Chronicle of the 70s

Qin Xi squeezed in, put down her things, and pulled Li Xianglu to ask, "What’s going on?"

Li Xianglu’s face was terribly ugly: "She’s been waiting outside the hospital all this time. As soon as we came in, she followed us, saying that she was deluded before and begging me to forgive her."

Qin Xi remained silent, looking at the person on the ground crying, snot and tears mingled, but said nothing.

Li Xianglu lazily asked, "Auntie, what did you just say? Wasn’t I adopted out by you with signed papers? In the spring of ’75, you took six hundred yuan and three hundred kilograms of grain from my grandfather. Have you spent all that money?"

The bystanders were suddenly shocked. Back in ’75, three hundred kilograms of grain – did this woman not realize? Why didn’t she just go rob someone? Now that she sees her daughter doing well, she wants to acknowledge her again? Is it that easy?

Before Ge Sanmei could answer, Li Xianglu continued, "At the end of ’74, you and your older brother drugged me, planning to sell me to Wang Xiwang’s foolish brother as a bride, just to secure a job for your second son in the county transportation team. What, have you forgotten all about it now?"

Li Xianglu knew she couldn’t trust Ge Sanmei; she had been lamenting earlier, but not a word about her own crimes from back then – only admitting in public she had been wrong and deluded. But what exactly did she do wrong? She didn’t say, just crying and wailing, making everyone around think her own daughter was now shunning poor relatives for wealthier ones.

Those who had initially been cross with Li Xianglu for not forgiving her kneeling mother suddenly fell silent. How rare is such a biased mother, and no wonder the daughter refuses to forgive.

Upon hearing the crowd’s change of attitude, Ge Sanmei became a bit anxious and said, "I know I was wrong. I shouldn’t have done it back then. But aren’t you living well now? You went to the capital with Li Huai Ren, you have food and clothes, and you’re even in college. All of this, isn’t it because you were adopted out..."

Upon hearing this, Li Xianglu narrowed her eyes. She knew that Ge Sanmei had ill-intentions for coming here. That reasoning, was it implying that if she hadn’t been adopted out, she would have starved to death? Really, what a mother she had.