This was Grandma's outpouring of her feelings.

It was only then that Zhong Linzhi understood why her elegant, beautiful, and well-read grandmother would marry her old, rude, and ugly grandfather.

Why is it that in her memory, her grandmother never gave her grandfather a kind look?

Because my grandfather was a rapist.

When Lü Jingzhi, who was studying away from home, received news that his mother was ill, he returned to his hometown to visit her.

The night Lü Jingzhi stayed at the hospital while accompanying her, she slept in the dormitory next to the ward and was defiled by a rough-looking rickshaw puller.

That year, Lü Jingzhi was 19 years old, while Zhong Dagui was 30.

In just one encounter, Lü Jingzhi became pregnant with her eldest son.

"Back then, your Grandpa Wen and I were at the point of discussing marriage, and all that was left was to meet each other's parents."

"But at this time I was pregnant with another man's child, and my family was pressuring me to get married. I couldn't tell your Grandpa Wen that I had been raped, so I could only write him a letter to unilaterally announce our breakup."

"He probably still doesn't understand why our vows of eternal love and life-and-death commitment changed just because we went home."

“We have never been in contact again. When your father was about ten years old, I met a classmate who had also studied in Lanzhou.”

"I heard he's never married and has been looking for me..."

Lu Jingzhi's light brown eyes were filled with tears of resentment.

That incident caused quite a stir at the time, and the lawyer was affected by public opinion.

In addition, the family felt ashamed and, in accordance with contemporary moral values, the family forced Lü Jingzhi and Zhong Dagui to hold a wedding ceremony, gave them a dowry, and allowed Zhong Dagui to take Lü Jingzhi back to his hometown.

Zhong Dagui's family was very poor. With the dowry brought by Lü Jingzhi, they bought a house and opened a shop in the county town.

Lu Jingzhi only had time to write a farewell letter to her brother Wen before following Zhong Dagui away from their hometown and disappearing from his world.

Zhong Dagui is not a good person. He loves to drink and is abusive. Later, he raped Lü Jingzhi multiple times during their marriage.

"You should have heard that you have two aunts, one below your father and the other your uncle's twin sister!"

"But none of them survived, all because of your grandfather!"

“Your grandfather said that girls are a waste of money, there’s no point in raising them, they’ll just end up benefiting someone else in the future.”

“I got pregnant with your aunt less than two months after I gave birth to your father. I had no one to help me, and Zhong Dagui was a drunkard and abusive.”

"Your aunt had a premature birth; she was born before full term and is very weak."

"Later, Zhong Dagui took us to visit relatives. On the way, while I was asleep, he abandoned your aunt."

"Your aunt was just over a year old at that time."

"When I found her, your aunt was already dead. In such cold weather and heavy rain, he threw her into the ditch!"

“You’re so old, I’m not afraid of offending your ears.”

“I hate your grandfather and don’t want to live with him, but I’m no match for his strength, so I can only cover my face with a handkerchief and not look at him.”

He slapped me across the face repeatedly.

“When your father was 3 years old, he secretly gave your father away to someone else without telling me.”

"I chased him for miles, kneeling and kowtowing to others, before I managed to get your father back."

"Later, she unexpectedly became pregnant with your second uncle and aunt. Zhong Dagui was always out playing cards and drinking and was never home."

“I’m pregnant, taking care of your father, and also managing the shop business.”

"Back then, Zhong Dagui would often come home and rob the shop of its money, which he would not only use to gamble but also share with your great-aunts and the others."

“His brothers and sisters all fawned over him, praising him for his ability and success.”

"He's become so arrogant because of all the praise he's received that he's taken away our shop's money for purchasing goods."

"Later, for the sake of my three children, I had no choice but to fight desperately with a kitchen knife, but I still couldn't protect your aunt."

Lu Jingzhi's face was full of sorrow.

"She was protecting me when your grandfather and aunt came to rob us. She was pushed out and hit the back of her head on a rock, which killed her."

"The blood soaked through the entire front of my shirt."

"The doctor said that the child could have been saved, but they stopped him, saying that children in the countryside are not so precious and that it would be a waste of money to send him to the hospital. They said they would just put some soot and cobwebs on the wound and it would be fine."

"By the time I finally managed to carry her to the hospital, she was already dead."

"I will always remember the few words your aunt said to me before she died."

She said, "Mom, I won't be able to stay with you anymore. Don't hide under the locust tree and cry by yourself."

She said, "Mom, please don't eat spoiled food anymore."

She said, "Mom, don't marry Dad in your next life."

It was the deaths of her two daughters that caused Lü Jingzhi's personality to become distorted, transforming her from a gentle and elegant woman into a domineering and shrewish one.

So much so that when Zhong Dagui later became seriously ill, she simply signed a waiver of resuscitation and calmly had him buried.

She didn't even notify her relatives to come and see him one last time.

As soon as Zhong Dagui passed away, Lü Jingzhi forcefully swept all of his belongings out of the house and burned them.

She even forbade her two sons from visiting Zhong Dagui's grave, and forcefully demanded that her children and grandchildren change their surnames, to whomever they wanted, just not Zhong.

She was too domineering, so much so that her two sons and grandchildren hated her.

Lu Jingzhi took out a wooden box, opened it, and showed it to Zhong Linfang.

There's a photo of her with her first love, Brother Wen. She's wearing a Republic-era student uniform, and she and a handsome man in military uniform are smiling sweetly at the camera.

There was also a yellow invoice-like document, which was her divorce papers with Zhong Dagui.

The divorce certificate is dated 1959.

"Your grandfather and I actually divorced a long time ago, but we never made it public for the sake of your father and uncle."

“At this time, if the parents divorce, the children will also be subject to gossip and judgment from others.”

"So we still live together, but we sleep in separate rooms."

"What saddens me the most is your father and uncle."

“I raised them all by myself, helped them get married and have children, and arranged jobs for them.”

“They know perfectly well how Zhong Dagui treated me back then.”

“Zhong Dagui is so much older than me and has bullied me for half my life. Now that he’s old, I can finally get my revenge.”

Zhong Linfang thought about her grandfather's later experiences. She said it was revenge, but in reality, she never gave her grandfather a kind look.

They made him work all day long, verbally abused him, confiscated his grandfather's salary, and only gave him two yuan a month.

"But I never expected that Zhong Dagui would become so kind to his children and grandchildren after he got old."

"He uses the one or two yuan of pocket money he saves each month to buy fruit and toys for his grandchildren."

“He often brings vegetables he grows to your father and uncle.”

"Your father and uncle suddenly felt sorry for Zhong Dagui."

"They started to have opinions about me, thinking I was too domineering."

“When I needed protection, they were still young and needed me to protect them. When they grew up and were able to protect me, they chose to protect Zhong Dagui.”