Back To The 80s-Chapter 209: The Truth _1

The next morning, even before Jiujiu departed for school, Jin Xueping and Zhuang Shuxian had their driver deliver them to their house, making Gu Xiaobei sigh. They must have travelled from late into the night to reach so early in the morning.

Upon entering the house, Jin Xueping saw Jiujiu, who was seated at the table enjoying a meal. His eyes welled up with emotion when Jiujiu turned to look at him, exclaiming, "Yes, the resemblance... indeed, it’s there..."

Zhuang Shuxian walked over to sit next to Jiujiu, pointing at Jin Xueping, she said, "This is your grandfather, Jiujiu. Quickly, call him ’grandfather.’"

Jin Xueping was a bit nervous as he watched Jiujiu, his eyes brimming with anticipation.

"Grandfather." Jiujiu called out obediently.

Jin Xueping’s eyes grew moist and he often nodded, "Ah, good girl, Jiujiu." After saying those words, he sat next to Jiujiu on the other side.

Gu Xiaobei sighed, it seemed they would have to visit Chen Family’s house today to ascertain Jiujiu’s true ancestry. He stepped out to inform Xiaodong to take a leave of absence for Jiujiu.

Lu Zhanguo received a phone call from the guard and came over too, he decided to accompany Gu Xiaobei to Chen Family’s house. After all, given Jin Xueping’s status, should anything happen, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to intervene directly.

After finishing breakfast, the party proceeded to Chen Family’s house. On their way, they encountered Chen Gang who also didn’t want to go to school but insisted on accompanying them back to see the situation.

Chen Qiang was at home that day and was dumbstruck watching everyone who stepped in. Even though Jin Xueping was in his fifties, he naturally exuded an aura of authority, stemming from his years in power. Zhuang Shuxian and Jiujiu were standing next to him.

Lu Zhanguo stood coldly at the back, resembling a frost-laden pine cone in the dead of winter.

"What’s the matter... what can I do for you?" Chen Qiang asked nervously, fidgeting with his hands.

"We’d like to speak with your mother. Ask her a few questions." Jin Xueping started.

"Oh... Please, come in." Chen Qiang hurriedly ushered them into the Chen Family’s house.

The stench inside the Chen Family’s house was even stronger, making Gu Xiaobei feel extremely nauseous. Suppressing his urge to retch, he chose to stand by the side.

Chen Shiv sat on the bed, stunned at the people who had walked in. Not giving her a chance to recover, Jin Xueping asked directly, "Where did you pick up Jiujiu from?"

Chen Shiv’s face froze with a flash of panic in her eyes, "What do you mean by putting it like I picked her up? Jiujiu... I gave birth to her." Her voice lacked conviction.

Having spent a long time in the world of politics, Jin Xueping had interacted with all kinds. Thus, he dove straight to the point, catching Chen Shiv off guard. Of course, if she had adopted Jiujiu with good intentions, he would’ve been grateful. However, if there were other ulterior motives, he would not let her off lightly.

"Stop lying and tell us the truth!" Zhuang Shuxian said sternly, angry at the thoughts of the kind of abuse Jiujiu had to endure under this roof.

"Jiujiu, Jiujiu is..." Chen Shiv, looking unwell, hesitated.

Li Xianglan, arms crossed, smirked from the side, "Isn’t Jiujiu the child of the woman you sold?"

"No, it’s not true, Jiujiu is my own daughter," Chen Shiv frantically denied, uncontrollably pulling her body towards the bed.

Sold?! On hearing this, everyone gasped, Zhuang Shuxian was practically on the verge of exploding with rage, "What about Xuerong? What have you done to Xuerong?" she demanded.

"It wasn’t me, I didn’t do anything," Chen Shiv started an intense rebuttal, waving her hands.

Jin Xueping’s patience had come to an end, his face as icy as frost, he sternly said, "You better confess everything, if not the consequences will be beyond your capabilities."

Gu Xiaobei quickly instructed Chen Gang to take Jiujiu away. Cruel facts were better kept away from the knowledge of children.

After stammering for a long while, Chen Shiv finally revealed the truth about what happened.

Years ago, with a swollen belly, Xuerong dared not go to where crowds were. She instead found solace in the deserted mountains and ultimately ended up at the Chen Family’s property.

