Chapter 8 Her Girl

Aunt Chen's husband's surname is Chu, and their house was just renovated last year.

It is a one-story red brick building, with a small room on each side of the red brick building.

One room was the kitchen, and the other was the craftsman's room of Grandpa Chu.

Grandpa Chu lost his wife early in life and only had one son who was in poor health. He raised his son with his carpentry skills and then helped him get married.

Aunt Chen gave birth to a son only a year after marrying into the family.

When Grandpa Chu saw his grandson being born, he took out all his savings, demolished the original mud-brick house, and built this red-brick house.

Grandpa Chu had already heard from Aunt Chen that Shen Xuewei would be staying at his home temporarily while studying, so he wasn't surprised when he saw Grandpa Chen bringing Shen Xuewei over.

He patted Shen Xuewei's head. "This must be Weiwei, right? From now on, feel at ease staying at home and make yourself at home. Don't be shy with us!"

He reached into his pocket, took out a red envelope, and handed it over.

Grandpa Chen and he politely pushed each other, but the red envelope still ended up in Shen Xuewei's pocket.

On the eleventh day of the Lunar New Year, the festive atmosphere still lingers. Occasionally, close relatives will bring their children to visit, and red envelopes will be prepared in advance.

The amount of money people give to children in red envelopes is not large, mostly five or ten cents, one or two yuan. A red envelope containing five, ten or twenty yuan is considered a large one.

Of course, this amount of money would be a huge sum for a child today.

The two sat in the living room catching up. Chu Fu, who was resting inside, heard the noise and came out carrying Chu De'an, who had just woken up.

Chu Fu is Chen Fangli's husband, and Chu De'an is Chen Fangli's son, who is also Shen Xuewei's cousin and is not yet three years old.

Chu De'an struggled out of Chu Fu's arms, ran to Shen Xuewei in a flash, tilted his head and asked, "Who are you?"

Grandpa Chu stepped forward, straightened his collar, and said with a kind face, "Didn't I tell you a few days ago that a cousin would be coming to our house? Remember? This is your cousin. Come on, call her cousin..."

Chu De'an was confused, as if he remembered, yet also as if he didn't.

He covered his face and glanced at Shen Xuewei. Seeing her gentle eyes, soft smile, and clear voice, he called out, "Sister!"

Before Shen Xuewei could respond, he became so shy that he hid behind Chu Fu.

Seeing this, the adults all burst into laughter, teasing him:

"This little An, he's so young and already knows how to be shy. If he's so easily embarrassed, what will he do if he can't find a wife in the future?"

“He is a little more well-behaved than other boys, just like his father was when he was a child.”

“It’s good that they’re well-behaved, not naughty, and don’t cause trouble.”

"It's hard to say. Boys are all mischievous. He'll probably only be well-behaved for a year or two..."

Three adults were talking around two children, while Shen Xuewei stared blankly at the vibrant Chu De'an, her eyes slightly reddening.

Compared to her own brother, her cousin was more like her younger brother.

She and her cousin have always had a very good relationship since they were young. Just how good?

She remembered that she used to work hard picking up trash all day and sell it for 1.7 yuan, and she was willing to give 70 cents directly to her cousin.

Chu De'an, her cousin, never called her "cousin sister"; he always called her "sister."

Knowing that she was being bullied at school, he secretly followed her to school with a clump of cow dung and threw it at the face of the bully...

After Shen Xuewei finished elementary school here and returned to her hometown in the countryside to study, the two lost contact. It wasn't until Shen Xuewei graduated from high school and bought a cell phone with the money she earned from a summer job that the two reconnected.

At that time, Chu De'an had become a truant young man with blond hair due to the successive deaths of his family members.

Later, my aunt Chen Fanglan also married into Fuxing Village.

With his aunt's guidance and the added responsibility of caring for his younger brother, Chu De'an became more sensible and was also worn down by life at a young age.

He entered society at the age of seventeen or eighteen. Although he didn't go astray, he ended up looking like he was in his thirties.

