“Song Wanning, stop pretending to be dead! You shameless little slut! You were the one who threw yourself at Wang Zhuzi! I’ve never seen anyone as cheap as you!”
“I’m telling you right now—you’ll marry him whether you like it or not! And if you refuse, then get the hell out of this house!”
A woman’s shrill curses rang in Song Wanning’s ears.
Slowly, she opened her eyes.
Looking toward the source of the voice, she saw none other than her mother—
Liu Cuihua.
What’s going on?
Wasn’t I beaten to death by Wang Zhuzi?
Why am I hearing Liu Cuihua’s voice?
She turned her head and looked around the room.
Everything looked painfully familiar.
She had…
been reborn.
She had returned to March 1976, before she was forced to marry Wang Zhuzi.
Tears of joy instantly welled up in her eyes.
Thank goodness…
My legs haven’t been crippled.
And I haven’t married Wang Zhuzi yet.
What shocked her even more was that, along with being reborn, memories she had long forgotten suddenly flooded back.
She realized that she had originally been a transmigrator.
In her previous life before this world, she had been the chief physician of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department in the twenty-second century.
A traffic accident had brought her here, where she had transmigrated into the body of a baby only a few months old.
Perhaps because she had been too young—or for some other unknown reason—those memories had been completely sealed away.
No wonder she had always been able to recognize countless medicinal herbs whenever she went into the back mountains.
No wonder she had known how to read so many characters.
She remembered secretly looking through her younger brother’s textbooks when she was little.
She had recognized every single word.
Back then, she thought she was simply gifted.
Now she finally understood.
Even though she had forgotten that she had transmigrated, all of the knowledge from her previous life had remained in her mind.
From the time she could remember, she had believed she was the eldest daughter of the Song family in Wangjiawan Production Brigade.
Her father was Song Dashan.
Her mother was Liu Cuihua.
Below her was Song Miaomiao, who was one year younger, and then her ten-year-old younger brother, Song Bao.
The Song family had always favored sons over daughters.
Even so, both she and Song Miaomiao were girls.
Yet Liu Cuihua and Song Dashan still treated Song Miaomiao fairly well.
Whenever Song Bao got tired of eating meat, Song Miaomiao could at least get a small piece.
As for Song Wanning…
Forget eating meat.
Even having enough to fill her stomach was a luxury.
Every chore in the household fell on her shoulders.
She worked in the fields every day to earn work points.
She cooked every meal.
Whenever Liu Cuihua was in a bad mood, she would beat or curse her.
Back then, she never understood why Liu Cuihua treated her with such hatred.
Now she finally knew.
She wasn’t Liu Cuihua’s daughter at all.
Naturally, there was no motherly affection to speak of.
Thinking of Song Miaomiao…
Thinking of Wang Zhuzi…
Thinking of everything the Song family had done to her in her previous life…
She would make every single one of them repay the debt they owed.
Seeing that she had been shouting for so long without getting a response, Liu Cuihua’s anger flared higher and higher.
She strode over and shoved Song Wanning violently.
Still unsatisfied, she grabbed her by the ear and yanked hard toward herself.
“Are you deaf now?”
“Didn’t you hear what I said?”
“You’ve done something so shameless, and you still have the nerve to cry?”
The pain in her ear snapped Song Wanning back to reality.
She slapped Liu Cuihua’s hand away and looked at her coldly.
“I’m not marrying him.”
“If someone wants to marry him, let Song Miaomiao do it.”
“She’s the one who slept with Wang Zhuzi.”
“Why should I marry him instead?”
Liu Cuihua froze.
She never expected this obedient girl to push her away.
Even more shocking—
How did she know it had been Song Miaomiao who slept with Wang Zhuzi?
Did she actually see it?
Didn’t they say everything had been done without anyone noticing?
How had she found out?
“You damned girl!”
“So you’ve grown some guts, have you?”
“You actually dare lay a hand on me!”
“It was obviously you who shamelessly seduced Wang Zhuzi, and now you’re trying to frame Miaomiao!”
“You shameless little bitch!”
“I’ll beat you to death!”
Liu Cuihua lunged forward, aiming straight for Song Wanning’s face.
Song Wanning dodged to the side.
When Liu Cuihua tried to attack again, she stared directly into her eyes and said each word slowly.
“You plotted against a soldier.”
“If I report this to the Public Security Bureau, every one of you will end up in prison.”
Liu Cuihua stiffened.
Her raised hand froze in midair.
