The Wonderful Homecoming Journey: Warmth and Growth
Not long after Ellie returned home, Lucy looked at her timidly, with a hint of unease and anticipation in her eyes: "Sister, can you not drive me away? I don't want to leave Mom and Dad." Looking at Lucy's pitiful appearance, Ellie felt a surge of tenderness and replied with a smile: "Of course not." When Mom heard Ellie's answer, she immediately heaved a sigh of relief. She immediately hugged Lucy tightly as if to give Lucy endless comfort through this embrace. Looking at the scene of them hugging, Ellie's eyes unconsciously welled up with tears. How strange. What's going on today? Why was she just saying they were crybabies, and now she's crying too. Dad looked at Mom and coughed gently. The sound was particularly clear in the quiet atmosphere. Ellie sobbed and asked Dad: "Are you not feeling well?" Dad felt a warmth in his heart when he saw Ellie's concerned eyes. He lowered his body again and gently hugged Ellie. It's fair now. One for each. Ellie thought to herself. But in an instant, she realized it wasn't fair! Ellie resolutely broke free from Dad's embrace. Under Dad's puzzled gaze, she quickly hugged her brother. Then, she threw Duoduo to Dad. Hmm... It's fair now. Aunt Zhang, looking at the warm yet somewhat comical interaction of their family, shouted with a smile: "Come and have dinner."
They came to the dining room, and Ellie was stunned by the sumptuous dinner in front of her. She had never seen such a rich meal in her life. The exquisite dishes emitted an inviting aroma. Her brother looked at Ellie's astonished expression and laughed, saying she was like a bumpkin. Ellie just slightly pursed her lips and ignored him. Lucy obediently picked up food for Ellie, and Ellie quickly held the bowl to catch it. Mom, looking at this harmonious scene, couldn't help laughing. But suddenly, "Oh, sister... Do you still hate me?" Lucy's voice carried a bit of grievance. Somehow, the dish Lucy picked up for her dropped to the ground. Ellie caught it well. Ellie didn't hear what Lucy said at all. Her eyes were only on the dropped dish. Without hesitation, she picked up the eggplant with her hand and put it in her mouth and ate it. Mom looked at her like a monster, her eyes filled with shock and heartache. Ellie explained blankly: "If it drops to the ground and is picked up within five seconds, it can be eaten. I used to eat like this... "And the floor at home is polished shiny and not dirty at all. Ellie saw a hint of astonishment flash in Lucy's eyes, then return to normal. Lucy said softly: "Sister, it's all my fault. I didn't hold it tightly..." "It's okay, sister. I'll pick it up myself." Ellie quickly responded. "Does sister still hate me?" As she spoke, Lucy's eyes reddened again, and tears welled up in her eyes, as if they were about to fall at any moment. "Ah... No... Oh, I just want to try every dish, for fear of tiring you." Ellie embarrassedly expressed her true thoughts. Ellie really wanted to shrink into the table. She felt so embarrassed. And then she really did, shrinking herself under the table. Her brother, seeing her like this, laughed loudly. So Ellie didn't dare to come out. Finally, Mom pulled her out and gently picked up every dish for her once. Ellie has never eaten such delicious food! Her face bloomed with a happy smile again.
