The lighting was dim, and the atmosphere in the room was tense.
Many people were squeezed into the small space; it was a large family, Zhao's mother and her eight children (five sons and three daughters).
Zhao's mother looked at her children, each with their heads bowed and faces etched with worry. After a long sigh, she finally spoke, "Let's draw straws. Whoever draws the straw will go to jail in your eldest brother's place."
The original body, Jun Jiuli, ranked third (counting both boys and girls). He was the unlucky one who ended up taking the fall for his eldest brother.
The original owner, Zhao Sanming, had two older sisters and two older brothers above him. He and the fourth child were twins. Below them were a younger brother and sister, the youngest being sixteen and just graduated from junior high.
Their father had passed away years ago, leaving his mother, Wu Guihua, to raise them alone. Despite the family's financial difficulties, she insisted that all her children receive an education.
This parallel world was equivalent to China's 1980s. Wu Guihua was a formal worker at a textile factory, earning fifty yuan a month.
The eldest sister, Zhao Dahua, was twenty-two and already married. The second sister, Zhao Erhua, was nineteen and still attending high school. The current incident was caused by her.
She envied the female classmates in her class for having new clothes. Without a word, she stole their class funds to buy a new dress.
She didn't dare to wear the dress home and instead hid it in her schoolbag. She would change into it near the school to show off.
The class fund had been stolen, and everyone in the class was aware of Zhao Erhua's situation. When they saw her wearing a new dress, they naturally made assumptions, leading to some unpleasant gossip.
Zhao Erhua, this neurotic woman, was the one who made the mistake. Upon hearing the speculation, she acted as if she had suffered a great injustice and only knew how to cry when she got home.
Zhao Daming couldn't stand to see his sister wronged. Zhao Erhua also wanted someone to confide in, so she recounted the story selectively, emphasizing the unpleasant parts without explaining the reasons.
Zhao Daming was impulsive. The classmate who kept the class fund and the Zhao family lived on the same street. Zhao Daming directly went to the classmate's house to settle the score.
He dragged the person outside, and after an argument, they started fighting. The classmate's head hit the stone slab when Zhao Daming pushed him, and the person died.
Zhao Daming was terrified and quickly rushed home to tell Wu Guihua. It was raining heavily at the time, and no one saw him actually do the deed. Wu Guihua then decided to have one of the other boys in the family take the blame.
Because the family was so poor, Zhao Daming, at twenty-one, graduated from high school and secured a good job at a steel factory. He was just beginning to earn money and could help the family financially.
The person who was supposed to draw the straw was the original owner's younger brother, Zhao Siming. This scoundrel secretly swapped straws with the original owner after looking at them. What was more, his mother saw this but, being biased, did not expose it.
When the original owner saw the straw, he couldn't accept it. He had excellent grades and a girl he had liked for a long time. The girl seemed to have feelings for him too; they were just a step away from confessing.
But with his whole family guilt-tripping him and his mother nearly kneeling to him, saying they couldn't go on living, he softened.
He had seen his mother's sacrifices over the years and truly felt for her. Although she was only forty-three, she looked as old as fifty or sixty.
His heart softened, and he agreed to go to jail for his brother. His family made a good meal, and that day, everyone let him eat first.
After eating, he went to the police station to surrender and was eventually sentenced to eight years for negligent homicide. His beloved girl, not knowing the truth, gave up on him completely because he went to prison.
After the original owner went in, Zhao Erhua became a model for her boyfriend. Her paintings were leaked, and she couldn't bear the blow, becoming mentally unstable.
She would frequently cause trouble for the Zhao family, who indulged her. They never mentioned that incident. Eventually, she moved to another city to develop her career.
Eight years later, the original owner was released. His eldest and second brothers had both gotten married, but their wives looked down on him, often showing him cold shoulders.
The original owner had suffered eight years of hardship in prison. After his release, his personality changed drastically. He became destructive and disruptive, causing great unrest in the household. Initially, everyone tolerated him, but later they found him unreasonable.
The girl he used to like was now dating his fourth brother. The house was small, so he had to share a bunk bed with his fourth brother after his release.
He couldn't help but say some harsh words. His fourth brother, burdened by the guilt of swapping straws over the years, looked at the original owner's frail body and finally couldn't hold back, revealing the truth of that year.
The original owner became even more devastated and unruly. Every family member looked at him with annoyance. His mother still maintained an attitude of "I'm sorry for you, third child, please stop causing trouble."
