Just a small gesture, yet it brought tears to Ye Ling's eyes. In her previous life, she was truly too unaware, causing her grandmother to pass away without ever being at ease about her.
Sniffing, Ye Ling said crisply, "Grandma, put the bag down and sit. I'm young and standing doesn't tire me. Besides, coming from the countryside, what's there to be delicate about? It's not like I haven't seen chickens before. So just sit down."
Compared to the other kids in the village, she was indeed pampered. She never did chores, never worked in the fields, didn't even clean up after meals, and never washed her own clothes. But all of this was nothing compared to her sister who grew up in the city.
Besides, girls from the countryside who can't do any work only get looked down upon by city people. In her previous life, after returning to live in the family courtyard, Ye Ling suffered from such disdain. Yet she was innately stubborn and couldn't tolerate any remarks, learning to do chores secretly and enduring the hardships.
Later, she was capable of almost everything, and her mother always praised her. Before getting married, she took on all the household chores, just for a word of praise from her mother, with no complaints, working tirelessly like an ox without feeling weariness. It was only when she lay alone in a rented room that she realized how ridiculous she was, no matter how well she did, she was forever like an outsider in her mother's eyes.
Ye Ling's thoughts were pulled back in an instant by her grandmother's words, "Child, Grandma's not tired. You sit down and rest a bit."
Saying this, her grandmother used her calloused hands to tug at her granddaughter's jacket, "You child, I told you to wear that blue coat. Aren't you cold?"
"Grandma, didn't I bring the coat? I'll put it on soon." The red-checked clothes she wore were sent from the city, unwanted by her sister.
In her previous life, Ye Ling always treated it like a treasure, even wearing it the first time she went with her grandmother to spend the New Year with her parents. But upon reaching the city and seeing her sister dressed even better, she got mad and, in front of her parents, threw the red-checked clothes to the ground. Ye's father, with his fiery temper, slapped Ye Ling directly.
Old Mrs. Ye was furious back then, scolded her son's nose, and directly took Ye Ling back to their hometown, not staying for the New Year.
Living anew, Ye Ling hadn't figured out what happened, but she didn't want to take the same path again. Although she wouldn't do what she did in her past life, she also didn't want to wear Ye Qian's leftover clothes.
Ye Qian, although one year younger than Ye Ling, looked older than her. Ye Ling picking up Ye Qian's clothes seemed like hanging out a sheep's head while selling dog meat. While this top was big, it looked small when worn over a padded jacket.
Seeing her granddaughter suddenly being obedient, Old Mrs. Ye breathed a sigh of relief, "Just wear it for now. It's crowded in this train, and it's not warm inside, don't catch a cold."
Ye Ling didn't say a word, quickly took out the blue jacket from her cloth bag, and swiftly undressed the red-checked clothes, wearing a big padded jacket underneath, made of patched gray cloth, something Zhong Ling always felt was embarrassing. Now living anew, she didn't find patches bad at all and wasn't afraid of being seen. Two or three moves and she put on the blue jacket. At the early eighties, clothes didn't have any special style, all being small suit-like jackets with lapels.
Old Mrs. Ye, seeing her granddaughter change clothes swiftly, didn't stop her. Ye Ling, after changing, stuffed the red-check clothes into the bag, helped her grandmother to sit down while she leaned against the bamboo-woven chicken cage to stand.
"Grandma, rest for a while, I'll call you when we arrive." Ye Ling looked at her grandmother with white hair, determined to make her grandmother proud in this lifetime.
Ye Ling's grandmother was forced to sit down by her granddaughter, and she couldn't bear to let Ye Ling stand, wanting to get up. The person leaning nearby couldn't stand it, "Old lady, your granddaughter is so filial. You should just sit. Considering your age, if you tire yourself, you won't be able to care for your granddaughter."
People around coaxed in a chorus, and only then did Old Mrs. Ye sit back, her eyes squinting with a smile, nodding along, tightly holding her granddaughter's hand as if afraid to lose her.
Ye Ling's hand was warmed by her grandmother's grasp, but thinking about her past life, her heart couldn't warm up.
Frigid affectionate parents, in order to cater to the boss above, agreed to introduce a match for a nephew who came from the countryside and was divorced. But such conditions were hard to find in the city. Ultimately, Ye Ling's parents focused on their two daughters. The younger daughter was cherished by them since childhood, naturally, they couldn't bear it, and in the end, only Ye Ling, the one they didn't favor, had to step up.
Ye Ling, originally growing up in the countryside, was always unbalanced with how the family favored her sister. Moreover, after returning to the courtyard, she secretly admired Liu Zhiyuan in the family courtyard. Yet, the family arranged for her to marry a divorced man from the countryside, eight years older than her, something her sister rejected and was passed to her. How could she willingly accept?
Resisting the marriage, but Ye Ling's nature was weak and lacking in experience, she unwillingly married Shen Bin. After marriage, she didn't live well, and couldn't suppress the feelings of secretly liking Liu Zhiyuan. In an impulsive moment, she confessed to Liu Zhiyuan and was rejected, yet this was witnessed by someone, spreading everywhere. Eventually, it was the higher-up's decision for them to divorce, and Shen Bin, who seldom spoke, never blamed her once.
Her parents severed ties with her, leaving Ye Ling with nowhere to go, having to work everywhere, solitary outside. At twenty-two, she fell seriously ill without money, precisely at her lowest point, she encountered her ex-husband Shen Bin on the street. Later, when living in a rental, Ye Qian found her, knowing that she must have learned of her whereabouts from Shen Bin.
No familial care, only sneering, finally leaving a hundred yuan behind and walking away high and mighty.
After that, Ye Ling knew she had died. Closing her eyes that moment, upon reopening, she was suddenly standing on the train, not even knowing how it happened.
Thinking of the past, saying Ye Ling was not resentful of her parents would be false, but she felt she should first blame herself. Though Shen Bin was older, he was indeed a good man, always cold but stable. In the early eighties, some couples saw each other only on their wedding day, so parental arranged marriages weren't wrong. After the incident, Shen Bin never blamed her, showing him to be a decent man.
As for not living well, even confessing to another man after marriage, creating a stir, all of it was her fault. Ending up like that was deserved, but compared to her parents' favoritism towards her sister, Ye Ling was indeed resentful.
Regarding the harm she caused to Shen Bin, remembering him, recalling their only encounter after divorce, along with his few words of concern, Ye Ling's heart always felt warm. What she owed him in the past life, she would repay in this.
At this moment, she could confirm she indeed returned to her fifteenth year. After the new year, she would be sixteen, half a year more of school and she could attend high school.
Since heaven gave her another chance, she must cherish it, never again deceived by her mother's superficial affection, absolutely not abandoning the opportunity for high school and college.