An Heping had a good personal relationship with the factory director, so he didn't hide anything and told him the whole story in detail.
The factory director was furious upon hearing this: "Your sister-in-law is simply lawless. You're just going to let her off like that?"
An Heping: "What else can I do? Send her to the police station to eat peanuts? Although I'd love to do that, my wife definitely wouldn't agree. She's a sentimental person. Even though she was also very angry after learning the truth, if I really sent her to the police station, she wouldn't have the heart to do it."
The factory director couldn't help but sigh at this. If it were his own brother who had done something like this, the harshest thing he could do would probably be to sever ties with him.
Remembering that An Heping had once complained to him while drunk about his daughter's appearance, saying she had to look like anyone but Yang Huixian, the factory director patted An Heping on the shoulder and comforted him: "At least from now on, you won't have to be upset about your daughter looking like someone you dislike."
An Heping nodded: "Yeah, you're right. An Shu and An Ran look so obviously alike—how did I never once think about the possibility of a mix-up? I really think I'm a pig."
The factory director knew An Ran, and thinking of how skinny and bony she looked, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She should have grown up pampered and cherished by her parents!
Although Yang Huixian couldn't be punished legally, she could be punished through work. An employee with character issues could be fired without conditions.
The factory director asked An Heping if he needed him to directly fire Yang Huixian.
An Heping shook his head: "No need. After all, since I'm collecting my eldest brother's wages on his behalf, the family still depends on her salary to get by. Leave her a way out."
Otherwise, what if she later finds some way to renege on her debts by claiming the household has no income?
Anyway, once word spreads about her swapping the children, her life won't be easy.
By then, even the spittle of everyone around her will be enough to make her suffer.
After getting the factory director's signature, An Heping went to find the accountant and arranged to collect An Hegui's wages on his behalf every month from then on. Only then did he return to his own office.
"It's all been taken care of."
An Heping looked at An Ran and said: "This money is compensation for you. Your mother and I won't take a single cent—we'll save it all for you. As for the rural resettlement matter, since you've already received your notice, there's nothing I can do about it for now. But that's fine—you go to the countryside first, and I'll find you a job here. Once I do, you can apply to return to the city…"
An Ran obediently nodded: "Thank you, Dad~"
Looking at her sallow, gaunt face that still couldn't hide features so similar to his wife's, An Heping's heart softened into a puddle. Before his daughter was born, he had imagined having a daughter who looked just like his wife. God knows how complicated his feelings were when he watched his own daughter grow to look more and more like someone he despised.
Seeing that everything was settled, An Hegui asked if he could leave now.
He still had to get back to the workshop to work~
An Ran called out to stop him, saying she wanted to swap the household registrations between her and An Shu.
An Hegui: "Can't you just swap your names instead?"
Why go through the trouble of changing household registrations?
An Ran: "Fine, from now on I'll be called An Shu, and she'll be An Ran. Then does that mean I don't have to go to the countryside this time?"
Yang Huixian quickly objected: "Your names have been with you for over a decade now. I'm sure you've both gotten used to them. Better to swap the household registrations and keep the names."
An Heping couldn't help but sneer at this: "You really do treat your own biological daughter like a treasure and someone else's like weeds. An Shu is a combination of my name and Huishu's—it's not quite appropriate to let your daughter keep using that name!"
Yang Huixian ignored An Heping's mockery: "I can change it to a homophone."
Anything was better than letting her be called An Ran.
An Ran didn't want to change her name either. After all, she'd been called An Ran her whole life and was used to it. Besides, she thought the name sounded much nicer than An Shu.
What she'd said earlier was just to provoke Yang Huixian.
Seeing that she had already revealed her true colors, An Ran told An Heping and Yang Huishu that she'd been called An Ran for over a decade and was indeed used to the name, so it would be better to change the household registration instead.
Since she had spoken up, An Heping and Yang Huishu could only express their agreement.
There's no time like the present.
An Heping immediately dragged An Hegui off to request leave.
After the two had gotten their leave approved, Yang Huixian told An Hegui where the household register was kept and went back to her post. Yang Huishu took An Ran's hand and said she would accompany her back to pack her things and then take her to her real home.
The group walked out of the factory together and found quite a few onlookers still standing at the main gate.
Seeing them come out, Granny Liu was the first to step forward and ask whether Yang Huixian had admitted to deliberately swapping the children.
An Heping didn't answer directly, only saying that they had reached a settlement, and stated that from now on An Ran was his biological daughter. Then he bid everyone goodbye.
An Heping's evasive answers naturally couldn't satisfy everyone's curiosity. Upon learning that they were heading home to get the household register to transfer the two children's registrations, everyone tagged along, chatting as they walked.
Even if An Heping didn't answer directly, it didn't matter—everyone already had their own conclusions in mind.
Many people congratulated An Ran on finally seeing better days after all her hardships.
An Ran smiled and thanked everyone.
An Heping and Yang Huishu couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow hearing everyone's congratulations.
It was clear that everyone in the family compound knew how poorly An Ran had been treated, which was why they offered their congratulations upon learning she wasn't Yang Huixian's biological daughter.
Only An Hegui felt embarrassed.
To avoid this awkwardness, An Hegui quickened his pace toward home. But when he arrived, he found the front door wide open. Stepping inside, he was stunned—the house had been burglarized!
When the crowd following behind heard that the An family had been robbed, they immediately rushed back to check their own homes. After all, their houses were all adjacent—what if theirs had been hit too?
An Heping quickly urged An Hegui to check what was missing.
An Hegui said he had no idea: "All the household items were organized by Yang Huixian. Only she knows what's been stolen."
As for how he knew the house had been robbed—it was because all the cabinets, which were normally locked, had been forced open.
An Heping said, "Then what are you standing around for? Go call her back~ Wait, you stay here at home. I'll go fetch her, so we don't end up in a situation where we can't explain ourselves if you leave."
Leaving An Hegui to wait at home, An Heping turned and ran off to fetch Yang Huixian.
Taking advantage of this window of time, An Ran went inside to pack her things.
She didn't have much—just a few sets of worn-out clothes, which made Yang Huishu look at her with a pained expression and promise to make her new clothes once they got back. Aside from a few graduation certificates, An Ran planned to take her high school textbooks as well. After all, the college entrance examination would be reinstated in a few years, and these textbooks would come in handy then.
When Yang Huixian learned the house had been robbed, she sprinted home at full speed. The moment she arrived, she rushed straight to the hidden compartment. Seeing it completely empty, her eyes rolled back and she was about to faint. An Hegui quickly caught her. Regaining a thread of consciousness, Yang Huixian remembered there was other money hidden away and forced herself to check. But when she found that every hiding spot for money in the house had been cleaned out, she could no longer hold on—her eyes rolled back and she fainted dead away…
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