The Abandoned Daughter's Second Chance

Grandma was the quickest to react. "Xiaoju, are you saying you want to sleep in the same bed as Xiao Man tonight?" she asked.

"Yes. And not just tonight. From now on, while I’m living here, I’m sleeping with her!"

Xiao Man was speechless but kept quiet. All she wanted right now was for Xiaoju to pick up her bowl so they could start eating. Local village customs were strict; as a sign of respect, the hosts would wait for the guest to take the first bite before anyone else began to eat.

Even though Xiaoju was young, she was still a guest. Otherwise, Grandma wouldn’t be trying so hard to coax her into eating. If it were up to Xiao Man, she would have ignored her long ago.

Grandma coaxed her, "How about we eat first? Look, our house is so spacious now. We have several rooms and plenty of beds. You can sleep wherever you like!"

Xiaoju was stubborn. "I don’t like the other rooms. I like her room!"

Grandma said, "My room is about the same as Xiao Man’s. If you’d like, you can sleep in my room!"

"It’s not the same! Everything in her room is new!"

Grandma was at a loss for words.

Xiao Man couldn’t take it anymore. "It’s just sleeping! No one said you can’t. Are you really going to refuse to eat over this? You’re not a little kid. Do you have to be so dramatic?"

Xiaoju’s head snapped up, and she glared at Xiao Man. "If I didn’t get Grand-aunt’s permission, you definitely wouldn’t have let me sleep here!"

"Who says?"

"You!"

"When did I ever say that?"

"Even if you didn’t say it out loud, that’s what you’re thinking! Think about it yourself: since I walked in the door today, have you even paid any attention to me? You haven’t said a word to me. You just hate me and don’t want me to stay! You especially don’t want me sleeping with you!"

Xiao Man was speechless.

’A wild flurry of accusations can stun even a master,’ Xiao Man thought. This Liang Xiaoju’s talent for making a scene was really something else. She was actually at a loss for a reply.

But she wasn’t truly eleven years old, so she wasn’t about to bicker with a little girl, especially not when she was starving.

"Alright, you’re so smart, you know exactly what I’m thinking! So let’s eat. After dinner, you can do whatever you want. Grandma already said there are plenty of rooms in the house. Pick whichever one you like. Okay?"

Grandma didn’t say anything else, just gave a slight nod, her expression calm.

Only then was Liang Xiaoju willing to pick up her rice bowl. She was surprisingly polite and reserved, however, eating only plain rice without taking any of the other dishes. Since Grandma couldn’t see, Xiao Man acted on her behalf. She served Liang Xiaoju the first portion of food, then put a few servings on Grandma’s plate before finally starting to eat herself.

After dinner, Grandma and Liang Xiaoju chatted idly, asking about her family situation—the usual topics of conversation when relatives visit.

Xiao Man cleared the table and went to wash the dishes. While she was at it, she stuffed a couple of logs into the stove to heat a pot of water. Back when Xiao Man lived with Liu Fengying and Mo Guoqiang, she had used cold water to wash her face and bathe year-round. But now that she was with Grandma, even on the hottest days, Grandma disapproved of her using cold water. She would nag Xiao Man insistently to use warm water, saying that cold baths weren’t good for girls and that warm water had only benefits and no drawbacks.

Having lived a whole past life, Xiao Man naturally understood this reasoning. But the summers were just so hot that sometimes she couldn’t resist the cool and would secretly take a cold bath.

When it was time to bathe, Liang Xiaoju got stubborn again. No amount of coaxing could convince her to wash up. Xiao Man took out a new comb, Seagull-brand shampoo, and a bar of Shanghai-brand soap. She even offered her own new towel and a change of clothes that Granny Han had given her, but Xiaoju simply refused to bathe!

Faced with such a difficult Liang Xiaoju, Xiao Man was at her wit’s end. "It’s not the middle of winter," she said. "It’s so hot, you must have worked up more than a sweat today, right? Doesn’t it feel gross? If you don’t keep clean, who’s going to want to sleep with you?"

’If this girl still refuses to bathe, I’ll let her sleep alone,’ Xiao Man had already decided. ’I’ll just go sleep with Grandma!’

Grandma also tried to persuade her with a few more earnest words. Liang Xiaoju glanced at Xiao Man, then wrung her hands shyly. "I don’t want to wear old clothes," she mumbled. "I want to wear that new set of clothes hanging by the bed!"

Mo Xiaoman was speechless.

’Those are my new clothes, okay? I haven’t even been willing to wear them yet!’

Grandma refused flatly. "Absolutely not! Those were bought for Xiao Man. She needs to wear them to school when the semester starts!"

Liang Xiaoju’s eyes darted toward Grandma. "Grand-aunt, my grandma said you’d let me be your granddaughter. I’ll be living in this house from now on, and I’ll be going to school, too!"

Grandma replied coolly, "I thank your grandmother for her kind intentions, but your parents worked so hard to raise you. They would surely hate to part with you. You can come visit often when you have time. I have my own granddaughter. See? Xiao Man is my dear granddaughter, and our family is perfectly fine with just her."

Liang Xiaoju’s lip trembled, and she looked like she was about to cry. "I don’t want to go home! Our house is so small, there are only two rooms. There are six of us kids, plus Mom and Dad. It’s not enough space, but you have so many empty rooms here... At home, there’s always endless work to do, carrying this or that younger sibling on my back. My older brothers and sisters get new clothes, but I never do!"

Hearing Xiaoju’s words, Grandma said nothing more, only sighed.

Xiao Man felt it was even less her place to say anything. As things stood, she was indeed very lucky to have received Grandpa and Grandma’s protection and affection.

She compared her past-life self to Liang Xiaoju and felt that while Xiaoju’s life was hard and she endured poverty, she was still not as pitiable as she had been. After all, Liang Xiaoju was surrounded by her parents and siblings—family who cared for each other. She hadn’t been abandoned or trampled on. She was still able to hold on to her own personality, to say what she wanted, to willfully fight for what she desired. But where did the Xiao Man of her past life find such courage and confidence? From a young age, she had been trampled and tormented by Liu Fengying, her self-esteem ground to dust until she had no sense of self left.

Therefore, Mo Xiaoman felt she had no right to pity Liang Xiaoju. She would just have to endure Xiaoju’s jealousy, envy, and resentment.

People could be like that. You could coax them endlessly to no avail, but the moment Mo Xiaoman and Grandma gave up trying to persuade her and stopped caring whether she bathed or not, Liang Xiaoju took action herself. She took the metal bucket and washbasin that Xiao Man had finished with and left on the stone platform, went to the well to draw water, and began to wash. She even ran back twice to ask Xiao Man for the change of clothes, the Seagull shampoo, the soap, the towel, and the comb.

She ended up washing for over an hour, refusing to stop. Because she used cold well water directly instead of the warm water, Grandma worried she would catch a cold and get sick. She had to rush her five or six times before Xiaoju was finally done.

By the time her hair was dry, it was time for bed. Following Grandma’s instructions, Xiao Man securely closed the courtyard gate and checked all around. Then she helped Grandma back to her room to lie down and pulled the light switch. When she returned to her own room, Liang Xiaoju was already lying in the bed. Mo Xiaoman didn’t have a pillow yet, just a new pillow towel spread at the head of the bed, which Liang Xiaoju had already claimed. Mo Xiaoman didn’t mind. As long as the girl didn’t cause a fuss, all would be right with the world.

The two girls of the same age lay in bed together without saying a single word. Fortunately, the young fall asleep easily. Less than two minutes after closing their eyes, they had both drifted off to dreamland.