Reborn as a Superpower Girl in the 80s
Chapter 272 Schadenfreude

Before her eyes, she appeared seven or eight years older than before she came in, numbly performing the tasks arranged by the prison guards, feeling that there was no end in sight for her days.

In Qingshan Village, Zhao Jianing had been cooped up inside the house for several days. Now, other than her household registration and school enrollment documents—which she had received that day and carelessly stashed in her pocket—everything else had been burned to ashes, even the bag she had brought with her was not spared.

That day, fearing someone might pilfer her belongings, she had hidden her bag within a bundle. Little did she know such an incident would occur, leaving her literally penniless and empty-handed.

Over the past few days, no one from the Zhao Family Sisters had provoked her, after all, it was their squabble that caused the oil lamp to fall onto the bundle. They felt somewhat guilty and also pitied the loss of those items.

But this person had stayed cooped up in the house for days on end, still expecting them to cook and tend to her, and they were not willing to oblige.

That day, when Zhao Pulin came back from work, Zhao Xiaoxing promptly served him a full bowl of food, urging him to eat quickly. Zhao Pulin, having worked a full day, was already very hungry.

Just as Zhao Pulin finished eating and was about to rest a bit in his room, Zhao Jianing happened to come out of the house and asked towards the kitchen, "Isn’t the food ready yet?"

Zhao Pulin’s steps faltered as he turned to look towards the kitchen, just about to say something when he heard Zhao Xiaoxing respond, "If you want to eat, make it yourself. We are not your servants. Do you still think you’re the young lady of the house, expecting others to wait on you hand and foot, as if you’re still some big shot from the city?

"Day in and day out, we have to work for our work points, gather pig feed, and then come back to tend to our own plots. Now on top of all that, we have to wait on you, the delicate city miss who’s used to living in comfort."

Zhao Jianing’s eyes reddened with anger as she turned to look at Zhao Pulin, who was about to enter his room, her face a picture of pitifulness.

Zhao Pulin glanced at the other daughters who obviously presented a united front at the kitchen door and then at the sixth daughter who had returned from the city. He spoke softly, "Since you are back, you should try to adapt to the rural life. If you can’t bear it, you can always go back to your foster parents."

Having said that, he lifted the curtain and went into his room. He couldn’t favor the city-returned sixth daughter and hurt the other daughters’ feelings. They were right, she couldn’t go on like this forever.

Zhao Jianing was about to run back into the house to cry but heard Zhao Xiaocao say, "Sixth sister, don’t you start crying again. We’ve been tired all morning and still have to go out to earn work points after a short rest. We can’t compare to city folks who live off their skills when payday comes."

With no option left, Zhao Jianing ran out of the Zhao Family home, crying, and squatted by the riverbank to weep.

She realized that the Luo Family would not be able to help her now, and even her own family saw her as a burden, complaining that she was incapable of doing anything and ganging up to bully her.

After crying, she thought things through. Her only way out now was education. She must get into university to leave this place and avoid being stuck in the countryside for life.

Clear-headed, she got up to walk home but was greeted at the gateway by a commotion.

Standing outside, she listened for a while before understanding what was happening. It turned out that the family Zhao Xiaoxing was engaged to had come to call the engagement off, not because they found fault with Xiaoxing, but because they couldn’t endure the village’s mockery and felt sorry for her.

In fact, the Zhang Family, to whom Xiaoxing was betrothed, had long looked down on her. It was only because the grandfather of the Zhang Family had decided on the match that they accepted the engagement reluctantly. The Zhang Family had been wanting to break it off ever since Zhao Guibao’s incident.

Yet, Zhang Changping’s father, fearing gossip, had forcefully suppressed the matter. But now that Gao Suhua had been sentenced and had committed such vicious acts, Changping’s mother couldn’t stand it any longer.

Changping’s father agreed but asked them to wait a few days before coming over. Today, after enduring ridicule in the fields, Changping’s mother couldn’t take it anymore and came over with her family members after lunch.

Zhao Pulin was stupefied, Zhao Xiaoxing cried, the Zhao Family Sisters felt the Zhang Family was being too harsh, but Zhao Jianing, standing at the gateway, laughed gleefully at the misfortune.