“You Sanmei, let me warn you—don’t be so ungrateful!”
“Drink this medicine properly, right now!”
The roar rang out, making her head thrum. Before You Sanmei could react, someone clamped her small chin tight!
She tried to pull away, but the dark, bitter medicinal broth was forced down her throat. She choked so hard that tears streamed out involuntarily—she shoved the person away—
“Cough! Cough… cough…!”
You Sanmei finally opened her eyes trembling, and froze instantly!
“E—Eldest Sister-in-law!”
She stammered, “Y—you’re supposed to be dead!”
Yang Cuilian’s rough face twisted into a scowl: “What nonsense are you spouting?!”
“You sickly little thing, how dare you curse me? I’m just feeding you medicine, and you say such awful things?!”
…Medicine?
You Sanmei remained dazed. She glanced down at the broth spilled on her clothes, then looked back at Yang Cuilian.
Just then, Second Sister-in-law Ge Zhaodi rolled up her sleeves and burst in: “What’s wrong, Eldest Sister-in-law? Is this weakling still refusing to drink it?”
“I told you you’re not being tough enough! Here—let me do it!”
You Sanmei’s wide, dark eyes went round as saucers.
She finally dared to believe it wasn’t a dream.
She was alive. Her rogue husband was alive. Eldest Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law were alive too!
Every single member of her husband’s family was alive. She had been reborn!
Her heart pounded wildly. She wiped her tears roughly and turned to the adobe walls pasted with newspaper—on a nail hung a perpetual calendar, clearly marked: July 17, 1981.
It had only been one month since she married into the Chen family.
One month since she and Lin Mei—her sworn sister from childhood—had both wed into Xiawa Village…
At the thought of Lin Mei, the light in You Sanmei’s eyes dimmed.
It wasn’t until her last breath in her past life that she finally understood why Lin Mei hated her so much.
Not just her—she hated her entire family too.
She had seen through the Chen family’s true nature all along, and her jealousy had curdled into a deep, twisted hatred!
You Sanmei and Lin Mei had both lost their mothers at a young age. Their fathers remarried quickly, and life had only grown harder after that.
The previous month, after another beating, You Sanmei had fainted. The village doctor said she was born with a weak heart, and her body had finally given out from exhaustion.
If she didn’t rest and get proper care, she wouldn’t live more than a few years.
The next day, Wang Hong dabbed some rouge on You Sanmei’s pale cheeks and rushed to find a matchmaker to arrange a marriage for her.
When Lin Mei heard, she came running at once, crying: “If you leave me, what will I do?”
“All these years, it’s only been because I had you that I could keep going.”
You Sanmei could barely catch her breath and managed only a weak smile. But Lin Mei wouldn’t let it go—she swore she’d rather die than be separated from her, then stormed back home.
By chance, she walked in just as her father and stepmother were discussing her own marriage prospects.
Lin Mei’s face lit up. “Sanmei’s getting married too! We can find husbands together!”
Soon the matchmaker brought two middle-aged women—both from the far north of Ba Province, from Xiawa Village, each seeking a wife for her son.
The You and Lin families were overjoyed.
Their own village, Xiaogou, sat at the southernmost tip of the province. Though both were in Ba Province, their lives were worlds apart—Xiawa bordered a newly established municipality.
In the past two years, reforms had opened up the region. Factories and businesses had sprung up everywhere in the city, its suburbs, and its borders.
Xiawa Village, right next door, had reaped the benefits—jobs and living standards had skyrocketed.
One of the women was Xu Linghua from the Chen family; the other was Liu Lichun from the Li family.
Xu Linghua spoke little, her face impassive. Liu Lichun was stylishly dressed, talkative and cheerful, eyeing the two girls up and down.
You Sanmei had fair skin and a slight build, keeping her head bowed—she seemed neither capable nor quick-witted.
Lin Mei, however, was taller and sturdier.
Liu Lichun made up her mind right away. She looked straight at Lin Mei’s father: “Your daughter is a fine girl. If she marries into our family, she’ll never want for anything!”
“My husband and I have only one son, Li Heng—he’s our only child!”
