The door creaked open, and a whiff of dust and mildew hit the door.
The room was empty except for a dilapidated kang (a heated brick bed), the mat on which had long since rotted away, revealing the black and yellow straw underneath. Large patches of plaster had peeled off the walls, revealing the adobe bricks underneath. Cobwebs hung in the corners of the walls, and some useless junk was scattered on the floor.
"Ugh, so dirty!" Xiaoqi covered her nose and took a step back.
“There used to be a small table and two stools in this room, but I don’t know where they went.”
"Mother, how could you have lived such a hard life before?"
Zhao Xiaoyu recalled when she first arrived, she was as thin as a refugee, spending her days either working or on her way to work. Old Mrs. Sun was domineering, and the old man was secretly wicked, treating their family like cattle.
That was the peak of their lives; they ate well, dressed well, and even had a house in the county town.
When did it start to drop?
After she arrived, she instigated her parents to rebel, to divide the family property, and to become disobedient... and the situation of each member of the Zhao family began to slowly change...
“Coming back here used to be the happiest time. Coming back meant I didn’t have to work and could rest.”
Yuanbao held his mother's hand and said, "I will take good care of you from now on, and you will never suffer again."
"Seven Up too."
The two children felt quite sad. They never imagined that their mother had such a hard life when she was young. The house was so dilapidated, even smaller and more run-down than their family's outhouse. How did their mother sleep at night back then?
It is said that Dad's childhood was worse than Mom's, and neither of them dared to think about how Dad survived.
He's incredibly lucky!
"Mother, did you used to cry every day, unable to bear such a life?"
“No,” Zhao Xiaoyu squatted down, “Life goes on. Remember, no matter what difficulties you encounter, you must grit your teeth and get through them. As long as you are alive and have the will to live, things will get better.” Zhao Xiaoyu took the opportunity to teach the child.
"Mother is right, son will remember."
She wasn't worried about her son at all; if it weren't for her daughter, she wouldn't have let them eat coarse grains for three days.
"Xiao Qi, what about you?"
"I've remembered that too."
She can't endure hardship; she can sell the gifts her family gives her for her birthday every year and still not starve.
The reason why my maternal grandfather and his family were so poor was, frankly speaking, because his great-grandfather was useless and couldn't afford to raise his own children.
Hmph, you can't afford to raise them all, yet you have so many. They're born to suffer with him, don't you feel guilty?
After Li boiled the water, Zhao Xiaoyu prepared to take the child away.
"Walking so fast?"
"Yeah, I just got back, the house isn't ready yet."
Standing in the courtyard were Erzhuzi, his wife, and their child. It had been several years since they last saw each other, and Erzhuzi's youngest child had grown quite a bit taller.
"Xiaoyu, you're back."
"Yes, Second Sister-in-law, how are you?"
"Okay, okay!"
The woman, holding the child's hand, seemed somewhat awkward.
"Second Aunt, I'm leaving now."
"Hey, let me see you off!"
Zhao Dashu asked his two older brothers about their mother, "Why is Mother so ill? Haven't we been seeing doctors?"
"Third brother, you know how disobedient and stubborn Mother is. She loves to eat and can't control herself at all. She feels like she's missing out if she eats even a little less."
Two years ago, she looked very weak, and her weight gain was abnormal. Last year, she started experiencing short periods of unconsciousness for no apparent reason. The doctor said she was eating too much and her body couldn't handle the nourishing foods. Besides, she already had a pre-existing condition that prevented her from eating good food, and since she didn't watch her diet, her condition only worsened.
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