## Chapter 13

Suppressing her urgent heart, Xu Jin went straight to a department store not far from the hotel.

After going up to the second floor to the clothing section, she first chose a set of red Tang suits with continuous good luck characters for her grandfather and grandmother.

Her grandfather was seventy-two this year, his zodiac year, and her grandmother was seventy-three. According to the elderly, seventy-three was also a critical year.

Buying red Tang suits was for good luck.

After packing the two Tang suits, Xu Jin bought a four-pocket Zhongshan suit for her second uncle, Wei Zhenming, a white polyester shirt with black straight-leg pants for her second aunt, and a T-shirt for each of her elder brother, Wei Yueheng, and her second brother, Wei Shaoheng. Then, she went to the shoe section and bought a pair of shoes for each of her grandparents. Her grandfather’s feet were always cold in winter, so Xu Jin specifically chose thick-soled leather shoes with thick wool lining. Her grandmother had bound feet, so Xu Jin picked out a pair of autumn-colored square-toe embroidered shoes with exquisite embroidery.

Then, she went to the grocery section and bought two pounds of melon seeds, two pounds of Great White Rabbit milk candy, two pounds of shrimp-flavored candy, two bottles of malt extract, a bag of chicken cake, and finally a few packages of snacks.

“One Tang suit is twenty-nine-yuan, two sets total fifty-eight yuan… Snacks sixteen yuan…”

The saleswoman tapped away on the abacus, quickly calculating the total. “One hundred and ninety-two yuan…”

As she spoke, she couldn’t help but look Xu Jin up and down, thinking to herself that this girl didn’t know what she did for a living. She had spent so much money in such a short time. For example, she couldn’t even earn that much in a month.

Xu Jin was also a little worried. She didn’t think much of it when she was buying things, but now, seeing so many things piled together, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to carry them.

The saleswoman was kind-hearted and smiled as she handed Xu Jin a fertilizer bag from behind the counter.

“This bag is clean. If you don’t mind, you can use it to pack your things…” “I don’t mind, I don’t mind,” Xu Jin was incredibly grateful. She thanked the saleswoman, packed her things, tied a knot in the middle, and then threw it over her shoulder, carrying it towards the suburbs where the Wei family lived.

Although ten years later, the northern suburbs where the Wei family lived would become famous for producing many (people who became wealthy after demolition), it was still a typical rural area now.

The dirt road was covered with deep and shallow tire tracks. Whenever there was a little wind, dust would puff up and cover one’s face. By the time she reached the village entrance, Xu Jin was covered in dust.

Add to that the fertilizer bag on her shoulder, she looked like she was fleeing famine.

Not many young people went out to work at this time, and it was the off-season for farming. On both sides of the dirt road, along the walls, were rows of people sitting.

Seeing Xu Jin approaching with the fertilizer bag on her back, everyone was curious. As they were looking at her, they saw Xu Jin walking towards them. She smiled at everyone, then turned to an old lady who was closest to her and said, “Grandma, can you help me with something? Do you know where Wei Zhenming lives?”

It had been too long, and there were many new houses built here, so Xu Jin couldn’t find the Wei family’s house for a moment.

“Looking for Zhenming’s house? Are you related to them?”

“Yes, Wei Zhenming is my second uncle.” Xu Jin nodded generously.

“Your second uncle?” The old lady was clearly surprised. She looked Xu Jin up and down and asked tentatively, “You, are you Lanzi’s youngest daughter?”

“Yes, I’m Xiao Jin…”

“Oh, oh, you’re really Xiao Jin!” The old lady was even more excited. “Do you remember me? I’m Lanzi’s third aunt. You were so sweet when you were little, always following me around and calling me Third Grandma…”

As she spoke, she shook her head and sighed.

“Xiao Jin, why did you only come to see your grandmother and grandfather now? All these years, your grandmother has been crying for you every day, and one of her eyes is almost blind. Your uncles and their families have been struggling…”

Although the old lady didn’t say it directly, her tone was clearly complex.

She had never seen anyone love their daughter so much. They say that a married daughter is like water that has been poured out. Which family’s daughter doesn’t think about helping her family after getting married?

Only the old lady’s family, not only didn’t receive any help from their daughter’s family, but they also lost all their savings. They gave their son-in-law the iron rice bowl of the railway worker, and they helped raise their grandchildren.

