Chapter 2 Pickled Radish
Xin Tianyi soaked the military satchel in soapy water and scrubbed it for a while. Only a small amount of red was washed off the bag, but the paint marks were still there and could not be washed off.
She had just met not only Zhang Yang, but also Wei Ran and Yuan Dabao. She had seen all three of those friends.
Unexpectedly, back in 19□□, they still looked exactly as she remembered.
But come to think of it, after Xin Tianyi entered high school in her previous life, she had hardly seen them again. Only on that day, that summer that Xin Tianyi would never forget, did she return to the cotton mill compound and see them again.
But they didn't talk to each other. The sky was covered with dark clouds that weighed heavily on everyone's nerves.
At that time, Xin Tianyi didn't dare to look at them directly, but only saw their profiles by chance.
And those pairs of red eyes.
"God's will, what are you washing?"
Grandma Xie Mei's voice pulled Xin Tianyi back to his senses. Xin Tianyi quickly came to his senses, looked at Xie Mei, and said, "Grandma, let me wash my backpack."
Xie Mei looked over and saw the red marks on the backpack. She frowned and asked, "What happened? Didn't I just give it to you? How did it get dirty?"
Xin Tianyi smiled apologetically and explained again, "I was out buying exercise books when I bumped into someone. They were playing with red paint, and it rubbed against their backpack."
"Tsk tsk." Xie Mei frowned, took off her scarf and hat one by one, and hung them on the hook behind the door. She said regretfully, "It can't be washed off with soap. It seems that I have to rub it with wine to get it off."
Xin Tianyi had already fished the satchel out of the water, wrung it dry, and said to Xie Mei, "Grandma, my grandpa loves to drink. He needs to use a lot of liquor to cover so much paint. I think it's fine if we don't clean it. It won't interfere with carrying it."
Xie Mei glanced at Xin Tianyi and nodded, "That's right. It'll get dirty sooner or later anyway. Put it next to the stove to dry, or it won't be dry enough for school tomorrow."
"Okay, grandma." Xin Tianyi walked out with the bag, spread it flat on the back of the chair, and then pulled the chair towards the stove. After drying it overnight, it should be dry enough for him to go to school tomorrow morning.
Xie Mei looked at Xin Tianyi's quick movements, and then stood at the bedroom door and glanced inside. Seeing that the room was already clean, she knew that although Xin Tianyi was studying, he must have done a lot of housework over the years.
Xie Mei felt very sad and could only blame her son-in-law Xin Ziqian for being so cruel and abandoning the poor mother and daughter.
Moreover, after Xin Ziqian passed away, the mother and daughter originally had a place to live, but Xin Ziqian's third brother was getting married, and Xin Tianyi's grandmother used an excuse to drive the mother and daughter back to her parents' home.
The reason is that there is really no house for the third child to get married, so you should go back to live in Grandma Tianyi's house first.
The house originally belonged to Xin Tianyi's grandparents. Wang Fang had no room to argue and could only take Tianyi back to her parents' home.
Xin Tianyi also transferred to another school and tomorrow will be his first day at the new school, Cotton Mill Middle School.
Xie Mei stood there sighing, lamenting her daughter Wang Fang's miserable life, and lamenting that she was already old and had to watch her daughter being driven out.
Apart from providing them with a small hut to shelter them from the wind and rain, Xie Mei had nothing else to do for them.
"Where are your aunt and uncle?" Xie Mei suddenly asked, "Why is it so quiet? Are they not here?"
"My aunt and uncle went to buy groceries." Xin Tianyi said, "Grandma, are you thirsty? Let me pour you a glass of water."
"Okay." Xie Mei picked up her own teacup on the table, turned around and handed it to Xin Tianyi, "Just add some hot water for me. Don't pour out the water inside."
"Okay." Xin Tianyi added hot water to Xie Mei and smiled at her when he handed it to her.
The steam from the teacup rushed up, suffocating Xie Mei's eyes. She lowered her head, feeling a little wet as she looked at the indelible stains of aged tea at the bottom of the teacup. She felt so powerless. She wanted to say something to Tianyi, but when she opened her mouth, she felt she had no words. She could only lower her head and take a sip of water.
"It's God's will." Xie Mei finally spoke after building up her temper. "Your aunt isn't a bad person, she just has a bad mouth. You're living at home, so don't get angry if you hear it. It's not easy for her either."
Xin Tianyi nodded, "I know, grandma."
Xie Mei glanced at Xin Tianyi, very pleased with her answer, and continued, "And your brother, Mingjie, is a sophomore in high school and has a heavy workload. Even after evening self-study, he still has to study, sometimes until late at night. You know, if you don't get enough rest, your temper will get worse. He's just like his mother, with a bad mouth. And once you and your mother come back to live with him, he won't have his own room, so he'll definitely be unfriendly to you at first. But he's your brother, so you should be more considerate of him. As a family, you eat and live together, living under the same roof. Over time, you'll develop feelings. Life will be easier in the future."
