They've never left the bridge. Your grandmother lives with them now; their life is a bit poor, but it's relatively stable.
Su Qingzhi was stunned when she heard this.
"Then...they know everything about my dad, and everything that happened to our family afterward?"
Zhu Xiuqin nodded slowly, her expression solemn.
“I know. Actually, they’ve wanted to come see us for a long time, but I didn’t let them. It’s not that I don’t care about family ties, but I was really afraid of burdening them.”
“Your uncle and aunt are both teachers at Daqiao Elementary School, and they are quite well-known in the area. I’m worried that if word gets out about your father’s situation, it will affect their jobs, and people might even use it against them, calling them ‘family members of criminals.’ Not only would they lose their jobs, but their children’s schooling could also be affected.”
"So after thinking it over, I decided to cut off all contact and keep them out of the picture, which is also for their sake."
"Later, all the family's savings were donated, and the evidence against Lin Yuantong was finally gathered. The police officially opened a case for investigation, and we barely escaped a disaster."
“Those who originally wanted to kick us when we were down gradually quieted down when they saw that they had no more dirt on us. But once the storm had subsided a little, we moved back to Qingshan Village.”
"I thought I could have a few days of peace and quiet, but troubles kept coming one after another. I was so busy that I didn't even have time to catch my breath, let alone take a break to go back to the bridge to see my family."
Su Qingzhi listened quietly, her eyes slightly reddening.
She clenched her fist and said firmly.
“Then let’s go see Grandma and Uncle in a few days. I want to see them with my own eyes, and I want them to know that I am still alive and that I still remember them.”
She added in a low voice, a hint of longing in her tone.
“I’ve never seen what my grandmother looks like. I’ve only heard you say that her picture hangs on the wall of the main room of the old house, wearing a blue cloth shirt and with two braids.”
Zhu Xiuqin looked at her daughter's face and responded softly.
"good."
Just then, she caught a glimpse of Shen Zhiyu walking out of the house.
He turned his head and asked Su Qingzhi softly.
What do you think of Zhiyu?
A blush crept across Su Qingzhi's face as she whispered.
"He's a decent person. He's conscientious in his work and knows how to speak appropriately."
Zhu Xiuqin smiled.
"He's a capable kid. Over the years, you've been so lucky to have him protect you. God has finally rewarded you by letting you meet such a person."
Her tone was slightly somber, and a hint of lingering fear flashed in her eyes.
"If it weren't for him, with Wang Chunhua's shrewish and selfish nature, she would have already given you to someone even more despicable than Li Tieniu. Fortunately, Zhiyu came, which made those who had ulterior motives give up."
As she spoke, she couldn't help but recall the things that had been circulating in the village recently, and her brows furrowed even more deeply.
“These days, who in the village hasn’t heard about Li Tieniu’s scandalous deeds? Everyone says that Xie Lanlan was locked in the woodshed by him, eating spoiled leftovers, sleeping on a pile of straw, and never seeing the sun, so thin that she was skin and bones.”
"He wouldn't let her leave the house, wouldn't even give her a hot meal, treating her like livestock. When Xie Daping heard about this, he was so angry that he crossed the mountain overnight to confront Li Tieniu, but Li Tieniu was as stubborn as a rock, slippery and unyielding, no matter how much you scolded or argued, he wouldn't budge."
"Having no other choice, Xie Daping had to go to Shen Wanshan for help. Shen Wanshan was, after all, the village chief, and he was reasonable and respected. He immediately took several strong men and went to Niutou Village. When they arrived at the Li family's door, he questioned him in front of everyone what he wanted."
"Seeing that the situation was not going well, Li Tieniu pretended to pat his chest and guarantee that Xie Lanlan would be released from the woodshed. He even pretended to serve her a bowl of hot soup noodles."
"As soon as he left, he locked Xie Lanlan back upstairs. The next day, someone passing by could still hear soft sobbing coming from inside. This wasn't marriage; it was imprisonment!"
Zhu Xiuqin felt a chill run down her spine when she thought about how Wang Chunhua had once had the same plan for Shen Zhaoqiu.
She didn't feel sorry for Xie Lanlan.
Ultimately, it was his own doing, so he has no one to blame but himself.
Zhu Xiuqin said that Xie Lanlan did not stand idly by that day.
Instead of dissuading her, she joined Wang Chunhua in making a fuss.
He even reached out and pushed Su Qingzhi.
Serves you right!
If you choose the path yourself and end up in a dead end, who can you blame?
"Mom, has Su Yueyue been causing trouble lately?"
Su Qingzhi sat on a low stool in the courtyard, arranging radishes with her head down.
Zhu Xiuqin sighed and put the sweet potato in her hand into the basket.
“She came over a few times a while ago, crying and shouting that she wanted a share of the family property. She smashed the water vat at the entrance of our yard and even called us cold-blooded wolves. But she’s quieted down recently. We haven’t seen her for half a month. I heard that she’s made some money outside and doesn’t need that little bit of pocket money anymore, so she’s too lazy to come over and make a scene.”
"You made a profit?"
Su Qingzhi frowned.
"She has no skills, how can she make money? Could she be doing something shady? If she gets caught doing business on the side, it's no laughing matter."
That's really something, someone who transmigrated into a book. They're incredibly bold.
Knowing full well that the crackdown is strict in this era, she still dared to defy the law and commit crimes.
Did she think she would always be so lucky?
"She went up the mountain, dug up an old ginseng, and took it to the city to sell."
Zhu Xiuqin lowered her voice and leaned close to Su Qingzhi's ear.
“That ginseng was at least thirty years old, and the pharmacist could tell at a glance that it was a good product. Coincidentally, an old man in a family was critically ill, and the doctor said that he only had one breath left and needed ginseng to keep him alive. The family was in a panic and gritted their teeth to give her a hundred dollars in cash.”
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