Song Father wasn’t home, and Song Can showed no mercy.
Before Ma Yingying could even touch a strand of Song Can’s hair, Song Can shoved her hard.
Bang!
Ma Yingying flew backward and slammed into the door. Pain shot through her entire back.
“Mom!”
She collapsed onto the floor, crying loudly.
Just then, Stepmother Song walked in.
Seeing her daughter being beaten only fueled her rage.
“You little ungrateful wretch!”
“I’ve raised you for over ten years, only to end up with a thankless white-eyed wolf!”
“You heartless thing! I’ll beat you to death!”
Rolling up her sleeves, she charged at Song Can.
Song Can grabbed a small stool and threw it.
It struck Stepmother Song squarely on the knee, sending her crashing to the floor.
“You rotten little—”
Before she could finish cursing, she snatched up the fireplace tongs and hurled them.
Song Can tried to dodge.
She wasn’t quite fast enough.
The tongs slammed into her ankle.
The pain was so intense she could barely move.
Seeing her chance, Ma Yingying lunged forward and grabbed Song Can’s hair.
Song Can immediately seized Ma Yingying’s hair in return.
Hearing her daughter scream, Stepmother Song rushed over and began pinching and hitting Song Can from every direction.
Before Song Qi even reached home, someone had already told him his stepmother was throwing another tantrum.
The moment he ran inside and saw Song Can being ganged up on, his eyes turned red with rage.
He kicked Ma Yingying hard.
“Get lost!”
“Stop hitting my sister!”
Stepmother Song cried out when her daughter slammed into a cabinet.
She hurried over to check on her.
At last, Song Can had a chance to catch her breath.
Song Qi stood protectively in front of his sister.
“I’ll tell you the truth.”
“I was the one who registered Ma Yingying with the Educated Youth Office.”
“If you’re angry…”
“Take it out on me.”
“She’s been eating and living here for free all these years.”
“It’s time she contributed something.”
“I didn’t even send her to the Great Northwest.”
The boy had grown taller.
For the first time…
He stood bravely in front of his sister.
Stepmother Song nearly exploded with fury.
“You little bastard!”
“How dare you!”
She grabbed an enamel mug and threw it at Song Qi’s head.
He dodged.
The mug rolled across the floor…
Until it stopped in front of a pair of large boots.
“So…”
“When I’m not home…”
“This is how you treat those two siblings?”
Song Father had returned.
His face was ashen.
His eyes were terrifyingly calm—two dark, bottomless pits fixed on his disheveled wife.
“N-No…”
“It wasn’t me…”
“It was her…”
“It was them…”
“They bullied Yingying!”
“They signed her up to go to the countryside!”
“She’s still just a child!”
“She’s so frail!”
“How can she survive?”
Smack!
The slap echoed through the room.
Even Yang Yuan, watching the spectacle from outside, instinctively felt her own cheek sting.
Song Father’s expression never changed.
“Going to the countryside is exactly what she should do.”
“Who doesn’t go?”
“It’s a glorious thing.”
“You stupid woman.”
“What’s the use of raising a crazy fool like you?”
“You contribute nothing.”
“You have no ambition.”
“If I weren’t tied down by work…”
“I’d volunteer to go myself.”
“There’s a bright future in going to the countryside!”
“You worthless freeloader.”
“You can’t even read a single word.”
“All you know is how to make scenes.”
Every sentence was followed by another slap or punch.
His righteous speech carried far outside the house.
Stepmother Song’s face quickly became swollen and bruised.
She had nowhere to run.
Song Qi led Song Can away.
Together they packed up the few clothes and quilts she owned.
In the dead of winter…
One thin quilt folded into a neat square was nearly all she had.
Holding her aching head, Song Can deliberately limped toward the door.
Song Father stopped her.
Without saying a single word…
He quietly slipped a ten-yuan note into her hand.
Still…
He never spoke.
The crowd slowly dispersed.
Watching them leave, Yang Yuan wandered back toward her own house to start preparing dinner.
Song Can was gone…
But the Song family’s troubles were far from over.
There was still Song Qi.
Thinking of how the original novel described him—a cold, obsessive man who grew up like a lone wolf—
Yang Yuan shivered.
Psychopaths are terrifying…
She pulled out her little notebook and added another requirement to her future husband checklist.
✔ Can cook.
✔ Mentally healthy.
(Preferably from a loving family with both parents alive and happily married.)
The next day was Yang Yuan’s first day at work.
The Yang family, already accustomed to waking up early, got up even earlier than usual.
Yang Mother slipped her icy-cold hands under Yang Yuan’s blanket.
“Ahhh!”
Yang Yuan shrieked.
She was so startled that every trace of sleep vanished instantly.
The entire family burst into laughter.
