Seeing this, Su An stopped trying to persuade him and only raised another question, "But my brother may never understand your feelings."

Ren Shan shook her head indifferently. "It doesn't matter. Whether he understands or not, he treats me well and I treat him well."

Su An thought that Ren Shan and her brother would continue to live together peacefully like this, until four months later, before Li Yulan passed away. In front of everyone, Ren Shan held Li Yulan's hand and promised to look after Su Ping for the rest of her life.

Wang Xiaocui talked to Ren Shan, and after that she stopped caring about it. She had a low level of education and was not as smart as the kids, and she couldn't argue with Ren Shan, so she just let things take their course.

Su Ping was still careless, so Su An provoked him, "Xiao Zuo and I are married and we are living in his house. Shan Shan has grown up too, and after she gets married, she will also live in someone else's house."

The big bone in Su Ping's mouth suddenly lost its fragrance, and he stood there in a daze for a long time.

He was listless the whole day. He didn't want Shanshan to go to someone else's house. He didn't know what to do. He missed his grandma.

He had a dream at night. In the dream, his father returned to the city, and his mother took them on a long car ride and walked a long way to find his father.

The city is really lively, with shops and department stores. They are all very rich, and many people ride bicycles.

Mom is not happy at all and cries often. Grandma scolds Mom and Dad also scolds people.

Mom left. With red eyes, she held my hand and told me to take good care of An An. She said, "Follow Dad. From now on, you and your siblings will have city hukou. Even if you find a temporary job in the city, it's better than going back to the countryside with me to dig the soil."

The stepmother was very mean. Whenever the father said a few gentle words to her, he would beat her. Little An An was often so scared that he trembled. They were locked outside in the rain, and they lit a kerosene lamp and made paste on matchboxes until they kept dozing off.

An An served a little more rice, and his stepmother tapped the bowl gently. An An shivered in fear and the bowl fell. He was beaten again. He was protecting An An and was hit on the shoulder by the stool, and it was all bruised. His mother told him to keep an eye on An An, but he didn't.

Dad said he couldn't eat for two days, so he secretly hid a coarse flour steamed bun and gave it to An An. An An's eyes widened as he looked at it, and he stuffed it into his mouth desperately. He was very sad, and he wished he could make money to support An An.

An An's clothes were soaked through and she was dragged into the compound and beaten. Her father and stepmother said she was a thief. He threw away his schoolbag and held An An in his arms. An An was shaking with fear, like a puppy that was about to be frozen to death in the snow in winter. He was so sad. His mother asked him to keep an eye on An An.

Grandma Qin brought them back home, cut the legs of their pants and sewed two pieces of cloth for An An. She asked me to buy toilet paper for An An.

I secretly took the matchboxes I had made at home to deliver the goods, taking a little at a time, and secretly bought toilet paper for An An. An An was very scared and was too frightened to reach out to take the toilet paper. Fortunately, he was not discovered.

An An was laughed at by others. She didn't dare to look up and walked with a hunched back. I beat up the boys who bullied An An. I went to ask Grandma Qin, and Grandma Qin said she wanted to buy a vest for An An. I didn't want An An to be laughed at by others, so I stole money from under my stepmother's pillow and bought her a small vest.

My stepmother complained, so my father kicked me and hit my chin. It was bleeding and my neck was covered in blood. An An was so scared that she kept crying, but my father didn’t hit her again. It’s a good thing he didn’t hit An An.

An An didn't dare to pick up the food, so I picked up the food for her. Dad scolded us for being uneducated, but I was not afraid. I let An An eat it. An An ate the fried leek and eggs tremblingly. At night, she smiled secretly and said to me, "Brother, fried leek and eggs are delicious."

I stroked An An's rough yellow hair and told her, "Brother will work hard to eat and grow up quickly. Then, Dad and Mom won't dare to bully you anymore. When brother makes money, he will buy you lots of eggs and meat."

