Upon hearing that she hadn't mistaken Huang Dou for someone else, Tang Cuimei immediately became happy and grabbed Huang Dou's arm.
"How are you doing here? Are you happy? Are your family treating you well?"
As a result, Huang Dou pulled her arm back in pain and even gasped. Tang Cuimei realized what was happening, grabbed her arm, lifted her clothes, and sure enough, she saw clear marks from the stick. She looked up in disbelief.
"So, you're not doing well, so they beat you up?"
Huang Dou looked at her with a puzzled expression. Tang Cuimei noticed that people coming and going were looking in their direction. After thinking for a moment, she said to Huang Dou.
"I'll go first. Follow me to the village entrance in a bit, and we'll find a secluded spot. I have something to tell you."
After saying that, he gave her a look that said, "You have to believe me," and left first.
The villagers naturally knew that Tang Cuimei was the daughter who had just dealt with Cui Fangfang. When they saw her leave and talk to Huang Douzi, they quickly came over to ask her.
"Douzi, do you know her? Who is she? Why were you pulling and tugging at her just now?"
Huang Dou quickly denied it, "I don't know her. She pulled me, but my arm hurt, so I shook her off. She was suspicious, so she lifted my clothes to look at me. It's nothing. I stay in our village every day and have never been anywhere else. How could I possibly know someone from outside?"
As she spoke, she unconsciously touched her arm, which puzzled the villagers. Then, an older woman came over and pulled open her clothes.
"What happened to your arm? Why are you rubbing it? Did she hit you?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw the bruises and marks from the sticks on Huang Douzi's arm and looked at her in disbelief.
“Douzi, did Li Pandi beat you all this time? What right did she have to hit you? Why did she hit you? That wretched woman!”
Huang Douzi nervously pulled her clothes back, lowered her head, and shook her head with a blush.
"No, it wasn't my mother who hit me, I fell down myself. Um, I have something to do at home, and I've been out for quite a while, so I'd better hurry back. Auntie, it's getting late, you should go home too."
...
When Huang Dou ran breathlessly to the village entrance, Tang Cuimei was waving at her from under a poplar tree not far away.
"Here, come here. Are you hungry? I have some cornbread here, have some to eat first."
Tang Cuimei looked at Huang Dou's thin face and felt very sorry for him, but Huang Dou refused and asked directly.
"What do you want to tell me? You still haven't told me how you know my name!"
"Of course I know your name. I'm asking you, are you the adopted daughter of the Huang family? Born in the spring of 2004 or 2005?"
Now, Huang Dou was even more precious to her, but she was clever and quickly thought of a possibility: "Are you from my biological mother's side?"
Tang Cuimei was taken aback at first, but when she realized the unfamiliar word "mother," she couldn't help but laugh sarcastically.
"Yes, back then, your biological mother, facing your biological grandmother's disdain, conspired with your biological maternal grandmother to sell you off in a roundabout way. You were originally born into the third branch of the Tang family in Taoyuan Village, but because your biological mother kept giving birth to daughters, she was disliked by the whole family, so one by one you were 'sold off'. As for me, I'm a year older than you, and I'm also the fifth child who was recently found. You're the sixth child in the family; there are still the seventh and eighth children who haven't been found yet."
Huang Douzi never expected that he had such a background, and immediately looked at Tang Cuimei with disdain.
"So what's the purpose of telling me this? To go back and be filial to them like you, without holding grudges?"
Tang Cuimei knew immediately that she had misunderstood, but at the same time she became very interested in this seemingly timid but actually shrewd sixth sister.
“What are you thinking? The one who asked me to come back is our eldest sister. Our eldest, second, and third sisters weren’t sold, but our father planned to sell them to marry off his own wives. As a result, our eldest sister took her two older sisters and ran away. When they came back, they found out that our father had sold our mother. Not only did the man marry a stepmother, but he also had a son. Now, our eldest sister is raising us sisters on her own and has started her own household. She is the head of the household. Her wish in her lifetime is to find all her younger sisters. Douzi, if you are doing well, I won’t say anything more.”
"But I see you're not doing well. After much thought, I've decided to tell you everything about your background. If you're willing to come back with us, we welcome you anytime and will try to transfer your household registration back to Taoyuan Village. If you don't want to go back, we can secretly visit each other and take care of each other. It's fine with whatever you do. Don't think too much about it or feel guilty. We don't want our scumbag parents anymore. We'll just live together as sisters."
“Now, the fourth brother’s ears have been burned by the family’s care and he can’t hear. As for me, the fifth brother, look at my face, it’s also burned, almost disfigured. You are the sixth brother, so it’s okay if you don’t go back. If you go back, everyone will definitely find a way to get your household registration back.”
