“After Yuanyuan finished the phone call, she was in a bad mood and didn’t eat much dinner.”

"I think she seems to have something on her mind. Go back to the room and ask her later."

"Oh right, the rice is still warming in the pot, I'll go get it for you."

"Mother, I'll go by myself."

After saying that, Lu Zhan took a long stride and went to the kitchen.

When he quietly pushed open the door, Meng Yuan was indeed leaning against the headboard with a preoccupied look on her face.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't even notice Lu Zhankai sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Xiaoyuan?"

Meng Yuan snapped out of her daze, forcing a smile. "When did you get back?"

"I've been back for a while."

Lu Zhan placed the food on the bedside table, then took her hand.

"Mom said your family called you. What happened?"

That's what they said, but Lu Zhanxin knew the truth in his heart.

When they call, it's impossible for them to have anything else to ask for money.

Meng Yuan is indeed a sent-down youth who came to Xinjiang to provide assistance, but she didn't come here with enthusiasm and volunteered on her own initiative.

She was forced into it.

The Meng family's situation was rather complicated. After her father passed away, her mother married a worker from the same factory, bringing her and her two siblings with her. The man also had three children.

After marriage, the other party's parents will also be involved.

A large family of more than ten people were crammed into a small tenement building of less than 30 square meters.

Blended families are inherently prone to conflict, and her mother has a soft heart.

During those years of living under someone else's roof, Meng Yuan never had a single good day.

Later, the eldest son of her stepfather's family got married.

In order to raise money for the bride price, the stepfather learned that there was a resettlement allowance available for those who participated in the aid program for Xinjiang's development.

They signed her up without even consulting her.

Not only did they not give us a single penny of the resettlement allowance of over three hundred yuan, but they also...

For the first few years after she arrived, her family practically treated her as if she didn't exist.

They ignored us completely, not even sending a letter.

It was as if her daughter had died.

It wasn't until their marriage background check that the Meng family learned their daughter had married a military officer, and only then did they begin to maintain intermittent contact.

But every time we contact each other, the topic almost always revolves around money.

In short, there's no reason they can't come up with, only one she can't think of.

But Meng Yuan dismissed their words as nonsense.

Anyway, I have no money, but I can take your life.

So when she received the call today, she didn't take it to heart.

Until her mother spoke on the phone.

"What did you say?" Lu Zhan asked, noticing that Meng Yuan was acting strangely today.

"They somehow found out that we're going back to Beijing for the New Year and also to visit your biological parents..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhankai frowned. "They're certainly well-informed."

The Lu family did not publicize the reunion, and rarely mentioned it in their daily lives.

However, when the troops are communicating, the operators can hear the conversation.

So over time, this matter became an open secret among everyone.

I never expected that Meng Jiayuan could find out about this in Beijing.

But now is not the time to talk about these things. Lu Zhan asked, "They called not just to say this, right?"