Chapter Thirty-Six: Sister, I'm Here
After listening to Shen Yuzhu's words, Ma Daya was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions, including doubt, shock, and confusion, which quickly turned into panic. She looked at the girl in front of her, whose eyes were red from crying but filled with hope, and waved her hand frantically.
"No, it's impossible, Shen Zhiqing, you must be mistaken, really, you must be mistaken. My home is in a place called Majiazhuang. My father's name is Ma Qiang, and my mother's name is Zhao Di. I almost drowned when I was born because I was a girl. How could I possibly be some rich young lady from Haicheng, or even your sister? You must be mistaken, no, no..."
“Look at this photo. The man in the photo is Lü Jiahao. Have you ever seen him? Think about it carefully. Have you ever seen him? He is our father, that insidious and vicious man. He is the one who ruined our whole family.”
Ma Daya paused for a moment, then looked down at the photo. The man in the photo, wearing a shirt, black pants, and gold-rimmed glasses, seemed more and more familiar. Suddenly, a scene flashed through her mind.
It seems like it was when I was about ten years old. I was cutting pig feed and came home when guests came to visit. I was assigned to cook, because they said that the guests were very important and that if I cooked well and made them happy, they would reward me with an egg.
She was overjoyed; eggs, such a precious thing.
She put a lot of effort into preparing lunch that day. Seeing that the customer was enjoying the meal, she wanted to ask when she would receive her eggs. However, the customer kicked her in the chest and said that she was a lowly thing who deserved to suffer for the rest of her life. The customer's cold and fierce eyes were like those of a demon, which frightened her so much that she had nightmares for more than a month.
Looking back now, wasn't the man in the photo the one who kicked me so hard I couldn't get out of bed for days and called me a worthless thing?
Seeing her terrified expression, Shen Yuzhu held her tightly in her arms with heartache.
After suffering for over twenty years, she was suddenly told that she was actually a rich family's daughter and should have been living a life of wealth and peace.
However, because her biological father disliked her, she was switched at birth and ended up living a miserable life.
How could anyone stand it?!
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, sister, I'm here, I'm here. Lü Jiahao and Zhong Fu didn't get away with it. I've avenged you, Mom, and Grandpa and Grandma. I'll be here from now on, I'll protect you, and I'll never let you suffer again, sister."
A sudden surge of grief welled up in Ma Daya's heart. She reached out and hugged Shen Yuzhu, trying to suppress her pain and cry out loud. But she opened her mouth and tilted her head back, like a stranded fish, and after a long while she began to dry heave.
Finally, she squatted on the ground, clutching her clothes to her chest, and sobbed.
Zhang Jie and the other children, who were eating in the outer room, curiously looked into the inner room. Panpan wanted to push the door open and go in, but Qianqian stopped her.
"Don't push us away, Auntie will get angry. What if she stops asking us to gather firewood and asks someone else instead?"
Panpan was so frightened that she withdrew her hand. After drinking the water, the three girls sat obediently outside and waited, not daring to go anywhere.
Inside the house, after Ma Daya recovered, Shen Yuzhu took her hand again and helped her sit on the kang (a heated brick bed). Just as she was about to say something to comfort her, Ma Daya grabbed her hands tightly.
"Sister, little sister, the countryside isn't a good place. You need to think of a way to leave, okay?"
My own life is already a mess, why drag my sister into this rotten place? She's such a good sister, such a delicate girl. I came all this way for her, and I heard she used to have a respectable job. It's not worth it, not worth it at all.
Now that she's been allowed to see things clearly, that's enough for her.
“Sister, you are my only family now. I just want to stay by your side. Besides, educated youth sent to the countryside for re-education can’t just go back whenever they want. Anyway, don’t worry, I can definitely take good care of myself and you.”
"It's getting late, sister. You should take the children and head home first, so that the Zhang family mother and daughter don't find out anything. Here's 15 cents for today. In the future, bring the children here more often, okay?"
Ma Daya wanted to return the money. Her sister had spent money on building a house and treating people to meals in the countryside, so how much could the family have?
"Take it, I have money!"
Unable to refuse her, he had no choice but to take it, wash his face in the yard, and then take the child and push the flatbed cart out of the small yard, perhaps because he knew about his background.
Suddenly she straightened her back, turned her head and saw her sister waving at her, and a surge of warmth welled up in her heart.
At the nearby educated youth settlement, Lin Wanwan, Qiao Wangshu, and Liang Manxiu returned carrying washed clothes. They paused slightly upon seeing this scene.
"It's just delivering firewood, why are Shen Zhiqing and Zhang Li's wife acting all lovey-dovey?"
"Yuzhu is kind-hearted. Maybe she felt sorry for Sister Ma. Sigh, who wouldn't feel sorry for a man like that? I wonder who beat Zhang Li up and why they didn't kill him."
Liang Manxiu didn't speak, but tilted her head and stared at the two of them for a while, seemingly lost in thought.
Qiao Wangshu glanced at her, then put his arm around her and walked away.
"Stop looking, stop looking, you've had a long day, go back and rest."
After closing the door, Shen Yuzhu let out a long sigh of relief. She closed the door, turned around and went into the space. In front of the portraits of her maternal grandparents and her mother, she lit incense.
“Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, I’ve reunited with my sister. In a while, I’ll find a way to get her to divorce that beast. As for the child, she can raise it if she wants. I will definitely take good care of her. May your spirits in heaven bless us sisters so that we can live out our lives well and peacefully.”
After enjoying a celebratory meal at the snack warehouse and washing up, I lay in the master bedroom of the cabin and slept soundly for the first time since my rebirth.
When Ma Daya returned to the Zhang family home with red, swollen eyes from crying, Granny Zhang reheated the dinner.
"Mom, why are you so late today? Oh dear, why are your eyes so red? Did you cry?"
Ma Daya panicked for a moment, then handed the 15 cents to Granny Zhang. "It's because Shen, the educated youth, is so kind. He gave us the money, let the children have some sweet soup, and even prepared fried peanuts for them. Xiaojie and the others were happy, which made us a little late. I cried because I was so happy to have met such a good person."
Zhang Pozi's eyes lit up when she heard this. Her son was right after all; that educated youth, Shen, was kind-hearted but a little naive.
"Alright, alright, then you all have to work hard and keep in touch with Shen Zhiqing. I'll put the money away first, and I've left some food for you in the pot, so eat it quickly, okay!"
After she finished speaking, she happily went inside to talk to Zhang Li. If she had paid a little attention, she would have known that Ma Daya was a quiet person, and the fact that she had said so much in one go today was suspicious.
But with the money in her hand, she was so happy that she didn't care about anything else.
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