"Mother, Mother, wake up...sniffle..."

In his sleep, Fang Hua was woken up by the sound of a child. He frowned. Had he forgotten to turn off the television before bed?

"Mother, Mother... wake up, Gou Dan will be obedient in the future, he'll be good... sniffle... Mother, don't die..."

The little boy's crying grew louder and louder, and it seemed to be... right beside his ear?

Fang Hua opened his eyes and was met with a pair of glistening big eyes. His round face was streaked with snot and tears, mixed with dust, making it a heartbreaking sight.

Fang Hua, startled, sat up with a jolt, clutching the blanket and staring wide-eyed at the little boy. “Who are you? What are you doing in my house?”

Just now I thought it was the TV left on before bed, which kid is this? And dressed... so raggedly?

Only the boy's sleeves were of unequal length. One was normal, while the other seemed to have been torn, with frayed edges.

The little boy stared blankly at Fang Hua, forgetting to cry. He sniffed his nose and after a long while said, "Mother, did they beat you silly? That's why you don't recognize Gou Dan."

Fāng Huājiǎo fiercely punched, there was a bad premonition.

His head turned slightly, and he met a filthy *** on the grimy wall. Fang Hua's mind buzzed, his eyes widened in terror as he looked around. This was a mud-brick house with a broken half-table rocking precariously, threatening to collapse at any moment. There was also a dilapidated cupboard, its door hanging off, its original appearance lost to time.

And at this time, he was sitting on the earthen kang, with a worn sheet spread beneath him. A corner of the sheet had frayed straw poking out, and in his hand, he clutched a tattered quilt thin as cotton.

Where am I? Am I dreaming?

I pinched myself hard, it hurt, really hurt.

Fang Hua swallowed hard. This wasn't a dream, was it? Could this be real?

Is this hell? Or heaven? But isn't heaven supposed to be... nice? Why does it look so run-down and poor?

Just today, when I was leaving work at noon, I called my boyfriend to invite him to have lunch together. But his phone kept going straight to voicemail. So, I decided to drive to his company directly to surprise him.

But unexpectedly, my boyfriend gave me a surprise.

As soon as the car pulled up to his company building, he saw a person walking out with his arm linked in theirs.

This person is not a stranger, but a good friend. She works in the same company as him, and she was also the one who introduced them.

Watching them walk out of the company gate hand-in-hand, laughing and chatting, Fang Hua gave a sarcastic smile, one that brought tears to her eyes.

What does this even mean? If they're a couple, why would she introduce them to each other?

If they weren't a couple before, then what is she, a mistress? And what about her boyfriend, is he cheating?

His fingers on the steering wheel were turning blue, and his veins stood out prominently on the back of his hand.

Fang Hua really wanted to get out of the car and ask them why they had treated him that way, but in the end, he didn't say anything and drove away alone.

Fang Hua, who didn't want to go to work, called his manager and took a day off. After returning home, the more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt, the angrier he became. He pulled open the drawer and saw the sleeping pills inside. For a moment, he couldn't think straight and impulsively poured a large handful into his mouth and lay down on the bed.

Upon waking, he saw the scene before him.

If this is heaven, it's truly ironic!

The little boy had forgotten to cry, his eyes wide with fear as he stared at his mother. His tiny hands were purple from the cold and clenched together nervously. Could his mother really have been beaten silly?

Click, click, tears fell from the little boy's eyes, big and round, landing on his tiny hands, leaving a wet stain on his grimy back.

"Little Baozi, what did I just say to you?" Fang Hua pointed at his nose and asked in a trembling voice.

The little boy wiped the tears from his face with the back of his hand, and said in a choked voice, “Mother, it’s me, Gou Dan. Don’t you recognize me?”

After he finished speaking, he ran out quickly.

He ran and shouted, "My mother is awake, my mother is awake!" His voice was filled with uncontainable excitement.

Fang Hua looked completely stunned, ——reborn——?!

In her mind, the life of the original owner flashed by quickly. The original owner was the daughter-in-law of this family, to be precise, an unfavored daughter-in-law.

The original owner's name is Fang Fang Hua, with the same surname and the same given name!

