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A clattering sound echoed from the upper room, startling Wang Qian, who was still in deep slumber. Her body shivered, and her eyes darted around anxiously. Beside her, her sister noticed the awakening and gently touched her forehead, saying, “Qian Qian, it’s okay, we have nothing to fear.”
Comforted by her sister’s soft words, Wang Qian’s somewhat pounding heart gradually calmed down. With closed eyes, she began to recollect the events from half a month ago.
Wang Qian, now 7 years old, shared the same name in her previous life. Due to a heart condition, she left the mortal world during her second year of university at the age of 19. Unexpectedly, instead of heading to the afterlife, she found herself in a small village in Northeast China in the year 1972. Having just reincarnated into this body, she arrived during a family dispute that erupted on the same day the original owner of this body suffered a fatal blow to the head.
Upon her first glimpse of this world, she witnessed a formidable woman assaulting another.
After sorting through the memories left in this body, Wang Qian realized the woman was her eldest aunt.
Today, the Wang family was hosting a feast to divide the family. Both the eldest and second uncles had already separated and lived independently. However, since it involved splitting the family, everyone was present.
The mother suggested allocating a room for them to live in. At the time, there was no objection; after all, dividing the family merely entailed the distribution of rooms, utensils, and some provisions. At noon, her father had a bit too much to drink and was sleeping in the room. Grandmother and eldest aunt ushered everyone else out before turning back to settle accounts with her mother.
At that moment, her older siblings had disappeared somewhere, leaving only her and her mother in the house. Although unfamiliar with the woman before her, Wang Qian’s instincts drove her to help this new mother.
“Don’t hit my mom!” Wang Qian exclaimed as she leaped up, attempting to intervene in the tussle between her new mother and the aunt. However, the aunt seemed indifferent to this niece, pushing her to the ground with a slap.
“Don’t touch my child! Qian Qian, are you okay? Quickly, talk to Mom!” The woman began to resist; she could endure being hit, but her child must not be harmed.
Thinking of seeking help from others, Wang Qian found herself in a room with only a smirking younger cousin and a stern-faced grandmother, along with her intoxicated father on the kang who was unaware of the situation. In despair, Wang Qian saw her younger cousin and grandmother’s expressions, realizing they were enjoying the spectacle.
“Spare me! Help, someone! Anyone!” she shouted several times, expecting the neighbors to hear. Spotting a burning stick in the corner, without much thought, she grabbed it and swung it towards the woman who was still bullying her mother. Despite her young age, frequent beatings had toughened her, and the woman winced from the pain caused by the burning stick. Indignant, she turned to the two women behind her and said, “Mom, little sister, why aren’t you coming over to help? I’m suffering here at the hands of this little brat!”
The old lady and the youngest daughter hurried over. One of them embraced Wang Qian from behind, while the younger cousin tried to snatch the burning stick from her hands. However, being much younger, Wang Qian couldn’t match the strength of the two adults. Her burning stick was easily taken away, and her hands were firmly held by her grandmother.
Witnessing strands of her mother’s torn hair scattered on the ground, Wang Qian’s heart began to ache. Even if this woman wasn’t her real mother, the cruelty saddened her. How deep must the resentment be to torment someone to such an extent?
“Help! Someone, save us! They’re going to kill someone!” Wang Qian couldn’t resist these people, but she could still call for help.
Neighbors hearing her cries rushed over and, upon seeing the situation in the yard, quickly intervened, pulling her aunt away.
“Wang Mei, what are you doing? After all, she is your sister-in-law. How could you do this? Also, Fourth Sister-in-law, that’s your granddaughter. Can you bear to act this way?” The old grandmother stepped forward, rescuing Wang Qian from her grandmother’s grip.
Seeing bruises on the child’s hands, even she felt distressed. “Fourth Sister-in-law, whatever the issue, is it worth treating them like this? Look at the child’s hands. Are you really that heartless?”
Zhang Lan, lying on the ground, heard this and, disregarding her own injuries, quickly got up to check on the child.
“I’m telling you, younger sister, our family is having a hard time too. I thought dividing them and letting them live separately was a good thing. However, the first two sons have already separated, and why does it have to be so complicated for her? All because of that wretched woman enticing our third son. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have turned out like this. People say when marrying, choose a virtuous wife. Our family must be blind to end up with someone like her,” the old lady complained and spat at the daughter-in-law who was tending to the child.
The old grandmother couldn’t stand it. She knew what kind of person this Fourth Sister-in-law was. As relatives, they were well aware. This Fourth Sister-in-law was originally from a declining landlord family. However, before she married into their family, her family had already lost everything due to her useless elder brother. Because the family had no assets left, she managed to secure a poor farm when they divided the property. Despite this, even after coming here, she continued with her former ladylike demeanor, burdening her own daughter.
“Fourth Sister-in-law, when dividing the family, you should give them what’s rightfully theirs. After all, they are your children. Flesh and blood are the same. You’ve built houses for the other two sons. Can’t you do the same for this son?” The old grandmother lived next door and had heard about the family division at noon. The daughter-in-law just wanted a house for her family to live in, but the old lady adamantly refused, insisting that the third daughter-in-law move out immediately. Such a mother-in-law was hard to find. They shoudn’t bully the third son’s family like this, the money earned through their labor was handed over. Though not much, it was their hard-earned income for the year. However, Fourth Sister-in-law, after the division, didn’t give a penny, and she even chased the family out.
Even if the third son wanted to build a house himself, he didn’t have a penny to use for construction. Isn’t this forcing a living person into a dead end?
“Fourth Sister-in-law, theoretically, I’m your older sister-in-law, and I shouldn’t say much. But look at the four children in the third son’s family. They all need to eat, not just drink water to be full. If this matter isn’t fair, when the children grow up, they might not feel close to you as their grandmother.”
“Tch, do I need them to feel close to me? My grandsons are not only from their family but also from the first and second sons. They are much cuter than those in the third son’s family.”
When the old lady spoke, she didn’t notice that the children from the third son’s family had already returned.
“Mom, what’s going on?” The eldest son, Wang Mingcheng, and the younger brother, Wang Mingyuan, helped Zhang Lan, who was still sitting on the ground, holding her sister.
“Son, Mom is fine.” Zhang Lan handed Wang Qian to her eldest son. “Mingcheng, carry your sister inside.”
“Mom, I’m not going in. Brother, Aunt and Grandma bullied Mom. Eldest Aunt even hit Mom,” Wang Qian complained as soon as she saw her elder brother, recalling her memories.
When the eldest and second sons heard their sister’s words and saw the bruises on their mother’s face, their anger surged.
They naturally understood their mother. She wasn’t in good health and generally avoided family conflicts. She tried to accommodate as much as possible. Today’s incident was clearly provoked by the grandmother.
“Grandmother, we heard everything you said just now outside. Are we not your grandsons?” the eldest son and second son confronted.