodi came out, Shao Fu took a big step back. “You stink.”

  “Get out. Don’t come to our house again. We don’t want you!”

  Shao Lu stepped forward and pushed Little Zhaodi. Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao frowned. “What are you doing?”

  “Mom, kick her out!”

  “That’s right. We don’t want her. If Shao Dong and his brothers marry girls from the city in the future, it will be so embarrassing for us to bring her along. We also want to marry girls from the city.” Only then would they live a good life as freeloaders.

  Shao Lu picked up the broom and chased Little Zhaodi out. He didn’t even allow her to stand at the door. Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao was helpless, but she didn’t scold her sons. After all, in her heart, she knew that if she hadn’t been forced by reality, she wouldn’t have been satisfied with a child bride like Little Zhaodi either.

  Firstly, Little Zhaodi’s mother had only given birth to a son after having several girls. Daughters tended to resemble their mother. What if Little Zhaodi kept giving birth to daughters as well?

  Secondly, Little Zhaodi came from the mountain, which was even more remote than Little Eastern Village. Besides, she was very dark-skinned and her maternal family couldn’t be relied on. If possible, Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao would have liked to look for a girl from the city. After all, Dong, Nan, Xi, Bei, and Zhong would definitely marry someone from the city and live a good life. How could she take it lying down when her children fell behind?

  “Alright, don’t say anything else. I know what I’m doing. Even though she’s a child bride, if you really don’t like her and manage to find a good partner, you won’t have to marry her.”

  She just wanted to be safe and find someone to work for her. Someone she could squeeze dry.

  They were talking in the courtyard. After the despised Little Zhaodi was chased out, she didn’t dare approach Eldest Brother Shao’s house or move. She lowered her head, wanting to cry but not daring to.

  Her family had always forbidden her to cry. They said that she would chase away good fortune if she cried too much and that they wouldn’t get a son because of all her crying.

  Little Zhaodi was holding back her tears when she suddenly heard tinkling laughter in front of her. “Third Brother, you will not start running first!”

  When Little Zhaodi looked up, she was stunned. This person was so fair and good-looking. The dress she was wearing, her hair, and the hair ornament on her head were all very beautiful. As she bounced over, she seemed to be glowing under the sunlight.

  Little Zhaodi thought, ‘This must be a little fairy, right?’

  The little fairy in her dreams looked like this.

  “Eh?” The person she thought of as Little Fairy was actually Little Bei. She was initially competing with Shao Nan to see who would get home first, when she unexpectedly saw Little Zhaodi at the door.

  “Who are you? Why are you standing there?”

  As she looked at Little Bei’s fair, beautiful appearance, Little Zhaodi carefully hid her dark, petite hand behind her. However, she was afraid that Little Fairy would find her smelly, so she took a step back before saying, “I’m Zhaodi.”

  “Zhaodi? Isn’t this Grandma’s name?” Little Bei looked at Little Zhaodi. “You actually have the same name as Grandma.”

  Shao Nan was beside her. “Let’s go home. She must be the child bride they brought back.”

  Shao Nan was very cold and didn’t want to pay attention to these things. He glanced at Little Zhaodi and pulled Little Bei home.

  Little Zhaodi secretly glanced at Shao Nan, who resembled Little Bei, and thought in a daze, ‘This is a little fairy boy, right?’

  However, the little fairy boy didn’t seem to like her very much…

  Little Bei was dragged home by Shao Nan, but her eyes were dazed. “Brother, if I hadn’t been saved by Mommy back then, would I have been like her?”

  When she had been sent away by Zhao Lan, that family had wanted to send her to be a child bride. She remembered it very clearly.

  Shao Nan immediately denied it. “No, you wouldn’t. We would have found you.”

  “Then could any family members be looking for Zhaodi, who has the same name as Grandma?”

  Shao Nan paused. Unlike Little Bei, when he had gone to the bathroom during the break, he had already heard the story of the child bride.

  No family would come looking for her because it was her family who had sold her.

  After Shao Nan had heard that, he hadn’t said anything to anyone and hadn’t taken this matter to heart. He would only pay attention to the people he cared about.

  But Little Bei didn’t seem to be like that. That child was the same age as her, so this made her think of herself.

  Just as Shao Nan was about to say something, Mu Jingzhe came out. “Why are you standing in the courtyard? Why won’t you come in?”

  “Mommy, there’s someone outside with the same name as Grandma.”

  “Is her name also Zhaodi?” Mu Jingzhe hadn’t expected the child bride that Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao had found to have the same name as her mother.

  “That’s right, Mommy. How old is she? She looks younger than me. Why is she also called Zhaodi?”

  “I think she’s as old as you. As for why she’s called Zhaodi… a lot of people have this name.”

  Although it wasn’t a good name, there were too many girls called Zhaodi in that era.

  [1] sounds like ‘attract a younger brother’

  [2] these five names mean attract/miss/look forward to a younger brother

  [3] want a younger brother