"Stronger than you. Once, young girl 'Xiao Yi' was squatting to pee for the young boy 'Xiao Jiu' next to her. That kid was naughty, a kick sent young girl 'Xiao Yi' sitting on the ground, yet the boy wasn't even a speck of dirt on him."
"She learned that from taking care of her younger cousin."
Qin Junyao listened, feeling a bit confused. "Grandma, what are young girl 'Xiao Yi' and young boy 'Xiao Jiu'? Are these the children's names?"
"Yes," Grandma Qin clapped her hands, looking at ten girls with identical spiky hairstyles. "When they become servants, they must forget their previous names. They are called according to their age. You can give them names yourself."
"Xiao Yi to Xiao San, the three of you watch them. You can go to the next room. You're not allowed in other places. The chamber pot is in the corner. If you need anything, ask the older sisters in the courtyard."
The three older girls knelt on the kang, nodding obediently.
Qin Junyao looked at them, feeling a pang in her heart. They were all children, and children who had suffered.
Grandma Qin had bought nineteen children in the past six months, with requirements for age, background, and looks.
Qin Junyao dared not imagine how many children had been sold or died in Yangshu Village during those six months.
She placed her hand on her lower abdomen and turned to leave the room.
She asked the maids in the courtyard to pay more attention to the children in those two rooms.
"Let's go, we'll chat in my room. You want to know about your father, right?" Grandma Qin came out and didn't stop Qin Junyao from instructing the maids.
Qin Junyao was the mistress of the house, and she couldn't question her granddaughter's decisions in front of the maids.
"Hehe, Grandma, I'll help you walk," Qin Junyao smiled and linked her arm with Grandma Qin's.
Grandma Qin slightly lifted her arm, making it easier for Qin Junyao to link with her. "Did you write to Xiao Chuizi to tell him about the baby?"
"No, he's very busy there. Don't distract him."
"Distract him, my foot," Grandma Qin rolled her eyes at Qin Junyao. "Aren't you afraid he'll die out there?"
"Now with such a valuable bargaining chip, no, such a valuable..." Grandma Qin couldn't find the right words to describe the child in Qin Junyao's womb.
"Anyway, having a child like this will make him cherish his life more, understand? You don't know anything."
"Ai ya," Grandma Qin sighed. "I'm destined to worry. I wanted to let go and enjoy my twilight years, but your father caused trouble, and now you're pregnant again."
"Grandma."
"What?" Grandma Qin glared at Qin Junyao. "Isn't the baby you're carrying a cub? A lamb? Do you want to hear about your father?"
Qin Junyao shut her mouth and took a few deep breaths through her nose. Fine, a cub it was.
A dialect, Grandma was speaking in dialect, Qin Junyao consoled herself.
Grandma Qin opened the door and let Qin Junyao release her arm as she sat on a chair. "Tsk, look at your Grandpa Hou's family, how smooth things are. His three sons have returned from the salt lake, and your Grandpa Hou doesn't have to worry about anything at home."
"Yaoyao, I'm telling you, I inquired. There's a Buddhist temple in the next county, very efficacious. I heard there's a pear orchard on the back mountain of that temple."
"It's blooming right now."
Qin Junyao couldn't help but interject, "Grandma, you're not going to become a nun, are you?"
Grandma Qin pointed at Qin Junyao. "Listen to me when I'm speaking, don't interrupt. Become a nun? Am I going to a monk's temple to become a nun?"
"Your Grandpa Hou and I had agreed to go see the pear blossoms. Now, fine, I'm not going anywhere."
"I've already made my clothes, a big floral one, very pretty."
Qin Junyao covered her mouth with her hand, afraid she would make a sound. Did she know something she shouldn't?
At this moment, Qin Father's changes seemed less important than Grandma Qin's gossip. She really wanted to know about Grandma Qin and Grandpa Hou's affair.