Chapter 2 The Truth in the Voice Recorder (Part 2)_1

He Tiantian was stunned once again. So, the old Qi family not only slandered her for being infertile but also staged the entire affair between her and Qi Jianguo? It wasn't Qi Jianguo who saved her, but a trap they had set?

How many more secrets about the Qi family did she not know?

After a while, Qi Fangfang asked again, "Mom, how exactly did you and Dad set this trap? Did my older brother know about it?"

"Hehe, your older brother is shrewd. Of course, he knew, it was actually his idea. Your father and I were just following what he said, and it really worked. Back then, without your sister-in-law, your brother wouldn't have found a good wife, and our family wouldn't be enjoying the good days we have now," Mother Qi said proudly. Initially, she hadn't dared to go through with it, afraid of being ridiculed if things failed, but thankfully she had listened to her son. Otherwise, their lives wouldn't have been as respectable and envied as they were now.

Oh my God, Qi Jianguo knew everything, and he was the instigator.

"Mom, I heard from my sister-in-law before that she fell into a trap and stayed there the whole night. My brother went up the mountain to find her, meant to rescue her but accidentally fell in as well and almost broke his leg. During the night, my sister-in-law was scared, and my brother told jokes. Afterward, she took a liking to him, and the two of them got together," Qi Fangfang said. "Now hearing what you're saying, were the trap and my brother going to find her all prearranged by you?"

"You guessed right this time," Mother Qi said. "Back then, there was no food to eat, and everyone in the village went to dig for wild vegetables, including your sister-in-law. To lead her to that secluded spot, I gave your third aunt ten eggs! The trap was dug by your father and your brother, just waiting for your sister-in-law to fall into it while digging for wild vegetables. Your brother's left leg was already shorter than his right, so even if he broke a leg, getting a beautiful wife in exchange, it was a worthwhile trade!"

The trap was dug by Qi Jianguo!

Everything was a snare created by Qi Jianguo and his family, and she, like a foolish doe, had blundered straight into it to become their hunted prey, slaving away in that family for so many years!

He Tiantian felt as though her heart was being wrung, she sat down on the ground, her legs numb, but this numbness was nothing compared to the excruciating pain in her heart.

"Ah, when they're little, children just can't be away from their parents," Qi Fangfang said. "If my sister-in-law's parents had been by her side, perhaps our family wouldn't have been able to take advantage of her."

"Hehe, her parents?" Mother Qi scoffed. "The letters from her parents were handed over to me by your second uncle, who works as an accountant. At that time, your brother had broken his leg, and He Tiantian was developing feelings for him. How could I let your sister-in-law see those letters, even if her father was on his deathbed, I didn't bring them out."

Oh my God, the Qi family were a bunch of bastards, they actually... actually hid her letters. She missed seeing her parents for the last time, and it was only when He Tiantian received a letter from the neighboring village's Liu Lingli, saying her parents had passed away and asking for help to search, that she knew her parents had died.

Once in the city, she never saw her mother's kindness or her father's smile again, just two cold urns of ashes.

"Mom... Mom..." Qi Fangfang said, "It's not right what you did, you should have at least allowed my sister-in-law to see her parents!"

"Hehe, what's wrong with that? If her parents hadn't died, would the He family's house have become yours?" Mother Qi said. "I heard it from He Tiantian herself; her family used to be rich, but I didn't believe it. Just based on our background as eight generations of poor peasants from the old Qi family, who even had a couple of Yuan Shikai coins stashed away, let alone a large household like the He family. If I hadn't sent you to your sister-in-law's hometown, could you have dug out that box from under their house?"

Back then, her mother-in-law said that since they weren't going to Nan City, they would leave the courtyard house to Fangfang. She hadn't taken it seriously at the time and let Qi Fangfang live there. But then, Qi Fangfang dug up something from her house, and she only gave He Tiantian a jade pendant the size of a thumb, claiming it was bought from Lao Fengxiang.

At that time, He Tiantian was overwhelmed with gratitude, feeling that Qi Fangfang treated her like family. She decided not to return to Nan City and transferred the house directly into Qi Fangfang's name.

How foolish she had been, sold out yet counting the money for others—that was the kind of fool she was.

"Hehe!" Qi Fangfang said with an apologetic smile. "Mom, our family has only you to thank for being so clever. After I went to my sister-in-law's family home, although it was empty, I lived there for a while and indeed dug up some valuable things. Without selling a pair of bracelets, where would our family get the money to buy a big house in the city?"

"At least you have a conscience, knowing to give me a pair of bracelets to wear," Mother Qi said proudly. "I heard that the old house is about to be demolished. Won't it be exchanged for quite a few houses?"

