Song Yuntang looked down at Song Jiaojiao from above, a playful smile curling on her lips as she said, “Whoever made a deal with Lame Wang is the one who’ll be bearing his children.”
Bear children…
Not good…
A certain possibility flashed through Song Jiaojiao’s mind. Ignoring her disheveled state, she scrambled up from the ground and rushed out in panic.
At this moment, Song Yuntang had no time to tend to the children. There was still something important she needed to do. She left Niannian and An’an with a quick, “Stay here and don’t come out,” before following Song Jiaojiao outside.
Song Jiaojiao ran straight to the front house. Seeing the door locked from the outside, she heard chaotic voices coming from within.
“Hahaha… I only lost one leg, not my third leg… You young girls have never experienced the strength of an old man… After today, you’ll obediently bear me sons…”
“Ah… mm… ah… oh…”
The muffled cries of a woman rang out. Song Jiaojiao immediately recognized it as her own mother, Ding Yuzhen.
Her already swollen face turned pale with rage. She pounded on the door, shouting, “Mom! Mom! Come out quickly!” while fumbling frantically to open it.
Nearby, seeing that the situation was just right, Song Yuntang suddenly shouted toward the outside.
“Come quick! Catch them in the act! In broad daylight, a shameless couple is doing filthy things! Absolutely disgraceful—their buttocks are even exposed—!”
This was the countryside, where gossip-loving women were everywhere. They loved nothing more than chatting about others’ affairs, especially scandalous ones. From the widow at the village head to the old bachelor at the village tail, they could spin endless juicy stories.
The moment they heard “catching adultery,” it was like flipping a switch. They moved at lightning speed, and within moments, four or five women rushed over.
“Where? Where is it? Where’s the shameless couple?”
Standing on the road, Song Yuntang pointed the way. “Sisters-in-law, over there—”
The women shot off like bullets.
Then—
“Oh my heavens, what a big backside…”
“Isn’t this the Song family’s third daughter? Why are you here? And who is this shameless woman—?”
“Ugh, it’s an eyesore! Ding Yuzhen, have you gone mad from hunger? Getting involved with Lame Wang—you’re not even disgusted?!”
“Bah! You’re the one who cursed Widow Li the most every day. Who would’ve thought you’d be the one fooling around!”
After hearing a few of their curses, Song Yuntang found it distasteful and immediately turned to leave. She let them continue the commotion while she hurried back to check on the two children.
Inside the cowshed—
Niannian and An’an were still clinging tightly to each other. But their little faces no longer showed fear—instead, they were filled with confusion and… admiration.
An’an whispered, “Brother… was that Mama just now?”
They had both seen it. Their usually gentle mother had suddenly beaten the bad aunt and thrown her to the ground.
Facing this unfamiliar version of Song Yuntang, the children felt no fear—only surprise and delight.
After crying, An’an’s teary eyes sparkled as she said, “Brother, Mama is so amazing.”
Niannian nodded. “Mm, Mama is amazing! Bad people!”
Most importantly, their mother had not remained unconscious or sick—she was fine.
An’an beamed. “Brother, Mama isn’t sick. We don’t have to sell you. An’an wants big brother.”
Niannian hugged her small body tightly. “Big brother will always stay with An’an.”
When Song Yuntang returned and saw the two children, she felt a bit nervous. She had been single her entire life, and now she had suddenly become a mother of twins. Moreover, her personality was completely different from the original host’s timid nature. The children were closest to the original host—if they noticed something, she wouldn’t know how to explain it.
She had been thinking all the way about what to say.
But before she could speak, Niannian and An’an ran straight toward her the moment they saw her.
“Mom!”
“Mom, you were so amazing just now! You beat the bad person!”
“Mom, you finally woke up. Aunt said you were sick—you scared me and brother.”
Song Yuntang crouched down and hugged the two children. She became even more aware of how thin they were, and how ill-fitting their clothes looked.
