In her previous life, her first meeting with Zhang Youliang had been after winter had set in.
Back then, she had ridden a bicycle to town to buy things. But halfway there, the bicycle chain broke, and she couldn’t ride anymore.
As a rural woman who barely knew a few characters, she knew even less about repairing bikes—she was completely clueless.
Just when she was stranded between villages with no help in sight and panicking, Zhang Youliang appeared like a heavenly savior.
Not only did he fix her bicycle, but worried she might be chilled by the wind, he even draped his jacket over her.
On top of that, he was handsome, had a pleasant voice, and always spoke to her with a warm smile.
At the time, she didn’t think much of it, but she still found him likable.
After that first encounter, they unexpectedly bumped into each other several more times. As they talked, their relationship naturally grew closer.
Even then, Li Shulan still didn’t harbor any improper thoughts. Although her marriage into the Qin family had been arranged without meeting, she was loyal in matters of emotion. Besides, Zhang Youliang was younger than she was.
Until one day, Zhang Youliang came to her drunk—confessing how much he liked her, saying he wanted her by his side always…
Though she still felt nothing romantic toward him, learning that such an excellent man liked her made her secretly proud. She didn’t agree to anything, but she did treat him more warmly afterward.
And along with that, she treated his three daughters and two sons like her own.
His eldest daughter’s in-laws despised her for not bearing a son, saying marrying her was useless and she only ate for free. So Li Shulan asked her eldest son to use his connections to get the girl a job at the town supply and marketing cooperative.
His second daughter was getting married but had no money.
Li Shulan used the money she had robbed from her own daughter-in-law to give her a dowry of 300 yuan.
His third son fancied a girl in town. The girl’s family insisted he needed to own a house before they allowed the marriage. She then spent 200 yuan to buy him a house in town and even gave him the family bicycle, helping him marry the girl.
His fourth son got into a fight and smashed someone’s head with a brick, leaving a deep gash. Due to excessive bleeding, he became mentally damaged, and the offender served jail time. She begged her youngest son to pull strings to get him out. When he refused, she threatened suicide until he relented. Because of that, her youngest son ended up with a severe disciplinary punishment.
The fifth daughter wasn’t troublesome, but she fell in love with her eldest son. It was right after his wife had passed away. Her eldest son, still grieving, spent two days guarding the funeral hall without sleeping. She then obtained livestock-breeding drugs and fed them to her eldest son, hoping to force him and Zhang Youliang’s youngest daughter into a done deed. Unexpectedly, her son slashed himself several times with a knife—each cut to the bone. She was terrified and rushed him to the hospital. From that day on, he never wrote her another letter.
And besides those five demon-like children, there was Zhang Youliang’s mother—
That damned Madam Hong.
Every few days she claimed to feel unwell and demanded that Li Shulan serve her.
Compared to her own dead mother-in-law, Madam Hong was an upgraded version—an expert at tormenting others.
She made her pick sand out of rice, kneel in summer to fan her, fetch firewood in winter to boil water for her baths and laundry…
Of course, the most hateful of all was that beast Zhang Youliang!
When the second daughter-in-law was six months pregnant with twins, he actually developed lustful intentions toward her.
While Li Shulan was away, he tried to force himself on her.
In despair and humiliation, the second daughter-in-law threw herself against the wall, killing herself instantly.
The force was so great that even the doctor later sighed—her skull had completely shattered.
It was only then that Li Shulan finally woke up—but everything was already ruined.
When her second son returned from the army, his once-black hair had turned fully white. Hearing that his wife had already been buried, he refused to believe it and dug up her grave with his bare hands. When he saw Su Xiao’s thin limbs and her still-protruding belly…
Qin Zixuan finally broke down crying.
Holding her corpse, he apologized over and over, saying he should have taken her with him…
After that, neither son ever wrote to her again.
She wanted to reconcile with them, but none of them would acknowledge her.
In the end, she received her retribution—one night she fell into the outdoor pit toilet and drowned.
Remembering everything from her past life, remembering how after she became a wandering soul her youngest son risked his life on missions and died with no remains left, remembering how her eldest starved himself to death after days of refusing food and water… Li Shulan couldn’t sleep at all.
How could a villain like her deserve rebirth?
But she couldn’t die—not now.
She had to atone to her two daughters-in-law.
She had to atone to the grandchildren who never got to be born. And her two sons—so good, so dutiful—they didn’t deserve such endings.
She had to make sure her sons and daughters-in-law lived long lives.
And Zhang Youliang…
In this life, she would make him live as though he were in hell—atoning alongside her!
Li Shulan didn’t sleep all night. Early the next morning, after her daughters-in-law left for work, she got up to make porridge for them. She had bought some dried shrimp on the black market yesterday—perfect for porridge.
She also brought up one basket of meat from the well.
Of the remaining two baskets, the large one she planned to turn into meat paste, and the smaller one she would keep for fresh meat dishes in the next few days. The basket she brought up today she planned to turn into cured meat, which would keep for a while.
Making cured meat was simple—wash and dry the meat, then rub it with peppercorns and roasted salt, let it marinate for a few days, then air-dry it.
It tasted great whether steamed or boiled.
She also bought a slab of pork fat to render lard.
She first washed the fat with warm water, then boiled it in cold water with scallions, ginger, and cooking wine to remove the blood. After that, she added enough water to cover the fat and simmered it slowly. When the cracklings turned slightly yellow, she added ginger slices, scallions, star anise or peppercorns to enhance the flavor.
The rendered lard was beautifully white and fragrant.
As she was scooping out the cracklings, her two daughters-in-law returned from morning work.
“Mom, are you rendering lard? It smells amazing!” Su Xiao followed her nose into the room.
Li Shulan immediately picked up a piece of crackling, blew on it, and handed it to her second daughter-in-law. “Here, taste it. Fresh cracklings straight from the pot are the best. Later I’ll dish some out to mix with your porridge.”
“Mmm~ Mom, you’re so good~”
Li Shulan divided the cracklings into three portions—one for breakfast with porridge, one wrapped in newspaper for the daughters-in-law to eat while working in the fields, and one saved for making dumplings that evening.
Later that morning, as Li Shulan was busy at the sewing machine, an excited female voice came from outside.
“Little sister-in-law, come quick! I’ve got great news to tell you!”