Liu Guiying had been lying in bed for two days, staring at the calendar on the wall that read 1981, unable to come back to her senses for a long time.
She still couldn’t figure out whether she had truly lived through a previous life, or if it had all been just a fleeting dream.
Since she couldn’t make sense of it, she decided not to dwell on it. Whether those things had really happened or not, there were some people and some matters she had to guard against.
She chose to treat it as a blessing from heaven—that after death, she had been given a second chance, returning to when she was forty-one years old.
Yes, today was June 13, 1981.
Liu Guiying was forty-one, born in a small village in northern Jiangsu.
In 1957, at seventeen, she married Sun Shengli, who worked at the town’s supply and marketing cooperative, through a matchmaker.
That very year, she gave birth to their eldest son, Sun Jianjun.
Within a couple of years, their second child, daughter Sun Xiumei, was born. After that, the children came one after another like eggs being laid.
In total, she bore four sons and two daughters, which took a toll on her health.
Now, her husband had been dead for nearly three years, and she didn’t care much.
A man—whether present or not—made little difference. She had lived alone for so many years in her previous life and managed just fine.
But what she remembered was about to happen made her feel fortunate that today was June 13.
Liu Guiying narrowed her eyes, sorting through the memories in her mind.
That day—the one that still sent chills down her spine when she thought about it.
In her previous life, she had been standing at the school gate with a lunchbox, waiting for her fourth son, Sun Xiumei.
She had something to do that afternoon and needed to return to her parents’ home. Worried the children would come home and find no one there, she had planned to bring lunch directly to them so her fourth child could eat at school with his younger brothers.
Unexpectedly, instead of seeing her fourth son, she ran into her old acquaintance, Sister Ma.
“Guiying, come with me quickly—Xiumei’s in trouble! Hurry!”
“Xiumei? What happened to her? Wasn’t she at home? She’s about to give birth!”
Sister Ma grabbed her anxiously, explaining as they walked.
“I’m not sure either. Someone from her village came to find you, saying she fell into the river on the east side of their village. Let’s go see what’s going on.”
With a loud clang, the lunchbox fell to the ground, food scattering everywhere.
Liu Guiying didn’t even think about her fourth son anymore. She broke free from Sister Ma and ran.
She knew that river. Though it was a stagnant one, it was still quite deep—especially for her pregnant daughter.
Thinking of this, she ran even faster.
A crowd had gathered by the river, pointing and whispering. Liu Guiying couldn’t hear what they were saying.
Her eyes were fixed on the scene ahead, her feet frozen in place.
Her son-in-law, Zhang Xin, was sprawled over her daughter’s body, crying his heart out. Her granddaughter Xiaofang stood helplessly to the side.
Just over a year old, the child couldn’t understand what it meant for the mother who had always been with her to now be lying motionless on the ground.
She only saw her father crying—and so she cried too.
That scene etched itself into Liu Guiying’s heart, something she never forgot until the day she died.
Later, everyone told her it was an accident and urged her to let it go. She knew Xiumei had a gentle temperament and treated others kindly—she shouldn’t have had any enemies who would harm her.
But she couldn’t stop wondering. She had clearly told her daughter not to go out since her due date was near.
So what could have been so important that she went out despite being heavily pregnant?
It wasn’t until she overheard a conversation between her second son and his wife before her death in her previous life that she realized—
The “culprit” had come from within the family.
Although she didn’t know why Xiumei had gone back that day, she must have encountered some kind of trouble.
Thinking of this, Liu Guiying could no longer stay in bed.
She quickly bent down, put on her shoes, and hurried toward the door.
Her eldest daughter-in-law, who was washing clothes in the yard, saw her mother-in-law—who had been bedridden for two days—suddenly rushing out and felt puzzled.
“Mom, it’s getting late. Where are you going?”
“Oh, Lijuan, I need to go see your second sister. Don’t wait for me for dinner—just eat first.”
Before Ma Lijuan could respond, Liu Guiying had already left. She scratched her head and soon forgot about it.
Sun Xiumei and her husband Zhang Xin had been high school classmates. They got married right after graduation.
At the time, Liu Guiying hadn’t wanted to agree.
She had no issue with Zhang Xin himself—he was a good-looking young man and well-mannered.
But her family lived in town, while his was in a rural village, nearly a half-hour walk away.
Marrying into his family felt like a step down.
More importantly, she had heard that Zhang Xin had grown up with his grandparents and wasn’t favored by his parents.
Liu Guiying knew all too well how hard it was to deal with difficult in-laws.
She didn’t want her daughter to suffer the same despair she once had.
But Xiumei, newly in love, was determined to marry Zhang Xin.
At that time, a city food factory was recruiting workers. Zhang Xin passed the selection on his own merit and became a production line worker.
With a stable job as a foundation, Liu Guiying finally relented.
She even sold grain from the family to prepare a dowry for her daughter, hoping Zhang Xin’s parents would treat her well because of it.
Lost in these memories, Liu Guiying soon arrived at Zhangjiazhuang, where Xiumei had married into.
After Xiumei’s death in her previous life, Liu Guiying had never returned here. Now she had to rely on her memory, going from house to house.
In those days, most houses looked the same—but in front of Xiumei’s in-laws’ home stood an old locust tree.
Keeping that in mind, she walked on without stopping. Finally, after passing rows of houses, she saw the familiar tree.
She stepped forward and knocked, only to find the door unlocked. She gently pushed it open.
In the courtyard, her daughter sat under the eaves, holding her belly, while little Xiaofang chirped like a bird beside her, pointing at her mother’s stomach and calling out “little brother” and “little sister.”
Looking at her lively, breathing daughter before her, Liu Guiying wanted to step forward and ask—
Why had she gone back to her parents’ home in her previous life? What had happened that caused them to be separated by life and death?
Did she regret marrying Zhang Xin?
Was this the life she wanted?
But she couldn’t ask.
How could anyone answer questions about things that hadn’t yet happened?
Her feet felt as heavy as lead as she stood there, frozen.
After playing with her daughter for a while, Xiumei thought her parents-in-law would soon return from the fields and got up to go cook.
When she looked up, she was pleasantly surprised to see her mother standing at the door.
“Mom! What are you doing here? Have you eaten?”
She quickly patted her daughter’s back. “Xiaofang, get up—Grandma’s here!”
Obediently, Xiaofang stood and toddled toward Liu Guiying, calling out, “Grandma! Grandma!”
Looking at her lively and adorable granddaughter, Liu Guiying couldn’t help but compare her to the quiet, withdrawn girl from her previous life, who always kept her head down around others.
It was hard to imagine what the child had gone through.
Liu Guiying reached into her pocket, took out a one-yuan note, and handed it to her granddaughter.
“Good girl. Grandma came in a hurry today and didn’t bring any candy. Later, have your mom take you to the shop to buy some, okay?”
Though young, Xiaofang knew the money could be exchanged for lots of sweet candy. She happily accepted it.
Turning to her mother, she said, “Fangfang, candy!”
“Mom, you spoil her too much. Kids shouldn’t eat too much sugar.”
Sun Xiumei walked over and patted Xiaofang’s head.
“Be good, Xiaofang. Go play in the yard for a bit. Mom and Grandma need to talk.”
Hearing this, Xiaofang obediently went to the corner of the yard to continue playing with the ants she had befriended that afternoon.
“Mom, you still haven’t said—why did you come at this time?”
Noticing the slight redness in Liu Guiying’s eyes, Xiumei asked anxiously,
“Did my third brother and the others upset you again?”