"Call me when you get home."
Wen Ci reached out and hugged him. "I know."
-
Wen Ci slept exceptionally well on the plane. Huo Jingyuan had prepared an eye mask for her. After boarding, she leaned against the window and didn’t wake up until a flight attendant called her.
Most of the other passengers had already deplaned.
Wen Ci left the airport and hailed a taxi. The fare to the Beijing Military District Family Courtyard was eight yuan. She clicked her tongue. ’In the past, I would never have been willing to spend this much.’
Eight yuan.
That was a month’s worth of food for a single-income family.
The driver asked, "Is your husband a soldier?"
Wen Ci gave a friendly nod. "Yes."
"In that case, I’ll only charge you seven yuan for this trip. Soldiers protect our country, so you, as a military family member, should enjoy some benefits."
"Huh?"
Wen Ci blinked.
’Military families already get to enjoy benefits at a time like this?!’
"Is this a company policy?"
In the eighties, the screening process for taxi drivers was extremely strict. It required multiple levels of approval from the higher-ups, and both family background and driving skills were essential. Many retired soldiers who had been drivers in the military became taxi drivers.
"No." The driver shook his head and explained, "My son is also a soldier. He’s stationed up in the Northeast. Being a soldier is tough and exhausting work."
Wen Ci nodded.
-
Two hours later, the taxi arrived at the Beijing Military Region.
Just as Wen Ci got out of the car, she ran into Su Guilan and Jiang Ye. The two were arm-in-arm, talking and laughing, looking exactly like a real mother and daughter.
Jiang Ye had sharp eyes and was the first to greet her. "Big Sister."
Wen Ci acted as if she hadn’t heard.
Jiang Ye pulled Su Guilan over to Wen Ci, a wide smile on her face. "Big Sister, where did you just get back from?"
Wen Ci remained silent.
She didn’t even spare Jiang Ye a glance.
Su Guilan frowned. "Your younger sister is asking you a question."
At that, Wen Ci’s gaze shifted to Su Guilan. She gave a soft laugh and a helpless shrug. "Since when did you give birth to two daughters?"
A single sentence left Su Guilan speechless.
She knew Wen Ci minded that she still acknowledged Jiang Ye.
But back then, Jiang Ye had just been a baby in swaddling clothes. She knew nothing about the switch; she was an innocent victim too.
Wen Ci’s tone was distant and cold. "Is there anything else?"
"Come home for dinner tonight."
"I don’t want to."
Jiang Ye slowly lowered her head and asked in a self-reproaching tone, "Big Sister, is it because of me that you don’t want to come home for dinner? I can go stay at my brother’s place."
Her green-tea words were designed to build up her image as a considerate and understanding person.
"Ah Ci, can you please not be like this..."
"Like what?" Wen Ci’s eyelids drooped slightly. She spoke word by word, "Weren’t you the one who made me marry in her place? I’m clearly your biological daughter, but what about you?"
Jiang Ye cut in, "Aren’t you very satisfied with Huo Jingyuan?"
"Heh!"
At first, the Jiang Family only thought Huo Jingyuan was a common grunt stationed in the Northwest. Although he had a connection to Old Commander Huo, relationships with a deceased person didn’t count for much.
It was Wen Ci who had admitted she was satisfied.
That was just her good luck.
Wen Ci took a long, deep breath, slowly exhaling the unhappiness in her heart. She said bluntly, "Since we’re laying it all out, I want to cut ties with the Jiang Family. Let’s act like we don’t know each other. We don’t need to greet each other when we meet."
Before Su Guilan could react, Jiang Ye covered her mouth, feigning concern but actually fanning the flames. "Big Sister... how can you be so heartless as to say that?"
"Ah Ci, you..."
Feeling she had to get it off her chest, Wen Ci continued, "Do you know what my life was like when I was five? At five years old, there was no one to cook for me. I had to climb onto the stove myself just to have enough to eat. The aunty next door took pity on me and would help me out sometimes."
