It turned out that Shen Jiao had been an abandoned infant whom Shen Father and Shen Mother found by the roadside during a trip to the county town.
At the time, she had only been around a month old.
They reported the matter to the Public Security Bureau, but no one came forward to claim her. In the end, the Shen family brought her home, named her Shen Jiao, and raised her as their own biological daughter.
Quite a few people in Shenjia Village knew about Shen Jiao’s origins.
However, they all lived in the same village and saw one another every day. No one would deliberately use such a matter to stab at another person’s heart.
As a result, the original Shen Jiao had never known the truth about her birth.
Du Lingxiang only knew because Shen Chunshan had told her.
When Shen Jiao was first brought home, Shen Chunshan had already been old enough to understand certain things. Therefore, he had always known that Shen Jiao was not his biological younger sister.
That was also why he had repeatedly turned a blind eye whenever his wife treated Shen Jiao harshly.
“The Shen family raised you all these years. Asking you for only five hundred yuan is already letting you off cheaply.”
Du Lingxiang’s shrill, cutting voice dragged Shen Jiao back to reality.
Shen Jiao closed her eyes and tried to calm the pain rising in her chest.
These feelings must have been remnants left behind by the original owner.
She must have loved Shen Father and Shen Mother very deeply.
Anyone would struggle after suddenly discovering that the parents they loved were not their biological parents.
Still, some ties needed to be cut.
Du Lingxiang was no decent person, and Shen Chunshan was an equally selfish and spineless coward.
Relatives like these were better discarded.
Otherwise, who knew how much trouble they would cause her in the future?
If spending some money allowed her to sever her relationship with such a brother and sister-in-law, then the price would be worthwhile.
“You can have the money, but I want my household registration transferred out of the Shen family.”
Shen Jiao looked at them calmly.
“And I want to sever all familial ties with you.”
Du Lingxiang gripped the household-registration booklet tightly and considered the advantages of five hundred yuan against the disadvantages of allowing Shen Jiao to transfer her registration.
In the end, her desire for money prevailed.
Even if they severed their relationship and Shen Jiao’s household registration was removed, Du Lingxiang remained confident that Shen Jiao would never escape her control.
That was how certain she was of herself.
Once Du Lingxiang agreed, Shen Jiao feared that something might change and immediately urged her to return to the village and complete the arrangements.
Shen Chunshan stood nearby and watched his wife and younger sister decide to sever their relationship without once asking for his opinion.
He obediently continued acting as a background prop, his face drooping listlessly.
His wife demanded money from his younger sister, and Shen Jiao had seized the opportunity to sever her ties with the family.
Although his wife had gone somewhat too far, Shen Jiao was also an ungrateful wretch.
Her eagerness to escape the Shen family wounded him deeply.
No matter what, their family had raised her to adulthood. They were her benefactors.
Yet she showed no gratitude whatsoever.
To think that he had even considered speaking properly with his wife later and allowing Shen Jiao to remain in their home.
By the time the three returned to Shenjia Village, they did not encounter villagers stopping them to chat as they had before.
The spring snow had already melted, and the village was preparing for the spring ploughing. Most of the brigade members were busy working in the fields.
Fortunately, when they reached the brigade office, the captain was there, sparing them the trouble of searching for him.
“Jiaojiao, did you complete the divorce?”
“Yes, Uncle. It’s finished.”
Looking at the kindly elder before her, Shen Jiao did not know what to say. She could only answer stiffly with a few words.
Fortunately, the brigade captain did not take offence.
“A divorce is a divorce. Later, I’ll ask your aunt to help find you another good family.”
“You may have been married before, but you don’t have any children, and your own circumstances are good. There are still plenty of fine young men for you to choose from.”
“Thank you, Uncle. I’m sure I’ll have to trouble you and Auntie in the future.”
Shen Jiao paused before continuing.
“My brother, sister-in-law, and I came today because we want to divide the household. I’d like to transfer my household registration out of the family. Would that be possible?”
The moment Shen Jiao spoke, the brigade captain understood.
Shen Chunshan and his wife clearly could not tolerate having a divorced younger sister in their home.
He sighed inwardly.
Compared to his father, Shen Chunshan was inferior not only in ability but even in character.
A grown man did not possess the slightest backbone. His wife controlled everything both inside and outside the home.
That might have been tolerable if she had been a decent woman.
Unfortunately, she was bitter and harsh.
His cousin’s household was destined to be ruined.
“Have you thought this through?”
The brigade captain looked at Shen Jiao seriously.
“After this, you’ll become a separate household. You’re a young divorced woman. Life won’t be easy without a man in the family.”
“I’ve thought it through, Uncle.”
“Captain, hurry up and complete the procedures,” Du Lingxiang interrupted impatiently. “I still have plenty of work waiting at home.”
Seeing that both parties were determined, the brigade captain sighed and began processing the paperwork.
However, just as he started, Du Lingxiang suddenly stopped him.
She held out her hand towards Shen Jiao and demanded the money.
