Chapter 2: The Step-Sister’s Rebirth

Jiang Nian opened the door and walked into the study.

Jiang Qinghe glanced up at her, snorted, and turned away.

After two seconds, he turned back, his voice filled with frustration and disappointment. “You silly girl! I’m trying everything I can to keep you from going to the countryside and suffering, even considering divorce. But you, you’re making things worse. It’s already impossible to reason with her, and you’re actively asking to go. Are you trying to drive me crazy?”

Jiang Nian responded matter-of-factly, “Dad, even if you get a divorce, I’ll still have to go to the countryside. Don’t forget, my brother already has a job, and his wife is pregnant. He can’t go, and his wife wouldn’t agree. If you divorce Mom, Zhoudie will be an only child and won’t have to go to the countryside either. Since it’s going to be me no matter what, why make a fuss about it? You’re just ruining your relationship with Mom.”

As soon as Jiang Nian finished speaking, Jiang Qinghe looked at her with confusion.

“You… are you still my daughter?”

This wasn’t something his daughter would say.

Although Jiang Qinghe knew Jiang Nian was kind-hearted, he also knew his daughter was always timid. Asking her to go to a strange place alone was like asking for her life, let alone actively volunteering.

She might have the heart, but she didn’t have the courage.

Jiang Nian’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly tried to act like the original owner, acting cute and saying, “Dad, if I’m not your daughter, who else could I be? I just don’t want to see you two arguing like this. Besides, it’s my responsibility to go to the countryside.”

Sure enough, her decision to go to the countryside was the right one.

She was already being questioned, and if this continued, she would be exposed sooner or later, revealing that she wasn’t the original owner.

“I can’t let you go. Your mother has already left me, and I can’t let you leave me too.” Jiang Qinghe was heartbroken.

Jiang Nian tried to persuade him for a long time, but Jiang Qinghe remained unyielding.

Finally, she had no choice but to say, “If you won’t let me go, I’ll have to secretly sign up. You can sign me up and ask someone to arrange a good place for me. If I sign up myself, I don’t know where I’ll be assigned.”

“You… Jiang Nian, are you trying to drive me crazy?” Jiang Qinghe clutched his chest, looking like he was furious.

When Jiang Nian reached out to support him, her fingers touched his wrist, and she knew he was faking it.

“I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to the countryside, and no one can stop me.” Jiang Nian said.

Jiang Qinghe eventually gave in, his face as black as the coal in the yard.

But as she said, if she secretly signed up, she would be truly helpless.

Taking advantage of the moment, Jiang Nian was afraid he would change his mind, so she immediately pulled him to the Youth League office to sign up.

During dinner, everyone was present except for her brother, Jiang Wan Zhou, who had already married and moved out. Jiang Qinghe announced the news, his sarcastic tone directed at Zhu Xianglan and Zhoudie, making it clear that he was angry and looking for trouble.

This time, Zhu Xianglan didn’t argue back. She just endured whatever he said.

In fact, she felt very uncomfortable inside.

After dinner, she asked Zhoudie to clean up the house and then hesitantly entered Jiang Nian’s room.

“A Nian, it’s Mom’s fault. I don’t dare ask you to forgive me, and I don’t deserve to be called Mom by you, but I still want to make up for it as much as possible.” Zhu Xianglan took out a handkerchief from her bosom, opened it, and revealed the money inside. “I won’t hide it from you. Your dad has been wary of me all these years, and I don’t have a job. It’s not easy to save money. These two hundred yuan are what I saved from my grocery money every month. You… don’t be disgusted.”

She handed the money to Jiang Nian, tears welling up in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away with her hand.

Jiang Nian didn’t intend to take the money. “No need, Mom. The Youth League office will provide subsidies, and Dad won’t shortchange me. You’ve worked so hard to save this money, keep it for yourself.”

She knew Zhu Xianglan was telling the truth. It’s hard for a couple who got together later in life to truly trust each other. Jiang Qinghe wasn’t even willing to give her a child, so how could he possibly entrust his assets to her?

In fact, Zhu Xianglan had a hard time these past years.

“Take it. It’ll make me feel better if you take it. We won’t starve in the city, but you’re going to the countryside…” Zhu Xianglan couldn’t continue.

One of the two children had to go to the countryside. Jiang Qinghe was always wary of her, and Zhu Xianglan had no one to rely on, so she wanted to keep her only daughter by her side even more.

After a long silence, she continued, “You’re going to the countryside, and your dad won’t ignore you. If you have any difficulties, write home or call.”

Zhu Xianglan couldn’t stay any longer. When she left, Zhoudie had finished cleaning up the house.

She quickly supported her mother. “Mom, don’t be sad. Dad loves A Nian the most. Even if A Nian goes to the countryside, Dad will support her. He won’t let her suffer in the countryside.”

“Mom knows you’re right, but I just feel bad. Mom still has selfish thoughts. I’m sorry to her.”

Zhoudie was afraid she would change her mind. “Mom, this is the best outcome. If A Nian doesn’t go, I have to. But I’m different from A Nian. Dad loves her and will support her. If I go to the countryside, no one will care about me. I’ll be isolated and helpless. I don’t even know if I’ll survive.”

Zhu Xianglan also knew this was true, but she still felt heartbroken. “Xiaodie, Mom has listened to you and secured your right to stay in the city. But people should be grateful. You can’t think that A Nian going to the countryside is her responsibility just because your dad will support her. Mom always thought that you and A Nian grew up together, you’re both my children, not real sisters but better than sisters. But you…”

She never knew when her daughter became so selfish.

Zhoudie was also sad, but she couldn’t help it.

In her previous life, she was the one who went to the countryside, but the countryside was too hard. She couldn’t handle the heavy farm work.

At first, she might have received money and goods from the city out of guilt. It lasted for about a year and a half, but Zhu Xianglan died unexpectedly. She was a stepdaughter who lost her mother and was quickly forgotten in the countryside.

Later, she couldn’t take it anymore and settled down in the countryside, seeking a support system.

Life was indeed better after marriage. She had two children, and her husband was reliable and hardworking.

Until 1978, when she returned to the city, she saw Jiang Nian, who was still beautiful and radiant.

She was still as beautiful as a porcelain doll, always with a warm smile on her face, elegant and beautiful.

She was holding her handsome husband’s arm and leading her intelligent son.

Zhoudie didn’t even dare to approach her. Years of life in the countryside had turned her into a rural woman, with sallow skin, dry hair, and she looked like she was in her thirties even though she was only in her twenties.

Her two children were even more incomparable to her son, like the difference between a noble gentleman and a peasant.

Unable to escape the inner resentment, she abandoned her husband and children, and ultimately didn’t end up well.

After her death, she returned to the days before going to the countryside. She couldn’t tell if she was jealous or longing, but this time, she wanted to choose a completely different path. She didn’t want to go to the countryside and suffer anymore.

She also wanted to change her mother’s early death.

In her previous life, her biological grandparents learned that she had gone to the countryside and brought people to smash the door, actually wanting to use this as an excuse to demand compensation, but they accidentally caused Zhu Xianglan’s death.

This time, she wouldn’t go to the countryside, so she would definitely avoid this accident.