Looking at Chu De'an, who was completely different from how he would be ten or twenty years later, Shen Xuewei felt both nostalgic and fortunate.

If she could do it all over again, she would have the chance to change many things.

Chen Fangli returned to the field quickly after getting up.

Stepping into the house, she saw her maternal grandfather and called out, "Dad."

Chu De'an, who was playing with Shen Xuewei, rushed over and hugged her leg, constantly acting coquettishly.

Chen Fangli coaxed him for a while, and after Chu De'an let go of her hand, she walked to Shen Xuewei, slowly squatted down, and touched Shen Xuewei with a little excitement.

“It’s been four years since I last saw you, Weiwei. You’ve grown so much. When I left, you were only two years old and still wobbling as you walked. What, don’t you remember your second aunt?”

When Chen Fangmin was pregnant with Shen Xuewei, she was worried that she wouldn't be able to take care of both children. So she wrote a letter to her maternal grandfather, asking Chen Fangli to come and help her take care of the children and help her during her postpartum period.

Later, presumably because the Chen family's reply was delayed, Chen Fangmin even rushed back from Huacheng.

After receiving confirmation from Grandma Xi that Chen Fangli could go, she returned home with Shen's father, who had arrived at the scene.

They originally wanted to take Chen Fangli with them, but the Chen family still had many things they needed her help with, so Chen's maternal grandparents did not agree.

They only said that when Chen Fangmin was almost there, Chen Fangli would be sent over.

The Chen family has three girls. The eldest sister, Chen Fangmin, is the first girl in the family and is very beautiful and charming, so she is highly valued.

The youngest sister, Chen Fanglan, is bright and elegant. She and Chen Fangyang, the second son of the Chen family, are twins, which is auspicious. She is also sweet-talking and extremely favored.

Chen Fangli, caught in the middle, is of ordinary appearance and has always been neglected by her family because she is too sensible and obedient.

The only praise usually given to her is "virtuous and capable".

She was only two years younger than Chen Fangmin, but she always lived in Chen Fangmin's shadow.

Chen Fangmin needed someone to take care of her, so her maternal grandparents talked to her about it.

She always obeyed her family's arrangements and never said "no" to them, so she took two sets of clothes and went to Huacheng with her relatives who were going to work.

Shen Xuewei was born, and she took care of her during her postpartum period and the baby.

Seeing that Shen Xuewei was only a few months old and would be able to walk soon, Chen Fangli would be able to go home and finish her task.

However, Chen Fangmin became pregnant again at this time.

And so, Chen Fangmin and his wife lived in the rented house for more than two years.

When Shen Xuewu turned one year old and could barely walk, Chen Fangli, who was twenty-four or twenty-five years old, was of marriageable age and could not delay any longer.

Finally, Chen Fangli, having finished her job as a free nanny, boarded the car to go home.

Because Shen Xuewei was a girl, she did not receive much attention from her parents and was almost raised by them alone from birth to the age of two.

After leaving Huacheng, she wasn't too worried about her other two children, but she was worried about Shen Xuewei.

She was so small and so well-behaved, always obedient and quiet from a young age.

Even when she secretly cried at night because she missed home, he would wipe away her tears and give her the cookies and candies he had hidden away.

Seeing her is like seeing myself as a child.

Chen Fangli thought to herself, since her sister and brother-in-law didn't really like this daughter anyway, how wonderful it would be if she could bring Shen Xuewei back to be her daughter.

However, Yunying was unmarried and not assertive enough, so she couldn't possibly say such things.

Not long after returning home, her parents arranged blind dates for her, and she eventually married into the Chu family.

Life at the Chu family was a little better than at her parents' home. Neither the father nor the son of the Chu family were involved in any affairs, so she became the mistress of the house who could make decisions and take charge.

After having children, she often thought of Shen Xuewei, whom she had taken care of for two years, and would talk about this older sister in front of her children.

I sometimes dream about her.

When she woke up, the girl she had been longing for finally came to her side.