Old Dog felt wronged too.
The last time he got beaten up was understandable—after all, Xu Shuang was Wang Ying’s partner. It wasn’t surprising that they gave him a good beating and doused him in alcohol afterward.
But this time, he was truly innocent!
He hadn’t even touched the door, and Wang Ying had already beaten him up. After the beating, they poured alcohol on him again.
That couple hits way too hard!
Old Dog looked utterly aggrieved. Fortunately, the weather was a bit warmer this time, so he didn’t have to freeze outside all night like the last time, shivering like a grandson.
Village Secretary Song Dagui got angry seeing him like this. “What, you still not convinced?”
Look at that face full of grievance. Two times now he’s come sniffing around for alcohol—it’s like he’s dying for a drink.
Old Dog quickly put on a fawning smile. “No, no, I realize my mistake. However the brigade wants to punish me is fine.”
He didn’t dare utter a word of complaint.
But Song Dagui got even angrier at his response.
Admitting fault but never truly repenting, huh?
Fine. Last time it was snow shoveling in the mountains and carrying dung. This time, let’s add mountain work on top of dung carrying and snow shoveling.
Punishment all the way until New Year’s—might as well see it through to the end.
Old Dog walked away with a bitter face. He finally understood—out of all people, don’t mess with Xu Shuang and Wang Ying.
Also, he’d never dare entertain any wicked thoughts again…
It was just the thought crossing his mind, and he ran into them—so uncannily accurate.
If he actually did anything next time… he’d probably be beaten to death on the spot.
—
Back to the Zhao family—Wang Lingling had finally succeeded in separating from the main household.
She hummed a little tune as she got up to cook for her two children. After the family split, she set up an outdoor earthen stove right outside their place.
Wang Lingling brought out two eggs from the house, swallowing a mouthful of saliva from the craving.
But she resolutely put both eggs into the pot, thinking she’d properly nourish her two kids. Children needed eggs in their diet, after all.
As for herself, all the hardship would be worth it in the end. She’d just tough it out for now.
Wang Lingling now spent her entire day revolving around her two kids, making sure they were always well taken care of. When it came to herself, she just got by however she could—none of the glamour from before remained.
But she thought it was all worth it. Her two children were Zhao Dong and Zhao Xi—the older one would turn six after the New Year, the younger one was four.
Wang Lingling remembered clearly that in her previous life, Zhao Dong became very successful. He helped Zhao Jun manage the family business, not only doubling the family assets but also graduating from a prestigious university, truly bringing honor to the family.
As for Zhao Xi, she had always been adorable as a child. In the previous life, she became a child star at a very young age and later got into the Film Academy.
The Film Academy in the 1980s was full of hidden talent. While still in school, she starred in several well-known TV dramas. Before Wang Lingling’s rebirth, she had heard that the Journey to the West production team was already approaching Zhao Xi, asking her to join the cast.
Every time Wang Lingling thought of all this, she felt so happy she could burst.
Even though she didn’t dress as well now or eat as well as she had at her parents’ home, Wang Lingling still felt her days were full of hope.
Her life was what you’d call “bitterness first, sweetness later.” Without the effort she put in now, how could she enjoy the good times in the future?
Her greatest joy nowadays was imagining how she’d spend her money once she became rich. First, she’d buy a few houses in Beijing, then buy all kinds of clothes and accessories for herself—especially antiques, since people said those would be worth a fortune in the future. She’d collect as many as she could, then sell them once life got better…
Wang Lingling chewed over these fantasies, so happy that snot bubbles came out of her nose.
Before she knew it, the eggs were already done cooking. Wang Lingling felt a little regretful—she had meant to steam some buns on a rack above the boiling eggs.
Now the situation was this: the eggs were done boiling, but she had forgotten to steam the buns.
Wang Lingling struggled to fish out the boiled eggs with a large wooden spoon. Just as she was scooping them out, she suddenly heard a cold “Hmph!”
Without even looking up, Wang Lingling knew who it was.
Old Lady Zhao stood at her doorway, glaring at Wang Lingling with a face full of disdain and anger.
Wang Lingling didn’t care at all. She kept scooping out the eggs and then began placing the rack on top of the pot.
In the past, Old Lady Zhao had found Wang Lingling annoying. Now she outright hated her with a vengeance.
