Chapter 78

Lu Jiaojiao was brought back to the brigade by Yin Yueping.

Yin Yueping was heading to her parents’ home and had to pass by the brigade clinic on her way.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to the brigade. Whose new house is this near the clinic’s bamboo grove?”

Standing proudly next to the clinic was a brand-new house made of red bricks.

With the autumn breeze gently shaking the bamboo, the three-room red-brick house nestled harmoniously against the backdrop of green hills and bamboo shadows. In front lay lush rice paddies about to bloom, and a small path stretched alongside the stream into the distance.

It was the only red-brick house in the brigade, exuding a unique air of sophistication.

Curious about whose new house it was, Yin Yueping asked, but even Lu Jiaojiao couldn’t answer.

After all, she had only been in the commune hospital for ten or so days, and during that time, a new house had already sprung up by the clinic.

The house had already been framed, and once the tiles were on, it would be ready to move into.

As Lu Jiaojiao marveled at who could afford such an impressive new house, Yin Yueping spotted Lu Baiwei and Tang Yunling by the stream, butchering a rabbit and scraping pig bristles.

Back when Yin Yueping suggested Yin Zhihe marry Lu Baiwei, it was her idea, shared with Shen Guixiang.

Compared to her elder sister Yin Yue’e, Yin Yueping had married later and had practically watched Lu Baiwei and Tang Yunling grow up.

When her brother was looking for a match, she and her elder sister had initially chosen Lu Baiwei for him.

But then Lu Jiaojiao swooped in and snatched the engagement for herself.

Even so, Yin Yueping still had a good impression of Lu Baiwei, which wasn’t affected by her not becoming her sister-in-law.

During her family’s recent stay in the hospital, Yin Yueping had been tearing her hair out over a meat voucher.

Now, seeing Lu Baiwei and Tang Yunling skinning rabbits and scraping an entire slab of pork, her eyes nearly popped out.

“Baiwei, Yunling, where did you get so much meat?”

“Oh, it’s Sister Yueping!”

Tang Yunling greeted her warmly. “The rabbit was caught in traps on the mountain, and the pork was arranged through a contact at the county slaughterhouse.”

“It wasn’t easy to get this pork. We had to use a lot of meat vouchers. Luckily, my brother-in-law is a college-educated youth from Beijing. His family sent him plenty of money and vouchers, so we used up all the saved meat vouchers to get this much pork.”

Tang Yunling grew more animated as she spoke, glancing at Lu Jiaojiao, who was standing behind Yin Yueping’s bicycle with her head wrapped in gauze.

“We didn’t have much of a choice. For a housewarming banquet, you need some proper dishes. We’ll just have to save up meat vouchers again later!”

That slab of pork must have weighed dozens of pounds.

It wasn’t just Yin Yueping who was envious; even Lu Jiaojiao, hiding behind Yin Yueping’s bicycle, was salivating with jealousy.

Yin Zhihe was utterly heartless.

During her hospital stay, Yin Zhihe and Shen Guixiang used her condition as an excuse to demand meat from Yin Yueping. If Yin Yueping was present, they would begrudgingly let her have two pieces.

But if Yin Yueping wasn’t around, all the meat ended up in Shen Guixiang and Yin Zhihe’s stomachs, leaving her without even a taste.

If Yin Yueping wasn’t around, all the meat would go straight into Shen Guixiang and Yin Zhihe’s mouths, leaving Lu Jiaojiao without even a whiff.

As an injured patient, she was left starving and dizzy, watching Shen Guixiang and her son eat meat right in front of her. It was unbearable.

Thinking about how she ended up in this situation after marrying Yin Zhihe, Lu Jiaojiao’s tears had long run dry.

But wait—there was more.

Shen Guixiang and Yin Zhihe had abandoned her at the hospital.

Now, back in Xiangyang Brigade, she was faced with the sight of Lu Baiwei and Tang Yunling preparing meat—so much meat!

Lu Jiaojiao could only desperately convince herself not to be envious, trying to brainwash herself into believing that Lu Baiwei having meat now was nothing. She told herself that in the future, when she became a wealthy lady with luxury cars and a mansion, it would be a life Lu Baiwei could never imagine.

