Granny Zhao placed the rice cake bowl on the table, Tian Sisi looked at the large bowl of rice cakes and gave a bitter smile. Granny Zhao must really want her granddaughter to gain weight, but even an adult couldn't finish such a large bowl, right? She looked around the table and saw that everyone else also had large bowls, only her two younger brothers had normal-sized rice bowls. Could it be that the house ran out of small bowls? (Actually, what Tian Sisi didn't know was that in the seventies, due to lack of good food, both men and women used large bowls as units for measuring their food, and everyone could eat a lot.)
Tian Sisi glanced at her two younger brothers, both of whom were eagerly looking at the rice cakes in front of her. Even though the Tian Family was quite well-off, such a loaded bowl of rice cakes wasn't a common meal for them. Seeing this, Tian Sisi took the bowls from her two younger brothers and gave each one a bowl for them to eat, and the two little ones were overjoyed. Sister was really generous today, she used to never share the tasty food with them before.
"Eat up! If it's not enough, there's still some in my bowl," Tian Sisi whispered to her brothers. From the memories of the original host, she knew that the original owner didn't treat these two brothers particularly well. She used to eat alone when she was a child, and after growing wealthy, did not help her brothers much. She certainly was a callous person.
"Ah Nan, you've given all the rice cakes to Donghua and the rest, how will it be enough for you? Should Granny make you some more?" Granny Zhao said as she stood up to make more rice cakes.
Tian Sisi quickly stopped Granny Zhao, "Granny, you've made too much already, how can I finish such a large bowl! Besides, I need to save room for the tangyuan you're making!"
"Alright, Granny will make you tangyuan after breakfast. Since today's Lantern Festival, you need to eat more to pray for a peaceful and successful year for Ah Nan."
"Uh-huh, and also pray for Grandpa, Granny, Dad, Mama, Donghua, Qinghua, and Uncle, Aunt, and everyone in their family to be safe and successful, and live a long life." Tian Sisi rattled off like a tongue twister, amusing the family and making them feel that Zhaodi had really changed a lot since falling into water; she's even started sharing delicious foods with her brothers, becoming more and more likable. Mr. Tian looked at Tian Sisi with even more affection.
If we talk about the original owner receiving so much love in this family as an adopted daughter, of course, there was a reason. Firstly, it was because the original owner was beautiful. Children with good looks always got more affection. Secondly, right after she was adopted, Ai Qing gave birth to two sons. It is known that Ai Qing had been married for five years without any signs of pregnancy, but then suddenly there was news after the original owner came, so the Tian Family believed that these two grandsons were blessings brought by the original owner.
Furthermore, although the Tian Family was just average in the village, ever since the original owner arrived, Ai Guo's career in the military skyrocketed as if he was on a green light streak, his promotions came faster than a rocket. Also, Tian Mantong was originally set to become a school teacher, but somehow, just as an old driver from the county transportation team retired early, Tian Mantong took over.
The seventies were not like later times, being a teacher was still a sensitive job. Although the salary wasn't low—about thirty yuan—being a driver was more desirable. Even though the salary wasn't high, the tips were plentiful. For instance, the clothes and accessories Tian Sisi wore, which were all sent by this uncle, made the original owner quite fashionable. Combined with her naturally curly black hair, the original owner had a very appealing nickname in Moon Spring Village, called "Miss Shanghai."
Of course, this nickname had no discriminatory meaning. In the minds of the national populace at the time, Shanghai was synonymous with fashion, trendiness, and wealth. Young people, whether male or female, if they owned an item made in Shanghai, like a watch for instance, they would be the envy of the entire village—much more conspicuous than someone today carrying an LV bag and wearing a Rolex. Therefore, when villagers called the original owner "Miss Shanghai," it was genuinely a compliment, albeit with a tinge of jealousy.
Moreover, after the arrival of the original owner, the lives of the First Aunt and Second Aunt also prospered. The children born afterwards were all boys, which strengthened their status in their marital homes. The Third Aunt, Tian Manlan, although her family life was not going very well, her stomach was quite impressive; she gave birth to three boys consecutively, all after the original owner's arrival. The Tian Family believed these were the blessings brought by the original owner, so they doted on her even more.
