“Don’t hit my mom… sob… don’t hit my mom…”
A child’s piercing wail rang out, and right behind it came a wave of pain across her body.
Oh my god, who’s pulling my hair! Su Mian felt like her scalp was about to tear clean off her skull.
Her body ached all over. Had she been beaten? Who was the bastard responsible?
Su Mian finally managed to pry her eyes open, and immediately the world spun.
Well, well. Her hair was currently in the grip of a middle-aged woman, who was also cursing at her without pause.
“You black-hearted little wretch! Of all the houses you could’ve stolen from, you had to pick mine. You fat, ugly beggar, take your two little beggars and get lost!”
With that, the woman shoved Su Mian hard, sending her sprawling to the ground.
Hiss.
The dirt had scraped the skin off her hands.
Still dazed, Su Mian had no idea what had happened to her.
What was going on? She tried hazily to piece it together. She’d been on her way to deliver food to her father… and then… then nothing.
Just as she was thinking this, a flood of memories that didn’t belong to her crashed into her mind.
The person in those memories was her, and yet not her.
Five years of a life she’d missed poured into her head, along with every vicious, foolish thing she had done during those five years. Su Mian felt like she’d been struck by lightning.
That person couldn’t possibly be her. That venomous face, those schemes that harmed her own family, and that obese body.
As if something had dawned on her, Su Mian quickly looked down at herself.
This… these thick arms, these chubby little hands, these elephant legs…
Help! This can’t be me!
Su Mian was on the verge of tears. As far as she remembered, she had only gone to deliver food to her father once, and just like that, five years of her life had vanished out of nowhere.
And now she was a big, dark, fat, ugly woman. Anyone would break down, wouldn’t they?
But the current situation didn’t give her room to break down.
Because she truly had no money or ration tickets left, Su Mian had been forced to come out looking for food, which had led to this predicament.
She’d been beaten black and blue by the middle-aged woman, her head spinning.
Fortunately, the woman hadn’t called the police, probably because she felt guilty after beating Su Mian.
After all, incidents like this were easily written off as a brawl. If both parties ended up hauled to the station, that woman would probably be sick with regret.
A crowd of onlookers had gathered around, all looking at Su Mian with contempt.
“Tsk tsk tsk. Of all things to do, she steals.”
“Tell me about it. She looks so young, has hands and feet. People like this just don’t want to work hard.”
“She’s got two kids with her too, and they’re filthy. Who knows how she even mothers them.”
“How do people like this even survive? Imagine living like that.”
“Exactly, exactly. I hate thieves the most. If anyone stole from my house, I’d chop their hands off!”
Faced with this disastrous start, Su Mian wanted to just close her eyes and die.
She didn’t understand how this had happened, how she’d suddenly become a fat woman everyone wanted to beat.
Everyone hated thieves, so no one was helping her.
Even the few kind-hearted souls who spoke up for her, seeing she had two children, were drowned out by the crowd’s jeers.
Then the two children who had been crying off to the side rushed to Su Mian’s side.
The little boy grabbed her hand and said cautiously, “Mom… Mommy… Me and sister… we’re not hungry anymore. Let’s… let’s go home… sob…”
Hearing the child’s voice, Su Mian snapped out of her despair.
These… these were her children. Born from her own belly.
Even if she didn’t want to face it, even if she didn’t seem to have lived those five years, she had indeed given birth to twins, a boy and a girl. This blood connection couldn’t be wrong.
The boy’s words made her heart ache instantly.
She still didn’t understand why she had become like this, but for the children’s sake, Su Mian had to pull herself together.
Dragging her injured body, her mind raced, searching for a way out.
She stood up and looked at the middle-aged woman, then said with a cold smile,
“I was wrong to take your things. But I only took two buns you’d left on the stone table in your yard. Was that really worth beating me like this? Just two buns. If you called the police and had me taken to the station, they wouldn’t even classify it as theft. Doesn’t every family have hard times? I didn’t take anything valuable. I just wanted to fill the kids’ stomachs. Once I earn some money, I’ll pay you back. They were just two buns. Was that worth beating me up like this?”
After saying this, Su Mian exposed the wounds on her arms, neck, and legs.
When everyone saw, the injuries were truly shocking. For two buns, there was really no need to beat someone half to death.
It was the eighties now. Everyone’s lives were gradually improving. Two buns really weren’t worth this.
The onlookers who had been chattering just moments ago suddenly fell silent.
Once they processed it, someone immediately spoke up. “Wait, she only took two buns? I thought she stole something much bigger.”
“I thought she stole money or ration tickets too. I mean, she’s beaten this badly, so I figured it was something valuable.”
“Every household steams buns for meals. Isn’t beating her like this a bit too much?”
“And she has two kids with her. She probably really had no other way to survive, that’s why she stole the buns, right?”
See, public opinion is a fickle thing.
Just moments ago, everyone had sided with the middle-aged woman. Now they were starting to sympathize with Su Mian.
Seeing the fire turn on herself, the middle-aged woman, who had already felt guilty about hitting Su Mian, grew even more uneasy.
Su Mian wanted the situation to favor her, so she pressed on. “Call the police then. With all these injuries, a hospital visit will probably cost a lot, and I don’t have the money to treat them…”
Ordinary folk panicked at the mention of calling the police, too flustered to even think straight.
The middle-aged woman who had just beaten someone was even worse. She stammered, “You… you stole… I… I can’t even hit you…”
“Would I really choose to steal two buns if I was going to steal? Your front door was wide open. If I really wanted to steal, why wouldn’t I go inside and take something more valuable? And who leaves buns just sitting on a stone table in their yard? I thought they were there for anyone to take. Enough. Call the police! We’re a widow and her orphans, and now I’m covered in injuries from your beating. I can’t do anything. What are the three of us supposed to eat and drink for the next few days?”
Su Mian figured that in her situation, there was no point worrying about dignity.
It wasn’t just her. Both children were starving, crying to be fed.
After being beaten like this by the middle-aged woman, she wouldn’t be satisfied without getting something out of it.
Now that she had the memories, Su Mian knew her situation all too well. She had no money at all, and the children had been starving with her for a day and a night.
And now she was covered in injuries. If they went back like this with nothing to eat, the three of them would probably starve to death.
Sure enough, people always bullied the weak and feared the strong.
The middle-aged woman saw public opinion had shifted to Su Mian, and Su Mian was so firm about calling the police. She immediately went from self-righteous to coaxing.
“Oh, comrade, if you were hungry and wanted buns, you should’ve just said so. Taking them sneakily like that, I thought a thief had broken in. Tell you what, I’ll go get all the steamed buns I have at home and give them to you. This was all just a misunderstanding. Why drag the police into it?”