Song Zhi felt somewhat ill at ease eating with the Bai family.

Bai Zhengqian struck up a conversation with him.

However, most of their talk revolved around current political topics such as “Soviet revisionism,” “Khrushchev,” “Brezhnev,” “American imperialism,” and “supporting Vietnam against the U.S.” Aside from Bai Dongsheng occasionally adding a few comments, the women barely understood what they were talking about.

Bai Taoji leaned against Song Zhi and took deep breaths.

With each breath, she felt her heavy body, as though sinking into a quagmire, grow lighter. The feeling of losing control over her limbs gradually faded, and her vision and hearing became clearer and sharper.

Finally, Bai Taoji saw her family members clearly.

—Her father, Bai Zhengqian, had thick eyebrows and large eyes. Despite being over fifty years old, he had a sturdy build and dark skin. He had the simple temperament of a farmer and a steel-like sense of justice. Her mother, Tang Liren, looked to be in her forties, was slender, and had delicate features. She often furrowed her brows, leaving a vertical crease between them.

—Her eldest brother, Bai Dongsheng, was the spitting image of their father, with sharp features and a tall, strong frame. Her sister-in-law, Tan Fenghui, had a gentle appearance, but her body looked puffy and slightly swollen due to pregnancy, and her complexion was somewhat sallow.

—Her older sister, Bai Lili, and younger sister, Bai Xingxing, were like twin flowers, similar in looks, figures, and temperament. They had exquisite features and were neatly groomed from head to toe. Her nephew and niece were round-faced, lively, adorable, and sharp-witted.

A strange feeling suddenly rose in Bai Taoji’s heart.

Having lived in this world for over a month, she could feel that the Bai family truly cared for the original body of this little fool. Moreover, the entire family was united and loving.

This was something Bai Taoji had never experienced before.

After all, in her previous life, she was a white peach spirit with no parents. Later, she joined the Mei Sect. Although she had a master, senior sisters, and junior sisters, no one had ever treated her so wholeheartedly.

This feeling was strange.

But Bai Taoji quite liked it.

As she continued to breathe in the wonderful spiritual energy constantly emanating from Song Zhi, she made a decision:

—Drain Song Zhi dry! Whether he was the Immortal Emperor or not!!! The most important thing was to cure her foolishness as soon as possible. It would be even better if she could restore her spiritual powers. Then, she could lead the entire Bai family to a well-fed and magical life!

Seeing Taotao smile, Tan Fenghui asked, “Taotao, what are you smiling about?”

Called out by name, Bai Taoji quickly suppressed her smile. At that moment, she noticed Song Zhi turning his head to look at her.

“Brother Song-Song Zhi…is delicious!” Bai Taoji stammered to explain.

Song Zhi’s face flushed red in an instant.

The Bai family, knowing Taotao had no other intentions, smiled kindly and warmly encouraged Song Zhi to eat more buns and noodle soup.

Once the meal ended, Bai Dongsheng instructed his wife, “Take them for a nap.”

Tan Fenghui understood—the men were likely planning to talk to Song Zhi. After all, during her father-in-law’s tenure as village secretary, Ruyi Village had always been rated as a civilized model village. Yet, Song Zhi, the new educated youth, had gotten into a fight as soon as he arrived. There had to be more to the story.

So Tan Fenghui led her sisters-in-law and the children to the room next door.

But Bai Taoji refused to leave.

Since Bai Zhengqian had always doted on his foolish daughter and she was quiet, unable to understand or repeat what others said (he had completely forgotten how she reported Li Cui’er earlier), he said, “Let Taotao stay here. Taotao’s mom, go make some tea.”

Tang Liren acknowledged, grabbed a handful of their homemade tea leaves, tossed them into a few mugs, poured boiling water over them, and brought them to the table on the kang bed. Then she sat down in the corner, took out an awl, and began stitching shoe soles while listening to the men talk.

Bai Zhengqian offered Song Zhi some tea. “Xiao Song, have some tea. These leaves were picked and roasted by your aunt herself… Drink up, no need to be polite! By the way, Xiao Song, have you been to our village before?”

Song Zhi took a sip of tea and shook his head.

Bai Zhengqian continued, “Since you haven’t been here before, you probably don’t know anyone in the village, right? So what exactly happened today? Did you… run into a thief? Or did you see someone up to no good?”

—Song Zhi was a college student, an intellectual, so he was definitely a reasonable person. And since he had come alone to this unfamiliar place, it was unlikely he would pick a fight on purpose, let alone take on more than a dozen people by himself.

There had to be a reason.

Sure enough, after hearing Bai Zhengqian’s words, Song Zhi explained, “When I first arrived, I asked where the Educated Youth Station was and went there. It seemed everyone had gone out to work, so no one was inside. Then I suddenly heard someone shouting for help…”

Bai Zhengqian’s expression turned serious. “Someone was shouting for help in the Educated Youth Station?”

Having encountered a series of mishaps since arriving in Ruyi Village, Song Zhi was admittedly skeptical about this so-called “civilized village.” However, after interacting with the Bai family, he found Bai Zhengqian and his son to be reasonable. So he recounted the incident in detail.

