Li Hua’s husband immediately chimed in, “Exactly. You’re the laziest person in this entire family. Tell me, what have you actually done since marrying into this family? Every day it’s this hurts and that hurts. Hurry up and get up to cook! Are you expecting me to cook for you?”
Li Hua couldn’t stand seeing Su Yuanyuan acting so delicate and pretentious, so she came over and reached out to pull her.
Of course, she had another purpose as well: she wanted to see whether Su Yuanyuan had actually been touched by a man.
She grabbed Su Yuanyuan’s arm. Her skin was indeed fair and soft, completely clean, without a single mark.
Su Yuanyuan glanced at Li Hua, then immediately began coughing and fell backward onto the kang. She coughed so hard she could barely catch her breath, looking as though she might die if she couldn’t recover her breath.
Li Hua was startled by the sight and quickly covered her nose and backed away.
Don’t let this sickly woman pass her illness on to her!
After putting on a convincing enough performance, Su Yuanyuan finally stopped. She glanced around the room and weakly lay on her side on the kang.
“Dad, Mom, it’s not that I don’t want to work, but my health… cough, cough… I can’t help it. Once I recover during this period, I’ll definitely get up early to cook for everyone and go work in the fields.”
After saying this, she lay on the kang gasping for breath, looking as though one more person came over and tugged at her, she might breathe her last.
Li Hua rolled her eyes.
When Lu Zheng’an had wanted to marry this sickly woman back then, she should have stopped him.
The matchmaker had said at the time that Su Yuanyuan wasn’t in good health, but who could have imagined she was this sick?
Not only was she so ill that she couldn’t do much work, she had also given birth to two money-losing burdens. The entire family had to feed and house all three of them!
“Forget it. You only know how to say things. Have you looked at yourself? Ever since you married into this family, which day haven’t you spent lying around at home? Whenever you work for half a day, it’s either dizziness or blurred vision. How much money have we spent on doctors and medicine? I think you won’t be satisfied until you’ve spent every last bit of money in this household.”
The eldest son’s wife, Wang Chunhua, had just returned from outside. Hearing this, she immediately began scolding.
Behind her came Lu Zhenggang’s wife, whose expression was equally unpleasant.
She didn’t say anything directly, however. Instead, she went to the kitchen, grabbed two handfuls of rice husks to feed the chickens, and scattered them while saying, “Go ahead and eat. All you know how to do all day is open your mouth and wait for food. If only I had a good life like yours.”
On the surface, she was talking about the chickens, but she was actually making a veiled jab at Su Yuanyuan for doing nothing and merely waiting to eat.
Here it comes. Here comes the familiar plot.
When Su Yuanyuan had read this part of the original novel, she had been disgusted beyond words.
Every single one of these people was cunning and greedy to an incredible degree. Everything the family ate and used now came from Lu Zheng’an’s wages.
Any one of them could criticize her, except that they had neither the face nor the right to do so.
If they weren’t afraid of having trouble explaining themselves if the original owner died, they would have long ago left her to starve to death.
Su Yuanyuan lowered her eyelids and remained silent, looking as though she was upset and had no strength.
Since they had failed to catch her in adultery, there was no point in lingering here. Besides, Su Yuanyuan was in poor health—what if they caught whatever she had?
Everyone felt unlucky and muttered among themselves as they left.
The rickety door closed, and the room grew dark.
Su Yuanyuan sneered, then lay flat and stared at the ceiling as she recalled the plot of the original novel.
She had stayed up all night reading this book back then and had been completely engrossed in it, so she remembered the details very clearly.
The original novel was set in the early 1980s.
In the book, Li Hua and her husband had always favored their eldest and second sons since childhood, while treating Lu Zheng’an terribly.
Five years earlier, Lu Zheng’an had been injured during a mission. After undergoing an examination, he was told that it would be very difficult for him to have children in the future.
As soon as the news spread, none of the women from the surrounding villages wanted to marry Lu Zheng’an. Even the matchmaker could talk until her lips were worn out and it wouldn’t help.
Only the original owner, Su Yuanyuan, was willing to marry him. She had been sickly since childhood herself, so she didn’t mind marrying someone who might never have children.
Not long after they married, Lu Zheng’an returned to his unit.
Believing that he and Su Yuanyuan would never be able to have children, Lu Zheng’an worked desperately to distinguish himself and build a successful career. That way, even if they never had children in the future, Su Yuanyuan wouldn’t have to suffer or worry about being cared for in her old age.
What Lu Zheng’an didn’t know was that not long after he left home, Su Yuanyuan discovered that she was pregnant.
However, after returning to his unit, Lu Zheng’an was sent on a long-term mission and never came home again.
His military allowance was sent home on time every month, all of it sent directly to Su Yuanyuan.
It was a full 120 yuan!
The entire Lu family was insanely jealous, so they set their sights on his allowance.
Su Yuanyuan couldn’t read or write, so Old Man Lu wrote a letter to Lu Zheng’an. He concealed the fact that Su Yuanyuan was pregnant and told him that the couple would never have children either.
Su Yuanyuan was in poor health and needed the entire family to take care of her under normal circumstances.
Once the couple grew old, they would have to rely on the eldest and second sons’ children to support them. The family would contribute their time and effort, so part of Lu Zheng’an’s wages should also go to the family, with the remainder left for Su Yuanyuan.
Less than half a month after the letter was sent, Lu Zheng’an sent back a letter containing 50 yuan, which he had borrowed from his comrades.
