Sebagian besar kerabat Keluarga Mo dan tetangga dekat sudah menerima bagian hadiah mereka. Bagi beberapa orang, seperti Bibi Kelima, Bibi Kedelapan, dan sejumlah keluarga yang tinggal di belakang rumah mereka, ketika datang berkunjung dan menonton TV, Nenek langsung menyerahkan porsi mereka untuk dibawa pulang. Mo Linghui, Mo Shuixia, dan Guan Ailan juga telah mengambil jatah keluarga masing-masing. Tugas Xiao Man hanyalah mengunjungi para tetua untuk menyapa dan mengobrol sebentar. Ini termasuk ibu Mo Linghui dan nenek Mo Shuixia, yang jarang keluar rumah dan sulit ditemui, sehingga ia harus mendatangi mereka secara khusus. Ada pula Nenek Han, yang pernah membantunya; Nyonya Zhen, yang menyusui dirinya saat kecil; dan Paman Man Cang, yang menyelamatkannya dari sungai... Nenek telah mengatur semuanya untuk Xiao Man, bersikeras bahwa ia wajib menemui mereka semua.
Nenek sangat teliti—ia mengepak hadiah setiap keluarga sesuai usia anggota keluarganya, bahkan melatih Xiao Man kalimat demi kalimat tentang apa yang harus dikatakan di setiap rumah. Xiao Man mendengarkan dengan saksama, menyetujui segalanya, sama sekali tidak merasa neneknya bertele-tele. 'Untuk apa kesal? Di kehidupan sebelumnya, tak ada seorang pun yang mau mengajarinya cara berperilaku, padahal ia ingin belajar.'
Setelah menghabiskan sepanjang pagi bersepeda mengelilingi desa dalam lingkaran lebar, tugas mengunjungi sanak saudara dan teman akhirnya selesai.
Kali ini, Liu Fengying tidak mengganggunya saat ia melewati Pekarangan Keluarga Mo dalam perjalanan ke rumah keluarga Han dan rumah Mo Shuixia. Xiao Man merasa segala sesuatunya berjalan cukup lancar. 'Siapa waras yang ingin bertemu orang menjengkelkan itu?'
Namun, Nenek Han memperingatkan Xiao Man untuk waspada. Ia mengatakan bahwa Liu Fengying telah mengunjungi saudarinya di Desa Dingshan selama dua hari terakhir, tetapi kemungkinan akan segera kembali, jadi sebaiknya Xiao Man menghindari pertemuan dengannya.
"Begitu Liu Fengying punya sedikit uang, dia langsung sombong. Entah sejak kapan, dia mulai menerima kiriman uang dari Beijing setiap bulan—sepuluh atau dua puluh yuan sekaligus. Itu lebih dari cukup bagi Liu Fengying, Xiao Zhi, Xiaohua, dan Xiao Neng untuk dibelanjakan seenaknya. Adapun Mo Xiaoqiang dan Mo Xiaofeng, keduanya cacat total, dan Liu Fengying tidak berniat lagi membawa mereka berobat. Jadi, ia mengirim mereka ke tempat saudarinya di Desa Dingshan. Ia memberikan sepuluh yuan per bulan kepada saudarinya dari uang kiriman Beijing tersebut, serta rutin mengantarkan beras dan bahan pokok lainnya. Saudarinya sendiri memiliki banyak anak dan hidup sangat miskin, sehingga ia sangat membutuhkan sepuluh yuan itu dan bersedia merawat kedua anak cacat tersebut di desanya yang terpencil. Sekarang setelah Liu Fengying terbebas dari beban itu, ia hanya tinggal bersama tiga anaknya yang sehat, dan hidupnya mulai terlihat lumayan nyaman. Pasti ada yang memberitahunya bahwa kau akan pulang untuk liburan musim panas, karena ia menjadi semakin angkuh. Dia membual ke seluruh desa, menceritakan kisah-kisah bohong. Meskipun orang-orang tidak percaya, mendengarnya tetap saja membuat mual."
"Nenek Han, apa yang dikatakannya?"
