CHAPTER 98: THE ORIGINS OF SU MEIMEI

At first, Jing Shu listened to their conversation as if they were just casually chatting. For example, the elder explained that his generation in the family all had ’Guo’ as part of their given names. His name was Su Guosheng, and Jing Shu’s mother’s father was Su Guoqiang.

But after all, how could Mrs. Jing have any real feelings for an elder she had never even met? Sending all these things was entirely out of respect for the two deceased elders.

However, as the conversation went on, it shifted towards Su Meimei’s direction. Most crucially, he began lecturing Uncle and Mrs. Jing like a concerned elder, causing Jing Shu to frown. So, the appearance of her nominal second maternal grandfather was really related to Su Meimei?

Even though they were distantly related by blood, why was Su Guosheng so concerned about Su Meimei’s affairs? In the dark, Jing Shu observed Su Meimei and Su Guosheng closely—both had broad faces, whereas Mrs. Jing and Uncle had oval faces.

An incredible thought arose in Jing Shu’s mind.

Mrs. Jing’s face darkened as she listened. When the final sentence was spoken, the fury in her chest finally ignited. "Uncle, whether we siblings are united is our business. Just take care of yourself.

I don’t care about a car worth over a hundred thousand; what I care about is that Su Meimei and her scoundrel boyfriend Sun Yinrui would rather cheat me of my money than lend me some. As for giving everyone black pigs, that was compensation for the money they lent me. If Su Meimei had lent me money, I’d certainly have saved one for her."

Su Meimei feigned grievance. "My dear sister, I never even drove that car, and now it isn’t even worth a bowl of white rice. If it weren’t for the hundred thousand I scraped together for you back then, you couldn’t have bought all those things. I actually gave ten thousand more than anyone else.

So, giving me one pig now is only right and proper, isn’t it? If Zhang Zhongyong hadn’t brought this up, I wouldn’t even have known you two were dividing up several pigs behind my back, your own sister! Now you just give away one ten-thousandth of a pig to appease the family’s only elder, and some damned pickled vegetables and marinated eggs. Brother-in-law, you work at a breeding farm. Getting eggs should be very easy for you, yet you only brought a few...

Uncle, after my parents passed, you’re all that’s left. You have to stand up for me; I’ve always been wholeheartedly good to them." Tears rolled down Su Meimei’s cheeks.

Su Guosheng, feeling the heat, unbuttoned his Zhongshan suit, no longer wanting to keep up appearances. He said, "You are all sisters; there are no grudges that cannot be overcome. Simply take a step back. Lan Zhi, since you still have pigs at home, why not give one to your sister? And I, this old man, will do you a favor by speaking with your boss to get you promoted to deputy director."

Mrs. Jing trembled faintly with unrestrained anger, at a loss for words, and Mr. Jing clenched his fists tightly.

"Tsk, tsk, Su Meimei, I think you’ve misunderstood something. Someone who has neither raised nor borne us presumes to dictate to us? On what grounds?

Enough with the act. You talk about being heartfelt? Then let me ask you, these things you served everyone, you claim they’re dried radishes? They were those free mushrooms from before, just leftovers that dried out over time, right?"

Jing Shu turned on her mobile phone flashlight and shone it on a cluster of dark food with mold spots. "And all these garlic sprouts and mushrooms on your balcony need a lot of water, right? There are hundreds of water bottles in your bedroom. Come everyone, let’s see."

Jing Shu pushed open the room she had just inspected. The flashlight illuminated piles of bottled water. "To have guests and not even offer a cup of water, not even turning on a light, and serving guests moldy mushrooms—that’s your way of being heartfelt? We certainly can’t endure that."

SMACK! Mrs. Jing fiercely slapped Su Meimei. "Su Meimei, I was wholeheartedly good to you, and you’ve let your conscience go to the dogs! How can you justify yourself to your elder brother and me?"

PUFFT! Su Meimei lost a tooth, and blood gushed from her nose. Within moments, her cheek swelled up significantly. She stared at Mrs. Jing in disbelief, and after a few seconds of stunned silence, she charged at her like a madwoman, only to be forcefully pushed to the ground by Mr. Jing with a THUD.

Having drunk from Spiritual Spring #4 for half a year, Mr. and Mrs. Jing might not have realized how strong they had become.

Su Guosheng stood up abruptly, agitated. "What are you trying to do? Do you want to rebel?"

"SOB SOB... Dad, did you see? This is exactly the kind of dependent and miserable life I’ve been living in their house! I don’t want to act anymore. Ever since I was little, I overheard them secretly saying why they kept me back then: ’One more child, one more mouth to feed.’ They never treated me as their own, and when they died, they left nothing for me. This even led to my in-laws disdaining me after I married. SOB SOB..."

Su Meimei’s words petrified everyone present, who seemed unable to process what they’d heard. Jing Shu squinted, her mind rapidly sifting through fragments of memories.

Su Meimei didn’t get up from the ground but began to wail, seemingly eager to recount all the grievances she had suffered over the years:

"Jing Shu reported the issue between Sun Yinrui and me. If I hadn’t contacted you, they would have killed me! Look, this is just how their family is! You always made me pretend to be part of their family. What’s the point of that anymore? Now that they bully me like this, what difference does it make if I’m biologically related or not?

"Those two old things definitely told them about my situation. They must have badmouthed me behind my back; otherwise, why would they treat me like this?"

Mrs. Jing was still in shock, seemingly unable to accept this flood of information. She trembled as she pointed at Su Meimei. "So you’ve known all along. That’s why you treated me that way? Now everything makes sense."

Uncle stood up and said in agony, "Su Meimei, people say that the grace of nurturing surpasses that of birth. Mom and Dad raised you for more than twenty years; how can you call them ’old things’?

Your situation... Mom and Dad never spoke of it. When you were brought here, you were just a few months old. I was already five and old enough to understand things, while Lan Zhi was only two and knew nothing. They couldn’t hide the truth from me, though I didn’t know where you were brought from. Lan Zhi knew even less. We’ve always treated you as our own sister. How can you say such ungrateful things?"

Jing Shu coughed slightly. If I am not mistaken, back in the day, Su Guosheng, during his time as an educated youth sent to the countryside, had a child with a local woman. But he was recalled right around then, and for the sake of his future, he abandoned Su Meimei, leaving her at our grandfather’s house to be raised. Is that right? So, no matter how you look at it, Su Meimei, you were a child abandoned by your biological father.

With that, everything made sense—how this butterfly effect came about. In her past life, Su Meimei lived comfortably without any life-threatening situations, so she probably resented her biological father for abandoning her to enjoy life alone; that’s why she never contacted him. But in this life, because she was almost killed by her in-laws, she had to ask for help.

In her past life, Uncle’s family was buried under a building during a massive earthquake in the third year of the apocalypse. This truth remained unknown, and it even made Mrs. Jing feel guilty for a lifetime.

Not their own flesh and blood, so it’s okay to be harsh, huh? Jing Shu felt a grim pleasure.