“It was a young woman crying for help. The one harassing her was an old man. At the time, the woman was already…”

Out of concern for the young woman’s privacy, Song Zhi didn’t elaborate. He glossed over the details and continued, “I rushed in, pulled the old man out, and threw him down. Then he started attacking me and cursing me—his words were really nasty… I defended myself, but suddenly more than a dozen people rushed over and accused me of bullying the elderly. I tried to explain, but by then the woman had already left, so they didn’t believe me…”

Bai Zhengqian and Bai Dongsheng exchanged a look.

—There really was a notorious old bachelor in the village who fit Song Zhi’s description.

Bai Zhengqian asked, “Xiao Song, if we ask you to identify them, can you recognize the old man and the young woman?”

Song Zhi hesitated before answering, “I can recognize the old man, but the young woman… I didn’t get a clear look at her. She was lying on the bed, facing away from me.”

Tang Liren, stitching soles, said, “That’s easy. Just check with the team accountant to see who skipped work today!”

Song Zhi: …

Bai Dongsheng, noticing Song Zhi’s hesitation, told Tang Liren, “Mom, whether the victim is willing to come forward or not is up to her. We shouldn’t force her.”

After speaking, he glanced at Song Zhi again and saw him nod slightly in agreement.

Tang Liren said, “If it’s not Bai Shikeng, then who else could it be? Don’t you know what kind of person Bai Shikeng is? If we don’t confront him with the victim, he’ll never admit it!”

“If you ask me, Bai Shikeng should be arrested and sentenced to jail! What’s the point of leaving him in the village? He’s an old man yet can eat four pounds of rice in one meal! He claims working hurts his whole body but can run faster and carry more food than anyone else! Oh, they actually believe him when he says he’s sick? Did the hospital give him a diagnosis?”

“But they still feel sorry for him and don’t let him work. He turns around and harms the women in the village! I’m afraid Qifeng and San Yazi’s wives must have been bullied by him! They didn’t dare to say it for fear of looking bad. The young couples just closed the doors and made trouble! Now the two wives are divorced, the children have run away. Why should such a scourge stay in the village?” Tang Liren continued to nag.

Meanwhile, Bai Zhengqian and Bai Dongsheng fell silent, clearly thinking about how to handle the situation.

Bai Taoji wasn’t concerned with the conversation going on. She was completely focused on breathing in the continuous flow of spiritual energy emanating from Song Zhi…

Meanwhile, in the next room, Bai Xingxing was straining her ears, listening carefully to the conversation between her parents, older brother, and Song Zhi, and she fell into a daze.

For the past few days, she had been repeatedly having the same dream, a dream both absurd and real.

She dreamed of her future.

It turned out that the world she was in was actually a novel called The Queen of Three Marriages in the 1960s [Transmigration through a book], a story about a strong female lead who rises to wealth and success.

The heroine was a sent-down educated youth, Yan Naqian, who came to Ruyi Village from the city. Bai Xingxing and her entire family were nothing more than insignificant cannon fodder in this book.

Before long, Yan Naqian would marry a newly arrived educated youth, Song Zhi.

A year later, Yan Naqian would receive orders to return to the city, leaving Ruyi Village, while Song Zhi would remain in the village, never leaving again.

Three years later, Yan Naqian, who had transmigrated into the body of a person with the same name and face from the future, would return to Ruyi Village to divorce Song Zhi. Song Zhi refused, so Yan Naqian resorted to trickery, fabricating “evidence” of Song Zhi’s affair with Bai Xingxing.

Bai Xingxing was devastated.

In the isolated mountain village, a young unmarried girl with such a reputation could be pushed to the brink of death! What’s worse, Bai Xingxing had just gotten engaged to a young man from the neighboring village and was happily preparing for her wedding. When this scandal broke, her fiancé immediately called off the engagement, and she became the object of ridicule!

Bai Xingxing hated Yan Naqian, and she hated Song Zhi too… She barely had any interaction with Song Zhi, so why did Yan Naqian feel the need to slander her like this?

Later, Song Zhi and Yan Naqian divorced, and not long after, Bai Xingxing heard that Yan Naqian married Song Zhi’s younger brother, Song Sui. Song Sui became a billionaire, and Yan Naqian became a rich wife.

Bai Xingxing’s former fiancé’s family continued to mock her, and she was driven to despair, attempting suicide multiple times. Her parents eventually moved the whole family away from Ruyi Village.

However, the Bai family’s luck was always poor. Bai Zhengqian died young, Tang Liren was diagnosed with cancer, and her older brother and his wife both met with accidents. Even her nephews and nieces suffered one misfortune after another…

Many years later, only Bai Xingxing and her foolish older sister, Bai Taotao, were left. They worked together, living in poverty and depending on each other for survival.

Unexpectedly, Bai Xingxing received a lawyer’s notice, informing her that she was the heir to an inheritance.

