7
Jiang Miaomiao straightened her stiff back after being busy in the fields for half a day, feeling somewhat resentful. Ever since she had been reborn and returned, she hadn’t had a single day of rest. Every day, there was endless work to be done both inside and outside the house. She had been reborn to enjoy a good life, not to go through all that hardship all over again!
Jiang Miaomiao caught her breath, wiped her sweat, and looked around. Everywhere she looked, people were bent over, busy harvesting rice, their faces beaming with the joy of a bountiful harvest.
She felt a hint of disdain. Some people would never have anything more than this to look forward to in their entire lives. But she, Jiang Miaomiao—whether in her past life or this one would never remain a no-account farmer scratching a living from the soil forever.
Just then, she vaguely noticed Song Weizheng emerging from the crop fields in the distance. He was tall and carried himself with such straight-backed poise that the moment he stood up, he stood out like a crane among chickens.
“Brother, why didn’t you wake me when you left this morning? We agreed that I’d come work with you today,” Song Yuxue said. She hadn’t seen him when she got up that morning, so she had come to the fields to find him.
Song Weizheng’s expression was calm. He looked down at her small, thin frame: “You’re still young—what work can you do? I’m enough on my own.”
Hearing this, Song Yuxue felt a little unhappy: “But other kids from other families all go to the fields to help. Even if I can’t do much, earning two work points a day would still be good…”
Before she could finish, Song Yuxue felt a warm, large hand rest on top of her head. Song Weizheng’s gentle but firm voice came from above: “Be good. What if you wear yourself out? If you want to help, do some chores at home. When you have time, focus on your studies, got it?”
Song Yuxue kept her head down, feeling a little conflicted inside, but she couldn’t argue. She pouted and nodded in agreement. Then she raised the basket that had been hanging on her arm and held it up in front of Song Weizheng: “Brother, did you skip breakfast again this morning? I brought you some food. I’ve already eaten, and I left some for Mom too. This is extra.”
Song Yuxue knew that Song Weizheng often made do with whatever scraps he could find, or even skipped meals entirely, just to save more food for them.
Song Weizheng lifted the cloth covering the basket and saw a bowl of wild vegetable porridge still steaming and a mixed-grain steamed bun. A faint smile crossed his face, and he gave Song Yuxue’s hair a firm ruffle: “Silly girl, do you think your big brother is dumb? I do heavy labor all day—would I really let myself go hungry?”
“You’re the one who thinks I’m dumb! I’ve seen it before—you’d make food and lie to us that you’d already eaten, then sneak into the kitchen and drink cold water to fill your stomach!” Song Yuxue started off a little defiant, but as she spoke, her voice became tinged with grievance—grievance on her brother’s behalf.
A few years ago, she had still been very young, but she already had memories from that time. Back then, the family had been in dire straits—her mother was in poor health, and she herself often fell sick. Her brother, with his thin, bony back, had carried her over mountain paths time and time again to see the doctor. To help them recover, he would often claim he had already eaten and give his share of food to them.
Now that she was a little older and her health had gradually improved—though she still wasn’t strong enough—she could at least help her brother with some things and keep him from working so hard.
Song Weizheng was slightly taken aback by his sister’s words. He had thought she was still too young to notice such things, but it turned out she had seen it all. A glimmer of warmth and pride passed through his eyes. Then he crouched down to look her straight in the eyes and said seriously, “Xiao Xue has grown up.”
“I know you’re sensible and you want to help. But do you really think your big brother is that weak? Not eating—that was years ago. I haven’t done that in a long time.”
Song Yuxue looked a little unconvinced: “Really?”
Song Weizheng gave a faint smile: “Why would I lie to you? That was back when things were truly hard—the harvests were poor and the grain we got was too little. Things have gotten a bit better these past few years. It’s no problem for me to make sure you both have enough to eat. And I still have money to send you to school, right?”
“School…” Song Yuxue hesitated. “Brother, maybe I’ll just finish elementary school and stop there. Going further would cost money. In the village, most people only finish elementary school, and a lot of girls don’t even go that far…”
As she spoke, Song Weizheng’s smile slowly faded, and his expression turned serious. Seeing his face, Song Yuxue realized she had said something wrong, and her voice gradually trailed off.
“Song Yuxue.” He pronounced her full name slowly, each syllable deliberate. Song Yuxue knew then—oh no, her brother was angry.
“What has Mom taught you? What have I taught you?” Song Weizheng rarely spoke harshly to his naturally frail little sister. “People must study. Girls must study even more. Only through studying can you understand things clearly. Only by knowing more can you avoid being taken advantage of. Have you forgotten all that? And you just casually say you’ll stop?”
“Brother… I’m sorry. I remember everything… I’m just afraid of causing you trouble. I don’t want to see you working so hard.” As she spoke, Song Yuxue’s eyes reddened. “You never take a single day off all year. Even when you’re sick, you still work a full day to earn all ten work points. Every coin you earn goes to me and Mom. You’re the hardest-working person in the whole village. It’s all because we’re holding you back…”
“Xiao Xue,” Song Weizheng said, looking her straight in the eyes with a grave expression. “At home, does Mom often say things like that to you?”
Song Yuxue nodded, her eyes red: “Mom says it a lot—that she’s holding us back. But I feel that if it weren’t for me, you’d have it easier too. If it weren’t for me, maybe Dad wouldn’t have…”
“Xiao Xue!” Song Weizheng cut her off sharply. “How many times have I told you? Don’t say things like that, and don’t listen to what others say!”