“He just got a steady job at the provincial border, earning far more than any farmer ever could.”
Lin Mei could barely contain her excitement, only holding back out of modesty. Her father was delighted, of course.
As for You Sanmei’s father? He didn’t care. She was a dying girl anyway—so long as he got some money out of it, he’d be satisfied.
And so the two girls left their homes—one to the Chens, one to the Lis.
On their wedding night, just as they were to consummate the marriage, You Sanmei fell ill again. The entire Chen household was kept up all night tending to her.
Eldest and Second Sister-in-law were loud and sharp-tongued, grumbling that Xu Linghua had wasted money on a sickly girl. Her new husband, Chen Jingsheng, grabbed his cricket cage and walked out in the middle of the shouting.
From that day on, he slept on the floor and barely spoke a word to her.
Xu Linghua called a doctor, then told her daughters-in-law they would take turns boiling medicine and caring for her.
Yang Cuilian and Ge Zhaodi flipped the table in rage. You Sanmei huddled under her quilt, shaking with fear.
When Lin Mei came to visit, You Sanmei broke down crying—she felt like she’d found her only family.
Lin Mei watched her lying on the kang, with egg custard and fresh apples set beside her, and her smile faltered.
You Sanmei was about to ask what was wrong when Lin Mei changed the subject. She asked question after question, and You Sanmei answered honestly.
Suddenly, Lin Mei leaned in and whispered: “Don’t you think your sisters-in-law are strange?”
“They curse you all day, yet they still boil your medicine? What if they’re putting something in it—trying to poison you?”
The words sent a chill down You Sanmei’s spine.
She waited for her chance, then pressed her ear to the wall, holding her breath.
“…Do you think this will work?” Yang Cuilian murmured.
“Why wouldn’t it?” Ge Zhaodi snapped. “Why are your hands shaking? Just put it in the drink!”
Terrified, You Sanmei began secretly pouring her medicine away.
Not long after, Lin Mei came to visit with her husband Li Heng.
Li Heng was smooth and charming. Over a single meal and a few drinks, he and Chen Jingsheng were already calling each other brothers. The whole Chen family took to him immediately.
Chen Jingsheng started going out with him alone, and You Sanmei was glad—Li Heng had a proper job, unlike the thugs Chen Jingsheng usually ran with.
Slowly, Chen Jingsheng started talking to her more—never mentioning Lin Mei, only praising his “good brother Li Heng.”
Months passed uneventfully—until one ordinary day, everything changed.
Li Heng was nothing but a show-off who owed huge sums to loan sharks.
With Lin Mei’s help, he got Chen Jingsheng drunk and tricked him into signing over all the debts to himself.
The lenders were ruthless men who burst into the house armed.
That day, You Sanmei finally realized—she had never truly known any of them.
Chen Jingsheng, who’d always lived by “fight if you can, run if you can’t,” fought like a mad dog, charging forward even after being stabbed again and again.
Her second and third brothers-in-law, quiet and unassuming men, picked up knives and sticks, their eyes burning red.
But these men had killed before. They had nothing to lose. In less than half an hour, the Chen home ran red with blood.
Even her mother-in-law, who’d always been cold to her, was struck down. You Sanmei and her sisters-in-law were drugged and thrown into a cart.
Eldest and Second Sister-in-law were strong; they woke up halfway. When they heard You Sanmei gasping for breath, her heart acting up again, they threw themselves against the walls of the cart with all their might.
When You Sanmei finally came to, they were already dead—killed for enraging their captors…
Grief had no deeper bottom than a broken heart. Overwhelmed by agony, her heart gave out—and she died right there…
“Ah!”
A sharp pain on her face snapped her back to the present.
“Second Sister-in-law—stop! Please!” she cried out at once.
“I’ll drink it myself! I promise I will!”
“…What?”
Ge Zhaodi’s eyes nearly popped out of her head, wondering if she’d misheard. “What did you say?”
Ever since they’d caught her pouring her medicine away, getting her to drink it had been like climbing to the heavens. Every time, they struggled for ages—and half the medicine would end up spilled anyway.