A lonely, unlucky military officer with a stubborn fate insisted on marrying me.

"Aunt Erhua, this is...?"

"This is what your mother left me, or more precisely, it's something your biological father, Lin Heng, left behind."

Your mom said she'll give it to you when you grow up.

You had a soft temper before, and Lin Dayong and his gang tormented you. I was afraid that the jade pendant would fall into their hands, so I never dared to give it to you.

Now that you have your own ideas and dare to resist, this thing should be returned to its rightful owner.

She paused, then added, "This jade pendant was originally a pair; the other half is with your sister."

"Sister?" Lin Yinyin asked, puzzled.

Isn't she a pitiful little girl whose family has all died?

"Sister, sister," Lin Yinyin murmured repeatedly.

Suddenly, several images flashed through her mind.

A girl with braided pigtails carried the tiny baby as they ran around the yard. The baby sat on the doorstep, and the girl fed her porridge spoonful by spoonful. When the baby scraped her knee, the girl blew on the wound and stuffed the sweetest starfruit into her mouth.

"Your sister is eight years older than you." Wang Erhua looked at her in a daze and also fell into memories.

"Your mother was one of the most beautiful women in our brigade when she was young. She also had a passionate personality, and every young man in our brigade had her eye on her."

But she's different; she took a liking to your father, Lin Heng, at first sight!

After a pause, Wang Erhua smiled slightly: "Speaking of which, your dad is quite a likable person."

He was tall and had a straight back, and spoke in a gentle voice. All ten young men in our brigade combined couldn't compare to him.

It's a pity he already had a wife when he came to Linjia Village.

Lin Yinyin did not interrupt Wang Erhua and listened attentively to the story.

"Your mother fell in love with your father at first sight. Later, when she found out he was married, she hid in her room and cried for several days. In the end, she was forced by your maternal grandparents and others to agree to marry Lin Dayong, who had been pursuing her all along."

Lin Yinyin suddenly realized.

No wonder Lin Dayong treated her quite well when her mother first married him.

"Who knew that not long after, your father Lin Heng's ex-wife passed away. When your mother heard the news, she immediately broke up with Lin Dayong and was determined to marry your father. And she actually did."

Wang Erhua smiled wryly, "That's the only good thing about your mother in her life: she dares to love and hate."

"Later, your biological father passed away, and your mother, having nowhere else to turn, remarried Lin Dayong."

At this point, Wang Erhua lowered her voice, "After Lin Heng died, he left behind a daughter, who is your older sister. Your mother took her with her when she married Lin Dayong."

But at that time, your sister had just turned eighteen. She was as stubborn as a mule and didn't want to live with Lin Dayong. She said she was going to find her uncle who lived far away, so she packed a small bundle and left that very night.

Come to think of it, you were practically raised by your older sister when you were little. When she passed away, she secretly gave your mother her savings and told her to keep an eye on Lin Dayong and protect you.

These words seemed to open the floodgates of memory, and Lin Yinyin recalled that when that girl smiled, she had a pair of shallow dimples at the corners of her mouth, just like hers.

When dressing her in new clothes, I always say, "My little sister has to look pretty."

The day she left, she hugged herself and cried, saying, "Wait for your sister to come back and pick you up."

It turns out she has an older sister.

Lin Yinyin touched the warm, smooth patterns on the jade pendant, and a thought suddenly came to her mind.

Since she hadn't decided where to go next, she now seems to have a direction.

She put the jade pendant around her neck and said, "Aunt Erhua, do you know anything else about my sister?"

For example, where did she go to look for her uncle?

Wang Erhua shook her head: "I don't know much either, I just remember your sister's name is Lin Huizhi."

"Lin Huizhi..."

What a lovely name.

Her deceased father was quite educated.

However, her father is being far too biased!

Why is her name Lin Yinyin?

Also, why does this name sound so familiar?

Oh, right, there are a few letters in Lin Dayong's cabinet. They seem to be from someone named Lin Huizhi.

She was eager to see the letters.

Unexpectedly, Wang Erhua suddenly laughed, "Actually, your real name is Lin Huiyin."

"What?"

Lin Yinyin's eyes widened, thinking she had misheard.

"I said, your name on your household registration is Lin Huiyin, which is only one character different from your sister's."

"Back then, your mother thought the character '徽' had too many strokes and was difficult to write. At first, she even wanted to teach you to write the '因' in '因为' (because). But later, your father disagreed and said that a girl's name should be more elegant, so he decided on '茵茵' (Yin Yin)."

But her household registration information has never been changed; it still lists her as Lin Huiyin.

Lin Yinyin: "......." Her mother is quite interesting.

"Oh right, household registration!"

Lin Yinyin suddenly thought of a crucial question.

"Aunt Erhua, if I want to leave the village to find my sister, do I have to transfer my household registration?"

"If I leave, and Lin Dayong tries to sell me again, that would be a real problem!"

"Don't worry, Yinyin. As long as the brigade leader isn't confused anymore and Lin Xiulan doesn't interfere, Lin Dayong won't betray you!"

"Why?" Lin Yinyin pressed.

"Because you and Lin Dayong weren't even living in the same household!"

"What?"

"You heard me right!" Wang Erhua explained with a smile, "Your mother remarried Lin Dayong, but she only transferred her own household registration to merge with Lin Dayong's. Your and your sister's household registrations are still in the original place."

Lin Yinyin felt conflicted after hearing this. She thought of the marriage application from the brigade leader's family, signed by Lin Dayong. They weren't even registered in the same household, yet Lin Dayong dared to make decisions for her. He really had a lot of nerve!

Wang Erhua continued, "Later, your sister got married and moved her household registration away. Your household registration should still be in the brigade, so you're considered to be a separate household!"

"Great!" This saved her a lot of trouble.

"That's not right!" Lin Yinyin suddenly realized, "What about my grandparents?"

Why wasn't my household registration transferred to them? The original owner's memories as a child were hazy, possibly related to the head injury he suffered before his death.

Wang Erhua listened with suspicion, "Your grandmother's generation were originally outsiders who moved here during the three years of natural disasters. That's why your family didn't have many relatives to begin with. It's said that your father was the fifth child, and he had several uncles and aunts. Later, your father and the entire previous generation all died out!"

Lin Yinyin: "......."

Ok.

Previously, Old Lady Wang had cursed him, saying that his own grandfather had caused him to lose his way when he was one year old, and that his own grandmother had closed her eyes when he was three!

At six years old, he caused his uncle's death; at nine, he caused his own father's death as well!

No wonder it seems a bit eerie.

"Yinyin," Wang Erhua suddenly asked, "Don't you remember anything about your grandparents' family?"

"Huh? Oh, I was young then, so my memory is blurry. This morning I had a fight with Lin Xiulan and bumped my head, so I don't remember many things clearly."

"Are you alright? Should we go to the hospital to get it checked out?"

"No, I'm fine now. I'll be fine after a couple of days of rest."

"By the way, thank you Aunt Erhua for telling me all this."

"Don't mention it, that's all I know."

After leaving Wang Erhua's house, Lin Yinyin went directly to the back mountain.

She wasn't lying to Wang Erhua; there really was a "base" in the back mountain.

However, it wasn't some hidden cave, but rather an old locust tree that would take three people to encircle.

There was a large hole in the middle of the tree trunk. When the original owner was beaten and scolded by his stepmother and stepfather and had nowhere to go, he curled up in the tree hole to hide.

She climbed into the tree hollow and retrieved the letters.