"And another thing." Wen Ci's eyes reddened, her mind flooded with memories from her childhood. Her early life had been truly bitter; she had even considered jumping into a river to end it all.
"She knew the truth about being switched at birth as early as middle school, but she kept it a secret and sent money to support her biological parents every month."
"They took the money and went out to eat at restaurants in the county town, while I was at home gnawing on tree bark!"
In the sixties and seventies, every household needed ration tickets to buy anything. When the Wen parents got money, they'd take Wen Yaozu out to restaurants.
She survived by growing and eating snake gourds.
Snake gourds grew quickly, but they had little flavor or nutritional value.
Wen Ci spent her entire adolescence eating snake gourds. In the whole family, only a young Wen Yaozu felt sorry for her, secretly hiding bits of meat behind the Wen parents' backs to give her a treat.
