“We can’t put this off any longer. Old Wang from the neighboring village offered 188 yuan in bride price—the highest anyone’s paying. Hurry up and marry off this money-losing girl!”
“Exactly, Dad! If we don’t marry her off now, she’ll go to the army to find her brother!”
“I’ve already made arrangements with Old Wang. If this money-losing girl still refuses, we’ll just force some medicine down her throat and send her straight to his bed…”
……
Su Yuqing heard muffled voices coming from somewhere, as if through a wall.
She opened her eyes and found herself lying in a tiny storage room. A faint smell of mildew filled her nostrils.
Her wrists were still tied with rope. Hearing the voices outside the door, Su Yuqing was puzzled. Hadn’t she been telling fortunes part-time at school?
How had she ended up here?
As Su Yuqing tried to figure out what was going on, fragments of memories began flashing through her mind.
It seemed she had transmigrated into the body of a village girl in the 1970s who had the same name as her…
The original owner had a brother five years older than her. But while their mother was pregnant with her, their scumbag father, Su Dawei, had an affair. The shock and anger sent their mother into premature labor. She died right after giving birth to Su Yuqing.
Her scumbag father then brazenly brought his mistress into the house. Six months later, the woman gave birth to a boy. Having borne a son, Zhu Chunjuan became even more arrogant.
She saw herself as the family’s great benefactor and secretly made life difficult for the siblings, leaving them to suffer miserably in the Su household.
Su Yibei grew to hate Su Dawei more and more.
When he was fifteen, he resolutely enlisted, leaving the family behind. He told the original owner that once he was assigned housing by the army, he would bring her to live with him, and the siblings could leave the Su family for good.
But Su Yibei worried that, with him away, their stepmother would bully his younger sister.
He kept only enough of his army allowance to support himself and sent the rest home. He meant for his sister to have the money and keep it for herself, but he never imagined that Zhu Chunjuan would take every bit of it.
Zhu Chunjuan hadn’t expected that the brat could earn so much and send money home every month.
She simply snatched it all for herself, claiming she was saving it for her son, Su Hongqing, for his future marriage.
Su Dawei naturally had no objections. After all, Su Yuqing was a girl. Daughters were bound to marry someday, and once married, they belonged to another family. What was the point of keeping the money for her?
Su Yibei had barely any leave during his first two years in the army, so he couldn’t come home. He could only write to his sister, but Zhu Chunjuan intercepted all his letters. Later, when he got leave and came home, he secretly slipped his sister some money and told her to keep it for herself.
But Zhu Chunjuan found out in the end and took the money away.
When Su Yibei came home on leave again and learned that Zhu Chunjuan had stolen the money he’d given his sister, he raised hell in the house. He slapped Zhu Chunjuan and said that if she ever mistreated his sister again, he’d burn the Su house to the ground.
Then he’d castrate her son and make sure the boy never got a wife!
By then, Su Yibei was a head taller than Zhu Chunjuan. A few years in the army had darkened his skin and given him an imposing presence, and Zhu Chunjuan was genuinely intimidated.
She felt as if he could knock her dead with a single punch…
Zhu Chunjuan reluctantly kept in line for two years. But as the original owner slowly blossomed into a lovely young woman, she began to get ideas again. She wanted to marry her off and save more money for her own son’s future wedding.
So she set her sights on the original owner.
The girl was young and beautiful, and already seventeen. When she found out Zhu Chunjuan wanted to arrange a match for her, she protested vehemently and even wrote to Su Yibei.
By then, Su Yibei had been promoted to deputy battalion commander, and his housing assignment was just about to come through. He decided to have his sister come live with him.
Meanwhile, Zhu Chunjuan had finally found an old bachelor willing to offer a bride price of 188 yuan. Su Dawei had only given her family 88 yuan back when he married her, after all. Young women fetched a much higher price.
So Zhu Chunjuan accepted the bride price, planning to marry the girl off before Su Yibei’s next leave. Once it was a done deal, what could Su Yibei say?
But the original owner refused. Afraid she might run away, Zhu Chunjuan tied her up and locked her in the storage room for two days. If she still wouldn’t agree, Zhu Chunjuan planned to drug her and send her to Old Wang’s house!
……
After absorbing the original owner’s memories, Su Yuqing clenched her fists.
What a parasitic family!
They were really going to keep sucking her and her brother dry, huh?
Creak—
Someone pushed open the storage-room door.
“You ungrateful little fool. A bride price of 188 yuan is the highest in the whole village. You should be proud to tell people about it!” Zhu Chunjuan came in, grumbling and cursing.
When she saw Su Yuqing tied up, a flash of jealousy crossed her eyes.
They hadn’t even taken particularly good care of the girl, yet she’d grown into a fresh-faced beauty, with a fine figure: a slim waist, a full chest, and a curvy backside. She looked downright alluring.
Just looking at her put Zhu Chunjuan in a foul mood!
“You little slut…” Zhu Chunjuan cursed. “I’ll untie you now so the ropes don’t leave marks and spoil your looks. Tomorrow, you’ll go to Old Wang’s house like a good girl.”
“Hee-hee!” Su Hongqing, only half a year younger than her, stood outside the door, grinning smugly and leering. “She’s getting married! She’s getting married! The money-losing girl’s getting married!”
Seeing Su Yuqing with her head bowed and saying nothing, Zhu Chunjuan assumed she’d accepted her fate. She stepped forward to untie the ropes.
The moment Su Yuqing’s hands were free, she suddenly lifted her head, rolled her eyes, lunged at Zhu Chunjuan, and grabbed her by the throat.
Zhu Chunjuan jolted in fright. Su Yuqing’s momentum knocked her down, and the back of her head hit the floor hard. Her skull rang from the impact.
“Little sister, little sister… Why did you push me into the river?” Su Yuqing straddled her and slapped her twice more, then continued in an eerie voice, “It’s so cold… The water’s so cold…”
“!!!” Zhu Chunjuan hadn’t even recovered when she took another two hard slaps. But those were nothing compared with what Su Yuqing had just said. “Y-you… Wh-what did you say?”
Zhu Chunjuan had originally come from the neighboring village.
She was the second child in her family, with a younger brother. Her family had been poor when she was little, and her parents scrimped and saved to give everything to their son. One winter, her older sister and younger brother fell ill at the same time. Their parents stayed home to look after the boy and sent the sisters to buy medicine at a small clinic.
By then, Zhu Chunjuan hadn’t eaten her fill for three days. As they passed the supply-and-marketing cooperative, she wanted to buy something to eat, but Zhu Xiuxiu refused, afraid their parents would find out.
But Zhu Chunjuan was so hungry she’d lost her reason. When they reached the river, she pushed Zhu Xiuxiu in.
Zhu Xiuxiu had already been sick. She struggled for a moment after falling into the river, then was swept away.
Although Zhu Chunjuan was frightened, she quietly pocketed the money, went to buy the medicine, then returned home and told her parents that her older sister had accidentally fallen into the river.
Zhu Chunjuan had never told anyone what happened. How could Su Yuqing know…?
“Little~ sis~ter~” Su Yuqing called eerily in her ear as she slapped her again and again. “How could you be so cruel?”
“Ahhh!” Zhu Chunjuan screamed in terror.
Su Hongqing, who had been gloating at the doorway, froze when he saw his own mother being beaten.
Holy crap!
Su Yuqing had gone crazy!
—Brain Parking Lot—
This is a sweet romance; the leads have no misunderstandings, so enjoy!