When Du Yuhan arrived at Xikou Village, it was past midnight, a time when everyone was fast asleep, so there was no one outside, only a few barks from dogs.
However, Du Yuhan used to be from this village, and even though she had only been gone for a few months, the village dogs still recognized her and rarely barked, which greatly relieved Du Yuhan.
Du Yuhan generously tossed several meat buns to the dogs that had come to her without barking, and immediately coaxed them away.
Du Yuhan arrived at the gate of the courtyard where the second branch of the Du family lived. After looking around and listening, she realized that her parents were asleep, so she didn't disturb them and went straight into her space to rest for a while. She didn't leave the space until it was almost dawn.
Du Yuhan took out the things she had prepared for her adoptive parents and younger brothers at the gate of the courtyard. Then she gently knocked on the gate.
Having slept soundly all night, Du Lianqiao, who was about to get out of bed, twitched his ear and nudged his wife beside him, saying, "Yuqiao, do you hear someone knocking on our gate?"
Wang Yuqiao didn't hear anything, but she still said, "Go and see if anyone is looking for you."
Du Lianqiao quickly got up, put on his pants and a coat, and went to the gate of the courtyard.
In the dim light, Du Yuhan saw that it was her adoptive father coming out and called out softly, "Dad, it's me, Yuhan. I'm back."
Upon hearing Du Yuhan's voice, Du Lianqiao immediately perked up and ran to the courtyard gate to open it and call out.
Du Yuhan quickly shushed him and whispered, "Dad, don't shout. I came back quietly. Don't let anyone know."
Du Lianqiao stared blankly, speechless, before realizing that his daughter didn't want anyone to know she was back and quickly ushered Du Yuhan inside.
Du Yuhan said softly, "Dad, I brought some things back. Could you help me carry them?"
Du Yuhan didn't dare to take out too many things because of her small size, fearing it would arouse suspicion from her adoptive parents. However, what she did take out were all things that the Du family needed.
Du Lianqiao stepped out of the yard and saw a pile of things, several bags, at the gate. Thinking about how exhausted her daughter must be carrying so much, Du Lianqiao felt a pang of heartache.
Du Yuhan said, "Dad, let's go inside first and talk inside. Let's not let anyone see me."
Du Lianqiao nodded and helped Du Yuhan carry the bags into the house. Then he quickly went to the gate and checked that no one was watching before gently closing the gate.
Wang Yuqiao heard the sound of two people's footsteps inside the house. Although no one spoke, she knew that someone had come to the house, so she quickly got dressed.
As soon as she stepped out of the east room, she saw her eldest daughter standing at the door, smiling and calling out to her, "Mother, I'm back."
Wang Yuqiao covered her mouth in disbelief to stop herself from screaming. Then she reached out and hugged Du Yuhan tightly, crying.
"Yuhan, my daughter, I've been so worried about you these past few months."
Du Yuhan quickly advised, "Mom, I came back secretly. Don't let anyone know. Please don't cry, or it will attract more attention and cause trouble."
Upon hearing this, Wang Yuqiao quickly wiped away her tears and dared not cry anymore.
Hearing the commotion, the three Du brothers, including Du Haifeng, woke up. When they came out and saw that their eldest sister had returned, they were so happy that they didn't know what to say.
Du Lianqiao instructed, "You mustn't let anyone notice. When your eldest sister comes back, you can't tell anyone else, understand?"
The three brothers nodded vigorously upon hearing this.
Du Yuhan was very happy to see that her three younger brothers had all grown taller and were stronger than before.
Wang Yuqiao quickly pulled Du Yuhan into the east room. By the light of the kerosene lamp, she saw that her daughter had grown much taller, her body was no longer skin and bones, and her cheeks were much rounder. She knew that her daughter should be doing well.
She asked Du Yuhan to sit on the kang (a heated brick bed), "Yuhan, how are you doing over there? Are you eating well? Have you been bullied?"
Du Haifeng asked anxiously, "Yes, sis, did they bully you?"
Everyone else was also looking at Du Yuhan, waiting for her to tell them about her life during this period.
Du Yuhan held her adoptive mother's hand and smiled, "You can tell I'm doing well just by looking at me now. The aunt who came that time was actually looking for a caregiver for her nephew, and I was responsible for taking care of the daily life of that disabled soldier."
Aunt Han said those things to cut off my grandmother's hopes, and also because she pitied me after learning my identity.
Besides me, that soldier also had an orderly to help take care of him. I didn't have to do any of the hard work; I just cooked, washed clothes, and mended things. Sometimes, I didn't even have to wash the clothes.
That family was very kind to me; they even gave me a salary every month. Even if I leave that family in the future, Aunt Han will find me another job.
Moreover, that soldier also taught us cultural knowledge in his spare time, and I'm now a junior high school student. Aunt Han also introduced me to an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor so I can learn medicine from him; if I study well, I can become a doctor in the future.
Du Yuhan recounted the good things that had happened over the past few months to her adoptive parents, mainly to put their minds at ease.
Wang Yuqiao patted her chest and said, "Oh my, thank goodness, you really met good people. It was the right choice to let you choose this family, otherwise you would still be bullied by your grandma and the others. So, you don't have to marry that disabled soldier?"
Du Yuhan nodded and smiled, "That's right. Aunt Han said she would never force me. Her nephew is a very capable person. Even if he is disabled, he won't have to worry about his future, and he won't have to worry about finding a wife."
The whole family was happy that Du Yuhan had met a good family.
Du Yuhan asked, "How's the Du family's old house doing lately? Have they been causing us any trouble?"
Du Lianqiao and Wang Yuqiao fell silent upon hearing this.
Du Haifeng didn't care about that and said angrily, "The people at the old Du family residence are shameless. They've already separated from the family, but they don't care about the things that were agreed upon back then."
They would come and ask for anything we had, and if we didn't give it to them, they would make a scene, saying that our parents should be filial to our grandparents. They also took advantage of the rabbits we caught. Eventually, we simply stopped using rabbit traps, since they're not easy to catch these days anyway.
Now that we're eating in the communal dining hall again, and everyone's getting their fill, we're even less inclined to go. Otherwise, people will gossip. Everyone eats in the communal dining hall now, and the Du family's old house knows they won't get anything from us anymore, so they don't come here much either.
Du Haichao also said, "The people from their old house always bully the three of us. We've fought many times between the two sides."
The two brothers criticized the evil deeds committed at the Du family's old house.
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