Chapter 18:

Ding Fahai vented his frustrations at home, and Tian Er’yan also understood the situation, feeling that this matter couldn’t just be brushed aside. This stepdaughter of hers had never been raised by her—she had left with her biological mother. But when she was young, before her mother remarried, she had still eaten the Ding family’s food.

Moreover, just as her husband had said, no matter what, he was her biological father, and she bore the Ding surname. For such a major event, not even a whisper had been shared with them—no matter where this was discussed, they were in the right.

That mother and daughter had gone off to enjoy a comfortable life in the county town. This time, she must have married someone from the county as well, and the bride price surely wasn’t small. It would be perfect to save it for their own son’s future marriage.

She wasn’t like that useless Zhao Qiaoniang. She had given birth to a healthy son for the Ding family as soon as she married in, securing her position in the household.

That girl was nothing but a worthless burden, and her only use was to support her younger brother. Thinking this, Tian Er’yan quickly chimed in, “You’re right, we can’t just let this go. Let’s go find them!”

But it wasn’t as simple as just going. They needed an introduction letter. Tian Er’yan didn’t have a job, but Ding Fahai did. He had to wait until his day off to take the letter and go find them. By the time they set off, some time had already passed.

*

With the supplies she had replenished during her trip to the city, Yu Xiang’an began cooking small meals for herself at the farm in the evenings. The variety was rich, and with her daily intake combined with her natural growth spurt, her face gradually filled out, gaining a healthy glow. Her hair, no longer the yellowish hue of malnutrition, became shinier and more vibrant. This made it impossible for the gossipers to claim that Zhou Boyang had chosen her younger sister because she was ugly—this was clearly a bright and lovely young woman. If even she wasn’t good enough, they might as well be looking for a fairy.

In stark contrast to Yu Xiang’an’s healthy appearance, Ding Minxiu was now even thinner than during her worst bouts of morning sickness.

To prevent anyone from noticing the irregularities with her pregnancy, Fang Rong had arranged for her to return to his family’s rural home with his mother, Hu Chunyu. The place wasn’t close to Baishi County—it took four hours by train. Setting aside the exhaustion of the journey, when she arrived and saw the completely unfamiliar countryside, the crumbling mud walls, and the straw-covered bed, she felt utterly lost.

Was she really going to spend several months here?

The only person she could remotely call familiar was Hu Chunyu, but even then, they had only met a handful of times. She could also keenly sense Hu Chunyu’s disdain for her. How could life here possibly be bearable?

Soon, her fears were confirmed.

Truth be told, she hadn’t suffered much hardship in her life. Her worst years had been in the Ding family when she was very young, but she had few memories of that time. By the time she was old enough to remember, Zhao Qiaoniang had returned to the Zhao family when life became unbearable. With her maternal grandparents there, she had lived a life no different from her cousins. Later, when she followed Zhao Qiaoniang to the Yu family, her life had improved even further.

Though she still couldn’t eat her fill, that was a common issue for everyone.

In all her years, the only rural area she had ever visited was the Yu family’s ancestral home. But with Yu Qingshan’s support, their house and furnishings had been decent—nothing like this place. On her first day here, she had vomited at the sight of a dark insect laying eggs in her bedding.

Hu Chunyu had seen it but dismissed it, telling her to wipe it off with a rag and continue using it. She wasn’t about to coddle her.

What was the big deal? Before moving to the city, she had lived here for decades—she’d seen far worse. If not for her daughter’s sake, she wouldn’t have returned to this backwater to suffer. As for the “culprit” responsible for this mess, she couldn’t care less.

As long as Ding Minxiu stayed here quietly for a few months without anyone noticing the true state of her pregnancy, that was all that mattered.

Beyond the living conditions, the food was also a drastic downgrade. In the Zhou household, because of her pregnancy and the family’s decent income, she had eaten better than ever before in her life. Even if there wasn’t meat every day, there were always eggs. Here, Fang Rong had given Hu Chunyu enough money for proper meals in exchange for that piece of meat, but Hu Chunyu, a lifelong penny-pincher, pocketed most of it.

Apart from an egg every three days, Ding Minxiu’s daily diet consisted of sweet potatoes or wild vegetables, with almost no oil or salt. The poor food and living conditions caused her to lose weight rapidly. After a while, she finally couldn’t take it anymore and decided to dip into her private savings.

Before coming here, she had secretly taken some money from Zhou Boyang and hidden it away. She hadn’t wanted to use it, but now she had no choice.

Ding Minxiu informed the production team a day in advance, planning to hitch a ride on an ox cart to the commune early the next morning. The team members, treating her with deference as a city dweller, readily agreed when she asked to go to the commune.

At the commune, she headed straight for the supply and marketing cooperative, buying some filling biscuits. The moment she stepped out, she tore open the package and stuffed them into her mouth.

With time to spare, she decided to stroll around. As she passed the state-run restaurant, the aroma wafting out made her mouth water. She craved meat, but the high price made her hesitate to go in.

Standing at the entrance, torn, she glanced up absentmindedly—and froze. She never expected to see someone she recognized here.

At a table against the wall sat a young man and woman facing each other. Ding Minxiu was stunned. Wasn’t that man Liang Yong?

Snapping back to reality, she quickly hid to the side, observing their interaction.

The Yu family had six siblings—three sons and three daughters. Aside from the third child, Yu Xianghe, who had died young from illness, and the fifth, Yu Xiang’an, there was also the fourth child, Yu Xiangqing.

