Shen Nian ran, shouting at the top of her lungs:
“Someone’s going to be killed! Someone’s going to be killed!”
She burst out of the Shen family gate, not even bothering to orient herself, instinctively sprinting up the hillside.
Shen Dafu chased after her for dozens of steps, but soon his legs gave out. The stick he was holding fell uselessly to the ground as he bent over, hands on his knees, gasping violently. The air in his chest surged and hissed like a broken bellows.
This madwoman—useless at everything, except when it came to fleeing for her life, she was faster than a rabbit!
Watching Shen Nian’s retreating figure, there wasn’t a trace of paternal warmth in his eyes—only disgust.
He could barely wait to sever all ties with this “madwoman.”
She had run off like this several times before. Everyone thought she wouldn’t come back, yet she always returned in the end.
But this time, Shen Dafu clenched his fists, his mind fixed on one thought:
Don’t come back. Better if you die out there!
Halfway up the hill was a thatched hut, originally built by the production team for night watchmen.
Ever since the household responsibility system was implemented, it had fallen into disuse, with only a broken bed left inside.
Having been driven out of the Shen house multiple times before, she had lived here alone.
Shen Nian bit her lip—she would have to make do with it for now.
As she rounded a bend, the sound of people shelling sunflower seeds came from under a willow tree.
Two village old women leaned against the trunk, spitting and gossiping wildly.
“Look, that mad girl got kicked out of the Shen house again.”
“Isn’t it strange? Her face is exactly like her mother’s when she was young. Back then, her mother got dragged into the reed marshes because she was too striking, and was violated. After that, she ran off with her things and never came back.”
“Ran off?”
Shen Nian’s feet froze on the spot. Her blood rushed to her head.
Shen Dafu had clearly said her mother had died long ago!
“Stop talking nonsense! If Shen Dafu hears this, he’ll be furious at the village again.”
“True, but poor kid… so pretty, yet she’s mad.”
“They’re all Shens, but Shen Lan grew up just fine. I bet it’s her mother’s sins coming back to her through this girl!”
“This girl’s not young anymore, and the Shen family doesn’t watch her closely. If one day some bachelor drags her into the cornfield… gets her pregnant… and she gives birth to another mad child, then that’ll be real trouble.”
The harsh gossip pierced Shen Nian’s ears like needles.
In her original memories, her mother’s part was a complete blank—but these women’s words split the lies open like a crack.
She clenched her fists, nails biting into her palms.
She would remember this—she would find out the truth sooner or later!
What alarmed her even more was the remark about being “so perfectly formed.”
The original girl’s face, cleaned up, was indeed delicate, but in this impoverished village, it had become a curse.
Shen Nian crouched low, bypassed the willow tree, and lightened her steps.
Climbing the hillside, the March wind brought the sweet scent of rapeseed flowers mixed with the fragrance of grass.
The surroundings were picturesque, nestled between mountains and water, but Shen Nian’s stomach growled with hunger—there was no time for scenery.
In 1980, during the early days of China’s Reform and Opening, opportunities were everywhere.
Standing on the slope, she looked out over the rolling hills to a world she had never seen.
But the thought was immediately doused by reality.
She had no ID, no reference letters, and her household registration was still tied to the Shen family.
Without these, she couldn’t even leave for the county seat.
The fleeting thrill of escaping danger was instantly devoured by confusion.
Shen Nian took a deep breath, her gaze gradually firming.
First, she had to figure out how to become “normal” again, get into university, obtain the paperwork to transfer her household registration, and then leave here openly and legally!
Had she not transmigrated, the poor original girl would have had to bear the label of “madwoman” for life, either sold off to some old bachelor by Shen Dafu or dying in some unknown corner.
The difference between these two fates was as vast as heaven and earth.
Pushing open the door, the thatched hut was thick with dust, cobwebs hanging from the beams.
She found a broken broom and swept a small clean patch in a few swipes.
Still wearing Li Hong’s old clothes, the faint stench of filth lingered, churning her stomach.
After a morning of activity, she was starving.
By the river at the foot of the hill, two village women were washing clothes. Shen Nian’s eyes lit up. She gathered a large handful of soapberries from the roadside and hurried over.
The March river was still icy. Gritting her teeth, she threw her coat in and began scrubbing repeatedly with the soapberries. She even jumped into the river, braving the biting water, cleaning herself, her hair, and the clothes she hadn’t taken off until they were spotless.
“Wow, the mad girl actually knows how to stay clean?”
Chen Fang and Yin Zhuo, washing nearby, snickered.
Chen Fang asked her, “Little mad girl, did Old Man Liu take your pants off last night?”
Yin Zhuo added mockingly, “Maybe he just thought you were dirty when you peed your pants, so he sent you back!” The two of them laughed hysterically.
Shen Nian ignored their filthy words, focused entirely on the water.
She remembered that the river held fish, freshwater clams, crayfish, and wild duck eggs.
To survive, she had to secure food first, then figure out a way to earn money.
After washing, she hung the clothes on rocks to dry, then barefoot, slipped into the nearby reed beds.
Sure enough, hidden deep in the reeds were a few wild duck eggs. She quietly retrieved them.
Noticing Chen Fang and the other woman still laughing, she broke a bundle of willow branches and sat on a rock, weaving baskets.
“Hey, don’t you think the mad girl seems a little different today?” Chen Fang glanced back and whispered to Yin Zhuo.
Yin Zhuo looked over. Shen Nian’s long black hair fell behind her, her slender back straight, fingers moving skillfully through the willow branches—quiet, composed, with not a trace of madness.
Her hands paused briefly. “Yeah… maybe a little.”
“Probably just tired from all the commotion this morning,” Chen Fang said, shrugging, and stopped thinking about it.
Once they finished washing, Shen Nian completed two sturdy willow baskets and dried her clothes.
She sniffed the clothes—sunlight had overpowered the previous stench, leaving a faint herbal aroma from the soapberries.
She put on the clothes, braided her hair into a diagonal fishtail braid, tied it with scraps of cloth she had picked up, and, carrying the baskets, returned to the reeds.
The sun was setting, golden light bathing the hillside hut, warm and inviting.
Back in the thatched hut, Shen Nian squatted at the door, using friction to start a fire.
In her previous life, she had been a geotechnical engineer and had even participated in a survival show, surviving four months alone in the mountains and winning a one-million-yuan prize.
Thinking of that deposit still sitting in the bank, her chest tightened.
That was her hard-earned money!
Two minutes later, flames leapt up.
She arranged some clean stones into a makeshift stove, heated it, cracked the duck eggs onto it, and watched the golden yolk solidify instantly, filling the air with aroma.
Shen Nian felt a weight lift from her heart as she glanced at the curling smoke and the faintly visible village in the distance, taking a deep breath.
Since she was here, she would make the best of it.
After devouring a few fried duck eggs, her stomach finally felt satisfied.
Stretching in contentment, she turned to enter the hut when she heard faint footsteps nearby.
Tilting her head, she saw a dark figure walking toward her.