"Xu Zhaodi, hurry up and finish the dishes. Go change your brother's diaper and wash it clean. Don't you dare slack off, or I'll break your legs."
Jun Jiuli's ears were assaulted by the grating, hoarse voice. She was currently standing on a wooden stool, her hands covered in grease.
The washing water in the large red basin was murky and already ice-cold. She looked at her small hands, already chapped with frostbite and calluses. Jun Jiuli let out a long sigh.
Life was tough, she mused. She clearly wasn't destined for a life of comfort. Just as she was about to bury her head and finish the dishes, she heard the smug voice of Shui Wa.
"Host, the original host was the true daughter!"
Upon hearing this, Jun Jiuli nimbly jumped off the stool. If she was the true daughter, why the heck was she washing dishes? The sound of the stool slipping startled the little boy nearby.
As soon as he saw Jun Jiuli leave the stove, he wailed, "Mom, Mom, hurry! This good-for-nothing isn't listening. She dared to come over without finishing the dishes. Her hands are so dirty, I don't want her changing my diaper."
Jun Jiuli's face was etched with black lines. You really think highly of yourself. The original host was the captain of the Bitter Gourd Brigade. Knowing how to bully the original host at such a young age, it seemed none of this family were good people.
The entire house was cramped and small, no more than 50 square meters. The stove for cooking took up a quarter of the living room.
The child, named Xu Dafu, was holding a dusty bun in his hand. He made faces at Jun Jiuli.
Jun Jiuli walked over, snatched the bun from his hand, and stuffed it into his mouth. Xu Dafu was stunned by her action, the words caught in his throat.
He started crying with a rather unenthusiastic wail. Mother Xu came out, brandishing a clothes hanger.
"I told you to take good care of your brother, and this is how you do it. Your guts have grown fat, daring to make your brother cry. Watch how I teach you today."
The woman charged over furiously, and Jun Jiuli stuck out her foot. Tripped by her, the woman fell directly onto the cement floor with a loud thud.
She felt as if her internal organs had been dislodged. She couldn't get up no matter how hard she tried, but she continued to curse incessantly.
Jun Jiuli grabbed a fire hook from the stove and crouched in front of the woman. "Keep spouting nonsense, and I'll rip your mouth open."
"You little slut, how dare you! I am your mother, you unfilial wretch, you'll be struck by lightning!"
"See if I dare," Jun Jiuli said, gripping her jaw and forcing her mouth open.
"I was wrong, ancestor. What are you doing now? I'll apologize to you, okay? I'm your mother, after all!" Mother Xu said, her words somewhat slurred.
Looking at the two in front of her, Jun Jiuli felt incredibly agitated and couldn't resist the urge to lash out. She grabbed the fire hook and beat them soundly.
Because of the soundproofing talisman, no one noticed the abnormality in this family. After she beat them until they passed out from the pain, Shui Wa finally began to relay the plot.
The plot was utterly ridiculous. The original host, a child from a wealthy family, had been swapped with the impoverished Xu family. Even though this happened in a hospital, the ward levels were different.
For the sake of the plot, the nurse was really trying, her eyesight must have been terrible. And what about the original host's family, the confinement nannies, the relatives? Wasn't anyone watching the child?
Shui Wa said, "This is the fate of a supporting female character. She suffers in place of others. The female lead, weak and frail, says: 'I'm sorry, but I'm also a victim. I didn't know either!'"
Jun Jiuli retorted, "What victim? The original host is the victim. She's getting the benefits and still playing the innocent."
The original host was only reunited with the Zhong family at the age of 22. The Zhong family had been wealthy people since their ancestors. Her father was a descendant of the rich, and her family controlled over half the coal mines in the province.
Jun Jiuli commented, "In other words, I have mines at home. (⊙w⊙)"
Shui Wa replied, "That's the original host's family."
The female lead who was swapped with her and had her life exchanged was Zhong Qingjian. She truly had a blessed life. Because of her congenital weakness, she had been a sickly child since birth.
If not for the Zhong family's expensive medicinal herbs meticulously nurturing her, she might not have lived past twenty.
In a family like the Xu family, where males were favored over females, a sickly child like her would likely have been abandoned shortly after birth.
Twenty-two years later, the original host appeared in her world like an ugly duckling. She tearfully said she didn't want it this way.
But in her heart, she secretly compared herself to the original host. Her hands were fair and slender, like works of art, while the original host's hands were rough from picking up trash, doing manual labor, and washing dishes since childhood.
The original host suffered from malnutrition since childhood, leading to dry, rough skin and dull, yellowish hair. Her skin, however, was as fair and translucent as a peeled egg.
The original host still had acne scars from her adolescence, her face pitted. Although her facial features were good, compared to the female lead, she was an ugly duckling.
She knew the original host had suffered greatly in her place. She felt the original host was very unlucky, but that was all. After all, none of this was her fault; it was the hospital's carelessness that caused the mistake.
From a true daughter to a false daughter, her heart also felt bad. Everyone around her sympathized with her, except for the original host's family.
The original host's father was a rather traditional man. He was stubborn and believed in blood ties. His daughter had been severely abused by others, yet he raised the other's daughter to be graceful and dignified. Every time he thought about it, his heart ached as if cut by a knife.
Although he had raised the false daughter for 22 years and had developed feelings for her, the moment he saw her, he was reminded of the suffering his own daughter had endured. Thus, after the original host was found, they each returned to their rightful places.
The Zhong family also gave the false daughter a large sum of money so she could continue to afford her expensive medication.
Unexpectedly, Zhong Qingjian used this money to buy a house for her biological parents and pay for her brother's expensive private schooling. The family lived a happy and fulfilling life with the Zhong family's money.
Outsiders praised the false daughter for her filial piety and kindness, for not disdaining her poor biological parents and gracefully leaving the Zhong family. The original host, when compared to her, was far inferior. Having found her wealthy biological parents, she had forgotten the kindness of her adoptive parents.
Zhong Qingjian's actions directly struck a nerve with Father Zhong. Since it was indeed the hospital's fault back then, the Xu family had not deliberately swapped the children. Therefore, he couldn't do anything to the Xu family, and this matter had already frustrated him greatly.
He felt sorry for his adopted daughter and gave her money to survive. However, he did not expect her to help those who had abused his biological daughter. Father Zhong immediately took back all the money.
This led to him being criticized by outsiders as heartless, saying that coal bosses were indeed all cunning businessmen. All the charity work they had done before was just for show.
First, they used money to gain a good reputation for their adopted daughter, and now they secretly took it back. It was simply shameless. To abandon a daughter they had raised for so many years so easily, how could such a person have any conscience?
This incident also completely enraged another person: Feng Yechuan, the childhood sweetheart and fiancé of the false daughter.
He believed that biological daughters could not compare to 22 years of upbringing. The false daughter had also brought happiness to the Zhong family. Why could they so easily expel her?
It was all the original host's return that caused his Qingjian to suffer so much and be ridiculed by people in their circle.
He would never marry the true daughter of the Zhong family. The only wife he recognized was Qingjian. He would definitely make the Zhong family regret choosing the original host.