A woman who looked to be in her thirties gazed at him with pleasant surprise. "It really is you. I thought I might have mistaken you for someone else."
Si's Father was taken aback. "You are?"
He instinctively sized her up. In her thirties, dressed very plainly in ordinary gray homespun clothes, her face somewhat tanned, but her figure was excellent.
He couldn't help but take an extra glance.
The woman said, "You probably don't know me. I'm from Lin Family Village. I saw you when the Lin family was holding a wedding banquet, you were there for the feast."
"At that time, you were driving a white car. Everyone was so envious."
Si's Father usually didn't bother with strangers, but this person was younger than him and was looking at him with such an admiring expression.
As a man, he naturally had his vanity.
He immediately smiled and said, "Yes, the car I drove last time was too old, so I changed it."
Actually, it had been sold, but Si's Father cared about face and certainly wouldn't say that.
This was actually a car he had rented.
After all, going to the countryside, if he went on foot, wouldn't he be laughed at?
Furthermore, Lin Family Village was so remote, walking would take one or two hours.
Too troublesome.
Sure enough, the look in her eyes grew even more admiring, and then she revealed a somewhat embarrassed expression.
Si's Father immediately asked, "Where are you headed?"
"I'm going back to the village," the woman said with a bitter smile. "I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but I went out to work and got cheated. I only had enough bus fare to get from the city to here, so I got off."
"Just now, I heard a car from far away, looked back, saw it was you, so I stopped the car. If it's inconvenient, I'll just keep walking back. Sorry about that."
She glanced into the car.
Not seeing anyone else, her eyes flickered.
Si's Father immediately said, "It's on the way, get in."
If it were a burly man, he definitely wouldn't have paid any attention.
But Si's Father was also a man who yielded to softness but not to hardness.
Anyone who appeared weak and in need of reliance in front of him made him instantly feel like he was the master of the world.
He couldn't help but think of his wife. Back then, he and his wife were also introduced, with no real feelings to speak of.
But those were the times, the situation was tough, being able to live a decent life was already good enough, how could one think of anything else.
But these times were different.
After the reform and opening up, many people's thinking gradually began to be influenced.
If it were over a decade ago, even if he knew the person, he wouldn't dare give them a ride.
If word got out, people would gossip.
The other party repeatedly thanked him and got into the car.
...
He thought she was just a country person with nothing in common to talk about, but along the way, Si's Father found her to be quite interesting.
Her name was Liu Yu, from Lin Family Village. She was married off to a villager in her teens, but her husband passed away within a couple of years.
She had no children, was driven back to her parents' home, and had been looked down upon ever since.
Finally, someone proposed a match, but it turned out to be an old man.
Her family forced her to marry him, and the man died within a few days.
Everyone thought she was a jinx, a husband-killer. The husband's family drove her away, and her own family didn't want her either.
Liu Yu had no choice but to go to the city to seek out her younger sister.
But she couldn't find her, and was even cheated, forcing her to return to the countryside, where she happened to meet Si's Father on the road.
After hearing this, Si's Father couldn't help but feel pity.
What era was this? Of course he didn't believe in things like being a jinx or a husband-killer.
He offered to help her look for her sister.
But when he heard her sister's name was Liu Dongdong, Si's Father was dumbfounded.
...
Meanwhile, Zhang Cuimei, filled with rage, also arrived at the Lin family's home and told them about how they had been outsmarted by Si Nian.
The Lin family was stunned after hearing this.
They weren't that scheming. Lin's mother said naively, "Since you also said that Si Nian and Sisi went on stage together, then how could Si Nian have stolen her spot? Couldn't it be because Si Nian was just too outstanding? Ahem~ Of course, I'm not saying Sisi is bad."
Hearing this, Zhang Cuimei nearly choked with anger.
"If my daughter hadn't been stranded in the countryside, would she be worse than her? It's your backward rural education that harmed her!"
Lin's mother was displeased to hear this. "Yes, our countryside is backward, I admit it. But our Lin family scraped together every penny to send your daughter to high school. Do you know how many families in this village are willing to send their daughters to school?"
Lin's mother said, "I don't think this matter has anything to do with Si Nian. Don't just pin every little thing on her."
"My Xiao Feng and Xiao Yu don't need her charity either!"
Thinking about it made her angry. If it weren't for letting Lin Sisi go to high school back then, her two sons would have started school long ago.
Why would they have had to wait until now?
And now they're being blamed for it.
Lin's mother felt she had really raised an ingrate.
Zhang Cuimei sneered, "That sounds nice. Have you ever thought about your sons? Ask your sons if they want to go or not?"
Lin's mother was taken aback and looked at her two sons.
Lin Feng and Lin Yu, standing to the side, looked dumbfounded, clearly shocked by this matter.
They instinctively refuted, "Impossible. Mom said she stole the money, that she's a thief, she even went to jail."
"Yeah, when we were kids, she wouldn't even give us an egg to eat. She'd never be willing to send us to elementary school."
After saying this, they nodded their heads very firmly.
Lin Sisi was no good person.
They used to think that's just how an older sister was.
But after Si Nian came back, they realized that all the things Lin Sisi was never willing to do, Si Nian considered perfectly normal.
Although she rarely talked to them, she was good to them, gave them food, bought them things, gifts, and clothes.
Lin Sisi was all talk!
Zhang Cuimei was so angry she was snorting through her nostrils. "You, you... you are simply ungrateful!"
She wore an expression as if her daughter had been insulted.
Then she sneered, "Forget it. I originally thought of helping Sisi fulfill this wish. Even if they can't go to the Foreign Language Elementary School, I could help send them to a better school. I never expected your family to be so heartless and ungrateful!"
Hearing this, the two brothers exchanged a glance.
Then they turned and said, "We're not going!"
"Big Sister said if we study hard, she'll send us to school in the city soon."
"Yeah, with Little Oldest and Little Second Oldest."
"Hmph, we're not going with you."
Zhang Cuimei nearly fainted from anger.
...
