After finishing her IV drip and medication, Jia Zhangshi's condition improved somewhat. Fortunately, when the people from the Northwest released her, they gave her some travel expenses; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to afford her medical bills.
After resting with the doctor for a while, Jia Zhangshi, dragging her battered leg, continued to inquire about the location of Qin Family Village.
Now, Jia Zhangshi has nowhere else to go but to seek refuge with Qin Huairu. Even though she is struggling to move and her body has not yet recovered, she can only grit her teeth and persevere. If she cannot find Qin Huairu, she could die at any moment.
Although Changping is a large area, there are still people who know about Qinjiacun. Whether it was because Jia Zhangshi knew the way, or perhaps it was fate, is unknown.
By sheer chance, Jia Zhangshi stumbled upon the vicinity of Qin Family Village. Knowing that Qin Family Village was only 15 li away, Jia Zhangshi dragged her frail body toward it.
Upon arriving at Qin Family Village, Jia Zhangshi followed her memory and headed towards Qin Huairu's maternal home. As soon as she reached Qin Huairu's house, Jia Zhangshi collapsed at the doorway, unable to continue.
Qin Huairu's brothers heard a noise at the door and went to check. They found Jia Zhangshi unconscious at the door. Jia Zhangshi looked so bad that no one could recognize her.
Seeing Jia Zhangshi in such a pitiful state, Qin Huairu's brothers could only drag her aside. They then left her to her fate. The reason they dragged her aside was mainly to avoid bringing bad luck. If a dead person appeared at their doorstep, it would certainly have some impact.
After lying on the ground for an hour or two, Jia Zhangshi slowly woke up. A person had suddenly appeared in the village, attracting a large crowd. Seeing so many people, Jia Zhangshi immediately began inquiring about Qin Huairu's situation.
Knowing that her daughter-in-law and grandson lived on the mountain, even though her body was nearing its limit, Jia Zhangshi gritted her teeth and continued walking up the mountain.
Finally, just as the sun was about to set, they arrived at Qin Huairu's house. Having reached her limit, Jia Zhangshi immediately knocked on the door.
"Huai Ru, open the door quickly, it's me."
Jia Zhangshi's situation was extremely tragic, but Qin Huairu's situation wasn't much better. Although others hadn't revealed Qin Huairu's past, she had also been tormented for ten years, and her current situation couldn't be simply described as tragic.
Hearing someone calling her from outside, Qin Huairu gritted her teeth and got out of bed. Then, leaning on her cane, she slowly opened the door.
When Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi locked eyes, both could hardly believe what they were seeing. Neither could believe the other was living such a miserable life.
After a brief moment of distraction, Qin Huairu prepared to close the door, but Jia Zhangshi barged in, and the two began to argue.
"Qin Huairu, I am your mother-in-law, how can you turn me away?"
Without waiting for Qin Huairu's reaction, she barged in. She went straight to the bed, as Jia Zhangshi was utterly exhausted.
Qin Huairu's situation wasn't much better than Jia Zhangshi's. Even if she wanted to kick Jia Zhangshi out, she was powerless. In the end, she could only watch as Jia Zhangshi lay down on her bed. Since she couldn't get rid of her, Qin Huairu could only climb into bed herself.
"Huai Ru, how did you become like this? How are my grandchildren doing now? They should be married by now."
Hearing Jia Zhangshi speak of her children, Qin Huairu's tears began to flow uncontrollably. What were Xiao Dang and Xiao Huaihua like now? Qin Huairu had long forgotten.
Qin Huairu knew everything about Bang Geng's situation. The thought of her son made her even more heartbroken.
Hearing Qin Huairu crying, Jia Zhangshi was even more anxious than Qin Huairu. Banggeng was Jia Zhangshi's only caregiver in her old age. The reason Jia Zhangshi came to Qin Huairu was simply to have her daughter-in-law and grandson support her. Otherwise, in her current state, she would only be waiting to die.
"Stop crying here and tell us what happened to Bang Geng and Xiao Dang."
"If you want to know about them, wait until Bang Geng comes back and see for yourself. Xiao Dang and her sister went missing more than ten years ago."
Jia Zhangshi didn't care much for her two granddaughters. The reason she asked about them was just to take advantage of them.
Now that they were lost, Madam Jia no longer cared about them.
