Chapter 1

“Lazy brat! All you ever do is slack off! Who’s going to do all the work in this yard? Do you expect me to serve you?”

Lin Kexin had just opened her eyes when a sharp, scolding voice rang from outside the room.

Before she could even figure out what was happening, the old wooden door was kicked open from the outside. A slightly plump woman holding a rattan stick barged in.

“You little brat! Pretending to be asleep, huh? I bet you’re itching for trouble again!”

As she spoke, the rattan stick lashed down mercilessly onto Lin Kexin, who sat on the bed, her eyes wide with shock.

The woman wielding the stick—wasn’t this her adoptive mother, Wang Cuihua?

Why did she suddenly look so young?

And hadn’t she died in the hospital from years of exhaustion and toil?

Why did the stick hitting her feel so real?

“What’s with that look? Lin Kexin! Don’t think that a little cold or fever means you don’t have to work! Let me tell you—you were born to be a servant! Even if you have just one breath left, you’d better get out of bed and work! Do you hear me?”

Seeing Lin Kexin staring at her as if she’d seen a ghost, refusing to dodge the rattan stick, Wang Cuihua’s temper flared. She lashed even harder!

After several blows, Lin Kexin finally snapped out of her shock. She grabbed her sore arm, jumped off the bed, and bolted outside, not caring that she was barefoot.

Wang Cuihua chased her, cursing venomously, but she could never catch up. In no time, Lin Kexin disappeared at the end of the alley.

It wasn’t until she reached the bustling street and hid among the crowd that she stopped, leaning on her knees and gasping for breath. Looking around at the familiar streets and the people wearing clothing so characteristic of the era, she realized—she had truly been reborn!

“Excuse me, sir, what year is this?”

Though she knew she had been given a second chance, Lin Kexin still didn’t know the exact year. She grabbed a passing man’s arm and asked.

The man froze, staring at her like she was crazy. “1970.”

He released her arm, sighed, shook his head, and walked away, pitying the pretty girl who clearly didn’t know how to dress herself or take care of herself…

Lin Kexin clutched her heart in joy and quickly asked another passerby the same question. The answer was the same. She suddenly burst into laughter!

She was back. She was really back!

It was October 18th, 1970—just ten days before she was supposed to go to the countryside!

Lin Kexin had been a foundling, picked up on the road by Wang Cuihua. At that time, Wang Cuihua had been married to Lin Jianguo for three years with no children. Just as they were planning to buy a child, they found Lin Kexin abandoned by the roadside. They took her in, saving themselves the expense.

The adoption soon became known to Lin Jianguo’s workplace, and he was promoted from a temporary worker to a full-time steel factory employee.

Wang Cuihua earned a reputation for kindness. The local street committee even gave her a street-cleaning job—a grueling, dirty task, but a highly coveted position in those days when food was scarce.

Coincidentally, a year after Lin Kexin came to the Lin family, Wang Cuihua became pregnant and gave birth to a son, Lin Tianci, securing her status in the family.

From then on, Lin Kexin’s life at the Lin household became miserable. Starvation and cold were common. Whenever Lin Tianci cried, Wang Cuihua would beat and scold Lin Kexin to amuse her own son.

By the time she was five, Lin Kexin was responsible for all the household chores—washing, cooking, cleaning—even in freezing winters, her hands covered in frostbite, and when the weather warmed slightly, the pain and itching returned.

When she turned nine, the school principal personally came to the Lin household to offer her free tuition, so she could attend school. Wang Cuihua refused, not wanting to lose a worker in the household. It was only with Lin Jianguo’s persuasion that she reluctantly agreed, with the condition that Lin Kexin’s chores must not be neglected.

Lin Kexin obeyed, doing her homework at school and rushing home to wash, cook, and clean.

She worked hard through the years, excelling academically. By the time she finished middle school, she had topped the school and qualified for the town high school. Yet Wang Cuihua refused to let her attend, despite the teachers and local officials’ appeals—even with tuition and living expenses fully covered.

Lin Kexin understood why: the family would soon have to send someone to the countryside. With Lin Jianguo and Wang Cuihua holding steady jobs, and their precious son Lin Tianci spared, only she could be sent. Wang Cuihua made her work even harder in the meantime.

Lin Kexin laughed through tears and then broke into sobs, shaking all over. She remembered the hardships she endured last life: the hunger, the toil, the letters only sent when her adoptive parents needed food or money.

Though disappointed, she dared not hope for more. Her family was the Lin family, and she wouldn’t let a little grain destroy their bond.

Passersby stared at her, but none approached to comfort her.

Lin Kexin cried until she felt a release through her entire body. Then, she wiped her tears and walked toward the Lin household. Her eyes, once soft and timid, now shone with confidence and determination.