Hearing the commotion outside, Deng Xiaomei rushed out of the house. She immediately saw Zhan Zhiqiang raising his hand to hit Zhan Chunlan. Without thinking, she lunged forward, shielding Chunlan behind her, and shouted at Zhan Zhiqiang with her neck stiffened:

"Zhan Zhiqiang! What right do you have to hit someone! Li Xiuxiu gave me those clothes herself, I saw it with my own eyes, why are you taking it out on Chunlan!"

Startled by her sudden shout, Zhan Zhiqiang paused for a moment. Then, seeing the neighbors gathering in the corridor to watch the commotion, he felt embarrassed and retorted in a strained voice, "Did we lack food or clothing for her? Why would she need to go out and pick up trash that others don't want? It's shameful!"

"What do you mean by shameful? These girls are clearly thrifty and sensible!" Since her last outburst, Deng Xiaomei seemed to have broken free from some invisible constraint in her heart. She could say whatever she wanted and do whatever she wanted. In the past few months, she had lived more comfortably than she had in the previous decades.

She grew angrier as she spoke, her voice rising even higher: "How dare you say you haven't skimped on her food and clothing? Putting aside everything else, ever since I moved into this courtyard, I've never seen either of you two buy Chunlan a single new piece of clothing, not even a pair of socks!"

Before she could finish speaking, she snatched the old cotton-padded coat from Zhan Chunlan's hand, shook it open, and showed it to the neighbors: "I've seen Chunlan wear this coat for years. At first, it was too big and baggy, and the child was cramped inside and couldn't move around properly. This morning when she went out, I saw it clearly—the sleeves were so short that her forearms were exposed, and the trouser legs were hanging in mid-air, not even covering her calves! And you still have the nerve to say you haven't mistreated her?"

The neighbors who gathered in the corridor were originally just there to watch the show, since even an upright official can't settle family disputes, and they were afraid that if they rashly intervened, they would end up pleasing neither side.

But seeing Deng Xiaomei's sharp rebuttal and looking at the excessively short old cotton-padded coat, many people showed expressions of pity and agreement. They couldn't help but share their own observations:

"That's right, I know that, of the three sisters, only the eldest sister bought herself two new outfits after she started working. I've never seen the other two sisters wear new clothes."

"They save all the money they earn for their youngest son; they would never be willing to use his money to buy clothes for their daughter."

"Over the years, their youngest son, Zhan Hongyu, has been the only one who's grown up healthy and chubby. He always wears new clothes and is quite spoiled. When my son plays with him, he gets angry if things don't go his way. Tsk tsk~"

“I saw Zhan Chunlan a while ago, and she was very thin and short, clearly malnourished. She’s been better recently, and I thought the couple had a change of heart, but it turns out that’s not the case?”

"You've known for a long time that these two are heartless. Zhan Chunhua was only five years old when she had to stand on a stool to cook for them. She raised the younger children all by herself."

Hearing the commotion outside getting louder and louder, Xu Lixia knew something was wrong, so she quickly forced a smile and came out to greet them: "Oh dear, it's all our fault as parents for not asking clearly. In our haste, we almost wrongly blamed the child."

As she spoke, she subtly tugged at Zhan Zhiqiang's arm, pushing him into the house. "The child is growing up, and we're worried she'll go astray outside, that's why we're so anxious. Since it's a misunderstanding, it's all good to talk it out, all good to talk it out..."

She turned around, and when her gaze swept over Zhan Chunlan, there was still a trace of anger in her eyes, but her tone softened a bit: "You child, if you have something wrong, you can just tell us properly. Why make such a big fuss?"

Xu Lixia forced a smile and called out to the surrounding neighbors, "Thank you all for your concern! It's just a small family matter, I'm sorry to have taken up your time. Why don't you all come in and have some tea?"

The neighbors were all sensible; they could easily understand that Xu Lixia's words were a polite way of telling them to leave. The people exchanged glances and tactfully dispersed one after another, quickly emptying the corridor.

