“Oh, my darling, hurry up and eat. Eat more. Your black-hearted sister-in-law will be back in a moment, and there won’t be anything left for you!”
“Hmph! I’d like to see if she dares! The only reason she could enter our Song family’s door was because she was recruited as a worker and has a salary. Otherwise, what right does she have? Mother, you’re the Mother-in-law; there’s no need to be afraid of her.”
“Fine, fine, fine. Just hurry up and eat. Your eldest sister-in-law got paid today, and the money your eldest brother sent has arrived too. I specifically stir-fried cabbage hearts and scallion eggs for you. I even added brown sugar to your millet porridge. You’re having a hard time raising three children; you need to nourish your body well.”
As Chang Yongqin spoke, she kept piling food into her grandchildren’s bowls.
With a slight turn of her head, she saw Wei Yao standing at the door like a ghost, staring at them with a smile.
“Oh, my goodness! You didn’t even say a word when you came back. You’re trying to scare me to death! Come on, come and eat.”
The people at the table turned their heads to glance at the door, gave her a disgusted look, and continued shoveling food into their mouths with total indifference.
One was sitting and three were standing, their faces almost pressed against the plates. They looked like reincarnated starving ghosts, eager to grab the food with their hands.
Song Liping’s hand was poked by Chang Yongqin. She curled her lip and reluctantly called out toward the door, “Sister-in-law.”
Wei Yao looked at this family and gave a cold laugh.
She had grown accustomed to this situation in her previous life. After Song Liping’s husband died, she often brought her three children to her mother’s house to sponge off them without any hesitation.
In 1965, no family had much grain to spare.
Wei Yao hadn’t even finished her postpartum confinement before she hurried back to the workshop to do heavy labor.
All for that monthly salary of thirty-five yuan. Sometimes, she even volunteered for overtime just to get an extra two yuan and two meat coupons every month, so she could quietly buy something good for her children to satisfy their cravings.
Chang Yongqin didn’t work and relied on Song Dagui’s monthly salary of forty-five yuan and various benefits.
Added to that was the couple’s combined salary of over seventy yuan.
With a family income of over a hundred yuan, they could have lived very comfortably in this era, yet their lives were tight every month.
Without even thinking, it was clear that Chang Yongqin was subsidizing her widowed daughter.
Wei Yao looked coldly at the people in the main hall. She didn’t scream or curse hysterically like she did in her previous life. Instead, she said nothing and went straight back to her room.
“What’s wrong with her…”
Song Liping curled her lip as she watched her back. Chang Yongqin nudged her.
“Stop nagging, you little ancestor. After you eat, hurry up and take the kids home. I’ll go stir-fry the cabbage stalks; there might be another scene in a bit.”
Song Liping’s eldest son, Li Ying, looked resentfully at Wei Yao’s door, then turned and said viciously, “Grandmother, if she dares to bully you, I’ll kill her.”
“Hehehe, let me give you a kiss. What a good child you are. Don’t worry about her; she can’t make any waves. Grandmother also boiled eggs for you. Take them with you when you leave and remember to eat them if you get hungry tonight.”
Wei Yao acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing. Looking at her two children on the bed, who were so thin they were like parched skeletons, her nose stung. She rushed over, hugged them, and broke into sobs.
After being reborn, the first thing she did was rush home, terrified that she was dreaming and that she would never see her two children again.
In her previous life, Song Liping had brought her three children to suck the blood of the entire Song family.
Whenever Wei Yao lost her temper or was unhappy, the whole family would criticize her.
Song Mingrui was a freight driver who traveled all over the country year-round, sometimes not returning for a year or two. Initially, the salary he sent home was divided into two parts: one for Chang Yongqin and one for Wei Yao. When she was pregnant with their first Child, Chang Yongqin looked after her during her confinement and kept saying the family was so poor they couldn’t even keep the stove going.
Furthermore, Song Mingrui had been disliked in the Song family since he was a Child. Even Song Liping’s husband could boss him around without showing him any respect.
Wei Yao wanted to smooth the relationship between her husband and his family, and she wanted the in-laws to think more highly of her. In a moment of madness, she handed over all the money.