The original owner was in a car accident while saving someone and was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. Two months later, he passed away.
Before he died, the original owner expressed forgiveness, but deep down, he harbored resentment and grievance. His life had been filled with dissatisfaction.
The sister who caused the trouble, Zhao Erhua, married into an extremely wealthy family. The lives of the other families also prospered, and his mother lived a peaceful old age.
The original owner's wish was not to go to jail and to protect his own interests, even if the family fell apart. He wanted to see what the final outcome for his family would be.
"Okay."
The children looked up at Wu Guihua with panicked expressions. Zhao Daming kept his head low, not daring to take responsibility for his mistake.
Zhao Wuming was only eight years old this year, so the ones who needed to draw straws were brothers two, three, and four. The second brother, Zhao, was in his third year of high school and had good grades, with a high chance of getting into university.
His body was trembling slightly. He didn't dare to gamble on a one-in-three chance and wanted to try for something else.
"Mom, this is unfair to us. This was Big Brother's mistake, and what you're doing is wrong."
Wu Guihua slammed the table fiercely, causing the white paper slips on it to tremble.
"Your brother is starting his job this year, and we can't lose him. He's also at an age where he should be getting married. If he goes in and stays for a few years, wouldn't his whole life be ruined?
Mom doesn't want this either; both the palm and the back of my hand are my flesh and blood. But our family needs your eldest brother more right now. You brothers are still young, and everything is still possible."
Zhao's second brother was rendered speechless by his mother's words. He also noticed Wu Guihua's subtle movements and quickly grabbed a white paper slip, holding it tightly.
This scene was observed by Jun Jiuli. Indeed, both the palm and the back of the hand were flesh, but the flesh on the back was thinner than that on the palm.
The three boys were all terrified by the idea of taking the blame. They all hung their heads. Zhao Erming dared to fight for himself, and upon looking up, he received a signal from Wu Guihua.
Wu Guihua wanted a university student in the family more than anyone else, as she believed that if a child succeeded, they could uplift the other children. Therefore, she privately did not want the second or fourth child to go.
Zhao Siming was also terrified. Just as he was about to reach out, Jun Jiuli snatched away the blank straw. Looking up, he clearly saw Wang Guihua frown.
Jun Jiuli was the first to open the paper slip, showing a relieved expression, and said happily, "Great, it's not me."
Zhao Erming hurriedly opened his slip and placed it on the table. "It's not me either."
Zhao Siming burst into tears, unable to hold the paper slip steady. It fell to the ground, and he slumped from his stool, utterly weak.
"Mom, I'm not going, I'm not going! I'd rather die than go! I didn't do anything wrong. Is that place fit for people? Wuwuwu..."
His siblings watched with cold indifference. The eldest brother hesitated to speak, then turned to look at Wu Guihua.
Wu Guihua seemed to age ten years in an instant and couldn't help but cover her face and cry.
Zhao Daming said, "Mom, how about I go? Don't make things difficult for fourth brother."
"Mom, let my eldest brother go. My eldest brother agreed, so let him go. I can't, I really can't, wuwuwu~"
Zhao Erming's expression was now relaxed, completely devoid of his earlier tension. He stood and spoke without concern:
"Fourth brother, don't make things difficult for Mom. Mom doesn't want this either, but our family cannot do without Big Brother right now. You need to understand the family's situation."
As he spoke, he reached out to help Zhao Siming, who had fallen to the ground.
"Get away from me, get away! I don't want your false kindness. If you're so understanding, why don't you go?"
Zhao Siming said this, grabbed the paper slip from the ground, and threw it at Zhao Erming, collapsing like a cornered beast.
Zhao Erming became anxious and quickly distanced himself: "I didn't draw the straw, why should I go? Siming, accept your fate."
After saying this, he quickly returned to his seat and dared not speak again.
Zhao Siming got up and stared intently at Wu Guihua, who sat in the main seat: "Mom, can you bear this? I'm still so young. Big Brother should take responsibility for his own actions.
If not, there's still second sister. These things were caused by him. Why should I bear the consequences? I am innocent, and I will never agree to your unreasonable demands."
Shui Wa said, "Indeed, people don't know pain until the whip lashes them."
Zhao Erhua immediately jumped in, "Zhao Siming, what nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean I caused it? I never told Big Brother to stand up for me.
Big Brother killed the person, and Mom told you to draw straws to take the blame. Don't blame everything on me."
Shui Wa retorted, "What a shameless person ಠ_ರೃ."