"How did you end up like this? What happened to your face?"
"Don't just ask me. What happened to you? What's wrong with your feet? And why do you look so old?"
Hearing Qin Huairu's words, Jia Zhangshi didn't know how to respond. Neither of them answered the other; they just looked at each other.
Seeing Qin Huairu's tears, Jia Zhangshi recalled her experiences over the years, and then lay down on the bed with Qin Huairu and cried.
Perhaps it was because Qin Huairu was also in a similarly tragic situation. Not long after, Jia Zhangshi began to recount her own experiences.
“My story is a long one. I was released from prison about eight years ago. But as soon as I stepped out of the prison gate, I was arrested and sent to the far northwest. The conditions there were indescribable. Not only did I have to do the hardest work, but the food was also terrible. Sometimes my mouth was full of sand.”
"They finally let me go, only to find that the house belonged to Weihua. Those beasts in the yard didn't treat me like a human being at all, and they just kicked me out."
"I took a bus to find you. Perhaps because of the weather in the Northwest and because I haven't showered in a long time, some things happened on the bus. Many people vomited on me, and the driver even threw me off the bus."
"There was nothing I could do but find a place to spend the night. Who knew a snake would crawl into my pants? Encountering a snake was bad enough, but then a pack of wolves appeared while I was squeezing out the venom. Even though I fought desperately, I couldn't escape completely, and this leg was bitten like this by the wolves."
"I climbed down from the tree after daybreak, then got a few IV drips, and finally found my way to your house."
After hearing Jia Zhangshi recount her experiences, Qin Huairu could only tell her her own.
“My situation isn’t much better than yours. After you and Banggeng went in, I was left to work alone at the steel rolling mill. While other people’s lives are getting better and better, mine are getting worse and worse.”
"After causing trouble a few times, I accidentally fell in the steel rolling mill. It would have been fine if I had fallen anywhere else, but I had to fall in the pickling tank. After falling, I spilled a lot of chemicals, and that's how I ended up like this. After that, I made a few more mistakes in the steel rolling mill, and finally I was fired from the steel rolling mill."
"More than ten years ago, Yi Zhonghai couldn't make a living, so he burned down the courtyard house. Yi Zhonghai had a grudge against our Jia family, so the Jia family's house was gone."
“At this point, that beast Wei Hua started demanding money from me. I had even lost my job, so I had no money to compensate Wei Hua. In the end, I could only give him the land.”
“I lost all the land, and there was nothing left in the yard for me to stay in, so I went back to my parents’ home. But who knew they would also look down on me and eventually kicked me out to the mountains.”
"Because I made a lot of mistakes, I haven't had a good life for the past ten years, and you can see the situation now."
“Now I’ve become a burden to my son. The cancer cells in my body have started to spread. Whether I take medication or not makes no difference to me anymore. The doctor said I could pass away at any time. And in my current condition, I can’t afford the medication.”
Just as Jia Zhangshi was feeling sorry for Qin Huairu, Banggeng returned from outside. Banggeng was already 24 years old this year, a proper adult.
Upon seeing another person suddenly in his house, Banggeng's first reaction was to hide. But then he thought something was off; if someone wanted to target him, why would they lie down in his bed?
Qin Huairu and the others were suffering, and Bang Geng's life wasn't easy either. Being dragged away for public criticism was a frequent occurrence, so she wanted to hide from strangers. Even after it was over, this instinctive action made Bang Geng do this. From Bang Geng's reaction, you could tell what kind of life she had lived all these years.
"Banggeng, don't be afraid. This is your grandma. Your grandma is back now."
Hearing that it was her grandmother, Banggeng was no longer afraid. Instead, she looked closely at her grandmother, and when she saw those incredibly familiar lines, tears streamed down Banggeng's face. Seeing Banggeng cry, the two girls also started to cry. Because they didn't know why their lives had been so tragic.
After crying, the three of them had to face life. Bang Geng's current situation wasn't good either; if she had other options, she wouldn't be out there trying to make a living on her own.
The Jia family is now in a terrible state; not only do they have faces that would make even ghosts tremble, but their bodies are also covered in scars. Banggeng has now taken up a job as a latrine cleaner.
Rural areas don't need this kind of person, but cities do, and given Bang Geng's current situation, he has no choice.
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