Chapter 31 My Daughter is My Own (Part 1): A Guide to Pampering Your Wife and Daughter...
"Nephew, are you listening to me?"
When Song Ce opened his eyes, he found himself sitting in a wooden armchair, next to an ordinary-looking middle-aged man who was waving his hand in front of him.
Song Ce nodded, quickly getting into character, and asked in a steady voice, "What did you just say?"
Song Jianshe glanced at Song Ce with some surprise. Just now, his nephew was so angry that his face was red. How come he was acting like nothing had happened and his tone was so nice now?
Seeing the respectful look in Song Ce's eyes, Song Jianshe straightened his back slightly and spoke in a more intimate tone: "It's all because of your wife's affair. She did something shameful but wouldn't admit it. Look at Rou'er, she doesn't look like her biological father at all!"
Upon hearing this, Song Ce lowered his eyes and remained silent.
Seeing his reaction, Song Jianshe's tone became even more forceful: "Rou'er is only a week old, you need to make a decision quickly! Are you afraid you won't find a new wife after leaving that woman? You're not bad yourself, you can't be like that good-for-nothing Wang boy, do you hear me? There are no cowards in our Song family! We can't do something like raising someone else's illegitimate child!"
Song Ce hadn't yet received the plot of this world, but through the middle-aged man's few words, he could roughly figure out what was going on: it seemed that the original owner of this body and his wife had a daughter, but she didn't look like him. The relatives thought that the original owner's wife had done something shameful and were trying to persuade him to divorce her and remarry.
Seeing that the middle-aged man was about to continue, Song Ce quickly smiled wryly and said, "I'll think about this carefully. You should go back first. I... I'll think about it some more."
Seeing the struggle, anxiety, and hint of relenting on Song Ce's face, Song Jianshe knew he couldn't push him too hard. He stood up and said, "Think about it. Your third uncle is going home first. Your third aunt is waiting for me to tidy up the courtyard wall."
"Third Uncle, please take care, let me see you off."
After receiving the plot of this world, Song Ce couldn't help but sigh.
This world is somewhat similar to the background of China in the 1990s. The original owner of this body is Song Ce, who is twenty-one years old this year.
The original owner of this body was born into a rather poor rural family in northern China. His parents were ordinary farmers, and because he was their youngest child, they spoiled him rotten. In an era where most children only had a primary or junior high school education, they managed to get him through high school. Unfortunately, his grades were consistently in the lower middle of his class, so he never got into university.
However, a high school diploma is very rare in rural areas. When other villagers see the original owner, they will sigh and say, "Old Song's son, what a pity, he is a college dropout."
Because of his educational background, one family after another from the nearby villages tried to find him a wife. He was also quite honest and chose the most beautiful woman to marry.
Although the elderly couple weren't entirely satisfied with Liang Qiulan, the original owner's wife, thinking she was too beautiful and their son might not be able to keep her, and that she looked too clean and didn't seem like the type to settle down, they couldn't resist the original owner's affection. In the end, they held a grand wedding for the original owner and Liang Qiulan according to the village's standards.
After getting married, the original owner and Liang Qiulan were very loving. Only half a year after their marriage, Liang Qiulan became pregnant, which made the old couple very happy. After taking good care of her for ten months, Liang Qiulan gave birth to a girl.
Although the elderly couple weren't too happy to see it wasn't a grandson, they still took good care of Liang Qiulan during her postpartum period. The original owner of this body was overjoyed. He had always preferred girls, and now that his beloved wife had given birth to a sweet and soft baby girl, he couldn't wait to announce to the whole world that he also had a daughter.
The original owner spent half the night reading books and named her daughter Song Rou.
When Song Rou turned one year old, rumors began to circulate in the village that Song Rou was not the original owner's biological daughter.
The reason is simple: Song Rou is just too beautiful. She has a fairer and prettier face than the pampered city kids on TV. Moreover, her eyes are a rare deep brown with long eyelashes, and when she opens her eyes and smiles, she looks like a porcelain doll.
The problem is that the original owner's appearance could only be described as handsome, and his skin was dark. Song Rou didn't resemble him at all.
