As the seasons change, seedlings are ready for transplanting; when the fields are tilled, the land will not lie fallow.
May was a season with no leisure for farming households.
Villagers returning from their work in the fields passed by the gate of Old Mrs. Jiang’s house. They were drawn by her sharp, mean voice and stopped to watch.
“What are you even good for? That sickly wretch from the Han family is up and jumping now all thanks to your chongxi marriage. The Han family should have given more money to repay us. After all, what you brought over was the luck of our Zhou family. How could you let yourself be divorced and sent home so easily?”
Old Mrs. Jiang sat on the threshold of the main hall, spittle flying as she pointed at Zhou Xiaomai, who was sitting on a low stool inside.
Zhou Xiaomai showed no sign of the sorrow expected of a woman who had just been cast off. Instead, she sat with her legs crossed casually.
“The Han family’s carriage just dropped me off. Why didn’t you say that then, Grandma? What’s the use of firing a thousand arrows now that they’re gone?”
A month ago, Zhou Xiaomai wasn’t called Zhou Xiaomai; her name was Zhou Maimai.
Humanity had been on the verge of emerging from the apocalypse. In the final battle against the zombies, she hadn’t survived.
When she opened her eyes again, she had arrived in this place called Fuzhou in the Great Ze Kingdom, becoming the chongxi bride for the consumptive son of Member Han in Heifeng County.
That Han family was truly something else. Two years ago, their eldest son, Han Yi, contracted tuberculosis.
It was a contagious and deadly disease; the Han family servants didn’t dare go near him.
Only the original owner of this body had served him wholeheartedly, managing his medicine, tea, water, and three meals a day…
They say nine out of ten people die from tuberculosis, but a miracle happened to Han Yi.
A year later, he actually recovered.
The original owner thought her hardships were over and that Han Yi would surely appreciate her meticulous care and live a good life with her.
Who would have thought that his former fiancée—who had broken off their engagement because of his illness—would come back crying piteously? Han Yi was instantly hooked, eager to graze on old grass.
At first, the Han family cared somewhat about their reputation. They didn’t want the infamy of casting off a chongxi bride as soon as their son recovered, so they only discussed a peaceful separation. After all, the original owner had indeed been a merit to their family.
However, the original owner was stubborn and refused to agree.
She believed that marriage was for life; once she entered the Han family’s gate, she would be their ghost even in death.
After dragging it out for a year, the Han family’s patience was exhausted, and they simply threw a letter of divorce at her.
The original owner couldn’t take it and hanged herself.
Then came the soul of Zhou Maimai, who transmigrated into her.
When she received the divorce paper, she didn’t leave the Han family immediately.
She wasn’t as foolish as the original owner; she wouldn’t leave unless the Han family gave her enough benefits.
She stayed for an extra month for no other reason than to maximize her gains.
And so, today the Han family finally lost their patience. They gave her two hundred taels in banknotes and sent servants to tie her up, put her in a carriage, and dump her back in Zhou Family Village.
It was ten times more than what they had initially offered the original owner!
But Zhou Xiaomai had no intention of telling Old Mrs. Jiang about this.
Only money held in one’s own hand provides true security.
“You didn’t even make a peep when you were divorced, so how was an old woman like me supposed to speak up? You go back to the Han family right now! Either make them give you compensation money, or you go die at their doorstep!”
Zhou Xiaomai laid the truth bare.
“You talk a big game, but the truth is you don’t dare offend the Han family. You’re just a bully who picks on the weak!”
“You little wench, are you trying to revolt? Is this how you speak to your grandmother?”
Zhou Xiaomai curled her lip in disdain. “You don’t care about my life at all, telling me to go die at the Han family’s door, and yet you expect me to hold you in high regard?”
This brat hadn’t dared to even speak loudly in front of her before; Old Mrs. Jiang didn’t know what kind of wicked wind was blowing today.
Old Mrs. Jiang’s slanted eyes widened as she cursed, “You idiot! Do you think the Han family would actually watch you die? A wealthy family like that is obsessed with face. As long as you cry and make a scene at their gate, is there any condition they wouldn’t agree to?”
Zhou Xiaomai already had the money. According to the original owner’s memory, two hundred taels was a fortune, enough to buy a house and land.
Why would she go to the Han family to cause a scene?
