Chapter 6

Li Huilan was bleeding and irritable, barking orders at Xin Qi and finding fault with everything she did.

It was the second day of the Lunar New Year, and the daughters and sons-in-law of the Xin family were all expected to return home. Xin Qi was helping prepare food, hoping to squeeze some money out of her two older sisters.

Especially Xin Shan—back then, Xin Qi had gone to the countryside in her place. Now that Xin Shan was doing the best financially, it was only fair she repay Xin Qi somehow.

Xin Lin, the second sister, lived farther away and only arrived around nine with her husband and kids.

Xin Lin had an oval-shaped face and fair skin. All the Xin siblings were quite good-looking.

Xin Shan had been the prettiest when they were younger, but no one had expected Xin Qi to outshine her as they grew older.

It had been a long time since Xin Lin last saw Xin Qi, and today she was genuinely surprised.

“Little sister, you’re finally back.”

She held Xin Qi’s hand and looked her over, remarking on how thin and rough her hands had become.

Then, she suddenly noticed a scar on Xin Qi’s neck and immediately asked what had happened.

Xin Qi felt a warmth in her heart. She had been back in the Xin household for two days, and not a single person had noticed the injury—but Xin Lin spotted it right away. It was both touching and bittersweet.

Xin Qi briefly explained how she got it. Li Huilan, her mother, didn’t think much of it and didn’t reflect on her own neglect.

She brushed it off, still nagging: “You, child, never say anything to the family. You’ve always been distant since you were little—so independent.”

Xin Lin felt sorry for her sister and replied, “She was only fifteen or sixteen when she was sent to the countryside alone. How could she be close with the family after that?”

Li Huilan’s face darkened. “What’s the use of talking about that old crap after all these years? Don’t bring it up in front of Xin Shan later, got it?”

Li Huilan felt it was all in the past, and since Xin Shan had married well, there was no need to stir things up and make her look bad.

But Xin Lin felt their mother was clearly biased toward Xin Shan—just because she had married into a powerful family.

What was there to brag about marrying a divorced old man? Every time they met, Xin Shan acted like her life was perfect. Xin Lin wasn’t buying it.

“Mom, I just can’t stand how some people only care about themselves—even willing to screw over their own sister.”

“That’s enough. I said drop it. It’s the New Year—you just have to stir up drama, don’t you? If you can’t hold your tongue, go back to your own home. Don’t get on my nerves here.”

Xin Lin’s husband, Lin Heping, quickly tried to defuse the tension by sending their two kids to act as peacemakers.

Their twins, Lin Tianqi and Lin Tian’ai, were four years old—at the age most adored by elders. They each grabbed one of Li Huilan’s legs and sweetly called out, “Happy New Year, Grandma!” instantly melting her anger.

Xin Qi pulled the stubborn Xin Lin aside and quietly said, “Second Sister, don’t get mad at Mom because of me.”

“All that stuff from back then, I’m not angry anymore—so you shouldn’t be, either.”

Xin Lin replied, “I just can’t stand Xin Shan. She’s got a rotten heart. Ugh.”

Xin Qi smiled. “Second Sister, I really did suffer a lot living alone in the countryside all those years.”

“You don’t know how cold the winters are in the northeast. Snow over a foot thick, thick ice on the roads—you’d slip with every step. A single fall and you could break your leg.”

“I’m not saying this to get sympathy. It’s just that now that I’ve finally made it back, I really don’t want to return to Harbin.”

“But if I can’t find a job, I can’t stay. And the family has no money—I won’t ask Dad and Mom for anything.”

“But Third Sister is doing pretty well now, so I was hoping maybe she could help me out a bit.”

“We’re sisters, after all. I helped her back in the day—if she helped me now, it’d just be fair exchange.”

Xin Lin immediately got the message and promised she’d help Xin Qi no matter what.

By the time Xin Shan finally arrived, it was already noon.

Li Huilan looked behind her and frowned. “Why didn’t you bring any of your three kids?”

