“Slap!”
The sound of the explosion woke Lin Fengxia. She instinctively clutched her chest and hid in the corner.
Curled up in the corner of the kang, Lin Fengxia fearfully looked around— the kang was made of loess, covered with reed mats and some quilts with cotton stuffing exposed. Outside, her stepmother Zhang Landi’s shouting and bustling could be heard.
She pinched her arm hard, unable to believe it.
It hurt! It wasn’t a dream!
This was her home! Her home in 1956!
Looking down at the red jacket on her body, tears of excitement welled up in Lin Fengxia’s eyes. She had really been reborn!
She had returned to the very day Wang Dazhuang came to see her for marriage!
All the tragedies had started from this day!
In her previous life, she had obediently followed her family’s arrangements and married Wang Dazhuang, but married life had been nothing short of hell, dark and hopeless.
Wang Dazhuang loved drinking, often coming home in the middle of the night, and beating Lin Fengxia while drunk. Her body bore bruises everywhere.
During the famine, Wang Dazhuang beat her so badly that she couldn’t get out of bed. Any man in the village who paid money could enter the house and do whatever they wanted to her.
She had desperately run away, returning to her parental home, only to be turned away, being told that a daughter married off was like water spilled—gone and forgotten.
Supporting herself against the edge of the kang, Lin Fengxia suddenly felt a sharp pain in her palm.
Looking down, she saw that the reeds had cut her hand, leaving a gash.
Two drops of blood dripped from her fingertips onto the grayish silver bracelet on her wrist.
Lin Fengxia was stunned for a moment, then unexpectedly delighted. This was the dowry her mother had left her!
In her previous life, Zhang Landi had stolen it at some point and sold it to the village peddler in exchange for rice, flour, and other grains.
Now it had been recovered!
Immersed in joy, Lin Fengxia suddenly saw a burst of white light. The silver bracelet heated up abruptly, and a space of roughly ten square meters appeared on the empty ground before her.
“What is this?!”
She cautiously reached out and discovered that the space could be entered.
Holding her breath, she threw her rice husk pillow inside—the pillow landed steadily on the floor within the space.
After several attempts, Lin Fengxia confirmed that the silver bracelet her mother left her was the key to opening an independent space. She absolutely could not let Zhang Landi steal it again!
With the bracelet, she could secretly store grain and daily necessities.
In three years, famine would strike this land. Fertile soil would become barren, locusts would ravage the crops, temperatures would rise, and planted seeds would fail to grow. Every household would struggle to have enough to eat and wear, resorting to borrowing, selling children, or women to survive.
Pressing her hand against the bracelet, Lin Fengxia’s gaze hardened.
From now on, she would change her fate and not waste this second chance at life.
After avenging herself and storing up food, she would go to the city!
She had heard that opportunities were abundant in the city, and there were even schools!
“Fengxia, come out and meet people! What are you doing in there?”
Zhang Landi’s hoarse voice yelled from outside.
Lin Fengxia’s eyes glinted coldly. Zhang Landi had been involved with Lin Lao Han even before her mother died—everyone in the village knew it. Her mother had largely died of grief because of this.
She looked out through the window covered in old newspaper.
Wang Dazhuang, wearing a coarse cloth jacket, tanned and blackened from the sun, was in the yard holding two bags of eggs and one of brown sugar, occasionally glancing toward the house with barely hidden eagerness.
Zhang Landi greedily snatched the items and shoved them under the table.
Here they came!
Anger and hatred surged in Lin Fengxia’s heart. She clenched her fists and tugged at her clothes.
In her previous life, she had endured everything, but during the famine, Wang Dazhuang had treated her like a commodity for money, and her family had dismissed her as a married daughter who was no longer their concern. She had died miserably!
This time, she would no longer endure!
She would go mad, vent her anger, speak her mind, exact revenge—everyone who had harmed her, stained their hands with her blood, or fed her human-blooded buns would pay in full!
“Oh, look at our Fengxia! How beautiful she’s grown.”
“She’ll surely be diligent and thrifty after marriage. Go ask around the neighboring villages—our Fengxia can make life flourish.”
Zhang Landi grabbed the expressionless Lin Fengxia by the arm and pushed her toward Wang Dazhuang, smiling like she was selling goods. “The bride price you brought isn’t enough. You should at least add half a bag of flour.”
Wang Dazhuang squinted as he appraised Lin Fengxia.
His gaze landed on her hips. Touching his chin, he said, “Thick legs, big butt—looks like she can bear sons.”
Lin Fengxia sneered.
Exactly. She was about to go mad.
“Bear your sons? You scum, do you even deserve children?” Lin Fengxia spat cruel words, “You lowlife piece of trash, better die soon, or castrate yourself to stop thinking about that filth—it’s something only useless trash like you would care about!”
Wang Dazhuang was stunned. “You—you—you?! What did you say?!”
For a moment, he couldn’t react. When he did, the harsh words Lin Fengxia spat pierced his heart like sharp blades.
Furious, he shouted, trembling with rage, “Damn your ancestors! You little brat, who are you talking to?!”
“Slap! Slap!”
Before he finished, Lin Fengxia struck him twice across the face!
Channeling all the hatred from her previous life, she gave the blows their full strength, leaving two glaring red marks on Wang Dazhuang’s face.
Going mad felt amazing!
She realized that she was naturally sharp-tongued; she had just suppressed it too much in her previous life, never daring to provoke anyone.
Now, she had nothing to fear. Not resisting meant death—resisting at least let her vent her fury!
Wang Dazhuang’s eyes bulged with rage as he reached to grab her hair, shouting.
“You little brat! Dare hit me! Today I’ll break your legs!”
Lin Fengxia’s gaze sharpened. She wouldn’t give him the chance to get close!
Grabbing a shovel, she struck him hard in the stomach before he could reach her.
“Argh!”
Wang Dazhuang howled in pain, curling like a boiled shrimp. Just as he tried to curse, Lin Fengxia hit him again on the back with the shovel.
The dull thud and his screams echoed, making him stagger.
“Still want to fight?” Lin Fengxia didn’t stop. She slapped his face repeatedly, causing blood to spill from his mouth. His previous arrogance vanished, replaced only by fear.
This wasn’t a gentle girl—it was a wolf in human skin!
When Lin Fengxia struck his arm with the shovel, Wang Dazhuang finally couldn’t take it. Hugging his arms, he stepped back trembling. “Stop, stop hitting me!”
He looked at the shovel in her hand, then at his own injuries. There was no trace of his former fierceness. He turned to flee.
Zhang Landi stood frozen, dumbfounded. Just hours ago, the previously meek Lin Fengxia had become so fierce.
Seeing her perfect marriage plan crumble, she rushed forward in panic. “Fengxia, you’re crazy! Let’s talk! Don’t use violence!”