Lu Zheng’an agreed with Old Man Lu that he could give part of his wages to the family, but they had to take good care of Su Yuanyuan.
Old Man Lu and Li Hua readily agreed in their reply.
But the moment they turned around, they began giving Su Yuanyuan only 10 yuan a month.
At first, Su Yuanyuan endured it in silence.
But after the children were born, she saw them becoming thinner year after year from hunger, their height far below that of other children their age. Although the original owner was timid and weak, she knew that things couldn’t continue this way.
If she didn’t resist, she and her children would starve to death.
She couldn’t write a letter, so she took the little bit of money she had hidden away and went to the supply cooperative at the entrance of the village, hoping to find someone who could write a letter for her and send it to Lu Zheng’an.
Unexpectedly, she ran into Wang Chunhua on the way.
The original owner wore all her thoughts plainly on her face. Wang Chunhua sensed that something was wrong and dragged her back.
The entire Lu family guessed what she was planning to do. They gave her a vicious scolding, then locked her in a room without food or water, leaving her to starve for two days.
The original owner was already in poor health, so she fell ill again.
But they couldn’t continue like this. The neighbors were all watching. They couldn’t keep her locked in a room for the rest of her life, and it would be even harder to explain if Lu Zheng’an returned and found out.
After discussing it as a family, they came up with a vicious scheme.
Wouldn’t it be enough to frame Su Yuanyuan for having an affair?
They would find a man to ruin Su Yuanyuan’s reputation, then pretend to catch her in bed. Afterward, they would cover up the matter and use it to threaten Su Yuanyuan, forcing her to hand over the money she had. From then on, she wouldn’t even get a share of the allowance Lu Zheng’an sent home.
Su Yuanyuan never expected something like this to happen to her. She was terrified and completely at a loss. Afraid that the matter would spread, she could only do as they told her.
In the end, the mother and her two children had no money or food, and froze to death on a snowy, freezing night.
That was the fate of the original owner and the two children she had given birth to.
Su Yuanyuan took a slow breath.
What a disgusting plot.
She had her dimensional space and could use its advantages to run a small business. But first, she had to stop living under the same roof as the Lu family.
Otherwise, she would only end up completely exploited by them.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t fight these people. But dealing with them would consume too much time and energy. Rather than getting dragged into the mud with them, it would be better to take her two children and go somewhere far away to live a good life.
After thinking it over, Su Yuanyuan decided to leave the Lu family.
She couldn’t stay here anymore.
If she was going to leave, then before doing so, she had to reclaim all the money, cloth coupons, and grain coupons that her in-laws had taken from her!
After all, although she had a dimensional space, she didn’t have the currency of this era. She was leaving with two children, so how could she possibly manage without money?
Li Hua guarded against her like a hawk. All the money was hidden in her own room, and she normally wouldn’t even let Su Yuanyuan get close.
There were usually people at home all the time. Even when they went to work in the fields, Li Hua would take the money with her.
If Su Yuanyuan wanted to get the money back, she would have to do it while Li Hua was at home. That made things rather difficult.
She needed to come up with a plan.
The only resource she had was the dimensional space she had brought with her.
Perhaps…
Just as Su Yuanyuan thought of a plan, two soft knocks sounded from outside the door.
Someone was knocking.
“Mommy, are you awake?”
“Maybe Mommy is still resting. We’d better not disturb her.”
Two childish, babyish voices came through the door.
Su Yuanyuan froze for a moment before belatedly realizing that they were the original owner’s two children.
“Mommy isn’t sleeping. Come in.”
The book described the original owner’s two children as extremely adorable. They had perfectly inherited all their parents’ best features, and the original owner loved them dearly.
Suddenly becoming a mother without any preparation, Su Yuanyuan was still a little uncomfortable with it.
The moment she finished speaking, the door opened, and two little bundles of joy who were only slightly taller than her knees ran inside.
“Mommy! You’re awake!”
“How are you feeling today? Does your chest still feel stuffy?”
“Does your head still hurt? I’ll massage it for you.”
The two children chattered away.
The daughter took off her shoes, climbed onto the kang, and immediately began massaging Su Yuanyuan’s head.
Her son, meanwhile, helped her massage her legs.
One child leaned close to their mother’s cheek while the other tilted his head up to look at her. Their skin was slightly darkened from the sun, but their eyes sparkled brightly, like a pair of shiny black gemstones.
Looking at the two little bundles clinging to her, Su Yuanyuan’s heart practically melted.
The two children were adorable and beautiful, but they were far too thin. Their hair was also somewhat dry and yellowish from malnutrition.
The Lu family really was utterly heartless.
It was one thing for them to mistreat the original owner, but they completely neglected the two children as well.
They took the wages their father sent home, yet never thought to give the children even a proper bowl of food.
Su Yuanyuan hugged the two children tightly, her heart aching for them, and kissed both of their cheeks.
In her original world, Su Yuanyuan had been kidnapped as a child. At the time, the kidnappers had planned to kill her after receiving the ransom, and they had stabbed her several times in the abdomen.
She survived and was rescued, but her uterus had ruptured, leaving her permanently unable to have children.
She had been young at the time, and as she grew older, she gradually accepted it. She never developed a strong desire to have children.
Not having that desire didn’t mean she disliked children.
She had even felt a little regret about it before and planned to adopt a child once her career had stabilized.
She never expected that, through a twist of fate, she would transmigrate into a novel and suddenly gain two adorable babies who were connected to her by blood.
In a strange way, it could be considered a blessing in disguise.