Lin Miaoyin opened her eyes and felt uncomfortable all over. She coughed hard, but water immediately went down her throat and made her choke. She rolled over and started vomiting, coughing up a large amount of water.
“That’s enough! She’s breathing again!”
“Quick, get all the water out of her stomach!”
“Go call the captain’s family!”
Someone patted her back and helped her cough up the water. She bent over with her upper body against the ground, her mind completely blank.
Where was she?
Hadn’t she been lying in a hospital bed for several months? Hadn’t the doctor already issued a critical condition notice?
When her stomach finally felt a little better, she raised her hand and wiped her face. Looking around, she saw a group of people wearing blue trousers and green rubber shoes covered in mud. Some of them were carrying hoes and other farm tools.
Then she noticed a man standing not far away. He was only wearing one shoe.
He looked very out of place because he was wearing black trousers and leather shoes. One foot was bare and planted on the wet ground.
Lin Miaoyin raised her head slightly.
The man was wearing a white shirt, which was completely soaked. His hair was fairly long and fell over his eyes. With his hands on his waist, he looked down at her.
“Move aside! Captain Lin’s son is here!”
The crowd parted, and a dark-skinned, muscular man wearing a vest and no shirt ran over. He immediately lifted her up.
“Miaoyin, are you okay?”
She instinctively shook her head.
“Your brother will take you to the clinic. Come on.”
The man bent down, preparing to carry her on his back. Before she could move, several women nearby automatically stepped forward and helped push her onto his back.
He carried her and said to the people around them, “Thank you, everyone, for helping today.”
The villagers quickly responded modestly.
“Take Miaoyin to the clinic quickly. Don’t worry, we’ll keep an eye on Educated Youth Zhang!”
The man thanked them again and carried her away.
Lying on his back, Lin Miaoyin slowly tried to figure out when and where she was, and what had happened.
Then she remembered the dream she had repeatedly experienced before she died.
In that dream, she had seen scenes from a novel.
Now, combined with the memories in her head that belonged to the original Lin Miaoyin, everything matched perfectly.
She had transmigrated into a novel.
The novel was set in China during the 1970s. It told the story of a female educated youth who was sent to the countryside and a poor young farmer. The two fell in love and eventually became successful together.
She had become a supporting female character named Lin Miaoyin.
The original Lin Miaoyin was the daughter of the production brigade captain. Her husband, Meng Yuanzheng, was the villain of the story. Apart from being handsome, he was practically useless.
Meng Yuanzheng was a male educated youth who wanted to avoid hard labor while still earning work points. So he married Lin Miaoyin, the daughter of the production brigade captain, and used her family’s connections to become a teacher at the local village primary school.
However, he hated the original Lin Miaoyin.
He thought she was unsophisticated, had nothing in common with him, and had a terrible temper. He considered her crude and unpleasant.
Meanwhile, he thought of himself as an elegant young gentleman and enjoyed being admired by girls.
Lin Miaoyin was the youngest child in her family and had always been spoiled. Unfortunately, she was not very clever.
Meng Yuanzheng sweet-talked her into marrying him. After he revealed his true nature, she could only cry, make a scene, and behave like a shrew.
The two often argued and even fought.
Meng Yuanzheng was good with words, while the original Lin Miaoyin was not.
Whenever they argued, he would tell people that it was all because of her bad temper and make himself look like the victim. Since he always appeared polite and refined on the outside, people believed him.
Later, Meng Yuanzheng fell in love with the female lead of the original story and wanted to divorce Lin Miaoyin.
But Lin Miaoyin believed that her husband was not at fault. She thought the female lead had seduced him, so she constantly went after her.
When the political climate changed and the educated youths were allowed to return to the cities, Meng Yuanzheng simply left.
The original Lin Miaoyin was abandoned.
Later, after Meng Yuanzheng became an official, he continued causing trouble for the male and female leads, who had gone into business together.
In short, Meng Yuanzheng was portrayed in the novel as lazy, selfish, lustful, and cowardly.
Lin Miaoyin opened her eyes and looked at the rice fields along the road.
The fields were lush and green. The sunlight above her was warm and bright.
Everything felt incredibly real, just like the world she had lived in before.
How had she ended up in a situation like this?
Although transmigrating into the novel had given her another chance at life, she was still herself, not the original Lin Miaoyin.
She would never follow the same path.
Protecting her own life was what mattered.
And there was no way she could continue living with that villainous husband.
Just thinking about the original story’s ending made her heart turn cold.
She had to find a way to divorce him and stay far away from that scumbag.
When they arrived at the clinic in the commune, there was only one doctor inside.
The doctor helped place her on a creaking hospital bed and gave her a quick examination.
“It’s nothing serious. She was rescued in time. She only swallowed some water.”
The muscular man asked anxiously, “Are you sure she’s really okay? Please check carefully.”
The doctor lowered his head and fiddled with his medical equipment.
