Chapter 14: Going Home

“Big Sis, how could you forget me? I’m your cutest little brother!”

Lin Qinglan patted Lin Zheng’s head. As for wiping his tears—forget it! Tissue paper was a luxury in this era, and there wasn’t even a single piece in her hospital room.
Wiping with her sleeve? She found that too dirty. So she just let his tears fall for a bit longer.

Granny Peng couldn’t stand Lin Zheng’s crying and quickly tried to soothe him:

“Your sister hit her head and lost her memory. Didn’t I already tell you that on the way here?”

“Sister Qinglan, do you remember me? It’s okay if you don’t. Let me formally introduce myself. I’m Chuitou, your neighbor and little brother!”

Lin Qinglan: …Neighbor little brother? What kind of title is that?

“Chuitou, don’t block me—I haven’t introduced myself to Big Sis yet!”
Lin Zheng finally squeezed past Chuitou and looked at Lin Qinglan with tear-filled eyes.
“Big Sis, my name is Lin Zheng. I’m your biological younger brother. You also have a younger sister—my second sister—her name is Lin Qingmei.”

Though Lin Zheng was still young, Lin Jianshe had always told him at home that they had a second sister, so he gradually remembered her name.

Lin Qingmei? Could that be her best friend from her previous life?

“Where’s your second sister? Why didn’t she come see me?”

“She’s back in our hometown. Once you get better, we can go see her.”
Lin Zheng actually didn’t know exactly where their hometown was, only that it was very far away.

“Where is our hometown? Why don’t we just go now?”
Right now, Lin Qinglan’s mind was full of questions. Was that Lin Qingmei the same one from her past life? She was desperate to get discharged and go home immediately.

“Sister Qinglan, you can’t leave for the hometown yet! If you don’t go home and ask your mom for the money, she’s going to run off with it!”
Chuitou was nearly dying of anxiety on the side. Lin Zheng was just too unreliable—he’d talked so long and still hadn’t brought up the main point.

Lin Qinglan: ………

“Qinglan, don’t listen to Chuitou’s nonsense.
And you, Chuitou, this is your Sister Qinglan’s family matter. Come with me to get some hot water.”
Granny Peng quickly pulled Chuitou out the door. She was afraid her grandson would say too much and make Lin Qinglan suspect he had ulterior motives.
After all, when it came to money, outsiders were better off staying out of it.

Seeing Granny Peng’s serious expression, Chuitou obediently followed her outside.
But before he left, he gave Lin Zheng several looks, reminding him to stick to the plan they’d discussed.

Now that the room was left with only Lin Qinglan and her brother, she didn’t need to hide anything anymore.

“Lin Zheng, tell Big Sis—what exactly is going on?”

“Big Sis, I don’t really know either. Yesterday after school, I came home and no one was there. I ended up staying at Chuitou’s house for the night.
Chuitou said you and Mom had a fight about the compensation money.
Mom said she’d give you 100 yuan to take me to the hometown, and then you got so angry you hit your head on the wall.”

“Compensation money? Our dad was a soldier? And… he died?”

“Mm-hmm. A week ago, the military sent word that our dad had died in the line of duty.
Big Sis… will you abandon me like Mom did?”

Lin Zheng had been raised by Lin Qinglan. His bond with her was even stronger than the one he had with his parents.

Since their father’s death, rumors had been swirling around the military family compound.
Many people were mocking their family.

He had overheard people say he was a fatherless child, that his mother would remarry soon, and that his sister would get married and leave home.
By then, he’d be a child nobody wanted.

He had heard it all—many times.
He could live without his parents… but not without his sister.

“No. No matter where I go, Big Sis will always take you with me.”
Lin Qinglan hugged Lin Zheng tightly.
This child was the son of a hero and the biological younger brother of her current body—how could she possibly abandon him?

“Big Sis, I saw Mom already packed her things today.
Is she planning to abandon us and remarry?”

“I don’t know if she plans to remarry, but she definitely wants to run off with the compensation money.
Let’s go home and check. We can’t let her take all of it.”

Lin Qinglan could roughly guess what Yao Yanfang was thinking.
Now that her husband was gone, the children were just burdens.
The two daughters were older—manageable. But the youngest son was only six. He’d still need money for school, marriage…
That meant years of expenses.

To gain her freedom, Yao Yanfang was definitely going to leave her youngest son in the care of the older daughters, but she wasn’t willing to give them the money.
So she must’ve planned to slip away quietly.

And Lin Qinglan was right on the mark—that was exactly what Yao Yanfang had in mind.

But since she had just had surgery, the doctor definitely wouldn’t allow her to be discharged.

So, in order to go back and confront Yao Yanfang, Lin Qinglan secretly snuck out of the hospital with Lin Zheng and Granny Peng.

Unfortunately, they were still too late. By the time they returned to the military compound, Yao Yanfang was already gone.

“Lin Zheng, do you know where Grandma’s house is?”

Lin Qinglan planned to go directly to Yao Yanfang’s family to retrieve the money—if they delayed any longer, it might be gone for good.

“I do. It’s in Yaojia Village nearby, but if we walk, it’ll take over an hour.”

Lin Zheng looked at his small body and sighed quietly.
If only he were older, he could help his sister more.

“Chuitou, do you have a bicycle at home? We’ll get there faster if we ride.”

Lin Qinglan had completely forgotten about the wound on her head.
All she could think about now was finding Yao Yanfang as soon as possible.

“Yes! Yes, I do. I’ll go get it for you.”

“Lin Zheng, sit in the front and give me directions. We need to get to Yaojia Village quickly.”

Without caring about her injury, Lin Qinglan hopped on the bike and took off in a hurry.

Maybe it was luck, but when they were still about two miles away from Yaojia Village, they spotted Yao Yanfang walking home with a bundle on her back.

“Big Sis, that’s Mom!”

Following Lin Zheng’s gaze, Lin Qinglan saw the woman with a bundle slung over her shoulder.

“Mom, what are you running for? Stop right there!”
Lin Zheng shouted as he ran.

“What are you following me for? I already left the 100 yuan in the drawer at home!”
Yao Yanfang suddenly felt nervous.
Were they coming to take the rest of the money?

“Give me the compensation money, and I’ll let you go.”
Lin Qinglan didn’t want to waste words—she held out her hand.

“Lin Qinglan, this money is for my retirement. I’m not giving it to you.”
Yao Yanfang gripped her bundle tighter, afraid her daughter would snatch it from her.

“Pah! Retirement money? That compensation was given by the military to us, not just to you.
What right do you have to take it all for yourself?”