Chapter 28: Zhaojiagou

~Hateful! The Eight Years I Missed~

Qian Shufen stood frozen, staring blankly at Zhao Chenyang as if silently asking: What’s going on? Didn’t you promise not to expose this? Didn’t you say Zhao Xiangwan wasn’t favored by Zhao Qingyun and the others?  

After meeting Zhao Xiangwan at the Four Seasons Hotel, Zhao Qingyun immediately confronted Zhao Chenyang. Realizing the truth would come out eventually, Zhao Chenyang confessed to Zhao Qingyun and Wei Meihua, claiming ignorance and blaming Qian Shufen for the switch—saying she did it out of vanity.  

Zhao Chenyang let Qian Shufen take the fall. When Qian Shufen called Zhao Qingyun, she tearfully begged him not to blame Zhao Chenyang, insisting she had raised Zhao Xiangwan well—even getting her into college—and had fulfilled Zhao Qingyun’s trust.  

After her emotional plea, Qian Shufen added, “I raised your daughter for ten years. Can’t you raise mine for eight? I won’t blame you for abandoning her, so don’t blame me for switching them.”  

Zhao Qingyun had fathered a daughter out of wedlock and sent her to the countryside at just one month old, paying only ten yuan a month for four years. Faced with Qian Shufen’s veiled accusation, he had no defense. Besides, he had raised Zhao Chenyang for eight years—almost to adulthood—and couldn’t bear to let her go.  

His ideal scenario was for Zhao Xiangwan and Zhao Chenyang to treat each other as sisters. Since Zhao Xiangwan was already eighteen and in college, she wouldn’t need much support—just a dowry and a good job.  

But after meeting Zhao Xiangwan, Zhao Qingyun realized she wasn’t easily swayed. She must resent Zhao Chenyang for stealing eight years of her life. If he didn’t make his stance clear, she might never acknowledge him as her father.  

Torn between Zhao Chenyang—raised for eight years and married into the Xu family—and Zhao Xiangwan—brilliant and connected to the Ji family—Zhao Qingyun wavered.  

But after witnessing Zhao Xiangwan solve a case even Xu Songling struggled with, he saw her true potential. She was sharp, logical, and strong-willed—someone destined for greatness.  

In the end, Zhao Qingyun swallowed his pride. He decided to send Zhao Chenyang back to Zhaojiagou, publicly acknowledge Zhao Xiangwan, and bring her home—hoping to win her loyalty.  

Seeing Qian Shufen still stunned, Zhao Qingyun repeated firmly: “Our children were switched. Let’s correct that now.”  

No! Qian Shufen panicked, staring at Zhao Chenyang’s pale face. You raised Chenyang to be delicate and refined—how could she adjust to our poor life now?  

“Leader Zhao,” she forced a smile, “both Xiangwan and Chenyang are grown now, studying in Xing City. Why talk of sending them back? It’s New Year’s—come inside for tea. We can discuss this properly.”  

She nudged her second son beside her: “Go to your aunt’s house and bring your third sister back!”  

Zhao Zhongwu, realizing Zhao Chenyang was his real sister, was briefly shocked—but it made sense.  

Of course Zhao Xiangwan—smart and sharp at gambling—wasn’t really our sister. Zhao Chenyang, lazy and calling me ‘Er Gouzi’ (Second Dog), fits right in!  

Still, he hesitated to fetch Zhao Xiangwan.  

Truthfully, he was a little afraid of her. Back in junior high, he’d stolen money to gamble (rolling dice, guessing odds). When Zhao Xiangwan found out, her face turned stormy.  

“Why gamble?” she asked coldly.  

“Small bets can win big!” he argued.  

“But you lose.”  

“I’ll win once I master it!”  

She smirked. “Let’s bet. If I make you win every time, you quit. Deal?”  

“Win every time? Impossible!”  

“Bet?”  

Arrogant, Zhao Zhongwu agreed.  

Then… he lost. Zhao Xiangwan wiped out every opponent. Zhao Damao, the gambling den^[1]refers to Illegal establishment for betting games..   owner, begged her to stop, swearing to ban Zhao Zhongwu forever.  

Zhao Xiangwan blocked Zhao Zhongwu’s escape path. Anyone who ran gambling operations near the village treated Zhao Zhongwu like a curse, forcing him to keep his word. Only in the past two years, after moving away for work and out of Zhao Xiangwan’s sight, did he dare to gamble secretly.  

But what happened? Zhao Zhongwu felt guilty because he lost money gambling and was fired from the restaurant. He couldn’t face Zhao Xiangwan.  

When Qian Shufen asked him to pick up Zhao Xiangwan, he refused: “I won’t go. Zhao Xiangwan isn’t my sister anymore—why should I fetch her?”  

Qian Shufen was furious. One by one, they ignored her. Unacceptable! Suppressing her anger, she pulled out twenty yuan and shoved it into Zhao Zhongwu’s hand. Gritting her teeth, she said, “Be good and go! Bring your third sister back.”  

Seeing the money, Zhao Zhongwu’s expression softened. He rolled his eyes. “Only twenty? Mom, you’re treating me like a beggar.”  

Qian Shufen pretended to take the money back. “Not going? Fine, I’ll send Zhuzi instead.”  