But the son-in-law, instead of being grateful, didn’t allow the children to be close to them, and even chased away the old couple who had traveled hundreds of miles to visit them because they were worried about their grandchildren who had lost their mother.

The old couple came back crying. But what good did it do them to be sad? They were afraid that if they went too often, they would anger Xu Hongsheng and the children would really be beaten. The old couple didn’t dare to visit again…

“…Your second uncle injured his leg a few years ago and can’t do any heavy work. Their factory wasn’t doing well either, and it closed down a long time ago… These past few years, they’ve been relying on your grandfather’s pension…” Third Grandma was talking when she suddenly paused. “Oh, what a coincidence, isn’t that your second aunt?”

Xu Jin looked in the direction the old lady was pointing and saw a woman wrapped in a gray headscarf, carrying a basket, walking hurriedly towards them from the left.

“Yingzi, Yingzi,” Third Grandma quickly called out to her. “Come over here and see who’s come to visit you.”

Her second aunt’s name was Zhou Chuan Ying. She had worked at the canvas factory with her second uncle. As far as Xu Jin could remember, her second aunt was a talkative and cheerful person. Because she only had one son, her second cousin, she loved to hold Xu Jin in her arms after work and wouldn’t stop fussing over her. After her mother, Wei Lan, died, seeing her being beaten at home, her second aunt had said more than once that she should take her in and treat her as their own daughter…

She remembered that her second aunt loved to wear white Dacron shirts and straight-leg pants. She couldn’t connect the woman in front of her, with her graying hair and haggard appearance, to her second aunt.

Her second aunt should only be in her late forties, how could she look so old?

Zhou Chuan Ying obviously heard the old lady’s voice and looked at Xu Jin with a puzzled expression. The moment their eyes met, Xu Jin felt a burning sensation in her eyes. She quickly took a step forward and hugged Zhou Chuan Ying’s arm.

“Second Aunt, it’s me, Xiao Jin…”

Zhou Chuan Ying, suddenly hugged by Xu Jin, was clearly stunned. After she fully understood what Third Aunt and Xu Jin had said, she was completely dumbfounded. She was so excited that she almost dropped the basket on her arm.

“Xiao Jin, you are, Xiao Jin?”

“It’s me, Second Aunt, it’s Xiao Jin…” Xu Jin’s nose was also sour, and tears couldn’t help but fall.

“Oh, it’s really our Xiao Jin…” Seeing Xu Jin cry, Zhou Chuan Ying, regaining her senses, was instantly heartbroken. She quickly put down the basket in her hand and wiped Xu Jin’s tears. But because she often did heavy work, Zhou Chuan Ying’s palms were covered with calluses, and rubbing them on her face was clearly a little painful.

But Xu Jin only felt a sense of comfort. The heart that had been fluttering since she was reborn finally settled down.

Seeing the two of them crying, Third Grandma was clearly a little sad too. As she wiped away her tears, she said, “Xiao Jin is back, that’s good news… Don’t cry anymore, let’s go home quickly, and let your grandmother and grandfather be happy too…”

Xiao Jin, how thin she had become! She must have suffered a lot. And all that dirt, and the bulging fertilizer bag on her back…

She must have been beaten by her father and couldn’t take it anymore, so she ran away to seek refuge with the Wei family.

Zhou Chuan Ying obviously thought the same thing. She looked at Xu Jin with pity.

“Good girl, let’s go home. Second Aunt will make you something delicious…”

She handed the basket to her left hand, freeing her right hand to help Xu Jin carry the fertilizer bag.

“No, I can carry it myself…”

“What can you carry?” Zhou Chuan Ying said, wiping her face vigorously with the back of her hand.

Their good girl was so beautiful when she was little, she looked like a little fairy. Now, look at her, her eyes were sunken from being thin, she looked just like a beggar.

And the bulging fertilizer bag on her back, she looked like she was fleeing famine. It was clear that her niece had been living a hard life all these years.

Worried that Xu Jin would be sad, she quickly wiped away her tears and took out a few rice balls from the basket and stuffed them into Xu Jin’s hand.

This kind of snack, made with white sugar and rice flowers stuck together, was Xu Jin’s favorite when she was little. Zhou Chuan Ying used to bring it to her after work.