The original owner's husband is a skilled worker at a state-owned enterprise. He works very hard and rarely goes home. Usually, he only goes back home for a few days during the Spring Festival or when he has vacation.

...is a stay-at-home daughter-in-law?!

Before, when watching television or reading novels, the daughter-in-law who stayed at home was respected, admired, and looked up to by everyone.

But reality is... a pitiful little one who has been bullied to death!

Her original family was very poor, with three siblings: she was the eldest, followed by a younger brother and sister. She had just turned twenty-three this year. Over three years ago, she married into this family. A week after her marriage, her husband went to work, and she became pregnant soon after. Now, her child is two years and three months old, which is the puppy you saw earlier. Up to now, she has only seen her husband for a week.

Fang Hua Jiao Yi, the original owner's husband only functioned for a week, but he was truly powerful. He got the original owner pregnant so quickly.

This family is even poorer than the original owner's. The original owner's husband is the eldest son, and there are three younger brothers and two younger sisters below him. You can imagine how poor this family is.

With so many mouths to feed, every day. And the original owner's parents-in-law were both farmers who toiled in the fields. Now it's 1982, just after land was divided. Unlike before when they worked together as a production team each day, earning work points and receiving rations based on their earnings at the end of the year, with 10 points per person.

Even so, many families still struggle to get enough food. This is due to several factors, including the amount of labor available in a family and low agricultural output, leaving farmers with insufficient sustenance.

Oh my god, where am I?!

Glug, glug.

My stomach is acting up again, I need to lie down. I have a stomachache.

Before I was trying to eat less to reduce my stomach, now I want to eat but can't.

"See, I didn't lie to you, did I? My mother really woke up." Gou Dan pulled in an old woman wearing patched clothes and pointed at Fang Hua excitedly.

Fang Hua looked up. This old woman was very fat. In this era of famine, to be so plump was truly remarkable.

His face was round and doughy, his cheeks practically drooping down to his neck. His small eyes were now glaring at Fang Hua with malicious intent.

Fang Hua squinted her eyes, this old woman didn't grind the original owner at all.

Wicked stepmother, that's exactly what she is.

"Mother, I just told you that you woke up, but you didn't believe me." The innocent little boy couldn't see the malice in her eyes and said excitedly, holding onto her hand.

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How could his son be so dirty? This is what he'll become in the future?

It's truly heartbreaking to see this. How could the original owner raise their son like this?

"Fang Hua, get up and mow the piggrass! Don't you dare pretend to be asleep in bed!" Yang Chunxiang said viciously, her eyes like knives, wishing she could stab Fang Hua a few times to feel better.

Fang Hua said lazily, "Ugh, I have no energy. I need to eat a full meal before I can go cut piggrass." But what exactly was piggrass? Well, let's just fill my stomach first and talk about it later.

"?" Yang Chunxiang sneered. "You lazy good-for-nothing woman who only knows how to eat, you have the face to say that? If you don't bring back the pig fodder today, don't even think about eating dinner. You'll sleep outside tonight."

Outside?

Fang Hua turned her head and glanced at the window, which was black and blurry. Although it was made of glass, dust had accumulated on it for who knows how long, obscuring the outside view to a hazy gray sky.

It's almost dark, and it's so cold out. Where could I possibly go to cut grass for the pigs?

"One has to eat before they have the energy." Fang Hua lifted the blanket, ready to go to the kitchen and get something to eat. But as soon as his hand touched the blanket, he stopped. The red sheets were covered in dirt, having turned a dark red.

Oh, I remember now, this is the dress I wore for my wedding. It's also the only relatively thick skirt I have for winter.

After that, he calmly got out of bed and walked towards the kitchen.

Just as I reached the door, someone grabbed my arm.

Yang Chunxiang clutched Fang Hua's arm tightly, her fingernails digging into it fiercely. The pain made Fang Hua shake her hand away. He flung open the sleeve of his ragged cotton coat and saw a large patch of bruising.

“You hit my mother again.” Gou Dan ran to Fang Hua’s front and opened his short arms, protecting himself.

Again?

Fan Huajiao one, was the original owner often beaten?

