Chapter 406: The 90s Contrast System (9)

The more Zhou Ru thought about it, the angrier she became, and she didn't even call this daughter for dinner.

After finishing her meal, however, she helped carry the bags and parcels to send Zhu Meijiao to the town to catch the bus, and upon returning, she huffed and puffed as she climbed the ladder to the attic.

"You dead girl, what are you sleeping for in the middle of the day! You've been out for a year, why have you become so lazy?"

"Get up! Mom has some serious things to discuss with you!"

"It was agreed that this backpack was for Meijiao, so why did you put it on? You made Meijiao feel uncomfortable for half the day. Hurry up and wash it clean so she can use it as a school bag next semester."

"And where did you buy your New Year's clothes? If you can return them, go return them! Such an expensive down jacket, and you actually bought a white one—are you planning to never do any housework again?"

"If you really can't return it, then exchange it for a size Meijiao can wear. Small or large, it's the same price; what a waste to buy a small size! It's not like you don't have clothes to wear; aren't you envious of that set of cotton-padded clothes I made for Meijiao last year? I'll alter the size later and let you wear it, satisfied now?"

"You shouldn't be spending the money you have left recklessly; how much is left? Give it to Mom, Mom will keep it safe for you."

Xie Yang: "???"

Is there something wrong with this woman?

The original body is her own daughter, right?

Could it be that she was adopted?

Is Zhu Meijiao actually her biological daughter?

【...】

The Main System crashed for a few seconds, nearly having its CPU burned out by the Host's suspicion, and hurriedly re-checked everything.

Fortunately, the results proved it hadn't made a mistake.

【Host, the body you are inhabiting is indeed the biological daughter of Zhou Ru and Xie Lei; Zhu Meijiao has no blood relation to Zhou Ru whatsoever.】

Xie Yang: "..."

Then that can only mean this biological mother, Zhou Ru, has something wrong with her brain.

"You dead girl, are you pretending not to hear me on purpose? You've been out for a year, have your wings hardened? You don't even listen to me anymore?"

Seeing her daughter not making a sound, Zhou Ru's anger flared up, and she raised her hand to swing a slap.

Xie Yang lifted her eyelids, reached out to clamp the other's wrist, and said eerily:

"I'm in a bad mood, don't provoke me. If you push me too far, don't blame me for burning this dilapidated shack to the ground; none of us will have it easy. Anyway, there's a high probability my illness can't be cured, and how many years I live depends on luck—it wouldn't be bad to drag a few people down with me before I die, so I won't be lonely on the road to the underworld."

"!!!"

Zhou Ru's pupils were filled with horror.

She thought to herself, has this dead girl gone crazy?

How dare she say such rebellious things about burning down the house?

And talking about dragging people down with her before she dies, to keep her company on the road to the underworld...

Could her illness really be that troublesome?

Was it not an exaggeration to avoid doing chores?

For the next few days, whenever Zhou Ru steered the conversation toward her salary or year-end bonus, Xie Yang would cast an eerie gaze over, as if reminding her of the conversation that happened in the attic that day.

It caused Zhou Ru to mention it a few times and then never dare to bring it up again.

She was terrified of angering the dead girl and having her actually set fire to the house.

In the past, she would never have believed that her dull and honest daughter would dare to do such a thing.

Now it seems that people with serious illnesses might truly undergo a drastic change in temperament.

The dead girl must feel she doesn't have many years left to live, so she's just given up on everything—not only does she dare to talk back to her family, but she's also stopped doing chores.

It's been a few days since she returned, and she's been lying in the attic the whole time, basking in the sun by the small south window during the day and sleeping soundly with the doors and windows closed at night, yet she never misses a single one of her three daily meals.

For the first two days, Zhou Ru was too angry and didn't make food for her daughter.

As a result, the dead girl actually pried open the cupboard.

On the first day, she cut up a small piece of lean meat Zhou Ru had saved for stir-frying meat sauce and boiled a pot of thick vegetable and shredded meat porridge; on the second day, she found the eggs Zhou Ru had specifically hidden, cracked three of them in one go, fried two scallion egg pancakes, and also boiled a pot of millet and red date porridge, never once mistreating her own stomach.

Those red dates were prepared by Zhou Ru for the New Year's sacrifices; when she opened the cupboard door and found half a bag missing, she was so angry she nearly had a heart attack.