Zhao Zhongwu grinned, quickly stuffing the money into his coat pocket. Rubbing his hands, he said, “Alright, I’ll go.”  

Watching Zhao Zhongwu ride off happily, Zhao Chenyang asked, confused, “Where’s our eldest brother?” In her memory, her mother always ordered the obedient eldest brother around—why ask the second brother today?  

Qian Shufen smiled. “After graduating from Traditional Chinese Medicine School, your eldest brother was assigned to the County People’s Hospital as a pharmacist. He’s busy and can only come home on New Year’s Eve.”  

“What?!” Zhao Chenyang gasped in disbelief.  

Her eldest brother worked in a hospital? With his plain looks, how? In her past life, he’d been a farmer with no prospects.  

Qian Shufen, not noticing her shock, added, “He took the adult college entrance exam in 1986, got into a junior college in Zhushi, and was guaranteed a job. As the eldest son, I made sure he got the hospital position.”  

Zhao Chenyang asked, “What about the second brother?” At 21, he’d been a troublemaker in her past life—gambling, arrested, and shamed in the village.  

Qian Shufen sighed. “Smart but never sticks to anything. After junior high, he tried bamboo weaving but quit—said his fingers got cut. Then bricklaying in the city—too dirty and tiring. Last year, he went to Guangzhou to learn cooking, but couldn’t last. Ah!”  

Zhao Xiangwan looked around. The house had changed—whitewashed walls, tiled floors, bluestone edges by the eaves. Simple but brighter than eight years ago.  

Zhao Chenyang frowned. “After so long, the house is different.”  

Qian Shufen beamed. “The village’s responsibility contracting system ^[2]a rural economic reform in China where land was allocated to households for production. improved life. I saved up to renovate. Stay awhile, Fourth Sister. I’ll cook you meat. Hungry? Let me make sweet wine eggs^[3]a dessert of eggs poached in fermented rice wine. first.”  

Overjoyed, Qian Shufen simmered brown sugar water, adding red dates, longans, rice wine, and eggs. The sweet, boozy aroma filled the room.  

She handed a bowl to Zhao Chenyang. “You loved this as a child. Drink up—it’ll warm you.”  

Villagers watching teased:  

“Aunt Qian’s so happy she’s splurging on eggs!”  

“She never cooked these for us before Xiang Wan got into university.”  

“Blood children are different!”  

Their barbed comments made Qian Shufen and Zhao Erfu stiffen. “Our guest’s from the provincial capital—only the best! Sit, let me make tea.”  

Zhao Qingyun sat on a low wooden chair, legs stretched awkwardly. He declined the sweet wine. “I don’t like sweet drinks.”  

Qian Shufen, embarrassed, offered farmhouse tea ^[4]which is strong, rustic tea brewed with lots of leaves.. “Countryside has little to offer—forgive us, sir.”  

Zhao Qingyun sipped, eyeing the hall. The brick floor was clean. A faded “Cranes Greet Spring” painting hung on the north wall, flanked by Spring Festival couplets:  

People and wealth flourish  

Fortune springs everywhere  

Horizontal scroll: Wealth and blessings  

The rural vibe reminded him of his Hubei mountain village. But after marrying Wei Meihua, a city girl who despised rural life, he rarely visited. His siblings drifted away, and contact faded after his parents’ death.  

Meanwhile, Zhao Zhongwu pedaled furiously from country roads to the county road, racing toward Luo County. No longer reluctant, he laughed wildly in the cold wind.  

“Haha, haha! Zhao Xiangwan, you’d better fight to keep your position and don’t let Zhao Chenyang push you down!”  

The image of Zhao Xiangwan—who had dominated all the gambling games in Zhaojiagou at just twelve years old—flashed through Zhao Zhongwu’s mind. Startled, he didn’t know how to express his inner amusement. Excitedly, he rang the bell like a madman.  

Ding-ling… Ding-ling-ling…  

There’s going to be a great show~ A great show to watch~  

Zhao Zhongwu, who thrived on chaos and never shied away from drama, felt no joy at his sister Zhao Chenyang’s return. Instead, he was more interested in the fact that his parents had swapped Zhao Chenyang and Zhao Xiangwan. Now that the truth was out, wouldn’t Zhao Xiangwan tear Zhao Chenyang apart and wreck the old house?  

Born restless and always eager for excitement, Zhao Zhongwu raised his left hand, drew an arc in the air, and cheered: “Zhao Xiangwan, go for it!”  

Zhaojiagou was over twenty miles from the county town, about a thirty-to-forty-minute bike ride.  

Zhao Zhongwu sped through the old alleys of the county, spotting Zhao Dacui’s bungalow from a distance and shouting at the top of his lungs: “Aunt! Aunt—!”  

It was already noon. Zhao Dacui had just finished cooking and was instructing Fan Qiuhan to pour drinks. Hearing the familiar voice, she laughed. “Xiang Wan, speak of the devil! I just mentioned sending Zhongwu to me as an apprentice, and here he is.”  

Zhao Bowen quickly stood up and opened the door, seeing his brother speeding toward him on a bicycle. “Zhongwu, be careful! Don’t crash into anything!”  

The alley was narrow, cluttered with buckets, basins, laundry racks, dried fish, and cured meats. Zhao Zhongwu weaved through recklessly, nearly knocking over a clothesline, making everyone’s hearts skip a beat.