Tang Liren was actually feeling a little uneasy.

—Mainly because Nansheng was too stubborn. When he got married, he hadn’t listened to her, and now… he probably wouldn’t listen to her opinion either.

Unexpectedly, at such a critical moment, he suddenly calmed down?

Tang Liren breathed a sigh of relief and quickly started organizing and giving instructions.

At the moment, the whole family was too busy to even eat lunch. They hurriedly took up their tasks.

—Bai Nansheng went out to borrow an ox cart and get proof of residence and an introduction letter from the village committee.

—Bai Dongsheng ran around notifying relatives and friends to wait for his message. He said that as soon as he sent word, everyone should head to the county hospital together…

No one thought too much about it. They assumed that Chen Lanfen, who was six months pregnant, had gone into premature labor. That must have been why Nansheng had rushed back so urgently—and why the Bai family was scrambling to send her to the hospital.

—Bai Zhengqian, whose back was injured and moved slowly, was supported by Tang Liren as the two elderly parents took the lead, walking toward the village entrance at a slow pace.

—Bai Lili, along with Tan Fenghui, Chen Lanfen, Hongdou, and Huangdou, made up the second group. They set off toward the village entrance in a bustling procession. Bai Lili and the younger ones carried several quilts and pillows.

—Bai Taotao was the last to leave.

She worried that Song Zhi, who would return at noon, wouldn’t have any food. She also worried that if she went to town for several days, the spiritual energy supply might run out. So first, she called Bai Xingxing to prepare lunch for Song Zhi and asked her to inform their Second Aunt to take care of Song Zhi’s meals for the next few days. Then she hastily scribbled a note:

Song Zhi, if we’re not back, come find us at the county hospital on the third day.

When Bai Xingxing brought the lunch over, Bai Taotao slipped the note under the rice bowl. The two sisters then left together.

While no one else was around, Bai Taotao took the opportunity to ask Bai Xingxing—

“Does Second Brother actually like Second Sister-in-law? After what happened, can they still stay together? Why won’t Second Sister-in-law be able to have kids in the future? Does our family owe Grandma money? Why is she treating us like this? Even if Dad isn’t her biological son, does she really have to go this far against our branch of the family? Do we really have to keep living in the same courtyard? Can’t we split off and live separately?”

This barrage of questions left Bai Xingxing…

completely at a loss for how to answer.

To Bai Xingxing, no one—neither their father nor their mother—could compare to her silly older sister, who had stayed by her side in her dreams for decades and never abandoned her.

Seeing the anxiety written all over Bai Taotao’s face, Bai Xingxing pulled her sister’s hand, cupped it in her own, and gently blew into her palm. Then she said softly, “Fourth Sister, don’t worry. One day, our family will leave this village. We’ll move to a big city and live a good life…”

As she said this, Bai Xingxing suddenly froze.

In her dream, her family’s misfortune seemed to have started when Chen Lanfen gave birth.

In that past life, Chen Lanfen hadn’t gone to the hospital to give birth. On May 9th, she “gave birth prematurely” at home. During childbirth, she hemorrhaged and died. The barefoot doctor from the village pulled a baby boy weighing over nine pounds from Chen Lanfen’s lifeless body. The child didn’t even get a chance to open his eyes to see the world before he was gone too.

The Chen family came to make trouble, claiming that Tang Liren and Tan Fenghui had bullied Chen Lanfen and caused her to give birth early. They even staged a scene with Chen Juxiang to put on a pitiful act…

Second Brother Bai Nansheng rushed back, but under the Chen family’s instigation, he severed ties with his family, breaking his parents’ and siblings’ hearts. Furious, he returned to his unit, later went to war, and never came back. It was said that even his remains weren’t found. The army had no choice but to erect a cenotaph for him.

Because of Chen Lanfen’s death, their parents had to pay a huge sum of money to the Chen family. But the Chen family wasn’t satisfied and forced their parents to sign a massive IOU. From then on, they showed up during every holiday to demand payment.

Because of this, Eldest Sister-in-law suffered greatly while giving birth to her third child. The baby died young, and she fell into a deep depression. Later, while working outside, she slipped and fell into a freezing river and drowned.

After Eldest Sister-in-law died, Eldest Brother never spoke again. He buried himself in work and tried desperately to pay off their debts.

Third Sister Bai Lili, in order to help pay off the debts, ignored all advice and married an old man who had already beaten two wives to death. He offered a bride price of five hundred yuan. On her wedding night, she was beaten until her head was covered in blood. Within a year, the youthful and beautiful Third Sister was tortured to death.

The whole family worked themselves to the bone for four or five years to finally pay off the Chen family’s debts. Just when things were starting to look up, Yan Naqian framed Bai Xingxing. The family had no choice but to move away.

But during the move, the two of the nephew and niece were kidnapped.

Eldest Brother went mad searching for the children. He never found them. Instead, he got hit by a car and couldn’t be saved.

At that time, Tang Liren had cancer. All of Eldest Brother’s compensation money went toward her treatment, but it was like trying to put out a fire with a cup of water. In the end, she couldn’t be saved either.

Bai Zhengqian bore his grief and stayed by his wife’s side until the end. He planned to make one last push, working hard at construction sites to save up more money for his daughters. But his old injuries never healed, and he died suddenly.

After that, Bai Xingxing lost all support and fell completely into despair.

For the past two days, every time Bai Xingxing recalled those memories of her past life, she felt like she couldn’t believe it—or bear it!

If she hadn’t suddenly gotten the idea to have the reporters take pictures, her mother Tang Liren wouldn’t have gone to the Chen family a day early to get Chen Lanfen to come back for the photoshoot… She never expected Chen Lanfen’s secret would be discovered because of that.