“If you’re worried, she can stay here for a while so we can observe her.”
Lin Miaoyin lay on her back and said, “Brother, I’m fine now.”
After walking all the way there, her clothes had already dried in the sun. Apart from feeling a little weak, she felt fine.
“All right. Then let’s go home.”
The man came over to carry her again.
“Oh, right. You have to tell your brother what happened. When I heard you had fallen into the pond, I almost stabbed my own foot with my hoe.”
As he spoke, he lifted her onto his back.
After thanking the doctor, he carried her home.
Lin Miaoyin felt a little awkward.
“I can walk by myself. Put me down.”
“It’s fine. Your brother is strong. What’s wrong with carrying my own little sister?”
Today, Lin Miaoyin’s parents had gone into town to take care of some business.
The original Lin Miaoyin had deliberately chosen this day to make a big scene because she knew her parents would not be home.
Previously, whenever she complained to her mother about Meng Yuanzheng, her mother would always tell her to endure it and teach her that once a woman married, she should obey her husband.
At this time, many women still held very traditional beliefs.
If the original Lin Miaoyin had not been pushed beyond her limit, she would never have decided to fight to the bitter end.
When they arrived at the Lin family home, her brother returned to the fields to work. There was too much work to be done.
Lin Miaoyin heated some water herself and washed the dirt from her body. She found one of her mother’s old clothes and changed into it.
Then she returned to the room where she had slept before getting married.
She did not care that the room had been unused for a long time and was covered with a thin layer of dust.
She simply lay down and fell asleep.
When she woke up, it was already evening.
The sunset filled the room with a warm orange glow.
She sat up and felt much better.
Just then, her sister-in-law, Cui Fen, came into the room to check on her.
“Miaoyin, you’re awake. Are you thirsty?”
She poured a cup of hot water from the thermos and handed it to her.
Lin Miaoyin held the enamel cup and took a sip.
Then she asked, “Sister-in-law, what happened to everyone after my brother and I left?”
“Zhang Hui was taken to the police station.”
“What about Meng Yuanzheng?”
Cui Fen replied, “Him? At the time, the people around you were all women, and none of them knew how to swim. If he hadn’t pulled you out of the water, you might not have survived. So Dad and the Party Secretary decided to consider his good deed and his mistake as canceling each other out. He won’t be punished.”
Lin Miaoyin looked up from her cup.
“I fell into the pond because of him, and he isn’t being punished at all?”
Cui Fen said, “There wasn’t much they could do. To be honest, I don’t like dishonest men like him either. But saving someone’s life is something that deserves recognition. Compared with him holding hands with a girl, that good deed is much more serious.”
In the original story, the original Lin Miaoyin had been rescued by someone else.
Because it took quite a while to get her out, she had to be taken to the hospital.
After waking up, she had caused another huge scene.
She wanted to report Zhang Hui for attempted murder and accuse the two of having an improper relationship.
Meng Yuanzheng had knelt down and cried, begging her for forgiveness. He swore that from then on, he would only treat her well.
In the end, she softened and begged the Party Secretary to show him mercy.
Meng Yuanzheng was only required to write a self-criticism.
But Zhang Hui, whom Lin Miaoyin called a “seductress,” was not so lucky.
She received a serious disciplinary punishment.
“Oh, right,” Cui Fen added. “Zhang Hui also said she wants to report you for hitting her.”
Lin Miaoyin smiled.
“Hitting her? Who saw me do it?”
Her father was the production brigade captain. Anyone who wanted to continue living in this brigade would not dare to testify against his daughter and say that she had hit Zhang Hui.
Lin Miaoyin knew very well how much power a brigade captain had in this era.
He was in charge of the production and daily affairs of the entire brigade.
“But the injuries on her face…” Cui Fen began, wondering if Zhang Hui would use her injuries as evidence.
Lin Miaoyin was putting her feet into a pair of old cloth shoes.
She stood up and took a few steps. The handmade soles felt hard and uncomfortable, and she was still not used to them.
She looked up and said decisively,
“Meng Yuanzheng did it.”
Cui Fen was stunned.
“Meng Yuanzheng hit Zhang Hui?”
Lin Miaoyin continued, “Those two had a fight. Meng Yuanzheng hit Zhang Hui, and everyone nearby can testify to that. I went over to break up the fight, but Zhang Hui pushed me into the pond.”
Cui Fen frowned.
“That won’t be easy. They’ll definitely deny it.”
“Don’t worry. Meng Yuanzheng will admit it.”
Lin Miaoyin smiled confidently.
“Why?”
“If he refuses, we’ll make things difficult for him. Doesn’t he hate doing farm work? Let him choose between admitting that he hit someone or doing more work than everyone else.”
Cui Fen thought about it and nodded.
“You’re right. At most, hitting someone means apologizing and writing a self-criticism. Besides, he and Zhang Hui are already going to have to write one because of their relationship.”