Seeing that her older brother Donghua had finished eating the rice cakes in his bowl and seemed still not to be full, Tian Sisi slid some from her own bowl into his, drawing Granny Zhao's playful scolding, "How can you eat so little? Make sure you eat more tangyuan later."
Donghua smiled gratefully at Tian Sisi. He wasn't selfish either and wanted to share some of the rice cakes with his younger brother Qinghua, but Tian Sisi stopped him, "Don't give Qinghua any, his stomach is small and he might have trouble digesting too much rice cake. Just finish it yourself."
"Ouch, my dear Nannan how are you so sensible, even aware that eating too many rice cakes can cause bloating, such a smart girl." Granny Zhao looked at Tian Sisi in amazement, as if knowing that children shouldn't eat too many rice cakes was an impressive thing.
Tian Sisi secretly rolled her eyes. Everyone in Sui City knows that eating too many rice cakes is indigestible, but she still sweetly smiled at Granny Zhao and said, "I heard it from Granny before." This made Granny Zhao squint her eyes with joy.
Tian Sisi tried hard to finish half a bowl of rice cakes, burping three times from being so full. When she saw Zhu Aiqing preparing to clear the table, she remembered the most important thing, "Grandpa, Granny, Dad, Mama, I want to change my name."
"What name do you want to change to?" Zhu Aiqing paused from clearing the dishes to ask.
"I want to change to Tian Sisi. Tian Zhaodi is too common. There are five girls named Zhaodi in every ten female classmates at school, and every time someone calls Zhaodi, I respond. It's embarrassing." Tian Sisi pouted and acted coquettishly.
She wasn't lying, just exaggerating a bit. Tian Donghua looked up, thinking to say that there are only five or six people named Zhaodi at school, not as many as his sister said. Tian Sisi sweetly smiled at him with a threatening look in her eyes. Tian Donghua shivered and swallowed his words. Today his sister was too weird; better he just quietly eat his rice cakes.
"What's wrong with Zhaodi? It sounds nice and brings good fortune. What's good about Sisi, it's hard to pronounce." Granny Zhao was the first to disagree; in her eyes, Zhaodi sounded much better than Sisi.
Seeing no hope with Granny, Tian Sisi then turned to the highest authority in the house, Mr. Tian, acting coquettishly by massaging his shoulders and pounding his back, and finally, like a sticky candy, squeezed into Mr. Tian's arms and acted spoiled, "I don't care, I just want to be called Tian Sisi. Tian Lili always mocks my name, I want to have a repeated name too."
The original owner and Tian Lili had always been at odds. Tian Lili, taking advantage of her height and strength, always bullied the original owner, so pinning the blame on Tian Lili, Tian Sisi felt no burden at all. Mr. Tian greatly enjoyed his granddaughter's coquettish antics. Seeing his son's envious expression only made him more proud and delighted. Though he had already agreed in his heart, he wanted to tease his granddaughter a bit more, so he didn't give in immediately.
"Tian Zhaodi, what kind of behavior is this? Get off Grandpa's lap." Zhu Aiqing disliked her daughter's manipulative behavior and sternly reprimanded.
"Alright, alright, Grandpa's already dizzy from you messing with him. Since the team doesn't have work these few days, let your second uncle write an introduction letter, and your dad will take the household registration book to the town to have it changed. From now on, you'll be called Tian Sisi, but at home, we'll still call you Nannan." Mr. Tian finally relented. The second uncle was Mr. Tian's younger brother, Tian Bajin, who was the secretary of Yuequan Village.
In the household, Mr. Tian always had the final say, so although Granny Zhao was dissatisfied, she didn't say much more, and Tian Manjin, who was always daughter-whipped, having heard Mr. Tian's arrangement, comforted Tian Sisi, "Dad will go find your second uncle in a bit. I'll head to the town tomorrow."
"No rush, let's wait for the sun to dry up the roads, or else dad might fall while riding." Tian Sisi wasn't concerning herself with this immediate moment.
Mr. Tian's words were always respected, and once he said something, he wouldn't change it. Moreover, the snow had just melted outside, making the roads muddy and slippery. She didn't want Tian Manyi to have an accident on the road. Tian Sisi from her previous life, who never received fatherly love, accepted Tian Manjin, this doting dad, without any barriers.