At the time, they spoke very sweetly, but after she handed over the seal for collecting the money, their attitude remained poor—it even became worse than before. She wanted to write to Song Mingrui, but she didn’t even have a fixed address for him.
She had to work at the factory, and she needed Chang Yongqin’s help to look after the children. She didn’t dare stop paying, nor did she dare to make a scene.
Coupled with the fact that Song Mingrui was away from home for years, she couldn’t imagine how she would survive alone with two children.
From then on, she relied on the two yuan earned from overtime and the three yuan from gluing matchboxes as pocket money to buy things for her children.
The two poor children were as thin as skeletons and were often bullied and beaten by Song Liping’s three children. Whenever things got heated, it was always the fault of her and her two children.
Song Liping resented her even more and prepared to secretly introduce a “confidante” to her brother, then urge Song Mingrui to divorce her. Unfortunately, before she could implement her plan, Song Mingrui died in a car accident.
After Song Liping found a powerful benefactor, the two elders of the Song family immediately kicked the three of them out of the house. Of the two children she had worked so hard to raise, one was worked to death by Song Liping’s daughter after reaching adulthood, and the other, frail and sickly, died before reaching adulthood.
During decades of lonely life, only her hatred kept her going. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, she was always the unlucky one. Just as she was willing to do whatever it took to drag Song Liping’s family down with her, she was struck by a truck and sent flying. Only then did she realize she was just a villainous sister-in-law in a “chronicles” novel, and Song Mingrui was merely a stepping stone who existed only to provide money.
The protagonist was Song Liping, and Wei Yao’s wickedness was used only to highlight the protagonist’s perseverance, bravery, and independence.
She hadn’t expected that when she opened her eyes again, she would be back in 1965, at the age of twenty-three.
Wei Yao touched the little one’s face with heartache. “Does it hurt?”
“Mama, you’re finally back, Mama. Grandma wouldn’t let me go out. I’m hungry!”
After Song Yang finished speaking, he lowered his head. The little fellow had a bruise on his forehead. Wei Yao remembered that this was caused by Song Liping’s eldest son, Li Ying.
She really wanted to rush out and tear the faces of those ghouls!
But right now, she and her children were so hungry they were dizzy; she truly had no strength.
Steeling herself, she began rummaging through the cabinet, pulling out a jade pendant she had accidentally obtained before. Then she bent down and picked up her daughter, Song Hui, who was whimpering on the bed.
This little girl had been unwelcome since birth. Wei Yao’s health had been poor when she was pregnant with her, and she had no breast milk. From birth until now, the Child hadn’t even had a drop of milk.
“Son, let’s go. Mom is taking you out to eat.”
Song Yang snapped his head up, his eyes wide and bright as if he couldn’t believe his ears.
With one arm holding her daughter and the other hand holding her son, Wei Yao walked out of the room. She didn’t even look at the people talking in the main hall as she turned and left.
“Mother, look at that. Look at what she means by this. She still has the nerve to throw a fit! You work so hard cooking for her and helping her with the Child, and yet she acts like you’re in the wrong. Heartless creature, just like that ungrateful Song Mingrui. Neither of them is any good.”
Chang Yongqin made a “tsk” sound and patted Song Liping lightly.
“Keep your voice down. Did you forget what I told you? Today is payday. We’ll wait a couple of days. If she doesn’t want to eat, fine. We’ll eat ours. Being able to eat is a blessing.”
Song Liping curled her lip but didn’t argue.
Wei Yao held her daughter, with Song Yang’s small hand clutching the corner of her clothes. The three of them first went to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
She had just received her salary and coupons today. This was all earned by her, and from now on, she would spend it all on her two children. Song Hui was only two months old and felt like a kitten in her arms. She had to get the Child on powdered milk right away; otherwise, she would surely be frail and sickly just like in her previous life.
Not far from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative was the state-owned restaurant. She led Song Yang inside and asked the waitress for warm water. After mixing the powdered milk, she carefully fed Song Hui. Then she ordered two bowls of wonton noodles and a portion of braised beef. The mother and son ate until their mouths were glistening with oil.
Full and satisfied, Wei Yao began to plan. The Song family was a man-eating demon’s den. She had to take the children and leave. The sooner, the better.