Reborn in the 90s, tearing apart scumbag men for the sake of women.

The villagers may have sharp tongues, but they are honest and kind.

After the village chief learned of her mother's death, he did not blame her for waking them from their sweet dreams in the middle of the night, and helped her with the funeral arrangements the next day.

Yes, it was the next day.

So that night, Zhou Songmei stumbled home again.

She changed her wet clothes and then slept beside her mother's body all night.

That night was so cold!

Even after changing my clothes, I'm still so cold!

Zhou Songmei didn't know if she had a fever or was just too cold; she finally drifted off to sleep after a long time.

The next day, after dawn, she was awakened by the light, ate a cold ear of corn, and then the village chief and the others came over.

Although Qianxing Village is very poor, there are still many customs and traditions even in poor places.

Zhou Songmei remembers that funerals in their area usually last for three days.

However, her mother only held the ceremony for one day, and that afternoon she hurriedly took her up the mountain and buried her in a place.

The village chief said there was no other way; if it lasted three days, it would disrupt too much farm work, and the villagers would definitely not agree.

Everyone who came to help with her mother's funeral was doing so voluntarily, so we can't ask for too much.

Zhou Songmei was very young at that time and had no say. She could only listen to the adults and do whatever they said.

On the afternoon of the third day, Uncle Song arrived, accompanied by another uncle.

Uncle Song said that was his childhood friend and told Zhou Songmei to call him Uncle Nie.

When Zhou Songmei first heard that name, she stared at him with wide eyes for a very long time.

She only looked away after Song Jianping said that it was impolite to stare at people like that.

She took Song Jianping and Nie Ergou to her mother's new grave.

It was just a mound of earth, and even her mother didn't have a proper coffin; she was just wrapped in a straw mat.

She remembered seeing other funerals in the village before, where the bodies were placed in a wooden box.

She even asked her mother what it was, and her mother said it was a coffin, which people put in for burial after they die.

As for why her mother didn't have a coffin, Zhou Songmei asked, but on the day of the funeral, the adults were all chatting and no one paid any attention to her.

This question had been lingering in Zhou Songmei's mind for a long time.

It wasn't until she went to school that she understood, even without asking anyone.

Because she saw an idiom—"wrapped in a straw mat."

When Song Jianping and Nie Ergou saw her mother's grave, they both cried very sadly.

She was even more heartbroken than Zhou Songmei.

After crying for a while, they took Zhou Songmei home.

Immediately afterwards, Song Jianping led Zhou Songmei to thank each household for their help, and also gave some money to the village chief and two neighbors next to their house, asking them to look after Zhou Songmei.

Of course, he also left her a lot of money and told her not to give it to anyone and to keep it safe for herself.

That day, only Zhou Songmei was running around with Song Jianping.

When they got home, they found that Nie Ergou had cleaned the house inside and out for her.

Song Jianping's eyes showed praise, and he also praised Nie Ergou for being sensible and observant.

But Zhou Songmei did not.

There was no praise for Nie Ergou, nor was there a thank you.

Song Jianping said that Zhou Songmei was impolite, but Nie Ergou didn't mind and laughed, saying that she was still young and didn't understand these things.

Zhou Songmei wanted to refute this, but she wasn't ignorant.

But in the end, she didn't say anything.

Song Jianping and Nie Ergou only stayed in Qianxing Village for one day, and they were leaving early the next morning.

Song Jianping promised to continue supporting Zhou Songmei.

Actually, when they were about to leave, Zhou Songmei cried and made a fuss, but Song Jianping insisted on leaving her in Qianxing Village.

Aside from this one thing, Song Jianping kept all his other promises.

The year after they left, Nie Ergou came again on New Year's Eve.

Zhou Songmei knew why he had come, and the two of them spent the New Year together.

Every year thereafter, Nie Ergou would come over to celebrate the New Year with her and occasionally give her some money.

Maybe two or three times in ten years!

However, I bring her some small gifts every year.

When I was little, it was a hair clip or a pencil case.

A slightly larger one might be a piece of clothing, a rubber band, or a schoolbag.

From those things and the money, Zhou Songmei could tell how Nie Ergou had fared that year.

However, these were all her innermost thoughts, and she never asked Nie Ergou about them.

Every time Nie Ergou left, he would only say one thing: "Don't tell your Uncle Song about me coming over for the New Year!"

Little Zhou Songmei has grown up just like that.

It wasn't until the winter of her senior year of high school that Zhou Songmei became pregnant and gave birth to a skinny little boy.

The moment Nie Ergou saw the child, he hit her for the first time.

Zhou Songmei was furious and questioned him, "What right do you have to hit me?"

"By..." Nie Ergou hesitated for a long time before swallowing his words back.

Although Nie Ergou hit her, he stayed in Qianxing Village for a long time that year.

He helped Zhou Songmei take care of her child and looked after them.

As soon as the baby turned one month old, they immediately moved away from Qianxing Village with Zhou Songmei.

Zhou Songmei was in her postpartum confinement period, but she could faintly hear the people around her gossiping, and the things they said were very unpleasant.

Nie Ergou was afraid she wouldn't be able to accept it, so after her postpartum period, he took her to rent a house in Yuning County.

Of course, Song Jianping took the money.

However, Song Jianping did not know at the time that Zhou Songmei had given birth out of wedlock and could no longer make a living in Qianxing Village.

Nie Ergou helped Zhou Songmei deceive Song Jianping, saying that the school was too far away and the journey would take too much time, so it would be better to rent a house near the school.

Renting a house in the county town doesn't cost much, so Song Jianping didn't ask any further questions.

It wasn't until after the college entrance exam results were released that Song Jianping discovered Zhou Songmei had already dropped out of school.

That time, Song Jianping returned to Yuning County after many years.

After finding Zhou Songmei, he threw a huge tantrum.

He was persuaded to stay by Nie Ergou.

Nie Ergou was slapped several times by Song Jianping, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

However, he kept smiling and didn't get angry with Song Jianping.

Later, Song Jianping left some money and left.

Zhou Songmei asked, "You just let him hit you like that? Didn't you even try to dodge?"

Nie Ergou said carelessly, "I know my older brother. He doesn't have much strength when he hits people, so it doesn't hurt. But he has a bad temper. Letting him vent his anger will make everything fine."

Zhou Songmei muttered, "You've already bled, doesn't it hurt?"

That was the first time Zhou Songmei had spoken to Nie Ergou on her own initiative. Her tone was full of concern, and Nie Ergou was very happy. He didn't feel any pain anymore.

That night, Nie Ergou was holding the child and trying to put him to sleep.

Zhou Songmei suddenly spoke up: "My mother told me before she died that you are my father."