"Sister, did you just leave your previous home like this? Don't you miss your adoptive parents? I can't even imagine leaving Mom and Dad." Lucy curiously asked Ellie. Ellie slightly lowered her head, fell into memories, and said after a moment: "Um... I still miss them quite a bit. Killing fish is very tiring, but one fish is one yuan. I have saved a thousand yuan in two years. And although my adoptive father hit me, he always avoided my face so as not to affect my fish selling. Also, all the friends around me told me that going to school is very, very tiring. So my adoptive parents didn't let me go to school." Ellie replied cheerfully, as if those once hard experiences had become somewhat special in her mouth. Lucy was stunned. Ellie thought she must be envious of her life. "Sister, if you want to experience it, I can take you with me. I have a lot of experience! I can definitely take good care of you and let us dominate the fish market!" Ellie said excitedly. "Mom... Sister... She's threatening me again, wuuuu." Lucy cried again. She hugged Mom again, as if only Mom's embrace could give her a sense of security. "Ah? Sister, I didn't... I just thought that your adoptive parents would be very happy to see you because Mom and Dad were also very happy to see me. Sister, don't cry. I'm not good at coaxing people. I'll give you all my money." Ellie hurriedly explained and then untied the cloth bag hanging on her chest that she didn't even take off when taking a bath. Inside were the thousand yuan she had saved in the past two years, neatly stacked. Ellie reluctantly handed the money to Lucy. But Lucy didn't catch it, and the money fell all over the place. "Sister... Do you still think I'm dirty?" Ellie's voice was filled with loneliness. She silently picked up the scattered banknotes on the ground by herself. Seeing this scene, Dad squatted down and picked them up with her. After picking them up, he collected the money and handed Ellie a bank card. "Dad has collected the money for you. This bank card is for you. There is a lot of money in it. Ellie, spend it freely." Dad, my dear Dad. Ellie took the bank card and carefully touched it. This bank card was different from the bank cards she had seen before. It was black. But she finally had a bank card! According to her friends at the fish market, you have to deposit a lot of money in the bank to get a bank card. Lucy stared at Dad in disbelief: "Dad... Isn't this your birthday present for me?" "Ah? What is a birthday present?" Ellie asked suddenly. In her impression, it seemed that she only had a birthday when she was very young. But she couldn't remember clearly. She didn't have a birthday. Her adoptive father told her that every year that passed, she grew one year older. She always calculated her age like this. The guilt in Dad's eyes couldn't be hidden anymore. He sternly looked at Lucy: "Ellie just came back. You give in to your sister. Dad will give it to you later." Then Dad told her that May 17th was her birthday. Ellie was so happy. She finally had a birthday like everyone else.
This day's events were like a dream for Ellie. She not only found her biological parents, but also had a handsome but seemingly not-so-smart brother, a cute but cry easily sister. She also had a bank card of her own and knew her birthday. What a perfect day. At night, Ellie lay on the soft big bed but couldn't sleep at all. The previous scenes kept flashing in her mind. She missed her hard wooden board. She wondered if her adoptive parents would chop it up for firewood after she left. She secretly went downstairs and saw her brother Alex, who was teasing her Duoduo. Duoduo wasn't asleep either. Ellie thought it probably wasn't used to the soft doghouse either. "Didn't you ever think about why it was such a coincidence? Lucy was just adopted by Mom and Dad?" Alex's voice was particularly clear in the quiet night. "Ah? I never thought about it." Ellie concentrated on teasing Duoduo and didn't think too much about her brother's question. "You're so stupid. If it weren't for me, you'd still be killing fish now!" Alex rambled on for a bunch. Ellie roughly understood half of it. It turned out that it was her brother who found her. Ever since she got lost, her brother had been looking for her. Mom and Dad thought they couldn't find her, but he was still looking. He also said that Mom and Dad gave her adoptive parents a sum of money to bring her home smoothly. Ellie looked at Alex movedly and hugged him tightly: "Brother, you're really my only brother. Killing fish is really tiring. Thank you, brother." "You, you're still as silly as when you were a child." Alex poked her head with his finger, his eyes filled with indulgence. "Oh~" Ellie smiled at him. Then her brother sent her back to her room to rest. She took Duoduo upstairs with her. Holding it, it was soft. She seemed to feel sleepy and fell asleep.
The next morning, her brother came to wake her up. Lucy and Mom were already having breakfast downstairs. Mom was feeding Lucy and bringing her milk. Ellie looked on enviously, her eyes filled with envy. Dad scolded Mom when he saw this: "Ellie is still here. Why only bring it to Lucy?" Mom then remembered that there was also Ellie. Ellie said in surprise: "Mom must know that I don't like milk, so she didn't give it to me. Mom is so nice." But for some reason, Mom looked at her awkwardly. Her brother handed her a glass of milk and told her to drink more: "Otherwise, you'll be short for life." "Hey, this milk is different from what I drank before. It's not sour at all. It's so delicious." Ellie looked at Dad, her eyes filled with anticipation. "Can I have some more?" Dad looked at her affectionately: "You can drink as much as you want."