Celia had been admitted to university.
Aunt Camilla seized our house like a robber and even took my life-saving necklace.
She didn't know that ever since she moved into our house and put the necklace in her pocket, her family had been unlucky...
I was born blind and thought that's how I would be for the rest of my life.
But unexpectedly, when I was nine years old, my left eye suddenly got better and became a blue eye.
And when I was 18 years old, my right eye also got better and grew the same-colored eye.
At that time, Celia was estimated to score nearly 1550 points in the college entrance examination.
Before the scores were announced, Aunt Camilla hurriedly seized our house.
My grandmother used to dote on my father, the only male, and looked down on Aunt Camilla, who was like a thrown-out pot of water.
Now Celia had argued with Grandma, and Grandma said she would go to a good university, and she will have a bright future.
Upon hearing Aunt's request, Grandma didn't hesitate and let our family pack up and make room for them.
My parents had never made much money in their lives, and the few assets they had were this small bungalow built several years ago.
But they were honest and never had any conflicts or fights with others. How could they compete with Grandma and Aunt?
I was mischievous and naughty since I was young. My academic performance was not good, and I loved to argue.
I immediately questioned Grandma, "Why! Why should I and my parents give in to Aunt's family!"
Grandma coldly snorted and said, "You little girl, how dare you! Look at your sister, and then look at yourself. You can't do anything in studying or working. Aren't you ashamed asking this question!"
Yes, Celia was beautiful and smart, she was a hundred times more beautiful and ten thousand times smarter than me.
But not being able to study was not the same as committing a crime or going to jail.
My eyes didn't turn out the way I wanted them to be!
Grandma was looking down on me!
I stared at Grandma fiercely, almost waving my big fist at her.
My mother, on the other hand, was pulling at my sleeve, her eyes red and tears welling up her eyes.
"Daisy, stop talking..."
I slowly loosened my clenched fist.
I knew, ever since I could remember. Grandma had never liked my mother.
My mother's body was not good, she gave birth to me, a blind child, and it took half her life.
She couldn't give Grandma the fat grandson she wanted. Grandma had always belittled my mother, both openly and secretly.
If my mother continued to stay in this family, she would eventually be killed by Grandma's malicious mouth.
Aunt Camilla and her family moved into our clean little apartment, and my parents and I moved into the ramshackle adobe house where her family used to live.
Looking at this dilapidated house that would collapse with a gust of wind, I couldn't help but feel a heavy sense of frustration in my chest. I couldn't help but blame my father.
He had been honest all his life, being bullied all his life, and his wife and daughter had suffered along with him.
Whenever something happened, he just sat at the door with a stool, smoking a cigarette.
He was really useless!
"Mom, where is my necklace?"
As I was washing the vegetables, I suddenly realized that the necklace I wear on my hand every day was missing!
I was a premature baby, weighing only a little over three pounds when I was born. My mother begged the fortune teller for this necklace, and that was how I survived.
It was the protective necklace that had been with me since I was little. I couldn't lose it no matter what.
When my mother heard what I said, she threw the dirty rag in her hand and felt regretful.
"A few days ago, I took it off and strung a new red thread for you... I accidentally left it on the bedside..."
My mother's face showed concern and she said, "I don't know if I can bring it back when I go back."
I was worried. And I remembered Aunt Camilla's greedy face.
Most likely, she got this necklace.
I suppressed my displeasure and immediately went to Aunt Camilla's house after comforting my mother.
I must retrieve this necklace no matter what!
I saw the tall and sturdy old locust tree next to the door in front of the short flat.
I didn't know whether it was just my imagination or not. I felt that after walking for two days, this old locust tree had aged a lot, and its leaves had turned yellow...
As I approached, I saw my uncle sitting under the old locust tree, holding a gourd in his hand. He tilted his head back and spat all the water onto the roots of the old locust tree.
What's even more outrageous was that his next move made me want to poke my eyes out and return to blindness.
He urinated on the old locust tree!
I couldn't bear it anymore, so I hid and shouted with a hoarse voice, "Good morning, Mrs. Sue!"
My uncle, upon hearing this, was so scared that he rushed into the house in a panic, not even having time to finish shaking off the urine.
Humph! Mrs. Sue was the crazy woman in our village. When she went crazy, she could set fire and kill people. Everyone was afraid of her.
But she took special care of this old locust tree, treating it like a companion.
That year, the villagers were repairing the road and they wanted to cut down this tree because it was blocking the way.
After knowing it, Mrs. Sue chased the road worker with a knife for ten miles.
If she knew someone was urinating on her beloved tree, she would cut off that person's vital part!
As soon as I entered the door, my younger cousin stopped me.
"Blind woman! Monster! Go away! Don't come near my house!"
Wow! Your home? How shameless.
"Fuck you!"
I got angry and kicked him with both feet, directly knocking him under the table.
Dean screamed in pain. And I felt happy. This kid was only twelve years old and was not as tall as the six-year-old kid next door. He was overestimating his abilities!
Aunt Camilla heard the crying and shouting. She came out of the room where my mom used to live.
She was holding the necklace in her hand!
I went forward to take it, but she shamelessly stuffed it into her chest and held it tightly.
