Reborn in '77, I have a job panel!

She stood up, said nothing, and walked out.

As they reached the door, Old Lady Sun finally spoke.

"If you're going to leave, then leave. Don't look back," the old woman said. "And don't come here again."

Sun Xinghua paused for a moment, then pushed open the door and went out without turning around.

It was already dark outside, and the sound of sporadic firecrackers could be heard in the distance.

She walked alone on the road back to the village, the cold wind stinging her face.

Sun Xinghua left her parents' home and walked alone on the dark village road for more than half an hour.

The wind stung her face, but she didn't even notice.

My mind is a mess; I can't understand anything, and I dare not think about anything.

As I walked to the village entrance, I could see my family's two dilapidated mud houses in the distance.

It was pitch black, not a single light could be seen.

Looking around, the Li family's lights were on, the Zhang family's lights were on, and the Zhao family's lights were on; every household was brightly lit. But her house stood there like a grave mound.

Sun Xinghua stood at the gate of the courtyard, stunned for a long time, before finally pushing the door open and going inside.

The room was as cold as an icebox.

The stove was cold, the kang (heated brick bed) was cold, and even the saliva was cold.

She sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), looking at the dark room, and suddenly felt like crying.

But the tears wouldn't fall.

Sun Xinghua was never a crybaby.

She was the youngest daughter at home, spoiled by her five older brothers and pampered by her parents, getting whatever she wanted.

After getting married, Wang Shoujun, despite his bad temper, listened to her.

In the village, who dares to mess with her? Who doesn't give her some leeway?

But now?

The man went in, her five brothers went in, her family treated her like a jinx, and her husband's family didn't even bother to look for her.

She remembered that just now at her parents' house, her own nephew, who was only seven years old, had punched her and called her a jinx.

Her mother sat there, not even lifting her eyelids.

Sun Xinghua had lived for over thirty years, and this was the first time she had ever known what it meant to be abandoned by everyone.

The sound of firecrackers could be heard outside, crackling and popping.

Immediately afterwards, the Zhang family was released, and the Zhao family was released as well, and the whole village became lively.

This is a tradition of setting off firecrackers before the New Year's Eve dinner, for good luck.

Sun Xinghua sat in the dark room, listening to the commotion outside, and the fire in her heart burned brighter and brighter.

Blame it?

Is it all Qian Cheng's fault?

But she dares not provoke Qian Cheng now.

That day at the Qian family's house, a basin of cold water was poured over her, leaving her feeling chilled to the bone. Later, she heard that they were going to throw excrement into her, and the thought of it terrified her.

Besides, she was counting on him to sign a letter of understanding. If she offended him to death, her man would never be able to get out of the picture.

Whose fault is that?

Sun Xinghua went through the whole story from beginning to end.

It's all Qian Gaofei and his wife's fault!

When she went to Qian Gaofei to plead for her, Qian Gaofei and his wife were quite accommodating. They readily accepted the thirty yuan, patted their chests, and assured her that Qian Cheng was their nephew and that Qian Cheng would not dare disobey them.

The results of it?

Qian Cheng didn't listen, and Qian Gaofei ran away.

Sun Xinghua became increasingly angry the more she thought about it.

That bastard Qian Gaofei took her money, failed to deliver, and ran away.

She's being treated like a jinx here, while he's off having a good time somewhere.

And that bitch Liu Fang, she was all smiles when she took the money, but now she's nowhere to be seen.

Sun Xinghua stood up and walked out.

She was going to visit Qian Gaofei's house.

After leaving the house, I headed towards Qian Gaofei's home.

She encountered several children setting off firecrackers on the road, and they all kept their distance when they saw her.

One child even spat at her and ran away.

Sun Xinghua didn't care about any of that and walked very fast.

When she arrived at Qian Gaofei's house, she was stunned.

The courtyard was pitch black, and the house was also dark. She pushed the gate, but it was locked. She knocked hard, but no one answered.

Sun Xinghua peered through the crack in the door, but couldn't see anything.

She went around to the back of the house and peered through the window. The house was pitch black, and she couldn't see anything, but she could tell that no one was there.

Sun Xinghua stood there, stunned for a long time.

Ran?

Did they really run away?

She clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and the fire in her heart made her tremble all over.

Okay, Qian Gaofei, you run.

You can run away on the first day of the month, but you can't run away on the fifteenth.

I refuse to believe you won't come back.

Sun Xinghua stood at the door of Qian Gaofei's house and spat fiercely at the locked door.

"Pooh!"

Then he turned around and walked back.

Sun Xinghua couldn't sleep that night.

Lying on the cool kang (heated brick bed), listening to the continuous sound of firecrackers outside, only one thought kept running through my mind: when Qian Gaofei comes back, I will make him spit out that thirty yuan.

New Year's Day.

As dawn broke, the Liu family in Kaoshantun came alive with activity.

Old Liu sat in the main seat of the room, holding a bowl of dumpling soup and slowly sipping it.

Liu Fang's mother was busy in the kitchen, cooking dumplings, heating up dishes, and preparing breakfast for the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The Liu families, Dashan and Erhe, also got up. Their children, dressed in new clothes, ran around in the yard, waiting to eat dumplings.

Only Qian Gaofei's family of four huddled in a side room, not daring to breathe.

They slept in the side room last night.

It was called a side room, but it was really just a storage room, piled with junk. They squeezed out a space, laid out two quilts, and the family of four slept there all night.

Qian Fugui and Qian Fusheng were woken up by the cold in the middle of the night. They didn't dare to make a sound and huddled in the quilt, shivering until dawn.

As dawn broke, Qian Gaofei got up, pushed open the door, and went out.

In the courtyard, Liu Dashan was squatting by the well washing his face. When he saw him, he didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Happy New Year, Dashan," Qian Gaofei said with a smile.

"Mm," Liu Dashan responded and continued washing his face.

Qian Gaofei stood there for a while, then made conversation: "The weather is nice today."

Liu Dashan ignored him.

Qian Gaofei sheepishly returned to his room.

After a while, Liu Fang's mother brought in dumplings.

One bowl of dumplings, shared among four people. There weren't many dumplings, only about twenty, so five or six per person, not even enough to fill a tooth gap.

"Eat up." Liu Fang's mother put down the bowl and turned to leave.

Qian Gaofei looked at the bowl of dumplings and felt a pang of sadness.

But having been hungry all night, they didn't care about anything else. The four of them gathered around the bowl and wolfed down the dumplings.

After finishing the dumplings, Liu Fang's mother came in again.

"Finished eating?"

"I'm done eating."

Liu Fang's mother nodded, looked at them, and said, "Pack your things, let's go in a bit."

Liu Fang was stunned: "Mom?"

"Don't call me Mom. You caused this mess yourselves, go back and clean it up, don't try to stay here with me."

Liu Fang panicked: "Mom, it's the New Year, where are we supposed to go?"

"Go back to your own homes. It's not like you don't have your own houses."

"But what about the Sun family?"

"That's your business," Liu Fang's mother interrupted her. "It has nothing to do with us."

Liu Fang opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Qian Gaofei was about to say something when Liu Fang's mother glared at him, silencing him.

"Stop talking, eat your dumplings and leave, don't wait for us to kick you out."

After saying that, she turned and left.

The room fell silent.

Qian Fugui asked in a low voice, "Dad, are we really going?"

Qian Gaofei didn't say anything, just sat there, his face ashen.

Liu Fang couldn't help but cry.

Qian Fusheng's eyes also reddened.

Half an hour later, Qian Gaofei and his family of four, carrying their bundles, left the Liu family's courtyard.