First meeting
Liu Lan knew Sun Min; she had met her when Wang Tianmiao was holding his funeral.
It turns out Liu Xiangmei went to stay with her sisters in her maternal family. Humph, what a fool! A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup; she still thinks she can rely on her family. She'll be sent back sooner or later.
Wang Yao put the bowl on the ground, took the cleaver with one hand and held the chicken's head with the other, looked up at Liu Lan, and a smile appeared on her lips.
Liu Lan saw Wang Yao looking at her with a sinister smile, and then with a forceful movement, she slashed the chicken's neck. The technique was swift and clean, and chicken blood splattered, staining Wang Yao's hand bright red.
Sixteen-year-old Wang Yao held the chicken by the bleeding neck against the bowl on the ground. Blood was gushing out, and the chicken was still wriggling in her hand, but she didn't care. She just smiled and looked at Liu Lan.
The midday sun was blazing, but Liu Lan shivered.
She suddenly remembered that Wang Yao had also held a knife to Liu Ailing's neck that day, and she still remembered the scene of the knife cutting through the flesh.
This is insane. Wang Yao is insane. No, that's not right. She's not insane; she's possessed by a ghost.
Wang Yao used to be a bookworm, always sitting there blankly, all she knew was reading.
Now, let alone killing chickens, she would probably kill people without hesitation. Isn't that possession?
She clenched her hands and unconsciously took a step back, only to trip over the broom behind her. Looking down, she saw that her pants were wet.
Wang Yao chuckled. She hadn't expected that killing a chicken would scare the old woman so much that she wet herself. It seemed that even people who had done many bad things weren't necessarily brave!
Liu Lan saw the mockery on Wang Yao's face and was both shocked and embarrassed. She wanted to curse a few words to bolster her voice, but then she saw Wang Yao raise her knife and cut off the chicken's head completely.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Sun Min, who was standing to the side, had no idea why Wang Yao's grandmother was so frightened. She just thought Wang Yao was amazing and capable!
Wang Yao returned inside and started boiling water in preparation for plucking the chicken feathers.
Sun Min stayed close to Wang Yao, helping her tend the fire and watching her work nimbly.
Thinking back to when I was in school, my mother never let me do any chores. It was only after this summer vacation, when I failed to get into high school, that my father became unhappy, and my grandmother started to criticize me indirectly. That's when my mother started letting me help with cooking and laundry.
She even cried when she thought about the first time her mother asked her to do the laundry.
At that time, she thought her grandmother's words had come true because she was disappointing and hadn't gotten into high school. Her parents really didn't love her anymore, and a younger brother was about to be born into the family, making her a pitiful little girl.
Looking back now, she was already sixteen years old. Wasn't it normal for her to do laundry and cook? She was overprotected by her mother before, who wished she would never lift a finger and could only focus on studying.
But she didn't do well in her studies, so what's there to feel sorry for during the summer vacation when she's free and helps with chores at home?
Even someone like Yao Yao, who gets good grades, helps her mother with chores, doesn't she?
"Why are you sighing?" Liu Xiangmei asked Sun Min as she walked into the kitchen.
Sun Min smiled and said, "It's nothing, I just feel like I've been thinking too narrowly."
Liu Xiangmei put down the vegetables in her hand, washed her hands, and patted Sun Min's head. "You just haven't experienced much, so you don't know what to do when you encounter setbacks. But life is long. When you reach your aunt's age, you'll know that there's no hurdle that can't be overcome. Just try your best, and everything will pass!"
Sun Min nodded, although she still didn't know how to deal with the current predicament.
Liu Xiangmei deftly gathered the vegetables she had just picked from the field, cursing the Wang family next door.
They say a lot of vegetables were stolen from the field. It must have been the work of the unscrupulous Wang family. The Wang family will definitely not have a good end...
After venting her anger, she saw chopped chicken in a bowl on the cutting board and exclaimed in surprise, "You dare to kill chickens?"
Sun Min said, "Yao Yao killed him, she was really amazing!" Her eyes were full of admiration.
Liu Xiangmei glanced at Wang Yao, who was cooking rice. Since Wang Tianmiao left, her daughter had really grown up, and she felt a pang of sadness.
The room fell silent, with only the sound of firewood burning in the stove.
Wang Yao couldn't stand this environment. "Mom, I'll go and invite Grandpa Li and Li Cheng to have dinner together, and I'll also bring them some pastries."