She neither struck nor withdrew it.
How does this little bitch know that?
Would she really go report us?
No…
I can’t let that happen.
I have to calm her down first.
Instantly changing her expression, Liu Cuihua softened her tone and stepped closer.
“Wanning…”
“What are you saying?”
“We’re family after all.”
“I’m your mother.”
“Would I ever harm you?”
“Think about it.”
“Everyone outside already knows about you and Wang Zhuzi.”
“So why don’t you marry him in Miaomiao’s place?”
“Besides, you’ve already been ruined by another man.”
“Just live a good life with Wang Zhuzi, alright?”
The moment Song Wanning thought about her previous life—
Her vicious mother-in-law…
Wang Zhuzi’s endless beatings…
His constant drinking…
She felt nothing but disgust.
There was no way she would marry that scum again.
Not in this lifetime.
Still…
For now, she could pretend to agree.
Otherwise, Liu Cuihua would come to harass her every single day.
She might as well take advantage of the situation.
Get some money and ration coupons from them.
Then buy a train ticket and run away.
Once she was far enough away, she wanted to see how they would force her to marry.
“I’ll agree to marry Wang Zhuzi.”
“But I have one condition.”
“If you refuse…”
“Then I’d rather die than marry him.”
Seeing her finally relent, Liu Cuihua secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“What condition?”
“If I’m marrying Wang Zhuzi in Song Miaomiao’s place…”
“I want 150 yuan, plus twenty grain coupons and twenty meat coupons.”
Song Wanning quickly calculated everything in her heart.
It was now March 1976.
The restoration of the college entrance examination was only a little over a year away.
A few years after that, private businesses would become legal.
With the knowledge of someone from the future, she refused to believe she couldn’t survive on her own.
“What?!”
“Song Wanning!”
“Don’t push your luck!”
“I think you’re just making trouble on purpose!”
“If you won’t marry him, then forget it!”
“We’ll see how long you can keep this up!”
Liu Cuihua slammed the door behind her as she stormed out.
Song Wanning wasn’t surprised at all.
The reason she demanded 150 yuan was because she knew Liu Cuihua could afford it.
In her previous life, Song Bao had contracted pneumonia.
Without hesitation, Liu Cuihua had produced a large sum of money for his treatment.
But when Song Wanning’s own daughter became seriously ill, Wang Zhuzi refused to spend money on a doctor.
Desperate, she had gone back to borrow just twenty yuan from Liu Cuihua.
What had Liu Cuihua said then?
“A married daughter is like water that’s already been poured out.”
“Forget twenty yuan.”
“I wouldn’t lend you even a single cent.”
How tragic her life had been.
After Liu Cuihua left, Song Wanning’s stomach growled loudly.
She hadn’t eaten in three days.
She had survived on nothing but water.
Back then, Liu Cuihua had repeatedly tried to force her into marrying Wang Zhuzi.
Wang Zhuzi was the village’s infamous old bachelor.
He was nearly forty years old.
Dark-skinned, ugly, lazy beyond belief.
If his parents hadn’t supported him all those years, he would have starved to death long ago.
Naturally, Song Wanning had refused to marry him.
She had even tried to throw herself into the river.
After being rescued, Liu Cuihua had locked her inside this room to prevent another suicide attempt.
Every day she received nothing more than a small bowl of thin rice soup.
By now…
She had already gone three full days without eating.
In her previous life, she eventually discovered she was pregnant.
With no other choice, she reluctantly married Wang Zhuzi.
Hearing the sound of a lock clicking outside, Song Wanning sighed helplessly.
As expected…
They had locked her in again.
Back then, Wang Zhuzi had paid eighty yuan as the bride price.
For the sake of those eighty yuan, Liu Cuihua would never let her escape.
Now that Song Wanning had demanded 150 yuan instead, Liu Cuihua was unwilling to agree.
So her plan was simple—
Keep her locked up until she gave in.
Unable to sleep from hunger, Song Wanning tossed and turned on the bed.
As she shifted her body, something hard pressed painfully against her back.
She reached beneath herself and felt a solid object.
Lifting the quilt, she found a piece of white jade hidden beneath her.
It was a jade pendant.
She picked it up and examined it carefully.
Turning it over several times, she couldn’t figure out what it was or why it was here.
While rubbing the jade absentmindedly, she accidentally cut her finger.
A drop of blood fell onto the pendant.
The next instant—
The world before her eyes suddenly changed.