The village where her sister lived was several miles from their parents' home. Her sister had three children and also had to do farm work, so she rarely visited her parents.
Zhan Jingchun had only met her sister two or three times, and each time it was when her sister was unwell. Therefore, she hadn't spoken much with her and had almost no impression of her.
There was no love or hate, so she spoke to her sister politely.
"I'm fine. Are you tired? Sit down and rest."
"Not tired, not tired." Her sister replied politely and with restraint, "We came by plane, it was very fast and comfortable. It's just that we were scared, Peng Fei he..."
Zhan Jingchun said, "I don't know either. We'll ask the doctor later. Standing here is blocking people's way, let's sit down."
Her sister quickly turned to call her mother.
"Sit, sit, Chun Chun said standing here is blocking people's way, let's all sit and talk."
Her honest brother-in-law helped their mother to sit on the chairs opposite them.
Although Madam Peng dared not say a word to Zhan Jingchun, Zhan Jingchun couldn't help but observe her.
She was so old. She was really so old.
She was actually two years younger than Jiang Nan Fang, but she looked twenty years older.
How had she not noticed so much white hair before? Not yet fifty, and her hair was almost entirely silver.
Her white hair was messily tied into a braid at the back of her neck. It was long and white, somewhat like the White-Haired Demoness.
Her face was full of wrinkles, her eye bags were prominent, and her eyelids drooped. Her entire face was dry and wrinkled, resembling the simple and suffering peasant figures in famous paintings.
Before, when she was at her house, she always worked in the fields, always wearing that set of drab, tattered clothes. Today, she had changed into a clean outfit.
But like Fang Fang's, the quality was very poor, and the style was very rustic.
Sitting there, she looked like a pitiable, poor old woman.
Zhan Jingchun suddenly couldn't hold a grudge against her anymore.
She was illiterate and had lived for decades without ever leaving the town.
She didn't read books, didn't read newspapers, didn't watch television, and had no communication. In such a closed environment, how could one expect her to have high awareness, a broad perspective, or to understand her?
Being able to raise her three children without abandoning them and manage the land successfully was already a great achievement for her. She shouldn't have measured her by her own standards.
Seeing Zhan Jingchun staring at her mother, Fang Fang intentionally tried to get them to reconcile.
She ran to her mother's side, winked, and nudged her leg.
Madam Peng cautiously looked up at Zhan Jingchun, then at Chen Dongyang and Tiantian. Her mouth opened and closed, but she still dared not speak.
Her brother-in-law also noticed a man present at this moment.
That man was tall and upright, with a face like jade. Although his clothes were simple, they enhanced his exceptional temperament. His features were young and handsome, like a male celebrity on television.
Although he knew that speaking to him was like trying to reach for something beyond his grasp, it wouldn't be good not to greet him.
Awkwardly, he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.
"Are you Chun Chun's... cough, cough, have a cigarette."
It was evident that her brother-in-law wasn't very old, but the inferiority complex brought on by poverty made him seem subservient. He was already shorter than Chen Dongyang, and the way he humbly offered him a cigarette was truly heartbreaking.
Seeing his large fingers covered in indelible dirt and calluses from washing, with black grime lodged under his nails, Chen Dongyang deeply understood his feelings.
After all, he had also been truly poor for a period.
Although he hadn't smoked for a long time, and certainly not such cheap cigarettes, he still accepted it.
"I am Chun Chun's second brother-in-law, thank you."
Seeing that he had accepted the cigarette, as if he had been noticed by Chen Dongyang, her brother-in-law quickly smiled and took out a lighter to light it for him.
"I am also a brother-in-law, Peng Fei's brother-in-law. Hello, hello."
Chen Dongyang didn't want to embarrass him, so he smiled and patted his shoulder.
"We can't smoke here. Let's go over there. Excuse me, everyone, we'll be excusing ourselves for a moment."
The two men, whose appearances and temperaments were vastly mismatched, walked side-by-side towards the staircase.
Tiantian looked at Chun Chun, pulled her to sit down, and they both sat back on the chairs.
Tiantian observed the three people opposite them for a while before speaking.
"Are you Peng Fei's mother?"
Madam Peng flinched all over, her eyes trembling as she raised her eyelids.
"Ah, I am..."
"Hello, I am Zhan Jingchun's sister."
"Ah, uh..."
"I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly. Did you buy a house in town?"
Seeing that her mother was too nervous to speak and was trembling like a sieve, her sister nudged her with her shoulder and spoke for her.
"My mother is a bit nervous, don't be like her. We haven't bought a house. There's a processing plant in town now, built by Peng Fei, and we're all working there. As soon as we got the news, we set off."
"My mother always says she's sorry to Chun Chun and regrets what happened back then... Chun Chun, I apologize to you on behalf of Mom."
"We didn't know at the time, but we all told her afterward. Really, Peng Fei was furious. When he heard about your situation, he ran from the mine to find you, fought with that family, injured them all, and even got taken to the police station."
"That person threatened to keep him in jail for life. It cost the family ten thousand yuan to bail him out. Peng Fei also wanted to disown her, and Mom regretted it terribly. The whole family told her off. Really, she knows she was wrong, so please don't hold it against her."
"Considering her age, if you're still not appeased, you can scold me or hit me a few times. If that's still not enough, I'll kneel down for you and apologize on her behalf."
Saying this, her sister suddenly knelt on the ground, startling both sisters.
In this civilized society, they had never had anyone kneel before them in their lives.
Zhan Jingchun immediately went to pull her up, but Tiantian held her back.
"Look at you, you're talking, why are you doing this? This is Nancheng, everyone here is civilized, this kind of thing isn't done. Get up quickly."
Hearing that they didn't approve of this behavior, her sister awkwardly got up.
Seeing her daughter perform such a grand gesture of apology only to be met with embarrassment, Madam Peng finally couldn't remain seated.
However, before she could say anything, her nose began to sting.
"Chun Chun, I, I deserve to die. I'm senile! I've never seen money before, I'm blinded by greed. I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry!"
"What your sister just said is absolutely true. I wasn't intentionally deceiving you; I truly know I was wrong. Ever since you left home, my heart has been restless, I couldn't sleep, I regretted it so much. But the Li family was powerful, and I didn't dare to go to them. Fortunately, Peng Fei later said you had escaped."
"Honestly, I felt a bit better then. No matter what, you're home now, and you weren't injured. Can you please not hold it against this old woman? I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry..."
Although the apology was of no use, and her apology wasn't very sincere, since things had come to this point, Zhan Jingchun didn't want to dwell on it forever.
"Alright, stop talking for now. This is a hospital, and it needs to be quiet. Let's all be quiet for a while."