Ache.
Her whole body ached everywhere.
Because she was old and had no one to care for her, she was plagued by illnesses, so naturally, she ached everywhere.
No!
She was clearly in so much pain that she had become numb, so why was the pain today so clear?
Xia Xi opened her eyes in confusion and saw the azure sky through the leaves, hearing the chirping of birds by her ears.
Xia Xi suddenly sat up, looking at her surroundings in shock.
Deep in the woods, this... this was the Phoenix Mountain she was familiar with.
She had gathered pig feed and picked mushrooms on this mountain since she was young, so she was extremely familiar with it.
Why was she back on Phoenix Mountain?
Thinking of this, Xia Xi suddenly noticed her hands were tender and white, nothing like her own withered, emaciated hands.
Xia Xi touched her face; her cheeks were as tender as a peeled egg, without a single wrinkle.
As Xia Xi was wondering, an anxious voice rang out, "Xiao Xi! You're really here, you heartless thing! Are you trying to scare your mother to death?"
Xia Xi looked up and saw a thin, small woman, her eyes slightly red, looking at her with a face full of anxiety. This woman was none other than her mother, Xiang Cuihua.
Seeing that Xia Xi was standing there unharmed, Xiang Cuihua walked up, both angry and heartbroken, and slapped her repeatedly, "What on earth is so good about that bastard that you'd risk your life for him? You're shameless, and our Old Xia Family is shameless! You heartless thing!"
Listening to these familiar words, Xia Xi suddenly realized.
This was the day she argued with her parents over Lin Xiangdong.
She wanted her father to pull strings and give the Worker-Peasant-Soldier University spot to Lin Xiangdong. When her father refused, she went on a hunger strike in protest.
When her father ignored her, she ran away from home in anger.
She left in the morning. At noon, when she didn't return for lunch, her family came to the mountain to look for her.
From childhood to adulthood, she had been doted on and indulged by her family. They gave her whatever she wanted. Only this time, no matter how much she threw a tantrum, her family refused!
Xiang Cuihua cursed incessantly, while Xia Xi stood there, utterly shocked!
She had been reborn!
She had returned to 1975, the year she was completely infatuated with Lin Xiangdong.
For this bastard, she had opposed her family.
Usually, she would secretly give him the family's grain, and the meat her brothers hunted in the mountains for New Year's. She even snatched her eldest nephew's candy to coax him.
Normally, her family would turn a blind eye to these minor squabbles.
But this time, she had gone crazy.
Crazy enough to make her father, the team leader, pull strings to get Lin Xiangdong into the Worker-Peasant-Soldier University.
The Worker-Peasant-Soldier University spot belonged to the entire production brigade.
She never once considered the consequences if such underhanded dealings were discovered.
On this day in her previous life, her mother had found her, but she hadn't gone back with her. Instead, she had gone to the edge of a cliff and threatened to die. In the end, her parents had no choice but to agree.
That bastard Lin Xiangdong successfully obtained the Worker-Peasant-Soldier University spot, packed his bags, and went to the city to study, disappearing without a trace thereafter.
Not only did Xia Xi become the laughingstock of the entire production brigade, but her father's underhanded dealings were also reported.
Her father was berated by the commune leaders and removed from his position as team leader. The entire production brigade became aware of the incident, and everyone cursed her father.
The two eldest nephews from the eldest brother's family were beaten black and blue at school because of this incident, and the second brother and second sister-in-law argued incessantly over it.
The third brother's promised marriage also fell through.
Those who held a grudge against her father cursed them during the day and even threw feces at their doorstep at night. One day, someone even beat her father up while he was in a sack.
The family was thrown into chaos for a time.
Her father fell ill afterward.
Her mother also often secretly shed tears.
Their family almost couldn't survive in Tianxing Brigade.
At this time, Lu Jing, the eldest brother from the neighboring family who was visiting, came to the Xia family and proposed marriage to her.
The family was in chaos then, and Xia Xi felt she was the cause of it all. If she left, perhaps the family's situation would improve.
She accepted Lu Jing's proposal and packed her bags to accompany him when he rejoined the army.
On the day she left, Xu Shanshan from the Educated Youth Point was returning to the city. Xu Shanshan leaned in and whispered to her, "Do you know who reported that matter?"
Xia Xi didn't understand.
Xu Shanshan smiled smugly, "I reported it. And take a look at this, do you recognize it?"
Xu Shanshan took out the jade pendant and dangled it before her eyes, saying, "This was Lin Xiangdong's betrothal gift to me. I'm going back to the city to marry him.
Xia Xi, thank you for helping us. Don't forget to come to the wedding banquet."
After hearing this, Xia Xi didn't feel angry but heartbroken and desperate. She cried, and her cries were particularly loud.
She couldn't understand why Lin Xiangdong didn't like her and liked Xu Shanshan. How was she inferior to Xu Shanshan? At that time, she was even foolish enough to think about asking Lin Xiangdong why.
Thinking back now, Xia Xi wished she could slap herself to death. A love-struck brain is truly terrifying!
Xiang Cuihua had been scolding for a long time, but Xia Xi just stood there, her eyes blankly staring ahead, showing no reaction.
Xiang Cuihua's heart skipped a beat. She nudged her worriedly, "Xiao Xi, you dead girl! What's wrong? Don't be like this, look at your mother. Don't scare your mother!"
Hearing her mother's anxious voice, Xia Xi's pupils slowly refocused. Looking at her mother before her, tears surged like a bursting dam.
She threw her arms around Xiang Cuihua, "Mom, I'm sorry... I was wrong, I'm sorry..."
Her cries were so loud that they startled the birds on the branches into flight.
As she was crying here.
The three brothers of the Xia family also arrived.
Hearing Xia Xi's cries from afar, Xia Lao San rushed over anxiously and pleaded, "Mom! Stop hitting her, be gentle! Be gentle!
Our little sister is very delicate, she can't take your beating. Mom, our little sister must have been scared by the wild beasts in the mountains, so please stop hitting and scolding her."
Xia Lao Er also stepped forward to chime in, "Mom, our little sister was just momentarily confused. A few scoldings are enough. You're beating her like this, how pitiful."
Xia Lao Da directly stepped forward and pulled Xia Xi behind him, "Mom, please calm down. We'll persuade her, we will."
Xiang Cuihua rolled her eyes so hard they almost reached the sky, "I haven't even touched a single hair on her head, how could I be hitting or scolding her!
You all keep protecting her, look at how spoiled she's become! Truly a litter of unpromising children. I must have had terrible luck to give birth to you all. Hurry back to work! I'm not living like this anymore! No meals!
Especially your family, eldest brother, with two boys, your household can eat a lot."
Xiang Cuihua cursed and descended the mountain.
Xia Xi watched her biological mother's retreating back, then looked at her three brothers protecting her, her tears flowing even more fiercely.
Xia Lao San somehow got a wild sweet potato and quietly stuffed it into her hand, "Alright, stop crying. You'll ruin your face.
These wild sweet potatoes are very sweet. Eat a couple and give your third brother a smile."
Xia Lao Er got a slice of taro and fanned her, "Your face is all tear-streaked, and you've broken out in a sweat from crying. It doesn't look good."
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