“Things don’t always go according to your wishes, Grandma. To put it nicely, two years ago the Han family married a daughter-in-law. To put it bluntly, they just spent twenty taels to buy a girl for a chongxi marriage. The Han family made it clear back then: if the chongxi failed, they would let the girl go home later. Now that Han Yi is well, whether he wants to live with me isn’t up to us.”
When the Han family “married” Zhou Xiaomai, there was no formal marriage contract, and it wasn’t registered with the government.
Even the Han family believed Han Yi wouldn’t pull through, so they thought there was no need for such trouble.
That was why they could just throw a letter of divorce at her and send her back without going through the authorities.
“Regardless, you can’t have served Han Yi for nothing and ruined your reputation!”
At first glance, Old Mrs. Jiang’s words seemed to be for Zhou Xiaomai’s own good, speaking up for her.
In reality, Old Mrs. Jiang wanted the money for herself, to eventually benefit her eldest son’s family.
Old Mrs. Jiang had been widowed early and had two sons and a daughter.
The wife of the eldest, Zhou Ji, was Lu Hui. Her womb had been very productive, giving the Zhou family three grandsons; Old Mrs. Jiang even had great-grandchildren now.
The second child, Zhou Ying, was a daughter who had married out.
Zhou Xiaomai’s father, Zhou Xiang, was the third child. Her mother, Liu Caixia, had given birth to three daughters.
Because the father was the youngest, Old Mrs. Jiang treated him alright, but Liu Caixia and her three daughters were the household’s labor force and punching bags.
They never saw any benefits, they had to do all the chores, and anyone who was in a bad mood could hurl insults at them.
Two years ago, when the Han family was looking for a chongxi bride, no respectable family was willing to marry their daughter to a consumptive.
Setting aside the risk of infection, if the sickly wretch died, the young girl would be a widow for the rest of her life. How would she survive?
So the Han family turned their attention to farm girls, announcing they would give twenty taels as a dowry.
In a place where food and clothing were scarce, twenty taels could improve a large family’s life for several years.
When Old Mrs. Jiang heard about this from the village matchmaker, she treated it as wonderful news.
Without even asking Zhou Xiaomai if she was willing, she finalized the marriage with the matchmaker.
Zhou Xiang was foolishly filial and had always been obedient to Old Mrs. Jiang, so he didn’t raise much objection.
Liu Caixia, meanwhile, was weak and incompetent. She cried until her eyes were swollen, but she couldn’t change Old Mrs. Jiang’s mind and even got beaten and scolded several times for it.
Ironically, on the day Zhou Xiaomai was “married” into the Han family, she had also been tied up and taken there.
If it weren’t for the fact that traveling elsewhere in this world required a travel permit, which was difficult to obtain, Zhou Xiaomai wouldn’t have bothered coming back to this home.
A biased grandmother, a daddy’s boy of a father, and a weak mother.
Just thinking about it gave her a headache!
“I can’t bring myself to go crying and screaming at their door after being divorced. Since you’re so concerned for me, Grandma, why don’t you go and make a scene yourself? Whatever money you get can be yours!”
Seeing that Zhou Xiaomai was completely unmoved, Old Mrs. Jiang finally exploded.
She looked around, then staggered to her feet and grabbed a broom by the wall before heading into the main hall.
“You money-losing goods who doesn’t know what’s good for you! The family really raised you for sixteen years for nothing. Are you going to the Han family for money or not?”
Zhou Xiaomai didn’t fear Old Mrs. Jiang at all. These old bones wouldn’t even survive two of her kicks.
Zhou Xiaomai stood up, arching an eyebrow fearlessly, and spat out two words clearly: “I’m not!”
“You’re not, are you? See if I don’t beat you to death today, you embarrassing, reputation-ruining money-losing goods!”
“I’m embarrassing? Weren’t you the one who sold me for the chongxi? If anyone ruined a reputation, it was you! As for being ‘money-losing goods,’ does that mean you’re a man, Grandma? Otherwise, you’re so ruthless you even insult yourself?”
How could Old Mrs. Jiang endure being defied and insulted by someone who had been submissive for over a decade?
Fuming, she swung the broom at Zhou Xiaomai with all her might.
Zhou Xiaomai reached out and easily caught the broom. With a simple shove, Old Mrs. Jiang stumbled and fell against the door of the main hall.