He softened his tone and said gently, “We’re a family. There’s no such thing as one person holding another back. Don’t overthink it. From now on, when you hear Mom say things like that, you should comfort her too. Don’t let her get the wrong idea, alright?
He ruffled Song Yuxue’s little head, slipped the basket back over her arm, and gestured with his chin: “Go rest in the shade over there. Eat your breakfast before you go. Don’t skimp on food for my sake—the more you eat, the faster you’ll grow. If you really want to help me, then eat well, got it?”
Song Yuxue had always listened to him. This time, she had only spoken so much because she was too eager to share his burden. After being scolded by Song Weizheng, she stopped arguing and obediently nodded: “Okay. Then I’ll go dig some wild vegetables on the mountain later. I saw we don’t have much left at home.”
“Alright.” Song Weizheng stood up and said, “Go on. Don’t wander too far up the mountain, and head back early.”
“Okay, goodbye brother! I’ll bring you food again at noon!”
“No need. I brought some flatbread. The sun is harsh at noon—don’t come out,” Song Weizheng hadn’t even finished speaking before Song Yuxue waved and ran off. He could only shake his head with a smile and turn back to continue working.
In the distance, Jiang Miaomiao stood rigidly watching for quite a while. She could vaguely make out that Song Yuxue had come to find her brother. They stood and talked for a bit, then Song Yuxue ran off and sat down in the shade of a tree by the field ridge.
Seeing that Song Yuxue had settled down and wasn’t moving, Jiang Miaomiao used the excuse of going to the restroom to leave the fields as well. She made a detour to the shaded spot by the field and greeted Song Yuxue: “Xiao Xue, what are you doing here?”
Song Yuxue blinked and turned to look at Jiang Miaomiao, who had suddenly come over. She shook her head: “Nothing much.”
Song Yuxue’s expression was calm, but now that Jiang Miaomiao could clearly see her face, she was utterly stunned.
This was the first time Jiang Miaomiao had seen Song Yuxue since her rebirth. After floating around the city for thirty years in her previous life, she had long forgotten what Song Yuxue looked like. She only remembered that she had been strikingly beautiful even at a young age.
But now, looking at her again, Jiang Miaomiao was both astonished and enlightened. Didn’t Song Yuxue’s current appearance look exactly like Zhao Ruyan—the movie star who had become famous nationwide in her past life!
Jiang Miaomiao’s mind immediately raced with a thousand thoughts, marveling inwardly, and her expression inevitably showed some abnormality.
Song Yuxue saw that she had greeted her but then just stood there without saying anything, as if she had been startled by her. She found it very odd and thought this person was strange, so she turned her head away and stopped looking at her.
Seeing Song Yuxue turn away, Jiang Miaomiao snapped back to reality. She quickly put on a bright smile, sat down beside her, and said warmly, “Here to see your brother?”
Song Yuxue was puzzled by her sudden familiarity. After a moment’s hesitation, she slowly nodded: “Mm.”
As she spoke, Jiang Miaomiao’s gaze swept over Song Yuxue’s delicate features: “How do you two siblings both look so good! I think none of your other sisters are as pretty as you.”
Hearing this, Song Yuxue frowned and said coldly, “I don’t have any other sisters. I only have one brother.”
“Heheh…” Jiang Miaomiao let out a casual laugh, not taking it to heart. “Such a childish temper.”
Song Yuxue knew what she meant. In terms of blood relations, she did indeed have other sisters.
Her late father’s family, the Song clan, had many children and numerous descendants. Song Yuxue often ran into Song family kids her age around the village.
But so what?
Song Yuxue knew very well that long before she was even born, her father had already been cast out of the Song family—all because he had married a woman who didn’t meet his mother’s standards, her mother.
She also clearly remembered how hard things had been when she was little, and how her brother had exhausted himself trying to hold their small family together.
And that Song family—the family where those “other sisters” belonged—not a single person had ever stepped forward to lend a helping hand.
On the contrary, whenever she ran into members of the Song family, they would deliberately bully and ostracize her, which led the other children in the village to stop playing with her too.
The meaner ones would grab her braids and order her around. Back then, she was young and didn’t have her brother by her side. She’d be terrified and come home crying miserably.
After she told her brother what had happened, he left the house without a word, his face dark as thunder.
She hadn’t witnessed what happened afterward with her own eyes, but she overheard the aunts and older women in the village talking about it. They said her brother had gone and found each of the kids who had been leading the bullying, and beaten them one by one, without holding back.
Song Yuxue had secretly been happy for a long time when she heard that. But later, she learned that because of that incident, the parents of those children had come to make trouble for her brother more than once. Though he had sent them all packing each time, they had held grudges and kept finding excuses to pick on him ever since.
The plot of land her brother had been assigned was the worst and hardest to farm in the entire village. Its location was also the most remote, tucked at the foot of a hollow in the mountains, requiring him to walk farther than everyone else every single day.
The work-point supervisor who kept the records was also especially harsh on her brother—if he found even the smallest flaw, he’d shout about deducting points. Yet he’d turn a blind eye to some of the village’s notorious slackers.
Her brother, however, never complained about any of it when he came home. All the bitterness and hardship—he swallowed it all alone.
**