Chapter 1

“Oh no, the woman is about to die. When will Dr. Liu arrives?” Lin Yue opened her eyes to a cacophony of noise. Her mind was clouded, unable to recall anything.

The chaos continued, further muddling her thoughts.

She strained to decipher the sounds. In the distance, someone seemed to be giving birth. A faint cry of an infant, barely louder than a kitten’s mew, echoed intermittently.

The woman in labor appeared to be in distress. A booming voice, laced with exasperation, exclaimed, “Goodness, where’s her mother-in-law? Didn’t someone go get her? The women almost gone. They don’t even have someone to take charge. If something happens, who’s responsible? I shouldn’t have taken this job!”

“Stop saying useless things. Sister-in-law, look at the young woman’s lips, they’re turning blue. Is she gone?” This voice trembled, betraying fear.

Could this be a life-or-death situation? Lin Yue shuddered at the thought.

The shock jolted her mind into clarity. She remembered her past life – a cog in the wheel of modern society, a workaholic for six years. She finally got a vacation and was hit by a runaway truck while shopping.

Lin Yue was certain she was dead. The pain of her demise was etched into her soul. Her body should be cold by now. How could she be awake?

She tried to look around, but all she saw was dense fog.

Fortunately, Lin Yue could feel the vibrant life force within the mist. It enveloped her, radiating warmth. This brought her a sliver of comfort.

Was this the afterlife? The underworld? Where was the King of Hell? Where were the ox-head and horse-faced guards? Why wasn’t there a guide to lead her?

Moreover, she was confused. Could a dead person give birth?

Lin Yue strained to look towards the source of the sound. As if a window had been opened, a scene materialized before her eyes.

It was a low, dimly lit room. Three women huddled around a mud bed. On the bed lay a woman, emaciated to the point of being skeletal. Her face bore the pallor of someone who had walked through the valley of death. Her wet hair clung to her face, her eyes closed, motionless. It was impossible to tell if she was alive or dead.

The three middle-aged women argued fiercely.

Lin Yue found the scene intriguing. She leaned forward, eager to see more. Suddenly, a force pulled her towards the bed.

Startled, she hadn’t even opened her eyes when she heard the booming voice panic, “Sister-in-law, I can’t handle this. I’m just a midwife. Look, she’s dead. I’m not a god, how can I bring her back?”

An older voice spoke urgently, “Why can’t you handle it? A midwife is almost like a doctor! My son told me that when someone just passes, they aren’t truly dead yet. There’s something called CPR, it might work! The poor young woman, if she’s gone, those two babies won’t survive. Try it, please! Consider it a good deed, just press her chest and give her mouth-to-mouth…”

“Oh, Sister-in-law, why do you believe that nonsense? It’s all those young people nowadays, shameless. I won’t do it! Besides, what kind of doctor is a midwife? Why don’t you do it yourself?”

“I can’t, sigh. I’ll try it first. It’s three lives at stake!” The woman, seeing the midwife refuse to help and the other remaining silent, reluctantly took the initiative.

Lin Yue had no idea what was going on. She wanted to glean more information from their conversation, so she kept her eyes closed. But suddenly, she felt trembling hands press against her chest.

Confused, she was given a few haphazard presses. Then, she remembered the phrase “press her chest and give her mouth-to-mouth,” and she shuddered, quickly opening her eyes.

Her action startled the woman, who jumped back in alarm.

The other two women were also taken aback.

As soon as Lin Yue opened her eyes, she saw the three women scattering around the room, shouting, “She’s alive! She’s really alive!”

She vaguely felt something was amiss. She raised a hand to her face, trying to see.

The hand was bony, thin, and dark. It was covered in calluses and cracked skin. This wasn’t her hand. In her twenty-plus years, she’d never seen a hand like this.

Lin Yue felt unreal. Instead of fear or panic, she just wanted to sigh.

Unfortunately, she was too weak. The simple act of raising her hand had exhausted her.

She let her hand fall limply, half-opening her eyes and lying quietly on the bed, not wanting to say anything.

The three women, hearing the sound, looked at each other. Two of them said sincerely, “Sister-in-law, you did it! You actually brought her back!”

The woman who had pressed her chest was also excited. She rubbed her hands together and joined the others by Lin Yue’s side. They first showered her with concern, then gently helped her sit up and gave her some water and thin porridge. Finally, they helped her lie back down and told her to rest.

Lin Yue let them fuss over her. Her eyes scanned the dusty, cramped room, the yellow-faced, thin women in their worn clothes. Reluctantly, she had to admit that she had transmigrated.

She desperately needed to sort out the memories in her mind. This body, which had just given birth, also needed rest. She went along with the women’s wishes and closed her eyes.

But her body was too exhausted. She quickly fell asleep.

Just before closing her eyes, she thought she saw the women turn back and say something to someone outside the door. She wasn’t sure if she was seeing things, but she also thought she saw her father.

But her eyes were too heavy. She didn’t have the strength to look closer.

It was probably a dream. When she woke up, everything would be back to normal.

She told herself this and peacefully closed her eyes.

Lin Yue slept until noon the next day.

She had a long dream. In it, she watched a girl’s short life unfold from an outsider’s perspective.

Lying in bed, she wiped her face and reluctantly admitted the truth. Everything she had experienced wasn’t a dream; she had truly transmigrated.

