Shen Chengren and his wife lived in a dilapidated, run-down tile-roofed house that had been left to them by his parents’ generation.
He had three sons.
After the eldest son’s wife ran off with another man, his mind hadn’t been quite right.
The second son had always been in poor health, falling ill every few days, and he’d squandered what little money the family had.
The youngest son was only a little over four years old, and was even worse off—at his age, he still couldn’t speak, and there was no cure.
They also had a daughter, but she had been swapped at the health clinic back in the day—she was someone else’s child. They had toiled for years raising another family’s daughter, and now their own daughter refused to come back!
And just as she was about to be married, when they could have received a decent bride price, it turned out they’d lost both the person and the money.
The two women didn’t dare gossip openly in front of Shen Zhiyao, so they just exchanged glances instead.
Shen Zhiyao vaguely sensed that the two women’s looks weren’t friendly, but she said nothing. It wasn’t until she arrived at her destination that she found the situation even worse than she’d imagined.
Every household around them had already switched to 15-watt or 25-watt incandescent bulbs, while her family was still burning kerosene lamps.
The contrast was stark and immediately apparent.
For Shen Zhiyao, a modern person, it was genuinely a bit hard to accept at first.
The door was open.
But out of politeness, Shen Zhiyao still knocked.
Knock, knock, knock—
At the sound of the knocking, everyone in the courtyard froze at once. Holding their bowls, they all looked bewildered. Who could it be at this hour?
Shen Chengren walked to the door and pulled it open. Outside stood a delicate, pretty young woman who looked somewhat like Guimin when she was young.
He stared at her, his eyelashes trembling a few times, and then the tears came pouring out.
He had seen the photographs. This was his little girl.
A little girl who had inherited the best of both him and Guimin.
His emotions surged in a complicated swirl, but he didn’t know what to call out to her. Bewildered, he rubbed his hands on his clothes. “Come—come in and sit.”
As the front door swung open, the people inside curiously looked over.
They saw a young woman standing at the doorway, wearing a white dacron dress and white cloth shoes, gazing at them with bright, clear eyes.
In the dim lamplight, Shen Zhiyao also got a clear look at the people sitting on the low stools.
Shen Chengren pointed and introduced them one by one.
The Shen family genes were quite good, it turned out.
The eldest brother, Shen Pei, had cold, sharp features. Even without speaking, he carried an air of cutting intensity. He merely gave her a faint nod by way of greeting.
The second brother had fair skin and a gentle temperament like a spring breeze. He smiled slightly, his cheeks tinged with a faint red. “Little… little sister, hello.”
The youngest was soft and adorable, though he couldn’t speak—but his cleverness showed plainly in his brows and eyes.
Tap-tap—he dragged over a stool, patting it with his small, childish hands to show Shen Zhiyao where to sit.
Shen Zhiyao sat down without standing on ceremony, and the family’s anxious hearts finally eased a little.
Watching this scene, Shen Chengren’s eyes stung. Even though he tried desperately to hold back, the tears streamed down his face.
Just three days earlier, he had received a phone call from the Qin family, saying their daughter had run away, and demanding that he compensate them—pay back the cost of the job.
That was when he learned how much his own daughter had suffered.
While living in the city, she had not only supported her adoptive parents, but had even been forced to hand over the job she’d worked so hard to earn—just giving it straight to Xiaohui.
“Compensate my foot!”
Shen Chengren hung up the phone without the slightest courtesy.
Even as his heart ached for her, he was both startled and overjoyed—the daughter who had always refused to come home was finally returning.
Giving up her life in the city to come back—he would make it up to her, no matter what it took.
The shop owner watched him grinning like a fool and just shook his head.
The Shen family were honest folk. They’d raised Qin Xiaohui until she went off to the city, and then not even a word from her since.
Now that the city-bred girl was back, who knew what kind of trouble she’d stir up!
He wasn’t optimistic, and he worried for the Shens.
The Shen couple were good people, just unlucky. They’d already suffered enough—things were only going to get worse from here.
