There was no other way! His mother knew that Fourth Sister was home every day doing farm work and had no money. Meanwhile, although her son worked at the forestry station during the day and the ceramics factory at night, and turned over most of his hard-earned money, he still had a little spending cash. At a time like this, she could only favor her youngest daughter. Her son's grievance would just have to be overlooked; there was nothing to be done about it.

Although the siblings often quarreled at home—in fact, it would be abnormal if they didn't—there was no real hatred between them. After all, they were brother and sister.

After Fourth Sister got married, they never quarreled again. Once the initial blissful period of her marriage was over, she began to taste the hardships of life and the torment of fate.

First, there was the inevitable friction with her mother-in-law. Additionally, her father-in-law soon passed away from illness, and her mother-in-law was in poor health and frequently sick. Fourth Sister's daily chores were endless: raising pigs, cows, chickens, and ducks, cooking, caring for the children, and working in the fields.

Speaking of which, her husband's family situation was quite similar to Yi Anguo's. Both were the youngest in their families; Yi Anguo had four older sisters, and his fourth brother-in-law had six. Her husband had a high school education, was tall and thin, and looked decent enough. Fourth Sister herself was uneducated, but she admired educated men, which was the main reason she had been drawn to him.

Her husband wasn't content with just farming, either. Leveraging his education, he ventured into breeding, starting with bullfrogs, which was a booming business at the time. He set up a one-acre paddy field, enclosing it with nylon nets. Just as the bullfrogs had grown large enough to be sold, a torrential downpour washed away the barriers, and all the bullfrogs escaped. Forget making a profit; he didn't even recoup his initial investment.

After that, he tried growing white mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, shiitake, and black fungus. It was hard to say whether it was a success or a failure. All Yi Anguo knew was that his own family ate a lot of various mushrooms during that period. His brother-in-law probably didn't make much money, but he likely didn't lose much either.

The family's income from farming was already modest. With her husband constantly dabbling in different ventures and failing to earn any money, their finances were strained. They needed money for the elders' medical care and for the children's schooling and minor ailments. After giving birth to a son, Fourth Sister had twins, but she hemorrhaged so badly she nearly died.

Her life was saved, but the twins were neglected. Born in the hospital, they were forgotten and not placed in an incubator. The temperature outside plummeted that night, with heavy snow falling. By the time the infants were discovered, they had frozen to death.

As these various conflicts flared up, the couple fought several times, and her husband even struck her. To be honest, while Fourth Sister wasn't treated delicately in her parents' home, her parents had never once laid a hand on her or even scolded her harshly. Yi Anguo's father had hit him plenty of times, but he never hit his daughters.

Later, Fourth Sister packed her bags and decided to leave him, demanding a divorce. Her husband panicked. Given his situation, it wouldn't be easy for him to remarry. He quickly begged for mercy and apologized profusely, but Fourth Sister had already lost all hope and was unmoved. In the end, her husband threatened to kill himself, swearing he would die right in front of her if she insisted on leaving. With many villagers also urging her to stay, if not for her husband's sake, then for her child's, Fourth Sister's heart softened, and she relented.

From then on, her husband reined himself in considerably. Later, Fourth Sister gave birth to another son.

However, she likely had no idea that an even greater disaster was waiting for her.

An 800,000-yuan SUV roared into Fourth Sister's village, immediately drawing the attention of many residents. She knew her brother had returned and was visiting her today, so she was already waiting for him at home. Her brother was away all year, and with no one left in their old family home, even the house itself had collapsed. Fourth Sister always felt an emptiness inside her. In the past, whenever she argued with her husband, she could run back to her parents' house to hide. Now, she had nowhere to go. While she could stay with her eldest sister, it wasn't the same. It felt more justified to seek refuge at her parents' home when they were still around.

Seeing the vehicle stop at her gate, Fourth Sister knew her brother had arrived. Her eldest sister had already told her he had returned in a car that looked like a Jeep.

"Sister Meizhu!"

"Anguo, you finally decided to come back!" Fourth Sister said with a smile, her eyes welling up with tears.

He was her only brother; it would be a lie to say she didn't miss him. But life was hard, and everyone understood why he couldn't come home for the New Year.

"I had no choice. When Mom and Dad were alive, I could at least come back for a hot meal and have a place to rest," Yi Anguo said with a wry smile. "Now when I come back for the holidays, I don't even know where I'll eat or sleep!"

"But I'm planning to build a new house, so there will be a place to stay next New Year's."

