The Liu family mother and son did not allow her to go out at night, so she could only sneak out during the day when Liu's mother went out to visit other people. She was very careful on her way to the cowshed.

As soon as she reached the gate of the cowshed, she saw Mr. Luo carrying firewood into the house from the yard. She put on a smile and walked over to him.

"uncle."

"Huh?" Mr. Luo turned his head and was quite surprised to see Li Hongying. "What are you doing here?"

Her daughter didn't mention that Li Hongying had come here for a rural assignment. So why was Li Hongying here?

At the same time, Li Hongying was also very surprised by Luo's father's reaction. Luo's father used to dote on her. Every time he saw her, he would smile and give her pocket money. Sometimes she felt that Luo's father treated her better than Li Baojun. Now that they had met in a foreign land, Luo's father should not have such a cold and distant attitude towards her.

Li Hongying paused for a second, then said, "Uncle, this is a long story. I just happened to be passing by and unexpectedly saw you. Uncle, let's go inside and talk. I heard you were arrested, but my parents and I couldn't help you. You've suffered so much. By the way, how is Aunt? Is she alright?"

Mr. Luo had many doubts in his mind. He disliked his niece very much, but before these doubts were resolved, he didn't want to alert her and decided to go along with her for now.

He forced a smile at Li Hongying, "Your aunt is inside, come in with me."

He walked ahead, and once inside the house, he gave Luo's mother a wink: "Hongying is here."

Upon hearing the name, Luo's mother was immediately filled with anger, even briefly forgetting to consider why Li Hongying was there.

Mr. Luo walked over, took her hand, looked into her eyes, and gestured for her to calm down: "Siqi, your hands are still so cold. I'll go add more firewood to the stove and make the room warmer."

Li Hongying walked into the house, saw Luo's mother, and reluctantly called out, "Auntie."

Having been warned by Luo's father, Luo's mother forced a smile at Li Hongying.

"It's Hongying! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Beijing?"

Li Hongying sighed, and before Luo's parents could ask her to sit down, she sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) by herself.

"Auntie, don't even mention it. My family was framed. My parents were arrested. They said they made a very serious mistake and they're probably still in prison. Later, I don't know who secretly enrolled me and got me sent to the countryside. Auntie, the three of us have such a hard life."

When Luo's mother heard her complaining, she felt extremely happy and thought to herself that she deserved it.

"Hongying, when did you come to Shengli Brigade as an educated youth? Did you just arrive recently?"

“Aunt, I wasn’t sent to Shengli Brigade as an educated youth. I was assigned to Taohua Brigade next door. People there bullied me, so I had no choice but to find someone to marry into this family.” She told her story while putting on a pitiful look, trying to gain the sympathy of Mr. and Mrs. Luo and make them feel sorry for her.

Luo's mother pretended to sigh, "You're quite pitiful, child."

Li Hongying chuckled inwardly. See? Even though Mr. and Mrs. Luo have been harmed so badly by their family, they are still unaware of the truth and can still be used by her.

She sniffed: "Uncle, Aunt, I thought I would be all alone here, but I didn't expect to meet you."

Mr. Luo said, "We are so down on our luck now, even worse off than you are. I'm afraid we can't help you much."

“Uncle, please don’t say that. I don’t want you to help me with anything. You and Aunt were so good to me when I was little. When I was sent to the countryside, I prayed that I could see you there and take care of you. Uncle, Aunt, we will have to rely on each other here from now on. I will do my best to take care of you and help you.”

Hearing her words, Luo's mother felt nauseous and asked, "Hongying, we haven't been able to go home to see our family since we were arrested. Are your cousins ​​doing well at home?"

Li Hongying wanted to ruin Luo Jingyan's image in Luo's parents' eyes, believing that once Luo's parents returned to the city, they would definitely become estranged from Luo Jingyan.

“When I came here, my cousin and my younger cousin were doing quite well in the city. My cousin said she wasn’t worried about you, and that she could live just fine without you.”

Suppressing her anger, Luo's mother looked into Li Hongying's eyes and said through gritted teeth, "Hongying, your uncle and I didn't actually do anything wrong. Later we found out that we were framed. Those who framed us, including their children, will be torn to pieces and die a horrible death. Don't you agree?"

Li Hongying's face changed instantly. She lowered her eyelids guiltily and gritted her teeth, saying, "Auntie is right."

Mr. Luo came over and said, "Hongying, this place isn't a good place. It won't be good for you if others see you here. You should leave quickly and try to come here less often in the future."

"Uncle, Aunt, I still need to take care of you."

She wanted to cultivate a bond with Mr. and Mrs. Luo as close as if they were blood relatives, so that she could use them in the future.

Mr. Luo pursed his lips and remained silent. Mrs. Luo said, "Zhenhua, Hongying is a filial child. She wants to bring us something. Don't let her down." Then, Mrs. Luo complained to Li Hongying, "Hongying, it was snowing heavily when we came. There's not much good food in the brigade. I have a stomach problem and can't eat coarse grains all the time. Do you have any refined grains at home? If so, bring about ten catties for your aunt. I know your daughter is filial, and she will definitely agree."

What a load of rubbish!

Li Hongying secretly complained to herself that the Liu family didn't have any fine grains, and even if they did, Liu's mother wouldn't let her take them out to give to others, let alone more than ten catties.

It would be more likely if she got the female lead's space.

"Aunt, to be honest, we don't have that much refined grain."

"Then bring five jin (2.5 kg). It's too cold here, and I have rheumatism in my legs. Also, bring a cotton quilt."

Li Hongying: The things we need haven't decreased; in fact, they've increased.

“Aunt, we don’t even have five catties of fine grain. My husband’s family’s cotton quilts are only enough for us to use, and there are no extras.”

Upon hearing this, Luo's mother quickly frowned. "Hongying, so you were just saying you'd take care of us and help us, and you thought your uncle and I were easy to please? Since that's the case, don't pretend to be a good person in front of us. Anyone can say nice things. Your uncle and I are old enough to tell the difference between good and bad words. Don't treat us like fools."

“Aunt, what we mean is…” Li Hongying hadn’t expected Luo’s mother to be so difficult: “Aunt, you have to understand my difficulties. I’m not doing well either.”