Chapter 14: Painful Memories

Zhang Xiulian gripped the washbasin so tightly her knuckles turned white, the veins on the back of her hands bulging.

Several times, she couldn’t resist the urge to kick open the door and storm in to give him a good beating.

But after thinking it through, rather than recklessly hitting him now and getting labeled as unreasonable, it was better to stay calm and respond strategically to whatever comes.

That wretched man really is no good.

Even feeling sorry for him for one minute is an act of cruelty to herself!

Zhang Xiulian still remembered—after giving birth to her eldest daughter in her previous life, she quickly got pregnant again.

Her body was already weak from the recent childbirth.

She had to work the fields during the day and stay up at night to care for the baby.

Her mother-in-law, Liu Dani, pretended to be kind and said,
“I’m not refusing to help with the baby, but she still needs to nurse. Carrying her back and forth is troublesome, and she could catch a cold easily. It’s best if you young folks handle it—you have more energy.”

Zhang Xiulian, foolish as she was, actually thought her mother-in-law was concerned about the baby.

Only now did she understand that Liu Dani didn’t care about the child at all—she just didn’t want to stay up at night.

When the pregnancy reached just over eight months, Zhang Xiulian went into premature labor from overwork and exhaustion.

Her daughter was born weighing only 3 jin (about 1.5 kg), her body bluish-purple, eyes tightly shut, barely breathing.

Despite her weakened state, Zhang Xiulian struggled to climb out of bed, knelt on the ground, and clutched Zhao Debao’s leg, crying,
“Please, take the baby to the hospital. She’s a life too—we can’t just watch her die!”

Zhao Debao yanked her hands off coldly, his eyes frosty with fury.
“Another worthless girl, and such a frail one at that. No matter where you take her, she won’t survive. It’s a waste of money.

Besides, going to the hospital costs a lot. I don’t have the money.

Also, our village’s Third Granny already calculated it—this child clashes with me.

I told Mom to go bury her behind the mountain. Once you’ve recovered, we’ll have a son instead.”

Hearing this, Zhang Xiulian immediately started hemorrhaging and fainted on the spot.

When she woke up again, she was in a county hospital.

She cried and begged her mother-in-law to tell her where the baby was.

Liu Dani impatiently replied,
“That short-lived ghost would’ve only brought bad luck. I buried her behind the mountain. Stop thinking about it. Just focus on recovering and give me a big, healthy grandson—that’s what matters.”

Zhang Xiulian could never forget what that baby looked like—so tiny, her body no longer than an adult’s shoe, with a distinct red birthmark behind one ear.

She never had a drop of her mother’s milk, never opened her eyes to see this beautiful world.

She left just like that, quietly and without a trace.

Whenever Zhang Xiulian thought of her lying alone in the cold earth, she would dig her nails into her thigh until it bled, just to relieve the pain in her heart.

Later, after her second son Zhao Wen was born, she slowly began to recover.

Now, her neck felt icy cold. She touched it and realized her tears had silently soaked her face.

She sniffed, wiped her tears with her sleeve, and pushed open the door.

The room had long since returned to silence.

Through the glass in the window, she saw a familiar figure.

It had definitely been her “good” mother-in-law, Liu Dani, talking to Zhao Debao just now.

Zhang Xiulian didn’t say a word. She picked up the washbasin—originally meant for washing Zhao Debao’s face—

Splash!

She dumped the entire contents onto Zhao Debao’s quilt.

“You crazy woman! You were fine a second ago—why are you losing your mind again?!” Zhao Debao roared in embarrassment and rage.

Zhang Xiulian flung the washbasin aside, climbed onto the bed with her shoes on, eyes wide with fury as she glared at him.

“What did you just say? My ears aren’t working so well.”

“N-Nothing…” Zhao Debao’s whole body tensed, every pore aching, warning him not to act rashly—or she’d strike even harder.

He forced a stiff, awkward smile. With a sheepish grin, he picked up the soaking, dripping quilt and sensibly got off the bed, lying down on the floor where he had slept the night before.

“Good thing you know your place!”

Zhang Xiulian didn’t bother to glance at him again. She took off her shoes, crawled into the bed, turned over, and closed her eyes.

Although it was already May and approaching summer, the nights in the north were still chilly.

Zhao Debao shivered from the cold, trembling all night, and only fell asleep when the morning light began to shine through the window.

By the time he woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. He looked up toward the bed, only to find that Zhang Xiulian was long gone.

All that remained was the neatly folded quilt on the bed.

He rubbed his eyes, climbed up onto the bed, yanked Zhang Xiulian’s folded quilt over himself, and muttered:

“The more you ignore me, the more I’ll annoy you. Let’s see how you like the smell of my stinky feet.”

Turning over, he planned to take another nap.

Then Liu Dani’s words from last night echoed in his head:

“She won’t get away with it tomorrow.”

Zhao Debao suddenly shot up, ran to the mirror, and carefully checked his face.

He made sure there were no visible injuries.

Though his body still had some wounds, they no longer hurt as badly as before.

He opened the wardrobe, changed into clean clothes, tossed the dirty ones into a basin, and headed outside to watch what drama might unfold.

But the yard was empty, apart from clothes hanging on the lines.

“Mom? Mom?”

Zhao Debao turned toward his mother’s room.

“You calling for ghosts or what? Nearly fifty years old and still can’t be away from your mother for a minute?”

Liu Dani scolded him with her mouth, but her face was full of smiles.

“Where’s my wife?”

“How would I know? Maybe she went down to the fields to water the wheat. Early this morning, I heard Cheng Daya from next door calling her.”

Liu Dani’s expression quickly turned sour.

“Then make me some noodles, I’m starving.”

“Grandma, I’m hungry too — make me some, please.”

Zhao Wen, in the next room, had already been awake for a while, lying in bed waiting for his mom to call them for breakfast.

He had waited the whole morning without a sound.

“You two act like I owe you! You little ancestors!”

Liu Dani hadn’t cooked in years. Being suddenly asked to make a meal was a bit jarring.

She chopped a scallion and stir-fried it for aroma, poured in a pot of water, and once it boiled, threw in some dried noodles and cracked in three eggs.

Soon, a steaming pot of noodles was ready.

Liu Dani, her son, and her grandson each got a bowl.

They finished in no time — the three of them were practically starving wolves.

“Grandma, the scallions are burnt.”

“Mom, the noodles seem undercooked.”

“Shut up, both of you! You should be glad there’s food at all. I haven’t cooked in years — this is the best you’re getting. Don’t like it? Starve!”

Liu Dani snapped, her face stone-cold and nostrils flaring as if they were about to turn skyward.

She was still holding onto a bellyful of frustration with no place to vent it.

After eating, Zhao Debao, unusually, went to clean the bowls and dishes, intending to wash them at the tap.

But Liu Dani pushed him aside and scolded harshly, “What kind of man washes dishes? Leave them for Xiulian and Lili when they get back!”

In the yard, Zhao Wen picked a blade of grass and picked his teeth with it, grinning cheekily. “Grandma, I want to go into town — give me some money?”

“What money? I don’t have any,” Liu Dani shot him a glance.

“Grandma, I’m going to hang out with Wu Cui. I already promised her that once my sister marries the village chief’s son, I’d take 500 yuan from the dowry to propose to her.

But now that sis refuses, I’ve got to explain things clearly to her. Otherwise, I’m going to lose my future wife!

Grandma, can you really bear to see your eldest grandson end up single?”

Zhao Wen was always good at manipulating emotions. After he finished speaking, he secretly pinched his arm and forced out two tears.