I really didn’t know that this factor was involved.
"I was the youngest child in the family. At that time, things were chaotic. My sister allowed me to take a lot of valuables and sent me abroad to join my uncle overseas. I was barely ten years old and even brought along my nanny to take care of me."
Professor Ning seemed to recall that somewhat chaotic afternoon when her sister packed many things for her and sent her and the nanny on the plane.
"When I returned home after completing my studies, I learned that my family was no longer there. I couldn’t find them no matter how hard I tried. Eventually, I met the man I would marry and continued searching, but the news I received was that they had all passed away."
But she hadn’t expected that her eldest sister was still alive.
"Look inside the ring, there’s a word engraved."
Yun Xiaoxiao hadn’t noticed before, but now that she looked closely, she saw a word indeed engraved, but wearing it, it didn’t scratch the hand at all?
That was indeed the craftsmanship of our ancestors.
"So, Professor Ning, now that you and your sister have reunited, do I have to call you Grand Aunt?"
Professor Ning smiled and nodded, "Yes."
Professor Ning was in exceptionally high spirits.
"Do you have your grandma’s phone number?"
"I have my uncle’s phone number. Grandma and Grandpa are getting on in years, especially these past two, their health isn’t great. The uncles and aunts can’t stay with them every day, so they hired a caretaker."
Professor Ning remembered how at a young age, she had fled to study abroad to escape the troubles, while her eldest sister endured bound feet, something she narrowly avoided because it was too painful.
"Give them a call and see."
Professor Ning wanted to confirm if it was indeed her eldest sister.
She never imagined that in her lifetime she might still have the chance to meet her relatives.
Professor Ning’s family had a phone.
Yun Xiaoxiao immediately began dialing. The string of numbers was not very long, and they were easy to remember.
Some special calls required transfers.
As soon as the call connected, Yun Xiaoxiao asked the person on the other end,
"Is this Comrade Li?"
Uncle Yun heard a voice saying on the phone, "Xiaoxiao..."
But in his mind, he was thinking, this niece of mine is quite quick, has she managed to find a good doctor through her connections so fast?
This efficiency, it looks like she started hustling as soon as she reached the Capital City.
"Uncle, I think I’ve found Grandma’s relatives."
Yun Xiaoxiao spoke while glancing at Professor Ning beside her.
Uncle Yun was startled, what relatives?
"Grandma mentioned once, seemingly unintentionally, that she was born in the Capital City. Back then it wasn’t called the Capital City, but during the turmoil, she fled to the city where we were born. But her siblings, whom she had separated from back then, are now without any news. After settling down, she wanted to go back and search, but things got delayed due to other matters, and later, the Capital City became even more chaotic, leaving it continually postponed.
Your Grandma wanted to go back to the Capital City to check; she said maybe her siblings are waiting for her there."
My own mother had bound feet and couldn’t travel far, and having given birth to several siblings, she was even more tied down.
"So Uncle, what is Grandma’s name?"
Uncle Yun thought for a moment, "Nowadays your Grandma is called Li Cuihong, but that’s not her real name. What was it, actually? I’ve forgotten—it’s a somewhat long surname, not a single character. You say you met your Grandma’s relative, what’s her name? I’ll go and ask Grandma, and see if she remembers this person."
Professor Ning sat to the side, clutching her hands tightly. She was of the Eight Banner descendants, but when she went abroad, the nanny said that her name needed to be changed, and so she changed it.