“Ah-choo!”
Shen Yueliang sneezed three times in a row on her way back. Rubbing her nose, she suspected that all the rushing back and forth over the past two days had worn her out a little.
Several kilometers wasn’t particularly far, but it wasn’t exactly close either. By the time Qinghe Village came into view, it was afternoon. The sun still hung in the western sky, not yet ready to set.
A river cut through the landscape, farmland spread out nearby, and low houses sat among the fields. Thin wisps of cooking smoke rose into the air, giving the place a peaceful, rustic charm.
Shen Yueliang glanced at it twice.
This would be where she lived from now on.
Good enough!
The Shen family’s house was considered quite impressive in Qinghe Village. There were two old houses and a newly built brick house beside them. The entire courtyard was enclosed by a waist-high wall made of adobe bricks.
Back then, when Lin Qinfen had returned to her natal village of Qinghe with a son and daughter, the three of them could only squeeze into a dilapidated shack. Whenever it rained outside, it rained inside too. Some days they had a meal; other days they didn’t.
A house as respectable as this one had been earned through years of hardship endured by the three of them.
Thinking of that—
Shen Yueliang couldn’t help recalling the plot again.
The original owner’s father, Shen Sihai, was actually still alive.
Yet he had forgotten that he was already married.
He had forgotten that back in his hometown, he had a wife, a son, and a daughter.
For Shen Yueliang herself, it wasn’t too bad since she wasn’t truly the original owner.
But for Mother Shen, Lin Qinfen…
If she ever found out that the man she had waited for over half her life wasn’t dead at all, but had forgotten her and even started another family and had a daughter elsewhere…
Shen Yueliang didn’t dare think about it.
Even as an outsider, the thought made her heart ache.
As a result, her steps toward home slowed.
She became even less certain whether she should tell Lin Qinfen about it.
If she kept it to herself, it would weigh on her conscience.
If she told her, she’d have to explain how she knew such things, when she shouldn’t and couldn’t possibly have any way of knowing.
After dragging her feet for a while longer, Shen Yueliang decided to wait and see for now.
“Where the hell have you been? I thought you’d run off with some wild man and weren’t coming back!”
At this hour, Mother Shen was working in the fields with the other villagers, earning work points.
But that didn’t mean the Shen house was empty.
He Erhong sat beneath the eaves cracking sunflower seeds. Ever since marrying into the Shen family, she had insisted that Shen Xiangdong received military allowances and that she therefore didn’t need to work in the fields.
And she truly hadn’t earned a single work point.
Every day she either basked in the sun, cracked sunflower seeds, or stuffed herself with peach pastries and fruit candies.
In just one year, she’d gone from being skinny as a monkey when she first entered the family to fat as a pig.
“I’m coming back to my own home. What the hell does it have to do with you?”
The old Shen Yueliang had been gentle and respectful toward her sister-in-law.
The current Shen Yueliang only wanted to tell her to get lost.
Everyone was born to parents.
Everyone only got one life.
Why should she put up with anyone?
He Erhong hated Shen Yueliang’s attitude.
She considered herself the future mistress of the Shen household.
What right did a daughter who would eventually marry out have to speak to her like that?
“I’d like to see how long you can keep acting smug. Let me tell you something—after you left the other day, Eldest Aunt came right over. She knelt in front of Mom and begged her to marry you off to Li Jinbao…”
Shen Yueliang had been listening absentmindedly.
But upon hearing that, her expression changed slightly.
Lin Cuifen had actually knelt before her mother?
Seeing her stop, He Erhong became even more gleeful.
“Didn’t expect that, did you? Mom agreed. You’ll be getting married soon. Too bad it’s to Li Jinbao—dark, fat, ugly. Sure, he’s capable and can make money, but his fate’s terrible. Unlike me, who doesn’t have to do a thing because your brother supports me.”
At that moment, as she looked at He Erhong’s arrogant laughter, Shen Yueliang’s mind filled with dark thoughts.
The woman loved food so much—she could make her a bowl of sweet soup and slip in some rat poison.
Poison her to death and be done with it.
