Chapter 56

Looking at the angry Xia Qingcao, Xia Qingning was full of confusion. As far as she knew, Xia Qing Shu’s leg was disabled because of an infection that wasn’t treated in time. It had nothing to do with the original owner.

After she came to this world, this was the first time she had met him. Why would Xia Qingcao say it was because of her?

“Qingcao, don’t talk nonsense. How can you blame your sister?” Guo Yumei frowned and scolded her son.

“Why isn’t it because of her? If he hadn’t been picking loquats for her to eat, how could he have fallen from the tree?” Xia Qingcao said indignantly.

Xia Qingning finally understood. She unconsciously looked up at the loquat tree at the entrance of the house. She saw that the tree was full of bright yellow loquats, but she quickly noticed that the loquats were not very big. Only the sun-facing part of the crown had a few large and yellow ones.

Thinking back to the loquats Xia Qing Shu had sent over the past two days, they were all uniform and very large. It seemed that he had specially picked the ones from the crown, carefully selecting each one.

His leg was bad. Carrying such heavy loquats, he had to walk dozens of miles to the town, then spend money to take a bus to the city. After delivering the loquats, he was afraid of causing trouble for his sister, so he didn’t even go inside for a drink of water. He left them at the phone booth and left.

He limped all that way. He probably didn’t have much money on him. When he got hungry on the road, he probably just ate some hard biscuits. He traveled thousands of miles, over mountains and rivers, just to let his sister eat her favorite loquats.

This kind of family affection was so heavy. Xia Qingning, as an only child, had never experienced the love between siblings. She couldn’t help but tear up.

“If you want to count it that way, then you’re to blame too.” Guo Yumei patted her younger son’s head and continued:

“If you hadn’t been sulking and refused to help your sister pick them, would your brother have climbed the tree? Would he have fallen if he hadn’t climbed the tree?”

Hearing Guo Yumei’s words, Xia Qingcao clearly felt a little guilty. He didn’t retort anymore and turned to go inside the house.

“Your brother’s leg is fine. Don’t worry.” Guo Yumei saw Xia Qingning’s worry and heartache and quickly comforted her:

“Don’t be angry with your brother. He’s just stubborn. He’s always thinking about you.”

Then she suddenly laughed and leaned close to Xia Qingning’s ear, lowering her voice, as if she was whispering a secret:

“That day, he saw that I and your brother were both asleep, so he secretly climbed the tree, picked the biggest ones, and quietly put them in the basket he brought for you.”

Xia Qingning was touched. Although the original owner’s family was poor, all her family members were silently giving. If the original owner’s father hadn’t passed away, and she hadn’t been engaged to Lu Lidong, perhaps she would have married a honest and hardworking man in this small mountain village. Her life would have been simple and warm, and she wouldn’t have ended up so tragically.

She suppressed the tears in her eyes. Originally, she just felt a sense of responsibility and thought that it was enough to fulfill her obligations to this body. Now, she decided to treat Xia’s family as her real family. In the future, she would try her best to make them live a better life.

The group went inside the house. Guo Yumei quickly poured water for Lu Jingzhe who had just returned. Seeing that he had bought so many things, she felt very guilty and kept saying that he shouldn’t have spent so much money.

Lu Jingzhe put down the things, drank some water, then went into the room and changed into his military uniform. He told everyone that he had something to do and went out alone.

Xia Qingning was puzzled as to why he suddenly changed into his military uniform. She noticed that he didn’t seem to be in a good mood since he came back. She was thinking about whether to ask him if he was okay, but then she thought about Lu Jingzhe’s cold personality. If she asked him, he probably wouldn’t say anything.

After Lu Jingzhe left, Xia Qingning thought of something and went into the house. She took out the new clothes she had bought for everyone. Guo Yumei’s was a floral jacket, Xia Qing Shu’s was a white shirt, and Xia Qingcao’s was a tracksuit.