Zhou Ru's heart ached terribly, so afterward, she had no choice but to call Xie Yang down for every meal.

But calling her was one thing; the food wasn't any better.

Zhu Meijiao lived at school and didn't come home, and the couple Zhou Ru and Zhu Weiguo rarely went to the market to buy groceries; if they did, they would just weigh a few taels of dried salted fish or buy a few blocks of fermented bean curd.

They would steam a pot of rice, steam a small dish of salted fish, and could finish a meal with just a small piece of dried salted fish.

The fermented bean curd was for eating with congee in the morning.

Besides fermented bean curd, there were also the pickled vegetables Zhou Ru made herself and the Fried Dough Sticks bought at the village entrance.

If Zhu Meijiao were at home, Zhou Ru would even poach an egg or fry a sunny-side-up egg in the congee.

With Zhu Meijiao away, even the eggs were saved.

Only two Fried Dough Sticks were bought.

Zhu Weiguo ate one.

Glancing at the remaining Fried Dough Stick, Zhou Ru said to Xie Yang, seemingly out of concern: "Can you eat Fried Dough Sticks with your illness? If you have dietary restrictions, you still need to watch your mouth."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than she saw Xie Yang pick up the Fried Dough Stick and take a big bite with an expressionless face.

Zhou Ru: "..."

She felt so stifled she wanted to scold this dead girl again.

Xie Yang was in a good mood; after breakfast, she put on her scarf and hat, tucked her hands into the slanted pockets on both sides of her down jacket, and strolled along the village road.

On sunny days, the attic was warm enough, but she couldn't stretch her body out.

It was boring to just lie there, so she decided to go out for a walk and stretch her limbs.

"Isn't that the drag-along from the old Zhu family? I heard she fainted on the train back, and after getting off the train, she stayed in the hospital for three or five days; she only came back the day before yesterday at noon. I don't know what kind of illness it is—it wouldn't be contagious, would it?"

"When she passed by just now, I saw her little face was sallow and yellow; her complexion is truly poor, but it shouldn't be contagious. Otherwise, Meifang and the others would have said something long ago."

"It's not an infectious disease; it seems to be related to the stomach. I heard from the little girl of the Old Yang family that something in the stomach is exceeding the limit, and it's quite troublesome to treat. She also said that if it's not treated now, it will develop into cancer in the future."

Hearing the word "cancer," the several women squatting at the river wharf to wash clothes changed color at the mention of it.

This is a terminal illness!

"How could it be so serious?"

"Does Old Zhu's wife know?"

"She must know, otherwise why wouldn't she assign work to her daughter? At this time in previous years, the busiest person in the Zhu Family was the tag-along brought by Zhou Ru. Sweeping and dusting, washing clothes and quilt covers, wiping glass windows—even the dry firewood was chopped by her."

"In my opinion, it was just worked out of her. At such a young age, she does all the chores. Didn't you hear Meifang and the others say that she is the most hardworking at the garment factory, and she takes home the most salary every month?"

"I was actually thinking of introducing her to my nephew on my mother's side; she's diligent and capable, and a decent person too. I didn't expect her to be sick, sigh..."

The cold wind blowing in her face carried the women's gossip. Faintly hearing the last sentence, Xie Yang had a face full of black lines.

This body is not even eighteen years old by nominal age; even if she weren't sick, isn't matchmaking a bit too early?

She couldn't help but feel glad that she went to the hospital for a full-body checkup as soon as she got off the train.

Now her ears are finally at peace, heh!

But then again, even without this incident, Zhou Ru likely wouldn't have urged her to go on matchdates and get married so early.

After all, there is still a high school student at home who only eats rice and produces nothing, and she would have to continue to support this rice weevil to take the college entrance exam and attend university later.

If she had married off early, who would provide for Zhu Meijiao to eat and drink well and attend high school and university without burden? Who would be this pure money-sending, tool-person, sucker?

Wasn't that exactly how it was in the original world?

It wasn't until Zhu Meijiao graduated from university, successfully found employment, and found a good husband's family that they saw the original body had no more utility value and just found a widower to marry her off to.

Thinking of the original body's ending in her previous life, Xie Yang felt that just eating a few meals without oil or water at the Zhu Family was still letting them off too easily.

Thus, she paused her steps, changed direction, and strolled toward the home of the professional chicken farmer in the village.