Transmigrated as My Aunt in the 70s
Chapter 83 - 081 Past and Present Lives

Chapter 83: 081 Past and Present Lives

Tian Sisi watched the Old Man’s expression from the side, internally criticizing him, "Grandpa, oh Grandpa, this time you really misjudged. This Tang Qiubai is definitely not a good bird. Because of your misjudgment in the past life, your beloved granddaughter lived a truly miserable life."

Before dinner, the Old Man asked Tian Sisi to take the Tang Family grandfather and grandson to He Xuewen’s house to familiarize themselves with their future living environment. It was too conspicuous for them to stay at the Tian Family house; it would be better for them to live at He Xuewen’s house. If the authorities asked, they could say that it was because He Xuewen’s was the only place with spare rooms in the village. As for their meals, it was still best for them to eat at their own home since He Xuewen couldn’t cook and all the household cooking was done by that kid He Chengsi. He didn’t want to add to the burden of that child.

The Old Man had spoken to He Xuewen about this a few days ago, so He Xuewen had prepared rooms for them early in the morning. He Xuewen initially prepared two rooms, but Tang Qiubai kindly refused, saying he needed to take care of his grandfather at night and it would be more convenient to stay in the same room. He Xuewen quite admired the child’s filial piety and let him arrange it himself.

Seeing Tang Qiubai at this time, Tian Sisi found it strange. This Tang Qiubai didn’t seem like a bad person at all; in fact, he appeared to be a youth of noble character. Looking at his meticulous care for his grandfather, the kind of filial piety he showed was not something an ordinary person could achieve. If this was the case, then why was Tang Qiubai so bad in the past life, causing the original owner to be so miserable? Didn’t he ever think about the grace of upbringing he had received from the Old Man?

Actually, the Tang Qiubai of the past life was not thoroughly despicable, although he was indeed quite heartless. This was mainly because Tang Tieshan had died too early. In Tang Qiubai’s heart, Tang Tieshan and his wife were his most beloved grandparents. They both passed away due to the chaos, leading to his psychological distortion. He felt that everyone in the world had let him down, including harboring resentment towards the Old Man. He thought that if the Old Man had intervened earlier, perhaps his grandparents would not have died so soon.

And in the past life, the original owner was partially to blame too. She only knew how to dress up and play, leaving all company affairs to Tang Qiubai and her best friend Zhong Yuying to manage. A man and a woman spending day and night together, it would have been strange if they hadn’t had an affair. Compared to the original owner who only knew pleasure, the capable and beautiful Zhong Yuying was, of course, more to Tang Qiubai’s liking. However, Tang Qiubai still had some conscience and gave the original owner a large sum of money. Yet, after passing through Zhong Yuying’s hands, the money greatly diminished and was not nearly enough for the original owner to spend.

After observing for a day, Tang Qiubai had let down most of his guard towards the Tian Family, feeling much more at ease. Although Tang Tieshan had warned him early on that this place belonged to a brother-in-arms whom he could trust, Tang Qiubai, who had been betrayed too often, still dared not trust so easily. Over the years, he had seen too many people who were betrayed by so-called brothers living lives worse than death. His own parents and uncles and aunts had all turned their backs on his grandfather.

Tang Tieshan was arranged to come to Yuequan Village for reeducation through labor. Through the Old Man’s efforts, Tang Tieshan was the only one brought to Yuequan Village for reform. It wasn’t supposed to happen easily, but because Tang Tieshan was so badly criticized in Beijing that he nearly perished, the Rebel Faction, seeing that this old man was tough to break and would rather die in the struggle, decided not to care about Tang Tieshan’s fate. However, an order from above stated the old man’s life must be preserved, so they conveniently sent Tang Tieshan to Yuequan Village. Whether he lived or died was up to his own fate.

At dinner, the Old Man invited He Xuewen and his son. He Xuewen and his son had frequently dined with the Tian Family recently, mainly because He Xuewen disliked the food his son made and often found excuses to freeload meals at the Tian Family. Granny Zhao and Zhu Aiqing both felt quite fond of He Xuewen. Each time He Xuewen came to dine, they were very polite, offering him good food and drink, which made Tian Manjin extremely jealous.

The Old Man and Tang Tieshan sat together, alternating between crying and laughing, both very emotional. The Old Man took a sip of wine and sighed, "I wonder how Old Zhang, Da Niu, and Er Gouzi are doing? Throughout these years, I have inquired everywhere but found no news of them, having only heard about your situation. Alas, I am so powerless!"

