Jiang Xingyao was jolted awake by money.
Half a jar of coins came crashing down on her, the pain instantly snapping her awake.
The woman standing in front of her looked at her with undisguised disgust.
“Stop pretending to be dead. Take this money and buy yourself some new clothes. Tomorrow, go get your marriage certificate with that poor boy from the Xie family.”
Jiang Xingyao frowned as she sat up on the wooden bed. She turned her head and looked around.
The light bulb on the ceiling had gone black with age, and yellowed newspapers covered the cement walls.
The calendar read October 11, 1987.
She had actually transmigrated!
The original owner had the exact same name as her: Jiang Xingyao.
When the original owner was born, she was tiny and contracted pneumonia. Her biological mother, Liu Zhilan, had secretly switched her with the baby of Xu Xiangmei, another woman who had given birth in the same hospital room.
Perhaps it really was some kind of ill-fated connection. Later, both families were assigned homes in Building No. 33 of the Textile Factory compound.
However, Liu Zhilan’s husband, Shen Yunfeng, was a deputy factory director, while Xu Xiangmei’s husband, Jiang Jiandong, was a skilled technician.
So even though both families had three sons and one daughter, there was still a huge difference in their living conditions.
The Shen family lived in a 120-square-meter apartment with four bedrooms and two living rooms.
The Jiang family lived in an 80-square-meter apartment with three bedrooms and one living room.
Their lives had originally been peaceful and stable. But no one could have expected that, the previous year, the Shen family’s second son would be diagnosed with leukemia.
He needed a bone marrow transplant from the original owner. With no other choice, the Shen family finally revealed that the two families had accidentally switched babies at the hospital all those years ago.
The original owner was vain and obsessed with wealth and status. From that point on, she would rather stay in the Shen household as a servant, even sleeping in the storage room, than return to the Jiang family.
Meanwhile, the Shen family’s biological daughter, Shen Jiaoli, was even more adamant that she would rather die than acknowledge the Jiang family.
She remained the pampered little princess of the Shen household.
And because of that, the original owner had to wait on her hand and foot every day, constantly trying to please her.
Then, a few days ago, a letter arrived from the Xie family, who had an arranged marriage with the Shen family. They said they wanted the Shen family’s daughter to marry the Xie family’s fourth son as soon as possible.
The Shen family looked down on the Xie family because their ancestors had been poor peasants for three generations. Shen Jiaoli, meanwhile, was determined to marry the son of the steel mill director, so she refused even to meet anyone from the Xie family.
But the marriage between the two families had been arranged forty years ago by the late Old Master Shen and his old comrade-in-arms, Old Master Xie. They had agreed that their grandchildren would marry each other.
The Shen family could not simply break off the engagement. On top of that, Shen Yunfeng was at a critical stage in his campaign to become factory director. The Shen family absolutely could not afford any negative publicity.
So they forced the original owner to meet the Xie family’s fourth son, Xie Jingsi.
She had gone, but her heart belonged entirely to her childhood sweetheart, Zhao Hewen.
She refused to marry Xie Jingsi at all costs. After returning home, she went on a hunger strike.
She refused to eat or drink a drop of water, but she continued doing all the work expected of her.
Exhaustion and starvation quickly took their toll, and she died of sudden exhaustion before she could even make it three days.
Jiang Xingyao raised her eyes and looked at the woman before her.
This was none other than her biological mother, Liu Zhilan.
“I’ll marry him in Shen Jiaoli’s place. But you have to give me 2,000 yuan as my dowry.”
According to the original owner’s memories, Xie Jingsi was anything but poor.
He dressed in a suit and tie and was exceptionally handsome.
He drove a car and lived in a Western-style house.
Even his carefree eyes carried an air of aristocratic refinement that seemed completely out of reach.
As for Jiang Xingyao, in her previous life, she had been a somewhat well-known practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine. She had been testing medicine on herself when a colleague poisoned her by putting a harmful substance in her medication.
So in this life, she didn’t want to pursue her old profession anymore.
She had no talent for business, either. In that case, why not marry into a wealthy family?
She wasn’t looking for love or romance. All she wanted was to make a little money.
But when Liu Zhilan heard Jiang Xingyao’s demand, her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
“Are you crazy? Two thousand yuan? That’s enough to buy your life!
“Jiang Xingyao, you’d better understand your position. You’re the biological daughter of the Shen family. No matter how you look at it, you’re the only one who can marry into the Xie family.
“I advise you to know what’s good for you. Otherwise, we’ll break your legs and tie you up before sending you over there.”
Jiang Xingyao was still weak, so she said, “Go get me a bowl of rice first. I’ll eat until I’m full, then we’ll talk.”
Liu Zhilan opened her mouth, hesitated for several seconds, and finally spat out one word.
“Fine.”
For now, the most important thing was to coax this wretched girl into marrying into the Xie family.
But after Jiang Xingyao finished a bowl of watery porridge and two steamed buns, she stood up.
With a cold laugh, she said, “Without 2,000 yuan, I won’t marry him even if I have to die.
“Go ahead and try laying a hand on me. If this gets brought to the factory, forget about Shen Yunfeng becoming factory director. He might not even be able to keep his position as deputy factory director.”
Liu Zhilan froze.
She looked Jiang Xingyao up and down several times.
This wretched girl had always been timid and submissive, constantly trying to please everyone.
Why did she seem like a completely different person today? Her gaze was sharp, and her mind seemed much quicker than before.
But then Liu Zhilan thought about it and immediately understood.
She sneered. “Aren’t you just trying to force us to acknowledge you? Fine. As long as you obediently marry into the Xie family, I’ll allow you to call me Mom from now on.
“But don’t even dream of getting a single cent of the Shen family’s property.”
After all, this wretched girl would be following that poor boy from the Xie family to the countryside. She might not even return once in three or five years. There was no way she could affect her precious Lili.
“Sorry, but I don’t want it anymore. I’ll always be a daughter of the Jiang family. Two thousand yuan. If you give me even one yuan less, I won’t marry into the Xie family in place of your Shen family’s daughter.”
With that, Jiang Xingyao turned and headed for the door.
“Stop!” Liu Zhilan flew into a rage. “You ungrateful daughter! Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
She reached out to grab Jiang Xingyao by the hair.
But in her previous life, Jiang Xingyao had spent more than a decade practicing ancient martial arts under her master.
Even though the original owner’s body was in poor condition, she could still knock down two burly men with a single finger.
Dealing with Liu Zhilan was no different from crushing an ant.
Jiang Xingyao raised a hand, grabbed Liu Zhilan’s wrist, and flung her to the floor.
“Ow… It hurts like hell…” Liu Zhilan grimaced and cursed furiously. “You wretched girl! How dare you hit me! You’ll never set foot through the Shen family’s door! Get out!”
“Sure~” Jiang Xingyao smiled brightly. “Then let your precious Jiaoli marry into the countryside. She can spend the rest of her life farming, feeding pigs, and shoveling manure.”