Rebirth to Save Myself

Not long after what happened last time, my cousin gave her a few pencils and half an eraser, but she wasn't very friendly, probably because she had been scolded by my grandmother.

"Thank you, sister," Su Xia said to her cousin's retreating figure.

Her cousin ran downstairs without even pausing, completely ignoring her thanks. But Su Xia was still very grateful to her cousin, after all, she had brought five pencils and an eraser. Although she tried her best to avoid making mistakes, it wasn't perfect, so the eraser was a lifesaver.

I thought these few pencils would barely last until Children's Day next year, but my parents came back for Chinese New Year this year. They even brought her stationery and a pencil sharpener. Su Yue also came back; the little one walks so awkwardly. If I had a phone, I would definitely have recorded it to show Su Yue when she's older, hahaha.

After the New Year, Mom and Dad still had to leave; there were no opportunities to earn money in their hometown. Plus, their younger brother wasn't born yet, so they took Su Yue with them, leaving Su Xia behind. It's understandable, though. Su Yue is still young, and Grandma already has to take care of her; taking care of Su Yue as well would probably make her even angrier. Su Yue had been cared for by Grandma for a year before, but Mom felt Grandma was spoiling Su Yue, so she took Su Yue back to raise her herself.

She got perfect scores on both her first-semester final exams. Her mother was pleased, but didn't want Su Xia to become arrogant, so she said, "It's just this one final exam. Don't be proud. Getting perfect scores every time is what really makes you capable, understand?"

"Okay, Mom." Su Xia grew up in this kind of environment. If you did well, they wouldn't praise you; they would only tell you once not to be arrogant. If you did poorly, they would scold you and think you were stupid for not being able to do something so simple. Therefore, Su Xia never expected to hear words of praise from her parents. She studied only so that one day she could escape this mountain village and this home.

This year, because her parents were spending the Lunar New Year at home, Su Xia received lucky money from her uncle, younger uncle, and grandmother. After dinner, the family gathered in a small room to watch the Spring Festival Gala. Since there weren't any extra rooms, Su Xia slept on a makeshift bed on the floor in the small room, while Su Yue and her parents slept in the bed.

Before her mother could ask for it, Su Xia handed over the New Year's money and said, "Mom, this is the money I just received."

The mother looked at Su Xia suspiciously, then asked, "You didn't secretly hide it, did you?"

Su Xia shook her head and said, "I didn't even take it apart."

Mom checked the red envelope and found it was indeed unopened. Feeling embarrassed about the misunderstanding, Su Xia changed the subject, saying, "What you did was right. Children shouldn't carry so much money; it's easy to lose it. Mom will keep it for you and give it to you when you grow up."

Su Xia was speechless at this familiar tactic; every adult said the same thing, as if it were a promise that would come true. She used to naively believe them, but now she understood the logic and just listened. However, she still wanted to get something out of them, so seeing that her parents were in a good mood, she said, "Could you give me five yuan as my New Year's money?"

Her parents were very pleased with her initiative in handing over her New Year's money, so they quickly fulfilled her request.

Su Xia didn't want the five yuan to buy snacks or spicy strips; she wanted to save it for a rainy day. Having her own money was much easier than asking her grandmother. Her grandmother usually had her cousin buy things for her or took her to the stationery store, rarely giving her any opportunities to handle money. It was as if her grandmother could prevent her from being greedy. Her grandmother saw her as someone who would steal money if she knew where it was. She didn't need to let her parents know this; perhaps in their eyes, she was that kind of person too?

Time flies, and before we knew it, the year was over. My parents boarded the bus to another city again. That year, my aunt also took my cousin to the provincial capital to visit my uncle, and also brought my grandmother to take care of my cousin. So Su Xia was sent to live with my uncle.

As mentioned earlier, my aunt's family lived in the village, so she frequently visited them. Plus, she was often away from home due to her love of travel. My uncle was occasionally home, but spent the rest of his time working. So, when neither my aunt nor uncle were home, my cousin would go to my maternal grandmother's house for meals, but she never invited Su Xia. Su Xia felt awkward going along to freeload, since my grandmother wasn't her biological grandmother; they were distant relatives. Eating there occasionally was fine, but doing it frequently would definitely be frowned upon.

So, little Su Xia would often be seen carrying a chair to the rice cooker to scoop out leftovers. If there were leftovers, that was a treat. If there weren't any leftovers, she'd just eat a bowl of plain rice until she was full. Winter mornings were very cold, but there was no hot water, so Su Xia could only turn on the tap and wash herself with the icy cold water. Because her grandmother wasn't home, the kitchen was locked, and her grandmother, being so young, wouldn't give her the key. Su Xia had no choice but to grit her teeth and endure this every day.

However, she had experienced all of this before, so she didn't complain. As long as she could eat her fill, that was good enough. If not, she could just wash some rice and cook it herself. Her aunt wouldn't hide rice from her. Besides, her aunt would occasionally bring back leftovers from other people's banquets, and those banquets were full of good food. Su Xia could eat two bowls of rice with just the broth, but she couldn't eat more than two bowls of rice, otherwise she would be called a glutton for eating so much.

Auntie originally wanted Su Xia to sleep on the sofa in their room at night, but Su Xia refused. Auntie's room was twice the size of Su Xia's, very spacious, and had a sofa that could be converted into a bed. During the day, it could be pulled up to be used as a sofa, and at night, it could be pulled down and a sheet could be laid out for sleeping.

Su Xia had slept on the sofa before, but it was incredibly inconvenient. First, she was too small to pull the sofa herself, so she needed an adult's help to sleep. Second, her schedule was restrictive. She had to wait until her aunt and uncle were ready to sleep before they would pull the sofa out for her. Third, a daytime nap was out of the question. Finally, her aunt was pregnant, and she was already a burden, so it was better for her to stay away from her aunt.

The aunt herself wasn't really keen on taking care of Su Xia, so when Su Xia refused her request to sleep in their room, she didn't object and let Su Xia sleep alone upstairs. Besides, she was pregnant, and everyone was saying it was a boy, so she had to be careful.

Grandma was happy to know that her eldest aunt was pregnant, but she didn't want to go back to take care of her. Her eldest aunt was a bit domineering, and Grandma couldn't win against her. Besides, she was having a very easy time in the provincial capital, spending her days taking care of her grandson and cooking, and she had even gained a few pounds. Her second son would also bring her gifts from time to time to show his filial piety. This was a hundred times better than home, so Grandma was determined not to go back.

Auntie knew what Grandma was thinking, but she couldn't stand seeing Grandma, as a mother-in-law, having such an easy time. So she whispered in Uncle's ear, urging him to call Grandma back. Uncle was Grandma's first son, and she loved him dearly. Since her son had already spoken up and said he had already spoken to her younger son, what could she do? She could only pack her bags and go back to the countryside to take care of Auntie.