And so the rumors spread more and more wildly. Some people said that Liang Qiulan had been having an affair with a man outside, which is why she had such a beautiful child. Others said that they had seen Liang Qiulan walking with a man, and they were very intimate, so their relationship was obviously not ordinary.
The original owner of this body naturally ignored such baseless rumors. He loved his wife very much. Liang Qiulan was beautiful and virtuous. Although her education was not as good as his, her personality was truly gentle. He must have been incredibly lucky to win her heart, so the original owner did not believe these rumors at all.
But he overlooked one point: the villagers' jealousy was so irrational yet so perfectly understandable.
How could a man who failed his college entrance exams and stayed at home so easily marry such a beautiful wife and live such a happy and fulfilling life? They finally found a place to attack them, and the malice they deliberately condoned came like maggots in a stinking pit, swarming in all sorts of rumors.
The original owner of this body may not believe it, but her parents couldn't sit still. They already had many grievances against Liang Qiulan, and now the rumors had spread to the surrounding villages. They had been honest and cowardly their whole lives, and they couldn't stand such slander being thrown at their home.
So the elderly couple forced the original owner of this body to drive Liang Qiulan and Song Rou away. Naturally, the original owner was unwilling, but his parents threatened suicide, and being a filial son, he had no choice but to compromise. He settled his wife and daughter properly at his wife's parents' home and promised to bring them back.
Liang Qiulan cried and begged. She knew the original owner's difficulties, so she could only stay home, taking care of the child while waiting for the original owner to return and pick her up. But who could have imagined that Liang Qiulan's parents also believed these rumors and beat her severely the day after she returned home? Liang Qiulan could only endure it, holding Song Rou tightly in her arms, bearing all the beatings and insults herself.
Although the original owner had sent Liang Qiulan back to her parents' home, he couldn't stop thinking about her. He always believed Song Rou was his child, and he tried everything to persuade her, but the old couple wouldn't listen. They even tried to persuade him to find a new wife. Enraged, the original owner went on a hunger strike to show his resolve, refusing to budge no matter who came. After three days, his mother, weeping outside the door, finally gave in, her face dark with anger, and agreed to let him bring his wife and daughter home.
And so, the original owner happily brought his wife home. Liang Qiulan knelt on the ground, crying, and swore that she had never done anything to betray the original owner. The old couple softened and said they were willing to believe Liang Qiulan.
Although they lived their lives as a family behind closed doors, the rumors persisted in the village, causing the elderly couple some unease. However, seeing their happy son, they could only suppress their feelings.
The year ended uneventfully, and the Song family, a prominent clan, saw Song Xiaojie, a man recognized by the entire clan as a successful individual, return to the village.
Song Xiaojie has only a junior high school education. He drives for a big boss in the city. The boss values him highly and pays him 500 yuan a month. This is a unique and respectable job. The salary is high and the work is not tiring.
The Song family members were all proud to have such an outstanding descendant. Although Song Xiaojie looked down on these peasants, he really enjoyed being fawned over. So, after hearing about this, he confidently claimed that his boss knew a hospital director who had introduced advanced foreign paternity testing technology. He said that once they got the proof, these rumors would be dispelled. What would the villagers have to say then?
The original owner had always felt that her cousin had a respectable job and was well-informed. Every time she came home, she would come over to talk to him, and the two had a fairly close relationship. So, in order to clear Liang Qiulan's name or to silence the gossip, she gritted her teeth and took out all the savings she had accumulated over the years to ask Song Xiaojie to do this overseas appraisal.
But who knew that Song Xiaojie, who had been driving for a big boss for the past few years, hadn't saved much money; he'd gambled away all his salary. A few days ago, he was even fired by the big boss after being caught stealing.
With the money in hand, Song Xiaojie obtained a fake certificate from a shady clinic in the county. On one hand, he felt that the girl was definitely not the original owner's biological daughter, and on the other hand, he was secretly jealous. Why could the original owner, who was a peasant at home, find such a beautiful wife?
To convince the original owner of his belief, he deliberately created a fake certificate entirely in English. Even if someone were to try and verify it, these days, people who understand English are mostly in big cities; how many could possibly understand it in a small county? Although his cousin had dropped out of university, he was still essentially a high school student, and so many years had passed; he didn't believe his cousin could even understand it. Therefore, he confidently wrote "not biologically related" on the certificate.