After that, whenever Shen Chengren had free time, he’d stake out the docks. Who knows how many trips he’d made these past few days—every day he came home with aching legs, and yet somehow he’d still missed her.
He had made up his mind, but looking around at the bare, empty walls of their home, this middle-aged man’s brow furrowed with worry. What could he possibly use to make it up to her?
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
Shen Chengren said softly. Seeing Shen Zhiyao nod, he hurriedly rinsed the bowl and chopsticks over and over, filled them with rice, and brought them over.
But Shen Zhiyao didn’t start eating right away. She looked up. “Where’s Mom?”
She called out so naturally that it startled Shen Chengren. “She—she went to mend clothes at someone’s house. She’ll be back soon.”
Shen Zhiyao glanced at the dishes on the table. Even though they’d eaten early, they had saved the best—the potatoes and the shrimp—for her mother.
She pressed her lips together.
This family was actually kind-hearted.
Shen Zhiyao stared at the mountain of corn rice piled in her bowl. “I’m afraid I can’t eat this much.”
Her eldest brother, Shen Pei, silently took her bowl and scooped half the rice into his own. “Enough?”
He was a man of few words, but Shen Zhiyao was already used to it. She nodded.
Taking the bowl back, she saw golden corn kernels mixed in among the rice. It smelled wonderful—a fragrance Shen Zhiyao, used to refined, processed grains in modern times, had never encountered.
There was no meat dish, just a plate of fresh shrimp.
Her second brother quietly peeled the shrimp and set them in front of her.
Shen Zhiyao was starving by now, so she just murmured a soft thank you and started eating.
One bite, and she was stunned. She couldn’t help taking a second. She looked at Shen Chengren. “Did you make this?”
Faced with her astonished look, Shen Chengren was a bit puzzled. “Yeah.”
Shen Zhiyao had no time to reply. Back when she was busy at the hospital, she mostly ate takeout, and occasionally splurged at fancy restaurants—doctors weren’t short on money, after all. But this flavor, with a touch of chili that preserved the fresh, natural taste of the seafood…
Fresh, fragrant, purely spicy—the shrimp had such a wonderful bounce between her teeth!
Delicious!
Shen Zhiyao didn’t say it—she showed it with her actions instead. How could it be this good?!
She finished the half bowl of rice in her bowl, couldn’t hold back, and held it out again. Shen Chengren beamed and ladled in another half bowl. At least now he knew how to make it up to his precious girl.
“As long as you like it. Dad will make it for you again tomorrow.”
“Mm.”
Shen Zhiyao’s chopsticks moved so fast they were practically a blur.
This was cooked so full of flavor.
And Qin Xiaohui actually claimed she was sick of eating seafood? Truly didn’t know how good she had it.
Before long, Liu Guimin returned. The moment she saw the girl sitting on the low stool, she recognized her instantly.
Her eyes reddened, brimming with tears. “Yaoyao…”
Before Shen Zhiyao could react, she was wrapped in a warm embrace. She froze for a moment…
Then gently hugged Liu Guimin back.
She was so warm, carrying the same scent of sunshine that her grandmother used to have.
Shen Zhiyao’s parents had divorced when she was young, each going on to build new families.
She had been raised by her grandmother, so she instinctively felt a sense of closeness.
Sensing her small gesture, Liu Guimin’s tears flowed even more heavily.
After the family finished their meal, seeing that Shen Zhiyao was tired, they didn’t rush to catch up on old times.
Shen Chengren led Shen Zhiyao into a room. Though not large, it had been tidied up spotlessly.
The day Shen Chengren heard his daughter was coming back, he and his wife had started cleaning up.
They gave her the biggest room, and the only wooden plank bed was yielded to her as well. Next door were two small rooms—one for Shen Chengren and his wife, and the other for her two older brothers and younger brother.
Shen Chengren kept saying, “We’ve wronged you.”
His daughter had come back from the city, so she was surely unaccustomed to living in a place like this on her first day.