Liu Xiangmei sniffed. "Okay, I'll start baking the chicken now. Go and come back quickly."
Wang Yao went back to her bedroom to get some pastries, then grabbed Sun Min's hand and ran out the door, breathing heavily as soon as she stepped outside.
Sun Min patted her shoulder reassuringly.
Wang Yao waved her hand, "I'm fine, it's just that ever since my dad passed away, my mom has become very sentimental."
Wang Yao led Sun Min uphill. After walking about 100 meters, there was a bend in the road. Standing at the bend, they could see into the distance without any obstruction to their view.
Below are cliffs and winding mountain roads, with towering peaks in the distance, and the chirping of birds and the endless calls of cicadas all around.
Wang Yao cupped her hands to her mouth, "Ah~ Ah~ Ah~"
An echo reverberated through the valley, "Ah~ Ah~ Ah~"
"Phew, that feels so much better!" Wang Yao turned back and smiled at Sun Min. "Would you like to come too?"
Sun Min hesitated for a moment, then carefully stood on the edge of the cliff and whispered, "Ah~"
Wang Yao mocked her, "Are you whispering to the mountains? Speak louder, use all your strength."
Sun Min obediently shouted the words with all her might. How hard did she shout? She got so carried away that if Wang Yao hadn't caught her in time, she would have fallen headfirst off the cliff.
But this guy was a reckless fool. He almost lost his life, but he still turned around and smiled at Wang Yao, saying, "It feels so good. I feel like everything inside me has been emptied out."
She was about to shout again, but Wang Yao dared not let her. If she got carried away again, she might really fall to the bottom of the cliff and be done for. She quickly pulled her back and continued on her way.
From afar, you could see Old Man Li sitting on the stone stool in front of the door, smoking his pipe. Li Cheng was squatting to the side, playing with ants. Next to them was a man in a white shirt, which made the already dark-skinned man look even darker.
The man was the first to notice them. His gaze lingered on Wang Yao's face for a second longer before quickly looking away.
Old Li tapped his pipe on the stone block and asked with a smile, "Why are you back today?"
Wang Yao chuckled and handed the pastries to Li Cheng. Li Cheng grinned, but didn't reach out to take them. Instead, he looked at his grandfather.
Old Li said sternly, "Why waste money buying these things?"
Seeing that Li Cheng hesitated to accept the pastries, Wang Yao stuffed them into the old man's arms, saying, "How can you call it a waste when you've already eaten something?"
As she spoke, she hugged Li Cheng and rubbed him for a while, making Li Cheng giggle.
Old Li put the pastries aside and asked, "Do you remember who this is?"
She snorted, "Of course I remember. He was the first college student from our Jinchuan Town, Grandpa Li's most proud son."
He then greeted Li Jin, "Hello, Uncle Li!"
Li Jin was initially pleased to see his son and father getting along so well with Wang Yao, but the way she called him "Uncle Li" gave him a heart attack. He remembered that this girl wasn't much younger than him!
However, he was usually a man of few words, so he just nodded without saying anything, but his face still darkened.
Unfortunately, because he was already quite dark-skinned, no one noticed the change in his complexion.
Old Li chuckled, "This lad hasn't been back for three years, it's kind of you to still remember him."
Three years ago, after Li Jin sent Li Cheng back, he was entangled in various matters and never returned to Jinchuan Town.
Wang Yao glanced at Li Jin. She shouldn't have recognized him in this lifetime. Li Jin went to the provincial capital a long time ago and only came back for a short time each year.
He doesn't like to chat with people. When he comes back, he just helps Old Man Li with chores, tidying up the front and back of the house.
Wang Yao was someone who only knew how to stay at home and study all day. Even when Li Jin returned to the village, they rarely met. Even when they did meet, they barely spoke to each other. So, the two could be considered strangers!
In her previous life, after Wang Yao escaped death, it was Li Jin who told her everything, and she remembered Li Jin's kindness for decades to come.
So what Wang Yao remembers is not from this life, but from the previous life.
Old Li turned to look at Sun Min, "I don't recognize this girl."
Wang Yao said, "This is my second aunt's daughter. She came to help us move today."
Then he introduced three generations of the Li family to Sun Min.
Sun Min was a little afraid of Li Jin, so she was a bit reserved when she greeted him.
Old Li smiled and praised Sun Min a few times, then asked Wang Yao, "Where are you moving to?"
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