More importantly, Qiao Xia felt that she looked somewhat familiar.
Uncle Niu retorted righteously, "What are you saying, you brat? I raised you all these years, and now you're talking to me about what's yours and what's mine? Let me tell you, what's yours is mine, and it will all belong to Yaozu in the future."
“Then let me tell you, it’s impossible. If I hear anything like that from you again, I will never give you another penny. You can just stay here in this mountain and starve to death with your money and your son.”
Aunt Niu quickly stepped between the two to take sides, saying, "Alright, you've finally come back, and you're arguing with your dad for no reason. Your dad's only doing this to bring honor to the family. What if those two outsiders run off with your brother...?"
The girl sneered mercilessly, "Only you guys treat your good son like a treasure. He's already in the mountains, and wherever he goes is a blessing from his ancestors. Does he even have that kind of luck?"
"How could you say that about your brother?" Aunt Niu couldn't accept it and told her to slap him.
The girl's gaze naturally fell on Qiao Xia, and she froze on the spot, so much so that she couldn't dodge Aunt Niu's slap.
A crisp slap echoed through the mountains. With a single glance from the girl, Aunt Niu lowered her head, her gaze darting away.
The girl didn't look at her again. She forced a smile and extended her hand to Qiao Xia, "Mr. Qiao, do you remember me?"
As she got closer, Qiao Xia finally recognized the girl; she was the only one who paid the breach of contract fee when she left her former agency.
Unfortunately, the money didn't play a significant role when the Qiao Group was on the verge of collapse, but it still made Qiao Xia remember her. If I remember correctly, she is now the most popular artist who left the company.
“I remember you, Niu Aihua.” Qiao Xia grasped her hand.
But she shook her head, "I've changed my name to Dawn."
"Chenxi, what a nice name," Qiao Xia praised with a smile.
"You haven't eaten yet, have you? I bought a lot of things, come in first." With that, Chenxi invited them to go inside.
Qiao Xia shook her head. She had many questions to ask. "I'm not hungry yet. Why don't you take me for a walk around?"
Knowing she couldn't avoid it, Chenxi gave a wry smile and agreed.
Although it's not yet winter, the mountains are already barren and there's nothing to see.
Chenxi turned her head to look at Qiao Xia, hesitating to speak, opening her mouth several times and then closing it again.
Finally, when they reached a tree that was half-dead and lying on the ground, Chenxi plopped down on it. "I'm sorry, I lied to you."
Back then, Chenxi worked in a restaurant in town for half a year, eager to make her way in a big city. The only big city she knew was City A.
So, by asking for directions and hitchhiking, she luckily arrived in City A after a week.
But when she actually arrived in City A, she found that the prices there were so high that she couldn't even find a place to stay.
Because she was born in the mountains, there was no population census in the mountains during those years, so she didn't even have an ID card and couldn't find a job.
But it was around that time that Qiao Xia suddenly wanted to experience the fun of being a talent scout, and she spotted Chen Xi sitting on the street.
She asked Chenxi, "How old are you?"
"Eighteen." Chenxi already knew that city people were unwilling to hire minors, so she lied about her age by two years.
Qiao Xia asked again, "What's your name?"
"Niu Aihua." At that time, she didn't actually have a name of her own. Her family called her "Big Sister," and the people in town called her "Sister Niu."
Fearing that Qiao Xia would abandon her, Chen Xi lied and said that she had gone to university, but in reality, she only learned about nine years of compulsory education when she was ten years old, and was forced by the town officials to attend five years of primary school.
As soon as she received her elementary school graduation certificate, her father couldn't wait to send her to work at a restaurant in town.
At that moment, Qiao Xia just watched her quietly, making Chen Xi feel as if she had seen through her lie, but she didn't say anything.
Qiao Xia bought her a lot of pretty clothes, enrolled her in many classes, and even gave her money to learn Mandarin and acting.
Therefore, Chenxi worked very hard. In order to prevent her lies from being exposed one day, she enrolled in an adult high school in the first month she received her salary, and later she also took the adult undergraduate exam.
But much later, she realized that this university was different from others.
She had been hiding from Qiao Xia at the company, afraid that one day she would suddenly stand up and question her about why she had lied.
When Qiao Xia's company went bankrupt, she even felt a sense of relief.
At this point, Chenxi laughed at herself, "Actually, I contacted you when the company first went bankrupt. I wanted to tell you that I made a lot of money from acting. Although it can't compare to your previous life, I can buy a house in City A and take care of you and your family..."
Qiao Xia was a little touched. "That's not what I wanted to ask. You probably already guessed it. I already know about your situation. Without a letter of proof from someone in your hometown, no matter how capable I am, I can't get you an ID card."
After saying it aloud, Chenxi felt much more relaxed. She paused for a moment and said, "I really didn't expect that. What were you trying to ask me?"
Qiao Xia glanced in the direction of her house and said tactfully, "Why don't you take them with you?"
Chenxi smiled and said, "Are you talking about my sisters? They don't want to leave with me."
"How could that be?" Qiao Xia asked, puzzled.
You can tell from the family's personnel that the Niu couple definitely don't treat them as well as Chenxi, their older sister. It's human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm, so how could they not want to go with Chenxi?
Chenxi sighed, "Children are easily influenced by adults. They don't have their own judgment yet, and my parents are always talking badly about me in their ears."
"When I came back, they were able to call me 'sister,' which means my sweet talk had worked."
Qiao Xia couldn't help but feel sorry for her when she looked at her.
Chenxi, however, launched into a tirade about her family without holding back, saying, "Doesn't my mom look much older than my dad? As far back as I can remember, she's been doing all the housework."
“Every year around the beginning of April, she would take my sister and me to the tree on the mountaintop to pick tea leaves. After drying the tea leaves, we would give them to my dad to take down the mountain to sell.”
Chen Xi suddenly approached Qiao Xia, "Do you know? She has never left the mountain in her entire life. She is actually not even forty years old this year. She has spent half of her life giving birth."
She crossed her arms and said, "I hate my brother, but sometimes I want to thank him. If it weren't for him, I don't know how long my mom would have had to keep giving birth."
Tears welled up in Chenxi's eyes. "Back then, I said I would take her and her sister to live down the mountain, but she said she had to take her brother too. She said my dad always beat her, and she couldn't take it anymore. But when I agreed to take her brother, she said she couldn't bear to leave my dad..."
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