Even her sister, in order to bully her, would rather cut clothes that were too small or unwanted. However, this world ultimately has more kind people. The grains given by classmates could fill her stomach to half-full, even though she was as thin as a bamboo pole from years of hardship. Yet, she still managed to tough it out.

And the clothes given by classmates, even though they were patched up repeatedly, could get her through the cold winter and provide her with modest clothing in the scorching summer.

So, she stumbled through to her sophomore year, thinking that after graduating from high school and getting into her dream university, she could endure the unbearable past and escape from her inhumane family.

But fate played a cruel joke on her. In 1965, her parents secretly registered her for the countryside, without her knowledge. She had older brothers and sisters, so when would it be her turn to go to the countryside? Was it because her siblings were going to college? Did she not need to take exams?

Not only that, after her parents registered her for the countryside, they even took away the 50 yuan subsidy. So, she took decisive action. When her parents weren’t around, she took the family’s household registration book and registered all the children for the countryside. At the same time, she pocketed the subsidies for four people, totaling 200 yuan.

Later, everyone went to the countryside.

Comrade Ning Qin, is the person in my story also called Ning Shu, who grew up eating from various households and wearing hand-me-downs? Is she the same as the sister you mentioned, who took the 200 yuan subsidy for the countryside and never contacted you? Is she the same 16-year-old, standing at 1.5 meters tall but weighing less than 70 catties? Is she the same sister who, at the age of five, had to do laundry and sweeping for the whole family? Is she the same sister who had to drink cold water to fill her stomach while her siblings could eat meat?”

Ning Shu’s voice was calm and composed, but every word she uttered plunged Ning Qin into an icy abyss.

Even if the weather was freezing, it couldn’t match the chill in her heart right now.

Ning Shu hadn’t completely given up on familial affection.

Upon realizing she had traveled back to the 1960s, she thought perhaps it was Heaven’s arrangement, giving her a second chance at family love after a shallow connection in her previous life.

But the harsh reality of this life woke her up; this life was even worse than the last.

Luckily, she was an adult now, and her hopes were just beginning.

After realizing what was impossible, she stopped investing in expectations.

That’s what being an adult meant—being clear-headed.

People had gathered around without anyone noticing. Right now, there was silence everywhere.

Even the sound of a dropped sewing needle could be heard.

In this row of ten households on each side of the street, at least five or six of them were listening to Ning Shu’s recounting.

Who among them didn’t know that Ning Shu was talking about themselves?

And who hadn’t teased Ning Qin? Her own sister couldn’t recognize her, and gossip was being spoken right in front of her.

The fact that Ning Qin didn’t recognize Ning Shu showed how drastically Ning Shu had changed.

Now, Ning Shu was tall and beautiful, so by contrast, the old Ning Shu must have been unattractive and short.

It was almost certain she wasn’t good-looking.

No one was naive. With this thought, it became clear whether Ning Shu’s words were true or false.

Besides, Ning Shu didn’t deny taking the 200 yuan subsidy for going to the countryside.

Ning Qin didn’t know how to react.

The person she wanted to please and curry favor with was Ning Shu—the Ning Shu who had been as fierce and untamed as a wolf since childhood.

The Ning Shu who had never let her have any good fortune since she was young.

Listening to Ning Shu’s tragic story, one might sympathize.

But what she didn’t mention was that when they told her to do laundry, she would tear the clothes apart, and when they taught her how to behave like Ning Hua and Ning Shi, she would bully them.

Ning Shu… she couldn’t say these excuses. If she did, wouldn’t it confirm the fact that their family bullied Ning Shu?

Ning Qin always considered herself clever and had always pretended well in front of others.

But now, Ning Shu’s sudden appearance left her surprisingly speechless, even with her agile mind.

“Oh, Ning Shu, my dear, you’re truly pitiful. Your parents didn’t care for you since childhood, and your conscienceless siblings bullied you. Some people act like they’re the masters of the house, making their own sisters do laundry. But even the masters’ daughters have some conscience—they’ll give their maidservants an old dress to wear.

“Ning Shu, you’ve grown up after many hardships, and just when you thought you’d finally have good days ahead, some people come and bully you again… Who do you owe? Why is your life so bitter?” Old Lady Yang muttered to herself as she eavesdropped from the corner of her house while Ning Qin and Mr. Zhang visited Ning Shu’s house.

She wanted to see if Ning Shu and Ning Qin would reconcile.

But she never expected to hear this scene.

Though Ning Shu was pitiful, her temperament suited her.

Her husband died early, and raising her son and daughter-in-law alone wasn’t easy.

She relied on being bold.

In this aspect, Ning Shu was truly like her.

The previously quiet atmosphere suddenly became lively because of Old Lady Yang’s words.

“Could it be true what Mrs. Lin said? This family, doing some chores is one thing, but not giving food to eat, refusing to give clothes to wear, that’s a bit too much, isn’t it?”

“I think it’s probably true. Otherwise, who would admit to their own faults? If it were you, would you confess?”

“I’d definitely keep it under wraps.”

