1970, Lu Family Village.
“Bodhisattva bless us, may the third son’s wife give birth to a boy.” Zhang Guifang clasped her hands in prayer, beseeching gods and Buddhas, yet not daring to speak too loudly for fear of being overheard and later accused of engaging in feudal superstitions.
Old Man Lu grew irritated by her muttering. “Shut your crow’s mouth! You’re annoying as hell. If it really is a girl, then smother her. Our family has no extra grain to feed another mouth now.”
“Is… is that alright?”
“Do it discreetly, don’t let the villagers see. Later we’ll just say the child was stillborn due to a difficult labor.”
“What about Third Son? Even though he’s away in the army, he’s not easily fooled.”
“Tell him the same story. He doesn’t understand childbirth anyway. We’ll send him a telegram later. What could he possibly do when he returns?” Old Man Lu had already calculated everything.
As long as the family kept it quiet and the midwife was properly compensated, nothing would go wrong.
In these times, how many baby girls hadn’t been drowned and buried?
Just then, another piercing scream came from the east room, chilling to the bone.
The room’s doors and windows were tightly shut, heavy with the smell of blood.
Aunt Li, the midwife, watched in panic as a large pool of blood gushed from beneath Jiang Yue. The amount of bleeding made her frantic.
“Oh no, this is bad, really bad.”
Mother Lu pressed against the door outside and asked, “Auntie, has the child been born? Is it a boy, right?”
Aunt Li opened the door, stomping her feet anxiously. “Not yet! The baby’s head is too big, it won’t come out. Your daughter-in-law is hemorrhaging badly—this could be fatal. Quickly, find someone and a flatbed cart to take her to the town clinic. Ah! The town might not even be able to handle it. I think we need to send her to the county hospital. She might even need to be hospitalized.”
“What? Hospitalized?” Mother Lu was confused.
Old Man Lu, standing behind her, understood somewhat and vetoed the idea with a dark expression. “Send her to the hospital? How much would that cost? Besides, it’s such a long way. Even if we sent her, would we make it in time? Auntie, think of another way.”
“Severe bleeding can kill! The longer we delay, the more danger she’s in. I think we should send her to the hospital!”
This time, Mother Lu understood. She slapped her thigh and said, “If you can’t handle it, I will. It’s just childbirth! I’ve seen plenty in my time. Old man, go get the knife!”
“Alright!” Old Man Lu didn’t hesitate for a second, rushing off to the kitchen.
Aunt Li was shocked. “What are you going to do?”
Mother Lu took the knife, shoved the midwife aside, her face like a demon risen from hell.
“You said the baby’s head is too big and she can’t give birth, right? Then I’ll cut her open down there and save my grandson.”
“Oh dear! Are you insane? Absolutely not! This isn’t the old society anymore. If you do this, there’ll be trouble. Besides, she’s still alive—are you trying to kill her?”
“I don’t care about any of that! My grandson is what matters most!” Mother Lu took a deep breath and charged into the room.
She had given birth to four children herself and witnessed even more. It was no big deal—just a life, after all.
Jiang Yue lay with her legs spread, leaning against the headboard. Her limbs were as thin as straw, but her belly was unusually large.
The bedding beneath her was stained dark red with blood, still spreading.
She looked off, as if her soul had left her body.
Mother Lu’s hand trembled slightly as she gripped the knife. “I… I’m doing this for my grandson, and for your child too. Third Son’s wife, don’t blame me.”
Old Man Lu urged impatiently, “If you’re going to do it, hurry up! What are you dawdling for?”
Mother Lu took a deep breath and said anxiously, “Don’t rush me! I—I’m about to make the cut!”
She walked to the bedside, yanked the quilt off Jiang Yue, raised the knife, and gestured toward her lower body.
Finally finding the spot to cut, she held the knife, her eyes fixed as she was about to bring it down.
Just then, Jiang Yue, who had been half-dead, suddenly opened her eyes. Her two pupils stared fixedly at Mother Lu.
Mother Lu froze, her hand suspended in mid-air.
Jiang Yue suddenly began to struggle, her hands clawing at the bedsheet, her body lifting, convulsing all over.
“Heavens, these two might be saved.” Aunt Li pulled Mother Lu aside and directed Jiang Yue to push.
A few minutes later, a bloody mass was pushed out from between her legs.
“It’s born, it’s born.”
Aunt Li picked up the sterilized scissors and, with a snip, cut the umbilical cord.
She quickly cleared the baby’s mouth, grabbed its little feet, lifted it up, and gave two hard slaps to its bottom.
“Waa!” The baby let out a cry—the child was alive.
“Let me see!” Only when she heard the baby’s cry did Mother Lu snap back to reality. She hastily threw down the knife, snatched the baby over, and pried its legs apart. Her heart sank instantly.
“It really is a girl!” She deflated, suddenly losing all energy.
Aunt Li tried to console her, “Ah! This little girl is tough—maybe you should keep her and raise her!”
“Raise what? Aunt Li, when you go out, just say the baby was stillborn due to a difficult labor.” After saying this, Mother Lu found a ragged cloth on the bed, wrapped the baby haphazardly, and prepared to carry it out.
Not only was her heart cold, but she was also furious.
Those village women had always said the third daughter-in-law was carrying a boy, claiming her belly was pointy and she craved sour foods during pregnancy—it had to be true. But look at the result!
Slap in the face! Her old face felt swollen from the humiliation, so this little girl absolutely could not stay.
Aunt Li sighed but didn’t stop her. She had seen such things many times.
Some favored boys over girls; others simply couldn’t afford to raise them. After all, in these times, even adults didn’t have enough to eat. Abandoning children was common, and there were even crueler ones—throwing newborns into latrines or manure buckets. It happened all the time.
“Waa!”
Just as Mother Lu was about to step out the door, the infant suddenly let out a heart-wrenching cry.
Its little fists clenched, its legs kicking, full of vigor.
At the same time, Jiang Yue woke up.
Opening her eyes, she was bewildered, completely unaware of the situation.
But the next moment, memories flooded in like a tidal wave.
The owner of this body was also named Jiang Yue, 20 years old, and had already died.
It was now 1970. When she had crossed over, it seemed she was giving birth—the sensation between her legs was still there.
In her previous life, she had died from sheer rage.
She had accidentally opened a video on her husband’s computer.
Two bodies were tangled in passion!
She stared at the man panting on the screen—the husband who, since their marriage, had claimed poor health and couldn’t consummate their relationship. Over the decades, he and his “white moonlight” had accumulated over a hundred gigabytes of footage!
All this time, to protect his self-esteem, she had told others she was the one who couldn’t conceive, enduring endless blame from his family.
Yet behind her back, he and his white moonlight had even had two children! Countless videos showed the four of them living in another home, and she had even spotted her in-laws in the footage!
Overwhelmed with fury, she fainted. When she opened her eyes again, she was here.
She was angry that she hadn’t yet slain the scumbag and his entire family, but also grateful for this chance to live a second life.
This time, she absolutely refused to exhaust herself internally, compromise against her conscience, or be constrained by moral blackmail.
She would live like a madwoman—better to torment others than drain herself.
My child!