Thinking about the dream, she leaned back against the bedpost, lost in thought.

A loud voice startled her back to reality.

“Little Gray’s wife, you’re finally awake. The two kids have been crying beside you for hours, and you didn’t wake up. I was afraid you…” The speaker seemed to realize her words were inauspicious, and she slapped her thighs repeatedly, saying, “Look at my big mouth!  Ah!  It’s good you’re awake, it’s good you’re awake!  Here, has some millet porridge.”

This was Zhang Zhiqiang’s wife, Su Ximei, the village women’s director.

Three people had come to help with the delivery last night. One was the village midwife, known as Liu Wu. Another was Wang San, whose real name was Wang Meiqin, and who was the first to discover that the original owner was about to give birth because she lived nearby.

And then there was Su, the one who had “saved” her last night.

Lin Yue was still grappling with her thoughts. Seeing Su’s kindness, she was touched and took the bowl, managing a weak smile.

This wasn’t acting. If they discovered her identity had changed, who knew what would happen. Lin Yue could only force herself to quickly get into character.

She adopted the original owner’s tone, half-sitting up, and thanked Su, “Sister-in-law, last night I… I just couldn’t hold on. Thank you for taking care of my two kids. You saved my life last night. I don’t know how to thank you enough!”

Su was a little embarrassed by her gratitude, but she said generously, “Why are you being so polite? I’ve watched Little Gray grow up. He’s been in the army and can’t come home often. We’re family, of course I’d help if I could.  Ah, you have such a heartless mother-in-law. You’re really unlucky…” She wiped away tears, making Lin Yue feel awkward and unsure what to say.

She thought back to the dream, to the timid, gentle girl who waved goodbye to her. For some reason, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

It was winter of 1960, and famine was sweeping the land.

The original owner’s name was Lin Yue. Her family lived in Donglin Village, three miles from Xiaoda Village.

She was raised by adoptive parents. When she was young, they treated her well because they didn’t have their own children. But when they had a son at the age of eight, they became abusive towards Lin Yue. If she hadn’t been able to work by then, she might have been abandoned.

The misfortunes of her childhood had shaped the original owner’s meek and submissive personality.

Her adoptive parents passed away a few years ago. Due to the famine, she was soon traded for half a bag of grain by her second uncle and married into Xiaoda Village.

The original owner’s husband, Zhang Yuandong, was a soldier. He returned to the army soon after their marriage, and she soon discovered she was pregnant.

Her mother-in-law, Sun Hongmei, had given birth to twins, and she could tell from the size of the original owner’s belly that she was carrying twins.

Sun Hongmei was known in the village for disliking her eldest son.

Lin Yue couldn’t do much work while pregnant, and she didn’t earn many work points. Sun Hongmei refused to support her for free and quickly separated their households, kicking Lin Yue out.

Then, during the autumn harvest and grain distribution this year, their commune changed the distribution policy from “four for people, six for labor” to “six for people, four for labor.” Sun Hongmei was unhappy.  She used filial piety as an excuse to have Lin Yue take care of her in-laws, taking away a lot of grain.

The original owner was pregnant and had no family to support her. She was too timid to stand up for herself and could only endure the abuse.

To earn a living, she quickly wore herself down. In the end, she managed to give birth to the twins, but she didn’t survive. It was truly pitiful.

Thinking about this, Lin Yue sighed heavily.

Seeing her like this, Su patted her lightly and said, “The past is over. Let’s not talk about it. Now that you have children, you have to stand on your own two feet. Don’t let people bully you anymore.”

Lin Yue nodded. The original owner was indeed too kind, which is why she was bullied so much.

Seeing her nod, Su was relieved.  She thought Lin Yue was just being polite.

After all, she wasn’t her family, and some things couldn’t be said too bluntly.

She changed the subject, saying, “You have no milk. What are you going to do with the two kids? You can’t keep feeding them rice soup.”

Lin Yue was stunned. She looked down at her two flat breasts, then looked up at Su with confusion.

These were a bit flat, but she hadn’t tried yet. How did she know she had no milk?

As if reading her mind, Su waved her hand dismissively, “Hey, last night, Liu Wu and I both tried to help you. The two kids struggled for a long time, but they couldn’t suck out a drop. They cried so hard. You were sleeping so soundly, and you didn’t even wake up from such a commotion!”

Lin Yue had never experienced this before.  She remembered the three women surrounding her last night, studying her while she slept, and her face turned bright red.

Now she just wanted to go back, even if it meant being hit by a car again. Just as long as she didn’t get ostracized here…

Su didn’t notice her awkwardness and brought the two wrinkled, tiny babies over to her.

Only now did Lin Yue have a chance to properly observe the children and discovered they were twins, a boy and a girl.

Su pointed them out to her.  The bigger one was the brother, and the smaller one was the sister.

The two babies were completely red, tiny bundles with no beauty whatsoever.

She was at a loss as to how to hold them. Su taught her how to carefully cradle the two bundles in her arms.

Feeling the softness of the two little ones, she said in her heart, “You two little guys, you’re so ugly, but when I hold you, you melt my heart. Don’t worry, I’m your mother now. I’ll love you like my own children.”

She was using the original owner’s body, and even if it was just to repay a debt, she had to take on the responsibility left behind by the original owner.