Chapter 30 - Unlike Hog Raising, A Child’s Worth Doesn’t Increase With Her Weight

Ye Qiao was absolutely sure that her father's accident was only due to happen about a month later. What triggered the change? Could Lu Beixiao's death be brought forward, too? The young girl became uneasy by the possibility that it could happen.

Meanwhile, she had arrived at the front of her house. The house looked just the same as it was years ago when it was built with signature red roofs. There was no space for a garden, but a variety of bicycles were parked at the front door. There must be visitors in the house.

Ye Qiao felt rather sentimental at the sight of the place that she used to live in. It was the same house with some familiar bicycles. Also, her adorable pet dog had come running to her with its tail wagging, as usual.

…

"Brother-in-law, you really don't have to go under the knife to treat the injury. You'd be in double-trouble - both physically and financially. Listen to me; one acupuncture session would be just enough. It will only cost you 20 bucks! Look at Li Liu! He's well recovered now, thanks to the acupuncture sessions!" Someone encouraged Qiao Xingmin.

Qiao Xingmin sat by his bed, with a cigarette in his hand. Three other men smoked with him in the room. The first one who broke the silence was Ye Qiao's youngest maternal uncle-in-law. What he meant by going under the knife was to perform a surgical operation in the hospital.

"One session will cost less than 20! Really! Look at your age now, you'd have a difficult time recovering from the wounds from a knife," the man added. He threw a glance at the man next to him, and the man nodded his head in mutual agreement.

"Brother-in-law, you should just give it a try. You can opt for the knife later if the needle doesn't work. You can't possibly afford the operation with your current financial constraint. Qiao Tian is also in desperate need of money. He might not even be able to graduate. "

Qiao Xingmin heaved a sigh at the sight of his injured leg. However, his son's troubles concerned him even more.

"All right; let's give it a try," he agreed with a gruff voice.

"Father!" The voice of a girl could be heard from across the house. Concerned, all four of them turned their eyes to the door almost instantly, only to see a tall and slender girl standing there.

With just one look, they were already convinced that she must be a goddess who came down to earth. The spotlessly white shirt she donned was the perfect complement to her aura of innocence. Furthermore, her drop-dead good looks seemed too good to be of this world. There she stood, with keen, sparkling eyes that glistened with teardrops.

"Whose daughter is she?"

"Uncle," she called out with a smile before making her way into the narrow house. Finally, she got to see her father, the man who she last saw at the age of 12, which seemed like a lifetime ago.

Qiao Xingmin thought that she looked familiar, but he could not seem to remember her identity. It was only when he saw the dimples in her sweet cheeks that he remembered. "Qiao Qiao!" He was so pleased with the reencounter.

Hearing her father's shrill excitement gave Ye Qiao a lump in her throat. She had been an unfilial daughter her whole life. She had never returned to visit her foster parents after she left the place to live with her family. The reason that she kept away was her attitude of disdain to her past. She wanted to break away from her everything that might come as an embarrassment to Shen Xichuan.

"Father, I'm really sorry that I took so long to come back!" She kept her sentiment away before walking to the bedside.

Perplexed, Qiao Xingmin could not figure out the purpose of her visit. After all, he had not seen or heard from her for so long. There was not even a single letter to him in the past six years of her absence. He would sometimes grumble that he had not heard from her. However, on second thought, there was no reason that she should be thinking of them. The life that she once shared with them had nothing good to be remembered about.

"Father, have I changed so much that you can't recognize me anymore?" Ye Qiao teased him to try to cut the tension.

Politely, she then greeted all of her uncles who sat by the bed.

"You foolish girl!" Her father responded with a tease, too, but his tone was sweet and tender.

"Father!"

"You truly are a foolish one! Did the Ye family even provide you with any food? Why do you look all skin-and-bones?" Qiao Xingmin sized up the daughter that he once treated like a delicate treasure.

Ye Qiao beamed with delight. "Father, unlike hog raising, a child's worth doesn't increase with her weight."

It was the usual parenting style in the countryside that children should be raised to become plump and rounded. It was a fate that Ye Qiao could not escape from in the past. She was very well fed by the family, which resulted in an increase in her weight.. Her plumpish appearance was something that her parents took pride in.