Bai Ruozhen deliberately made a little noise at the door of the inner room, and there was indeed no movement outside. She breathed a sigh of relief and waited for a while before pushing the door open and walking out.
"Zhenzhen, what are you doing so late at night?" Li Qiulan sat up, her voice nasal.
Bai Ruozhen said calmly, "Go to the bathroom."
Li Qiulan continued to laugh, "What's so particular about your family, kid?" Then she put on her clothes and said, "I'll go with you."
Bai Ruozhen was also a little scared, so he just nodded.
Li Qiulan opened the door, went out, and carefully took her hand as they walked downstairs. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Li Qiulan sighed and said, "Your eldest sister is pitiful. She has a partner but has to go to the countryside. She has a bad temper, so you should be more accommodating to her. She will probably leave after the New Year."
"Yeah," Bai Ruozhen replied sweetly. In the darkness, the courtyard was lit only by a dim streetlight. Bai Ruozhen glanced at Li Qiulan, his eyes red, but the hand he held was warm. She was reluctant to part with this warmth. It was unlike her mother's hand in her memory. Her mother's hands, long maintained and soft, yet with a hint of coolness, Li Qiulan's hands were rough and calloused, yet warm.
"Mom, why don't I go to the countryside?" Bai Ruozhen said after coming out of the toilet.
Li Qiulan was startled and immediately scolded, "What nonsense are you talking about? How old are you? Stop talking like that."
Although she loved her son more, her daughters were also her dearest to her. She couldn't bear to let either of them go to the countryside, but she couldn't let her second daughter, who was only sixteen, go in place of the eldest daughter, not to mention that the eldest daughter should have gone anyway.
Bai Ruozhen glanced at her and smiled, "Okay, I won't go."
But she had already made up her mind.
Li Qiulan breathed a sigh of relief when she heard her say that. Although her second daughter was obedient, she was also a person with her own ideas. She had always thought about going to the countryside after graduation without thinking about whether it would be a good thing for her to go there. If they could do anything, they would not let any of their children go to the countryside.
After a peaceful night's sleep, Bai Ruozhen woke up to Bai Ruoxin's attentive care. Not only that, she even cooked her an egg early in the morning. When Li Qiulan asked about it, Bai Ruoxin said it was compensation for the previous one. This shocked the whole family.
But what surprised them was yet to come. During breakfast, Bai Ruoxin very attentively served Bai Ruozhen a large bowl of thick porridge, which shocked the whole family, except for the three parties involved.
Bai Ruoyun held her big bowl in front of Bai Ruoxin and said, "Sister, I want one too."
Bai Ruoxin glared at her and then casually scooped a spoonful into her mouth.
"Big sister." Bai Ruoyun cried, "Why do you treat me differently? You give so much to my second sister, but only so little to me."
Bai Ruoxin said angrily, "Why do you eat so much as a kid? It's a waste."
Bai Ruoyun looked at Bai Ruoxin and then at the indifferent Bai Ruozhen, "Second sister..."
Bai Ruozhen calmly took a sip from the bowl, hummed, and made no move to help. Bai Ruoyun stared longingly at her bowl of thick porridge and burst into tears.
But her crying was useless. Breakfast was so light that even Bai Jiansheng and Li Qiulan couldn't help. Besides, Bai Ruozhen was a patient now and deserved to eat better, so even Bai Jiansheng and Li Qiulan didn't help her.
Bai Ruoyun stopped crying when she saw that her parents were unwilling to help, but she looked at Bai Ruozhen with hatred.
After dinner, Bai Ruoyun and Bai Lishan went out to play. Bai Ruoxin asked flatteringly, "Second sister, what do you think?"
Bai Ruozhen took a washed-out handkerchief and wiped the corners of her mouth very elegantly, then said aggrievedly, "Sister, I want to go to the countryside in your place."
Just this one sentence made Bai Ruoxin excited, "Second sister, do you agree?"
Bai Ruozhen covered her face and cried, "Sister, I haven't prepared anything, how can I go to the countryside?"
As long as she can go to the countryside, Bai Ruoxin immediately shook her hand excitedly and said, "I have it. I will give you everything my mother prepared for me, and I will also give you the money."
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