After graduating high school, Yu Xiangqing had gone to the countryside with her classmate and boyfriend, Liang Yong. Ding Minxiu racked her brain—wasn’t their assigned location called Dayu Commune? She was currently in Dahong Commune. Were the two places close?

Still pondering, she saw the young man stealthily brush the woman’s hand while passing her a dish. The woman shot him a bashful glare before picking up a piece of meat for him. Seeing this, Ding Minxiu understood everything. She covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, not wanting to draw attention. That woman was definitely not Yu Xiangqing.

While Ding Minxiu secretly enjoyed the drama, she had no idea her biological father had already come knocking.

Ding Fahai, convinced of his righteousness, had gone straight to the Yu family with Tian Er’yan. Unfortunately, they arrived at an inopportune time—only Yu Xiangju, a child, was playing in the sand by the door.

“Hey, kid, where are the adults of this house?” Ding Fahai barked, his tone aggressive.

Yu Xiangju was startled. “Who are you looking for?”

Ding Fahai: “What’s your relation to Yu Qingshan?” The child looked familiar.

Yu Xiangju glanced around and spotted Aunt Tian mending clothes under a nearby tree. Reassured, he replied, “He’s my dad.”

Ding Fahai hadn’t expected such luck. “Where is he now?”

“At work.”

“And your stepmother?”

“Also at work.”

Ding Fahai scoffed. “Go call them back. Tell them someone’s here to settle things.”

Aunt Tian, eyeing his attitude, asked, “And who might you be? They’re at work—they can’t just leave without good reason. Is there an emergency?”

Tian Er’yan stepped forward. “Sister, you don’t know us. My husband is Ding Fahai, and our eldest daughter is Ding Minxiu.”

Aunt Tian’s expression shifted instantly. “Oh, I see.” So this was Zhao Qiaoniang’s ex-husband, and the woman must be his new wife.

“Sister, may I ask how to address you?”

Aunt Tian felt no warmth toward them. “Just call me comrade. We don’t know who’s older, after all.”

Tian Er’yan forced a smile. This woman looked several years her senior.

Ding Fahai turned back to the child. “Kid, go call them back.” He couldn’t care less if it inconvenienced them—now that he was here, they owed him an explanation.

Their information was incomplete. They had only heard that Ding Minxiu had competed with the Yu family’s daughter for a man and won, marrying him. The rest was unknown to them, and they didn’t care. What mattered was the bride price their daughter’s marriage could bring.

As for how she had competed with the Yu family’s daughter and won—well, that was obvious. There must have been something wrong with the Yu girl.

Yu Xiangju looked helplessly at Aunt Tian, who held him back.

Seeing this, Tian Er’yan began lamenting. “Comrade, you tell me—is it right to marry off a daughter we raised for eighteen years without even a word to us?”

Aunt Tian: “…”

It did sound unreasonable, but as a longtime neighbor, her loyalty lay with the Yu family. They had treated this stepdaughter as their own, only for her to steal the biological daughter’s fiancé. That wasn’t right either.

Aunt Chen, overhearing, rushed over excitedly. “You’re Ding Minxiu’s biological father and stepmother, right? What, you didn’t know about this?”

Ding Fahai snorted. “Exactly! We had no idea. What were they thinking?”

Aunt Chen was stunned. “Didn’t your daughter come home to stay for a while recently? She didn’t mention it?”

Tian Er’yan was taken aback. “When did she come home?”

Aunt Chen was equally confused. “So you’re saying she didn’t? Then where was she during that time?”

Tian Er’yan slapped her thigh. “How should I know? She hasn’t been back in over a year.”

Aunt Chen gasped. “What’s going on here? That’s not what they said before. Alright, wait here—I’ll go call them.” Thrilled by the brewing scandal, Aunt Chen had a hunch this would unearth some juicy secrets. She hurried off with renewed energy.

She swiftly went home to enlist her daughter-in-law, splitting up—she would fetch Zhao Qiaoniang, while her daughter-in-law went to the hardware factory for Yu Qingshan.

Aunt Tian hesitated, watching the growing crowd of onlookers. Sighing, she patted Yu Xiangju’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, your dad will be back soon.”

Yu Xiangju nodded obediently, his eyes darting around. He wasn’t worried—he’d stay here to keep an eye on these people. They didn’t seem like good folks, and with the house unlocked, he had to guard it.

When Zhao Qiaoniang heard Aunt Chen’s news, her body trembled.

They were here already!

How had they found out so quickly?

Logically, the Ding family had no close ties here—they shouldn’t have learned about it this fast. A bitter taste filled her mouth. What was she supposed to do now?

Aunt Chen, noting her pallor, clicked her tongue. “Qiaoniang, don’t tell me you really kept this from them? He’s still her father—you can’t just hide something like this. When he said he didn’t know, I thought I’d misheard. Blood runs thicker than water, you know. And he mentioned Minxiu hasn’t been back in over a year—so where was she all that time? Before, when I asked, you said she’d gone to her father’s place?”

Her words jolted Zhao Qiaoniang back to her senses. Forcing composure, she said, “Thank you for delivering the message. I can’t leave right away—I need to request time off first. Could you please go back and tell them to wait? It might take a while to get approval. I’d really appreciate it.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Aunt Chen agreed. But once Zhao Qiaoniang got her leave, she didn’t head home immediately—instead, she rushed toward the Zhou household.

She hadn’t expected Ding Fahai to hear the news so soon and hadn’t discussed the Ding family with the Zhous. Now, they needed to align their stories to avoid exposing the truth. Things were already bad enough—they couldn’t afford to let the real story come out.

If that happened, it would be the end.