Chapter 28 : Shu Ruxue’s Purpose of Coming to the Shu Family

“Mom, why are you here?” Shu Ruxue hadn’t expected her mother to be so well-informed and show up so quickly. She felt a little uneasy.

“I heard from your Aunt Hongyun that you came to our brigade as an educated youth, so I rushed over to bring you home for dinner. Also, the room here requires yearly rent, so just come home and live with Mom! Even though you’re not my biological daughter, I can’t let go of our 18-year mother-daughter bond. I’ll always treat you like my own.” Xu Ziying took Shu Ruxue’s hand and gave her a meaningful wink.

“Mom, I’m still staying at the educated youth site, and there aren’t many rooms at home anyway. By the way, your biological daughter has also come to our brigade as an educated youth,” Shu Ruxue said, glancing at Yun Siying’s door. “But she’s taking a nap right now.”

“Really? Then I won’t disturb her for now. Everyone at home misses you. Come back with me first,” Xu Ziying said, glancing briefly at Yun Siying’s door, not showing much concern.

“Mom, I still have to tidy up the room,” Shu Ruxue said, looking slightly embarrassed.

“Come home for dinner first. I’ll have Yanyan come help you clean up later,” Xu Ziying insisted.

“Alright, but I’ll need to bring my fiancé,” Shu Ruxue said. After Xu Ziying agreed, she locked the door and left with Shen Subai heading to the Li house.

On the way, Xu Ziying asked, “Yinyin, are your biological parents treating you well?”

“Mom, don’t worry. They’re very good to me. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Brother Subai” Shu Ruxue said, her expression softening at the thought of that family.

“Auntie, don’t worry. Uncle Shu and Aunt Shu are very kind to Ruxue. Going to the countryside was something they had no choice about. They’re trying to find a way to get her back to the city,” Shen Subaii quickly added.

When they arrived at the Li family courtyard, Shu Ruxue excitedly called out, “Dad, Yanyan, Minglang, I’m back!”

“Yinyin’s back? That’s great! The food’s just ready, come sit and eat,” Li Gang said, exchanging a glance with Xu Ziying. Seeing there were outsiders present, he didn’t say more.

“Sis, come sit! When we heard you were coming, Second Sis made two extra dishes. After dinner, can you tell us what the big city is like?” Li Minglang asked happily. His oldest sister had always treated her well in the past.

“Sure! Mom, Dad, Yanyan, Minglang, my birth parents changed my name. I’m Shu Ruxue now,” Shu Ruxue said as she looked at the golden scrambled eggs, her mouth watering. She had only eaten a few biscuits at the youth site, and she didn’t forget to correct her name.

“Sis, your new name is so pretty,” Li Yanyan said with envy. She also wished she had a poetic name. Why wasn’t she the one who was switched at birth?

After dinner, Shu Ruxue animatedly described the sights and life of the big city, Kyoto. The whole family listened with envy, as if they were seeing it for themselves.

After a while, Shu Ruxue noticed her mother giving her a signal, so she got up and followed her into her parents’ room.

“You were sent to the countryside as an educated youth, did the Shu family find something out and want to get rid of you?” Xu Ziying asked with concern.

“I suspect Yun Siying secretly signed me up for the countryside, and I had no choice but to come. Fortunately, the people in Kyoto will still send me money every month,” Shu Ruxue replied, her tone carrying grievance and unwillingness.

“How much money did you bring with you this time? Hand it over,” Xu Ziying asked, relieved that Shu Ruxue’s identity hadn’t been exposed.

“Mom, I brought a thousand yuan, but it was stolen on the train,” Shu Ruxue answered sadly, full of regret and guilt.

“You! What can I say about you? You can’t even keep the money safe, what else can you do?” Xu Ziying was so upset it felt like her heart was bleeding. That was a thousand yuan, not just one or two. It was truly wasteful.

“I was always careful. Right before I got off the train, I checked and the money was still there. I didn’t realize it was gone until I reached the educated youth site. It must’ve been stolen when I was getting off the train with all my luggage,” Shu Ruxue recalled.

“I’m really heartbroken. By the way, you’ve been in the Shu family for half a year. Have you found the jade pendant yet?” Xu Ziying asked in a dissatisfied tone, still focused on their main objective.

“No, I’ve searched through all the rooms in the Shu household, even the Shu brother’s, but I couldn’t find the lotus jade pendant. The only places I couldn’t access are Mr. Shu’s bedroom and study. I suspect the jade pendant is with Mr. Shu. Unfortunately, Yun Siying ruined my plan,” Shu Ruxue replied seriously. She owed her entry into the Shu family largely to Xu Ziying and her husband.

“Mom, give me some money. I’ll pay you back when I start getting money from Kyoto. I want to rent a room at the Youth Corps so I can work on returning to the city as soon as possible,” Shu Ruxue said.

“Why don’t you just live in a place that doesn’t cost rent?” Xu Ziying said, unwilling to give her money.

When the mother and daughter came out of the room, Li Gang and Xu Ziying exchanged a look. After receiving a signal from Xu Ziying, Li Gang’s expression softened slightly.

Xu Ziying said, “Minglang, Yanyan, go help your sister and that Shen from the Youth Corps clean up the room. Take the two new mats from home so they can make the kang bed.”

“Okay, Mom,” the siblings responded cheerfully. Li Minglang went into the house to fetch two mats and followed Shen Subaii and the two sisters.

When the three of them arrived at the Youth Corps site, the other educated youths had already gone to work. Only Nangong Ruochen was still there, sitting in the shade reading a book while guarding two baskets with grain laid out to dry.

“Nangong Educated Youth, you haven’t gone to take your nap yet?” Shu Ruxue greeted Nangong Ruochen cheerfully upon seeing him.

Nangong Ruochen didn’t lift his eyes from the book, nor did he respond to Shu Ruxue, as if he hadn’t heard her at all.

Li Yanyan quickly whispered into Shu Ruxue’s ear, “Sister, that Nangong educated youth is cold and ruthless. You’d better not mess with him.”

“If you ask me, Sister, you should just come home to live. It’s not like we don’t have space, why bother cleaning here?” Li Minglang said as he looked around the room. He knew this room required rent, and the rent was enough to buy several pounds of meat.

“Yeah, Sister, we could still share a room like we used to,” Li Yanyan added, eyeing Shu Ruxue’s bag of clothes with envy. Her sister’s birth parents must be rich, those little leather shoes, Lenin suits, and skirts all looked brand new.

“Your biological sister has also come to our brigade as an educated youth. Once she finishes her nap, I’ll introduce you to each other,” Shu Ruxue said with a glint in her eyes. Her younger siblings still didn’t know the truth and truly believed she was the Shu family’s child.

“Is she easy to get along with?” Li Yanyan asked.

“That… I can’t really say. You’ll know once you meet her,” Shu Ruxue replied vaguely, unwilling to say anything nice about Yun Siying.

“Sister, do you think she’ll accept us and our parents?” Li Yanyan asked, feeling curious but also a bit jealous of this sister she’d never met. Her emotions were a complicated mix.