Chapter 230: Chapter 222: Wants to Learn the Guzheng Too
New Year’s Eve stayed up too late, Tian Sisi slept until nearly nine o’clock the next day. The warm sunlight shot through the window lattice and fell onto Tian Sisi’s bed, making it warm and cozy.
Bathing in the morning sunlight, Tian Sisi felt too lazy to move. Just lying there, eyes staring at the grid patterns on the canopy, her hand kept pinching the dolls on the bed, feeling very content. Tian Sisi’s bed was lined with many dolls, big and small, all sorts and sizes, all bought for her by He Xuewen and Tian Xinhua, filling up her bed.
After lazing in bed for a while, Tian Sisi finally got up unwillingly. If it were up to her past life’s temperament, she’d definitely sleep until the afternoon on New Year’s Day since there was no need to worry about visitors nor the need to go out to pay New Year’s visits; it is a local custom not to go out on New Year’s Day.
But now she could not afford to indulge in laziness. She was certain that if she didn’t go downstairs now, Zhu Aiqing would surely come to drag her out of bed. Zhu Aiqing could never stand her sleeping in late, just like Zhong Juying in her past life, nagging every day about how early birds catch the worms and admonishing against laziness. Sometimes Tian Sisi really wanted to retort that the early worms get eaten by the birds!
Tian Sisi returned to the Tian Family and entered the kitchen, where Granny Zhao and Xu Qianwen were both there, preparing lunch. Tian Sisi called out to them. Oddly, Xu Qianwen seemed like a changed person today, not only responding to her but also smiling and saying, "Ah Nan is up!" and in the end, warmly brought out the porridge and dishes from the pot for her, placing them on the table, urging Tian Sisi to eat while it was still hot.
Has the sun risen from the west? Tian Sisi was rather flattered and surprised. She was more accustomed to Xu Qianwen’s cold and stern demeanor; Xu Qianwen’s sudden warmth didn’t sit well with her at all.
After thanking her, Tian Sisi ate gracefully, taking small bites very ladylike. Xu Qianwen, who was washing vegetables, couldn’t help but observe Tian Sisi. In the past, she didn’t find this orphan girl to be pretty, but now, she realized the orphan girl was actually quite beautiful, especially her temperament, which was far superior to Lili’s.
Even if Xu Qianwen disliked Tian Sisi, at this moment, she had to admit that Tian Sisi was prettier than her daughter. Standing together, the difference was clear.
In Xu Qianwen’s mind, Tian Sisi was absolutely not as pretty as her daughter. But now, the not-as-pretty Tian Sisi turned so beautiful after learning the zither, which was a blow to Xu Qianwen. It appears that the saying "practicing the zither makes a girl prettier" was true. Xu Qianwen did not believe it before, but now she could not deny it.
Hmph, if Tian Sisi could learn it, then her Lili could definitely learn it even better. The next time they return, she would have Lili learn the zither. And the teacher is already there. Coincidentally, the wife of a battalion commander under Ai Guo’s command is a zither player in the art troupe; she could have Lili learn from her. She didn’t believe that a student taught by a professional teacher would be worse than one taught by a so-so teacher.
If Tian Sisi knew Xu Qianwen’s thoughts, she would definitely laugh. Zhang Mingliu came from a prestigious family, and she started learning the zither from a young age. Her accomplishment in music was truly master level. How could a petty zither master from an art troupe compare with Zhang Mingliu? Moreover, even with a famous master, one needs a capable disciple to excel, and as for Tian Lili, not to belittle anyone, she definitely couldn’t be considered a capable disciple.
Granny Zhao went out with a basket to cut vegetables in the field, leaving Xu Qianwen and Tian Sisi alone in the kitchen. Tian Sisi immediately sped up her eating pace, feeling uncomfortable being in the same room with Xu Qianwen.
But before she could finish eating, Xu Qianwen approached her with a smile and asked, "Ah Nan, how long have you been learning the zither?"
