Chapter 12 Her Family

It was the same day as years ago. Her mother accompanied her aunt to the county to see a doctor and was not at home. She was left to be taken care of by her grandparents. It was also in the morning. Shortly after her family left, Zhu Sanni came. What she said and her tone were exactly the same as today. The only difference was that she was scared by her words that day, and her head was kicked by a donkey, so she happily agreed to the marriage date. As a result, when He’s grandmother and the others came back and knew about it, it was a done deal.

 They couldn’t go back on their word. Because Zhu Sanni went out of her house and spread the word all the way. Until people from both sides of the two teams knew about their marriage, she shut up. When her mother came back with her aunt, she was so angry that she almost exploded. She immediately ran to the Xu family and scolded them. Unfortunately, Zhu Sanni’s words that she was eager to marry angered her mother and the others to death. When they came back, they saw her several times, wanting to say something but stopped. But seeing her brainwashed by He Cao, she refused to marry anyone but Xu Weijun.

 They could only hold their noses and accept it. They actively helped her prepare her dowry. Even her brother and father, who were in the army, sent her a dowry, just to make sure she could live a good life in the future. And at that time, her grandmother and the others were so enthusiastic about preparing the dowry. Another reason was that Xu Weijun had reached the condition of applying for a separate dormitory. Who knew that things went against their wishes. On the night of their wedding, Xu Weijun said that he was injured and unable to have children. Before she could digest this news, his sister pretended to have received an urgent telegram and rushed into the new room, saying that the machinery factory urgently needed him to go back. That’s how she was left in the wolf’s den, until she died. And Xu Weijun never went back after he tricked her into marrying him. At first, when her father and brother were still alive, they would send back ten yuan each month symbolically. But she had to pay double the price to support their family with ten yuan.

 When her father died, his ten yuan became five yuan. When her brother also died, there was nothing left. And Xu Weijun, who used her father and brother’s sacrifices to advance his career, was living a happy life with He Cao. Even their children were given to her to raise. They said that she couldn’t give birth, but Xu Weijun couldn’t cut off the incense. It was also from then on that her father’s pension and her brother’s pension were used to support the white-eyed wolf and the Xu family. After her father’s death, her grandfather and grandmother fell ill and died within a month. When her brother’s death happened, her mother also followed. Finally, her maternal grandfather and grandmother also passed away. It was also because of this that the village spread the word that she was a broom star and had a hard life that killed her relatives.

 As if to prove this, Xu Weijun came back rarely a few years later. But he only stayed for a few days. After comforting her and settling her in his house, he left again. This time, until the news of his death in the provincial machinery factory, protecting the factory’s property, came back, the villagers believed even more that she was a harbinger of death. By then, she had already been worn down by the Xu family. When she saw her uncle and the others trying to get her to leave the Xu family, they were always stopped by Xu Xiaohua’s words about her being a harbinger of death. Because she was afraid of getting close to them, she was really afraid that she would bring disaster to them. It was from then on that she gradually disappeared from the village.

 Every day, except for working, she would go to the back mountain to pick wild goods to earn money to support her family. She didn’t appear in front of everyone’s curious eyes. Even when she was working, she would go to the most remote places, trying to stay away from people. Thinking of the life of an old cow and a doormat, He Wanqing looked at her family who were alive and cared for her. The smile on her lips contrasted with the tears in her eyes. “Wanqing, what’s going on? Did Zhu Sanni, that old hag, beat you and threaten you? Don’t be afraid. With grandma and your maternal grandmother here, the Xu family won’t dare force you to do anything you don’t want to do.” He’s grandmother’s words brought He Wanqing back to her senses from her memories. She reached out to wipe the tears from the corner of her eyes. She leaned her head against her grandmother’s chest to hide her expression, so they wouldn’t notice it, before slowly telling them about He Cao and Xu Weijun. The more she told them, the more restless the people on the bench became.

 If He’s grandmother hadn’t kept a close eye on them, He Jiadong and his brothers, as well as her cousins, would have rushed to smash the Xu family’s house. After she finished talking about Xu Weijun and He Cao’s secret affair, she also told them about Zhu Sanni’s request to her father, before sitting up straight and silent. She didn’t plan to tell them about her rebirth. It was too unbelievable. It was better if she kept it to herself. But… her eyes swept across the room, looking at the four elderly people, as well as her uncle, her aunt, and her cousins. She decided to improve their health this time, so they could all live long lives. Instead of what happened in her previous life, where half of the family died within a few years. And her father and two brothers, this time she knew in advance, she would definitely not let them die. “Wanqing, since you know about He Cao and Xu Weijun’s secret affair, why did you still agree to the Xu family’s marriage date?” He’s aunt was puzzled. Since she knew the Xu family was a fire pit, why not just refuse? Why go through all this trouble?

 He’s aunt’s curiosity was shared by Shen’s uncle and the others. Although they didn’t ask her directly like she did, the curiosity in their eyes was still noticed by He Wanqing. She met He’s grandmother and Shen’s maternal grandmother’s eyes. Seeing that they were also curious, she finally spoke, “The marriage report I filed was in Xu Weijun’s name. Now that the political review is over, he wants to change the person he’s marrying. Uncle, do you think he still needs to go to the security department of the military machinery factory?” Her uncle, He Baosheng, was forty-three years old this year. He was a retired soldier who was transferred to civilian life due to injury. He and his aunt, Wang Xiangya, had four sons and one daughter. They were her eldest cousin, He Jiadong, who was twenty-four years old this year. His wife was Xu Mei, from the next village, who was twenty-three years old. They both worked at the steel factory in the commune.

They had three sons and one daughter. Their eldest son, He Yuan, was six years old. Their second son, He Dong, was four years old. Their third son, He Bing, was two years old. Their eldest daughter, He Xiaoxiao, was three months old. Her second cousin, He Jiamin, was twenty-two years old and taught at the elementary school in the brigade. His wife was Wu Xia, from the brigade, who was twenty-one years old. They had two sons. Their eldest son, He Jie, was four years old. Their second son, He Shu, was two years old. They also had a baby boy in their belly. Her fourth cousin, He Jiaye, was twenty-one years old and worked at the machinery factory in the commune. His girlfriend was also from the commune. Their wedding was scheduled for next month. Her seventh cousin, He Jialin, was eighteen years old. He graduated last year with her and now worked in the village. He could have joined the army with her second brother.

 However, he didn’t want to go, so he could only earn work points at home. After all, college was abolished last year. Her cousin, He Wanyi, was seventeen years old this year. She had a good relationship with her and was now in her second year of high school. Her grandfather, He Niusheng, was sixty years old this year. He was the second oldest in his brothers. He and her grandmother, Qin Hua, had six sons and three daughters. Three of them died in the turbulent times. In the end, they had four sons and two daughters.