Chapter 44

After Lin Xiaomeng was reborn, she had decided that this time she would definitely capture the man’s heart and make sure to train the child to be on her side.

However, reality still gave her a heavy blow.

Her in-laws were still the same, and her sister-in-law and brother-in-law were just as unbearable as in her previous life—an entire family full of scum, a troublesome bunch.

Living with them was like a slow torture, unbearable. If it weren’t for Xu Huaizhi, she really would have wanted to leave again.

In fact, in her previous life, she had abandoned her husband and child, but the people of the Xu family were also at fault. It wasn’t just her fault; everything had been forced by life.

Lin Xiaomeng was indeed from Beijing, but her family wasn’t well off. Her parents were ordinary workers, and there were five sisters in the family. She was the eldest, with three younger sisters and one younger brother.

The reason she had chosen to marry Xu Huaizhi was because she knew that there was no hope for her to return to the city. Her parents would never get her a job, nor could they help her find a way out, so she had to make plans early.

At first, she thought Xu Huaizhi had a proper job, his father was the Branch Secretary of the village, and her second brother was also doing well in the army. Most importantly, he was a good-looking man who also had feelings for her.

That was why she married him early.

However, after marriage, Xu Huaizhi often worked outside, leaving her alone at home to be tormented by her in-laws. Every day she woke up earlier than a rooster and went to bed later than a dog, with never-ending farm work.

She had to cook for the family, earn work points, and wash everyone’s clothes.

What was even worse was that her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, both of them were adults, still had her, the eldest sister-in-law, wash their underwear and pants.

It was truly disgusting, like the mother of disgust opening the door to disgust—it was disgust to the extreme!

She married Xu Huaizhi not only because she was attracted to him, but also because she wanted to live a comfortable and happy life. She never expected the Xu family to be a beautiful shell but rotten inside.

Not only did they torment her, but they also kept a hold on Xu Huaizhi’s salary. She had to ask her in-laws for every penny she spent.

What she could not accept even more was that, in her previous life, she was so busy with work that her child had to be taken care of by her mother-in-law. In the end, Liu Guifang taught her son to behave worse than a pig or a dog, even hitting his own mother.

Every day, in front of the child, they would slander her, saying she was immoral, lazy, greedy, and selfish.

The child would often hit and scold her, physically abusing her.

Unable to endure such a painful life, and with the child drifting away from her, she lost her last shred of hope.

Desperate, a few years later, she ran away with a male educated youth from a neighboring village.

This time, after being reborn, she had done a lot of mental preparation, wanting to start over, but upon seeing these troublesome people again, she couldn’t help but feel upset.

Fortunately, her son, Da Cheng, had finally been turned around in this life. Now, the relationship between mother and son was very good.

She also possessed a Fortune Space, which contained a spring of clear water.

After studying it for a while, she discovered that drinking the Fortune Spring Water would gradually increase her luck every day, though the increase was very slow.

However, she soon made a new discovery. If someone else drank this luck-enhancing water, she could use it as a medium to extract their luck and use it for herself.

Her first experimental subject was Xu Second Son, the troublemaker in the village. He often secretly flirted with her and had blocked her on the road several times.

Although she hadn’t let him take advantage of her, it was still unpleasant.

Xu Second Son didn’t have much luck, but even a small amount was something, and it helped her increase her luck by thirty percent.

Because of this, she went up the mountain for another experiment. To her surprise, she discovered a century-old ginseng plant.

She secretly sold the ginseng for three hundred yuan, earning her first private stash of money. The excitement in her heart was indescribable.

In her previous life, she had been betrayed by her parents and mistreated by her in-laws, living in misery.

Now, she no longer had to live according to other people’s moods. She could confidently live on her own.

After tasting the sweet reward, she set her sights on Xu Ming Shan and his wife, as well as Xu Meiling and Xu Huaiyu.

However, she found that the luck of these four people was even worse than Xu Second Son’s—so scarce it was pitiful.

It seemed the heavens were watching over her. These people didn’t deserve any good fortune.

However, she dared not act too rashly. Pulling one thread could unravel everything. She was worried that taking their luck would also affect Xu Huaizhi and herself.

In recent days, she had found a new target.

Qian Caihua.

This woman constantly spread gossip. When Lin Xiaomeng merely bought herself new clothes with money she had earned, Qian Caihua pointed fingers at her, telling her to be more frugal. Her mouth was disgusting.

Lin Xiaomeng planned to take her luck away and watch her fall into despair, wondering if she could still smile.

Lin Xiaomeng, though unwilling to admit it, knew deep down that what she really wanted was Qian Caihua’s luck.

She had grown too fond of this feeling of becoming stronger.

—-

Gu Qinghuan used the spirit spring water to make a feast.

The two little ones stood at the kitchen door, their noses twitching as they smelled the delicious aroma. Gu Qinghuan threw each of them a piece of rib.

It immediately left them entranced by the scent.

Since Xu Huai’an found out that Gu Qinghuan would be picking up Grandpa and Grandma for dinner that evening, he had become restless.

He admitted that he had been greedy.

He didn’t want the elderly to see him in such a messy, helpless state;  

He didn’t want them to think that his granddaughter had entrusted him to the wrong person;  

He didn’t want to see disgust or sadness in their eyes.

After thinking for a long time, he finally made up his mind. He grabbed a pair of scissors and snipped the rope off his legs.

His emotions had been stable these past few days. Today, he hadn’t fallen into anxiety or frustration at all. He had remained clear-headed, confident that he could control himself.

The moment he freed himself, he felt an overwhelming sense of relief and relaxation. But soon, the sharp pain came; his legs hadn’t moved in so long that they refused to obey.

Quietly, he massaged his legs, enduring the excruciating pain as he repeatedly tried to control their movement.

It was all for the sake of his own dignity.  

Or perhaps, for the fleeting surprise of someone.

At this moment, he admitted to himself that he had fallen for the girl who had pulled him out of hell.

He had started to act strangely, feeling both anxious and insecure, even developing a strong sense of inferiority, thinking that he wasn’t worthy and afraid of losing her.

This bittersweet feeling even made him forget his usual anxiety and irritability. His mind was filled with only her image.

She had come into his life like a ray of light, illuminating his entire world.