The first update, looking for pink tickets.

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"Mom, what trouble am I in? Didn’t I just break a teacup? It’s not even my fault." Lian Duoduo stubbornly replied to Lady Gu’s scolding with some indifference.

"I’m not talking about the teacup." Lady Gu looked at Lian Duoduo, "Duoduo, haven’t I told you? Things are different now than before. You can’t just act on impulse anymore."

"What did I do? I didn’t do anything." Lian Duoduo continued to argue.

"Don’t I know you? Tell me, when you held that cup of tea, were you trying to spill it on Manman?" Lady Gu looked at Lian Duoduo with some helplessness, "In front of your mom, you still won’t admit it?"

"So what if I admit it?" Lian Duoduo slightly lifted her chin and pouted, "I wanted to spill it on her. Why should I be working on the ground while she sits on the kang? Why do I have to wear these rags while she gets to wear such nice clothes? I can’t stand her. A country girl like her, where does she get such good fortune?"

As she said these words, Lian Duoduo began to grit her teeth.

"You..." Lady Gu looked at Lian Duoduo’s expression, frustrated by her inability to live up to expectations, raising her hand as if to hit Lian Duoduo. But in the end, her arm fell powerlessly. "Duoduo, how many times have I told you, why can’t you understand?"

"I understand, why wouldn’t I? Isn’t it just that their lives have improved while ours haven’t? I’m just not convinced." Lian Duoduo said resentfully.

"Even if you’re not convinced, you need to pretend you are. At the very least, don’t show it on your face for everyone to see." Lady Gu felt somewhat powerless but still patiently spoke to Lian Duoduo, "The few of us are currently at their mercy. I’ve taught you, when you’re beneath someone else’s roof, you have to keep your head down. For now, we need to endure, and later, when we don’t have to look up to anyone anymore, you can act however you want."

"Mom, can my father still become an official?" Lian Duoduo’s eyes lit up with hope as she looked up and asked Lady Gu.

"That, I’m afraid... I’m afraid not." Lady Gu hesitated but eventually spoke the truth. Because she had thought it through, it was better to let Lian Duoduo know the harsh reality than to let her harbor unrealistic fantasies and do foolish things.

"Then... what about Brother Jizu, can he?" Lian Duoduo asked again.

Lady Gu lowered her eyes, gave Lian Duoduo a deep glance, sighed, and then shook her head.

Lian Duoduo was stunned for a while. Although she had heard people talk about these matters often lately, she still held a bit of hope in her heart, needing repeated confirmation. At first, Lady Gu hadn’t given a definitive answer, but recently, all her answers had been the same negative.

"Then, Mom, we can still go to Sister Huahua’s home, right?" Lian Duoduo looked at Lady Gu hopefully and asked.

"You silly child." Lady Gu turned her head away, wiped her eyes with her sleeve, "Didn’t you remember how I told you? Your Sister Huahua is now living... sigh. We need to help your Sister Huahua first, and then she’ll bring us into the county town."

"...Do we really have to rely on Manman and the others? Can’t we find someone else? Do Manman and the others really have such capability?" Lian Duoduo asked a series of questions.

"That’s right." Lady Gu nodded repeatedly.

Lian Duoduo remained silent.

"Didn’t I tell you to find ways to get close to Manman? You’re not doing it for submission, but for our future better days, so that we can use her. Why are you so impatient, such a good chance today, and you didn’t take it, nearly causing trouble instead? If it wasn’t for your sister-in-law being there, if you really spilled the tea on Manman, have you thought about what would happen? If they said they wanted our lives, it would just be a word. Expecting them to help us, there wouldn’t be a chance." Lady Gu lowered her voice, scolding Lian Duoduo, "Duoduo, haven’t you had enough of this life yet?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"I’ve had enough, I’ve had more than enough." Lian Duoduo said, "In the future, I will definitely control myself."

Lady Gu sighed, reached out and touched Lian Duoduo’s hair, and both frowned.

Lian Duoduo frowned because the roughness of Lady Gu’s injured skin caught a few strands of her hair, pulling at her scalp painfully. Lady Gu frowned upon noticing Lian Duoduo’s hair was dry and yellow.

Her Duoduo had suffered, ever since returning from Taicang, she hadn’t eaten well or dressed warmly, and had always been scolded by Lady Zhou. Her Duoduo was still growing, Lady Gu felt distressed for her, and thinking about the children in the Fourth Household, who now looked so healthy because of better days, Lady Gu felt an unstoppable heartache.