Inside the Wang family’s kitchen, mother and daughter were crouched by the stove, stirring corn porridge. The house’s only three stools had been moved into the main hall.
Wang Zhaonan kept glancing over anxiously. “Mom, what should we do?”
This so-called cousin clearly wasn’t a good person. She had the feeling he had deliberately told her grandmother about her cousin’s family building a house.
Wang Zhaonan’s mother knew this all too well. Thinking about her own mother-in-law’s temperament, she pondered for a moment, then quickly scooped a bowl of porridge from the pot and handed it to Wang Zhaonan.
“Nannan, eat quickly. Once you finish, quietly go to Yu family’s brigade. Don’t let anyone see you.”
Occasionally, laughter drifted from the main hall, but no one paid attention to them. Wang Zhaonan quickly finished her lunch and slipped out.
The Yu family brigade was in the neighboring village, so it didn’t take long to reach. But she didn’t know the cousin’s surname or given name and couldn’t ask for directions, so she had to rely on the descriptions she’d been given, looking for the family building a house in the village.
At that moment, in Yu Nian’an’s courtyard, Uncle Jianping and the others had already arrived, and the gate was open, making the inside visible from outside.
Wang Zhaonan reached Yu Nian’an’s house first.
However, Yu Dingguo had exaggerated things; the only real changes in the yard were the courtyard wall and the adjacent thatched toilet and bathroom.
Seeing that no house was being built, Wang Zhaonan wandered back toward the village.
Following her mother’s instructions, she didn’t dare openly search around the village. She checked several places quietly but saw no sign of a new house, and finally returned her gaze to the one place in the courtyard that showed any sign of activity.
Yu Nian’an had noticed this figure outside the courtyard early in the morning. At first, she thought the person was visiting someone, but when the figure went out and returned, still looking around at the gate, she sensed something was off. Hurrying out, she wore a puzzled expression.
“Comrade, do you need something?”
Wang Zhaonan looked at the girl in front of her. Her features seemed vaguely familiar. Thinking of the person at home who had called her cousin, she guessed the girl was probably younger than herself. She took a deep breath and offered a smile.
“Miss, I just wanted to ask… do you know this person?”
She described Yu Dingguo’s appearance, his clothing, and finally pointed to her forearm, saying that he had a burn there.
Hearing this, Yu Nian’an immediately recognized him as Yu Dingguo.
But what was this person’s relationship to him? From the earlier conversation, they clearly weren’t close.
She blinked and asked, “Comrade, did he send you to find me?”
As soon as Wang Zhaonan heard this, she knew she had come to the right person and quickly shook her head to deny it. “It wasn’t him. My mom sent me.”
Yu Nian’an noticed the way she said “mom.”
In the countryside, no one would call their own mother “mom” casually.
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that; she was far more curious about why this person had come to find her.
Wang Zhaonan glanced around, and seeing no one nearby, leaned closer and quietly told her about what had just happened in her own courtyard. She added that her grandmother was sharp-tongued, stubborn, and liked to make trouble, so she and her family had better figure out a way to deal with her.
If the old woman really came to cause a scene, she wouldn’t leave without taking advantage of something. Wang Zhaonan didn’t trust Yu Dingguo’s words either she and her mother had lived in that household for years and had never heard anyone say the grandmother even had a daughter.
Moreover, if she did, how could two families living so close have had no contact?
A granddaughter?
Yu Nian’an frowned. As a background character in the original story, her family background had never been mentioned, so she had naturally assumed she was an only child.
She hadn’t expected the revised story to gradually introduce a series of previously unmentioned details.
Seeing her expression, Wang Zhaonan thought Yu Nian’an was troubled over the grandmother’s behavior, so she spoke softly to reassure her: “My grandma is the type to bully the weak but fear the strong. If your family all come together, she won’t dare cause trouble.”
Yu Nian’an snapped back to attention, her voice hesitant: “My family… there’s only me.”
Wang Zhaonan was shaken by this.
How pitiful an only child, clearly easy to target.
“Miss, I’ll go back and find out what your cousin is planning. Then I’ll come back to inform you, so you can be ready in advance. If things get difficult, you can go to the commune for help!”
Wang Zhaonan had come cautiously, but left in a rush, eager to return home and figure out what they intended to do to Yu Nian’an.
They left so quickly that neither had even exchanged names.
Watching her leave, Yu Nian’an smiled to herself. Indeed genuine and kind-hearted.
However, regarding the original owner’s family background, it seemed she would need to ask someone just like that girl had said, it was better to be prepared in advance.
With that thought, Yu Nian’an returned to the courtyard, walked over to Uncle Jianping, and began chatting casually. Gradually, she steered the conversation toward her parents.
“Hey, Uncle, I remember that the arrangements after my parents passed away were handled by the villagers and my aunt. Did they have any other siblings?”
Uncle Jianping gave her a puzzled look. “Your father and mother never mentioned this to you?”
“No, they never talked about these things with me.”
Seeing that she truly didn’t know, and feeling sorry for the girl after all, these were matters from the previous generation Uncle Jianping sighed and began to recount the past.
Yu Nian’an’s father, Yu Dingbei, and her mother, Wang Jia’an, met during the mobilization meetings for the harvest between the two teams. Both were unmarried, and after interacting for a while, they took a liking to each other. Later, Yu Jiange Yu Dingguo’s father hired a matchmaker to arrange a proposal for his younger brother.
Madam Wang, ever materialistic, valued that the Yu family had no in-laws to provide for, thinking that her daughter could bring back more for her family, and maybe even secure a good wife for her eldest son. So she agreed. Initially, everything seemed fine.
But the day after the proposal, Yu Jiange passed away.
At the time, he already had a wife and child. His sister-in-law was weak, and there was still a young infant to care for. In the village, there was no tradition of encouraging widows to remarry.
Madam Wang refused to accept this. With the new son-in-law needing to care for the eldest son’s family and pay for raising the child, what would there be left for her own daughter?
But a promised marriage couldn’t be revoked on a whim. Wang Jia’an had firmly decided to marry Yu Dingbei, and the grandmother directly threatened her, asking her to choose between her husband’s family or her own.
Wang Jia’an, who had lived a difficult life at home, now saw a chance to escape. She immediately made her choice marriage was better than staying at home, being mistreated, and waiting to be “sold” off. At least Yu Dingbei genuinely cared for her.
On her wedding day, Madam Wang didn’t allow her to take anything with her. If it weren’t for the crowd of onlookers, she might have even taken her clothes away. She threatened that once Wang Jia’an left the house, their family ties would be cut off.
Afterward, the mother and daughter had no contact, even though they lived in neighboring villages. Over time, the villagers forgot about it, so when Yu Nian’an’s parents passed away, no one informed Madam Wang.
Yu Nian’an thought to herself that it was fortunate they hadn’t informed her. Compared to the old lady, Yu Dingguo was far easier to deal with.
From the information she had just gotten from that girl, it seemed they still didn’t know about the death benefit. It looked like she would need to focus on the house to make any moves.