Xinghua Village?

Xu Manzhi looked up abruptly, and fragments of the original owner's memories surfaced in her mind.

The original owner's adoptive parents were genuine farmers. Because the original owner's father was particularly good at raising rabbits, he became a well-known rabbit-raising expert in the village. His Angora rabbits were fat and had good fur, so they were designated for purchase by fur factories in the city.

The original owner's adoptive father, Xu Guidao, was repeatedly commended. It was on that occasion that he went to the city to receive an award. He and his wife traveled a bumpy oxcart, and his adoptive mother suffered a difficult childbirth and was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

After this ordeal, the child was switched at birth in the hospital by the Jiang family, and the original owner was exchanged to the Xu family.

However, the original owner was beautiful, and her eyebrows and eyes were different from her adoptive parents'. The villagers always mocked her for being a bastard, and she suffered a lot because of this. Her days in Xinghua Village were very miserable.

Xu Guidao was the subject of much gossip, but for rural people, divorce is a disgrace, even more shameful than a wife having an affair. He endured the humiliation outside, but when he returned home, he never gave the original owner a kind look.

The adoptive mother didn't suspect that the child had been switched, but she couldn't understand why the child she gave birth to was so different from the disheveled third child, and didn't resemble her at all.

She was filled with grievances, but when the original owner of this body was mentioned, she instantly fell silent.

She was illiterate and could barely write her own name while organizing literacy campaigns. She knew nothing and suffered injustice for more than ten years.

It wasn't until the Jiang family sent people to Xinghua Village that she was exonerated.

The villagers then realized they had misunderstood Xu's mother.

Those who used to curse the most and jump the most around would now avoid Xu's mother...

The Jiang family gave the Xu family 500 yuan as compensation, but as long as they accepted the money, they should not have any designs on the replaced Jiang Pengyue.

Jiang Pengyue will not return it to the Xu family.

The Xu family had been impoverished for many years. Xu Guidao had been despondent ever since the original owner was born. He stopped raising rabbits and even stopped earning work points. The whole family relied solely on his wife, and they couldn't even afford a single neat piece of clothing.

Five hundred yuan is a fortune that the Xu family could never earn in a lifetime.

They also wanted to take the "bastard" away, and Xu Guidao agreed without hesitation, despite his wife's objections.

...

After a flood of memories rushed through Xu Manzhi's mind, she grabbed Yan Lin's hand and laughed, "Yan Lin, let's go together. We might end up delivering knives."

Yan Lin nodded.

He has not yet met the Xu family.

Perfect.

So the two of them went out together.

As I approached the gate of the residential compound, a weathered couple stood under a large tree. The man wore a white mandarin jacket and black trousers, while the woman wore a navy blue linen dress covered in patches, and the wrinkles on her forehead and temples were so deep they could hold fish.

Unlike the woman's humility and fear, the man was full of pride and confidence.

Upon seeing Xu Manzhi from afar, the man jumped up and rushed inside, shouting, "It's Si Niu! She's coming! Wife, look!"

The woman beside him turned away awkwardly.

When she saw Xu Manzhi and Yan Lin, her eyes trembled slightly. She didn't dare to take a step, but followed behind with small, hesitant steps. She opened her mouth several times, but then fell silent.

As Xu Manzhi approached, before she could even speak, Xu Guidao called out, "Siniu, it's us... Father and Mother. We heard you've made it big in the city, found a military officer, and must be living a good life."

Xu Manzhi frowned.

She glanced at the awkward-looking Xu's mother, Qi Jin, avoided Xu Guidao's ardent gaze, and asked, "Mother... is something the matter?"

The word "Mother" instantly brought tears to the eyes of Xu's mother, Qi Jin.

Xu's mother was broad-shouldered and strong, with a robust physique, but her personality was like a lamb. She was excessively hardworking and dutiful, enduring humiliation for more than ten years without uttering a sound. Even when she silently endured all the filth and was beaten by her husband, who was getting worse and worse, she would only stare with her tearful eyes...

When Xu Guidao wanted to beat the original owner of the body, she would lie on her daughter and let her husband vent his anger. Even during the busiest double harvest season, when her back was broken, she still held onto the carrying pole with one hand and carried loads of grain.

The more silent she became, the more agitated Xu Guidao became, and the more violently he beat her, completely unleashing the dark side of his heart.

Xu's mother twirled her fingers and stammered, "Yes, the village secretary told us that you were getting married in the city, and the organization came to investigate your upbringing. We thought—"

“The kindness of raising is greater than the kindness of giving birth. Even if you are not my daughter, Xu Guidao’s kindness of raising you is worth at least a thousand or eight hundred. Otherwise, we can’t control our mouths. After all, you have to go up the mountain to collect pig feed all by yourself. We can’t watch you every second.” Xu Guidao suddenly interjected.

threaten?

Yan Lin's face darkened.

Before Xu Manzhi could react, he grabbed Xu Guidao's wrist and said sternly, "What nonsense are you spouting? Didn't the Jiang family give you money? With your greedy nature, would you release someone if the Jiang family didn't pay you?"

Ouch.

Xu Guidao was glared at by Yan Lin, and his gaze suddenly focused. Only then did he see Yan Lin's face, which terrified him so much that he wanted to run away as fast as he could.

His legs went slightly weak, his face stiffened, and he said with a fierce but weak tone, "The money I received for the birth of my own daughter was only five hundred, but it's different for Si Niu. From childhood to adulthood, everything she ate and drank cost money. You may not remember how hard life was a few years ago, but your parents certainly know!"

*Snap*

Yan Lin suddenly threw down and stomped on Xu Guidao's leg. A crack was heard, and Xu Guidao cried out in pain, "The officer is hitting me! The officer is hitting me—"

"Shut up!"

Xu Manzhi couldn't hold back any longer. She squatted down and gently patted Xu Guidao's body with her fingers. A fierce aura filled her eyes, making the man, whose spine had long since collapsed, tremble with fear.

He immediately fell silent.

It was only at this moment that Xu Guidao realized that the girl in front of him was more radiant than ever before. In addition to being beautiful, her eyes and brows also possessed an indescribable vitality and charm.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!