“Yufen! Yufen! There’s a phone call for you at the brigade office!”
Guixiang’s loud voice rang out across the yard.
The familiar shout jolted Yang Yufen awake.
Wasn’t she dead?
She instinctively reached up to touch the back of her head. The agonizing pain seemed as real as ever, yet there was no wound there. And shouldn’t she be in a hospital?
“Yufen! Yufen! What are you doing? Your son called the brigade office and wants you to answer the phone!”
Guixiang shouted again.
A sharp pain stabbed through Yang Yufen’s chest.
She had been reborn.
Reborn two years earlier—to the day her son called to tell her he had gotten married.
Her daughter-in-law, Qin Nian, was still alive.
Her grandson had not died.
And her worthless son had not yet abandoned his wife and child before disappearing.
Thinking of this, Yang Yufen hated herself for only having slapped her son, Shen Xianjun, once before she died. She should have slapped that shameless mistress as well. Instead, the woman had pushed her down the stairs, causing the fall that killed her.
It had all started with this very phone call.
Back then, Shen Xianjun had informed her that he had married while serving in the military. He said his wife, Qin Nian, was busy with work, so they would not be holding a wedding ceremony. He also told her not to come visit.
After that, the monthly allowance he had always sent home stopped arriving. Worse still, not a single letter or message came from him.
At the time, Yang Yufen assumed Qin Nian was responsible.
Since her daughter-in-law wouldn’t even allow her mother-in-law to attend the wedding, and neither of them ever came home, Yang Yufen stubbornly decided not to go where she wasn’t wanted.
So when, two years later, Qin Nian suddenly called and asked her to come help take care of the child, Yang Yufen was still nursing her resentment and refused.
At the end of the autumn harvest season, after three days of hesitation, she finally decided to visit anyway.
The child was innocent, after all.
By the time she managed to buy a train ticket and arrive in Kyoto, it was already too late.
Terrible news awaited her.
She had missed everything.
Only through the nurses, her daughter-in-law’s coworkers, and her supervisors did she learn the horrifying truth.
Heartbroken, she completed the procedures to claim the bodies.
Then, at the hospital, she saw her supposedly missing son accompanying a pregnant mistress to a prenatal checkup.
Consumed by rage, she marched over and slapped him.
“Yufen? Yufen? They said they’ll call back in fifteen minutes. If you don’t go now, you’ll miss it.”
Seeing her friend standing there in a daze with a terrible expression on her face, Guixiang grew worried.
“Oh, right. I’m going.”
Yang Yufen tore off the apron tied around her waist, handed it to Guixiang, and hurried toward the brigade office.
“You finally made it. The phone already rang once. They said they’d call back in ten minutes.”
The brigade leader spoke as soon as he saw her arrive.
“I was delayed.”
Yang Yufen sat down beside the phone without ceremony and waited.
A short while later, the phone rang.
She immediately picked it up.
“Hello?”
Just one word.
On the other end, Shen Xianjun instantly knew it was his mother.
“Mom, I got married. My wife’s name is Qin Nian. She’s very busy with work, so we won’t be holding a wedding ceremony. You don’t need to come. The bride price follows local standards—five hundred yuan and a wristwatch. I used my savings and borrowed some money from my comrades. Also, I won’t be sending my monthly allowance home anymore.”
In her previous life, Yang Yufen had been unhappy when she heard this.
Marriage was supposed to be a joyous occasion. Why couldn’t she at least come take a look at her new daughter-in-law?
She had complained a few times.
Shen Xianjun then claimed he was busy, said the call time was up, and hung up.
This time, however, Yang Yufen had no intention of responding that way.
“Put your political commissar on the phone. I have something I need to discuss with him.”
She cut off whatever Shen Xianjun was about to say.
“Mom, why do you want to talk to the commissar? If there’s something you want to say, just tell me directly.”
Shen Xianjun frowned.
His mother couldn’t be unhappy about the marriage and planning to report him to the commissar, could she?
“When I tell you to get him, get him. If you don’t, I’ll call your unit myself.”