It was early spring, the weather still cold. Yet the two children didn’t even have proper padded clothing. Their small wrists were exposed, marked with red chafing.
The sight made her heart ache.
Song Mingde’s family were truly inhuman!
Those few slaps earlier had been far too light!
Niannian looked at Song Yuntang worriedly, especially at the wound on her forehead. “Mom, here… does it still hurt?”
“It doesn’t hurt. Mama isn’t in pain.”
Song Yuntang shook her head immediately. Calling herself “Mama” for the first time, she realized it wasn’t as difficult as she had imagined. Partly because the original host’s lingering maternal feelings remained in this body, and partly because seeing these pitiful children stirred genuine compassion in her heart.
If she hadn’t transmigrated, the original host would have died just like that—how would these two children have survived?
This made Song Yuntang curse Fu Weicheng inwardly.
Even if the marriage had been forced, the man had married her, shared her bed, and had children. How could he just abandon responsibility like this?
She despised heartless men the most.
If Fu Weicheng hadn’t wanted the marriage, he could have openly asked for a divorce and paid support regularly.
What a scumbag!
And yet, the original host had secretly hoped that he hadn’t forgotten her.
Grrr—
A sudden rumbling sound interrupted her thoughts.
Song Yuntang looked at the children, thinking Niannian or An’an must be hungry.
But then—
Grrr—
She clearly felt that the sound had come from her own stomach.
“Mom, your tummy made a sound.”
An’an pointed at her belly with her small hand, speaking softly.
Song Yuntang gently touched An’an’s cheek, then Niannian’s, and stood up, holding one in each hand. “That’s right, Mama is hungry. Come, let’s go eat something delicious.”
She led the two children into Song Mingde’s kitchen.
At that moment, the entire Song family was busy with the commotion in the front yard. No one paid any attention to the three of them in the back.
When Niannian and An’an saw the kitchen, they didn’t feel excited—instead, they grew tense.
“Mom, we can’t go in. If we do, aunt will say we’re stealing,” An’an said.
Niannian added, “Mom, we don’t want to eat. Don’t go in—we don’t want you to get beaten.”
Half a year ago, on a freezing winter night—
The original host and her children had been starving and cold. Unable to bear it any longer, she had gathered her courage and entered the kitchen, hoping to take a single steamed bun to share among the three of them.
But Song Jiaojiao had discovered them and immediately pointed at the children, hurling insults—“thieves,” “ungrateful wretches,” and worse.
Song Mingde and Ding Yuzhen had rushed out upon hearing the noise. After learning what happened, they grabbed bamboo sticks and started beating them.
“Bastards with no father to teach you! No wonder you’ve turned out like this! Since you have no father, I’ll teach you! Only a beating will make you remember! Remember this well—since you’re living under someone else’s roof, behave yourselves! You only eat what I give you!”
That night, to protect the children, the original host had held them tightly in her arms.
Every strike from the bamboo stick had landed on her body.
Her entire body had been covered in wounds, taking three to four months to heal. Even now, faint marks still lingered on her arms.
That memory had left a deep impression on Niannian and An’an.
Now, the two children clung to Song Yuntang, trying to stop her from going inside.
She gently patted their heads. “Niannian, An’an, don’t be afraid. From today on, we won’t be bullied by anyone anymore. Mama will become someone brave—not only to protect you, but to make sure you have enough to eat and warm clothes to wear. We’ll live a good life together.”
The children looked up at her, stunned.
They were still young and couldn’t fully understand her words, but they liked how her eyes sparkled and how lively she sounded.
Then—
Niannian nodded firmly. “Mm, Niannian believes Mama.”
An’an quickly followed, “Mama, An’an believes you too.”
Song Yuntang smiled with relief, then turned her gaze toward the kitchen.
Good heavens—roast chicken, roast duck, pork belly, cured meat, eggs, vegetables—there was everything. They were eating meat every meal. This hardly looked like a rural life in the 1970s.
Song Mingde’s family had been feasting on the flesh and blood of the original host all along!