Although dark resentment practically floated above her head like an evil spirit…
There was no chance of sleeping in now.
Instead, Yang Yuan was treated like a VIP.
Yang Mother folded her quilt and combed her hair.
Yang Wenping brought warm water and handed her a toothbrush.
Yang Father extravagantly cooked a pot of millet porridge.
The golden grains released a rich, comforting aroma.
Only then did Yang Yuan realize…
She was actually very fortunate.
Before transmigrating, she’d been an only child for over twenty years.
Her younger brother hadn’t even been conceived until after she graduated from college.
She had grown up spoiled by four loving adults.
Life in this era was much harsher…
But her family still gave her the very best they could.
Well…
Except for Yang Mother’s constant nagging.
They all adored her.
“Don’t smile like that.”
“People will think you’re stupid.”
Yang Wenping mercilessly shattered the warm atmosphere.
Yang Yuan nearly spat blood.
She immediately withdrew everything nice she’d just been thinking.
Her fourth brother really deserved a beating sometimes.
Yang Father and Yang Mother continued farther ahead toward the steel mill.
All the way there, Yang Mother chattered nonstop.
It was practically auditory torture.
Yang Father quietly slipped two yuan into Yang Yuan’s hand.
Yang Wenping escorted her all the way to the entrance of the textile factory.
Before leaving, he secretly stuffed another yuan into her pocket.
Then he repeatedly reminded Second Brother-in-law to take good care of her.
Watching the whole scene…
Yang Yuan couldn’t help remembering her first day of kindergarten in her previous life.
Her parents and grandparents had practically handed her over to the teacher together.
Her grandfather had even waited outside the entire day because he couldn’t bear to leave.
Ridiculous…
Yet incredibly heartwarming.
Meng Quan, Yang Yuan’s second brother-in-law, was equally astonished.
His wife had told him before that her youngest sister was the family’s favorite.
But he hadn’t imagined it would be this extreme.
She was already a grown woman.
Yet the entire family had escorted her to work.
Her brother had even wanted to accompany her inside.
When security wouldn’t allow it, he’d grabbed Meng Quan’s arm and repeated instruction after instruction.
In those days…
Children were generally raised with little supervision.
As long as they had something to eat and knew how to find their way home, parents considered that enough.
Even children who were dearly loved usually lacked food and decent clothing.
Affection was shown more through concern than material care.
Someone as doted upon as Yang Yuan…
Was practically unheard of.
Meng Quan escorted her all the way to the Personnel Department.
He shook hands with everyone in the office, asking them to look after her.
Then he turned back one last time.
“If you’re hungry or thirsty, come find me.”
Only after reminding her repeatedly did he finally leave.
Wiping sweat from his forehead, he felt confident he could now report back to his in-laws.
Facing everyone’s amused gazes…
Yang Yuan simply smiled politely.
Well…
This is a rather sweet kind of embarrassment.
After completing all of her hiring paperwork…
Yang Yuan headed next door to the Printing and Dyeing Factory.
The entire industrial complex was commonly known as the Textile Compound.
Within it stood Cotton Mill No. 1, Cotton Mill No. 2, while Cotton Mill No. 3 was still under construction.
Once everything was completed, the Printing and Dyeing Factory would sit between them.
Yang Yuan was assigned to work under Officer Wei, assisting with personnel administration.
Since it was her first day…
There wasn’t much actual work.
She mostly familiarized herself with procedures.
Aside from the office being freezing cold…
The biggest problem was that there was almost nothing to do.
After spending half the morning reading newspapers until she nearly fell asleep…
She decided to visit the workshop instead.
Unlike the office building…
The factory workshop was enormous.
The tallest sections reached nearly nine meters high.
The temperature inside was comfortable.
Warm…
Though humid.
The workshop was divided into two sides by a broad central passageway.
Several enclosed rooms had also been built separately.
Some dyes were harmful to the human body, so isolating those areas helped protect the workers.
Machines thundered continuously.
Women workers bustled everywhere.
Aside from operating the largest machinery, very few men could be seen.
The floor was made of concrete.
But it was constantly wet.
Since Yang Yuan wore cloth-soled cotton shoes, she didn’t venture too far inside.
The Printing and Dyeing Factory was newly established.
At present it consisted of two large workshops employing roughly two hundred workers.
Its water supply, electrical systems, boilers, machinery, and many of its technicians had only recently been transferred from Cotton Mill No. 1.
Eventually…
The factory would become fully independent rather than remaining attached to the older mill.
Yang Yuan also visited the warehouse.
It was impressively large.
Built according to the storage standards used by the Shanghai Printing and Dyeing Factory, it featured well-designed measures against moisture, mold, and fire.
Everything had been constructed with remarkable care.