Who says real and fake daughters can’t be sisters?

Thinking that Zhang Yuanluo was going to work in the provincial capital the next day, Zhang's mother gritted her teeth, weighed two pounds of meat, and made some big meat dumplings in the evening. Zhang's father, who had not been seen all day, finally returned home before dinner.

After the family finished their meal, Zhang Yuanluo and her brother cleaned up the dishes. Zhang's father pushed Zhang's mother into the house and stuffed her with a handful of money.

It was really a bunch of miscellaneous money, ranging from five yuan, ten yuan, fifty yuan, to one hundred yuan. Some of it was found by Zhang's father at home, and some was borrowed by Zhang's father and his relatives today. It was not a large amount, and others did not expect him to pay it back, but Zhang's father wrote down every penny.

He planned to go out to work after the autumn harvest and pay back the money, but by then Zhang's mother would have to work harder at home.

Mother Zhang stared at the money in astonishment and asked, "Give it all to the eldest girl?"

Father Zhang nodded and said, "A poor family can make a rich journey. The girl is going on a long journey, so she should bring more money with her in case of emergency. I have counted it, and it is one thousand yuan, which should be enough. You can sew it into her clothes later to prevent it from being stolen."

Zhang's mother said "OK" and went to get the needle and thread. She divided the one thousand yuan into several parts and sewed them into several pieces of clothing.

The next day, after having breakfast, Zhang Yuanluo got on a bus to the provincial capital with Xiaoxia. Along the way, Zhang Yuanluo felt a little uneasy, but couldn't help being excited.

The road ahead might be difficult, but she wanted to work hard to carve out a path for herself. Before getting on the bus, her mother held her in her arms and said to her with tears in her eyes, "Your father told you not to hate us. We have no other choice."

In fact, she did not blame her parents. Zhang's parents were hardworking, and the family used to live a pretty good life. However, the elders on both sides fell ill one after another. In just half a year, the family's savings were emptied and they even owed foreign debts. If Pengcheng was not so young, he would have to find a way to subsidize the family.

The bus drove for more than two hours before arriving at the provincial capital, and then drove for more than an hour before arriving at the food factory where Xiaoxia worked.

The provincial capital in 2013 was not actually very well built. The city center was still prosperous, but after they took several buses, they arrived at a place that obviously looked like a village. There were farmlands and bungalows on the side, and high-rise buildings every few meters.

Zhang Yuanluo found it strange and stared at it in a trance for a moment. Xiaoxia looked at her and could probably guess what she was thinking.

"It feels strange, right? There are tall buildings and farmlands at the same time. It looks very unharmonious, doesn't it?" Xiaoxia interrupted Yuanluo's thoughts.

Zhang Yuanluo came back to her senses and said, "It's indeed a bit strange. The big cities I see on TV are all full of tall buildings. I didn't expect there to be such a place in the provincial capital."

"Just wait and see. When I pass the college entrance examination and come to the provincial capital, this place will look completely new. When I first came here, it was even more desolate. In just two years, high-rise buildings have been built one after another. It will only get better in the future.

But you have good grades, maybe you will go to a bigger city, which will be better than our provincial capital."

"I will. I will get into a good university and go to a farther place to see the world. Sister Xiaoxia, what do you want to do in the future?"

"As for me, I just want to buy a house in the city center of the provincial capital and have my own home."

"Sister Xiaoxia, you can do it." Zhang Yuanluo said confidently.

Xiaoxia, however, grinned and said, "Yes, it will definitely work."

But I was thinking that the housing prices in the provincial capital are very expensive and it is not easy to buy a house.

They finally arrived at the destination after chatting and laughing all the way. Zhang Yuanluo didn't feel it in the car, but as soon as she got out of the car, she felt her legs a little weak and she was very tired.

Xiaoxia got out of the car after taking her things and said to her, "Come on, I'll take you to see the director and handle the formalities."

As she spoke, Xiaoxia took some of Yuanluo's luggage and led her inside. Yuanluo came to her senses and quickly declined, saying that she wanted to carry the luggage herself.

Xiaoxia said, "No, you must be tired from the car ride. You look pale. I was like this the first time I went out. Don't be stubborn. Just follow me."

Zhang Yuanluo followed Xiaoxia all the way into the food factory. Xiaoxia was greeting people along the way, and Zhang Yuanluo just listened to Xiaoxia's instructions dumbly, calling people when she asked her to and greeting people when she asked her to. She was very well-behaved along the way.

Just as Zhang Yuanluo was still in a daze, she successfully completed the formalities. He Xiaoxia took her to the assigned dormitory and helped her pack her things.

It was not until she was settled in the dormitory that Zhang Yuanluo felt the reality in her heart. Then she reacted and thanked Xiaoxia.

Xiaoxia just said, "Get familiar with the environment first. I'll go put your things down and take you to the cafeteria to get food later."

It was not until this moment that Zhang Yuanluo remembered that she seemed to have no money. Although the factory provided food and accommodation, one needed a meal card to eat. She had to top up the money first, and then the meal allowance would be given together with her salary.

But Zhang Yuanluo was too embarrassed to say it out loud. She just nodded and said, "Sister Xiaoxia, I really trouble you today. You go ahead and do your work. I'll get familiar with the place myself."

Xiaoxia responded and left. Zhang Yuanluo was tidying up her clothes when she suddenly touched something hard. She turned it over and found a secret pocket sewn inside. When she opened it, she saw some money, both in small and large amounts.

Suddenly remembering that her mother had repeatedly told her last night to put her clothes in order when she arrived at the place, Zhang Yuanluo took out all her clothes again and found money inside a few pieces of clothes. After roughly counting them, she found that there was more than a thousand yuan.

A thousand yuan, in both small and large amounts, was spread out on her bed. She turned around and saw that no one was around. She took out two hundred yuan and stuffed the rest into her clothes. Then she put the clothes into the locker that was assigned to her and locked it up.

She asked Sister Xiaoxia, and she learned that the food in the factory was not expensive, and if you spent sparingly, it wouldn't cost much.

After doing everything, the tears she had been holding back for a long time finally fell. The feeling of being penniless was really too hard. She swore that she must work hard to make a name for herself, to make her parents live a good life, and to ensure that her family would never have to lose everything because of an illness.

She raised her head and tried hard to hold back her tears.

Just like that, her summer job began. The work in the food factory was not difficult, but it was really tiring. She started work at eight in the morning and often got off work very late. But fortunately, there was overtime pay for working after six in the evening.

So Yuanluo worked overtime desperately and stayed in the factory until after ten o'clock every day, just to save more money. She was reluctant to eat anything delicious, but in just over half a month, she had become visibly thinner.

While Zhang Yuanluo was struggling for her future, the scene in Pingzhou was completely different.

Pingzhou police recently arrested a group of criminals who abducted children more than ten years ago based on clues provided by the recovered abducted children. Upon receiving the news, the Ji family immediately asked someone to inquire about the situation and ask whether this group of people was the same group that had previously abducted their daughter.