Lin Wan felt a sharp pain in her head and slowly regained consciousness. When she took a closer look, she saw a dilapidated thatched roof, crumbling adobe walls, and a bumpy earthen floor. The whole room was dimly lit and smelled musty from inside out.
A thin little girl was standing beside the bed. When she saw Lin Wan wake up, she cried out with a sobbing voice, "Mother, you're finally awake!"
Lin Wan looked carefully and saw that the little figure in front of her was wearing shabby clothes, as thin as a stick, with a face full of tears, panic, and was looking at her worriedly.
Where was this? Didn't I get killed by a car? Before Lin Wan could react, memories suddenly flooded into her mind. The original owner of this body was also named Lin Wan. She married Chen Xiao, the second son of the Chen family. Before they had time to develop a relationship as husband and wife, Chen Xiao enlisted in the army to earn military pay to support the family. He only came back for three days every six months. Without a man to support the family, Lin Wan's life was visibly difficult. Every day, she had to face the difficulties created by her mother-in-law and the eldest brother's family. Most of the money spent in the family was brought back by her husband, yet she and her three children often went hungry and cold and were constantly bullied.
The eldest brother was idle and would occasionally take on some odd jobs in the village. Although he didn't earn much money, he was good at flattering the mother-in-law and making her happy. The eldest sister-in-law gave birth to two sons, so the mother-in-law favored the eldest son's family especially. The two sons of the eldest sister-in-law, Dazhuang and Erzhuang, were doted on by Mother Chen. Such big children didn't do any work at all, were lazy, and were completely out of control.
The youngest son, Chen An, was too young to be of much help. So almost all the heavy and tiring chores in the family were placed on the original owner and her two daughters, Daya and Erya.
This morning, because the firewood for cooking at home was almost used up, the original owner took Daya to the back mountain of the village to cut firewood. Erya stayed at home to make lunch for the family. On the way back, they encountered the two nephews who had been urged by the eldest sister-in-law to find something to do. The two boys were worrying about how to report to their mother. Coveting the firewood on Daya's back, they reached out to snatch it. The original owner stepped in front to protect Daya. During the scuffle with the original owner, they accidentally pushed her down the mountain. Seeing the original owner rolling down the mountain, the two boys, who had never experienced such a big thing before, were so panicked that they didn't care about the firewood and fled in a hurry. Daya was extremely worried and immediately abandoned the firewood and carried her mother down the mountain with all her strength. However, the original owner still died due to excessive injuries and failure to receive timely treatment. That's how Lin Wan from modern times managed to transmigrate into this body.
Dinner
"Dazhuang, Erzhuang, come here. Here are two black flour buns for you two." Black flour buns had always been the most filling food for poor families. Only those who worked in the fields during the busy farming season could have them. Although it was now the slack farming season, they had just harvested and there was still some surplus grain at home, so there was no rush.
The remaining four black flour buns in the basket, needless to say, were for Mother Chen and the eldest sister-in-law and Chen Zhi, the eldest son of Mother Chen, one for each of them. Daya, Erya, Xiao An, and Lin Wan usually only had black flour paste to eat. Although it was called black flour paste, it was mixed with a lot of bran and bitter wild vegetables. It tasted bad and couldn't fill their stomachs at all.
Lin Wan couldn't get out of bed due to her injuries. Daya felt sorry for her mother, so she discussed with Erya and secretly took half a black flour bun to take to her mother. But the sharp-eyed eldest sister-in-law noticed it. The eldest sister-in-law, who had always disliked Lin Wan and her two daughters, immediately found an excuse to make a fuss. She shouted loudly, "You little bitch, how dare you hide buns privately!"
"Such worthless things, you even dare to steal buns now!"
"A whole family of ungrateful people. We've been raising you, yet you still steal things!"
The continuous scolding outside woke up Lin Wan, who was still recovering from her injuries. Worried about her daughter, Lin Wan forced herself to get up and came to the main room. Seeing this scene, she immediately guessed what had happened. Furious in her heart, she stood in front of her daughter and said coldly to the eldest sister-in-law, "Sister-in-law, over the years, my daughters and I have worked like oxen and horses for this family. We've eaten the worst food and done the most work. Now I got such serious injuries just to cut some firewood for cooking for the family. My daughter felt sorry for me and took half a bun for me. How could you scold us so harshly?" Daya and Erya looked at their mother in surprise. Their mother, who had always been submissive and endured beatings and scoldings, dared to talk back to the mother-in-law!
Mother Chen was also stunned. This second daughter-in-law was usually timid and submissive. How dare she talk back today?
"Alright! You unfilial daughter-in-law, you're actually justifying your daughter's theft!"
Mother Chen said as she pushed Lin Wan aside to snatch the half black flour bun from Daya's hand. How could the mother and daughters, who had been suffering from long-term malnutrition, compete with the burly Mother Chen? Lin Wan saw that her mother-in-law had snatched the bun and was viciously about to hit Daya. She quickly turned around and went to the kitchen to grab a kitchen knife. Under everyone's gaze, she pointed the knife at Mother Chen and said, "I'll see who dares to hit my daughter! Get out of the way!" Mother Chen looked at this thin but fierce second daughter-in-law and suddenly felt as if she didn't recognize her. "Crazy! You're all crazy! I, an old woman, am going to be chopped by my crazy daughter-in-law today!" Although she was still being unruly with her words, her trembling voice and her hasty retreat had already revealed her panicked state. Lin Wan didn't intend to let the matter end like this. She was a strong woman in the 21st century. When had she ever suffered such humiliation? She and her daughters worked hard every day to serve them, yet now they couldn't even have enough to eat and were still beaten and scolded!
Seeing that Lin Wan was still holding the knife, Mother Chen quickly hid behind Dazhuang and Erzhuang. "Quick! Go and snatch the knife from her. Your aunt has gone crazy!"
The two brothers looked at the shiny kitchen knife in Lin Wan's hand and felt dissatisfied with the old woman in their hearts. They were the grandsons of the Chen family, the most precious people. How could they do such a dangerous thing? They thought as they backed away, as if competing to see who could retreat further.
The eldest sister-in-law was afraid that Lin Wan would take revenge. She moved her two legs, which were thick from long-term living a life of ease, like a waddling duck and hid behind Chen Zhi.
"Second daughter-in-law, calm down. Don't be impulsive. Just tell us what you want, and we'll all agree to it."
Lin Wan thought for a moment. She had been busy with household chores all day long and didn't have much acquaintance with the people in the village. Moreover, the deeply rooted idea of favoring boys over girls in this feudal village was hard to change. If she made a big fuss about this, she wouldn't get any good results.
"From now on, my three children and I will also have one black flour bun each for our meals, and no one is allowed to beat or scold Daya and Erya."
"Alright, alright, we'll all agree to it. Put the knife down quickly," Mother Chen's bullying-the-weak-and-fearing-the-strong nature was shown vividly at this moment.
That's right. Why not live a peaceful life instead of looking for trouble...