"Yes, indeed, we can get four apartments and a compensation of 550,000 yuan," Qi Fangfang said excitedly. "Mom, when the time comes, I'll give my brother one apartment and give you 100,000 yuan for your retirement, and I'll rent out the rest after renovating them."

Qi Fangfang was a primary school teacher, and her husband Zhou Hongqi, who worked in sales, frequently went on business trips to Nan City and stayed at the He Family's courtyard.

Qi Fangfang kept those treasures hidden from Zhou Hongqi, so their daily lives weren't very comfortable, but fortunately, her maternal family would help them out, making life quite pleasant. Once the demolition money came through, they would be wealthy too.

He Tiantian hugged her head with both hands and yanked her hair hard.

That was her family's house, just like that given to the heartless Qi Fangfang.

"Click," the sound of the door opening came from the recorder, "Fangfang, that house was given to your family by your eldest sister-in-law, and you should also give a house to your eldest sister-in-law."

Qi Jianguo was actually there too!

This person and his family had woven such a huge web of lies, blinding her eyes. The helplessness of losing her parents made her frail heart yearn for warmth and family the most, and she had accepted Qi Jianguo's pursuit. Looking back now, it seemed absurd, laughable, like a clown's performance.

"Brother, why do you need so many houses? In the future, me and Zhicheng will take care of you until your last days, and your eldest sister-in-law can earn money," said Qi Fangfang. "Big brother, the demolition of our area was executed by the person who came to Qijia Village to find your eldest sister-in-law back then, his name is... is... Huo Yingjie. If your eldest sister-in-law gets the house, and later on she sees Huo Yingjie, the things you did before will be exposed. Although your eldest sister-in-law is usually easygoing, she's quite stubborn at heart. By then, she'll surely blame you!"

Huo Yingjie?

It had been many years since she had heard that name. She hadn't expected that today, in this little recorder, she would learn of a truth hidden for decades and hear that person's name again!

Just now, Qi Fangfang mentioned that Huo Yingjie had come looking for her, but she hadn't seen Huo Yingjie back then, had she?

"Who is this Huo Yingjie?" asked Mother Qi puzzledly. "What does he have to do with your eldest sister-in-law?"

"Mom, you've never seen that Huo Yingjie, he was particularly handsome. He came looking for my eldest sister-in-law before she married my brother, and I happened to run into him. I told my brother, and I don't know what my brother said to the man, but then Huo Yingjie just left. Not long after that, my brother and eldest sister-in-law got married," Qi Fangfang said. "Big brother, what exactly did you tell him back then?"

Qi Jianguo chuckled, "Haha, nothing much, just put on a little act. I fell down, and your eldest sister-in-law helped me, showed concern, and that man saw it. I even found Old Man Wu from the county's scrap station to imitate Huo Yingjie's handwriting, and wrote a 'Dear John' letter to your eldest sister-in-law saying that he had already found a like-minded companion at his job. After your eldest sister-in-law read the letter, she tore it up, gave up hope, and didn't reply. Then I had Old Man Wu imitate your eldest sister-in-law's handwriting to write a letter to that Huo Yingjie saying she was about to get married, to cut ties completely, to keep out of each other's lives..."

"That being the case, Jianguo, we don't need that house anymore, to avoid your wife encountering her old flame and causing a disgraceful scene," Mother Qi said. "Fangfang, of the five hundred and fifty thousand, you give us four hundred thousand, which your brother and I will hold onto. Don't tell your eldest sister-in-law, understand?"

A house was worth more than four hundred thousand, but Qi Fangfang readily agreed, "Okay, once the money comes in, I'll transfer it to you. Big brother, you... you don't have any objections, do you?"

Qi Jianguo thought for a moment and said, "Ah... no objections..." His mother was right, it was better not to let his wife return to Nan City to avoid having the proverbial 'green hat' on his head at this age.

The long-sealed memories resurfaced with Qi Jianguo's words from the recorder, evoking He Tiantian's past.

Back then, Qi Jianguo saved her life, and she was grateful to him but never thought of marrying him. However, on that day, she received a letter from Huo Yingjie that devastated her. Huo Yingjie was her first love; they had promised to be together in the future.

Betrayed by Huo Yingjie and orphaned by her parents' death, He Tiantian was struck with a severe depression, falling ill. Throughout her illness, Mother Qi and Qi Fangfang took great care of her, and Qi Jianguo was especially solicitous, seeking doctors and medicine. Once she recovered, she accepted Qi Jianguo.

He Tiantian naively thought that even without love, the value of kinship was also precious. Alone, she desperately needed the warmth of a family to give her the courage to live on.

Yet, to her astonishment, at fifty years old, she discovered the truth—her entire life up to that point had been spent living a lie.