“Alright!”
Hearing Wen Xi’s response, Sister-in-law Song hurriedly fled as if a dog were chasing her. The scene of an axe splitting into her window kept replaying in her mind.
Today’s Wen Xi was terrifying—like a malicious ghost crawling out of hell.
In the Song family’s main hall, breakfast was already laid out on the table. In the past, the original owner of the body was never allowed to sit at the table and could only eat leftovers after the family had finished.
Now, however, no one dared to sit down first. They all huddled to the side, trembling as they stared at the doorway, waiting for Wen Xi.
Wen Xi walked in with an unruly, domineering stride. She didn’t even spare them a glance and sat down directly, occupying an entire side of the table.
“Did you spit in the food?”
She stared straight at the three daughters-in-law of the Song family with a cold, piercing gaze, as if anyone who dared tamper with the food would have their neck snapped.
These three sisters-in-law had bullied the original owner many times before. Not only did they dump chores like cooking, feeding chickens, and cleaning onto her, but they even made her wash their clothes—including filthy undergarments stained during menstruation.
In short, none of them were good people.
The three women were frightened and quickly waved their hands.
“No, no!”
“Third sister-in-law, if you don’t trust us, I’ll eat first.”
Sister-in-law Song tremblingly took a bowl. With shaking hands, she scooped a ladle of thin porridge from the pot and gulped it down without even caring if it was hot.
Second sister-in-law Song grabbed a mixed-grain bun and stuffed it into her mouth in large bites. The fourth sister-in-law quickly picked up a piece of pickled vegetable and ate it.
Only then did Wen Xi look satisfied. She lifted her eyelids slightly and glanced at Sister-in-law Song, then at the pot.
Sister-in-law Song didn’t understand what she meant. She stood there pale and frightened, afraid that if Wen Xi was not satisfied, she would be the next one beaten.
“You’re such a grown woman and you don’t even have basic sense. Serve my food. Do you expect me to do it myself?”
Wen Xi’s cold voice exploded in her ears. Only then did Sister-in-law Song realize what she meant.
“Oh, oh, I’ll serve it right away.”
With trembling hands, she scooped a bowl of thick porridge and handed it to Wen Xi.
Second sister-in-law quickly placed the largest bun in front of her, and even pushed over the plate of scrambled eggs that only men and Wang Zhaodi were normally allowed to eat.
The others dared not speak out in anger, afraid of provoking Wen Xi and becoming the next target.
Wang Zhaodi’s face turned red with suppressed anger, while Song Juanjuan, with her arm in a sling, didn’t even dare to look at Wen Xi.
The strangely silent breakfast ended under the family’s extreme tension.
The rest of the Song family grabbed their farming tools and rushed out to work in the fields. Even the children ran off quickly. The injured Wang Zhaodi and Song Juanjuan, with her broken arm, also left with baskets, not daring to stay at home.
The entire family had never been so diligent before.
After everyone left, Wen Xi went to Wang Zhaodi’s room.
When the original owner came to the Song family, she brought 3,000 yuan, two Rolex watches, and a classic model that would become rare in later decades.
She also brought a small box of gold items—twenty gold bars in total.
All of these were her dowry from her parents, which Wang Zhaodi had taken for herself.
When hiding valuables, there were only a few places: cabinet compartments, under the bed, or wall cavities.
Wen Xi searched the room thoroughly and found a stack of banknotes hidden inside a cabinet compartment, and the gold bars inside a concealed wall cavity.
However, the two Rolex watches were nowhere to be found even after a complete search.
Wen Xi guessed they had been taken to the military by Song Mingyuan. Those watches would be extremely valuable decades later—she definitely wouldn’t let that scumbag benefit from them.
Not only would she take the watches back, but she would also report Song Mingyuan for fraudulent marriage and moral misconduct.
After reclaiming the dowry, Wen Xi continued ransacking Wang Zhaodi’s room. Over the years, she had accumulated money, fabrics, beds, cabinets, basins, and enamel cups—anything in the room was taken and stored away.
Then she moved on to the rooms of the three sons of the Song family, Song Juanjuan’s room, the kitchen, and the woodshed. Wherever Wen Xi passed, it was like a locust swarm—nothing was left behind.
In just a few minutes, the Song family’s brick house was reduced to an empty shell, cleaner than a newly built unfinished house.
But she wasn’t done.
Even the apple and pomegranate trees in the yard were taken, leaving two large pits in the ground.
The chickens, roosters, and two piglets in the backyard were also taken into her space.
It was only March, and no vegetables had been planted yet—otherwise she would have taken those too.
Everything here had been bought with her dowry money. Even if she threw it away, she would never let this family keep it.
After emptying the Song household, Wen Xi went to find the village head.
In this era, traveling required an official letter of introduction. Without a stamped document, one could not go anywhere.
Old Man Song and Wang Zhaodi, relying on their son being a deputy battalion commander in the army, acted superior in the village and even looked down on the village head.
As a result, their family had a poor reputation.
Wen Xi solved the matter with money—handing the village head a pack of cigarettes and two bottles of liquor, quickly obtaining the letter of introduction.
She also gave him twenty yuan to hire a tractor to take her to the county train station.
By the time the Song family returned at noon and discovered the theft, Wen Xi had already arrived at the county railway station.
“Comrade, I want a sleeper ticket to Lan City today.”
The clerk lazily glanced up and said coldly, “There’s only one train at 10 a.m. for Lan City today. Tomorrow only has hard seats. Do you want it or not?”
“Alright, I’ll take the hard seat for tomorrow.”
As long as she could get on the train, a hard seat was better than nothing. Besides, with this body, she might even lose some weight sitting in a hard seat.
The clerk’s attitude softened slightly. “You’re a military family member?”
“Mm. My husband serves in the Northwest Military Region.”
The clerk became more polite. “Hard seat is eight yuan. You can ask the conductor onboard if you can upgrade to a sleeper.”
“Thank you, comrade.”
Wen Xi handed over the money.
After receiving the ticket and introduction letter, the clerk kindly reminded her to lock the doors and windows if staying alone at a guesthouse at night.
Wen Xi thanked her again and went to a nearby guesthouse, renting a single room for two yuan.
The room was small but clean, with a double bed, white sheets, and a large window that made the room bright.
After entering, Wen Xi did not lie down immediately. Instead, she took out toiletries and clothes, planning to take a shower first.
After a bumpy ride on a tractor all morning, her bones felt like they were falling apart.
Just as she was about to leave—
Her stomach growled.
She touched her soft belly, layered with two “swimming rings,” and decided not to eat in order to lose weight.
After bathing, she felt refreshed and lay down to sleep.
The original owner had worked like a slave in the Song family for a year with barely any rest. Now she could finally catch up on sleep.
If she slept, she wouldn’t feel hungry.
Before falling asleep, she wondered—logically, someone who worked so hard and barely ate should be thin.
Why was she still so fat?
Could it be that she was one of those people who gains weight just by drinking water?
Exhausted, she soon fell into a deep, steady sleep. Even noises in the hallway failed to wake her.
From day to night, the bustling street outside gradually quieted. The train station, once crowded with people, grew calm like a tired child.
Bang!
A gunshot cracked through the silent night like thunder, tearing open the darkness…