“Would I lie to you about this?”
“If you don’t believe me, just go in and see for yourself.”
The Daduizhang could understand his wife’s feelings, but right now he just wanted to get this matter settled quickly.
Who told this young girl to look exactly like his wife when she was young?
If she wasn’t of the old Lin family’s blood, it would simply be unreasonable.
The couple lingered at the courtyard gate for quite a while before finally steeling themselves and pushing the gate open to walk in.
Lin Jiaojiao had just finished tidying up the room and was now in the courtyard washing the clothes she had changed out of.
There was a private well in the Daduizhang’s courtyard, which was convenient for her.
The clothes were already washed, and she was about to hang them on the line.
She would need to get some clothespins later—hanging clothes directly on the line would cause wrinkles, and the marks wouldn’t look good when worn.
As she was thinking this, she heard the sound of the gate opening at the courtyard entrance.
She turned to look and met eyes with the Daduizhang’s wife, who was pushing the gate open.
Both were astonished by each other’s appearance.
Lin Jiaojiao had seen what this body looked like—exactly the same as herself in modern times.
Sometimes she even wondered if this was her past life.
Now, seeing the Daduizhang’s wife, she felt that this face was at least seventy or eighty percent similar to the other’s.
If not for the age gap, they really could pass as long-lost sisters.
No wonder Grandma Liu had said what she did at the village entrance.
It was no wonder the other had mistaken her—the two really did look too much alike.
“You must be Lin Zhiqing, right?”
“I’m Lin Shunde’s wife. My name is Zhang Aihua.”
Zhang Aihua’s mind was buzzing; she actually didn’t have much capacity for thought.
But she still instinctively introduced herself, worried that approaching too abruptly might frighten the other.
“Hello, Auntie. I’m Lin Jiaojiao.”
“Uncle Daduizhang said the Zhiqing dormitory didn’t have enough room, so he asked me to stay at your home for a while.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll move out once I find a place to stay. I won’t cause you any trouble.”
When staying at a stranger’s home, one must not forget proper manners.
She couldn’t let people think she was an impolite child.
“It’s fine, we have space here. You can stay as long as you like.”
“You’re washing clothes? Let me help you.”
Zhang Aihua immediately stepped forward to help, while the Daduizhang stood to the side grinning foolishly.
Both of them were acting a bit silly, which made Lin Jiaojiao somewhat uncomfortable.
She wanted to stop Zhang Aihua, but simply couldn’t get the better of her.
Zhang Aihua, who had done farm work year-round, had tremendous arm strength.
When Lin Jiaojiao tried to block her just now, she nearly hurt her own arm.
Was this the power of a farmer?
Although Lin Jiaojiao had been an orphan in her past life, she had never done overly heavy physical labor.
At least she had never farmed or worked at a construction site.
She generally worked at places like restaurants and milk tea shops. Though tiring, it didn’t require constant brute strength.
She simply couldn’t compare to the farmers of this era.
“It’s fine, I can help you finish faster.”
“By the way, Lin Zhiqing.”
“Where are you from, and who’s in your family?”
Zhang Aihua began probing into Lin Jiaojiao’s situation.
Lin Jiaojiao hesitated, unsure whether she should reveal her family circumstances.
But then she thought of Zhang Jiyao in the brigade—perhaps Zhang Aihua would go ask him.
So she decided to share what she could.
“I come from Chuncheng. My parents are both workers, and I’m the eldest in the family.”
“In order to let my younger brothers and sisters continue living in the city, my family sent me to the countryside.”
“My uncle’s family treats me very well. They bought things for me and sent them directly from the post office.”
“I might go pick them up in the next day or two.”
Lin Jiaojiao spoke haltingly, because there was still a process of thinking in between.
But Zhang Aihua could tell—this girl was definitely not favored at home.
Looking at her thin body and her rough palms.
Who knew how much suffering she had endured.
Sacrificing the eldest for the sake of the other children.
This was a fairly normal choice for an ordinary family, but not giving her anything at all was somewhat unreasonable.
Unless this child wasn’t that couple’s biological daughter at all.
Otherwise, even a vicious tiger wouldn’t eat its own cubs—who would do something so shameless?
Zhang Aihua felt even more certain in her heart that Lin Jiaojiao was her daughter.
The more the other party’s parents disliked her, the more it proved the point.
As for the uncle’s family being good to her.
Who knew if it was even true?
“Jiaojiao, you’ve suffered so much!”
Zhang Aihua’s eyes reddened slightly. She had already automatically put herself into the role of a mother.
She pulled Lin Jiaojiao into the house.
“From now on, now that you’re here with me, you never have to worry about being bullied again.”
“If you need anything, just tell me and your uncle. Whatever we can help with, we definitely will.”
“From now on, treat this place as your own home. Do whatever you want to do. You don’t need to hold back about anything.”
The two women chatted in private whispers, and Daduizhang felt it inappropriate to listen in.
He wiped the corners of his eyes and turned to walk out.
He needed to go tell his sons in advance not to bully Lin Jiaojiao.
This girl had it too hard.
Just from a few scattered words, he could already imagine her situation at home.
Those two damned scoundrels—if Lin Jiaojiao really was their daughter, he would definitely teach them a lesson.
No one was allowed to bully his daughter.
The usually decisive and uncompromising Daduizhang was stirred to a fierce protectiveness in his heart at this moment.
That evening, all the Lin family boys returned.
They had long since heard from their old man about the situation at home—a girl had come who might be their biological sister.
If not for the fact that they couldn’t skip work, they would have come back long ago.
Living in this family, how could they not know their parents’ inner struggle?
When their sister was lost back then, it made their mother cry for a long time.
Even after so long had passed, their mother still frequently brought up their sister’s matter.
She just hoped that one day, when they were out and about, they might come across their sister and bring her back.
Their family had five brothers, and finally a little girl had come along—she was truly the treasure of their parents’ hearts.
That one loss took away half of their parents’ spirit.
As soon as they got home, they saw Lin Jiaojiao helping wash vegetables.
“So this is the new sister?”
Lin Guoxing, being the youngest in the family, never had a filter when he spoke.
Whatever he thought in his heart just tumbled right out of his mouth.
That remark angered the two elders in the family.
Daduizhang smacked him on the back of the head, scaring Lin Guoxing into jumping away.
“Dad, why did you hit me?”
The other brothers silently turned their heads away.
None of them wanted to watch their younger brother’s foolishness.
“Jiaojiao, don’t be afraid. These are my good-for-nothing sons.”
“They mean no harm. You don’t need to worry—my family is very friendly.”
Zhang Aihua immediately stepped in to smooth things over.
She didn’t want her sons to scare the little girl.
While comforting Lin Jiaojiao, she kept shooting glances at those brats.
“Auntie, I’m fine.”
“Hello, brothers. I’m Lin Jiaojiao.”
Since they called her little sister, calling them brothers shouldn’t be a problem, right?