In the late autumn of 1970, at the Southern Shaanxi Military District.
Political Commissar Liu Shutong stared blankly at the mother and her two children lying on the bed.
“You really are Huo Guangji’s wife?”
The woman on the bed was filthy from head to toe.
Her wax-yellow face was so thin it had become gaunt and skeletal. She wore an old-fashioned pair of loose pants that hung limply from her body, unable to stay up on her emaciated frame.
Her neck was so thin that the veins were visible beneath the skin, barely supporting her head. Liu Shutong was almost afraid her neck might snap at any moment.
The two little children beside her were even thinner—nothing but skin and bones. Their cheeks were hollow, and on their tiny faces only their large eyes remained, staring numbly at the people before them…
Anyone who had experienced hunger knew this was what chronic starvation and malnutrition looked like: an inability to focus, a vacant spirit.
“Leader… my name is Qin Yu’e. These are my marriage certificate and letter of introduction with Huo Guangji.”
Qin Yu’e was so weak from hunger that she had to pause to catch her breath before slowly pulling the two documents from where the original owner had hidden them close to her body, handing them over with both hands.
Two days ago, she had been forced into this world after transmigrating here. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw two half-starved children sitting beside her.
As a standard overworked corporate slave from the 21st century who had literally worked herself to death, Qin Yu never imagined something like transmigrating into a novel would happen to her.
In the book “The Pretty Widower Raising Children in the Seventies,” the original Qin Yu’e was the male lead Huo Guangji’s first wife, abandoned in his hometown. She was only briefly mentioned at the beginning.
Her role was simply to deliver their son and daughter—children the male lead hadn’t seen in three years. Later, these children would serve to advance the romance between Huo Guangji and the female lead, He Jiaojiao.
To put it plainly, she and her children were just plot devices.
And to preserve his “faithfulness” for the heroine, Huo Guangji had never touched Qin Yu’e again after their wedding night.
As a result, Qin Yu’e had been driven out by her in-laws and left to fend for herself with the two children.
In order to keep them alive, the original owner relied on fragmented memories to come to the military district searching for her husband, only to starve to death on the road.
Qin Yu was furious. Absolutely furious.
But…
Touching her flat, starving stomach, all she could do was rage helplessly before obediently carrying the two children forward through gritted teeth.
She had been discovered that morning by patrol soldiers from the Southern Shaanxi Military District. By the time they carried her back, she had already fainted from hunger.
The soldiers had assumed she was just a nearby villager. None of them expected that the moment she woke up, she would start shouting that she wanted to see their captain, Huo Guangji.
Liu Shutong carefully examined the documents in his hand. The marriage certificate was genuine, and so was the introduction letter.
This woman really was Huo Guangji’s wife!
His brows furrowed. Rubbing his throbbing forehead, he quickly ordered an orderly to prepare food for the mother and children.
Then he turned to the guard at the door.
“Go get that brat Huo Guangji here right now! Letting a widow and children starve like this and travel thousands of miles searching for family—is this how our organization taught him?!”
Clearly, Liu Shutong was furious.
Meanwhile, Qin Yu’e sat on the steel-framed bed, too busy to care about any of that. Her entire mind was fixed on the bowl of egg noodles the orderly had brought.
When people are starving, their brains stop working. Their eyes see only food.
Two huge bowls of plain noodles sat before her, each topped with two eggs.
Qin Yu’e used a smaller bowl to separate the noodles and eggs, cooling them before feeding the children first. Only after the two little ones had wolfed down most of their food did she hurriedly slurp the remaining plain noodles into her own shriveled stomach.
The feeling of having food in her belly…
It was wonderful.
“Mom… what was that yellow thing we ate? It smelled so good! I want more…”
The innocent question from the little girl, barely over two years old, caused Liu Shutong and the guard to abruptly turn their faces away.
How miserable had this child’s life been if she had never even eaten eggs before?
“Go boil ten more eggs for the children. Deduct the ration from my own share,” Liu Shutong ordered.
“Leader, the children have been starving for too long. They can’t suddenly eat that many eggs at once,” Qin Yu’e refused immediately. She didn’t want to take advantage of him.
By now, she had already recalled most of the plot from the novel during the journey.
Thankfully, the novel’s male lead shared the exact same name as her former boss who had worked her to death. During breaks from being a corporate slave, she had practically memorized the entire book while cursing nonstop as she read.
In the story, Huo Guangji had no feelings for her. His heart belonged entirely to He Jiaojiao.
As for this leader in front of her, he was basically the “matchmaker” who personally pushed the male and female leads together.
So Qin Yu’e had no intention of clinging to Huo Guangji. She came for one thing only: money. As long as he paid enough, she would leave immediately.
What “arranged marriage by parental order”? If Huo Guangji didn’t like her, he could have refused to marry her. If he didn’t want to sleep with her, he could have refused that too. But now that they already had two children, what was he acting devoted to his “first love” for?
Scumbag.
“Report!”
A deep voice suddenly sounded from the doorway.
Qin Yu’e instinctively looked over.
The man standing there had slightly dark skin, sharp brows, and bright eyes. Beneath his thick eyebrows was a pair of peach blossom eyes gleaming with a piercing light as he sized her up from head to toe.
He looked decent enough on the outside.
Too bad his heart was rotten.
Bah. Scumbag.
Qin Yu’e snorted coldly and turned her head away.
To the man, however, her behavior looked like a petty tantrum.
Huo Guangji frowned instinctively. It wasn’t as if he didn’t recognize this woman.
But… how had she become like this?
Seeing how emaciated she was, with hollow eye sockets and ragged clothing, the criticism that had reached his lips was swallowed back down.
“How did you end up like this?” he asked with tightly furrowed brows, a trace of impatience in his eyes.
Was he blaming her for bringing the children here to trouble him?
Qin Yu’e let out a mocking laugh.
“You haven’t sent a single cent home in three years. Did you expect your kids to grow up drinking northwest wind?”
The wording was crude, but not wrong. Still, it was far too crude. Since his own subordinate was clearly at fault, Liu Shutong’s face darkened.
“Huo Guangji! Explain yourself! Is this what your political education taught you? To neglect your wife and children until they starve?”
Liu Shutong slammed the table hard enough to shake the room, yet the man across from him remained silent.
Huo Guangji pressed his lips tightly together, glaring at Qin Yu’e with suppressed anger.
Was he upset that she had come looking for him?
Qin Yu’e wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. She glared right back.
Just because he was a soldier didn’t mean he could openly act like a scumbag. Qin Yu’e was not someone easy to bully!
The man opposite her froze slightly at her gaze before frowning again.
“I clearly… Forget it. Since you’re here, then stay.”
Huo Guangji took a deep breath and tossed out the conclusion.
Liu Shutong shot him a glare before turning to Qin Yu’e with a gentler tone.
“Since you’re here, sister-in-law, stay here in the unit without worry! Rest assured—if this brat ever lets you and the children starve again, I’ll be the first one to deal with him!”
After all, people had hearts of flesh. Though Liu Shutong still hadn’t figured out how Huo Guangji could have done something like this, as a leader he at least needed to show the proper attitude and give the mother and children an explanation.
Meanwhile, Huo Guangji’s expression remained ugly. Liu Shutong angrily shoved him.
“Do I have to coax your own wife for you too? Stubborn as a mule! I won’t let today’s matter slide. Hurry up and apologize to Comrade Qin Yu’e!”
But suddenly, Qin Yu’e’s calm voice rang out behind him.
“Leader, you misunderstand. I came here to divorce him.”