This ended up startling the old man of the Chen family inside the room. He came rushing out, holding a door bolt and looking fierce.

Old Chen was wearing the floral shorts that belonged to Chen Lanfen. Back then, Tang Liren had gone to the town’s supply and marketing cooperative to buy floral fabric because it was high-quality, soft, and sweat-absorbent. She couldn’t bear to use it for herself, but later, feeling sorry for her two pregnant daughters-in-law, she made three pairs of elastic-waist shorts for each of them.

Speaking of this, Tang Liren was so angry that she was practically fuming.

“At the time, I was so mad I could explode, but then I thought, I’m all alone, and if things escalated, I’d be the one at a disadvantage. So, I turned around and went to the yard. I said, ‘Lanfen, I’m here to take you home. Hurry and change into decent clothes. We’re arranging to take photos in the village today.’ They probably fooled themselves into thinking I didn’t see anything and tried to maintain appearances.”

Tang Liren continued, “Later, when I took Chen Lanfen home, she could tell from my attitude that I already knew.”

Nansheng, who had calmed down earlier, flared up again after hearing his mother’s words. “She was full-term pregnant, and she still… still messed around with Old Chen?”

Tang Liren’s face showed disgust. “And just the day before, I took your father, her, and your sister-in-law to the town hospital. She insisted on returning to her maiden home no matter how I tried to stop her. I thought, pregnant women are the most important in a household. If she wanted to go home, why should I stop her? I even gave her five yuan. Thinking about it now, the Chen family must’ve thought we were gullible and easy to fool!”

Nansheng’s expression darkened, and veins popped out on his forehead.

Bai Dongsheng asked, “Mom, what should we do next?”

Tang Liren said, “The reason I brought everyone to the county first was, one, to avoid implicating Doctor Zhao at the town hospital. Two, Chen Lanfen’s condition couldn’t be treated at the town hospital, so we had to come to the county hospital.

And three, since we all moved out, the Chen family doesn’t know where we are. We don’t have to worry about them causing trouble at our door. Besides, we’ve also called the elders from the ancestral hall… We have the moral high ground, strength in numbers, and no reason to fear them!”

Bai Dongsheng said, “Then I’ll call Aunt Guihua at the town and have her go to the village to pass a message?”

Tang Liren replied, “Not yet. Let’s first see how Chen Lanfen’s delivery goes. We need her to be safe before we start negotiating. If anything happens to her, no amount of explanations will clear us.”

The three of them discussed for quite a while and planned how to handle the divorce case…

Just then, a nurse came running out of the delivery room and shouted, “Chen Lanfen’s family!”

Tang Liren quickly responded, “Here!”

The nurse said, “Chen Lanfen is carrying a huge baby and can’t deliver naturally. She might need a C-section. Here’s the surgery consent form. You need to sign it immediately, pay the deposit at the window, and then bring the signed form and the receipt back so we can proceed with the surgery!”

Tang Liren and her two sons froze.

—What they feared the most had happened!

Tang Liren took the form and asked, “Nurse, will Chen Lanfen be alright?”

The nurse replied, “You should’ve controlled her diet better. Did you think being pregnant gave her an excuse to eat everything? Pregnant women shouldn’t overeat, especially for their first pregnancy! Once the baby is over seven pounds, delivery gets much harder. But this baby… Our director said it’s at least ten pounds!”

Tang Liren glanced at Bai Nansheng, sighed, and handed him the form. “You sign it. I’ll go pay the fee!”

Dongsheng snatched the form from his mother’s hands. “Mom, I’ll go. You’re already tired…”

Tang Liren’s face softened with relief. She looked at the amount on the form, took out a stack of bills, and handed them to her eldest son. “Go quickly! This is a matter of life and death!”

= =

Meanwhile, Bai Taotao had followed the family to the county, where they spent the first night at a guesthouse. The next morning, they moved into a nearby residential building.