Now Huang Douzi understood. In other words, the sisters had not only separated from the family but also set up their own households. No one was looking after them anymore. Moreover, judging from the way this older sister spoke, she seemed quite cultured, which meant that their lives should be better than hers now.
You definitely need to change your household registration, otherwise you'll be an unregistered resident. Without a household registration, how will you get land and work in the future?
Returning to Taoyuan Village seems like a good alternative to this home, but transferring household registration isn't easy. Would Li Pandi let her off so easily?
She shook her head. "I'm afraid I won't be able to go back anytime soon. Li Pandi won't let me go. But this matter can be planned. Are you Tang Cuimei?"
This time it was Cui Mei's turn to be surprised. Huang Dou said directly, "I overheard them talking about dealing with you, but I didn't know you would be involved with me. In that case, I think we can put this together. If we plan this well, transferring the household registration won't be difficult, and it won't cost a penny."
"They've raised you for so many years, so giving them some money is acceptable."
"Don't be so naive. What kind of kind person would someone be to beat me up like this? They would make exorbitant demands knowing you want me. I'd be lucky to escape with my life. Give me whatever you want, or don't. All these years I've worked like a slave for them, the labor I've done should have already paid off the food I've eaten. They raised me, that's fine, but I've also supported them all these years. We're even now."
"So, you're willing to go back? Let me make this clear first, we don't have any land at home right now, but things will be better in a couple of years, and maybe we'll be able to get some. Don't worry, once you come to our family, we definitely won't let you live like this anymore. I'm already in my final year of junior high, and I'm sure I'll get into the top high school in the city next fall. Once I go to university, our family's situation will only get better and better."
Huang Dou looked at Tang Cuimei with surprise. "If I remember correctly, you were also sent away. Since your family allowed you to study, it means they treated you well. So how did you end up back in Taoyuan Village with them?"
Tang Cuimei was surprised by Huang Douzi's reaction, but she was also troubled by the fact that many things were too difficult to explain clearly, so she only said something vague to her.
"It wasn't them who paid for my education; it was my older sister and my own hard work. My education didn't cost me anything. The principal even said that if I get into the city's top high school, I'll get a bonus, and then I'll have the money to pay for my high school education."
Huang Douzi was surprised, "Is there such a good thing?" If she goes back, can she go to high school and then college?
I heard that in this day and age, going to university is free, you even get a stipend, and they even assign you a job!
Although he is not highly educated, he is still a proper high school graduate. Putting aside everything else, he should be able to get into a vocational school or junior college, right?
If he hadn't suffered from not having a diploma, would he have gone to learn to be a chef?
Learning to be a cook is good, it's lucrative, but it's also very hard work. He used to envy those who worked in offices. In this life, his arms are like this, and his legs are unhealthy, making it impossible for him to stand for long periods. If he were to continue in his old profession, he would probably be ruined. If he had the opportunity to study, it would indeed be a way out, better than being a farmer at home.
But right now it's all just talk. Huang Dou didn't immediately express his thoughts, but only instructed Tang Cuimei.
"You go back first. I'll think about it carefully myself. After all, it's not so easy to transfer a household registration. And after this commotion, it's hard to say whether the Cui family still has any value to us. I'll come to you again after I've thought it through."
Tang Cuimei instructed her, "Don't go back to Taoyuan Village yet. Your face looks too much like ours. Before we confirm it, it might cause trouble. I'll give you an address. Go to the town and find your eldest and second eldest sisters..."
My older sister and her family are harvesting sweet potatoes and also arranging to bring the sweet potato vines back to Xihe Village. It won't be until mid-to-late November when all this work is finished.
Before this, soybeans could be found.
After explaining everything, Tang Cuimei left, while Huang Douzi watched her retreating figure, lost in thought about the future.
Why was she in such a hurry to leave? Because she was growing up, and her older brother was starting to make unwanted physical advances towards her. She didn't know if it was just her imagination, but she always felt uncomfortable with the way he looked at her. She didn't want her life to be decided by others in the future, so she had to make arrangements in advance.
He used to not think anything of sexual harassment, but now that he's a woman, seeing those men's expressions makes him want to vomit.
She wasn't his biological daughter, so even if he had done something to her, given Li Pandi's protective nature, he wouldn't stand up for her.
Therefore, she must protect herself and leave this house before they actually harm her.
When she got home that evening, she was relieved not to hear Li Pandi gossiping about the Cui family. This meant that Zhang Chaonan had appeased her sister-in-law and prevented her from revealing the truth. This gave her an opportunity. She thought this leverage was quite useful, but the key was to plan how to use it to maximize her benefits.
And that brainless Cui Fangfang, she offended Tang Cuimei this time, she'll probably be expelled from school.
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