"That would be wonderful. Since our parents passed away, I don't know how long it's been since I've been back to our old home," Fourth Sister said happily.

"Xiang Xiang, do you still recognize your uncle? Hurry and say hello!" she said to her eldest son, pointing at her brother. "Fuwa, you call him uncle, too. This is your uncle!" she added, turning to her younger son.

"Xin Yi, call her Auntie!" Yi Anguo said with a smile, prompting his daughter.

After exchanging pleasantries, Yi Anguo took various gifts out of the car. Fourth Sister was happy to see them but said, "You shouldn't have! Why bring so many things?"

...

Yi Xinyi quickly started playing with her cousins; children always find it easy to get along.

Some villagers came over to chat with Fourth Sister, who said proudly, "This is my little brother. He hasn't been back in years."

"So it's your little brother! I thought he looked familiar!"

"What kind of big business is your brother in? Looks like he's made a fortune, coming back in such a nice car."

"I'm not sure what business he's in. He used to just be a migrant worker," Fourth Sister said with a smile.

"Didn't your brother go to Dongguan to work with Shu Zhen?"

"Yes, the first year he went with Shu Zhen," Fourth Sister nodded.

Hearing Shu Zhen's name, Yi Anguo's mind flashed to a young woman.

To be precise, I can't really call her a young woman anymore. She's probably a mother to several children by now!

That year, he was only seventeen, and Liu Shuzhen must have been twenty. She worked at a knitting factory in Dongguan. Yi Anguo had initially followed her there to find work. Through her introduction, he got an apprenticeship at the same factory. However, he just wasn't cut out for knitting; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the hang of it. Eventually, Liu Shuzhen helped him again, introducing him as an apprentice at a small, private furniture factory nearby.

Half a year later, Yi Anguo left that factory. Sometime after that, the knitting factory ran out of orders, so Liu Shuzhen left for another job elsewhere, and the two of them lost touch. He saw her once more during the New Year at his fourth sister's house. Later, he seemed to recall his sister mentioning that Liu Shuzhen had gotten married, and he never heard any news about her after that. Not that he ever deliberately sought it out.

Many people are just passersby on the road of life. They brush past you, and you move on. It's impossible to keep track of everyone you've ever known.

Before long, his brother-in-law returned. When he saw the car Yi Anguo had driven up in, he could tell it wasn't cheap. Yi Anguo didn't reveal too much about his life in Shenzhen, only saying that he was in the real estate brokerage business.

On a pretext, Yi Anguo touched the tops of his two nephews' heads. He then urged his sister and brother-in-law to take the boys to a doctor for a check-up, suggesting they might have tumors on their heads.

Fourth Sister and her husband both felt their sons' heads.

"I don't feel anything. Are you sure?" his brother-in-law asked.

"Whether there's a problem or not, a check-up will make it clear. I'll pay for it," Yi Anguo said with a smile. "It would be best if there's nothing wrong, but if there is, it's crucial to catch it early and plan a treatment."

"It does feel a bit odd. A check-up would be a good idea," Fourth Sister said, a hint of worry in her voice.

Seeing that his sister was convinced, Yi Anguo pressed the matter. "Sooner rather than later. After lunch, we'll all go to Jian'an Hospital. I'll drive you; the car fits exactly seven people."

That afternoon, Yi Anguo drove everyone to Jian'an Hospital to get his nephews' heads examined. The results showed that both boys had symptoms of tumors. Fortunately, they were caught early and appeared to be benign, but they required further observation, and surgical removal was recommended.

When the results came out, Fourth Sister felt as if her world was collapsing. She asked her brother what they should do.

Yi Anguo thought for a moment and said, "If you're worried, we can go to the provincial capital hospital for a second opinion and treatment. The care there should be better."

"Don't worry about the money. I have it, so I'll cover the costs."

"How can we let you pay? At most, we'll borrow it from you and pay you back slowly over time," Fourth Sister said hurriedly. The fact that her brother was willing to lend them the money was already a huge relief.

"We can talk about that later," Yi Anguo insisted. "The most important thing right now is the boys' health. We need to get them treated as soon as possible!"

This was as much as Yi Anguo could do to help; he had no miracle cure. Since the tumors were discovered early, it shouldn't be a major problem. Before his rebirth, his fourth sister's younger son's condition had been discovered too late. They spent a fortune, but he couldn't be saved. The older son's, however, was found early, and he was successfully treated.

Now, he hoped the younger son could be cured as well.

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