Chapter 2: Murder!

Feng Yanwen had a watermelon forcibly stuffed into her hands. The person who gave it to her turned around and walked away in a flash. She stood there holding the watermelon, unable to catch up, feeling both helpless and amused.

She had worked as an English teacher in her early years and had always been well-liked.

But the moment she saw her daughter, Feng Yanwen still brought the watermelon over.

The weather had been hot lately, and Xu Meng hadn’t been in a good mood either. This watermelon came at the perfect time to give her daughter a sweet treat.

When she saw Xu Meng in tears, Feng Yanwen walked over, set the watermelon down on the ground, and gently brushed aside the wisps of hair on her daughter’s forehead. “It was just an argument. What are you crying for? This watermelon is way too heavy for me to carry. Help me lift it, would you?”

The watermelon was wrapped in a nylon mesh bag, and the nylon rope had left a red mark across Feng Yanwen’s hand.

Only now did Xu Meng realize that she had returned to the summer of her second year in high school.

The year before, her older cousin Xu Dawei had just been admitted to college.

There had been a big argument at home over it.

Xu Dawei got into a junior college, and he refused to choose a subsidized major under government policy. He insisted on studying business administration instead, which came with high tuition fees. On top of that were all sorts of living expenses, adding up to a huge sum. To fund her grandson’s education, Grandma Xue, the old lady, wanted to force Xu Meng to go out and work.

Just an adopted daughter—she still dared dream of finishing high school and taking the college entrance exam? How ridiculous.

Unexpectedly, the usually timid Feng Yanwen stood her ground. She insisted on letting Xu Meng finish high school.

There had been a bout of chaos at home, and it was during that time that Feng Yanwen took a fall and never woke up again. But surprisingly, the Xu family loosened their stance and allowed Xu Meng to continue her studies. After she failed the college entrance exam, the Xu family accepted a large betrothal gift from someone and arranged to marry her off to a lame man from another province. Xu Meng secretly ran away from home.

Her household registration was still held by the family. Once she left, she became someone with no identification, no job, and no residence status. In the end, she had no choice but to seek help from her old classmate Chang Xi. After many twists and turns, she made her way to the south and only managed to settle down after a few years. Back then, she had thought—if she were ever given another chance, she would take Feng Yanwen and leave together. Things had been so difficult, and yet she had still managed to gain a foothold in the south.

If given one more chance, she would live a better life.

Feng Yanwen had been such a good mother. She raised Xu Meng like a treasure. Her own life was full of hardship, yet she still wanted Xu Meng to love this world.

Granny Xue’s sharp tongue and Xu Jiefang’s fists had never shown Feng Yanwen a shred of kindness.

Feng Yanwen used to be a teacher, but later lost her job because of certain incidents. If not for that, the Xu family wouldn’t have dared to trample on her with such confidence.

Thinking of this, Xu Meng began to make plans in her heart—she was going to take her mother and leave.

The sooner, the better.

The two of them carried the watermelon home together, and before they even entered the door, they ran into Granny Xue.

The moment Granny Xue laid eyes on the large watermelon, she assumed Feng Yanwen had spent money on it, and her temper flared instantly. She spewed insults with every breath, yelling, “A little tramp raised by a shameless woman, both of you only know how to spend money. Not earning a single cent, and you still want to eat watermelon? Do you even deserve that? You’ve been freeloading off us for so many years, and you’ve never once thought about this family. If you were like my Dawei and got into a good college, even if it cost me my coffin money, I’d still support you. But look at you—your grades are bad, and you still want to cling to school. Not only are you wasting the family’s food, you’re also wasting money. Born of trash, you dare to dream of taking the college entrance exam? With a wretched life like yours, the sooner you die, the sooner you can reincarnate.”

For a woman to spend money was as if she had committed a grave crime—in Granny Xue’s eyes, even a single watermelon was enough to send her into a rage, as though it had taken her very life.

During those difficult years in the past, there was once a time when the family had only ten yuan left. Feng Yanwen told Xu Jiefang to go out and buy flour. Xu Jiefang did go out, but when he came back, he brought back a pack of cigarettes instead. Beaming, he told her that he had come across Da Qianmen (Cigarettes brand), a rare find, and someone had even given up their spot for him.

A few years back, cigarettes were a rationed commodity. Xu Jiefang was so delighted that he completely forgot about the flour. Feng Yanwen was livid—so smoking was more important than eating?

At the time, the old woman didn’t say a single word in protest. Instead, she even sided with her son, blaming Feng Yanwen for having a bad temper.

“What do you mean I can’t say anything? Why shouldn’t I say anything? Every last one of you is worthless, ungrateful trash. I raised you for seventeen years for nothing. All your studies have gone to the dogs. If I had known you’d turn out to be such a thankless wretch, I would’ve drowned you in a manure pit the moment you were born.”

This old woman was an expert at hurling insults. Once she started scolding, she could go on for an entire afternoon.

During breakfast this morning, another argument broke out over the matter of schooling. Her adoptive father, Xu Jiefang, stormed out in anger, leaving the house as the old woman’s battlefield. Xu Meng suspected her lung capacity was at least four thousand milliliters—she could hurl five thousand profanities without pausing for breath, and if thrown into water, she could probably hold her breath for ten minutes.

The surrounding neighbors all turned to look.

At times like this, no one would be so tactless as to step forward.

The old woman made such a scene, and it was all about money, as usual.

The Xu family had three sons and one daughter. The daughter had married off early and didn’t return home often.

Xu Dawei was the eldest son’s child.