That wretched woman! Barely half a year into the marriage, and she had already incited Third Son to split from the family!
Old Lady Zhao was so enraged her gums itched. She could barely resist rushing over to slap Wang Lingling twice.
Of course Wang Lingling knew exactly what the old woman was thinking—but she didn’t care one bit.
In her past life, she didn’t know how Wang Ying managed to get along with this damned old hag. Her impression of Wang Ying from the previous life was very vague.
What she did remember was that, after Wang Ying married in, there was never any gossip about her. People in the brigade only said she was a good woman who did well as a stepmother, teaching Zhao Jun’s two children with exceptional care.
There was no further contact between them. She didn’t know whether the Zhao family had split in that lifetime, but probably not. Later, Zhao Jun returned to his hometown to start a business—reportedly bringing several of his brothers along. He started by selling wild mountain goods, gradually expanding the business by doing whatever was profitable.
Eventually, Zhao Jun made a fortune and became the local tycoon. His brothers, while not as wealthy, also became prominent and well-off in the countryside.
Wang Lingling scoffed at this. She had nothing but contempt for do-gooders like Wang Ying.
In her view, Zhao Jun was the truly capable one. If he got rich, that was enough. Why drag his brothers along?
She had seen Zhao Jun’s three brothers. One was silent and dull, one was a coward who let their mother boss him around.
People like that—if not for Zhao Jun—they would never dream of getting rich in their lifetimes.
Wang Lingling had pushed hard for the family to split up, partly because she couldn’t stand Old Lady Zhao’s tyranny, and partly because she didn’t want to carry the burden of Zhao’s entire family.
What a joke. With her vision and Zhao Jun’s ability, becoming a ten-thousand-yuan household would happen even faster. Why share any benefits with this bunch of bloodsucking parasites?
So, Wang Lingling not only persuaded Zhao Jun through letters, but she even went to the county military office to make a phone call to him.
She painted a pitiful picture of herself and the two kids, subtly accusing Old Lady Zhao of spending all the money on her other grandsons.
That wasn’t exactly true. In fact, Old Lady Zhao valued Zhao Jun the most—accordingly, she treated his children a bit better too.
The original hierarchy in the Zhao household was: at the top, Old Lady Zhao herself and Zhao Jun, along with Zhao Jun’s two children. Below them were Old Lady Zhao’s husband and the other grandsons. Further down were the useless sons, then the daughters-in-law and granddaughters. At the very bottom was Wang Lingling.
Eventually, Wang Lingling was pushed to rebel. She thought, if Zhao Jun’s money didn’t have to support those brothers, wouldn’t that leave more for her?
And it did turn out that way. Zhao Jun’s military stipend was split in two: fifteen yuan to Old Lady Zhao each month, and another fifteen yuan in Wang Lingling’s hands.
This was only the first month after the split, and Wang Lingling was already enthusiastically building her stove and preparing to live the good life with her two children.
Old Lady Zhao sneered sarcastically, “You think life’s that easy? Just wait—soon you’ll be so broke you’ll be eating husks and swill.”
For all her meanness, Old Lady Zhao was not wrong about Wang Lingling.
Wang Lingling had never managed a household—she didn’t know a thing!
Two eggs a day for each kid? It was a wonder she dared feed them like that.
In the countryside, people didn’t raise chickens to eat the eggs themselves—they raised them to sell and make money.
With just fifteen yuan from Zhao Jun each month, if Wang Lingling kept spending like this, she’d run out in no time!
At first, Old Lady Zhao had been firmly against the split. By her temper, even if they had separated, she wouldn’t let Wang Lingling have it easy.
But Wang Lingling had that fierce, desperate energy of the poor. She said if they didn’t split, she’d go to the military and hang herself at the Zhao family’s door. Once they did split, she got even bolder—threatening to call Zhao Jun if Old Lady Zhao gave her trouble.
The two of them had fought twice, and Wang Lingling didn’t hold back either. In the end, both were left with black eyes and swollen faces.
Old Lady Zhao spat on the ground and cursed viciously, “You wretched hag who hits the elderly—karma will come for you soon enough!”
As for Wang Lingling, the concept of “reputation” never existed in her mind.
She hit people when she wanted to, uncaring about saving face. She didn’t care what others thought of her, nor did she care what the penniless commune members whispered.