"Dia memberi tahu siapa pun yang mau mendengar bahwa kau, Xiao Man, dan Xuanxuan kini rukun, sedekat saudara kandung, dan kalian berdua telah menjadi nona-nona kaya raya nan berharga di Keluarga Tang! Karena wesel uang yang tiba di kantor brigade desa setiap bulan dikirim oleh Xuanxuan, Liu Fengying terus-menerus membanggakan bahwa putrinya sendiri, Xuanxuan, adalah anak paling berbakti. Dia bertanya, 'Kalau bukan karena baktinya, mengapa ibunya sendiri, pejabat di kota, begitu sayang pada Xuanxuan dan memujinya sebagai anak yang pengertian dan bijaksana?' Tapi kau, katanya, hanyalah anak pemberontak dan durhaka, jadi wajar jika orang tua kandungmu sendiri tidak menyukaimu... Dia juga berkata bahwa karena kau begitu durhaka, ibumu yang pejabat itu mengirimmu kembali ke desa untuk liburan, bahkan menghukummu dengan menyuruhmu membawanya—Liu Fengying—ke Beijing sementara waktu untuk memperluas wawasannya! Dia mengklaim bahwa mulai sekarang, kedua putri itu akan bergiliran mengirim uang kepadanya, sehingga ia tidak perlu khawatir soal apa pun dan bisa hidup enak tanpa beban..."
Xiao Man mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Nenek Han, merasa seolah baru saja menelan lalat. 'Di kehidupan sebelumnya, aku bekerja keras bagai kuda untuk Liu Fengying, hanya untuk diinjak-injak dan dipermalukan. Di kehidupan ini, Tang Yaxuan menggunakan uang Wu Xiaowen untuk menghidupi Liu Fengying, dan sebagai balasannya, Liu Fengying menyebutnya "anak paling berbakti", sementara Wu Xiaowen memujinya sebagai "pengertian dan bijaksana."' Meskipun Xiao Man acuh tak acuh terhadap kedua wanita itu, pilih kasih buta semacam ini benar-benar membuatnya marah.
Akibat suasana hati Xiao Man yang buruk, ia kembali ke rumah dan melampiaskan amarahnya pada Tang Haocheng. Ia menyuruhnya berhenti tinggal di rumah Kakek dan Nenek, serta pergi bersama Tang Qingyun keesokan harinya. Ia mencela bahwa Haocheng hanya parasit tanpa membayar biaya hidup. Jika Haocheng punya keberanian, seharusnya ia meminta Tang Qingyun yang membayarnya. Orang tua mereka mampu membesarkan Tang Yaxuan, kenapa tidak bisa membiayai putra kandung mereka sendiri?
Tang Haocheng benar-benar bingung dengan omelan kakaknya dan merasa sangat dizalimi, namun ia tidak menyimpan dendam. 'Dia benar,' pikirnya. Kakek dan neneknya telah membesarkannya seumur hidup. Bahkan ketika ia menginap di rumah orang tuanya selama beberapa hari, kakek dan neneknyalah yang menanggung biayanya. Ia sungguh belum pernah mengeluarkan satu sen pun uang orang tuanya.
'Tapi mengapa kakak tiba-tiba naik pitam soal ini? Apakah dia baik-baik saja?'
Tang Haocheng mendekati Gu Shaoqin, dan keduanya menghabiskan waktu lama membahas dan berspekulasi. Pada akhirnya, mereka berdua menyimpulkan bahwa kakaknya pasti kembali diprovokasi oleh si gila, Liu Fengying. Liu Fengying hanya mengganggu kakaknya demi uang, dan alasan ia begitu tak tahu malu dan gigih adalah karena ayah mereka yang linglung dan ibu mereka yang bodoh menolak membiarkan Tang Yaxuan kembali ke Keluarga Mo!
Memikirkan hal ini, Tang Haocheng dipenuhi kemarahan. 'Tang Yaxuan dan aku tidak memiliki hubungan darah, namun ia menempati posisi penting di hatiku selama bertahun-tahun! Dan jelas-jelas ia mengetahui kebenarannya sejak awal, namun tanpa rasa malu dan berani ia terus merebut segala sesuatu yang seharusnya milik kakakku, berharap dapat menghancurkannya dan menggantikannya selamanya! Hatinya begitu jahat dan berbisa—orang yang harus dijauhi sebisa mungkin. Mengapa orang tua kita tidak tega melepaskannya? Mengapa mereka lebih memilih membahayakan putri kandung mereka sendiri?'
Meskipun memiliki intelektual tingkat jenius, Tang Haocheng sama sekali tidak dapat memahami pemikiran orang tuanya!
Putri kandungnya sendiri kurang disayang dibandingkan anak angkat mereka. Diliputi kesedihan dan kegeraman, Tang Haocheng tiba-tiba merasakan kebutuhan mendesak untuk memastikan: di hati orang tuanya, apakah ia pun dianggap kurang penting dibanding anak angkat mereka?
