Aunt Xie fled home in a panic.
On the way, they ran into a familiar face from the village. Seeing that Aunt Xie's expression was off, the person stopped her and asked, "Changfeng's mother, what's wrong? Did something happen at home?"
Aunt Xie ignored her and rushed home with her head down.
The person behind noticed something was wrong and muttered a few words, but knowing that Aunt Xie's temper was always eccentric, they didn't dare to say anything more.
Back home, Aunt Xie drank two bowls of water before she could finally calm her racing heart. She plopped down in a chair, her face ashen.
Aunt Xie still felt lingering fear when she recalled Xu Ningyan's eyes.
Unexpectedly, this girl actually guessed part of the truth from back then.
To be honest, Aunt Xie had some doubts when she saw Xu Yinlai and the others taking Siya back to the brigade.
After all, her son had brought the girl home for a few days, and she had taken care of her for a few days, so she knew what the little girl looked like.
The girl Siya that Xu Yinlai brought back looks so much like that little girl. Although she's thinner and has a bruised and swollen face, her features haven't changed.
At that time, she had a lot of troubles at home. Her son had just returned to the army, and her troublesome daughter-in-law, who was pregnant with her grandson, was making a fuss about going back.
She said she wanted to send her daughter-in-law back with her, but Wu Hongqin absolutely refused.
Furthermore, she had never met Xu's fourth daughter before, and she didn't dare to go up and ask if this was the girl her son had brought back. Miao Cuihua from the Xu family was not someone to be trifled with.
Moreover, since her son had said that he had sent the girl to live with his comrade-in-arms in the county, she suppressed her doubts.
Later, unable to help her daughter-in-law during her postpartum period or take care of her eldest grandson, Aunt Xie was often ridiculed by the people in the village.
She also became increasingly envious of other people her age, who all had many children and grandchildren, while she couldn't even hold her only grandson.
The more envious he felt, the more he could only watch other people's grandchildren in the brigade to satisfy his craving.
Then Xu Jia's fourth daughter came into her view again, and after several encounters, she became increasingly suspicious.
Later, he came up with a plan and, under the guise of combing Xu's fourth daughter's hair, finally confirmed it.
When her son brought the little girl home, she noticed a small red mole in the hair on the back of the little girl's neck while taking care of her.
A similar small red mole was also found in the same spot on the back of Siya's neck.
Aunt Xie didn't know why Xu Changfeng would hand the girl over to Xu Yinlai and Shen Yue'e, but since her son wouldn't tell her, she could only pretend to be confused.
Occasionally, when I can't stand seeing her like that, I'll take care of her a little.
She had seen how hard Siya's life had been over the years.
Several times, she wanted to ask her son if he knew how hard Siya was living, but she didn't dare to ask.
She's an old widow who can't write letters. If she asks someone else to write one for her, and outsiders find out, wouldn't they gossip about her son? And if the letter gets back to the military leaders, how can her son stay in the army?
Xu Changfeng would occasionally come back, and the two of them would develop a grudge over Wu Hongqin's matter, and they would argue whenever they talked about it.
By the time she remembered this and wanted to ask for clarification, Xu Changfeng had already left.
Year after year passed by in this way. Wu Hongqin had already given birth to three children for Xu Changfeng. She also had her own selfish reasons. If she really told her son about Siya's hard life, her son would definitely feel guilty and might want to take Siya over to take care of her.
Knowing Wu Hongqin as she does, she's likely to go crazy and act recklessly, and if things get out of hand, her whole family might suffer.
So she fell silent.
She pretended not to have noticed anything, deceiving herself that she knew nothing.
I've been hypnotizing myself for so many years that I almost believed it myself.
But under Xu Ningyan's gaze, she could no longer deceive herself.
Actually, she had selfish motives. She only thought about not ruining her son's future or affecting his current family, so she pretended to be deaf and dumb for more than ten years.
When Xu Changfeng came out of the house and saw Aunt Xie's distraught appearance, he knew that her search for Xu Ningyan was probably not going well either.
He sighed, sat down in front of Aunt Xie, and said, "Mother, after I return to the army this time, I will apply for a transfer back home—"
Aunt Xie stood up abruptly, looking at Xu Changfeng with suspicion and disbelief: "What did you say? You were doing so well in the army, why did you come back? Was it for Siya?"
Xu Changfeng nodded, then shook his head, his expression bitter: "If it were before, I could pretend I didn't know, and feel at ease knowing I was giving them living expenses every month. Now that I know, how can I turn a blind eye and pretend nothing happened? I have no face to see my old company commander, and I have no face to wear this uniform again!"
"Moreover, all these years, for the sake of maintaining appearances, I haven't been able to be by your side to fulfill my filial duties, causing you a lot of grievances! Now that I've been transferred back from the military, I can finally take care of you and fulfill my filial duties! Your son has dedicated the first half of his life to serving the country, so let me dedicate the second half to being a filial son to my mother!"
"As you've heard, it seems Si Ya and that Comrade Gu's relationship is going to fall through. Comrade Gu has returned to the capital, and since he didn't take Si Ya with him, it's uncertain whether he'll bring her back in the future! If Si Ya remarries, with such a reputation, it will be difficult for her. Even if she marries, without her family's support, she'll likely be looked down upon and bullied!"
"With me here, at least I can protect them a little, which is a way for me to make up for what I've done wrong!"
Judging from Xu Changfeng's expression, Aunt Xie must have made up her mind.
My son is the most stubborn person I know. Once he makes up his mind, he won't listen to anyone.
Since he's said he wants to change careers, it's probably a done deal.
Although it's regrettable that my son has to give up his promising future in the military, if he can be demobilized and return home, I can see him often, meet some of my grandchildren, and experience the joy of being surrounded by my children and grandchildren. Then I can die in peace.
Thinking about it this way, Aunt Xie became happy. She wiped away her tears and then thought of that troublesome Wu Hongqin: "If you transfer back to civilian life, will your wife agree?"
Xu Changfeng said coldly, "We don't need her consent!"
Aunt Xie kept quiet, lest she spoil her son's mood.
So he simply pulled Xu Changfeng aside and started rambling on about what would happen after he returned from his military service.
For example, this house needs to be properly repaired, otherwise our grandchildren won't have anywhere to stay when they come back.
She also thought about stocking up on more chicken and duck eggs, pickling them, and letting her grandchildren taste her cooking.
He kept saying he wanted to exchange more cotton cloth coupons with the villagers this year so he could make a new set of clothes for each of his grandchildren...
Hearing Aunt Xie's excited voice, Xu Changfeng forgot his unpleasant experience at Xu Ningyan's place and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Ningyan was unaware that Xu Changfeng was actually planning to transfer back to civilian life and even intended to support her.
Of course, if they knew, they would probably just laugh it off and not take it to heart.
Because at this moment, she was facing a choice and couldn't care less about anything else.
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