Sister-in-law had just been buried, and my mother started arranging for my brother to marry a new wife.

"A newborn baby needs to find milk to drink!"

"There are so many things to do at home, we need a woman to help. How can the master do these things?"

"Having only one son in the family is not enough. We need to have more!"

My mother pointed at my head with her finger, scolding and ranting for a while, then took away the money I earned from helping at the coffin shop.

After a few days, my mother brought in a tall and strong woman.

Just like when my sister-in-law came, she had a dark and yellow complexion, dressed plainly, but she had a good physique and could carry two buckets of water by herself.

If I guess correctly, she was also bought.

Here, we can exchange a woman for a pig.

My mother often said that when I grow up, she'll sell me to an old bachelor in the village. Maybe I can exchange for two pigs and a thousand yuan.

I kept quiet because I was afraid of being beaten.

The new sister-in-law was very capable. She basically took care of all the household chores, and she had abundant milk, feeding the baby plump and chubby.

My mother didn't find fault with her.

She just kept asking her and my brother to have a baby boy every now and then.

She treated me well too. She took over my chores and sometimes secretly gave me delicious food. Over time, my complexion was no longer pale, and my hair grew black.

With the arrival of the sister-in-law, I spent more time in the paper-crafting shop.

As soon as I returned to the paper-crafting shop, the master was smoking at the door. Most people in this trade don't smoke. If they get distracted and burn down the house, they'll lose everything.

The master had told me before that his whole family was burned to death.

He called me over, "Pan'er, come here!"

I walked over, and he stared at me for a moment, then pointed to the two paper dolls of a boy and a girl next to him, "Tell me, why isn't a girl like you afraid of these?"

"I am afraid too, but our family is poor, and there is no other way. My brother wants to marry a wife and raise sons for the family. I am a girl, so I have to help them," I said.

That's what my mother taught me since I was young.

A girl has to help the boys.

The master sighed, "Your sister-in-law committed a grave taboo in paper-crafting and is now facing retribution."

Suddenly, he changed the topic, "Have you noticed anything strange about the newcomer?"

Strange?

All I knew was that she was bought by my mother and she worked diligently and obediently.

I shook my head.

The master shook his head, "When my paper-crafting shop was burned down, I was the only one who survived. I thought it was because I wasn't careless, but it wasn't like that..."

I was completely puzzled.

Then he murmured, "She's back. Your sister-in-law is back!"