Could it be that their family’s fate was about to change?

Lost in thought, Bai Xingxing was overwhelmed.

It wasn’t until Bai Taotao asked in confusion, “What did you say?”

Bai Xingxing snapped back to reality. “What? What do you mean?”

“I asked you what you were muttering about. What do you mean Eldest Sister will be fine, Hongdou and Huangdou won’t get lost, Eldest Brother will be okay, Second Brother won’t die, and Mom and Dad will be fine…” Bai Taotao pressed her.

Bai Xingxing fell silent.

She hadn’t even realized she’d been murmuring to herself.

Bai Taotao was getting anxious.

—She’d asked so many questions, yet Xingxing hadn’t answered a single one.

“You’re such a fool!” Bai Taotao commented on her silly sister Bai Xingxing.

But when Xingxing had held her hand earlier and gently blown into her palm?

Taotao really liked that.

It felt like Xingxing was trying to cheer her up and tell her not to be afraid.

Fine, she would forgive her silly sister, take care of her, make sure she was well-fed, and keep her looking pretty!

Bai Taotao grabbed Xingxing’s hand and blew gently into her palm too.

Bai Xingxing laughed and held her sister’s hand tightly. Together, they walked to the village’s Educated Youth Station.

Bai Xingxing suddenly thought of something and said to Taotao, “Fourth Sister, wait for me here. I’ll be right back!” After saying that, she left Taotao where she was and quickly ran into the Educated Youth Station.

“Sister Xiaohong! Sister Xiaohong, are you here? It’s me, Xingxing!” Bai Xingxing shouted.

She knew perfectly well that this was work time, and aside from the lazy Yan Naqian, no one else would be in the Educated Youth Station.

But she had come precisely for Yan Naqian.

Sure enough, Yan Naqian’s delicate and frail voice called out, “Xiaohong isn’t here…”

Bai Xingxing didn’t like Yan Naqian and didn’t want to see her. She stood outside the door of the female dormitory and shouted, “Got it! Sister Naqian, here’s the thing—Sister Xiaohong mentioned to me a few times that if I ever had the chance to go to town or the county, she’d like me to drop by the post office and mail some letters for her. Our family is heading to the county today, but since Sister Xiaohong isn’t here, never mind. I just came by to let you know. Sister Naqian, please pass the message along to Sister Xiaohong for me. I’m leaving now!”

After speaking, Bai Xingxing pretended to leave.

Of course, she didn’t actually leave.

Sure enough—

Yan Naqian stopped her. “Xingxing! Xingxing, wait a moment!”

In no time, Yan Naqian hurried out, holding several letters in her hands.

All the educated youths were far from home, so homesickness was common, and they frequently wrote letters to their families. It became an unwritten rule to seal their letters, write the addresses, and stick the stamps ahead of time, placing them in a small basket. Whenever someone had the chance to go out, they would take everyone’s letters to mail them.

Hearing that Bai Xingxing was heading to the city, Yan Naqian immediately grabbed her letters and included the others’ letters as well. She handed them to Bai Xingxing and said, “Xingxing, thank you so much. These are letters we want to send home. Please help us mail them. Look, the addresses are written, and the stamps are already attached…”

Bai Xingxing took the letters and looked at them.

Yan Naqian added, “There are five letters in total. Don’t miss any.”

When Bai Xingxing saw that one of the envelopes was addressed to “Song Sui (recipient),” her heart immediately began to race. She tried her best to maintain a calm expression and said to Yan Naqian, “Got it. Goodbye, Sister Naqian!”

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Yan Naqian called out to Bai Xingxing again, “Xingxing, you’re going to the county? What for?”

“My second sister-in-law is about to give birth!”

Yan Naqian let out an “oh” and thought of the eighty yuan, cloth tickets, and pastry tickets that Tang Liren had half-threatened and half-intimidated out of her hands, making her blood boil with anger.

Her eyes darted around as an idea formed in her mind. Putting on a gentle smile, she said to Bai Xingxing, “Xingxing, last time your second sister-in-law borrowed ten yuan from me. I know it’s not right to ask for repayment at such a sensitive time while she’s having a baby, but your mother should have some money. How about you help me out? Would that be okay?”

Bai Xingxing inwardly sneered but pretended to be innocent and naive as she asked, “Sister Naqian, how can I help you?”

Yan Naqian, still smiling, replied, “Xingxing, talk to your mother. Tell her your second sister-in-law is having a hard time with the baby and suggest buying some printed fabric for her. Then, you can give the fabric to me. I only need enough material for a dress. The rest will be yours. What do you think? That will settle the debt between me and your second sister-in-law.”

After a pause, Yan Naqian emphasized, “But don’t tell your second sister-in-law about this for now. Let her focus on the baby.”

Bai Xingxing found it even more amusing. Did Yan Naqian think everyone in the world was a fool?

“But Sister Naqian, my second sister-in-law borrowed ten yuan from you. You only want her to repay you with enough fabric for a dress?” Bai Xingxing put on a puzzled expression. “Doesn’t that put you at a loss?”

Yan Naqian gave a tender smile. “It’s fine. I don’t mind. Your second sister-in-law and I are very good friends. We tell each other everything.”

Bai Xingxing let out an “oh” and nodded. “Alright then! Goodbye, Sister Naqian!”

She took a stack of letters and ran toward Bai Taotao.

Bai Taotao, who had also seen Yan Naqian, pouted and said to Bai Xingxing, “I don’t like Yan Naqian!”

—This woman is so stupid. But she doesn’t realize it and always thinks others are stupid.

Bai Xingxing said, “I don’t like her either! But for now, we still have to put up with her. Fourth Sister, let’s hurry up!”