Thud!
The moment Ding Yuzhen pushed the door open, she had expected to see Song Yuntang unconscious and at her mercy. Instead, what greeted her was a heavy blow from a wooden stick.
However she had struck the original host before, Song Yuntang now returned it in kind—
Only harsher, and heavier.
Ding Yuzhen’s vision went black as she collapsed weakly to the ground.
Although this body of Song Yuntang’s was somewhat frail, the soul within it was anything but weak.
Holding the wooden stick, she looked down at Ding Yuzhen lying unconscious on the floor.
Before fainting, the vicious woman had stared at her with shock and fear in her eyes.
Hmph, wretched hag!
Seeing that Ding Yuzhen had passed out, Song Yuntang dragged her onto the broken bed, stripped off her clothes, and left her lying face-down.
At the same time, she did not forget to take the nine hundred yuan from Ding Yuzhen’s waistband. It now belonged to her.
Ding Yuzhen was already in her forties, her skin loose and aged—naturally no match for a young woman in her twenties. But Song Yuntang was certain that in the eyes of a long-deprived old bachelor, all he would see was pale flesh. Once covered by a blanket, he would not be able to tell who was who.
After arranging everything, Song Yuntang clapped her hands and walked out of the shabby house.
She hid in a concealed corner nearby and waited for five minutes. As expected, she soon saw Lame Wang approaching.
His eyes gleamed as he swallowed, one hand grabbing at his crotch as he leered. “Pretty girl, I’m here…”
Watching him enter the room where Ding Yuzhen lay, Song Yuntang stepped out and locked the door from the outside.
Done.
This pair of adulterers would not be coming out anytime soon.
Didn’t they want to use a woman’s womb to bear children? Then let Ding Yuzhen do it herself.
…
After dealing with Ding Yuzhen, Song Yuntang turned and headed toward a secluded corner behind the house. That was the Song family’s cowshed—the place where the original host and her two children had been living, relying on each other.
Five years ago, after Fu Weicheng abandoned the original host, the village commune had taken back the house allocated to them. With nowhere else to go, she had returned to the Song family. They gave her the most rundown place—the cowshed—where the biting cold of winter still lingered vividly in memory.
Since Song Yuntang had transmigrated into this body and been given a second chance at life, she naturally intended to take good care of the original host’s two children.
They were a pair of boy-girl twins. The boy was called Niannian, and the girl An’an.
When naming them, the original host had wished for them to live year after year in peace and safety, growing up healthy. But from the moment they were born, the two children had suffered alongside her.
Before Song Yuntang even reached the cowshed, she heard the faint sound of children crying.
Inside the cowshed—
Two thin, dirty children huddled in a corner, clinging tightly to each other. Their small faces were nearly identical, their dark, watery eyes filled with fear.
“Brother… I’m scared…”
An’an whimpered softly, trying hard to hold back her tears.
The little boy stood in front of her, raising his small arms to shield his sister.
“An’an, don’t be afraid. Big brother is here.”
The reason for their fear was the young woman standing before them—Song Jiaojiao.
Song Mingde and Ding Yuzhen had two sons and one daughter. The sons had both married and moved out—one using money the original host’s parents had given her when she came to the countryside, and the other using the bride price from her marriage. Only Song Jiaojiao remained at home.
Three years younger than the original host, she was a typical rural girl. Her looks inherited her parents’ rustic plainness, and having never been educated, she lacked any refinement.
Before, it hadn’t mattered much. But after the original host arrived—and with the presence of other educated young women in the village, all fair-skinned and neat—Song Jiaojiao was constantly overshadowed.
Her resentment and jealousy were thus directed at the original host. In earlier years, she had stolen her clothes and shoes. Later, she simply turned to bullying her children.
At this moment, the dress she wore and the brown leather shoes on her feet had originally belonged to the original host.
With her arms crossed, Song Jiaojiao smirked maliciously at the two children in the corner, clearly enjoying tormenting them.
“You two little bastards saw it, didn’t you? Your mother just fainted from illness. Normally you freeload here, but seeing a doctor costs money. Do you have any? If not, just let her die. A filthy woman no one wants might as well be dead!”