Pada malam sebelum Tang Qingyun dijadwalkan kembali bekerja, ia mendengar dari Gu Shaoqin bahwa Manman dan Hao Hao bertengkar. Kemudian, putranya mengajukan pertanyaan yang brutal dan langsung: siapa yang lebih penting, anak-anak kandungnya atau anak angkat perempuan mereka? Patah hati, Tang Qingyun segera menarik Tang Haocheng dan pergi mencari Xiao Man. Dengan khidmat ia menyatakan, "Aku telah hidup puluhan tahun dan melakukan banyak kesalahan. Aku baru menyadarinya sekarang, dan penuh penyesalan, tapi masa lalu tidak bisa diubah! Namun, aku bisa menjanjikan ini kepadamu: Dalam hidup ini, aku hanya memiliki dua anak kandung, dan tidak ada yang lain! Soal anak angkat laki-laki atau perempuan, siapa pun yang mau membesarkannya silakan. Aku sudah muak. Sekarang negara sedang membuka diri dan peluangnya besar, banyak orang bekerja keras mengirim anak-anak mereka belajar ke luar negeri. Aku juga perlu mulai menabung, untuk merencanakan masa depan darah dagingku sendiri. Aku tidak bisa memikirkan orang lain lagi!"
Xiao Man dan Tang Haocheng mendengarkan dengan kepala tertunduk, tidak mengucapkan sepatah kata pun. Tang Qingyun tidak tahu apa yang mereka pikirkan, tetapi ia sangat yakin bahwa ini memang tekad barunya belakangan ini. 'Dengan adanya ayah dan kakakku,' pikirnya, 'mungkin anak-anak bahkan tidak memerlukan uangku untuk belajar ke luar negeri. Mereka mungkin bahkan tidak ingin aku ikut campur. Tapi sebagai ayah mereka, aku harus berusaha. Kalau tidak, tanpa dukungan Keluarga Tang, nasibku akan bagaimana?'
Most of the Mo Family relatives and close neighbors had already collected their share of the gifts. For some, like Fifth Auntie, Eighth Aunt, and a few of the families living behind them, when they came over to visit and watch TV, Grandma would just hand them their portions to take home. Mo Linghui, Mo Shuixia, and Guan Ailan had also taken their families’ shares. All Xiao Man had to do was visit the older generation to greet them and chat a bit. This included people like Mo Linghui’s mother and Mo Shuixia’s grandma, who rarely went out and were difficult to see, so she had to pay them a visit. There was also Granny Han, who had helped her before; Mrs. Zhen, who had breastfed her as a child; and Uncle Man Cang, who had pulled her out of the river... Grandma had arranged it all for Xiao Man, insisting that she absolutely had to visit them. Grandma was meticulous—she had packed each family’s gifts according to the ages of their members and even coached Xiao Man, sentence by sentence, on what to say at each house. Xiao Man listened attentively, agreeing to everything, not finding her grandma the least bit long-winded. ’What reason was there to be annoyed? In her past life, no one had been willing to teach her how to behave, even when she’d wanted to learn.’
After spending the whole morning riding her bike in a wide circle around the village, the task of visiting relatives and friends was finally complete.
This time, she wasn’t hassled by Liu Fengying when she passed the Mo Family Courtyard on her way to the Han family’s home and Mo Shuixia’s home. Xiao Man felt things had gone quite smoothly. ’Who in their right mind wants to run into someone so vexing?’
Granny Han, however, warned Xiao Man to be on guard. She said Liu Fengying had been visiting her sister in Dingshan Village for the past two days but would probably be back soon, and that it would be best if Xiao Man avoided running into her.
"The moment Liu Fengying has a little money, she gets full of herself. I don’t know when it started, but she’s been getting money sent from Beijing every month—ten or twenty yuan a pop. It’s more than enough for her, Xiao Zhi, Xiaohua, and Xiao Neng to spend freely. As for Mo Xiaoqiang and Mo Xiaofeng, they’re completely disabled, and Liu Fengying has no intention of getting them treated anymore. So, she just sent them to her sister’s place in Dingshan Village. She gives her sister ten yuan a month from the money sent from Beijing and also delivers some rice and grain regularly. Her sister has a whole brood of children herself and is dirt poor, so she was eager for that ten yuan and took in the two disabled kids to raise in her mountain village. Now that Liu Fengying is free of those two burdens, she only has the three able-bodied children with her, and her life is starting to look pretty decent. Someone must have told her you were coming back for the summer break, because she’s gotten even more smug. She’s been boasting all over the village, telling tall tales. Even if people don’t believe her, it’s still sickening to hear."
"Granny Han, what has she been saying?"