"Mr. Tian shouldn’t say that. Without your rescue, who knows where my old bones would have ended up? I have no news of Old Zhang either, but I do know about Da Niu and Er Gouzi. Both of them were sent to the Northwest, but they had better luck than I did. Their children were with them, so by all accounts, they should be living better than me. Sigh, looking back, you, Mr. Tian, were the wisest among our brothers."

Tang Tieshan’s expression dimmed; he genuinely regretted not having followed the Old Man’s decision to withdraw from the situation back then, having ended up in such a state.

"Old Tang, don’t make fun of me. I, Tian Liu Jin, am nothing but a deserter," the Old Man said with a wistful smile and shook his head.

"Mr. Tian, how could you be a deserter? With green mountains around, you won’t worry about firewood. You’re leaving a way out for us. If it weren’t for this retreat you’ve left, where would this old bone of mine go to recuperate?"

"Good point. This place is your way out. Next time, I’ll try to find out how Old Zhang is doing. If things aren’t going well for him, I’ll bring him over to join us. I’ll also get in touch with Da Niu and Er Gouzi, send them something."

With Tang Tieshan’s enlightenment, the Old Man cheered up quite a bit, and the knot that had been in his heart finally unraveled.

"Grandpa, you’ve already had three drinks, you can’t have any more, and the same goes for Grandpa Tang, no more drinking."

Tian Sisi walked up to the Old Man, took their glasses away; these two just wouldn’t stop drinking.

The Old Man clicked his tongue in pity, thinking he could have made an exception and drunk a little more today, "Little Housekeeper, I’ll listen to you, Grandpa won’t drink anymore."

Tang Tieshan obediently stopped drinking as well, and with a grin, he said to the Old Man, "Mr. Tian, you’re really living the life! Having such a granddaughter looking after you every day, even immortals wouldn’t be as comfortable as you."

"That’s right, no immortal could ever have a granddaughter as good as my Ah Nan."

Originally, Tang Tieshan was going to work with the villagers, but since Yuequan Village’s party secretary and mayor were all insiders and the higher-ups were loose in their checks upon hearing the news, Tang Tieshan was openly lazy. He wanted to work to avoid causing the Old Man any trouble, but the Old Man insisted that he should recover fully before working. In Yuequan Village, he still called the shots.

Tang Qiubai was arranged to study at Luoling Primary School, in the same class as Tian Qinghua, in the fourth grade. From then on, the group Tian Sisi went to school with every day grew by one. After these days, Tang Qiubai had completely let down his guard and looked at ease. The Tang Qiubai now didn’t bear the trauma of his grandfather’s tragic death nor carried so much resentment. Thus, he was a sunny and cheerful youth. Besides, before Tang Tieshan got into trouble, he had also been the mischievous king of the compound. Hence, once Tang Qiubai relaxed, he quickly integrated into the life of Yuequan Village, playing well with Tian Qinghua and He Chengsi, and it didn’t take long for them to start calling each other brothers.

Since Tang Qiubai was a bit older and more mature than the average kid, he knew more games, so he naturally became the leader of this group of kids. Donghua and He Chengsi would go home every day saying things like, "Brother Qiubai taught us this game," or "Brother Qiubai is amazing with the slingshot," which annoyed Tian Sisi no end. But she couldn’t outright say she didn’t like Tang Qiubai since he hadn’t done anything to wrong her now; she just tried her best to minimize their encounters.

No one in the family noticed Tian Sisi’s subtle feelings except for two people, Tian Xinhua and Jianguo. Tian Xinhua, having played with Tian Sisi since childhood, could be said to know her the best within the Tian Family, so although Tian Sisi hid it well, Tian Xinhua still noticed her dislike for Tang Qiubai. Jianguo, due to his sensitive nature, could sense his cousin’s aversion to Tang Qiubai.

Therefore, although Tian Xinhua and Jianguo didn’t understand why Tian Sisi didn’t like Tang Qiubai, they both instinctively lessened their contact with him. While everyone seemed harmonious on the surface, the sensitive Tang Qiubai still felt their distance, which provoked his competitive spirit.

From childhood to adulthood, he had been the leader of the kids in the compound; which kid didn’t follow his commands? But now, in this small mountain village, these rural kids dared to look down on him? It frustrated Tang Qiubai, who had always been proud and arrogant, though he appeared humble and polite on the surface; his pride ran deep in his bones.

Even now when he was dependent on others and protected by the Tian Family, he still looked down on the Tian Family from the bottom of his heart, considering them a bunch of uninformed rural folks. However, he hid this contempt so well that even Tian Sisi, who disliked him, did not notice. It must be said, it was no coincidence in his past life that Tang Qiubai would get involved with Zhong Yuying, as they were cut from the same cloth. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)

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