Step by step, a gentle breeze leads to a smooth path

After lunch, Mom asked Tingnan again, "Would you like to stay?"

Ting Nan was eating a soft, roasted sweet potato, watching the bamboo dragonfly in his uncle Song Wanli's hand slowly take shape and then fly away. His eyes were shining, and he nodded casually.

She had no idea that she was staying behind to be a "childbearer" for her eldest uncle. Her eldest and second uncles had both married, but neither had children yet.

I've had this idea before, but I just haven't had a suitable child.

My uncle, Song Wanli, married Yi Dani, a woman with intermittent neuroticism. They had two daughters who died in infancy, and then he didn't conceive for more than two years. He wanted to adopt a girl to guide him, and he was moved when he saw the well-behaved and cute little Tingnan.

The child is just over 2 years old and doesn't remember anything yet, and he is also her nephew, a quarter of her blood.

Song Xiuying lost both husbands and was struggling to raise her child alone. After discussing it with all three parties, they agreed before asking Zheng Tingnan—alas, he said he was just informing him.

My maternal uncle, Song Wanli, was very cute when he was young. At that time, my maternal grandfather's family was well-off, and there were many people around who flattered him.

It was common for Song Wanli to hog the baby, holding him in the "airplane hold," lifting him high, and even letting him stand in his palms to be held up... It was this precious baby in his palm that caused Song Wanli to twist his ankle and dislocate it.

The child could only cry and couldn't speak, so no one took it seriously. By the time the barefoot doctor examined him, it was too late and he couldn't be straightened. At that time, medical skills in the county were limited, and Song Wanli was unjustly made a lame man.

After Song Wanli became sensible, his temper grew worse day by day. He liked to hit people and throw things, and he never lifted a finger to do any farm work. Families who knew the area were unwilling to marry their daughters into the family to suffer mistreatment.

Grandma arranged for him to marry Yi Dani, who had been sick as a child.

Grandpa simply let his eldest son practice the trumpet, while he devoted himself to teaching his youngest son, Song Wanxing.

Song Wanxing's knowledge indeed progressed rapidly, but unfortunately he was born in a bad dynasty. The imperial examination for the title of Xiucai was canceled, and he returned to the village to become an accountant, which was easy and respectable.

Song Wanli was bitter inside, jealous and disgusted with his younger brother; the two brothers were outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds.

After their grandfather passed away, the two brothers immediately separated their households.

Seeing Xiao Tingnan nod, her older sister Zheng Xiangbei became anxious.

She knew her younger sister might not understand what staying meant, but what if she explained it to her? Take her back to live a hard life together? At least her grandmother's place had enough to eat.

Grandma and uncle are both blood relatives, so they shouldn't be too far apart, right?

The mother's questioning of her two-year-old sister was probably just a way of seeking psychological comfort.

Indeed, years later, my mother said, "I asked you, and you nodded yourself." People are all used to shirking responsibility.

Despite her reluctance to part with family, reality prevailed. While Ting Nan was playing, Song Xiuying hurriedly took Xiang Bei back home.

When they got home, the eldest brother found out and vehemently objected: "We must go to Grandma's house immediately and bring my sister back."

Song Xiuying asked with a wry smile, "How will we support them?"

“I worked hard to earn work points, and I gave her all the good food,” Zheng Xiangqian said, sticking out his neck.

Song Xiuying sat down: "Xiangqian, do you know how much money we owe? The expenses for your uncle and grandmother's funerals, I asked the village chief for work points to cover them. In the past two years, apart from our basic food, all our work points have been deducted and we still might not be able to pay it off."

Xiangqian, dejected, grabbed his hair and said, "Mom, is there really no way? That's our little sister. She's only two years old, and she always looks for Mom when she goes to sleep at night."

Song Xiuying choked up and said, "I didn't want to either, but I had no choice."

After a long silence, Song Xiuying said, "It's alright, that's her maternal grandmother's house. She'll be fine, she'll be fine." She said this to Zheng Xiangqian, but also to herself.

Zheng Xiangqian slapped himself hard across the face, hating himself for being useless.

For the next few days, Zheng Xiangqian hurriedly went out and wandered around aimlessly.

He told Zhibei, "I will work hard to earn money and bring Tingnan back before she forgets us."

Zheng Zhibei nodded firmly: "Brother, I'll go with you."

So when Song Xiuying tried to find him a partner, she couldn't find anyone. Even when she did meet someone, Zheng Xiangqian didn't say a kind word; he vowed, "I will never get married until I bring my sister back."

After dinner, Xiao Tingnan went into her grandmother's bedroom. She was a little scared because her sister and mother weren't around, and she wanted to cry.

The dim light of an oil lamp illuminated the sturdy wooden bed frame, where exquisite carvings bore the marks of time. The carvings on the bedposts were faintly visible, and the old, yellowed curtains that hung year-round shrouded the entire bed in a veil of mystery.

This bed is quite old; I heard it was part of my grandmother's dowry, but now this old object makes Tingnan even more afraid.

She turned her head and looked out through the small window. All she saw was darkness, dark trees, dark mountains. She felt like she was being swallowed by the darkness.

Ting Nan couldn't hold back anymore and cried, her sobs growing louder and louder.

Aunt Yi Dani ran over, leaned against the door frame, and grinned at her with her big yellow teeth.

The eldest uncle burst in, yelling, "What are you crying for? It's so noisy! Your mother doesn't want you anymore!" Little Tingnan was so frightened she hiccuped...

Finally, Grandma came over on her bound feet to comfort and lull Tingnan to sleep.

After waking up, Xiao Tingnan understood that her mother didn't want her anymore, she had a new mother, and a fierce father again.

Xiao Tingnan was very intelligent but also stubborn. She refused to change her address to "Dad" and "Mom" for many years.

But that couldn't stop the change of surname. In order for Tingnan to "recruit a younger brother" as soon as possible, her aunt got pregnant quickly and immediately registered her in the household register. From then on, she would be Song Tingnan.

In the countryside, there's no rush to register a child's household registration. Most children aren't registered at birth and are only registered by name before they reach school age. Now, she and her older siblings are completely separated from being on the same household register.