It turned out that Song Zhi had stayed in Ruyi Village, working as a private teacher at the local elementary school. In his spare time, he made many inventions and applied for patents. He had originally intended to leave his entire fortune to Bai Zhengqian, but since Bai Zhengqian died before him, the lawyers sought out the last two living blood relatives of Bai Zhengqian—the Bai sisters—and brought them back to Ruyi Village.

On his deathbed, Song Zhi told Bai Xingxing that many years ago, her father and brothers had saved his life. So, after his death, he gave ninety percent of his fortune to the state, while the remaining ten percent was to go to Bai Zhengqian’s descendants.

With those words, Song Zhi passed away.

The lawyer told Bai Xingxing that even though Song Zhi left her just ten percent of his fortune, it amounted to an eight-digit sum!

Bai Xingxing was stunned.

After all, this was the late 1980s, and a rural private teacher had such a fortune… It was truly hard to believe.

However, this wealth was not the beginning of a happy life for her and her sister but the start of endless trouble.

— Recently divorced, Yan Naqian sued Bai Xingxing. First, she claimed that the inventions and creations of Song Zhi were made during their marriage, and since Song Zhi didn’t do a property division at the time of their divorce, she should get half. Then, she said Song Zhi had plagiarized her research, so she should inherit Song Zhi’s estate.

With Song Zhi already dead, and Yan Naqian holding complete original manuscripts and blueprints, she could say whatever she wanted, and there was no way to prove her wrong.

This lawsuit dragged on for years, eventually ending in Bai Xingxing’s defeat.

Through the divorce and her share of Song Sui’s fortune, Yan Naqian ended up inheriting Song Zhi’s entire estate, becoming the wealthiest person in the country. After enjoying her wealth for several years, she married a top model twenty years her junior and gained both fame and fortune.

Meanwhile, Bai Xingxing and her foolish sister lived in poverty and misery until they were over fifty. Bai Xingxing eventually died in the cold winter of the new millennium. Her sister, who was unable to live independently, was likely to perish shortly after her death.

For three consecutive nights, Bai Xingxing dreamed the same dream, with the details becoming clearer and more real…

It was impossible not to believe it.

So today, she went to the Educated Youth Station to wait.

— According to the dream, today was the first day Song Zhi arrived in Ruyi Village. It was on this day that Song Zhi saved Yan Naqian from being assaulted by an old man. But since Song Zhi was a stranger and the old man was from the village, and since Yan Naqian cared about her reputation, she didn’t clarify the situation. As a result, the other educated youths saw Song Zhi beating the old man, became angry, and rescued the old man while attacking Song Zhi.

The result was a mutual injury.

Later, Yan Naqian would step forward to clarify the truth. To prove Song Zhi’s innocence, she would risk damaging her own reputation, making her image glow with righteousness and laying the foundation for her later relationship with Song Zhi.

Indeed, Bai Xingxing hid in the corner of the station and saw the old man bully Yan Naqian. She saw Song Zhi, carrying his luggage, hear Yan Naqian’s cry and beat the old man. She saw Yan Naqian take the opportunity to run away, and she saw the other educated youths rush in, only to see Song Zhi beating the old man. They immediately fought with Song Zhi…

This scene was exactly like the one in Bai Xingxing’s dream!

To change the plot, Bai Xingxing quietly slipped away from the scene and went to find Yan Naqian. She didn’t witness the part where her older brother arrived at the station and stopped the fight between Song Zhi and the other youths, then took Song Zhi home.

At this moment, Bai Xingxing had a thousand thoughts swirling in her mind.

Now that she knew the fate of most of her relatives and herself, Bai Xingxing didn’t want to accept it, nor did she want to give in.

So, what could she do?

— Marry Song Zhi?

Yes, he was capable. Even in a small village, he could invent and create, and in the future, he would have a nine-figure fortune. But she really didn’t feel any attraction to Song Zhi. Spending her life with such a dull and boring man… That might be the true nightmare.

Since she could already foresee the future, why should she settle for such a life?

— Get revenge on Yan Naqian?

This was a must!

The transmigrated Yan Naqian thought that, as the heroine, she could casually harm others? Bai Xingxing was going to follow the path of the original heroine and leave the original heroine with no way to go!

Besides, Yan Naqian’s second husband, Song Sui, was also a billionaire. Instead of marrying the dull and taciturn Song Zhi, she might as well marry the charming and gentle Song Sui!

Yes, she had to seize this chance before the trasmigrated Yan Naqian arrived. She needed to win over Song Sui! Haha, by the time the transmigrator arrived, Song Sui would already be Bai Xingxing’s husband and would be completely devoted to her!

The more Bai Xingxing thought about it, the happier she became, and she sneered.

Her third sister, Bai Lili, asked her, “Xing’er, what’s with you? Why aren’t you napping and laughing to yourself?”

Bai Xingxing’s smile vanished, and she looked around. Her pregnant sister-in-law had fallen asleep with the children. After making sure no one else was around, she lowered her voice and softly asked, “Sister, do you hate Yan Naqian?”

Bai Lili: ???

— Among the girls in Ruyi Village, who didn’t dislike Yan Naqian!

Author’s Note: Bai Xingxing is the second female lead.