Except for Xia Qingcao, who was hiding in his room and wouldn’t come out no matter how much they called him, Guo Yumei and Xia Qing Shu were both surprised and touched. They were surprised that the clothes were so good, and they were touched that he had spent so much money.

Especially Xia Qing Shu. When he saw the white shirt, his expression froze. He had never worn such nice clothes in his life. Seeing that they all liked them, Xia Qingning urged them to go and try them on.

Guo Yumei came out first. The clothes fit her well. She had good features. Even though she had been worn down by time, her skin and figure were not as good as before, but after putting on the new clothes, she still had a hint of her former elegance.

Xia Qingning was praising her when she saw Xia Qing Shu come out of the room. He was wearing the shirt and had specially changed into his best pants. As he walked over, he scratched his head a little embarrassedly.

It was true that clothes make the man. The man in front of her, wearing a white shirt and blue trousers, had good features and was tall. Now he looked even more handsome.

Seeing her son like this, tears welled up in Guo Yumei’s eyes again.

At that time, Xia Qing Shu was working in the field when he was scratched by a rusty nail. He was afraid of spending money, so he didn’t go to the clinic. He just picked some herbs and applied them.

After his father passed away, the family lost its pillar. The injured Xia Qing Shu continued to work. When Guo Yumei realized something was wrong, his leg was already swollen beyond recognition, and he had a high fever. He was sent to the hospital, his life was saved, but he was left with a lifelong disability.

How wonderful it would have been if his leg hadn’t been injured! Her son had a good character, good looks, and good grades in school. His articles were even published in the newspaper. He wasn’t inferior to any young man in the village. Why had he ended up in this situation, where he could only marry a mentally ill, foolish girl?

Seeing Guo Yumei’s sadness, Xia Qingning quickly stepped forward and patted her hand to comfort her, saying softly:

“Mom, look how handsome my brother is!”

Xia Qing Shu was embarrassed to be praised. His ears turned red. He unconsciously reached out and touched them, then said:

“It’s because the clothes Xiaoning bought are good.”

The three of them chatted for a while. Xia Qingning saw that Xia Qingcao still wouldn’t come out, so she took the big white rabbit milk candy she had bought for him and knocked on his door.

Xia Qingcao was lying in bed. Hearing the knock, he knew it was his sister. He didn’t go to open the door, but instead buried his head under the blanket.

Xia Qingning knocked for a while. Seeing that no one opened the door, she knew that her brother was still angry. She said:

“Qingcao, open the door, okay? Sister bought you some candy.”

Seeing that the person inside was still unresponsive, Xia Qingning was silent for a moment. Then she continued:

“Don’t be angry with your sister. It was my fault before. I’ll come back to see you often.”

“Liar.” Xia Qingcao mumbled under the blanket, his voice so low that only he could hear it:

“You said that last time. You went to the city and didn’t come back to see us. You even thought we were poor and were afraid that we would embarrass you. You didn’t let us go find you.”

The more he thought about it, the angrier and sadder he became. Tears unconsciously flowed down his cheeks.

Seeing that he still wouldn’t open the door, Xia Qingning knew he was angry. She thought she would talk to him later that night. She said to the person inside:

“Qingcao, Sister put the candy at the door. You eat it later.”

When it was completely quiet outside, Xia Qingcao took the blanket off his head. He tiptoed over, leaned against the cracked door, and looked out.

Seeing that his sister had really left, his face instantly drooped. He gently pulled open the door, took the candy outside, and then closed the door again.

It was candy he had never seen before. The white wrapper had a cute rabbit drawn on it. He could even smell the rich milky fragrance through the wrapper. He couldn’t help but swallow.

He took one and carefully unwrapped the wrapper. The candy inside was white. It looked incredibly sweet in his dark hand. He swallowed again, then put the candy in his mouth.

The rich milky taste, mixed with the sweetness, melted in his mouth, incredibly delicious. It was the best thing he had ever eaten in his life.

For some reason, the sweet and fragrant candy suddenly tasted salty in his mouth.

The twelve-year-old boy, stubborn, hugged a large bag of candy and cried silently in his room.