Looking back now, it was clearly a heart ailment that she and the Zhou family had inherited, a family tradition!
It's my younger brother, Jianbang...
No, it was Shui Sheng, Shui Sheng, in the darkness, using this pain of blood ties to remind her—this person in front of her is family!
She was blinded by greed, mistaking this suggestion of blood ties for evidence of disgust.
One wrong step leads to another, causing such a thick layer of ice to form between the two of them, and it's unclear how it can be melted.
At that very moment—
"Give the documents to your aunt."
Zhou Qiqi's clear and crisp voice rang out.
She didn't look at Zhou Shuhua, but focused her gaze on Shen Huaichuan. "I'll leave this matter to you, Aunt."
"Okay! Good! Good!"
Zhou Shuhua, as if she had received a pardon, quickly responded.
"Don't worry, Auntie will definitely... definitely handle it perfectly!"
Her voice trembled slightly, carrying an urgency to prove something.
She never expected that Zhou Qiqi would actually call her aunt!
She subconsciously and carefully handed the letter containing Shui Sheng's suicide note to Zhou Qiqi.
This letter was too precious for her to keep any longer.
Zhou Qiqi didn't answer.
Silently, she took out the oiled paper envelope from the small wooden box on the kang table and gently pushed it over along with the letter that Zhou Shuhua had handed her.
“Father wrote two letters,”
Her voice was calm and even. "One was for me, I kept it. This one..."
Her gaze lingered for a moment on the letter that read "Don't worry."
"...Most of what I said above was meant for the Zhou family. Aunt, please keep it."
Zhou Shuhua's hand trembled violently; she could hardly believe her ears.
Looking at the letter that had been pushed back to her, and then at Zhou Qiqi's face, which showed neither joy nor sorrow, a surge of immense bitterness and a warm feeling of being flattered welled up in her eyes.
She quickly lowered her head and answered repeatedly:
"Thank you... Qiqi, thank you..."
With utmost care, he folded the thin letter back into place, clutching it tightly to his heart along with the oiled paper envelope, as if holding a priceless treasure that had been lost and found again.
Shen Huaichuan then handed her the construction documents at the opportune moment:
"Madam, we have to leave first thing tomorrow morning. What do you think of these arrangements..."
"No problem! I'll get it done today! I'm coming right now!"
As if injected with a stimulant, Zhou Shuhua immediately straightened her back, carefully put away the stack of documents and the letter she had been holding to her heart, and turned around and walked out in a hurry.
Watching her departing figure, Zhou Qiqi said to Shen Huaichuan, "Huaichuan, go and talk to Uncle Village Chief, ask him to help with the arrangements. Your aunt's family doesn't know anyone here..."
Shen Huaichuan walked to her side and whispered, "You've softened your heart again?"
Zhou Qiqi shook her head, her gaze still calmly fixed on the old locust tree in the yard, and said softly.
"One thing at a time."
“I’ve said it before, the word ‘forgiveness’ doesn’t exist in my dictionary. I haven’t forgiven Zhou Shuhua yet.”
She paused, her gaze becoming distant, looking towards the direction of the old house:
"But I am Zhou Shuisheng's daughter after all. As his daughter, I have to take care of these things for him. Consider it as... fulfilling my filial duty. When we return to the city, we will still be strangers."
Shen Huaichuan didn't say anything more, but simply reached out and silently squeezed her slightly cool fingers to show his understanding.
His gaze inadvertently swept across the slightly swaying gap in the curtain, where a piece of clothing seemed to have been quickly hidden away.
Outside the door, Zhou Shuhua leaned against the cold earthen wall, her face ashen, as if all her strength had been drained away in an instant.
She had come back because she remembered there was a detail she wanted to ask Qiqi for her opinion on, but she was caught off guard by those cold words.
"...The word 'forgiveness' doesn't exist in the dictionary..."
"...Still a stranger..."
She had thought that Qiqi had finally reconciled with her, but unexpectedly, she still...
The immense disappointment and embarrassment left her feeling cold all over and her face ashen.
She heard soft footsteps inside and was jolted awake. As if afraid of being discovered in her disheveled state, she hurriedly turned around.
Zhou Shuhua rushed into the village committee's temporary lodging room as if she were fleeing. Leaning against the closed door, her chest heaved violently, her face was bloodless, her lips trembled, and her eyes were blank.
"Mom? What's wrong?"
Lei Yuhua, who was tying up her luggage, was startled and quickly put down the rope in her hand to come over.
When Mom went out just now, she was clearly anxious and relieved, but how come she suddenly seemed like she had lost her soul?
"Is it Qiqi...?"
Lei Yuhua was straightforward and outspoken; she swallowed the second half of her sentence, but the meaning was clear.
The political commissar, who was sitting at the table tidying up his things, also frowned and said in a deep voice:
"Shuhua? Why do you look so pale? I knew I should have gone with you."
He stood up and tried to help his wife sit down.
Zhou Shuhua waved her hand, then slid down onto the bench next to her, using the door panel as leverage.
"It has nothing to do with Qiqi..."
She forced a smile, which looked worse than crying. "It was all my fault... I was happy for nothing."
She briefly recounted what had just happened.
Commissar Lei opened his mouth, wanting to say something comforting, but found his throat dry.
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