"And another thing."
The rims of Wen Ci’s eyes turned red as her mind filled with childhood memories. Her life back then was truly bitter. She had even thought about jumping into a river to end it all.
"She clearly knew she was the wrong child back in middle school, but she kept hiding it, taking money every month to support her biological parents.
They took that money to go eat at restaurants in the county town, while I was at home gnawing on tree bark!"
In the sixties and seventies, every household needed ration tickets to buy anything. When the Wen parents got money, they would take Wen Yaozu out to restaurants.
She survived by growing snake gourds.
Snake gourds grow fast, but they have little flavor or nutrition.
Wen Ci spent her entire adolescence growing up on snake gourds. In the whole family, only the young Wen Yaozu felt sorry for her, secretly hiding bits of meat behind the Wen Family’s backs to let her satisfy her cravings.
Jiang Ye retorted, "No, I didn’t, I didn’t know."
"Your biological parents have an account book. It clearly records the amount of money you gave them, and even the savings they put away!"
Jiang Ye’s expression grew frantic. She had just managed to return to the Jiang Family and enjoy the life of a young miss for two days. Her eyes reddened as she shook her head, at a complete loss.
"No, that’s not it, that’s not it! I was threatened too."
"Threatened?" Wen Ci sneered, her gaze as cold and sharp as ice. "Threatened that if you didn’t give them money, they would expose your identity as the fake young miss?"
"No..."
Jiang Ye’s mind was a complete mess. She was worried she’d misspeak in her panic and never be able to return to the Jiang Family. Her eyes darted to the onlookers gathering around.
As Minister Jiang, her father was constantly under scrutiny from many people. Whenever a crowd gathered, Mrs. Jiang would get stage fright and leave.
Hearing her daughter pour out her grievances, Su Guilan instantly burst into tears. She pounded her own chest in remorse. She knew her daughter had suffered a great deal in the countryside.
But she never knew she had suffered *this* much.
The Wen Family had deliberately neglected her and refused to feed her.
"Ah Ci..."
Wen Ci felt nothing as she looked at the tears on her face. Seeing the crowd of onlookers growing, she said indifferently, "I’m leaving now. Don’t let this affect your husband’s military career."
Huo Jingyuan’s childhood friend’s nephew still relied on Minister Jiang.
Cutting ties is one thing, but she still had to remember the favor.
-
On the way home, Wen Ci’s mood lightened considerably.
She had already said her harsh words and didn’t care about Mrs. Jiang’s feelings. Ultimately, her own well-being was what mattered most.
In the courtyard, Wen Yaozu was practicing kicking a shuttlecock. With his chubby body, he was already losing his bearings after just a few kicks.
Just as Wen Ci reached the doorway, Wen Yaozu’s voice rang out. "Sis, you’re finally back! I missed you guys."
Wen Yaozu ran to the door and, seeing his sister was alone, asked in confusion, "Sis, how come you’re back by yourself? Where’s my brother-in-law?"
Wen Ci looked at the shuttlecock in his hand. "What are you doing?"
"Training my Spiritual Power."
Wen Yaozu winked at her, rubbed his hands together, and asked, "Where’s my brother-in-law? Didn’t he come back with you?"
"He didn’t. I told him to stay in Hangzhou and spend a couple more days with the elders."
"Oh." Wen Yaozu wasn’t disappointed. Suddenly, he noticed his sister was only carrying a bag and his eyes went wide. "Then, Sis, you didn’t bring the computer back?"
"No."
"I already told all my friends at school that I was going to learn how to use a computer and become the first elementary school student in our county to ever touch one."
Wen Ci was speechless.
Wait.
Wen Ci tilted her head, her face full of confusion. "How did you contact your school friends?"
Wen Yaozu was an elementary school student, and he normally wasn’t allowed to take the long-distance bus back to the county by himself. Besides, she had just been in contact with Wen Yaozu yesterday.
"By phone."
"Your school has a landline?"
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