"Give it to me! That's my thing," I shouted at her.
Aunt Camilla crossed her arms and completely ignored what I said. She walked over and lifted Dean up, forcefully saying, "Who gave you the right to cause trouble in our house? Kneel and apologize to your younger brother!"
"What do you mean 'your house'? This is my house! Give me back that necklace!"
Aunt Camilla looked up with a disgusting face, her eyebrows raised to the ceiling, and laughed hysterically.
"From the moment we moved in, I have been in charge of all the ants in this house. The necklace you mentioned... is naturally mine."
I was filled with anger and walked over to Dean, who hadn't even caught his breath yet and slapped him several times. I kicked him in the butt, and he fell flat on his face, eating a mouthful of dust.
I clapped my hands and said, "Apologize? This is how I apologize!"
Aunt Camilla was so angry that she couldn't say a word. She pointed at me and stuttered, "You... you..."
I turned around and walked out the door, thinking about how she was so angry that her hands were shaking like Parkinson's. I was so happy.
You can have that necklace if you want. I'm sure you'll return it with both hands in no time!
Since the college entrance exam scores came out, Celia has often come back to her hometown with a high and mighty attitude. It was not that she was nostalgic and reluctant to leave this place, but she was showing off to me.
"Blind kid, do you know what this is? It's milk tea! My mom just brought it back from the county town for me. You've never even heard of this kind of drink, have you? Hahaha, country bumpkin!"
Seeing that I ignored her, she took a loud sip of the 'milk tea' in her hand and continued to ask me, "Blind kid, how many points did you get? At this time, you still have the energy to mess with these useless things. I guess you can't even score enough to get into a third-rate university!"
She pretended to be surprised and covered her mouth, pretending to sympathize with me. Everyone knew that she was overjoyed in her heart.
I put down the half-finished leaf carving, looked up at her, and sneered, "You feel proud just by drinking milk tea. You never know if I will pass the exam!"
Celia's face turned pale when she heard it, and she scolded me angrily.
"You have no manners! It serves you right for not getting into college!"
After saying that, she approached me, but her eyes were fixed on my hand. I understood what she meant.
I quickly took the leaf carving and moved it to the side, gently lifting my foot.
She was caught off guard and tripped over, falling like a dog eating shit. This shit was not ordinary shit, it was the little chicken my mother just brought back, and it had only been out for three minutes, still warm.
"How does the taste of chicken shit?" I asked her sarcastically.
Celia opened her eyes and smelled the stinky chicken shit. She ran out of the house, leaning against the wall, and vomited for five or six minutes.
Now you know! I cursed in my heart. I will teach you a lesson every time I see you! So that you won't go to college and harm others!
My score just passed the undergraduate line by more than 30 points, so I could only barely get into an ordinary second-tier college.
For the sake of caution, I filled in the volunteer choices that matched my actual situation.
I wasn't surprised when I received the admission letter.
But my parents held it in their hands as if they were holding a treasure.
Their eyes almost stared a hole in this red admission letter, and I kept murmuring, "Our family is also going to have a college student, great, great..."
At this time, a few chatty aunties from the next door came into our house.
"Donna, Diego, congratulations. Daisy is the first college student in our village." Aunt Edith handed a bag of oranges to my mom. Aunt Smith looked at me happily and then looked at my mom, saying, "Donna, such a big happy event, shouldn't we have a banquet?"
After hesitating for a long time, my mom finally took the bag of oranges from Aunt Edith's hand and then asked a question that I was also a little puzzled about.
"Aunt Edith, how can you say that? In our village, besides our Daisy, there is also Lia, right?"
The Lia my mom said was Celia.
Aunt Edith sighed and shook her head with disdain, saying, "Oh, don't mention it. Her mother has ruined Celia!"
Aunt Edith continued, "Originally, it would have been no problem for Celia to get into a top-tier university. But her mother went to the city a few days ago and listened to someone who said she could 'pick up the leftovers', and insisted on applying to higher-ranked schools. As a result, she didn't get accepted and can only attend a community college later."
"You know, Camilla would never pay for Celia to attend this expensive community college. Maybe in a few days, she will kick this child out and make her find a job." My mom and dad both looked disappointed after hearing this.
"What kind of work can such a young child do without studying? She is just confused and ignorant."
I was not as kind-hearted as my parents, and I didn't feel sorry for Celia at all.
On the contrary, Celia, who attended a prestigious university, was ruined by her mother. It was satisfying to see it all come to nothing.
The village celebrated for two days because I got into college.
My parents spent a lot of money to buy chicken, duck, and fish to set up several tables.
The grandeur of the occasion was even greater than the New Year. The poor house almost collapsed due to the grand feast.
Before all the dishes were served, Mr. Shaw, who had taken a few sips of wine with peanuts, laughed loudly and said, " You have raised a good daughter. After she graduates, she will definitely buy big houses for you to live in!"
When the people around heard it, they all shouted in unison, "That's right, everyone here can guarantee that your sister won't dare to tease you!"
"That's right, that's right!"
The praise from the scene came in waves, and my dad rubbed his hands with a red face.
"Thank you, Celia is also excellent."