After four years of living alone after marrying far away, he went back to his parents' home and

It was almost noon when the family of three finally returned home from the county.

From dozens of meters away, Lan Yujuan noticed something unusual: the front door of her house was tightly closed, and there were several people standing at the door.

"Huh, where did Mom and Dad go? It looks like nobody's home!" Liu Zhiyuan asked, puzzled.

Lan Yujuan recalled the ambulance she encountered on the road, and the blurry figure she saw through the window looked somewhat like Xiaoman's grandfather.

She had a premonition that something bad had happened that morning!

But without concrete evidence, she couldn't make wild guesses. If she was wrong, Tian Xiuhua would definitely scold her, cursing her on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

So, without showing any emotion, she said, "Let's go back and check first!"

As soon as the family of three reached the door, Liu Zhiyuan's younger brother, Liu Zhigang, hurried over, his voice tinged with worry and reproach:

"Brother, sister-in-law! Where have you both been today?"

"You all know I'm bringing Baozhu and her parents home today to discuss the wedding, so why is no one else here?!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhiyuan was instantly displeased!

"Did you eat firecrackers on the first day of the Lunar New Year?"

"Your sister-in-law and I went to the county to take care of some business. When we left this morning, Mom and Dad were clearly at home."

"He's probably visiting his neighbor right now!"

Lan Yujuan, too lazy to get involved in the brothers' argument, quickly found an excuse to leave with her child in her arms.

"You all entertain the guests first. I'll go ask the neighbors where Mom and Dad are."

"It's almost noon, time to go home and prepare dinner..."

Upon hearing that they needed to entertain guests, Liu Zhiyuan quickly pushed Lan Yujuan out, saying, "I'll go find someone!"

"With so many new guests arriving, someone needs to take care of things. Why don't you go home and entertain them?"

Lan Yujuan gave a vague reply, "Okay, go ahead!"

Liu Zhigang got the key and quickly ran to open the door, inviting his girlfriend and her family, who had come to pay their New Year's visit with large and small bags, to sit down in the main hall.

Lan Yujuan and her daughter entered the house and headed straight for the bedroom.

Liu Zhigang saw this and quickly caught up, urging in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, what are you doing back in your room?"

"Didn't you see we have guests?! Hurry up and go to the kitchen, boil water, make tea, and prepare a meal!"

Lan Yujuan turned around and said calmly, "I'm tired, I'll go back to my room and rest for a while."

Liu Zhigang immediately became anxious and blocked the doorway, saying, "Even if you're tired, you should finish your work first!"

"Sister-in-law, it's the first day of the Lunar New Year, and my mom isn't home, so you're slacking off. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Lan Yujuan didn't want to get involved in Liu Zhigang's marriage, but since Liu Zhigang was deliberately making trouble for himself, she wouldn't hold back!

Lan Yujuan looked up and saw her eyes meet those of the girl sitting awkwardly across from her.

When the little girl saw her looking at her, she subconsciously leaned forward slightly, put her hands in front of her, and quietly tugged at the hem of her clothes.

Perhaps because it was her first time visiting the man's house, she was too nervous, as the girl's face was a little pale, and she looked delicate and fragile, like a little white flower.

Lan Yujuan, being an experienced woman, could tell at a glance that the woman was starting to show her pregnancy, at least four months along.

My brother-in-law, Liu Zhigang, works in the provincial capital, not too far from home. Last year, he met a girl from another province at the factory.

Although the woman wasn't highly educated, she was beautiful. Liu Zhigang liked her very much, but dating was expensive, and he wanted to get married as soon as possible.

When Lan Yujuan returned home for the Mid-Autumn Festival last year, she overheard her mother-in-law secretly giving her brother-in-law some advice:

"Why do you care if her family agrees? Listen to your mother, get her pregnant first, and everything will be easier later!"

Last December, her brother-in-law suddenly returned home from the provincial capital, urging his parents to go to the woman's home to propose marriage. She had a guess in her heart: Could it be that she is really pregnant?

