Qiuye and Qiuyu, the Two Sisters (2)

Because they were so hungry, each of the twin sisters drank two bowls of porridge and ate four steamed buns in one go. Then they really couldn't eat another bite, so they stopped.

Only then did the twins feel alive again. Ah... they hadn't eaten so much in years. Today was the fullest they had been in all those years.

Just then, Zhou Yao came out of the kitchen. Seeing that the twins might have eaten too much, he said nothing and cleared away the bowls and chopsticks to wash them.

The twins tried to help, but Zhou Yao stopped them, telling the sisters to rest and let their food settle.

Now that the sisters had eaten their fill, they had some energy, but their hearts were still jumping up and down. They were uneasy, unsure what Zhou Yao was thinking.

After a while, Zhou Yao came and called the sisters to follow him. He led them to the door of the bathing room.

Then he said to the twins, "You two go in and take a bath first. Wash yourselves clean from top to bottom, inside and out. We'll talk about everything once you've cleaned yourselves up. I'll wait outside."

"All right, husband," the twins answered in unison.

Then the sisters went straight into the bathing room. Once inside, they saw an enormous tub filled to the brim with water.

Toiletries and clothes were all laid out beside it, too. The twins were utterly shocked. They knew how valuable water was these days, and in the countryside it was worth even more.

Looking at the great tub of water, the twins glanced at each other. Though both were shocked, the joy in their eyes was impossible to hide!

Neither sister knew how long it had been since her last bath. They had also deliberately made themselves look ugly, so the way they smelled went without saying.

Seeing such a large tub of water before them, they set everything on their minds aside, slowly took off their clothes, and began washing their hair and bathing.

It had been so long since they had washed their hair or bathed. It felt so comfortable and warm! The twins' faces broke into rare smiles.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yao went straight to the bedroom. Yang Aijin and Yang Ailian hurried over to their husband, Zhou Yao, each taking one of his arms. Smiling, they asked, "Husband, how are those two younger sisters?"

Zhou Dao smiled and said, "They came inside and ate first, and now they're bathing in the bathing room! After they finish, they'll come out and everyone can get to know each other and talk about the sisters' situation."

"But just like you two, they're a pair of twin sisters."

"Really...?" Yang Aijin asked in surprise.

"Could there really be such a coincidence? The women you married this time are twin sisters too, husband?" Yang Ailian asked in surprise as well.

"My two wives, it's all true. They really are twin sisters."

"The way they look now is exactly the same as when I first met you two."

"They were born beautiful, but they all deliberately made themselves look very, very ugly, so that many people would find them undesirable."

"After I married you two last time, the official in charge of the 'send wives to the countryside' campaign learned that I liked slender, petite women like you, so today he made a special trip to bring me another pair of slender, petite twin sisters."

Hearing their husband Zhou Yao say this, Yang Aijin and Yang Ailian both smiled.

Then Zhou Yao continued, "Men in the countryside look down on slender, petite women like them and won't bring them home as wives."

"They think that women so slender and petite don't have the strength to do farm work. At a glance, they look thin, weak, and sickly. Marrying them would only bring a money-losing burden home."

"So no man in the countryside will marry a slender, petite woman like that."

"Women like that often have no one willing to marry them and end up being sent to military camps as prostitutes for the soldiers. Their fate is terribly, terribly miserable."

Yang Aijin and Yang Ailian felt this deeply when they heard their husband Zhou Yao's words. If he hadn't taken them at the last moment and married them last month, they too would have been sent to a military camp as prostitutes for the soldiers and eventually tortured to death.

At the thought, Yang Aijin and Yang Ailian sighed. "Alas..."