Shen Jiao directly counted out four hundred yuan and handed it to her.
She had less than five hundred yuan in total.
Her hospital stay in the capital had cost a little over twenty yuan. The moment she received the divorce settlement, she had repaid Gu Xinguo.
Therefore, she had only four hundred and eighty yuan left.
She had no home to return to now. No matter what, she needed to keep some money for her own expenses.
How could she hand everything over to Du Lingxiang?
With that woman’s greed, no amount of money would ever be enough.
“Why is there a hundred yuan missing? Give me another hundred!”
Du Lingxiang was openly and shamelessly wicked.
She did not care how others viewed her. She had always believed that only tangible benefits safely in one’s hands were real.
“Sister-in-law, we agreed to sever ties, but don’t push your luck.”
Shen Jiao’s expression hardened.
“I’m giving you four hundred yuan to repay the family for raising me. I still need to live.”
“I have neither food nor a place to stay. Everything requires money. Are you trying to leave me no path to survival?”
“That’s your problem. Without five hundred yuan, don’t even think about leaving the Shen family.”
Their exchange allowed the brigade captain to understand what had happened.
His face immediately darkened.
He severely reprimanded Shen Chunshan and Du Lingxiang.
In the end, the couple reluctantly accepted the four hundred yuan and agreed to transfer Shen Jiao’s household registration out of the Shen family.
However, Shen Jiao feared they might create trouble for her later, so she asked the brigade captain to draft a written statement confirming that she had severed all familial ties with the Shen family.
Although the brigade captain agreed to transfer her household registration, he did not approve of her cutting ties with her brother and sister-in-law.
He also believed that Shen Chunshan and his wife had gone too far.
Yet when Shen Jiao insisted on severing the relationship completely, he suddenly felt that she was somewhat cold-hearted.
She had suffered a little mistreatment and immediately wanted to cut herself off from the family.
This child was being too unreasonable.
He tried to persuade them, but neither Shen Jiao nor Du Lingxiang appreciated his efforts.
With another sigh, he wrote out the document.
All four people present pressed their fingerprints onto it.
Three copies were made: one for Shen Jiao, one for the brigade captain, and one for Du Lingxiang.
Shen Jiao carefully folded her copy and placed it inside her pocket.
Once everything was settled, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although she had spent money, she had also rid herself of a major source of future trouble.
It was worth it.
“Jiaojiao, what are you going to do from now on?”
The brigade captain was deeply worried for her.
She was divorced, her parents had died, she had severed ties with her brother and sister-in-law, and she did not even have a place to live.
“Uncle, you don’t need to worry. I have hands and feet, and I can earn work points. I won’t starve.”
She gave him a small smile.
“But Uncle, I’ll need you to help me find somewhere to stay.”
“Stay at my house tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll have the village clean up an empty house near West Gully.”
“You can live there for now. Just pay the brigade one yuan in rent each month.”
Once her housing problem was resolved, Shen Jiao finally felt slightly more at ease.
Because she had spent most of her money transferring her household registration, her plan to purchase a job in the city had fallen through.
For now, she had no choice but to settle temporarily in Shenjia Village.
The brigade captain’s wife did not say much about Shen Jiao’s divorce, but Shen Jiao could clearly tell that the woman strongly rejected her presence.
She looked at Shen Jiao as though she were something filthy.
Shen Jiao felt deeply aggrieved.
Had a woman somehow done something wrong simply by divorcing an unfaithful husband?
Although she did not believe she had done anything wrong, she did not argue with the woman.
She was only staying in their home for one night. There was no need to create a conflict with her host.
The brigade captain’s house was relatively spacious and stood within its own private courtyard.
Their eldest son worked in the city, while their second and third sons attended school in the county town.
Therefore, Shen Jiao had a room to herself that night.
After dinner, she lay on the heated brick bed.
Several days of exhausting travel had left her physically and mentally drained, yet she felt no sleepiness at all.
Her head ached terribly from the lack of rest, but she could not fall asleep.
There were far too many matters weighing on her mind.
Memories of the modern world alternated with flashes of her present circumstances.
She had effectively lived two lives, yet neither life had given her a happy family.
Both had left her with nothing but a terrible mess.
She smiled bitterly.
Could she be considered a child forgotten by God?
She did not care much about the difficulties she would face living in Shenjia Village or the gossip surrounding her.
What she feared were the local hooligans and scoundrels from nearby villages who might come to harass her.
She was divorced and had severed ties with her brother and sister-in-law. Her reputation was already poor.
If anything happened, almost no one would stand on her side.
Her most urgent task was still to earn money and leave Shenjia Village for the city.
City residents had seen more of the world and were at least slightly more accepting of divorced women than rural villagers.
Enduring her headache, Shen Jiao reconsidered every possible path forward and made several arrangements for her future.
Only then did exhaustion finally overwhelm her, and she fell asleep.
However, what happened the following day once again destroyed all her plans.
She obtained a letter of introduction from the brigade captain and boarded a bus bound for Linqing County.
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