After finishing the surgery, Sang Luo washed her face and hands clean, then took the key to the school and retrieved her graduation certificate and professional qualification certificate. She had only been waiting at the school gate for a short while when she saw Lhazhen walking toward her.
She jogged over to her mother.
“Mom, is everything settled?”
“Mm.” Lhazhen was carrying two bags. “I already called your Aunt Ayi. Someone will come to pick us up.”
Sang Luo nodded, took one of the bags, and the mother and daughter immediately headed for the train station.
Lhazhen’s hometown was Motuo, Kangba. Traveling there by green train required several transfers, and they would have to use various other forms of transportation along the way. With the journey involving frequent stops and changes, it would probably take more than ten days to reach their destination.
Near the train station, Sang Luo bought quite a bit of food from a state-run restaurant. She also went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought peach cakes, malted milk powder, and various local specialties from Rong City to keep them from going hungry.
All in all, she spent more than twenty yuan.
As the train clattered along the tracks, mother and daughter leaned against each other and gradually dozed off, completely unaware that someone had already come knocking at the door of the Sang family residence.
Sang Chen nervously swallowed.
After the divorce, the few empty liquor bottles he had drunk from rolled with a clatter toward the feet of the people standing at the door.
The investigation team entered and looked around the villa’s living room before turning their eyes to Sang Chen.
“Comrade Sang Chen, please cooperate with our investigation.”
“Of course. I’m willing to cooperate.”
At this point, Sang Chen had completely sobered up. The arrogance with which he had cursed at Lhazhen was nowhere to be seen.
The staff exchanged glances and began taking inventory of the assets in the residence.
Sang Qi was still young and had no idea what was happening. Seeing the stern-looking inspectors, he hid in a corner and trembled with fear.
Sang Yun had never experienced a property seizure in her previous life, so it would be a lie to say she wasn’t nervous. But when she thought about the good life awaiting her in the future, she summoned her courage, pretended to remain calm, and opened the door to her room.
Sang Chen obediently stood to the side. While the investigators were taking inventory, he even cleaned up the liquor bottles scattered across the floor.
The members of the investigation team felt that Sang Chen’s attitude was fairly cooperative and developed a relatively good impression of him.
“Comrade Sang Chen, considering your good attitude toward admitting your mistakes and the fact that you did not secretly transfer any of your family’s assets, your punishment will be being sent to the Northwest for reeducation.”
Sang Chen had not even had time to breathe a sigh of relief when the staff continued.
“To prevent people being sent away from escaping, you will be confined inside this residence before your departure.”
“What?”
Sang Chen was stunned. He had never expected that his freedom would be restricted as well. But under the staff’s watchful eyes, he could only swallow the words he wanted to say.
The staff sealed the doors and windows with official strips before leaving with a large amount of property.
Only after the staff had completely disappeared did Sang Chen rush to the pear trees and start digging.
An hour and a half later…
Looking at the huge pit that had been dug several feet deep yet remained completely empty, Sang Chen roared furiously.
“Lhazhen! You damn woman!”
…………………………………………
“Mom, have some water.”
On the train, Sang Luo handed Lhazhen her military canteen.
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
Lhazhen had been staring blankly out the window. She hurriedly snapped back to reality when she heard Sang Luo’s voice.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
Sang Luo was a little puzzled. Her mother had seemed preoccupied ever since they boarded the train.
“A-Luo.” Lhazhen took a deep breath. “There’s something Mom needs to tell you.”
Seeing her mother’s expression, Sang Luo suddenly remembered something.
“Is it about the person coming to pick us up?”
“Mm.” Lhazhen nodded. “The person coming to pick us up may become your father in the future.”
Afraid that Sang Luo would be angry, Lhazhen quickly waved her hands and explained.
“Mom never cheated on your father. He and I…”
“Mom, did you choose him willingly?”
Sang Luo tilted her head and asked with complete seriousness.
Lhazhen’s waving hands suddenly stopped.
“A-Luo… you’re not angry?”
“As long as you chose him willingly, I’m not angry.”
When Sang Luo had seen her mother in her previous life, Lhazhen’s second husband had already been angered to death by his sons—the same sons who rarely came home and had left their stepdaughter to live like a widow.
But whenever Lhazhen spoke about him, she had always seemed much happier than when she talked about Sang Chen.
“A-Luo, Mom was willing.”
Since Sang Luo was not particularly opposed to the idea, Lhazhen relaxed as well and slowly began telling her daughter about her past.
“It was just that… Mom and Zhandui grew up together. Because of him, even though I didn’t have a father when I was young, no one ever dared bully me.”
As she spoke, a smile involuntarily appeared on Lhazhen’s face.
“Originally, Mom planned to marry him once we were both adults. Unfortunately…”
Lhazhen took a deep breath.
“Unfortunately, Zhandui was framed and had no choice but to marry that educated youth. I was heartbroken, so I married your father instead. Who could have known that the educated youth couldn’t give up her promiscuous ways? In the end, she abandoned Zhandui and the two children whose father was unknown and ran away from the Tibetan region.”
“Zhandui had no choice but to raise the two children on his own. He took care of your Aunt Ayi while also managing two households. Later, he even brought home two abandoned babies. And when he heard that your father had beaten me, he secretly came all the way here by himself and gave your father a thorough beating.”
“Today, when I called your Aunt Ayi, I found out that she had already been driven out of her home and that your Uncle Zhandui had been taking care of her all these years.”
“When he heard that I was calling today, your Uncle Zhandui asked me if I was willing to marry him again.”
At this point, a blush unconsciously crept across Lhazhen’s face.
Sang Luo’s eyes widened.
In her memories, there had indeed been a period when her father had behaved himself. He stopped going out to get drunk and no longer hit Lhazhen.
So… it had been because of Zhandui?
Sang Luo could not help but gently hug her mother.
“Mom, Uncle Zhandui must truly love you. You’ll definitely have a good life from now on.”
Lhazhen hugged Sang Luo tightly, choking back tears as she spoke.
“Thank you, A-Luo. Thank you for understanding and blessing Mom. Don’t worry. Your Uncle Zhandui will definitely treat you like his own daughter.”
Sang Luo nodded without saying anything more. She simply held her mother’s hand tightly.
After getting off the train, Lhazhen and Sang Luo spent another two days traveling by ox cart before finally arriving in Motuo.
“A-Luo, the people who came to pick us up are over there!”
Lhazhen’s delighted voice sounded beside her.
Sang Luo followed her mother toward the distance, the sound of bells growing closer and closer.
“A-Luo, this is your Uncle Zhandui. And this is Uncle Zhandui’s son, Ciren. You can call him A-Bu, your older brother.”
While they were on the train, Sang Luo had already learned that Aunt Ayi had found her mother another husband in the Tibetan region.
She had also asked Lhazhen about it and confirmed that her mother had chosen him willingly, so she accepted it quickly.
She secretly looked Zhandui over.
Like most men from the Tibetan region, his face bore the weathered redness left by years of wind and sun. He had regular features, a tall and sturdy build, and gave off a dependable air.
However, years of hard labor had left visible traces of age on his face.
He was completely different from her father, a man who knew nothing but eating, drinking, gambling, womanizing, and indulging himself.
He was a man far better than her father.
Having reached that conclusion, Sang Luo smiled and greeted Zhandui and Ciren.
“Uncle Zhandui.”
Zhandui pulled over the young man standing nearby, who was wearing a white undershirt and a three-colored robe tied around his waist.
“This is your older brother, Ciren.”
Ciren stood beside a black steed, looking at Sang Luo with undisguised astonishment.