"How could they, who are so stingy, give it to me? They must save it for their precious son. I served these to myself before I went out while my mother was not around." Li Li replied with a roll of her eyes.

Hearing this, Jian Shu put down his chopsticks and said with concern, "Ah? Lily, your mother must be mad to death. You better be careful when you go back home tonight."

Having known each other for such a long time, Jianshu knew a little about the Li family's situation.

Li Li was not treated well at home. She was often scolded and beaten.

It was only in the past two years that she started working and handed over her salary every month, and her situation improved because of the money.

But it wasn't much better, at most I didn't get beaten as often.

Li Li winked at the two of them and said, "Do you remember what I told you last time?

Every household in our area is afraid now, and my mother is no exception, fearing that I will give her a blow."

Jian Shu thought for a moment and asked, "Is it about that neighbor sister Zhou Ni you mentioned last time?"

Li Li nodded and replied, "Yes, my parents were not nice to me before, and they are scared when they think about it now.

I was afraid that they would push me too far and report me. Now I am treated much better at home.

It’s no big deal if I just fill a box of Laba porridge. At most she’ll say a few words to me when I get home, but she won’t dare do anything to me.

Being scolded is nothing. I've been used to it since I was a child. Whatever you put in your mouth is yours."

Jianshu felt a little sad when she saw her saying nonchalantly that being scolded was no big deal. Who can really not care?

No one is born with a strong heart. If you are beaten and scolded in childhood, you will definitely feel wronged, sad and upset.

The indifference I feel now is simply because all my expectations have been worn away over the years.

Every time I see Li Li’s cheerful look, I admire her very much.

The hardships of her family didn't make her depressed or self-destructive. Instead, she became more optimistic and positive. Jianshu felt that she might not be able to do the same.

As for Zhou Ni's matter, Li Li mentioned it to the two of them last week.

Zhou Ni is a 25-year-old neighbor who lives near Li Li's home.

The Zhou family has three sons and one daughter. Zhou Ni has two older brothers and a younger brother.

Although she was the only daughter in the family, she was not considered precious because she was rare. Zhou's parents valued boys over girls and did not value their daughter. It could even be said that they did not treat girls as human beings.

Soon after she learned to walk, Zhou Ni became the babysitter of her two brothers. Not only did she have to serve them, but they would also vent their frustrations on her if they were not happy.

The two sons of the Zhou family were not good people since they were young. They often beat Zhou Ni with sticks and scalded her with hot water.

After learning to smoke at a young age, he used cigarette butts to burn Zhou Ni's arms. Little Zhou Ni screamed in pain every time.

But what was the point? In the eyes of Zhou's parents, she was just a money-loser. Their two sons were their precious treasures. So what if the money-loser cried? Isn't it enough for their precious sons to be happy?

There were even a few times when she went too far and her life was practically hanging by a thread. If it weren't for the kindness of the neighbors nearby, Zhou Ni would have been gone from the world long ago.

The neighbors felt sorry for Zhou Ni and went to her house to persuade her, but Zhou's parents didn't care and just said it was their own business and asked others to mind their own business.

There was no other way. No matter how much they sympathized with her, Zhou Ni was still a member of the Zhou family. They could only give her medicine and some food when she was hungry to keep her going.

It was also because Zhou Ni was tenacious that she was able to live on despite this.

Later, as she grew older, she could do more things, such as washing clothes, cooking, cleaning, etc. All the chores of the Zhou family fell on her alone.

He was only a few years old at that time, still a child, and had been malnourished since childhood, so he was even thinner than his peers.

The whole person may not be as big as an adult's piece of clothing. Not only is it difficult to wash, but it is also not clean. When you get home, you will be beaten and scolded by your parents.

Zhou Ni spends every day doing heavy housework, being beaten and scolded by her parents, and being bullied by her brother.

Later, after the founding of China, with the prevention of Zhou's parents, the practice of scalding with hot water and cigarette butts basically disappeared.

After all, they have moved to a new world and are in the capital, Beijing, so they still have to keep a low profile.

Even so, Zhou Ni was not much better off. She could not avoid being beaten and scolded by her parents. After all, in the eyes of many people, it is normal for parents to beat and scold their children. As long as nothing serious happens, it's fine.

After her brother was born, he grew up on her back. A small child, carrying an even smaller baby on her back, she was busy all day long.

However, a child's bones have not yet fully grown and he has to bear weights of dozens of kilograms. Over the years, Zhou Ni's back has become a little hunched.

Zhou Ni is now 25 years old. In this era of early marriage and early childbearing, she is considered an old maid.

When she was still young, the Zhou family wanted to keep her for a few years. Of course, this was definitely not because they loved their daughter.

Zhou Ni is like a long-term worker at home, for free, and she takes on almost all the housework.

Others just need to open their mouths and stretch out their hands to have food and clothes provided for them every day, and they live a very carefree and happy life.

If they married her off, where would they find someone to serve them? And they couldn't have any servants now.

This went on for a few years, and when they wanted to marry Zhou Ni off, they found that they couldn't find anyone.

After all, Zhou Ni has never been to school since she was a child. Although she looks better than her parents, she is just ordinary.

She doesn't have a job, and city dwellers naturally hope to find a wife who has a job so that the couple can have an easy life after marriage.

Even those families who had to settle for second best didn't mind not having a job, but after knowing her parents' character, they gave up.

No one wants to find such in-laws. They are a bunch of blood-sucking leeches. Wouldn't marrying them just bring a lot of trouble to your son?

Of course, after Zhou's parents lowered their conditions, they still found a family for Zhou Ni.

The family's surname was Wang, and they were from a rural area near Beijing.

For rural people, Zhou Ni's shortcomings, which are looked down upon by city people, are nothing to them.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t have an education. There are so many uneducated girls in the countryside anyway. It’s okay as long as you can work.

It doesn’t matter if they don’t have a job. They all don’t have a job, and city people with jobs won’t marry into the countryside.

As for the Zhou family's parents being difficult to deal with, they didn't care at all. What kind of unreasonable and unreasonable old women hadn't they seen in the countryside?

They have seen a lot of crying, making a fuss, and even hanging themselves. In their eyes, what Zhou's parents did was nothing. City people care about face and can't let go of many things.