At her last breath, Xuerong collapsed at the Chen Family’s gate. She pleaded with Chen Ergou of the Chen Family to give her a bite to eat so that she could save the child in her belly. In return for this favor, she was willing to work as hard as a donkey or a horse.

Chen Ergou saw that Xuerong was emaciated, but there was still a bit of beauty left in her. This stirred devious thoughts in his mind.

He asked the Chen Family to make a millet soup for Xuerong. Afterwards, Xuerong thus found temporary shelter at the Chen Family.

At that time, everyone was living in hardship due to the collective economy. Each family was rationed food per head on a daily basis. With Xuerong added into the mix, that was one more mouth to feed, and no other family in the village was willing to spare an extra mouthful.

The Chen Family could only take a bit of food they were given each day, add some water to it, and give it to Xuerong. It wasn’t enough to fill someone up, but it was enough to keep someone alive.

People from these poor, remote areas had deeply conservative and backward thoughts. They resented Xuerong, who had fled while being pregnant, feeling as if she was a jinx.

During the last lunar month, Xuerong gave birth to Jiujiu, but she had a difficult labor as Jiujiu was a breech baby. Superstitious folks claimed this was a sign of prosperity because he was "born stepping on a lotus".

Aunt Wang, who helped with the delivery, took pity on the mother and daughter. She was afraid that people would take issue with Jiujiu in the future, so she stated that Jiujiu was a celestial child from the Goddess of Mercy, born stepping on a lotus. He would surely herald good luck for their village.

Upon hearing this, the villagers stopped their grumbling, fearing they would incur the wrath of the Goddess of Mercy.

After giving birth to Jiujiu, and before she was fully recovered, Chen Ergou proposed to Xuerong that she marry into the Zhu Family located thirty miles away. The Zhu Family, three generations of impoverished farmers, had an intellectually disabled son. They were willing to pay thirty dollars to have Xuerong as their daughter-in-law. Their only stipulation was that she couldn’t take Jiujiu with her.

Xuerong knew that if she didn’t agree to the marriage, Chen Ergou would not spare her. Moreover, it was the coldest part of the winter and Jiujiu was only ten days old, so it was not realistic to run away with him. Her only condition was that the Chen Family would raise her child.

Chen Ergou happily agreed and arranged for Xuerong’s wedding with the Zhu Family.

Xuerong saw the Chen Family as weak, but they were still good-hearted people. She knelt down, pleading with the Chen Family to ensure Jiujiu survived and handed over her locket as a protective charm for Jiujiu.

The night Xuerong was married off, she stabbed the Zhu Family’s intellectually disabled son and was nowhere to be found afterward. Some said they saw her footprints near the cliff in the snow, while others claimed she had run deep into the forest...

Later, the Zhu Family came looking and caused a huge uproar, but Chen Ergou insisted that their missing daughter-in-law was no longer his responsibility after she had been sent to their bridal chamber.

Out of anger over this incident, Chen Ergou considered abandoning Jiujiu, but it turned out that his own twin sons contracted smallpox. Aunt Wang said it was because they had offended the Goddess of Mercy.

Upon remembering what Aunt Wang had said about Jiujiu being a celestial child of the Goddess of Mercy, Chen Ergou didn’t dare continue with his intention to abandon him. However, he treated Jiujiu with indifference, giving him the makeshift name Jiujiu.

When the Chen Family’s twin sons were stillborn, the Chen Family believed it to be retribution and started showing some affection towards Jiujiu.

A few days after Li Xianglan married into the family, Chen Ergou and his third son were killed in a rock-blasting accident in the mountains.

Li Xianglan had heard of Jiujiu’s backstory and did not look favorably upon him when she moved in.

Later, the Chen Family’s wife fell ill and became bedridden. In addition, during the land redistribution process, Jiujiu was not allocated any land. This led Li Xianglan, feeling that Jiujiu was not a celestial child but a jinx, and that he was eating without working, to grow even less fond of Jiujiu.

Every day, she would treat Jiujiu more cruelly. She would order him to bring water for her to wash her face early in the morning and to wash her feet at night.

The slightest dissatisfaction would result in her beating Jiujiu severely.

With tears streaming down her face, Mrs. Chen finished recounting the entire story, repeating all the ways Li Xianglan had mistreated Jiujiu.

"I’m sorry... I had no choice... I have no control over this. I never had any ill intentions towards Jiujiu... really." Mrs. Chen said with tears choking her sobs.