Later, she heard that the bride's family thought the dowry was too low and the marriage didn't go through, so she felt that she had worried too much.

Unexpectedly, less than a month after the wedding was postponed, the bride's family took the initiative to visit and offer New Year's greetings. For the sake of their children, they hoped that both families could sit down and discuss the matter again.

A few days ago, when Lan Yujuan first heard the news, she found it unbelievable.

Now that she saw the girl's clearly pregnant belly, she finally understood!

Lan Yujuan lowered her gaze and looked thoughtfully at the little girl's hands that were blocking her way.

She then turned to Liu Zhigang and said in a deep, firm voice, "Liu Zhigang! I'm your sister-in-law, not your family's free maid!"

"Yesterday was Chinese New Year. I got up early to do a thorough cleaning, spent the afternoon taking care of the kids and preparing the New Year's Eve dinner by myself, and didn't finish cleaning the kitchen until after 10 p.m.!"

"You know perfectly well that your brother works in Beijing and only comes home once a year. I stay up until two or three in the morning to get some sleep!"

"As a result, around six in the morning, your mom was standing outside the window, urging me to get up and make breakfast!"

"I just finished lunch this morning, and your older brother insisted on dragging me to the county to run errands! I've been busy until now, and I haven't even had a chance to drink some water!"

"Your Liu family is such a poor, remote place, are you some kind of noble family?"

"Yes! I was blind to fall for your older brother back then, not caring that he was poor! After I got pregnant, your family refused to give a dowry and asked me to give up my job in the big city, but I was willing to go back to our hometown with him!"

"And what happened? Right after the wedding, your older brother abandoned my daughter and me back in our hometown, and ran off to the big city to enjoy himself! He gave all his earnings to his parents, and his wife didn't lift a finger!"

"I have a child, and I only have 500 yuan a month for groceries. Forget about formula, I can't even afford diapers!"

"On the first day of the Lunar New Year, I said I was tired and wanted to go back to my room to rest for a while! I never expected that even you, as a junior, would dare to bully me!"

"I'm a person! Not a mule or a horse!"

"Even though I'm a woman who married into this family from out of town, without any family members to support me, I should still receive at least basic respect!"

The younger brother-in-law was stunned by the rebuke and fell silent, backing away repeatedly.

He couldn't understand why his usually kind and hardworking sister-in-law seemed like a completely different person today.

"You, you just want to be lazy, and you're spouting nonsense!"

"If you feel wronged, go talk to my older brother in bed tonight. There's no need to pour your heart out to me!"

Lan Yujuan's eyes reddened with anger: "You know perfectly well that your older brother is leaving tonight, yet you still use these sarcastic remarks? Bah!"

"I've already endured this life of living like a widow for three or four years, what's another year to me? If you have that kind of energy, you should worry about your own affairs first!"

After saying that, Lan Yujuan picked up her daughter and went back to her room, slamming the door shut with a loud "bang!"

In an instant, Liu Zhigang's face turned red and then green, looking extremely unsightly!

He reluctantly turned around, only to find that the expressions on his girlfriend's and his future father-in-law and mother-in-law's faces were even more "interesting"!

Liu Zhigang realized something was wrong and started to panic. He quickly reassured them, "Uncle, Aunt, my sister-in-law is just like that, please don't take it to heart!"

"Let's wait a little longer, my parents will definitely be back soon!"

The woman's parents exchanged a glance, then the man stood up and said softly, "Zhigang, come with me out for a smoke!"

Liu Zhigang nodded quickly and skillfully pulled a pack of good cigarettes from his pocket. "Uncle, here, have one of these!"

As soon as the two stepped out of the gate, the woman took her daughter's hand and quietly walked towards Lan Yujuan's room.

"Knock, knock!" Lan Yujuan was reading a novel and playing with stickers with her daughter when she heard a knock on the door.

Lan Yujuan was taken aback. "Who is it?"