These days, supporting a college student was no easy task. It wasn’t just the eldest Xu son’s money that had been completely drained—both the second and third sons’ families had contributed all they could as well. But Granny Xue still wasn’t satisfied. She wanted Xu Meng to go work in a factory to help cover her eldest grandson’s living expenses.

Of course Feng Yanwen refused. Xu Meng had only one year left until graduation. Even if she worked hard for one more year and still didn’t get into college, at the very least she would have a high school diploma.

If she dropped out now, she’d be no more than a middle school graduate for the rest of her life.

Feng Yanwen had been cursed at all day long. She was physically and emotionally exhausted, and now she crouched down on the ground, sobbing and choking with grief.

Granny Xue reached out to yank Xu Meng’s hair. Feng Yanwen rushed to stop her, but the old woman retaliated, landing a heavy slap right across Feng Yanwen’s face, leaving several bloody welts in its wake.

That was it for Xu Meng—she couldn’t take it anymore. She lunged forward too.

In her previous life, she had worked in sales and seen all kinds of tough situations. Was she really supposed to be afraid of a shrew like this?

Sure enough, the moment Xu Meng moved, she pinned the old woman down and gave her a hard slap. The blow left Granny Xue completely stunned. She howled and screamed, threatening to call the police and send Xu Meng to jail. As expected, Feng Yanwen was so frightened she nearly dropped to her knees to beg her.

“Mom, don’t beg her.” Xu Meng pulled Feng Yanwen up in one swift motion, her tone sharp and sarcastic. “You shameless old hag. Back then, your family took favors from my parents. Now that you’ve filled your bellies with our grain, you turn around and treat me like I’m worthless? What kind of twisted logic is that?”

Xu Meng had been adopted—she wasn’t some abandoned orphan.

Her parents had been labeled intellectuals during the Cultural Revolution and were sent to the countryside for re-education. Before leaving, they couldn’t bear to see their infant daughter suffer and entrusted her to relatives still living in the capital.

Back then, everyone was struggling to survive. The Xu family had three grown sons with no jobs and no food. The whole family was on the brink of starvation. If not for the five hundred jin (250 kg) of grain coupons, the two hundred yuan in cash, and a rare color television her biological parents left behind before they departed, the Xu family wouldn’t have made it through that winter. Xu’s eldest son wouldn’t have found a job either.

For as long as Xu Meng could remember, she knew she was just staying with relatives. She did as much work as she could—at a young age, she was already considered a strong laborer in the household, taking on nearly half of the chores.

Back then, it was actually the Xu family who had taken her in, but only because Feng Yanwen hadn’t had any children and was forced to accept her.

At first, Feng Yanwen hadn’t wanted to raise a child who wasn’t related by blood, but when she saw the frail little baby in her arms, barely clinging to life, sucking on her fingers so quietly and obediently, her heart began to soften.

In the beginning, the Xu family treated her fairly well. But as time went on, people’s hearts changed.

When the generous return they had expected from her parents never came, that initial kindness turned into blatant disdain.

Only Feng Yanwen—only she held true to her original intention, treating Xu Meng just like her own daughter all along.

Aunt Li Xiuzhi had just come back from outside and sneered, “Neither of you earns any money. What right do you have to talk about wanting to study?”

As soon as summer vacation started, she ordered Xu Meng to go to the school and clean her son’s dormitory. Xu Meng went once, but couldn’t find him. She waited at the school all day, only to hear that Xu Dawei had gone dancing at a nightclub with someone. Li Xiuzhi immediately assumed Xu Meng was slacking off to avoid work and started scolding her the moment she got home.

She was a bus conductor and carried herself like one of the prestigious “Eight Model Workers,” always putting on airs, looking down on everyone with her nose in the air.

Just like many men in later generations who looked down on housewives, Li Xiuzhi also disdained Feng Yanwen for “not earning money.”

But Feng Yanwen had once held a job too. Even after being suspended from her unit, she still had basic livelihood security, and the school gave her a living allowance each month.

Housework, though, was something no one ever saw the value in. No one appreciated what she contributed. In the eyes of others, Feng Yanwen and her daughter were just a pair of freeloading layabouts.

Granny Xue gave a cold snort. “All these years, how much of our grain has she eaten? That food was an advance payment. I raised you for seventeen years, so you owe me seventeen years of wages.”

That old woman—every word out of her mouth was about money.

Feng Yanwen shielded her daughter tightly behind her. Her thin body trembled slightly from anger. “Shameless. You think money back then is the same as money now? Back then, food was a matter of life and death. She owes you nothing!”

Xu Meng knew how much courage it took for Feng Yanwen to protect her like that.

“Mom, don’t worry about me. You want me to pay you back? Fine, let’s go to the neighborhood office and let them sort it out. Let’s find someone who knows accounting and calculate everything. Based on the prices at that time, how much is that two hundred yuan worth now? What’s the current value of five hundred jin (250 kg) of grain coupons? And what about Uncle’s job—let’s calculate clearly who really owes whom.” Xu Meng remained calm, directly bringing up the government as her backing.

She had wanted to say those words in her previous life!

The moment the government was mentioned, Granny Xue pretended she was about to faint.

As soon as the words left Xu Meng’s mouth, Li Xiuzhi panicked first. “You wicked girl, is that any way to speak to your elders?”

Feng Yanwen was fiercely protective, though she wasn’t good at arguing. “You’re not allowed to scold her.”

Xu Meng, on the other hand, charged straight into the house without a word. When she came back out, she was holding a long knife in her hand.

At just one glance, Granny Xue looked like she was really going to pass out.

“Aaah—” a voice pierced the sky, “She’s going to kill someone! The wicked girl is going to kill someone—”