"Three years."
Tian Sisi answered cautiously, unsure of Xu Qianwen’s intentions, but based on her years of experience, Xu Qianwen’s current demeanor definitely didn’t mean anything good.
"Ouch, you’ve studied for such a long time!" Xu Qianwen’s words clearly meant to say, look at you learning for three years and this is all you’ve got, you’re so dumb, Tian Sisi pretended she didn’t hear it, if she were to really take Xu Qianwen’s words to heart, she would have been pissed to death several times already.
Seeing that Tian Sisi didn’t respond, Xu Qianwen continued: "Ah Nan, what do you think about our Lili learning to play the zither?"
Tian Sisi feigned misunderstanding and said: "Sure, Sister Lili is so smart, she will definitely learn better than me!"
Tian Sisi’s words sounded quite sincere, she didn’t mind saying a few nice words to make Xu Qianwen happy, she truly wished Tian Lili could learn the zither to calm her mind. Despite Xu Qianwen’s many flaws, her care for her daughter was genuine, meticulously considering every little detail for her, and that’s also why Tian Lili was raised to be so spoiled and clueless.
In her previous life, Tian Lili was actually not happy either, her husband was an asshole, Tian Lili’s husband’s military rank was even higher than Tian Aiguo’s, at the time her marriage was the envy of many, Xu Qianwen would always come back to the village and brag about it.
But Tian Lili only had a pretty face, without any brains to speak of, impulsive, simple-minded, incapable of housework, and not knowing how to get along with people. It can be said that besides good looks, Tian Lili was utterly useless. Less than two months into her marriage, she made a huge fuss with her in-laws, even coming to blows with her sister-in-law.
Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal, Tian Lili’s husband had no intention of divorcing her, as divorce was too much trouble for a family like theirs. But he was very cold towards Tian Lili, seldom returning home, and after a few years, unable to tolerate the loneliness, Tian Lili had an affair, and was caught red-handed by her husband, who was accompanied by his comrade-in-arms. Just like that, Tian Lili’s reputation in the military was ruined, and not long after, she divorced, leading a miserable life thereafter.
This was what she heard from Zhong Juying in her past life; Zhong Juying always liked to talk about how the girls who were better off and better looking than her during her maiden days, ended up with worse lives, which gave Zhong Juying significant satisfaction.
Actually, according to Zhong Juying’s deduction, brainless Tian Lili must have been set up by her husband, moving step by step, with Tian Lili falling deeper into his trap, until he caught her in the act, and as the victim, he successfully divorced her without any repercussions.
Tian Sisi hoped that after practicing the zither, Tian Lili could be more introspective and not as crude and simplistic as she was in her past life, although she didn’t like Tian Lili, she didn’t wish such an end for her either.
"You also think our Lili will learn better than you, see, I told you our Lili is smart, she doesn’t need three years, she will learn very well in just one!" Xu Qianwen was very pleased by the flattery and found Tian Sisi more likable.
Tian Sisi just smiled, finished the soaked rice in her bowl, and then put the empty bowl down, ready to leave the kitchen, "Ah Nan, wait a moment, Third Aunt has not finished talking yet!" Xu Qianwen called out to her.
"What else does Third Aunt want to say?" Tian Sisi had no choice but to stop and look at Xu Qianwen.
"It’s like this, see Sister Lili is about to start learning the zither, but we haven’t bought one yet, how about you give your zither to Lili to use?" Xu Qianwen finally revealed her intentions.
Tian Sisi scoffed internally, as expected, too eager to offer help is either sinister or thievish, she immediately and decisively refused: "I’m sorry, that zither is a family heirloom from my Daddy, very precious, I’m just borrowing it myself, Third Aunt should buy one for Sister Lili!"
Having said her piece, Tian Sisi didn’t wait for Xu Qianwen to respond and left the kitchen, she had no desire to listen to Xu Qianwen anymore, not wanting to waste her time.