A picture flashed in my mind, and my eyelid twitched. What flashed in my mind wasn't just this vicious old woman in front of me, but even the younger siblings of Jiang Haiyang, I wanted to hit them too.

Here, I have absolutely no status at all. I'm just a punching bag; whenever someone is upset, they come to vent their anger on me.

Only the little bun in front of me is protecting me, but the little bun is only two years and three months old. I can't even protect myself, let alone him.

Fang Hua lifted his eyelids and glanced at the old woman indifferently.

Yang Chunxiang was taken aback. When she used to fight Fang Hua, she never dared to fight back, let alone look at him with such eyes.

Could it be true, just like Xiao Baozi said, that his mother was beaten silly?!

"Mother, I'm telling you, it's done." Fang Hua said and then walked straight towards the kitchen.

Yang Chunxiang chased after her back, "This dead woman, still has the face to say that."

As soon as he stepped out of the room, he saw Jiang Jian'an enter. He didn't even bother acknowledging him and rushed straight to the kitchen.

"Come back." Jiang Jian'an put the hoe in his hand behind the door and glanced at the kitchen, "Just let Fang Hua cook dinner, alright? He's been unconscious for a day. Don't you really want to let Haiyang have a wife?"

"Just remarry, it's no big deal. Our ocean is so powerful, why bother with such a lazy wife?" Yang Chunxiang said nonchalantly.

Jiang Jian'an glared, "Nonsensical!"

At that moment, Yang Chunxiang dared not speak another word.

As soon as Fang Hua entered the kitchen, relying on the original owner's memories, she rummaged through the cabinets. She saw half a bag of white flour inside and directly scooped a bowlful into a large bowl. Then she poured some water into the bowl and stirred it constantly with chopsticks. In a short while, a bowl of white flour dough came out. Fang Hua was so greedy that her saliva almost drooled.

In winter, there are only cabbages and radishes, but that's enough.

Fang Hua quickly washed half a head of cabbage and one radish, chopping them both into small pieces before stir-frying them. She then poured three bowls of water into the pot, brought it to a boil, and added the white flour noodles. After the water boiled again, she rolled the cooked noodles for a few times and then added the stir-fried vegetables. The delicious aroma wafted out.

Fang Hua poured himself a bowl, not even bothering about the heat, and sat on the small stool to eat.

"Mom, what smells so good?" ginger Hai Jie just got home from school, took his backpack off his shoulder and put it on the table, asked.

Yang Chunxiang said angrily, "There's still some flavor. Your spendthrift sister-in-law is eating it."

Following close behind were ginger Haijie and ginger Haigun, who also ran into the house playfully. They both smelled the fragrance and followed their second brother, ginger Haijie, toward the kitchen.

Fāng Huá Zhèng was eating a bowl of cold vegetable soup when suddenly, a flying kick sent the bowl flying to the side. The soup splashed everywhere, with a few drops landing on Fāng Huá's instep. Even though he was wearing shoes, he could still feel the burn.

He looked up and saw a boy of about fifteen, staring angrily.

He was followed by two boys, a ten-year-old and an eight-year-old, who also glared hungrily.

It's as if I had committed a heinous crime.

"You shameless bastard, you dare to eat the food from my house!" Jiang Ha Jie glared at Fang Hua and said viciously.

Fang Hua raised an eyebrow. "Your house? Eat?" She let out a cold laugh. "I'm your sister-in-law, did your teachers teach you how to treat your sister-in-law like this when you were at school?"

Jiang Haijie's face flushed slightly, and he retorted stubbornly, "You are eating."

"Yeah, eat it up. Don't be shy." Jiang Haifei glanced at the congee on the floor, swallowed nervously, it looked really delicious.

Boys have big appetites, they must have finished their meals by now.

If it weren't for his second older brother, he would have been forced to eat leftovers long ago.

Fang Hua glanced at the door. Half of Yang Chunxiang's foot was there, it seemed she was hiding there to watch the show.

"Hmph. Since you say I'm eating, it means you don't acknowledge us as family. If that's the case, I'm divorcing your brother!"

(Editor in charge：precious based on the novel)