“No… save Mama… we have to save Mama…”
The moment An’an heard that Song Yuntang might die, her tears burst forth uncontrollably.
Song Jiaojiao continued to sneer. “Tch, fatherless brats still have some conscience, huh? Want to save her? Then bring money. No money, no doctor. Just wait to collect her corpse and become wild orphans with no parents!”
An’an was terrified, crying helplessly as tears streamed down her face.
Though still young, Niannian held his small face tight with tension. He was nervous but not panicked, carrying a maturity beyond his years. His dark eyes showed a hint of intelligence.
When Song Jiaojiao stepped closer again with ill intent, using their mother to frighten them, Niannian suddenly spoke.
“You can sell me. Don’t sell my sister. I’m a boy—I’m worth more. Sell me, and you’ll have money to treat Mama.”
Song Jiaojiao laughed mockingly. “Oh? The little bastard is quite clever.”
Niannian shielded An’an behind him, his expression serious.
From a young age, he had heard Song Mingde and Ding Yuzhen planning to sell him. As a boy, many families wanted him. Each time, it had been his mother who refused, begging desperately, doing everything she could to protect both him and An’an.
But just now…
They had seen their mother collapse, her forehead split open, blood pouring out.
Mama was going to die…
Niannian bit his lip tightly, lifting his head to look at Song Jiaojiao as he repeated,
“Sell me to get money. Don’t sell my sister!”
Song Jiaojiao had long set her sights on the two children. Her elder brothers had both gained money from Song Yuntang, while she had gotten nothing. If she sold these two, she would finally have money—enough to go to the city and buy a big gold bracelet.
“Little bastard, you said that yourself! I’ll sell you today!”
“No—! Bad person! You’re a bad person! Don’t sell my brother—don’t—sob—brother—!”
“An’an, don’t be afraid. Live well with Mama in the future. Big brother will miss you…”
For a moment, the small cowshed was filled with Song Jiaojiao’s laughter, An’an’s sobs, and Niannian’s heavy sorrow.
Watching all of this, Song Yuntang’s eyes turned red.
These two children were simply too pitiful.
Just as Song Jiaojiao reached out to grab Niannian’s arm, Song Yuntang rushed forward, seized Song Jiaojiao by the shoulder, yanked her back, and slapped her hard.
Smack!
With a sharp voice, Song Yuntang shouted, “You’ve got some nerve—bullying my son!”
Song Jiaojiao’s head snapped to the side. When she saw it was Song Yuntang, her eyes widened in fury.
“You dare hit me?!”
Her answer was not words—but another crisp slap.
Smack!
One side wasn’t enough—now both sides were even.
Satisfied?
Song Jiaojiao, having been slapped twice in quick succession, went mad with rage. “Song Yuntang, you little bitch! I’ll fight you!”
She lunged forward, claws outstretched.
But—
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
Clearly, one slap per side wasn’t enough—so she delivered six more in quick succession.
In her previous life, Song Yuntang had been a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine and a doctoral student. In those times, medical professionals often faced dangerous disputes. To protect herself, she had learned various combat techniques—even reaching a level worthy of a championship belt.
With Song Jiaojiao’s feeble attempts, she could easily subdue her with a chokehold and pin her to the ground.
Song Yuntang shook her reddened hand and blew lightly on her palm, speaking coolly, “Tsk, tsk, my hand actually hurts from hitting you.”
Nearby, Song Jiaojiao had already fallen to the ground in a miserable state, her face swollen red like a steamed bun.
She didn’t even know what had happened. It seemed that while being slapped, she had also been kicked, and then she ended up on the ground, forced to look up at Song Yuntang.
Hatred gnawed at her heart.
This wretched girl had never even dared to speak loudly before—how could she dare hit her today? And hit so hard? Wasn’t she supposed to have been knocked unconscious?
In an instant, Song Jiaojiao realized something was wrong.
Her hand trembled as she pointed at Song Yuntang, disbelief in her voice.
“You… you… how are you here? My mother clearly sold you to Lame Wang to bear children! If you’re here, then where is my mother?! Where is she?!”