I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 3: Yuan Xiu's Resignation

Yuan Xiu sat casually on the edge of the bed, on which lay her personal belongings that she had rummaged through the cabinet. Inside the handkerchief embroidered with a joyful expression were wrapped the money her parents had secretly left her, as well as the money she had earned from collecting and selling herbs in the mountains over the years, totaling 358.72 yuan.

Next to the handkerchief were two envelopes. One contained a letter from the groom's parents that year, with an address and a phone number. The other contained a document outlining how the house would be allocated, stamped by the commune and signed by several witnesses from the production brigade.

This is a written agreement her father made after the house was built to avoid future disputes. It clearly states the ownership of the four rooms.

Yuan Xiu carefully placed these items close to her body, pulled out a rattan trunk from under the bed, and began packing her luggage.

She didn't have much stuff; a rattan trunk and a small bundle were enough. After packing her luggage, she started looking for rope in the house, planning to take the quilt she was using with her when she left the next morning.

Footsteps sounded outside the door. Yuan Xiu stuffed the rattan trunk under the bed, covered the small bundle under the quilt, took off her shoes, and lay down on the bed.

The next moment, the door creaked open, and Old Madam Yuan's voice rang out: "Xiu'er, isn't it time to make dinner?"

Yuan Xiu remained silent.

Grandma Yuan called out twice more, then closed the door and went out.

Voices drifted in from outside the door: "What's wrong?"

"She's asleep. I bet she's feeling unwell. Oh well, I'll cook dinner. You go pick some scallions from the field, we'll make cornmeal tonight..."

Yuan Xiu woke up just in time. When the aroma wafted from the kitchen, she opened the door, went to the kitchen to get her bowl of noodles, and sat down by the door to eat.

The elderly couple looked at each other, each with only one thought in their minds: the fact that the husband's family hadn't replied was having a significant impact on their granddaughter.

Yuan Xiu slurped down her bowl of noodles, wiped her mouth, put down the bowl, and went back into her room.

Grandma Yuan glanced at the bowls on the stove and called out to Yuan Xiu's retreating figure, "Xiu'er, don't overthink it. Go to bed early tonight and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, everything will be alright."

Yuan Xiu did go to bed quite early that night, but she woke up at five o'clock the next morning. She didn't know if she had slept enough or if it was a habit ingrained in her bones for more than twenty years that made her wake up at this time.

She got up and went to the kitchen to make dough and pancakes. Seeing a basket of eggs in the kitchen, she picked up three still-warm eggs from the henhouse and poured them all into the pan at once.

After the eggs were cooked, she put them into her cloth bag and counted them; there were exactly thirty, no more, no less.

The noise from the kitchen woke up the elderly couple next door. Old Man Yuan, with his eyes closed, sniffed and said, "Xiu'er must have made these pancakes this morning. They smell so good!"

Grandma Yuan grumbled as she turned over, "How much oil did they put in? This child still needs to be taught..."

After saying those two sentences, the elderly couple fell asleep again. Breakfast wasn't ready yet, but they could still doze off for half an hour.

In the kitchen, Yuan Xiu finished baking the last batch of pancakes and put all twelve pancakes into a cloth bag, leaving none for herself.

Before dawn, Yuan Xiu left home carrying a rattan trunk, a packed quilt, and her own food rations.

She had no flashlight, but the still-setting moon and the dawn's first light illuminated her path, and even though the road was bumpy, she didn't fall once.

Yuan Xiu ate breakfast on the road: an egg and a pancake, which she swallowed along with the uncontrollable tears welling up in her eyes.

By the time she reached the town, it was already broad daylight, with wisps of smoke rising along with the morning mist. Yuan Juan's family lived in the staff and family compound behind the supply and marketing cooperative.

Ten years later, his family will buy land in the east of town and build a three-story building.

At the time, she wondered where their family got so much money. Now that she thinks about it, with Yuan Juan, such a good daughter, what does building a house matter?

Yuan Xiu wasn't sure if Yuan Juan had already taken the reply to the army by this time. After all, she had no idea when Yuan Juan had started dating in her previous life. By the time she found out, Yuan Juan had already married far away.

But she subconsciously felt that Yuan Juan should no longer be in town at this time.

"Hey? Yuan Xiu, why are you in town so early?"

A girl about the same age as Yuan Xiu emerged from a house by the roadside, holding a water cup and a toothbrush, with a white towel hanging around her neck.

Yuan Xiu knew this person; she was a girl who had a good relationship with Yuan Juan. When Yuan Juan was still alive, she had taken her back to the countryside to play. Later, Yuan Juan married far away, and when she came to town to go to the market, she would run into her five out of ten times. Whenever she met this girl, she would inevitably ask her about Yuan Juan.

At that time, she didn't know any more than this girl.

The girl squatted down on the curb, took a mouthful of water and spat it into the ditch in front of her door. While brushing her teeth, she spoke to Yuan Xiu: "Are you here to deliver things to Yuan Juan's family again?"

The girl didn't expect Yuan Xiu to answer, and instead rattled off the information Yuan Xiu wanted to know.

"...I saw Yuan Juan carrying a bundle and getting on a bus to the county a few days ago. She said she was going to visit relatives. I don't know when she'll be back. By the way, do you know when she'll be back? We made plans to go to the tailor shop together to get new clothes made..."

Yuan Xiu's eyes turned cold, and she replied indifferently, "I don't know."

After hearing what she wanted to hear, Yuan Xiu turned and left.

Yuan Juan's family had no relatives in the city. Her mother's family was in the next village, and she only had one uncle. They didn't have any relatives in the city, or even outside the commune!

Why would you need to take a bus to the county town to visit relatives?

"Hey, weren't you going to Yuan Juan's house?"

No one answered her question.