After receiving the "foreign paternity test results," the original owner of this body was so distracted that she staggered back home and accidentally fell into the river.
He knew a bit about swimming, but it was winter, and there was no one on the riverbank. In addition, he was distracted, so he never swam back up.
Upon hearing the devastating news, the elderly couple, clutching the report given to them by Song Xiaojie, wept and wailed all the way home. The whole village knew that Liang Qiulan had committed a shameful act, giving birth to an illegitimate child, which had driven her husband to jump into the river. At this point, Liang Qiulan's guilt was confirmed. The Song family could not tolerate her, and with nowhere else to go, she could only return to her parents' home with her child.
But a woman with such a bad reputation would only be disgraced by her family; how could they possibly protect her from harm?
Two months after the original owner of this body passed away, Liang Qiulan's family arranged another marriage for her. The man was a disabled, elderly bachelor who was over forty and still unmarried. Liang Qiulan resolutely refused. She knelt on the ground, crying, and begged her family, saying that she only wanted to raise Song Rou well and did not want to remarry.
How could her family agree? Marrying her off would not only save them two mouths to feed, but also earn them a considerable dowry. So, while Liang Qiulan was working in the fields, her family deliberately took the child up the mountain, and then returned home saying they had accidentally lost her.
Liang Qiulan was almost frantic with worry. She knew how cold it was on the mountain at night, and there were wild boars, snakes, and rats around. Song Rou was only a little over a year old; she definitely wouldn't survive the night.
That night, Liang Qiulan knelt on the ground and cried from house to house. Some kind-hearted people couldn't bear it and organized a few villagers to go up the mountain to search. After a whole night, they only brought back a tiger-head shoe covered in blood and flesh.
Those were sewn by Liang Qiulan herself during her pregnancy.
From then on, Liang Qiulan became mentally unstable, and the old bachelor, seeing this, was no longer willing to marry her.
When she was lucid, she would just stare blankly at the blood-stained shoe and then silently shed tears; when she went crazy, she would hug a pillow, run to the original owner's grave, and coax the pillow to sleep, sweetly sharing the joy of the child's growth with the original owner.
She ultimately did not survive that winter.
When Liang Qiulan was found, she was lying quietly beside the original owner's grave, clutching a dirty pillow. The original owner's parents cried until their eyes were red, and without saying anything, they took over Liang Qiulan's funeral arrangements and buried her with the original owner.
When news of Liang Qiulan's death spread, a well-informed businessman from the county town and his wife happened to hear about it. They drove to the village and stared at the "foreign paternity test results" for a long time before sighing, "This test is fake."
"What?"
The strongest reaction came from the original owner's parents. They stood up tremblingly, listening to the glamorous boss tell them the truth with a look of sympathy: those English words were just a translated recipe with a forged red seal, and even the words "not biologically related" were written in pinyin.
The villagers were shocked and saddened when they learned the truth. But Song Xiaojie had already run away after doing this. They also learned the real reason why Song Xiaojie was fired from the big boss. Now the original parents were truly devastated.
As the original owner's parents passed away one after another, this matter was gradually forgotten, whether unintentionally or intentionally.
What's most infuriating is that those who spread the most rumors in the village back then now have grandchildren. When young people ask them about this past event and the slander and accusations against Liang Qiulan, the daughter-in-law of the Song family, they often just smile knowingly. The most common thing they hear is: "We were just joking back then. You see, we're all from the same village. We were just trying to do what was best for their family. Who would have thought?"
And then? Then they waved their hands, indicating they didn't want to say more, and happily went back to playing with their grandchildren.
The person making this wish is to protect his wife and daughter from harm, to live a happy and fulfilling life together, and to ensure that Song Xiaojie, who deceived his family, receives the punishment he deserves.
The current situation is that the rumors have spread to a great extent, and it is unknown who started them. By the time the original owner realized it, the relatives of the Song family began to come to the door one by one. The third uncle of Song just now was one of the elders in the family who strongly supported the original owner's divorce.
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Author's Note: The second world has begun! This time, the setting is China around the 1990s. I heard this story from a friend before, and we were both quite moved by it back then. Thank you so much to all my lovely angels for your collections, comments, and support! Your support is my motivation! QAQ
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