80 village women marry military officers; it was supposed to be a fake marriage.

Lin Yue smiled inwardly, but maintained a wronged and sad expression on her face. "How do I know you're not trying to fool me with fake stuff?"

Lin's mother took a worn-out kraft paper envelope from the old schoolbag that Lin Erdan was carrying and handed it to Lin Yue with a pained expression. She had originally planned to use these things to extort money from Lin Yue.

"Before the Jiang family came to pick up the child, this letter arrived. It contained an address and asked for help in sending the child there. At that time, the family had no money and couldn't even afford a train ticket to Beijing, so how could they possibly send the child there?"

Later, the Jiang family came to pick them up and gave them some money, but your grandmother took it all. I didn't get a single penny.

Lin Yue snatched the envelope from her hand, but Lin's mother was reluctant to let go, her eyes fixed on it, as if she were watching a cooked duck fly away and feeling heartbroken.

Chang Jinxiang pulled hard, grabbing Lin Yue's hand and snatching the envelope away. Lin's mother almost screamed, "I've been carefully keeping these things safe, thinking I'd give them to you after you've settled down and your life is stable. I meant well, you can't be ungrateful!"

Seeing her reluctance, Lin Yue held the envelope out to her again. "If you're reluctant, then forget it. Actually, so many years have passed, it doesn't matter whether you look for it or not. I'm not a child who needs to find a mother to nurse."

Lin's mother's expression stiffened. Afraid that her daughter would change her mind, she pulled Lin Erdan outside, saying, "Once you've said it, you can't take it back. I'm going to pick up Lin Yue now."

From the moment Lin Erdan entered the ward, he stared longingly at the fruits and pastries on the cabinet. His sister used to give him all the good food she had, and he was sure she would do the same now.

After waiting for a long time without Lin Yue making any move, he was unhappy as his mother pulled him away, since Lin Yue hadn't given him any food yet.

He shook off Lin's mother's arm, causing her to stumble and nearly fall flat on her face. "What are you doing, child?"

Lin's mother loves Lin Mei, but she loves her son even more. She also has deep-rooted old ideas, preferring sons to daughters. She hopes that Lin Mei will be successful and that she can help her younger brother in the future.

Let Lin Erdan not have to do anything, and he will have food, clothing, and a job from now on, and he will no longer have to live a hard life.

This was something she, as a mother, couldn't do, so she placed all her hopes on Lin Mei and was willing to spend money on her.

Lin Mei knew what they were thinking, so she never felt grateful. Instead, she took their efforts for granted, which fostered her selfish and self-serving personality, and she would stop at nothing to achieve her goals.

So even though Lin Erdan laid a hand on her, she couldn't bring herself to actually retaliate.

Lin Erdan stood with his hands on his hips in front of Lin Yue's hospital bed, angrily shouting, "Lin Yue, I've been here for so long, and you haven't even given me any food from the cabinet. You're so inconsiderate!"

Pack everything into my pockets, I want to take it home to eat. Mom said, everything you have is mine, including the good food.

Lin Yue looked at his hooligan-like appearance and laughed in anger, "The food is mine, I don't want to give it to you."

Lin Erdan was even angrier. He pointed at Lin Yue and cursed, "Mother was right. You're an ingrate. You don't care about me anymore after you got married. Mother said that I'm the only boy in the family, and everything should be taken care of for me."

"You're just a girl, a worthless life. Eating this is a waste. Give me the food now, or I'll have my mother beat you to death."

With a "smack," Lin Erdan was slapped by Chang Jinxiang, and his body fell to the ground.

Before he could react, he covered his face and stared wide-eyed at Chang Jinxiang, "You dare hit me? Who do you think you are? You're just a demoted capitalist who married a worthless woman."

Chang Jinxiang raised his hand again, which frightened Lin's mother so much that she quickly stood in front of her son. "Why are you hitting my son? He is the lifeblood of our family. If you hurt him, I will never forgive you."

Lin's mother didn't interfere when she saw Lin Erdan cursing, because that's what she thought too. She wanted Lin Erdan to vent his anger and also to vent her own frustration. She figured Liang and the others wouldn't bother with a child.

Unexpectedly, Chang Jinxiang directly attacked, and the force was so great that five large finger marks swelled up on Lin Erdan's face, turning red and purple.

When Lin Erdan saw that her mother was standing up for her, she burst into tears, "Mother, he hit me, you hit him, you beat them all to death."

Lin's mother looked at the finger marks on Lin Erdan's face with heartache. When she touched them, Lin Erdan cried even harder.

She glared fiercely at Chang Jinxiang and immediately cursed, "You heartless bastard, look what you've done to my son's face! Are you trying to kill him? I'm going to report you to the police station!"

Chang Jinxiang patted the corner of his clothes with the hand that had hit people before, his eyes filled with disgust. "You don't know how to discipline your son? I'll do it for you. He's so young, yet he speaks such vile and ill-mannered words. I let him off easy by hitting him. Do you want to try something else?"

Lin's mother turned to look outside and saw someone coming over. She shouted at the top of her lungs, "What kind of man are you, bullying us orphans and widows? Erdan wasn't wrong. What's the use of her eating and drinking well if she's just a little girl?"

"She's become unrecognizable to her family after getting married! Everyone come quick, the son-in-law is bullying his mother-in-law and brother-in-law!"

Lin Yue snorted coldly, "Are you sure you want to shout here? Let everyone see your son make a fool of himself? The longer you linger here, the more Lin Mei will suffer inside."

I've heard that the police station only holds the most heinous criminals, people who have done countless evil deeds. They have no moral compass. Lin Mei, you're just a young girl; will you find a son-in-law you'll be satisfied with while you're in there?"

Lin's mother spat at Lin Yue, "Pah! You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth. Lin Mei is a sensible and ambitious girl, unlike you who is shameless and sleeps around with men."

"Lin Yue, don't be so smug. Wait until Chang Jinxiang gets tired of you and throws you away like trash, then see how you come crying back to me begging for my forgiveness."

Her gaze towards Chang Jinxiang grew even colder. She grabbed Lin Erdan and ran out of the ward. Lin Erdan shouted unwillingly, "I haven't taken anything yet, my food!"

Lin's mother scolded him angrily, "What are you eating? All you know is eating. You've already been beaten and you're still eating."

Their voices faded into the distance. Chang Jinxiang walked to the bedside and looked at Lin Yue, "Are we just going to let Lin Mei go like this?"

Lin Yue stared at the envelope. "It's unlikely that Lin Mei will be sent to jail. It's better to take this opportunity to negotiate. I was just trying my luck, but I didn't expect her to actually have these things."

Her expression was somber. From childhood, only her grandmother doted on her, but this affection was based on her grandmother's indebtedness to her. In a sense, she had only herself growing up and had no relatives.

Now that her biological parents' belongings are right in front of her, she doesn't want to open them. So many years have passed; the girl who was switched at birth should be doing quite well.

Looking back now would only ruin someone else's life; what's the point?

She smiled, wiped away her tears, and handed the envelope to Chang Jinxiang. "Keep this for me. I don't want to read it now. Give it to me when I want to."