On the third day after her rebirth, Liu Guiying finally went out to work in the fields.
After decades without doing such intense labor, jumping straight into it again was a bit too much for her to handle.
Looks like the plan needed to change—she couldn’t drive out the third son’s family just yet.
Having lived another life, Liu Guiying understood one thing clearly:If you tolerate mistreatment, there will always be more of it.If you keep working, there will always be more work.
So now, she didn’t want to endure hardship—and she didn’t want to work either.
This lousy work? Whoever wants to do it can do it.
Since someone has to do it, why not Sun Jianguo and his wife?
Doing the hardest work and eating the worst food… somehow felt even more satisfying than kicking them out. Liu Guiying calculated silently.
Looking at the land in front of her, she felt like she had forgotten something—but couldn’t recall what, so she let it go.
Clang, clang, clang—
Hearing the end-of-work bell in the distance, Liu Guiying dragged her exhausted body home.
By the roadside, two children were playing house.
One of them held up a clump of dirt and said, “This is my family heirloom. Just five cents—do you want it?”
The other boy laughed, “What heirloom? That’s clearly just a lump of dirt you dug up.”
“Hmph! I’m not playing with you anymore. Xiaoqiang would buy it!” The little girl huffed and ran off.
Watching the girl’s back, a familiar scene flashed through Liu Guiying’s mind.
Old Lady Liu from the back row, grinning wide, holding fifty yuan in one hand and a certificate in the other.
“Heirloom… dirt clump…”
That’s it—that’s what she had forgotten!
In her previous life, when Old Lady Liu finished work, her shovel struck a clay jar.
Thinking it might contain someone’s buried ancestor, she was so frightened she broke out in a cold sweat and hurried to call the brigade leader.
But later, they discovered it wasn’t anyone’s remains—
It was a “God of Wealth.”
Bundles of large-denomination banknotes—and people later said there were even gold bars, though no one knew exactly what was inside.
But the location had been revealed.
There had been plenty of onlookers at the time—where it was dug up wasn’t a secret.
Thinking of this, Liu Guiying grew excited.
Right now, the whole country was promoting campaigns like “Five Emphases, Four Beauties, Three Loves”—civilization, courtesy, morality, and so on.
But Liu Guiying, reborn, didn’t care.
Morality was too far removed from her.
She wanted comfort and happiness—so she was going to dig that treasure up.
Once she made up her mind, she acted immediately.
As soon as she got home, she went straight into her room.
She rummaged through a wooden chest in the wardrobe and pulled out an old fishing net that Sun Shengli had used before he died.
After searching around and failing to find any scrap cloth, she simply went into Sun Jianguo’s room, grabbed a pair of pants, and cut them apart in a few swift motions. Then she picked up a needle and thread and began sewing.
In the courtyard, Sun Xiuju and her two younger brothers watched as Liu Guiying busied herself the moment she got home. The three exchanged looks, none daring to speak first.
After all, yesterday’s beating of their third brother was still fresh in their minds.
“What’s gotten into Mom these past two days? Didn’t she used to dote on us the most? She’d start cooking as soon as she got home, afraid we’d go hungry.”
Sun Xiuju voiced her confusion.
“Who knows? Maybe third brother set her off? Whatever—if Mom doesn’t cook, there’s still sister-in-law. We won’t starve,” said Sun Jiandang, the fifth child, with a carefree shrug.
The youngest, Sun Jiancheng, had another thought.
“Don’t you think Mom’s been acting strange since she got sick and stayed in bed a couple of days ago?”
“Before, she’d recover after one night of rest. But this time she lay down for two whole days.”
“Xiao Liu’s right. Mom’s been a bit off lately. We should behave ourselves for now.”
Sun Jiandang scoffed. “That’s for you guys. Mom loves me the most. In a couple of days, I’m taking Zhaodi to the state-run restaurant.”
“I already promised her—can’t go back on it. Do you guys want money for ‘study materials’? If you don’t, I’ll take it all—and don’t come asking for a share later.”
In the past, whenever they needed money, the three of them would cover for each other—claiming the school required them to buy study materials.
Sun Xiuju and Sun Jiandang were twins, both fifteen, and Sun Jiancheng was thirteen. All three attended the same school.
Since Liu Guiying had only studied up to second grade, she had no idea what “study materials” actually were.
She rarely questioned them and would usually give money when they asked.
Sun Xiuju and Sun Jiancheng both shook their heads, silently agreeing that this plan might not work anymore.
But neither warned him—it wouldn’t hurt to let him test the waters.
..
Ma Lijuan’s work site was far from home that day, so she didn’t have time to pick up her son as planned. She had to let her husband fetch Xiaobao from her parents’ house.
She wondered if the father and son had eaten there—her younger brother had come back, and he would probably insist on drinking with her husband.
When Ma Lijuan entered the house, she saw the kitchen was dark, and the three siblings were whispering in the yard.
“You haven’t eaten yet, right? Wait a moment—I’ll go cook.”
Sun Xiuju’s eyes lit up. “Sister-in-law, what are we having today? We’re starving!”
Ma Lijuan moved quickly, and before long, dinner was on the table.
A plate of coarse black dumplings, a dish of cucumber salad, corn buns, and sweet potato porridge.
Food options were still limited, and many items required ration coupons.
The only steady income in the family came from Sun Jianjun, but his work unit’s ration coupons were far from enough for the whole family.
Before, Liu Guiying often went to the black market to get extra food.
When Ma Lijuan went to call her mother-in-law for dinner, she saw Liu Guiying sewing something odd-shaped with a piece of cloth—not quite like clothing.
“Mom, are you making clothes? Why not use the sewing machine in my room?”
When Sun Jianjun got married, Liu Guiying had even borrowed money from her brother and obtained a bicycle through the black market as part of the bride price.
In return, Ma Lijuan’s family had given her a sewing machine as a dowry, now placed in their room.
“It’s nothing, I’ll finish soon. What is it?”
Ma Lijuan hesitated, then changed her words.
“Oh—the meal is ready. Should we eat now or wait?”
Looking at her eldest daughter-in-law, Liu Guiying realized something she hadn’t noticed before.
After everything she had been through, she now saw clearly—only her eldest son and his wife truly cared about her.
As for the others, they probably wouldn’t even remember they had a mother until after they’d finished eating.
Well… except for Xiumei.
“Let’s eat now. I’ll come out in a moment.”
Better to eat early and rest—she had something important to do tonight.
As the saying goes, on a dark and windy night…She coughed lightly at her own thoughts, tied off the thread, and followed Ma Lijuan into the main room.
..
Unlike some families, the Sun household didn’t divide food strictly.
The food stayed in the kitchen—everyone served themselves.
With little oil and big appetites, nothing ever went to waste.
Seeing the three youngsters waiting obediently instead of eating ahead of everyone as they used to, Liu Guiying thought:
There’s still hope… but not much.
After dinner, Sun Jiandang wiped his mouth and prepared to leave.
“Stop. Stay here. Wait until everyone finishes—then wash the dishes.”
“What? Me? Wash dishes?” He pointed at himself in disbelief.
“Who else?” Liu Guiying replied calmly.
She glanced at the other two, who had their faces buried in their bowls, their shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.
“You two—one feeds the chickens in the backyard, the other cleans the yard.”
Their shoulders instantly froze.
And the smile shifted—to Liu Guiying’s face.