Lin Zi rubbed her eyes. The house was built of yellow clay bricks. It was dilapidated yet spacious. The roof tiles blocked her view. Inside the spacious room, there was an old wooden bed, a faded dark red wooden table, a wooden stool with the legs secured by wooden boards, and a cabinet with peeling paint.
She lay on the bed, a corner of the quilt over her belly washed to the point of turning white. The sunlight shone in unabashedly, expressing its dominance. As a result, Lin Zi felt dizzy from the heat. However, this dilapidated house had been deeply hidden in her memories for many years. Seeing it now gave her an almost surreal feeling. She couldn't help but pinch herself.
"Ah..."
Lin Zi let out a hiss of pain. The pain coming from her body was very real. It wasn't a dream.
Since it wasn't a dream, she must have been reborn.
She struggled to sit up. As she did this, she heard the door creak open. Looking towards it, a familiar face from her memories came into focus. It was her younger brother, Lin Zi Ming.
Upon entering the door and seeing his sister sitting on the bed, Lin Zi Ming ran over excitedly. His young voice trembled, "Sister, I thought you wouldn't wake up ever again."
A few laughs tinged the edges of Lin Zi's moist eyes, but a single tear slowly trickled down. She stroked her brother's hair and said, "Zi Ming, your sister is fine. I just fell asleep."
"Many people in the village said you wouldn't wake up again," Lin Zi Ming raised his head, noticing the tear streaks on Lin Zi's face. Standing on his toes, he reached out and wiped them away, "Why is my sister crying?"
Just as Lin Zi was about to reply, she heard noises from outside.
Among them, she recognized the gentle and affectionate voice of her mother, Zhang Yuehua.
"Sis, you're here just in time. Come in and have some porridge!"
Another harsh female voice was particularly grating, shouting:
"Enough! No need for the pretenses, I'm here to collect the debt!"
Zhang Yuehua almost pleaded, "Sis, you know our family's situation. Can you give us a little more time?"
When Lin Zi heard that it was her aunt coming to collect a debt, she couldn't help but frown. She left Zi Ming in the room, telling him, "Stay here, don't go out," and then she strode out the door.
Outside the courtyard, one woman was imperious, and another woman was submissive, with a number of onlookers standing around.
Lin Zi's aunt, Zhang Yuehong, called out loudly, "Grace period? Lin Tianfeng has disappeared, Zi is gone as well, are you waiting for no one to be left in your family before you pay? Do I look like a fool to you?"
"You're talking nonsense!" Even the usually timid Zhang Yuehua began to shout, "My Zi is fine!"
"Enough, everyone knows that your Zi tried to take her own life by drowning…..."
Before the woman could finish, Zhang Yuehua pushed her, trying to make her leave, "Don't you dare speak about Zi! Just leave!"
"I can leave, but only after you pay me!" The bullish woman stood her ground, "If it weren't for our sisterhood, do you think I would extend the deadline till today? If I don't get my money today, don't even think about getting rid of me!"
"What a sisterhood!" A clear and firm voice rang out, causing the people outside to look towards the doorway. Lin Zi was stepping over the doorstep.
The overbearing woman who was so fierce just now was filled with astonishment: "Ah...Zi, you're awake?"
Lin Zi looked at the woman, a smile playing at the corners of her lips: "Aunt, thanks to your blessing, I'm doing well."
Zhang Yuehua, with tears in her eyes, stumbled forward to her daughter, pulling her into a tight embrace.
With her daughter truly and tangibly in her arms, Zhang Yuehua felt a weight lift off her heart. The tears brimming in her eyes were displaced by joy, "I knew it, I knew you would wake!"
Supporting her mother's shoulders, Lin Zi gently pushed her away and said with a smile, "Of course, aren't I your daughter? It won't be that easy for me to go and meet the King of Hell!"
Zhang Yuehua also laughed as she brushed strands of hair from Lin Zi's forehead, her tear-filled eyes radiating an intense wave of emotions.
Zhang Yuehong wasn't touched by the sight of the loving mother-daughter pair before her eyes, she coldly said, "Yuehua, Zi is okay now, you should be happy. Pay me and let me share in that happiness too!"
Just as Zhang Yuehua was about to speak, Lin Zi rushed to say, "Auntie, you really are playing the 'taking advantage of others' misfortunes' to the hilt!"
Back when their father had fallen and injured both his legs, the construction site's compensation plus their uncle's financial support was still not enough for the surgery, Zhang Yuehua had been forced to borrow money from her sister, Zhang Yuehong, tearfully and desperately begging for it.
Zhang Yuehong's eyebrows shot up, and she sternly said, "Zi, what you said is not right! I've already been good enough to your mother. I haven't even mentioned about interest for the years I've let the debt slide, and I'm just here to get back my own money!"
Lin Zi's gaze drifted over with an imperceptible indifference, looking straight at Zhang Yuehong and said, "Indeed, there's no one else who would be as good to my mother as you."
"Good to know!" Zhang Yuehong's face was smug, her nose practically skyward in her pride.
"You're just a bit older than my mom. You got married earlier. After your son weaned, you left him with my grandmother. My mom was still in school and she had to take him with her. Thanks to you, my mom had the chance to experience the challenges of motherhood early on," Lin Zi's voice was calm, but her words were resounding.
Zhang Yuehong glared at Lin Zi, "We both agreed to do those things. What's the point in bringing that up now?"
"Did you and my mom also agree when you poisoned all the chickens my grandmother was raising for my mother's maternity confinement?"
When my mother was expecting two of my brothers, my grandmother raised a bunch of chickens, specifically for my mother's maternity confinement. No one ever thought that before Zhang Yuehua's due date, Zhang Yuehong brought over a bag of rice, claiming the quality was poor and it got dirty, just perfect for feeding chickens.
Unexpectedly, the next day after the chickens ate the rice, only one tough-chick was still alive. The only surviving chicken was saved by Zhang Yuehua, and at her son's full month celebration, was cooked for the guests.
Later, it was discovered that the rice Zhang Yuehong brought was accidentally mixed with rat poison, and that was why she brought it.
"You lying brat!" Zhang Yuehong initially thought Lin Zi was going to praise her. She didn't expect her to dig up old stories, and incensed, she raised her hand to slap Lin Zi.
The onlookers hurried to stop her, but it was too late. The slap landed squarely on Lin Zi's face, leaving a red palm print on her fair complexion.
"Zi, are you okay?" Zhang Yuehua tenderly caressed her daughter's reddened face, then looked up in question, "Sis, Zi is still young, how could you?"
Zhang Yuehong, held back by others, shouted even louder, "She's so young yet she's slandering people. What will she become when she grows up? If you can't educate your daughter, let me do it for you!"
Letting go of her gentle demeanor, Zhang Yuehua said word by word, "My daughter, doesn't need you to interfere!"