In the end, only Deng Xiaomei remained standing there. She looked at Zhan Chunlan, sighed with heartache, wanting to do more, but knowing it was ultimately inappropriate to interfere too much in other people's family affairs. She stepped forward and gently patted Chunlan's shoulder, lowering her voice to say:

“Once you’re inside… talk it out properly, don’t try to tough it out. You’re so small, how can you withstand the two of them? If anything goes wrong, just shout loudly—Old Liang and I are right at the door, we can hear you.”

Zhan Chunlan lowered her head, gave a soft "hmm," and finally slowly moved into the house step by step.

She wasn't afraid of the couple anymore. She knew that they had been humiliated today and only wanted to treat her like she was invisible for the time being, not wanting to cause any more trouble in the family compound.

The living room was empty; there wasn't a single person in it.

Zhan Zhiqiang and Xu Lixia had already hidden in their bedroom, probably feeling ashamed and choosing to avoid the scene. Zhan Hongyu, knowing he had gotten himself into trouble, had quietly slipped back to his room and hidden himself when the noise outside was at its loudest. As for Zhan Chunhua, she had also gone into her room early on, feeling resentful after overhearing the neighbors gossiping about her parents' "heartlessness" and how their words hit her so hard about raising her younger siblings.

Zhan Chunlan stood at the door, hesitantly reaching out to push it—the door wasn't locked. She quietly went inside, leaving only the silence that followed the mess in the large living room.

She doesn't want to talk to anyone right now; she just had a fight and her emotions are still very turbulent.

There were a few old cotton-padded jackets that Li Xiuxiu and Fan Hongying had given her on the small bed. She carefully locked them in her trunk, and then lay on the bed to review her performance.

I spoke a little too slowly just now. I wish I could have spoken more quickly and logically, such as how I treated their family like slaves.

But things are not bad now. I only threw out the trigger, and the people around me said what I wanted to say. Perhaps this is the best solution.

Nowadays, people have so many children, isn't it all so they can have someone to rely on in their old age? If their children are disobedient, that's considered extremely unfilial. If Zhan Chunlan had really gone all out just now, the results probably wouldn't have been as good as they are now.

With this thought, most of the pressure in her heart dissipated, and Zhan Chunlan fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, Ms. Fang Yun also came to see Zhan Chunlan.

It turned out that on the day the two returned, she noticed that Zhan Chunlan's clothes were too short, so she went back and bought two new sets of clothes, both inside and out, and personally delivered them to them.

Zhan Chunlan felt a pang of sadness. Even outsiders could see that her clothes didn't fit, but her family couldn't. On the contrary, they noticed her new clothes immediately. She really didn't know what to say!

"Auntie came here specifically to thank you. Since Xiao Cheng came back, he has not only become more composed, but also more organized. He has been reading at home recently. He has a fire burning inside him, but he doesn't know where to ignite it, so he wants to see more, learn more, and find the path he wants to take in the future."

“Auntie, this really isn’t my doing.” Zhan Chunlan’s tone was gentle but firm, not taking credit for it. “Xiao Cheng is a very good person; he was just temporarily troubled by his feelings at the time.”

She paused briefly, then continued softly, “He lacks nothing materially now, so what he pursues is spiritual fulfillment. I think he has now completely transformed the enthusiasm he once poured into petty romance into a greater sense of national responsibility—a burning desire to do something for the country. This kind of belief is more enduring and more…illuminating.”

Fang Yun held Zhan Chunlan's hand tightly, her eyes filled with relief: "That's great. It's not just Lao Xiao and me helping him find a job; he's become more proactive himself, going around looking and asking around, just wanting to find a position that truly suits him."

As she spoke, her tone became increasingly earnest, as if she had suddenly remembered something important, and she quickly reminded Zhan Chunlan: "By the way, Chunlan, you can't wait until graduation to worry about finding a job. Even though you still have a semester left, you should secure one as soon as possible. Once you have a receiving unit, things are much easier to negotiate with the school—either you can graduate early, or you can temporarily stay on campus and come back to take the final exam. The school is usually very accommodating to these procedures."

Zhan Chunlan listened attentively, feeling a warm glow in her heart. This feeling of being cared for and having plans carefully made for her made her feel exceptionally at ease. She realized that being remembered and reminded meant she wasn't truly alone.