Before the person outside could respond, Liu Xiaoman jumped off the stool with her short legs and ran to open the door. She looked up and greeted the person outside with a smile, revealing two rows of tiny teeth.

Happy New Year, sister!

"Happy New Year, Auntie! Wishing you prosperity and good fortune!"

The mother and daughter, who had been anxiously waiting outside the door, instantly broke into smiles. The woman's mother took out a red envelope that she had prepared beforehand and neatly stuffed it into her little girl's pocket.

"Happy New Year, my little one!"

"Good girl!"

As the saying goes, you can't hit a smiling face.

Seeing this, Lan Yujuan quickly put away her phone and stood up. "Would you two like to come in and sit for a while?"

The woman's mother waved her hands repeatedly, laughing and saying, "No, no!"

"I just wanted to ask if you have any sanitary napkins to borrow? My daughter Baozhu is on her period and needs to go to the bathroom."

Lan Yujuan was shocked to hear this!

She glanced at the little girl instinctively, only to see her gently stroking the little girl's head, her expression filled with envy and regret, her eyes reddening.

Yes, the little girl's name is "Baozhu". I heard that she is the only child in her family. How could her parents bear to let her go? She became pregnant out of wedlock because of her youth and ignorance. She was taken advantage of by the man and then married into an unfamiliar mountain village to suffer.

"Yes, of course there is." Lan Yujuan immediately turned around to look for it, pretending that she hadn't noticed anything unusual.

But she knew in her heart that the woman wanted to use this incident to have her tell Liu's family that the child had been miscarried.

Lan Yujuan dared not look the woman in the eye again, and said softly as she handed over the things, "The outhouse is in the back, it's an old-fashioned dry toilet, do you need me to go with you?"

The woman's mother quickly smiled and stopped her, saying, "It's alright, she's a grown woman, she can go by herself!"

The little girl, carrying her things, looked around curiously as she walked into the house.

As expected, she would pass through the kitchen, which was dark even during the day, past the vegetable garden in the backyard fertilized with farmyard manure, and finally arrive at her destination: the open-air outhouse where pigs, chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep were kept.

As soon as the young girl turned into the kitchen, the woman's mother couldn't help but take two steps forward and whisper to Lan Yujuan to inquire:

"Girl, Auntie sincerely wants to ask you a few questions, is that a convenient time?"

Lan Yujuan, with an open and honest heart, immediately nodded, "Auntie, please ask!"

The other person took a deep breath, their voice trembling slightly: "What you just said, was it all true?"

"The Liu family is so shameless that they didn't even give a bride price? After the marriage, the man neither comes home nor sends you money?"

Lan Yujuan did not deny it. After thinking for a moment, she said tactfully, "Auntie, what I said just now may have been emotional and somewhat one-sided."

"If you're unsure, you can ask your neighbors."

"After all, the neighbors are all long-time residents, so their evaluations are quite fair!"

The other person was experienced, having gone through just as much as Tian Xiuhua, and immediately understood. He gripped Lan Yujuan's hand tightly and said gratefully:

"Girl, Auntie understands, thank you for today!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a panicked scream came from behind the house, "Ah!" It sounded like someone had been frightened by something.

The woman's mother panicked instantly and ran towards the back of the house, shouting, "What's wrong?"

Lan Yujuan was also startled and quickly picked up her daughter, preparing to go and see what was going on.

No sooner had she stepped out of the room than she bumped into Liu Zhiyuan, who was rushing back with a very bad expression!

"This is terrible!" Huang Zhiyuan said with a grim face, "Mom accidentally fell into the pond and is drowning! It was the neighbor's kid who found her while playing by the pond!"

The younger brother-in-law, who was standing by the pond smoking and chatting, panicked immediately upon hearing that his mother had an accident. He stubbed out his cigarette and ran over, urgently asking what was wrong.

"Big brother, is Mom alright? Where is she now?"

Liu Zhiyuan replied irritably, "Where else could they have gone? They were taken away by an ambulance and are being treated at the county hospital!"