"Dad—"
Tears of gratitude streamed down Zhang Minzhen's face.
"Don't you worry. We'll have your back even if the sky falls." Zhang Dazhuang was clearly not the type to express his softer emotions. He delivered a line that could move a person to tears with a gruff, stiff tone.
"Okay." Zhang Minzhen nodded, her eyes filled with tears. Her heart finally settled. With her parents' support, she was suddenly afraid of nothing.
"Grandpa, I missed you!" Gu Nuan Nuan looked up and saw her grandfather, whom she hadn't seen in so long. A pang hit her nose, and she flew into his arms. A smile spread across Zhang Dazhuang's face when he saw her coming. He quickly crouched down, opened his arms, and caught her in a full embrace, patting her back with a sigh.
Gu Nuan Nuan's eyes reddened in her grandfather's arms. She knew that sigh was for her.
Her grandfather had always doted on her.
Even though her grandfather had other granddaughters, he still treasured her. He had spoiled her rotten when she was little. Whenever there was anything good to eat or fun to play with, he would always remember to save a portion for her. Sometimes, she would get things that even her cousins didn't. If she and her mother hadn't visited her grandparents' home for a while, he would even make a special trip to deliver things to her.
Back then, even before her mother and that scum of a father had divorced, no one had ever cherished and doted on her like this. That was why, as a child, she always looked forward to seeing her grandfather the most, and she had always been very close to him.
She could never forget those years when she and her mother relied on each other to survive. Her grandfather hadn't even had time to recover from the grief of his youngest, most beloved daughter being disfigured before he was struck by the pain of losing a son... and immediately after, news came that his son-in-law wanted to divorce his daughter.
Her grandfather had a warm heart hidden behind a cool exterior. Though he wasn't good at expressing his feelings with words, his face was never so cold that it made people afraid to approach him. He always used his actions to warm your heart.
Her First Uncle was the most like him in this regard. Her grandfather had always been most pleased with his eldest son and had placed the highest hopes in him. Tragically, in the end, he had to endure the agony of an elder burying his own child.
During the years she and her mother lived in Lihua Village, her grandfather would often walk for hours along the mountain roads, tirelessly making his way to Lihua Village to see them. Sometimes her grandmother would come along, but most of the time, he came alone. Not only did he bring things for the mother and daughter, but he also helped her mother with many tasks she couldn't manage by herself.
In her childhood eyes, her grandfather was a towering figure. He spoiled her, and he would do his best to grant any request she had. He was also incredibly capable; there was almost nothing he couldn't do. For example, the furniture in their home back in Taohua Village had been made by her grandfather, who had cut the wood and crafted each piece bit by bit. He had also gradually repaired and expanded the house himself.
Later, when the land in Lihua Village was expropriated, her scum of a father took the house by brandishing the property deed. The mistress, now the stepmother, had even arrogantly revealed the truth to them: that Gu Jiayi and Gu Jiabao were his biological children.
They thought that since her two uncles couldn't be relied upon, her mother's family was powerless, and there was nothing they could do. So they felt no pressure bullying a "helpless mother and child." But in the end, they pushed her grandfather too far. He threw caution to the wind, charged to the Gu Family's front door in town with an axe, and managed to wrench a sum of money from that tightfisted scumbag.
In the end, her grandparents secretly added their own coffin money to that sum. After moving heaven and earth, they managed to get a plot of land approved for her and her mother in their own Zhang Family Village and painstakingly built a two-room house.
This time, her grandfather was afraid that she and her mother might not even be able to keep these two rooms in the future—that after he and her grandmother were gone, the house would be snatched away by her Second Uncle and his wife, or her Third Uncle and his wife. So, he went through the trouble of getting a property deed and carefully wrote her mother's name on it before he could finally rest easy.
Unfortunately, in her last life, her grandparents passed away before she could even graduate from college.
"Look at this child. Every time she sees her grandpa, she's so affectionate. How come she's never like that with me?" Seeing Gu Nuan Nuan rush so enthusiastically toward her husband, Wen Xiu complained quietly to Zhang Minzhen, a hint of jealousy in her voice.
"It's because Dad spoils her the most. He gives her whatever she wants." Zhang Minzhen also found it a bit odd and couldn't help but mutter, "How come I feel like Dad wasn't even this good to me when I was a kid?"
"You should be grateful. Back then, you were the only girl in the family. Wasn't your dad good enough to you? Other people's daughters started cooking, feeding the pigs, chickens, and ducks, and even helping in the fields by the time they were five or six. The later ones started at seven or eight. But you? You were nearly ten and still didn't know how to do any of that."
Wen Xiu glanced at her daughter as she recalled the past. "You think I was the one who spoiled you? I was the one who suggested you should learn to do these chores earlier. I was afraid that if you didn't know how, you'd be ridiculed behind your back when you married into your husband's family. But your dad absolutely refused. He said we had enough boys at home and didn't need a girl to do the work. He also said a girl only gets a few easy years at home, and that chores were easy to pick up. He even said you might marry into a good family, and it wouldn't matter if you never learned."
"I know. He dotes on her because he loves me." Zhang Minzhen's nose tingled. The very fact that she, a girl, had been able to attend high school was proof enough of how much she was favored at home.
When she was young, she had been very close to her father, too. She would often fly into his arms just like her daughter did now. Unfortunately, once she grew up, it was no longer appropriate for a father and daughter to be so physical, so she gradually grew closer to her mother instead.
"It's good that you know. In your dad's heart, you're the one he loves most. When your Second and Third brothers were young, they complained countless times behind our backs, saying they had no status at home and weren't as favored as a girl. But they didn't understand that your dad loves all his children; it's just that how can you have the same expectations for boys and girls?"
A warmth filled Wen Xiu's eyes as she reminisced. After her sentimental sigh, she seemed to remember something. "You must be hungry after walking all this way. I'll go make you something to eat."
"Mom, don't trouble yourself. We bought some buns in town and ate them on the way. We're not hungry at all right now," Zhang Minzhen quickly said.
"How can eating buns count as a proper meal? Even if you don't eat, my Nuannuan needs to." Wen Xiu shot her a look and headed straight for the kitchen.
"Then just make a little. I'll help with the fire." Zhang Minzhen sighed in resignation, first taking off Gu Nuan Nuan's schoolbag and carrying it as she followed her mother. "Mom, Nuannuan and I don't know how long we'll be staying here, so I should give you some money for food."
"Where did you get money?" Wen Xiu stopped in her tracks.
"Ouch, Mom, why'd you stop without a word?" Zhang Minzhen rubbed her nose and complained with a pained expression.
"I'm asking you a question. Doesn't that man Gu take all your money every month and leave you with just one yuan for an allowance? How could you have money to pay me for food?" Wen Xiu looked at her daughter nervously. She knew her daughter sold goods. 'That money couldn't be...'