Xin Tianyi knew her grandmother, Xie Mei, was giving her a shot in the arm. In her previous life, Tianyi had followed her mother to live with her grandmother, often bullied by her aunt and cousin. Back then, Xin Tianyi had a prickly temper. Ever since her father, Xin Ziqian, suddenly passed away, she had riddled herself with thorns. Those thorns were first used against her grandparents, uncles, and aunts. Later, when she moved to her grandmother's house, those thorns had become sharp blades, used against her aunt and cousin. "You give me a steel nail, and I'll give you a razor-sharp blade." Xin Tianyi, never one to be taken advantage of, would stab back twice as hard.
But she didn't know at that time that those sharp blades would not only stab the other person, but also hurt herself, and would prevent those who loved her from getting close to her.
Xin Tianyi walked over to Xie Mei and held her grandmother's hand. She smiled with her eyes curved as she looked at Xie Mei and said, "Grandma, I know. Don't worry, Mom has already told me these things."
"Your mother?" Xie Mei was surprised, a hint of disbelief flashing in her eyes. Didn't she know about her own daughter? Wang Fang was definitely not someone who would tolerate or understand others.
I've let my daughter get away with it. She's very proud and arrogant, relying on her beauty to look down on everyone. She was even worse when she was young, and now, with her age and the baptism of time, she's become more restrained. But I want Tianyi to understand my uncle's family. Such words would never come out of Wang Fang's mouth.
But Tianyi had already said so, and Xie Mei didn't want to refute her. She just turned around and patted the back of Tianyi's hand, smiling and said, "I feel relieved that you are so sensible."
Xin Tianyi knew that her grandmother Xie Mei could be said to be a reasonable old lady, but what she said today was also from the heart, because no matter what, in Xie Mei's heart and eyes, the person she loved the most was her cousin Wang Mingjie.
She came to Tianyi specifically to warn him, not only because she didn't want the two siblings to clash, but also because she wanted Xin Tianyi to give in. Xie Mei's choice between her grandson and granddaughter was clear.
In her previous life, Xin Tianyi, at her current age, fifteen, a very sensitive age, was deeply concerned about Grandma Xie Mei's choice. She couldn't understand why, given the same offspring, Grandma always favored her cousin. Her cousin's father was Grandma's son, but her mother was also her daughter.
But now Xin Tianyi no longer cares.
Because only children who lack love will yearn for love so much.
Just like myself in my previous life.
But when she grew up and recalled this period of time, Xin Tianyi suddenly realized that the love she relied on to survive later was all obtained in this shortest period of time.
"Your mom is such a jerk! It's already so late, and she hasn't come back yet." Xie Mei glanced at the wall clock and said dissatisfiedly, "It's the first day we moved back. Can't she come back earlier? Besides, she should have been off work by now."
Xin Tianyi didn't respond, she knew where her mother had gone.
Given Wang Fang's personality, moving out of her grandmother's house shouldn't be that easy.
Every adult has their intentions when they do something.
Xin Tianyi kept silent, but just curled his lips slightly towards Xie Mei and said, "Grandma, let me cook the porridge first. Grandpa and you both like millet porridge, right?"
Xie Mei was very satisfied. "Yes, your grandfather and I will have millet porridge in the evening. There is also half a pumpkin in the cupboard. Cut it up and put it in to cook."
"Okay." Xin Tianyi rolled up his sleeves and started washing rice.
Xie Mei stood at the kitchen door, looking in. Her granddaughter seemed to have grown taller. Her appearance combined the best features of both Wang Fang and Xin Ziqian: a tall figure, a small chin, and a slender neck. And her eyes, always bright. But her sweater was a little too worn, discolored at the elbows and with a few rips at the cuffs.
Xie Mei walked over, reached out and pinched the thread on Xin Tianyi's sleeve. After pulling it a few times, she frowned and said, "What is your mother busy with every day? Your sweater is all untied, and she won't even knit you a new one. When she brought you here this morning, I saw she was dressed neatly, with that bright red lipstick on, and her hair must have been freshly permed too."
Xin Tianyi smiled: "Grandma, you have very sharp eyes. You can even tell that my hair has just been permed?"
Xie Mei raised her chin proudly, "That's because when your mother came, she put her luggage on the ground, and the curlers on the ends of her hair bounced up, and it became like this..."
Xie Mei said this, gently supporting her hair with her hands, and added: "It's so bouncy, and the curls aren't messy at all. You can tell it was just permed. She's really generous. She was kicked out, but she still had the mind to perm her hair..."
Xin Tianyi had already put the millet into the pot. He turned around and saw a glass bottle in the cabinet filled with pickled radish cubes.
She almost jumped up in surprise: "Grandma, there are pickled radish cubes!"
The author has something to say:
Updated every day at 9pm.
Here is the starting time: It started in December 1989, when Tianyi was fifteen years old and in the third grade of junior high school.
The time span is quite large, and the story will extend from the third year of junior high school to adulthood.
Thank you everyone.
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Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2023-04-03 16:19:36 and 2023-04-04 16:57:30~
Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: Yu Shisan 1;
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 4 bottles of Sweet Taste; 1 bottle of Hurricane Pumpkin Lantern;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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