It was exhausting, but…

She discovered so many new things in the city—bicycles, buses that could carry over a hundred people, fans that can be turned on by plugging in electricity, toilets that flushed with a press, and showers that released hot water with just a twist of the tap… and that magical thing called a television!

No wonder silly Xingxing said she wanted to move to the city someday!

Who didn’t have dreams for a better life?

In the future, Taotao also planned to bring the whole family to live in the city. Life here was so much more convenient than in the countryside!

Just then, she noticed her younger sister acting sneaky, as if she wanted to slip out.

“Hey, Bai Xingxing!” Taotao raised her voice slightly.

Bai Xingxing jumped in fright!

Realizing it was just her silly sister, she relaxed and whispered, “Fourth Sister, stay home. I’m just stepping out for a bit and will be back soon!”

“Where are you going? I want to go too!” Taotao was curious about this bustling world.

Bai Xingxing said, “I’m going to the newspaper office to get the photos. It’s far. You’ll get tired walking there.”

“I want to go! I want to go!”

Hearing their argument, Tan Fenghui asked, “What are you two fighting about?”

Bai Taotao said, “Silly Xingxing wants to get photos, and Taotao is going to protect her!”

Tan Fenghui smiled and treated Taotao like a child. “Let her go if she doesn’t listen. Taotao, you stay home and be good…”

Bai Taotao pouted. “I want to go!”

Their father, Bai Zhengqian, overheard and said, “Hui’er, let them go. The newspaper office isn’t far. It’ll be good for them to build some courage. Give them two yuan so they can also buy food for dinner on the way back…”

Tan Fenghui handed Xingxing two yuan and reminded her, “Keep the money safe, and look after your sister. Don’t get lost. If you’re unsure, ask for directions to the train station. Once you’re there, it’ll be easy to find your way back!”

“Got it! Thanks, Sister-in-law!” Bai Xingxing took Taotao’s hand and said loudly, “Dad, we’re heading out!”

“Go ahead and come back soon!”

The two sisters left the house.

Taotao was amazed by everything she saw.

Near the train station, almost every street seemed like a black market, filled with goods of all kinds at varying prices. Most vendors were pushing carts or carrying baskets, selling mainly food—rice dishes, mung bean soup, jelly noodles, and various snacks…

Some sold sewing kits, fabric scraps, buttons, hair ties, and even second-hand clothes.

Taotao picked up a few items that caught her eye and asked about the prices.

Xingxing glanced over, saw they were herbs and eggs, lost interest, and pulled her sister away.

The newspaper office wasn’t far from the train station. Bai Xingxing asked for directions along the way and quickly found it. After making some inquiries, however, she discovered that Reporter Zhang wasn’t actually from the county newspaper office—he was stationed in the county as part of the provincial newspaper, and his workplace was at the county committee compound in the west of town.

Today was a rest day, and everywhere was bustling with black markets and street vendors.

While Bai Xingxing struggled to communicate with the newspaper office’s gatekeeper, Bai Taotao had already wandered through an entire black market street nearby, browsing from end to end.

Once Bai Xingxing obtained the new address, the sisters squeezed into a public bus, transferred once halfway, and finally found Reporter Zhang. They successfully retrieved the family photos.

When Bai Taotao saw the photos for the first time, she was stunned.

—Wow, this is way too clear!

Bai Xingxing also admired her own image in the photo and smiled as she said to Taotao, “Photos are all black and white now, but in the future, there’ll be color photos, and even videos…”

“What’s a video?” Bai Taotao asked.

Realizing she had slipped up, Bai Xingxing paused to think before answering, “A video is like what we saw on TV last night!”

Bai Taotao glanced at Xingxing with a look that suggested suspicion.

Bai Xingxing looked around and then said to Taotao, “Fourth Sister, go look around nearby, but don’t go too far. I’m… going to help Yan Naqian and the others mail some letters. I’ll be quick and find you afterward.”

Bai Taotao loved shopping the most, so she nodded immediately and went to the nearby black market, stopping at stalls to see what people were selling.

Once Bai Taotao was out of the way, Bai Xingxing quickly took out the letters she was carrying.