She just wanted to live her own good life.
Old Lady Zhao’s words did provoke a reaction from Wang Lingling. As she dished out breakfast, she shot back even more venomously, “A mother-in-law who bullies her daughter-in-law will get her karma too. You’re older than me, so if karma comes first, I’ll be watching it happen to you.”
That one line made Old Lady Zhao furious. Wang Lingling simply went back inside to feed her two children, who were still asleep.
Old Lady Zhao spat again and left. At this point, she had no idea how to deal with Wang Lingling.
That damned woman—she truly had no shame.
Old Lady Zhao didn’t think her son was unfilial at all. She placed all the blame on Wang Lingling.
If it weren’t for Wang Lingling’s manipulation, Zhao Jun would never treat her this way.
Old Lady Zhao stormed off cursing. Her younger daughter-in-law curled her lip and whispered to her elder sister-in-law, “Mother’s ridiculous. If she didn’t want this to happen, why didn’t she keep Third Brother from splitting off?”
The elder sister-in-law remained expressionless, though she was unhappy deep down.
Without Zhao Jun’s stipend, life at home had suddenly gotten harder. Though the old lady still had her fifteen yuan, she was clearly much stingier than before and unwilling to spend a dime without cause.
The eldest daughter-in-law knew full well—Old Lady Zhao didn’t dare fall out with her third son. Though she claimed she would rely on her eldest son in old age, her real hopes were still pinned on the third.
If she forced the third son into an unwilling situation now, how could she benefit from him in the future?
The eldest daughter-in-law kept her head down working, but she was unhappy too, feeling that her family had been shortchanged.
They were the ones doing all the work to support the old man and woman, yet in their hearts, the elders only cared about the capable third son.
And that third son’s wife was none other than that clueless Wang Lingling. After the family split, she acted all high and mighty, clearly unwilling to let her brothers- and sisters-in-law get any advantage.
Pah!
Who would want to look at her smug face?
The eldest daughter-in-law was holding in her anger. She was also waiting to see how this sister-in-law would fare. Raising children wasn’t easy. Before the family split, even if Wang Lingling was struggling, at least there were people to help look after the kids.
Now\…
Heh, who would bother with her?
Wang Lingling went back into the house, gently woke the two children and fed them. The kids had stayed up too late the night before, so she hadn’t wanted to wake them early—she brought the food straight to their mouths.
Zhao Xi was fine—she was a little girl, soft and obedient, and ate her food.
Zhao Dong, on the other hand, had an unhappy look on his face. After eating, he wiped his mouth and muttered, “Stepmother!”
That was his way of complaining that Wang Lingling had woken him up.
Wang Lingling cursed old lady Zhao in her heart—clearly she’d been feeding the child such thoughts.
But outwardly, she didn’t show the slightest displeasure. Instead, she gave Zhao Dong a piece of candy and told him to go back to sleep.
Wang Lingling stared at the sleeping brother and sister for a while, the longer she looked, the more fond of them she became.
She got up and did the housework, exhausting herself to the point of aching all over—then she had to get ready to go to work in the fields.
She couldn’t not go—Zhao Jun’s 15 yuan a month wasn’t enough to live on. After making such a big fuss over splitting the family, she was also afraid Zhao Jun might think she was lazy and didn’t want to work.
But in truth, Wang Lingling didn’t want to work at all.
She sat on the edge of the bed pondering. After all, she had been reborn. If she didn’t take this chance to save some money now, how could she win over the two kids later?
The topic always came back to money—Wang Lingling racked her brain over and over again.
But she just couldn’t come up with any good ideas.
In those days, the fastest way to make money was through speculation and black market trading.
But Wang Lingling had already been caught by the Anti-Speculation Office before, and the memory still made her nervous—she didn’t dare try anything alone again. Yet she also didn’t trust anyone enough to partner up.
The Zhao family was out of the question, and she didn’t really have any friends of her own. She felt completely stuck.
Just then, Wang Lingling suddenly heard someone calling her from outside.
“Lingling? Lingling!”
When she went out, she saw Li Chunjuan, carrying big and small bags, coming to see her.
Facing Wang Lingling’s confused expression, Li Chunjuan wiped her sweat and gave her a fawning smile.
“Lingling, mom knows you’ve split off from the family now, and life probably isn’t easy, so I brought you some things.”