Xin Shan had married while heavily pregnant, and went on to have three sons in a row, securing her place in her husband’s household.

However, her husband’s family was powerful and had always looked down on the Xin family. They had never visited during the New Year, not even once.

Even her sons were rarely allowed to visit their maternal grandparents.

Xin Shan smiled, “My in-laws went to my eldest uncle’s house for the New Year this time, so they took the three boys with them.”

She then laid out the gifts she’d brought—all high-end and hard-to-get items.

As usual, she gave Xin Guoping and Li Huilan fifty yuan each in New Year red envelopes. Li Huilan beamed with delight.

She was now counting on Xin Shan, her well-married daughter, and her youngest son, Xin Liyu.

The rest of her children were just ungrateful freeloaders, in her eyes.

Xin Shan also gave Xin Lin’s two children fifty cents each.

That was considered generous in those days.

Xin Lin never took advantage of her—she always returned the kids’ red envelope money each year. In fact, she was short fifty cents overall.

Xin Shan didn’t care about a buck or two. She didn’t even bother reaching out to take it. “Oh, no need—they’re not even home. Who would I give it to? I’m not short on money. You just keep it.”

Xin Lin rolled her eyes. “You think I need your money? Just take it and stop being so dramatic.”

Xin Liyu was sick of this same old routine every year and muttered, “All this fuss over a buck fifty—you two act like it’s a hundred yuan. Aren’t you tired?”

Xin Lin and Xin Shan had never gotten along. They acted more like enemies than sisters, pretending not to know each other when they crossed paths in public.

Just as another argument was about to break out, Li Huilan hurriedly called everyone to the table for lunch.

Xin Shan came over and took Xin Qi’s arm affectionately. “It’s been so long, Fourth Sister. Let’s sit together.”

Xin Qi smiled but didn’t say much.

After the meal, the three sisters sat down to chat.

Xin Lin deliberately said to Xin Qi, “Fourth Sister, you don’t know how amazing Third Sister is now.”

“Her husband’s a subdistrict office director. Mom said you wanted to return to the city, and she even talked to Director Ma at the residents’ committee.”

“If you ask Third Sister, it should be easy as pie.”

Xin Shan immediately looked displeased. “Second Sister, don’t say things like that—people could overhear, and it could cause problems.”

“Old Lu doesn’t have that kind of pull. When Mom asked me to help Liyu get a job, Old Lu scolded me for it.”

“Job quotas are limited. Old Lu doesn’t have that kind of authority.”

“If he could just assign people jobs, I wouldn’t still be unemployed at home.”

Xin Lin replied, “Oh, please, stop pretending.”

“Come on, you married well—we’re all happy for you.”

“But stop acting like you’re terrified of your family benefiting from it. If Lu Qingshan doesn’t respect his in-laws, do you not respect your own sisters?”

“You don’t have to help with Liyu’s job, but you can’t ignore Xiao Qi, can you?”

“If it weren’t for Xiao Qi, you wouldn’t have been able to stay comfortably in the city all these years. You’d have been forced to the countryside just like the rest of us.”

Xin Shan cut her off. “That’s all ancient history. Who really remembers what happened exactly back then?”

“The revolutionary committee gave our family one quota for going to the countryside—it’s not like it specifically had my name on it.”

“Xiao Qi was young when she went; I felt bad, too. You all say she went in my place, but I never argued.”

“Besides, I was already seeing Old Lu at the time—we were about to get our marriage license. Under the policy, I wouldn’t have had to go anyway.”

Her words nearly made Xin Lin curse aloud. She couldn’t believe Xin Shan was now outright denying what had happened.

Back then, Xin Shan had thrown a fit, crying and refusing to go to the countryside. She’d even stolen the household registration book and secretly registered her marriage with Lu Qingshan.

At the time, Xin Qi was only fourteen—not even old enough to be eligible for the rural assignment. Yet Lu Qingshan still found a way to have the name on the notice changed to Xin Qi’s.