“Eat this to fill your stomach…”

“Okay, I’ll eat it,” Xu Jin’s eyes were filled with tears, but she refused to let Zhou Chuan Ying help carry the bag. “I can carry it myself.”

Seeing her insistence, Zhou Chuan Ying could only give up. Her originally worried face relaxed a little after seeing Xu Jin.

“We’re still in the same place, it’s just that there are new houses built next door, and you’ve been gone for so many years… It’s Second Aunt and Second Uncle who are sorry for you, we haven’t gone to see you in all these years…” Zhou Chuan Ying said, on the verge of tears again.

Her husband was sick, her grandparents were old and would get sick from time to time, and they also had to raise Wei Yueheng, her elder brother’s son, and their own son. Their lives had been very difficult these past few years.

She also missed her niece, Xu Jin. Even though she couldn’t even make ends meet, she wanted to help Xu Jin, but she was powerless. Now, seeing Xu Jin come here in such a miserable state, it was clear that she had been living a hard life. Zhou Chuan Ying felt incredibly guilty.

“Second Aunt, don’t say that,” Xu Jin felt like her heart was twisted into a knot. “It’s my fault for not coming to see you sooner, I’m sorry…”

She was about to say more when she saw a man with a hunched back, leaning on a cane, standing at the entrance of the alley.

Xu Jin’s tears fell again. It was her second uncle, Wei Zhenming.

The Wei family members were all tall. Wei Zhenming was also six feet tall and had a handsome, strong face. When Xu Jin was little, Wei Zhenming would carry her on his shoulders and lift her up high whenever he came home. Every time, he would make Xu Jin laugh uncontrollably.

Now, look at Wei Zhenming, leaning on a cane, standing there, he no longer had his former tall and straight figure. His back was hunched, and more than half of his hair was white…

Xu Jin almost ran towards him. When she reached Wei Zhenming’s side, she put down the fertilizer bag on her back and immediately supported Wei Zhenming, sobbing, “Second Uncle…”

When Xu Jin rushed over, Wei Zhenming was clearly a little flustered. If he hadn’t been inconvenient with his cane, he would have moved aside long ago. Now, being supported by Xu Jin, and hearing her address him, Wei Zhenming froze. The hand holding his cane trembled.

Zhou Chuan Ying also rushed over from behind. Seeing him like this, she scoffed.

“Didn’t you keep saying that you missed Xiao Jin? Now that Xiao Jin is here, why don’t you say anything?”

But Wei Zhenming seemed not to hear his wife’s words. After a while, he raised his hand, touched Xu Jin’s hair, and called out, “Xiao Jin.”

“Good, good, you’re back, you’re back, that’s good…”

But as the family turned to go home, he stared at the back of Xu Jin’s head, who was supporting him, for a long time, as if he was afraid that his niece would disappear if he blinked.

Following this road, they turned a corner, and they saw the old jujube tree in front of the house from afar. The familiar feeling came back immediately. But as Zhou Chuan Ying said, new houses had been built in front, behind, and on both sides of the courtyard, making the Wei family’s house look even lower and more dilapidated. It was also blocked by the houses in front, and Wu Guifang Xu Jin couldn’t recognize it.

Zhou Chuan Ying was clearly in a good mood. Whenever she met someone, she would stop and tell them that her niece had come to visit them.

Over the years, countless people had gossiped behind their backs, and even to their faces, about how they had been cheated by their son-in-law, Xu Hongsheng, the white-eyed wolf, and how Wei Lan’s children were heartless and hadn’t visited their grandparents in all these years.

Zhou Chuan Ying introduced Xu Jin to everyone so solemnly. Besides being happy herself, she also wanted to clear her niece’s name.

Hearing that it was Wei Lan’s eldest daughter, who had been fostered at the Wei family, the villagers were also surprised. They felt a little pity for her.

Look at that fertilizer bag on her back, she must have come to seek refuge. Even though the Wei family was in this situation, they were already struggling to make ends meet, how could they possibly support another person?

Only Zhou Chuan Ying was kind-hearted. Instead of chasing her away, she was so happy…

Some children followed behind to see what was going on.

The fastest ones had already rushed into the Wei family’s courtyard and shouted loudly to the people inside.

“…Shaoheng Ge, you have a guest…”