After finally calming herself down, she intended to urge Yin Yueping to leave quickly.

But Yin Yueping, curious, asked Tang Yunling, “Yunling, were these three rooms by the brigade clinic built by your family?”

“No wonder. Only your Tang family would have the means to build a red-brick house.”

“Nope!”

Tang Yunling glanced at Lu Jiaojiao, whose gaze was darting around uncomfortably, and answered for Lu Baiwei, “This house belongs to Baiwei’s family.”

“What can I say? My brother-in-law is just so capable!~”

Tang Yunling took great pleasure in hitting Lu Jiaojiao where it hurt.

Especially since the one asking was Yin Zhihe’s sister.

Take a good look at this—how blind you all were.

She practically wanted to shout to the world that Lu Baiwei had married well. Tang Yunling and Yin Yueping chatted amiably.

“My brother-in-law dotes on Baiwei and didn’t want her crammed into the two small rooms at the brigade clinic. He wanted her to live in a more spacious house, so he arranged with the brigade to get a plot of land and built this three-room home.”

“Sister Yueping, we’ve got plenty of meat today. If you’re free, why don’t you come over to the clinic and join us for Baiwei’s housewarming feast?”

Yin Yueping, considering that Lu Baiwei and Lu Jiaojiao were sisters and the families were technically relatives, thought it proper to give a red envelope for the occasion.

She was about to agree.

But Lu Jiaojiao was utterly embarrassed.

She hurriedly urged Yin Yueping, “Sister Yueping, my head hurts again.”

“Oh, all right then.”

Yin Yueping waved to Lu Baiwei and Tang Yunling. “Baiwei, Yunling, we’ll be on our way now.”

“You didn’t see how Lu Jiaojiao looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.”

“Didn’t you see how Lu Jiaojiao looked like she wanted to find a hole to crawl into?”

Tang Yunling, while showing off to Yin Yueping, was actually provoking Lu Jiaojiao. Her hands moved even faster as she scraped the pig skin.

“Bawei, she didn’t start making a fuss about wanting pork this time.”

“Last time, she said she wanted to eat your house’s pork offal, and I served her pig dung instead.”

Tang Yunling proudly hummed a little tune. “If she dares make a fuss again, I’ll feed her rabbit droppings! Hahaha!”

Lu Baiwei gave her a helpless look.

But seeing her cousin so cheerful, Lu Baiwei smiled as well.

After finishing skinning the rabbit, she rinsed it in the stream to wash off the blood.

Lu Baiwei suddenly said to Tang Yunling, “Cousin, it’s so nice to see you like this.”

“You should always be this way.”

Always this cheerful.

In the stillness of the night, Tang Yunling would sometimes cry quietly. Whenever Lu Baiwei washed her pillowcase, she’d feel worried.

She even wondered if she had done the wrong thing.

Maybe she shouldn’t have interfered in her cousin’s relationship with Zhao Yongsen.

But wasn’t it better to endure short-term pain rather than prolonged suffering?

Only by enduring the pain could Zhao Yongsen, like a tumor, be cut away. Then her cousin could always remain this lighthearted, carefree daughter of the Tang family.

These past few days, she hadn’t seen Tang Yunling smile. But now, just a few jabs at Lu Jiaojiao had made her cousin this happy. Seeing this, Lu Baiwei finally felt relieved.

Tang Yunling paused, stunned by Lu Baiwei’s words.

Realizing that her cousin’s pain had eased somewhat and she was now receptive, Lu Baiwei took the chance to have a heartfelt conversation while they cleaned the rabbit and scraped the pig skin by the stream.

“Sis, look at Lu Jiaojiao’s situation now,” Lu Baiwei said as a reminder. “Not marrying Zhao Yongsen is actually a blessing. If you’d only seen his true character after becoming pregnant, wouldn’t you have ended up worse off than Lu Jiaojiao?”

“Even though Lu Jiaojiao calls me sister, we don’t get along.”

“But in my heart, you’re my one and only sister.”

Lu Baiwei looked sincerely at her cousin. “I’ve never thought of you as just a cousin. To me, you’re my real sister.”

“Sis, I want you to be happy for the rest of your life.”