"Your grandmother is already in her seventies. Every day she drags such a heavy cart, walking over an hour each way to sell scrap, and then walking another hour back. What if something happens to her on the road?"
She remembered seeing the old woman bent over, walking slowly with great difficulty while dragging the cart, struggling to make a living. It made her heartache.
She may not be capable, sweeping the streets, but she couldn't bear to see the old woman struggling so hard.
Yet Ming Silian was here, looking so glamorous.
"Yesterday, I saw her saying she was saving money to give you for living expenses! She collects trash and sells scrap to save money! She barely eats or drinks, and that money isn't even enough for a normal person's living expenses, yet she saves it up to give you for living expenses!"
"Enough, stop talking!" Ming Silian interrupted, displeased.
The sanitation worker, Liu Xiuying, was her grandmother's neighbor.
She used to live there too, meeting Liu Xiuying every day.
Her parents passed away early, leaving only her grandmother and herself to rely on each other.
Her grandmother was old, and with the two of them, old and young, they naturally lived a hard life.
They lived in a small rented house in a village on the outskirts of the city.
Cold in winter, hot in summer, cramped and dark, and they could even hear mice scurrying at night.
They relied on her grandmother's patchwork and picking up trash to sell, barely making ends meet.
When Ming Yutong found her and she was recognized by the Ming family, she didn't even go back home, going directly with Ming Yutong to the Ming family.
She told the Ming family she was an orphan, all alone, with no relatives.
She never thought about her grandmother living in that old, broken-down house.
She never intended to go back to tell her grandmother or even think about taking care of that old woman.
Not to mention taking care, Ming Silian had long since resented her.
She only refrained from going back to settle scores with her grandmother out of consideration for her age.
She was not really one of their family, yet she had endured so much hardship with such a poor family.
Ming Silian always thought that the Meng family had delayed her.
But she never considered that if it hadn't been for the Meng family, she might have been kidnapped by human traffickers and taken to who knew where.
At that time, she was young and didn't remember much.
It was Meng Fu who discovered her and took her to the police station, but she couldn't answer any questions.
In those days, information wasn't as developed as it was now.
Eventually, seeing her pitiful condition and her cute appearance, they couldn't bear to send her to an orphanage and decided to adopt her.
Originally, the Meng family's life wasn't exactly affluent, but it wasn't difficult either.
However, later, Meng Fu was injured while working, had his leg amputated, and could no longer do his previous job or work normally.
The family's living conditions plummeted.
A few years later, Meng Mu's health also deteriorated.
The family sold all their belongings that could be exchanged for money and came to City B to treat Meng Mu.
Meng Fu got a prosthetic leg and continued to work outside, giving all the money he earned to treat Meng Mu.
At that time, Ming Silian resented it.
All the money earned by the family was consumed by Meng Mu's illness, and she wondered when it would end.
Due to Meng Mu's illness, the family grew poorer and poorer. Everything that could be sold was sold, and the family of four lived in that dark little tile house.
Despite all this, Meng Mu still couldn't hold on and passed away.
Ming Silian became even more resentful, thinking, if she had to die, why not have done it earlier?
Why drag on, depleting the family's money, leaving nothing behind?
In the end, she still died, and all the money spent was for nothing.
Meng Fu finally couldn't withstand the repeated blows. Once a strong man, he became a disabled person. To treat his wife's illness, he consumed not just money but also his spirit.
Working from dawn to dusk, and taking care of his wife.
Even so, his wife still passed away.
He was drained of his last bit of strength and died of overwork.
Thus, only Ming Silian and her grandmother were left.
There had been fortune-tellers who said Ming Silian had bad luck and would keep bringing misfortune to those around her, harming anyone close to her and causing harm to herself as well.
But the Meng family, being kind-hearted, never believed it.
Until later, when the Meng family's situation deteriorated to the point of destruction, with only Ming Silian's grandmother left, the kind old lady still didn't blame Ming Silian for the misfortune.
She thought the child was innocent, that Ming Silian had done nothing wrong, and the family's misfortune had nothing to do with her.
The old lady, despite her age, shouldered the burden of supporting the family and continued to look after Ming Silian.
But Ming Silian had never felt grateful.
Instead, she felt that it was the Meng family's misfortune, and she had been dragged down by them.
When she later learned that she was not actually a Meng but a Ming, and she was supposed to be a born lady, like Ming Yutong, she hated the Meng family even more.
The Meng family was so shameless, how dare they raise her?
She had endured so much hardship with them!
She felt that the Meng family had ruined her life as a young lady, but she never thought that if it weren't for the Meng family, she might have been sold somewhere unknown.
With this resentment, Ming Silian just wanted to sever ties with the Meng family, treating her poor grandmother as if she had never known her.
But today, she was unexpectedly seen by Liu Xiuying.
Ming Silian lowered her head, the resentment flashing in her eyes.
Liu Xiuying was still puzzled: "What exactly are you doing now? How did you suddenly become so capable?"
"You don't need to worry about that. I'll go back when I have time," Ming Silian said with a stiff tone.
Liu Xiuying frowned and tentatively asked, "Have you graduated and started working? Was that lady just now your boss?"
Ming Silian sneered, what boss? That's her mother!
Really clueless!
Seeing Ming Silian not answer, Liu Xiuying thought her guess was probably right.
"Where are you living now? If the place is good, bring your grandmother over. It's so cold now, and that small room is not warm at all. Burning coal inside makes it smoky and harsh. Your grandmother coughs all night from the smoke. When the coal stove is out, she shivers from the cold. Her hands have frostbite."
Ming Silian was impatient. If she care so much, then go take care of her!
What was she telling her for?
"I understand. I haven't settled down yet. I'll bring her over once I've settled," Ming Silian said dismissively.
Liu Xiuying sensed something was wrong and said, "How about leaving me a phone number so I can have your grandmother contact you?"
Her grandmother's home didn't even have a phone, let alone a mobile one.
At her age, if something happens, there's no way to contact Ming Silian.