"She tells anyone who will listen that you, Xiao Man, and that Xuanxuan are getting along great now, that you’re as close as sisters, and that you’ve both become the precious, rich young ladies of the Tang family! Because the money orders that come to the village brigade office every month are sent by Xuanxuan, Liu Fengying can’t stop bragging that her own daughter, Xuanxuan, is the most filial. She asks, ’Otherwise, why would even your own mother, the official in the city, dote on Xuanxuan so much and praise her for being so considerate and sensible?’ But you, she says, you’re just a rebellious, disobedient child, so it’s no wonder your own parents don’t like you... She’s also saying that because you were so disobedient, your official mother sent you back to the village for the break and is even punishing you by making you take her—Liu Fengying—to Beijing for a while to broaden her horizons! She claims that from now on, both daughters will take turns sending her money, so she won’t have to worry about a thing and can just live a life of comfort and ease..."
Xiao Man thanked Granny Han, feeling as if she had just swallowed a fly. ’In my past life, I worked like an ox for Liu Fengying, only to be trampled on and humiliated. In this life, Tang Yaxuan uses Wu Xiaowen’s money to support Liu Fengying, and in return, Liu Fengying calls her "the most filial" while Wu Xiaowen praises her for being "considerate and sensible."’ Although Xiao Man felt indifferent toward both women, this kind of blind favoritism truly infuriated her.
The consequence of Xiao Man’s foul mood was that she went back and took her anger out on Tang Haocheng. She told him to stop living at Grandpa and Grandma’s house and to leave with Tang Qingyun the next day. He was just freeloading without paying for living expenses, she ranted. If he had any backbone, he should make Tang Qingyun pay for him. Since their parents could afford to raise Tang Yaxuan, why couldn’t they support their own son?
Tang Haocheng was completely baffled by his sister’s tirade and felt very wronged, but he didn’t hold any resentment. ’She’s right,’ he thought. His grandparents had raised him his entire life. Even when he went to stay with his parents for a few days, his grandparents were the ones who paid for his expenses. He truly had never spent a single cent of his parents’ money.
’But why did my sister suddenly fly off the handle about this? Is she all right?’
Tang Haocheng went over to Gu Shaoqin, and the two of them spent a long time discussing and speculating. In the end, they both concluded that his sister must have been provoked by that madwoman, Liu Fengying, again. Liu Fengying only ever pestered his sister for money, and the only reason she was so shamelessly relentless was because their muddle-headed father and foolish mother refused to let Tang Yaxuan return to the Mo family!
At this thought, Tang Haocheng was filled with rage. ’Tang Yaxuan and I aren’t related by blood, yet she held such an important place in my heart for so many years! And she clearly knew the truth all along, yet she shamelessly and brazenly continued to usurp everything that rightfully belonged to my sister, hoping to destroy her and take her place forever! She has such an obviously wicked and venomous heart—someone to be avoided at all costs. Why can’t our parents bear to let her go? Why would they rather put their own biological daughter in danger?’
Despite possessing a supposedly genius-level intellect, Tang Haocheng simply could not fathom his parents’ thoughts!
His own sister was less cherished than their adopted daughter. Overcome with grief and indignation, Tang Haocheng suddenly felt a desperate need to find out for certain: in his parents’ hearts, did even he matter less than their adopted daughter?
The night before Tang Qingyun was scheduled to return to work, he heard from Gu Shaoqin that Manman and Hao Hao had fought. Then, his son hit him with a brutally direct question: who was more important, his biological children or his adopted daughter? Heartbroken, Tang Qingyun immediately grabbed Tang Haocheng and went to find Xiao Man. He solemnly declared, "I’ve lived for decades and made many mistakes. I’m only realizing it now, and I’m full of regret, but the past can’t be changed! However, I can promise you this: I only have two biological children in this life, and no others! As for adopted sons or daughters, whoever wants to raise them can go ahead. I’m done with it. Now that the country is opening up and the opportunities are great, many people are working hard to send their children to study abroad. I need to start saving money, too, to plan for my own flesh and blood. I can’t worry about anyone else!"
Xiao Man and Tang Haocheng listened with downcast eyes, neither saying a word. Tang Qingyun had no idea what they were thinking, but he was very clear that this was indeed his recent resolution. ’With my father and older brother around,’ he thought, ’the children might not even need my money to study abroad. They probably don’t even want me getting involved. But as their father, I have to make the effort. Otherwise, if I didn’t have the backing of the Tang family, what would become of me?’
Tang Qingyun began to watch his spending and tighten his purse strings, but far away in Beijing, Wu Xiaowen was completely oblivious. Seeing that the year was only half over and the money in her passbook was almost gone, she couldn’t help but feel anxious. She eagerly awaited the day Hao Hao would go to his father’s place. Then, she could call Tang Qingyun to discuss their son’s summer arrangements and use the chance to repair their relationship, which had been strained for months. After being a loving couple for more than a decade, Wu Xiaowen was confident she knew Tang Qingyun’s temperament inside and out; winning him back over wouldn’t be difficult at all.
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