Chapter 87 : Narrating the Past

“I walked out of the Shu family on my own and, with help from the neighbors, was admitted to the hospital. After I got out, I agreed to go to the countryside in place of Shu Ruxue to repay the Shu family for raising me. I also gave up my job to them, publicly severed ties in the newspaper, and changed my name to Yun Siying.” Yun Siying spoke as if she were telling someone else’s story.

The three men fell silent after hearing this. Elder Ming and Elder Hua exchanged glances. No wonder the villagers had mentioned how close the three boys were to her. Now it made sense, they grew up together in the same military compound, so they naturally looked out for each other.

“What’s with that look? Do you think my life story is ridiculous?” Yun Siying asked innocently.

That question instantly broke the heavy atmosphere. Clearly, they had been worried about her unnecessarily.

“Did you choose to come here because your biological parents were in the Hongxing Brigade?” Elder Ming asked.

He had known Shu Zhisheng and the others well, he’d often heard them praise their grandchildren, especially this girl, saying she was talented in martial arts and had been trained strictly.

But now, it turned out the girl wasn’t related to him by blood, and yet he had turned so heartless watching her get whipped and seriously injured, without even sending her to the hospital.

Still, from her calm demeanor and change of name, it was clear this girl had been deeply hurt and was completely disillusioned.

“No, I had no idea they were in this brigade.”

“Then… are your biological parents good to you?” Elder Ming asked.

They knew Li Gang well, he did the dirtiest and hardest work. They also knew a bit about the villagers’ characters.

“Him? He just wanted to get a girl for free and then marry her off for a bride price. You probably won’t believe this, but Li Gang isn’t even my biological father, Shu Guofeng is.” Yun Siying gave a sarcastic smile, with a touch of schadenfreude.

Elder Ming and Elder Hua exchanged glances again, looking at Yun Siying with some suspicion and deep thought in their eyes.

“Then you’ve really had a hard life. You’re all alone now.”

Elder Ming looked at her slightly smug expression and couldn’t help but feel like teasing her a bit.

“I think it’s great. One person eating means the whole family is fed. No one tells you what to do.

You’re free to live how you want and make your own decisions.” Yun Siying didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Girl, your background is pretty complicated. You say you’re the Shu family’s biological daughter, do you have any proof?”

The three of them looked at her with mixed feelings. This child had clearly suffered a lot, and yet had shared so many good things with them.

“After I came to the countryside, I did find some clues, but I didn’t bother to keep investigating. I don’t care about the truth anymore. Family bonds are also about fate. Maybe I just wasn’t meant to have parents.” As she said this, a sadness unique to someone her age finally showed on her face. In her previous life, her parents had also left her early.

“Aren’t you worried that the person who entered the Shu family might have ulterior motives?” Elder Ming asked.

Seeing the sorrow in her eyes, he felt a rare twinge of pity. This child looked only eighteen or nineteen, but she’d already seen the best and worst of human nature.

“Since the Shu family once treated me well, I sent that woman to the Hongxing Brigade as an educated youth to make sure she wouldn’t have the chance to harm them. That was the last thing I did for the Shu family. Whatever happens from now on is their business. It has nothing to do with someone named Yun like me.”

“So Shu Ruxue, the educated youth in our brigade, is the Shu family’s adopted daughter. You were the one who sent her here? Aren’t you afraid the Shu family will find out and come after you?”

Lu Huaren’s impression of Yun Siying improved slightly. This girl had a sense of responsibility. Although she had been let down by the Shu family, she was still willing to do one last thing for them. If the person who had infiltrated the Shu family only wanted money, that was one thing but if it was an enemy spy, it could be catastrophic.

“Girl, you don’t seem like someone who repays kindness with enmity, do you?”

Old Hua didn’t quite agree. Although the girl spoke frankly, sincerely, and appeared delicate and soft, she was definitely someone who would get even when wronged. Just like the previous night, when they suspected she had poisoned the food and didn’t trust her, she immediately teased Xiao Lu as a form of retaliation.

Yun Siying looked up in surprise at Old Hua, showing no guilt at all.

“Fine! I did want to get revenge on her at the time, but I didn’t expect that I’d end up indirectly helping the Shu family. But just recently, Tang Lingxue and Shu Chengzhi came to the Hongxing Brigade to visit the injured Shu Ruxue and ended up getting caught in a trap set by the Li family. Shu Chengzhi married Li Yanyan and brought her back to the Shu family.”

“Alright then, two elders, Uncle Lu, I’ll head back now.” Seeing that time was getting late, Yun Siying bid farewell.

After she left, Elder Ming asked, “How much of what that girl said do you think is true?”

“It’s hard to say. Wait for Nangong to come back and have him look into it,” Old Hua replied. He didn’t comment further and turned his attention to investigating the Li family’s motives.

Two days later, Yun Siying went to both the city and the county. She visited several black markets and sold off all the small animals she had collected, earning over 20,000 yuan.

At midnight on the third day, Nangong Ruochen and Han Yuecheng returned, looking quite disheveled. The next morning, before dawn, they left again.

Not long after they departed, Yun Siying stepped out of the courtyard with a backpack on her back. She still needed to collect firewood. Winters here were long and bitterly cold, she needed to gather a lot of dry firewood to keep the kang (heated brick bed) warm. She had to bring back a large quantity.

Unexpectedly, she ran into Li Dazhuang at the gate of the Farm.

“Li Dazhuang, do you know anyone who has extra firewood? I need enough to last through the whole winter.”

“Sister Yun, leave the firewood to me. I promise I’ll get it for you,” Li Dazhuang replied enthusiastically. She had once saved his life so he change how to addressed her and also he could ask his brothers to gather the firewood in just two days.

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you.” Yun Siying handed him ten yuan and turned to leave, thinking the firewood issue was settled.

Li Dazhuang walked beside her and secretly slipped the money back into her backpack.

“Sister Yun, it’s just a small thing. You don’t need to pay for it. By the way, where are you headed?”

“To the mountains. Take the money, or I’ll find someone else to do it.”

Yun Siying didn’t expect him to refuse the money. Her tone became firm. Li Dazhuang had no choice but to accept it.

That day, Yun Siying changed her route into the mountains and picked a lot of herbs. She planted some in her space and also collected a few small animals.

Just as she was about to withdraw her mental power and head back, she unexpectedly detected two people entering her psychic range.

Looking closely, it was Nangong Ruochen and Han Yuecheng. Both had gunshot wounds. They were running while firing back at five pursuers, who were all armed with guns.

The two of them took cover behind a large tree.

Nangong Ruochen glanced at his injured leg, realizing he couldn’t go much farther. He gave an order.

“Yuecheng, I’ll cover you. You run and report back. That’s an order!”