When Luo Zheng translated Mrs. Luo's intentions to Lan Xue, she excitedly accepted the bracelet, putting it on her wrist and beaming with joy. It was a token of recognition and acceptance. Lan Xue happily took out all the other gifts, and Luo Zheng translated for her, basking in collective happiness.
"Brother!" A pleasant voice ca from outside the door, starteling Luo Zheng. He turned his head to see a graceful girl looking at him joyfully. She was about 1.65 ters tall, dressed in a blue coarse cloth coat, her hair neatly bundled up, covered in dirt, carrying a basket on her back, and holding a machete in her hand. Her delicate face featured a pair of eyes shining with happiness.
"Little sister?!" Luo Zheng exclaid in surprise at the familiar yet strange girl, his face full of astonishnt. It had been three years since he had seen the little girl who used to follow him around every day, and she had grown up to the point he hardly recognized her. With joy, he went to greet her and took the basket off her back to see it was filled with mushrooms and herbs. He paused, holding back his questions.
"Brother, is it really you who's co back?" The girl joyfully threw herself into Luo Zheng's arms. He hugged his little sister's frail body, consud with sha. He had left for three years, neglecting everything and letting his little sister take on the responsibility of the family too soon. Suddenly rembering sothing, he asked in astonishnt, "At this ti, shouldn't you be in school?"
Instead of directly answering Luo Zheng's question, the little sister glanced at Lan Xue, her eyes lighting up as she thought to herself how beautiful she was. Upon seeing the bracelet on Lan Xue's wrist, she realized the situation and sweetly smiled, "Brother, aren't you going to introduce us?" she asked in Mandarin.
As Luo Zheng took his little sister's hand to make the introductions, he suddenly felt the calluses on it and froze, understanding imdiately that they were the result of hard work. His heart felt tight as he looked at his little sister, her face full of embarrassnt. She was not even eighteen, a girl in the pri of her youth, yet she had taken on the heavy burdens of the family. His eyes reddened as he turned to look at his mother, only to find her turned away, her face etched with pain.
With the family mired in poverty, Luo Zheng felt so ashad he wished he could disappear into the ground, his heart aching. Not daring to look at his little sister again, Lan Xue, sensing his emotional shift, smiled warmly and approached, saying, "Little sister, they are all your brother's good friends, you can call them brothers."
"Hello, three brothers. Welco," the little sister said sweetly, her voice as enchanting as an elf's from the forest, pleasant and soothing to the soul. She turned to Lan Xue and giggled, "Should I call you sister-in-law?"
"Um?" Lan Xue's face turned bright red with embarrassnt, but she didn't object, smiling sweetly, taking quite a liking to the little sister. She took out a laptop from her bag, handed it to her, and said, "This is for you."
"Thank you, sister-in-law," the little sister said cheerfully, but she did not take it imdiately, instead looking to Luo Zheng for approval. With his nod, she gladly accepted the gift.
Seeing how sensible the little sister was, everyone grew fond of this elf-like girl, each taking out the gifts they had already prepared. With Luo Zheng's approval, she accepted them, sweetly calling out to the first, second, and third brother, much to Ghost Hand and the others' joy and satisfaction.
Seeing the calloused little hands, everyone understood Luo Zheng's sentints. Without ntioning it, they exchanged looks and went to the backyard to help. The little sister, holding a pile of gifts, happily went to her room. Seeing that Mrs. Luo did not co over, Luo Zheng followed his little sister to her room. Closing the door, he asked, "Little sister, did sothing happen at ho? Tell the truth."
"Nothing's wrong," the little sister replied with a sweet smile, deftly changing the subject. "Sister-in-law is so beautiful, brother, congratulations to you."
"Don't change the subject," Luo Zheng said sternly, pursuing the matter further. Seeing the evasive look in his little sister's eyes and her subsequent guilt as she lowered her head, he continued apologetically, "Little sister, it's my fault. I've been away for three years, and you've been holding the fort at ho. Tell , what's really going on? Now that I'm back, I should be the one to take on the family's burden. You're still young."
"Brother," his little sister suddenly threw herself into Luo Zheng's arms, sobbing heavily as she released all the pressure that had been building inside her. It was as if she had found a pillar of support, a place to confide.
Outside the door, Lan Xue was about to knock when she heard the crying. Her raised hand paused; after listening for a while, she realized they were speaking the local dialect, which she couldn't understand, so she decided to leave.
"Brother, it's fine now that you're back. I'm okay. It's just dad—I'm so worried about him," his little sister said between sobs. "Soone from the county town took a liking to the Qinglong Waterfall behind our mountain and wants to develop it for tourism. Dad and the people in the village disagree, so they sent a group of goons to cause trouble. They injured Dad and said they would co back, probably within the next few days."
"What?" Luo Zheng exclaid, his face turning ashen with anger, a terrifying murderous intent flashing in his eyes. Gently pushing his sister aside, he asked, "The Qinglong Pool area is where our village's ancestral graves are. It's sacred ground for our entire clan; it absolutely cannot be disturbed. How badly is Dad hurt?" The image of the herbs his little sister had been carrying suddenly ca to his mind, and he was overwheld with sha. Three years had passed, and he had been unfilial.
"Internal injuries," his little sister said softly in sorrow. "The money you sent has all been spent. There wasn't enough money, so he was discharged from the hospital early and has been treated with herbal dicine for about a week. He's getting a bit better now."
"Alright, I understand. Don't worry; I'll handle this," Luo Zheng said seriously to his little sister. Seeing her nod, he thought for a mont and walked outside. Noticing Lan Xue sitting idly in the hall, he gave her an apologetic smile and said to his little sister who followed him out, "Why don't you show her around?"
"Sure," his little sister instantly agreed, and speaking to Lan Xue in Mandarin, she said, "Sister-in-law, let show you around. The mountains and waters here are beautiful, the scenery is quite nice." Lan Xue glanced at Luo Zheng and agreed to go.
Luo Zheng went into the kitchen and saw his mother preparing to cook. He sat down by the stove to build the fire and asked earnestly, "Mom, tell the truth, why isn't little sister going to school? Is it because we don't have the money?"
Mrs. Luo's knife hesitated for a mont but quickly resud its work without answering. Luo Zheng understood everything. He quickly walked into the inner room, took 50,000 yuan from his bag, and handed it over with a guilty expression, saying, "Mom, I have been unfilial. Keep this money for household expenses."
"That's a lot of money. Where did you get it from? We can't do anything illegal, even if we're poor, we must have our integrity," Mrs. Luo asked worriedly, not taking the money.
"I know, don't worry. I was rewarded for my service. This is a reward from the army," Luo Zheng said earnestly.
"You're not lying to Mom?" Mrs. Luo, surprised, set down the knife and looked at Luo Zheng intently. Seeing that he didn't appear to be lying, she burst into joy and accepted the money, saying, "That's settled then. I will save it for your marriage so that you can marry a wife. We can't let down such a beautiful bride-to-be."
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