She didn’t touch the other letters and only opened the ones from Yan Naqian and Jiang Hongzhi.

Yan Naqian’s letter was addressed to Song Sui, spanning five pages. A third of it described the “miserable situation” in Ruyi Village, another third detailed how much she missed the time spent with Song Sui, including lengthy accounts of their romantic moments and vows of eternal love from childhood.

At the end of the letter, Yan Naqian skillfully informed Song Sui that Song Zhi had also come to Ruyi Village as part of the rural resettlement program, though Song Zhi hadn’t recognized her at first. She even told Song Sui that she constantly thought of him day and night, to the point of becoming distracted and often mistaking Song Zhi for Song Sui. If this continued… what would she do?

Reading this, Bai Xingxing began to understand.

In the previous life, Yan Naqian must have wanted to use Song Sui to leave Ruyi Village. For some reason, Song Sui either didn’t agree or couldn’t help her, and in anger, Yan Naqian set up Song Zhi instead.

Could it be that Yan Naqian married Song Zhi just to spite or provoke Song Sui?

Bai Xingxing reread Yan Naqian’s letter from beginning to end. The more she read, the more convinced she became of this theory.

She couldn’t help but sneer—this woman was quite cunning!

Still, she couldn’t figure out why someone as intelligent as Song Zhi had been manipulated by Yan Naqian.

Bai Xingxing then opened Jiang Hongzhi’s letter.

His letter was addressed to his mother and was short. He mentioned he was short on money and asked her to send some. He also said he was close to winning Yan Naqian over—she had agreed to go on a date with him and even mentioned discussing a betrothal gift.

It was clear Jiang Hongzhi had written to his mother before about Yan Naqian, as this letter was brief and only filled half a page.

Bai Xingxing smirked.

After thinking for a moment, she pulled out one page from Yan Naqian’s five-page letter and folded it together with Jiang Hongzhi’s letter before sealing it in Jiang Hongzhi’s envelope.

This particular page from Yan Naqian’s letter was filled with affectionate words expressing her love and longing for Song Sui. Most importantly, it also indirectly criticized a male cadre at the Educated Youth Station—without naming him—who had harassed and disgusted her, making her feel unsafe and desperate to leave the environment and return to Song Sui’s side.

Hehe—Jiang Hongzhi happened to be the only station leader at the Ruyi Village Educated Youth Station.

She wondered how Jiang Hongzhi’s mother would feel when she received these two letters.

Next, Bai Xingxing tore up the remaining four pages of Yan Naqian’s letter and threw them into a trash bin. Then, she took out a letter she had written herself, along with the solo photo she had just gotten from Reporter Zhang, and placed them in Yan Naqian’s envelope.

Bai Xingxing had added a bit of scheming herself.

Her letter was addressed to a fictional pen pal, and its contents were simple. She included basic personal information and hobbies, emphasized her contact address (which was actually her Aunt Guihua’s workplace at the county train station, as she had asked her to forward it), and attached her photo.

Of course, the personality and interests she described were specifically tailored to match what she knew Song Sui liked, as revealed in the media reports from her past life when he became wealthy.

Moreover, Bai Xingxing didn’t mind reusing Yan Naqian’s envelope—doing so ensured that Song Sui would open and read the letter. The best part was that, for some unknown reason, Yan Naqian hadn’t included a return address on the envelope—only a vague note saying “address enclosed inside.”

Bai Xingxing held the envelope with a smile.

As long as Song Sui was willing to write back to her, then she had a chance.

As for the other details, like why she used Yan Naqian’s envelope to send a letter to Song Sui—she just needed Song Sui to write back and ask her what was going on. That way, she could write again, and back and forth they’d go…

Bai Xingxing felt nervous and excited.

After finishing everything, Bai Xingxing dropped all five letters into the mailbox at the post office. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief and run off to find her silly older sister.

T/N: Idk if I’ve mentioned this but if you see anything writing in parenthesis, it is not me. It was in parenthesis in the original text and I just simply kept it that way!