Or maybe pour oil outside her doorway so she’d slip and fall.
One corpse, two lives.
No, no.
Those methods were too underhanded…
“Shut your mouth!”
An angry voice interrupted Shen Yueliang’s sinister thoughts.
Lin Qinfen came hurrying back.
She had just come from the fields, dressed in patched old clothes.
She had spotted her daughter returning from afar, but couldn’t leave her work immediately, which was why she arrived a little late.
She glared at He Erhong.
He Erhong couldn’t care less.
Lin Qinfen didn’t have time to settle scores with her yet.
“Yueliang, you’re back. Don’t listen to your sister-in-law’s nonsense. I didn’t agree to your aunt’s request.”
She wasn’t stupid.
She knew perfectly well that the Li family was a pit of fire.
How could she push her daughter into it?
So what if they were sisters?
She had never done anything wrong to Lin Cuifen.
And looking at what Lin Cuifen had done to Yueliang—
Had she ever treated her like a younger sister?
Shen Yueliang hadn’t believed it anyway.
Mother Shen was kind-hearted and strong.
Her brother Shen Xiangbei was also a good man.
She knew all that.
“I know Mom treats me well. I never believed it. I was just surprised that Eldest Aunt really knelt down?”
“She did. She said if I didn’t agree, she’d stay on her knees forever.”
Just recalling that day made Mother Shen tremble with anger.
They were biological sisters.
Yet her elder sister had pressured her like that.
The last traces of sisterly affection had been completely exhausted.
As Shen Yueliang walked into the house, curiosity got the better of her.
Kneeling wasn’t anything more than emotional blackmail.
“Mom, what did you do afterward?”
Mother Shen replied, “If she wanted to kneel, then let her kneel. I still went to the fields to earn work points. By the time I came back, she’d already left.”
She had been through too much in her life to be shaken by something like this.
She had compromised over her son’s marriage because she had no choice.
Back when she returned home with two young children, her younger brother Lin Caisheng and his wife He Fengying had indeed taken them in.
During those difficult years, she couldn’t have raised both children by herself.
Her younger brother had secretly helped them.
That was a debt of gratitude.
When He Fengying demanded repayment, she couldn’t refuse.
Now, whenever she looked at He Erhong, regret gnawed at her so badly that her intestines felt green.
No matter what, she would never allow her daughter to walk the same path.
“Well done.”
Shen Yueliang quite liked her mother’s attitude.
That was exactly right.
People couldn’t be too soft-hearted, or everyone would step on them.
Mother Shen knew the matter wouldn’t end so easily, but she didn’t want her daughter worrying about it.
She wanted to chat with her daughter, but seeing He Erhong standing nearby annoyed her.
So she unlocked the door to her own room with a key and brought Shen Yueliang inside.
“You were gone for two days. You look thinner. Tell Mom where you’ve been.”
After considering it carefully, Shen Yueliang decided to test the waters.
“I had a dream before. In the dream, my brother got injured in an accident at the army. I was worried, so I went looking for him.”
Her son was serving in the military and only came home a few times a year.
Last month he had finally saved up enough leave to return for three days.
Seeing him growing stronger and sturdier made Mother Shen feel relieved.
Then she thought of He Erhong again and sighed.
“The old folks always say dreams are the opposite of reality. If you dreamed your brother was injured, that means he’s perfectly healthy.”
Shen Yueliang: …
She knew nobody would believe her if she brought it up in advance.
And sure enough, she was right.
“Did you see your brother, then?”
After all, he was her biological son.
Once she snapped out of it, Mother Shen was still concerned.
“Brother’s doing great.”
Since her brother didn’t want their mother worrying, she decided not to mention the dangerous parts.
Perhaps because she knew what would happen in the future, she wanted Mother Shen to have fewer worries and more happiness.
But Lin Qinfen was clearly a perceptive woman.
“Your brother’s unit is hundreds of kilometers away. A round trip should take several days. You came back so quickly—someone must have helped you. We need to remember to thank them.”
The moment she heard that, a certain man’s cold and indifferent profile immediately appeared in Shen Yueliang’s mind.