“As for my younger sister…”
“Enough! Stop talking! Marry whoever you want. I won’t interfere anymore. I’m done meddling in your affairs, all right?”
If possible, Ji Yang’s father would have loved to pull off his belt and give this daughter a good, hard beating.
But someone with nothing to lose had no reason to fear someone who had everything to lose. He was afraid that his mentally unstable daughter might suddenly lose her mind and report the entire family.
Then she would play word games and find a way to get them all sent away.
Since that was the case, he might as well let her get married. He wouldn’t care whom she married anymore. She would have to live with the consequences herself, whether her life turned out good or bad. In the future, she had better not blame him for anything.
“You’ve registered your marriage with Jiang Ye, so arrange for him to come over one day. We need to discuss the wedding and bride price again.”
Now that things had reached this point, it was better to focus on something practical. For example, recovering some of the bride price.
“Sure, I’ll let him know. But… when your son-in-law comes to visit, Dad, make sure you prepare a few extra good dishes. If you serve too little, people will laugh at our family and think we don’t know how to treat guests properly.”
Upon hearing this, Ji Yang’s father turned his head and walked away. He really couldn’t bear to speak to this heartless, disloyal daughter who was always siding with outsiders.
Ji Yang smiled. She figured that as long as she had no limits when it came to causing trouble, the Ji family would never enjoy a moment of peace.
When a person had nothing to fear, they could naturally live freely and do whatever they pleased.
The Ji family had failed to get the upper hand with Ji Yang, which only made her even more brazen.
At night, she deliberately stayed up late. In the morning, she deliberately got up late. She refused to help clean the house or prepare meals, and every day she kept running her mouth, offering unsolicited opinions about everything under the sun. Eventually, no one in the household wanted anything to do with her.
Except Ji Man.
“Big Sis, what year was Hong Kong returned to China?”
“Big Sis, what year did the Olympics take place in our country?”
“Big Sis, what year was Little Japan wiped out by China?”
Every day, Ji Man would suddenly throw out a question. They were all things that everyone in the future would know, and she wanted to catch Ji Yang off guard and see how she answered. She was trying to determine whether Ji Yang had also been reborn.
Ji Yang: “Huh?”
Ji Yang: “What are the Olympics?”
Ji Yang: “Little Japan was wiped out by China? What wonderful news! When did that happen?”
No matter what question Ji Man asked, Ji Yang simply played dumb.
Three days passed amid Ji Man’s endless questions and Ji Yang’s determination to do absolutely nothing.
During that time, Ji Yang also went to see Jiang Ye again to confirm when he would come to visit her family. She reminded her father and stepmother that they must not be stingy that day. They had to bring out their best cooking skills and let their son-in-law see just how well the Ji family knew how to treat guests.
The day before Jiang Ye was scheduled to visit, the original Ji Yang’s good friend, Liu Liping, came to see her.
Speaking of Liu Liping, it was necessary to mention her family background.
Like the original Ji Yang, Liu Liping had lost her biological mother at an early age and had grown up having to survive under the thumb of a stepmother.
However, Ji Yang’s stepmother cared about maintaining appearances. No matter what went on behind closed doors, she made sure no one could find fault with her behavior in public. Whenever people talked about her, they would give her a thumbs-up and praise her, saying that she was an exemplary stepmother.
Liu Liping’s stepmother was completely different. She didn’t care what other people thought and simply did whatever she pleased, bullying Liu Liping until the girl was as pitiful as could be.
Liu Liping was often left without food, forced to do extra chores, forbidden from attending school, and made to look after children.
Perhaps it was because they shared similar misfortunes that the original Ji Yang and Liu Liping had become friends. The two girls had found comfort in each other and stuck together for support.
“Sister Yang, I’m leaving.”
That evening, dusk had settled over the land, and brilliant sunset clouds spread across half the sky. A few birds occasionally flew past, quickly disappearing into the distance.
The two girls walked to a nearby park called Dongshan Park, where they sat down and talked about what had been happening in their lives.
As expected, the original Ji Yang’s friend was about to be sent to the countryside.
Ji Yang asked, “Do you know where you’re going?”
“Dong Province.”
From what Ji Yang understood, Dong Province was very cold, and crops could only be grown once a year.
The advantage was that people didn’t have to work as hard as those in southern regions, where they had to grow two crops of grain each year. The disadvantage was that winter lasted far too long. With only one harvest annually, it was uncertain whether the work points they earned would be enough to cover their needs.
On top of that, they would have to go into the mountains to gather firewood. One could easily imagine how difficult life would be.
Ji Yang glanced at Liu Liping beside her.
The girl was only sixteen years old, barely over five feet tall, with a thin, frail body. Even her hair was dry and yellowish. Only her eyes remained clear and bright.
Her clothes looked as though she had been wearing them for years, and they didn’t seem to fit her properly anymore.
When Liu Liping spoke, her voice was rather soft.
“I heard Dong Province is a good place. The land there is fertile, and they produce a lot of grain. If I go there, at least I probably won’t have to go hungry all the time like I do at home.”
After a pause, she continued, “Sister Yang, you know what my family is like. I’ve known this day was coming for a long time. No matter how I feel about it, going to the countryside is my only option.”
Unlike Ji Yang, who was old enough to find a man and get married to avoid being sent away, Liu Liping wasn’t even old enough to marry. She couldn’t get married unless she managed to find a job.
However, when Liu Liping’s stepmother married her father, she had brought along a daughter of her own. That girl was one year older than Liu Liping and had also taken the surname Liu.
Under normal circumstances, she should have been assigned to the countryside the previous year when she reached the required age. But the Liu family had managed to spend five hundred yuan to buy her a job.
Liu Liping had no such luck. Her father didn’t care about her, and her stepmother certainly didn’t love her. Buying her a job was simply out of the question.
“Sister Yang, I think going to the countryside might actually be a good thing for me.”
After all, she was already going hungry and cold at home. She had to do every kind of chore and still had to endure beatings and scolding.
“Once I get to the countryside, I’ll work hard. I’m sure I won’t have to go hungry anymore.”
The feeling of being hungry was simply too miserable.
“So, Sister Yang, I came to say goodbye. I’ll be leaving in a few days. You have to take good care of yourself, and I’ll take good care of myself too. Maybe… we’ll get the chance to see each other again someday.”
The evening breeze carried away the lingering heat, while the setting sun stretched the shadows of their impending separation.
Every farewell had its own way of unfolding.
To Ji Yang, Liu Liping was somewhat like a stranger she vaguely recognized. She viewed the girl through the original Ji Yang’s memories, so she didn’t feel an especially deep emotional connection.
But the friendship between Liu Liping and the original Ji Yang had been real. The years they had spent together had been real too.
Because of that, Ji Yang could draw out a little genuine affection from those memories. Not much, but at least a little.
“Then… I hope everything goes smoothly for you.”
Ji Yang didn’t have the ability to stop Liu Liping from being sent to the countryside. All she could offer was her blessing.
She pulled twenty yuan from her pocket and stuffed it into Liu Liping’s.
“Once you get to the countryside, write to me if anything happens. I believe we’ll meet again someday.”
Tears rolled down Liu Liping’s cheeks. She gave a soft “Mm,” then hugged Ji Yang once more before leaving.
Whether they ever met again didn’t matter. She would always remember this day the day her only friend had warmed her heart.
After Liu Liping left, Ji Yang didn’t hurry home. Instead, she stayed where she was for a little longer.
It seemed as though she was thinking about many things.
And yet, it also seemed as though she wasn’t thinking about anything at all.
In any case, by the time she finally prepared to head home, a smile had returned to her face.