Dad said that he would not let An An go to school anymore and wanted An An to drop out and become an apprentice. An An knelt down. When mom left, she told An An and I to study hard. An An is so smart and will have a bright future and get a stable job after studying.

I told my dad that I didn’t want to study anymore and that I would go out to earn money to support An An’s education. Anyway, I didn’t like studying and my teacher also said that I wasn’t cut out for it.

I went to Wuzhen to mine, but I didn't do a good job, so I only got eleven yuan in the first month. Fortunately, I could eat for free here, so I gave all the eleven yuan to my father. I said I would give An An an egg, but my father said the money was too little.

I told Brother Liu that I had to work two shifts because I wanted to buy eggs for An An. It was very tiring and hard work. My hands were so sore that I couldn't lift them. My whole body ached. It even hurt when I slept. My hands were covered with blisters. When the blisters broke, the tender flesh inside was exposed and it was burning painful. The skin hadn't healed yet and was rubbed again. Brother Liu felt sorry for me and gave me mercurochrome and gauze.

I will try my best to eat more, eat a lot of food, dig up a lot of ore, and earn money to buy eggs for An An, buy toilet paper for An An, and pay her tuition.

An An was married to Zhao Daxing by Su Jianjun and Ji Qingqing. My mother asked me to take care of An An. I was so anxious. When I found An An, she had a baby. I asked An An to come with me because I had a salary from mining and could support An An.

An An has gained some weight on her face. She says that she is better off at the Zhao's than at her own home. She can sit at the table to eat and dares to pick up some dishes. She also eats meat. Although her mother-in-law scolds her, she doesn't beat her. It's just that the children are disobedient. She says that she finally has a home.

He asked An An, "Are you happy?"

An An said, "I'm happy. I finally left that home. My mother-in-law is a little fierce, but it will be fine after I give birth to a child. Brother, you have to be well in the future. I don't need to drag you down anymore. I have a family now."

She smiled with tears in her eyes, and I felt depressed. I was not afraid of being a burden to An An.

I feel a little sad that An An doesn’t want to go with me. I don’t have to support An An anymore, and I don’t have to pay for An An’s education anymore. I don’t know what to do.

My father and stepmother told me that they would save money for me to get married, and asked me to work hard and help out at home as life at home was not easy.

In the dream, he went to the mine again and seldom went home, because he was like a superfluous person at home. His father, stepmother Su Jiao and Su Lei were the family.

If only An An were here.

He missed An An, so he went to see An An. Xiao Jiliang said that An An went to school to deliver lunch to the children, so he didn't see An An.

He went to the mine again. When he returned home for the New Year, he finally saw An An. An An looked a little unwell. He asked An An if she was okay, and An An said she was fine.

When he came back again, he went to look for An An again. He saw Zhao Daxing beating An An, and he was very angry and beat Zhao Daxing. His father and stepmother brought him back and told him, "It is normal for couples to quarrel. If you do this, it will only make An An suffer. Look at how many couples quarrel and fight in the compound."

"It's because of you, a fool, that people look down on An An. You should go to An An less often in the future."

He was a little sad, but he really didn't dare to go look for An An. He went there twice secretly, wanting to stand at a distance to see if An An was okay, but he didn't see her.

During the Chinese New Year, An An did not come back. He asked Zhao Daxing, and Zhao Daxing said that there were guests at home and An An was the host and had to entertain the guests.

He went to the mine again. His father and stepmother called him back and told him that Su Lei was sick. They were brothers and asked him to save Su Lei. Brothers should help each other, just like him and An An, otherwise Su Lei would die.

He didn't understand, but he didn't want Su Lei to die, even though he hated him. He was sent to the operating room with Su Lei. He felt so uncomfortable and painful when he came out. Fortunately, there were nurses taking care of him. Dad said, "Su Lei's condition is much worse than yours. He is younger and more delicate, not as sensible as you, so mom and dad need to take care of him more. You should listen to the nurses."

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