Chapter 4: Sisters

Evening was falling.

Second Sister Li Lan returned, carrying a basket of pig fodder on her shoulder.

As expected, she hadn’t escaped the sudden downpour. Her drenched clothes clung tightly to her graceful figure, perfectly outlining the rounded contours of her upper body and the flawless shape of her lower half.

Zhang Zhiyong only managed a quick glance before Li Lan’s sharp eyes caught him.

She stood still, right hand gripping a sickle used for cutting pig fodder, its blade still dripping rainwater, staring at him with a gaze as cold as death.

This fool, who claimed to fear neither heaven nor earth, dared to fight wolves in the mountains and bite dogs on the ground, yet was terrified of beautiful women.

The more attractive the woman, the more he dreaded her. It was truly strange.

Because of this flaw, in his past life, this idiot suffered greatly at the hands of women.

Unable to withstand Li Lan’s fierce aura, Zhang Zhiyong, who had been beaten by her since childhood, never overcame the terrifying shadow of his youth. His heart quivered, and he chose to run away.

Li Heng called from behind, “Old Yong, it’s almost mealtime. Eat dinner before you go.”

Zhang Zhiyong fled in panic, trembling as he didn’t even look back. “Eat dinner? What for? Better to save my life first!”

With Zhang Zhiyong gone, the main room was left with just the two siblings staring at each other.

Speaking of which, although Li Heng and Li Lan were biological siblings, their childhood relationship was far from harmonious.

Living under the same roof, they often didn’t speak to each other.

The reason was simple. From a young age, Li Lan felt their mother, Tian Xiao’e, favored boys over girls and was biased toward her brother. Whenever there was good food, it was always given to Li Heng first.

If there was plenty, it was fine—if Li Heng didn’t finish, she could pick up what was left; but if there wasn’t enough, she could only watch helplessly.

As time went by, her little universe exploded completely.

If Tian Xiao’e was home, Li Lan would purposely provoke Li Heng when she was in a bad mood, waiting for him to curse, then naturally giving him a good beating.

If their parents weren’t home, well! She wouldn’t even bother pretending—just find any excuse to hit him.

Li Heng wasn’t a pushover either; when beaten, he fought back, but it was useless.

Because girls grew faster and Li Lan was older, there was always a height difference, and he was brutally suppressed every time. He endured a bitter heartache.

This continued for many years until she entered middle school and began to restrain herself.

But due to the weak foundation of their sibling bond in earlier years, they remained distant throughout their entire secondary school life.

Back then, he didn’t understand why second sister always bullied him.

It was only later, when grown up, that he realized: once they left Shangwan Village, Li Lan was always graceful and tactful with outsiders, emotionally intelligent to the max. But with their mother, her greatest wish was to receive an equal share of maternal love.

Yet in this era plagued by feudal thoughts, in this poor, remote backwater, how incredibly difficult it was to gain that equal love.

So much so that even in later years, well past fifty, she would occasionally bring it up to complain.

Their relationship’s turning point came after they graduated from university, around 1996.

At that time, Li Heng, working in the big city, wanted to buy a house and settle down, but was financially tight and couldn’t make it happen.

When Li Lan learned this, she packed a black bag and took the train to send him 80,000 yuan.

In 1996, that was an enormous sum for most families!

And it came from second sister!

Not only did it solve his urgent problem, but it also made a deep impact on his heart.

In his past life, Li Heng always wanted to find a chance to repay her, but she never accepted it.

It wasn’t until her 35th birthday, after drinking too much, that she drunkenly confessed to Li Heng: “I’m sorry for how I treated you when we were kids. It was my fault.”

As memories of the past flashed through his mind like a movie reel, Li Heng, who had long since resolved his inner knot, took the initiative to speak:

“Second sister, go change your clothes. It’s cold; don’t catch a cold.”

???

A series of question marks appeared on Li Lan’s forehead. She stared at Li Heng sideways, silently pondering:

What nerve had he lost today, daring to speak to her first?

Had he been beaten silly?

Or had her persistent beatings somehow built affection?

In the past, he would always turn away and pretend not to see her. How was it that today he even showed concern?

This scene was truly a rare bloom, unprecedented.

Li Lan felt something was off but couldn’t pinpoint what.

After watching him for a while and seeing the sincerity in his expression, she relaxed and, shedding her usual coldness, asked, “Where did Mom and Dad go?”

Li Heng replied, “Uncle Chen came over in person to call them.”

Li Lan turned her head and looked at him as if he were a fool. “Mom suffered so much humiliation from the Chen family on your behalf, and you still call him Uncle Chen?”

Wow, such sharp hostility!

This was the Li Lan she remembered—righteous and clear-cut in love and hate, able to remember anyone who had crossed the Li family for life.

However, in her past life, Chen Gaoyuan had always treated her well, so she really couldn’t bring herself to call him by name as Li Lan did.

Seeing her brother silent, Li Lan curled her lips and bitingly scolded, “Useless fool, a bunch of spineless cowards!”

Li Heng was speechless. Now, even his own parents were scolded.

When Li Lan finished her bath and came out, he had already washed the rice and begun cooking.

With their parents out, no one to stop him, Li Heng, who hadn’t eaten meat for a long time, bit the bullet and cut down half a pound of fatty cured pork.

After all, these days, eating nothing but sweet potato and corn made his throat sore and, more importantly, offered little nutrition and wasn’t filling. He was perpetually hungry and weak.

He washed the half-pound of cured pork, sliced it into translucent thin pieces, and stir-fried a large bowlful with smoked dried bamboo shoots and garlic leaves.

That cured pork was the treasure that Tian Xiao’e had kept to exchange for money—a lifeline, rarely eaten, perhaps only a few times a year. Seeing her brother waste it like this, Li Lan instinctively wanted to stop him.

But she was a foodie herself and more covetous of the cured meat than anyone. Ultimately, she swallowed her words, yielding to the enticing aroma.

Her heart was even harsher than Li Heng’s. Without hesitation, she bent down, scooped up a handful of black soot from under the stove, and rubbed it onto the fresh white cut surface.

That way, it wouldn’t be noticeable.

Still uneasy, she climbed onto the stove, moved the shortened piece of cured meat to a darker corner, and placed a larger piece in front to shield it.

“They’re slaughtering pigs over at the Chen family. They have meat to eat. We’re just using our brains for study expenses; a little bit won’t hurt.”

She muttered to herself as she jumped down from the stove. It sounded like she was comforting herself, but also like she was telling Li Heng.

Li Heng understood—this sister never wasted words. The goal was to unite their front and not get caught.

According to her plan, at least they needed to hold out until school started.

Once they were back at school, far away and free, even if Tian Xiao’e found out they were sneaking food, there would be nothing she could do.

ps: Please support with monthly votes! Please bookmark and follow!