“Exactly. And Mr. Zhang and his wife were standing at the door of Mr. Lin’s house, so it must have been them who came looking for trouble. So, they’re the ones who instigated this, right?”

“Look at how good Mrs. Lin looks now, how tall she is, and she’s got some flesh on her body. It’s hard to imagine she used to be only 1.5 meters tall and didn’t even weigh 70 pounds.”

“Speaking of which, my child isn’t very tall either. I’ll ask Mrs. Lin what she ate to grow so tall.”

“Now Ning’s parents must be regretting it, right? If they had known she could marry such a successful man like Mr. Lin, they would have tried to please her.”

“Exactly.”

“I always thought Mrs. Zhang was quite classy, but it turns out she’s rotten to the core.”

The crowd murmured quietly.

Even if it didn’t reach Ning Qin’s ears, she knew they were definitely laughing at her.

She cared about her reputation; she had become a teacher shortly after joining the army and was quite famous here.

Plus, being a teacher, everyone’s children were in school, so they still gave her face.

But now, she had lost all face. Ning Qin gritted her teeth. “That’s not how it is, everyone…”

“Don’t ruin your health with anger. Your health was already bad before going to the countryside. The doctor said you need to rest well, can’t get angry. Let’s go inside and rest first. I’ll wash the dishes and come to accompany you. Yi Bao, Er Bao, San Bao, help your mother inside to rest.”

Lin Guodong timely interrupted, cutting off Ning Qin’s explanation and depriving her of the opportunity to explain, while also temporarily removing Ning Shu from the turmoil.

“Okay.” Yi Bao choked up, his voice responding, as he helped his mother with her right hand, his eyes turning red.

Although he was young, he understood from his mother’s words that she hadn’t had a good life since childhood, and her parents and sister had treated her poorly, not giving her food or clothes.

Comparatively, although their clothes had been ragged before, they had at least had something to wear.

And as for food, his mother had even given them a small piece of meat to eat before, and had given them meat soup.

Compared to his mother, they were truly fortunate.

“Mom, let me help you to rest.” Yi Bao couldn’t hold back any longer, silently shedding tears.

” Wuwhwuw!!! ,” Er Bao burst into tears, “Mom, wuwuwu… Mom, from now on, I won’t wear clothes anymore. I’ll give them all to you to wear. I won’t eat meat anymore, all for you to eat, wuwuwu…”

Er Bao cried so hard that he was almost out of breath, feeling sorry for his mother, the most pitiful mother in the world, wuwuwu…

Er Bao had a naturally loud voice, and when he cried, it’s a bit Loud, it struck a chord of sadness in everyone’s hearts.

“Brother? Bro..”

San Bao didn’t understand what was going on, why was his big brothers crying.

He hurried hold Er Bao’s hand. “Big bro, don’t cry, don’t cry… I’ll give… meat to eat.”

Hearing his little brother’s words, Er Bao cried even more miserably. “San Bao, big brother won’t eat meat anymore, all for Mom to eat, wuwuwu…”

“Okay, don’t cry, don’t cry.”

Listening to Er Bao’s earth-shattering crying, Ning Shu felt both heartbroken and amused.

She reached out, took Er Bao’s hand, and held Yi Bao’s hand with the other. “Stop crying, Mom is fine. Let’s go inside.”

She didn’t want to be treated like a monkey anymore.

She had cleared everything up today, and there were quite a few people listening here.

She believed that more people would know about it tomorrow, and it would prevent any misunderstandings caused by Ning Qin’s gossip.

Although she didn’t care about others’ misunderstandings, she didn’t like people talking behind her back because of misunderstandings.

Watching the four of them go inside, Lin Guodong said to Zhang Xian, “You two should go back too.”

Zhang Xian’s mood was indescribable.

The version he heard from Ning Qin was completely different from what he heard from Ning Shu.

But Zhang Xian still didn’t believe that Ning Qin, who was gentle to himself and loving to his daughter, could be such a person.

Compared to what Ning Shu said, he naturally believed Ning Qin’s words more.

But the problem was, Ning Qin didn’t recognize Ning Shu, which made him also harbor some doubts about Ning Qin’s words.

In this situation, Zhang Xian decided to write a letter to his parents later and ask them to inquire about the Ning family’s situation.

Since they were all from the same place, it would be easy to find out about this.

But now, facing his pregnant wife, Zhang Xian remained calm.

Whatever happened before was still the same now.

As a soldier, he had a strong heart. He said to Ning Qin, “Let’s go back first. We can talk about it later. You’ve been out for a while now, don’t tire yourself out.”

Ning Qin’s mind was a bit chaotic.

She wanted to explain, but she didn’t know how to explain for a moment. She decided to calm herself down first and prepare for what was to come.

Explaining in confusion now would only make things worse.

“Okay.” Ning Qin didn’t say anything more. But she still carefully observed Zhang Xian’s expression.

Seeing that he was still the same as before, she felt a little relieved.

She thought, it didn’t matter how others saw her, as long as Zhang Xian was still good to her.

But how should she explain this to Zhang Xian?!