Yang Yufen’s tone was firm.
“Mom, please don’t make trouble. NianNian is a wonderful woman. The match was arranged by one of our senior leaders.”
“I never said my daughter-in-law wasn’t good. Stop stirring things up. Either you go get him, or I’ll hang up and call myself.”
As she spoke, she actually began lowering the receiver.
“Mom, wait! I’ll go!”
Shen Xianjun hurriedly agreed.
If his mother caused a scene by calling the commissar herself, it would be far worse than explaining things beforehand.
“Hurry up. I’ll be waiting right here today.”
With that, Yang Yufen hung up.
Listening to the dead tone, Shen Xianjun could only set the receiver down helplessly, salute the operator, and head off to find his political commissar.
The brigade leader had heard every word.
Seeing Yang Yufen’s unhappy expression, he couldn’t help trying to mediate.
“Xianjun’s mother, your son getting married is a good thing. The match was introduced by a high-ranking leader—it can’t be bad. Why are you upset with the boy? Everyone knows how hard it was for you to raise him alone. Xianjun isn’t an unfilial child. He’s accomplished so much. Who in the village doesn’t envy you?”
After all, Shen Xianjun was the only soldier their brigade had produced.
Maybe one day he would even help pull the village out of poverty.
Naturally, they wanted to keep relations smooth.
The brigade leader hadn’t expected Yang Yufen’s response.
“You just said I raised him by myself through all those years. So what’s wrong with a mother speaking a few words? I’m not causing trouble. I’m only discussing my retirement arrangements. I’m getting old now. I can’t work like before.”
Her words left the brigade leader speechless.
If any other woman her age claimed she couldn’t work anymore, he might have believed it.
But Yang Yufen?
She was the famous Iron Lady of the commune.
Her strength surpassed that of many grown men.
Still, no one could deny what she had endured.
Widowed young, she had raised Shen Xianjun alone.
She had cared for her aging in-laws until their deaths.
She had even given birth to a child despite her late husband’s poor health.
As a boy, Shen Xianjun had been sickly, constantly falling ill.
Yang Yufen had worked day and night, carrying the burdens of both mother and father.
She earned full work points, took on extra jobs, and gave every good thing she obtained to her son.
That was how he had grown into the strong man he was today.
When Yang Yufen said she would wait, she meant it.
Knowing his mother’s stubborn nature, Shen Xianjun went to find the political commissar and explained the situation.
About half an hour later, the phone rang again.
“Hello, Auntie Yang. I’m Comrade Zhao, Xianjun’s political commissar.”
Commissar Zhao took the receiver from Shen Xianjun and spoke in a gentle voice.
“Commissar Zhao, I need you to be a witness to something today.”
Yang Yufen got straight to the point.
“Since Shen Xianjun is married now, my obligation to raise him has come to an end. From now on, it’s his turn to support me in my old age. I’m getting older and can’t work as hard as before.”
“Yes, yes, that’s perfectly reasonable.”
Commissar Zhao glanced at Shen Xianjun while continuing to respond politely.
“My only request is that one-third of his monthly allowance be sent to me. The rest should go to his wife. Let my daughter-in-law, Qin Nian, collect it directly.”
She paused before adding:
“As for the man himself, he’s a soldier. His duty is to fight for the country and protect the nation. Comrade Leader, don’t hesitate to send him wherever he’s needed.”
Yang Yufen mercilessly volunteered her son for every dangerous assignment.
Better he devote himself to the country than be lured away by some homewrecker again.
Commissar Zhao laughed.
“Auntie Yang’s patriotic spirit is truly admirable. On behalf of the country and the army, thank you.”
Then he turned to Shen Xianjun.
“Comrade Shen Xianjun, do you agree to these conditions?”
At that moment, Commissar Zhao realized Yang Yufen was nothing like the unreasonable mother Shen Xianjun had described.
She was the famous Iron Lady of the commune.
A strong personality was only natural.
Her political awareness and principles were beyond question.
Clearly, Shen Xianjun had worried for nothing.