I farmed in military academy and crushed the entire intergalactic world.

Chapter 373 Not for Sale

Huang Xueling collapsed to the ground, crying hysterically.

She left this gloomy, damp town and this dilapidated mud-brick house by passing the college entrance examination, the postgraduate entrance examination, and going abroad, filled with resentment.

She had vowed to herself that she would never, ever return to this place. She wanted to break with her unbearable past and start a new life.

She arrived in a brand new country, clean and civilized, a world apart from her old town.

She has a stable, respectable job and can support herself well.

She also had several relationships, traveled with her boyfriends, and bought items she had longed for but could not have as a child.

However, all of these relationships ended abruptly just before they were about to lead to marriage, because Huang Xueling was horrified to discover that she was afraid of becoming a mother and afraid of taking on the responsibility of caring for a new life.

She didn't want to become like her mother, but she also didn't know how to love her child.

The days passed one after another.

Huang Xueling basked in the sunlight, living her busy days in an orderly fashion. Only in the rare quiet moments of the night would she dream of returning to the mud-brick house in the small town and seeing that blurry figure.

Last year during the Spring Festival, as she did every year, she reluctantly dialed a foreign phone number on New Year's Eve.

This time, however, there was no familiar voice on the other end of the phone, only his uncle's sarcastic words: "Looking for your mother? Ha, your mother's already in the ground, and you only just think of calling now?"

Huang Xueling's mind went blank for a moment, her lips trembling uncontrollably: "What, what are you saying? Why are you cursing her?"

"Curse her? Does she need me to curse her? A widow, working three jobs a day, finally raised her daughter with great difficulty, risking her life to send her abroad. And now, it's like throwing a meat bun to a dog—she's never coming back. She only calls once a year. All that money and time, even if you were raising a dog, a dog would wag its tail at its owner! I don't know what sins she committed in her past life to have such a daughter."

My uncle's sarcastic voice was like a knife scraping against a stone, extremely harsh.

Huang Xueling seemed to have been struck in the heart, and retorted sarcastically, "What right do you have to say these things? Your brother is dead, and you still turn a blind eye to us, mother and son. What's the point of saying these things now? Did my mother tell you to say them? Let her answer the phone."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by the uncle's tired voice: "Yes, I didn't take care of you and your mother before. But after you went abroad, your mother's food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and even her funeral arrangements were all taken care of by our family. The reason I did all this was not because of you, not because you became successful. After all, even your mother didn't benefit from you, and we still know our place."

The uncle was panting heavily, and soothing voices could be heard from the side.

The uncle said sorrowfully, "I admire your mother. A woman, she didn't go astray. She raised her children with her own two hands and even pushed them into another life! I also pity your mother. She sacrificed her whole life, dedicated her whole life, and yet she's still blamed by her daughter. What did she get for that?" Huang Xueling was already in tears. "What do you know? Do you know how I was when I was little? If I didn't get 100 on a test, I'd come home and be beaten or scolded. Do you even see how many feather dusters I broke?! All I wanted was to go on a spring outing and picnic with my friends. What's wrong with that? What's wrong with not wanting to go to tutoring classes? Studying, studying, why does it always have to be about studying? Is studying all I have left in my life? Just let her keep acting up. Last time she pretended to be sick, and this time she's gone even further, pretending to be dead. The more she acts up, the less I'll go back."

The uncle sneered from the side: "The old folks always say that scholars are all heartless men, and they're absolutely right. I think you've been completely misled by that foreign 'family of origin' nonsense. Who's to blame for all that? You can only blame yourself, blame yourself for not being born into a good family! Who told you to be born into our family? Who told your father to die young? Who told your mother not to abandon you and remarry instead?"

"Your mother shouldn't have taken care of you back then. She should have remarried early. Even if she wasn't rich, at least she wouldn't have suffered like this for the rest of her life. Don't you think about it? With your family's circumstances, do you have the right to follow others and pursue a childhood without regrets? Besides studying, what other path do you have to change your fate? That tutoring class you attend costs 50 yuan per lesson, which is your mother's salary for a whole day's work. You skipped class to play, and you still have the nerve to say that?"

My uncle was so emotional that he almost couldn't catch his breath.

My cousin grabbed the phone and said in an extremely solemn and serious tone, "Huang Xueling, listen carefully. Your aunt has never wronged you in her entire life. You can't enjoy the money she earned with her blood and sweat and then go to her to extract spiritual value. To support your family and to lift you up, she's almost been drained dry. Also, I'll only say this once. Your aunt isn't lying to you; she is indeed sick, in the late stages of cancer."

My cousin choked up as he said, “It was stomach cancer. The doctor said she scrimped and saved when she was young, often going hungry… Last year, when she called you, she was already on her deathbed. She held on for three whole months, just waiting for you to come back. After she passed away, we called you many times, sent you messages, sent you emails, but we didn’t reply to any of them. I won’t say anything else. Whether you believe it or not, whether you want to come back or not is up to you.”

The call was hung up.

Huang Xueling collapsed to the ground, curled up in a ball, like a helpless child.

She didn't go back, just like a quail with its neck tucked in. As long as she didn't go back, those things could be pretended never to have happened. That woman would still stay in the mud-brick house, looking at the gate from afar, waiting for her to come home.

This memory is so vivid, as if it happened just yesterday.

The golden specks of light merged with the sunlight until they disappeared.

At that moment, Huang Xueling realized with absolute clarity that she no longer had a mother.

She hadn't had a chance to tell that woman about the hardships she endured in her childhood, she hadn't had a chance to tell her how much she hated and resented her, and she hadn't even received a simple "I'm sorry, I love you" from her.

Thinking of this, Huang Xueling's emotions surged like a tidal wave, leaving her looking like an empty shell.

[This is the nature of Earthlings—such abundant and complex emotions! Like a fiercely burning, brief yet incredibly brilliant flame!]

[Tell the governor: We need far more Earthlings, especially the Chinese. Their emotions are delicate yet suppressed; they are the most delicious nourishment. They are not for sale!]

The pillars of light enveloping Singapore swayed slightly, as if emitting a comfortable sigh.