Rebirth Counterattack with Space

Upon hearing Lu Yun say this and seeing her expression, Zhang Min felt as if she had plunged into an icy pit. Her grip on Lu Yun’s hand tightened further, her body swayed, and her face bore a smile that was not quite a smile, her voice a cry that was not quite a cry, "Is it that they are no longer here? When did this happen?"

"I knew I couldn’t hide it," Lu Yun continued with a hard scalp, "Shitou’s mother passed away at his birth, and his father—about when he was six or seven years old—also died of illness."

"—Was Shitou’s mother the girl from that family?" Zhang Min eventually managed to suppress her overwhelming grief and asked with bitterness.

"No."

Lu Yun barely dared to look into Zhang Min’s eyes, cursing how slowly time passed. Such a tragic past would sadden anyone who heard it, yet she had to recount it to a mother.

"That family, after adopting Shitou’s father, didn’t wait long to have their own son."

"..."

After another bout of silence, the extreme heartache made Zhang Min’s eyes feel dry, yet she couldn’t shed any tears. She dared not imagine how that family, who initially adopted Shaojie and then had their own child, treated him?

Surely they went from treasuring him to despising him? Such a contrast must have been very painful for Shaojie to adapt to...

She closed her eyes in agony, feeling as if her heart was ripped apart, but still, with a trace of extravagant hope, she asked with difficulty, "Did they, treat him well?"

"People in the village talk about the past and say that Shitou’s father had a very hard childhood."

Lu Yun hesitated for a moment, "But some also say, who didn’t have a tough time back then? Shitou’s father was smart and capable, and was recognized in the village as a handsome man."

Zhang Min’s lower lip oozed out strands of fresh red, she didn’t feel the pain at all, instead, biting down even harder. Only the sensation of physical pain could slightly distract her from the agony in her heart and make her feel a bit better.

"What, what kind of person was his mother?"

Zhang Min’s voice carried despair, how could such a family be willing to spend the money for Shaojie to marry a good woman? She feared hearing something bad from Lu Yun’s mouth, yet she couldn’t resist wanting to know about the daughter-in-law she had never met from her long-lost eldest son.

"Shitou’s mother was a good person; people in the village still praise her beauty when she was young. Unfortunately, she also led a hard life; her mother died early, her father remarried, and she was abused and mistreated by her stepmother. Her father turned a blind eye... They knew each other from childhood, and as they grew older, despite everything, they wanted to be together. They had a very good, very strong feeling for each other."

Lu Yun remembered how the villagers expressed their sorrow when talking about Shitou’s mother.

"Aren’t they both children of misfortune, able to empathize with each other?"

Zhang Min’s tears finally spilled out, and she felt a bit reassured. She imagined the situation—those two young people with similar fates, unable to feel the warmth of the world, leaning on each other and drawing warmth from one another.

Poor child, in his short life, he at least experienced love and being loved.

But she immediately became doubtful again, "Shitou’s mother was so beautiful, how could she possibly end up marrying Shaojie in the end? Would her father and stepmother agree?" Zhang Min didn’t believe for a second that someone had suddenly developed a conscience and developed a compassionate heart, taking pity on the two.

"Shitou’s mother’s biological father and stepmother had already found her a match, but Shitou’s mother had a fierce temperament; failing in her rebellion, she slashed several scars on one side of her face." As the saying goes, the older the ginger, the spicier it gets, nothing could be hidden from her, and Lu Yun couldn’t help but feel emotional.

"..."

Zhang Min’s heart was filled with mixed feelings, feeling a deep fondness and an added admiration for that daughter-in-law she had never met.

Ding Luoluo’s mouth fell open in shock, similarly feeling an instant admiration for her Aunt whom she had never met. How much courage must a woman have, and to what extent must she love her partner, to self-mutilate just to stay by their side?

"But in the end, Shitou’s father still paid a great price to marry Shitou’s mother. However, it was agreed between both parties that the families would sever ties completely, never to associate with each other again." Lu Yun felt like sighing again, she had sighed countless times in this brief span.

"Now, the family members on Shitou’s mother’s side are all still alive, his maternal grandfather, step-grandmother, and several uncles, aunts, and maternal aunts all want to repair the relationship with him, but Shitou has ignored them. Later, out of fear that their disturbances would affect Shitou, Dad simply put them to work in the Lu Group to keep an eye on them, only assigning them very low positions."

"Unfortunately, Shitou’s mother had a difficult childbirth, and his father also fell very ill without proper recovery. In the end, barely making it until Shitou was six or seven years old, he couldn’t hold on any longer."

Lu Yun spoke with sadness and wistfulness in her tone, "If Shitou’s mother hadn’t had a difficult labor, perhaps both of them could have waited to see these better days."

"Yes... if only Shitou’s mother hadn’t had a difficult labor, those people..."

Zhang Min’s breath caught in her chest, and seeing her look somewhat unwell, Ding Luoluo quickly handed her the bottle of medicine from Lu Yun, and Zhang Min took several deep inhales before she felt a bit better. "Good child, tell me more about Shitou’s childhood."

Tears already streaked Ding Luoluo’s face, she also looked towards Lu Yun at her words.

"Shitou’s childhood--"

Lu Yun’s face softened involuntarily as she talked about Shitou, "Our place was near the mountains, and as the saying goes, we lived off the mountain. It was too remote for outsiders to care about, and with my grandfather serving as the brigade leader and looking out for everyone, people in our village were particularly united. Privately, everyone would clear more land to plant crops, or sneak up into the mountains to hunt, all without snitching on each other.

So, even during the hardest times, our village never had reports of anyone starving to death.

At that time, Shitou lived with his uncle and aunt, often going from hunger to satiety, he would have to go out and find food for himself when he was extremely hungry. Unfortunately, being small, aside from digging up wild vegetables and cooking them in a broken pot, he could do almost nothing else. My father saw this and couldn’t turn a blind eye, so he occasionally gave him something to eat, and Shitou then clung to my father.

I heard from my father that at that time, seeing the pitiful state of Shitou, he couldn’t bear to ignore him. Later, the two of them would often go into the mountains together to look for food. To this day, my father bears a scar on his face, a reminder of those times in the mountains."

Zhang Min couldn’t help but feel a wave of heartache, with the ability to grow crops by the mountains, and the possessions left by his parents, how much could such a little child eat? Yet, he still had to go to the extent of finding his own food when he was too hungry to bear.

It showed just how cruel that family was.