Golden Egg

“Academician Lin Shu passed away this morning. Her life was one of brilliance and selfless dedication…”

Everyone present wore expressions of sorrow, and Lin Shu’s students were crying uncontrollably.

Only the delicate-featured woman in the center of the mourning hall smiled at them.

Lin Shu passed away at the age of thirty-eight. She was a genius scientist of China, having won numerous domestic and international awards.

A highly respected scientist once commented: “Ms. Lin Shu has propelled China’s scientific progress forward by ten years.”

This was an extraordinarily high evaluation.

Yet, Lin Shu fully deserved such praise. In China, you might not know the latest celebrities, but you have definitely heard of Lin Shu.

She was someone to look up to. Thanks to her, the cure for certain terminal illnesses became possible. Her contributions extended beyond medicine, leaving remarkable achievements in various fields.

…

Lin Shu remembered that she had indeed died—death by overwork. Thinking back to her previous life, she had gained honour, wealth, and success, but she was utterly exhausted.

At the very beginning, she had only wanted to live a quiet, laid-back life. But fate had continuously pushed her forward, leaving her with no choice but to keep going.

As she recalled her exhausting past life, she sorrowfully wiped away an imaginary tear and made a firm resolution: if she had another life, she would never work so hard again.

Perhaps the heavens had heard her plea.

When Lin Shu regained consciousness, she found herself in a warm place, surrounded by soft, fluid-like comfort that made her drowsy.

“Come on, put in some effort!”

“Ah! Ah…!” A woman screamed in pain.

Lin Shu instantly understood where she was. She had been reincarnated! And she knew exactly how painful childbirth was—she couldn’t let her mother suffer too much.

She felt a force pushing her, and instinctively, she followed along, sliding downward with all her might.

“Oh my, the baby is born!” exclaimed an elderly midwife named Wang Po.

She couldn’t help but marvel—after assisting in so many deliveries, she had never seen one so effortless. The mother hadn’t even exerted much effort before the baby was out!

“Waa! Waa!” Lin Shu cried uncontrollably, disregarding the dignity of her past life as an esteemed academician.

Holding the newborn, Wang Po announced, “It’s a girl! And what a loud cry—this daughter truly cares for her mother.”

The woman on the bed looked a bit pale but was in good spirits. She smiled and said, “That’s right. I’ve given birth twice before, but this little girl arrived so quickly.”

Li Xiuying held her daughter in her arms. Newborns were usually wrinkled and unattractive, but to her, this baby seemed somehow different.

Just then, the door burst open.

“Xiuying, are you alright?”

A gentle-looking man entered the room. “Let me see our daughter.”

Li Xiuying chuckled. “Would you believe it? This little one was really considerate of me.”

Lin Aiguo scooped up his daughter with delight. “She’s a chubby little girl!”

Li Xiuying glanced at her husband holding their daughter. “Did Mother say anything?”

Lin Aiguo knew what his wife was worried about. “Don’t listen to my sister-in-law’s nonsense. Do you think my mother is that kind of person?”

Among the three sons of the Lin family, Lin Aiguo was the old matriarch’s favourite. The reason was simple—he was the most handsome. According to the elderly woman, he had inherited all her best features.

Raised with his mother’s affection, Lin Aiguo had a deep bond with her. So, the moment his wife brought up his mother, he instinctively defended her, regardless of any potential concerns.

Li Xiuying watched her husband, completely devoted to his mother, and felt speechless.

She knew she had married well—Lin Aiguo was good-looking, and while her mother-in-law was tough, even domineering within the village, this meant others dared not bully her.

She had once thought that as time passed, her husband would naturally side with her. But now, looking back, she wished she could go back and smack herself for being so naive.

Her mother-in-law was indeed overbearing, but only toward outsiders. Within the family… well, as long as one followed her ways, things were fine. However, there was one issue—her mother-in-law favoured boys over girls.

Thankfully, she had given birth to two sons first. It was tough being a daughter in the Lin family. Her two sisters-in-law constantly endured their mother-in-law’s cold stares.

But now, it was her turn to have a daughter, and she felt deeply uneasy.

She knew her mother-in-law’s temperament well. Her father-in-law had passed away early, and she had single-handedly raised three sons. It had been tough, but with three boys in the family, no one in the village dared to gossip about her.

Because of that, her mother-in-law never thought much of daughters, believing they were destined to become part of another family. Meanwhile, she treated her grandsons like treasures, calling them her “sweethearts” and “precious ones.” When her sisters-in-law had daughters, the old woman’s face had darkened visibly.

Afraid, Li Xiuying chased her husband out of the room, then broke down in tears. “Daughter, it’s my fault. I failed to give birth to you as a boy. Wuuu…”

Lin Aiguo hadn’t even held his daughter for long before being driven out. He didn’t take offense—his mother was still at home, so he decided to head to the fields and inform his brothers and sisters-in-law.

Even though there was a new baby at home, work couldn’t just be abandoned. Each day’s labour earned work points, and without those, there would be nothing to eat.

As he walked, he thought about a name for his chubby little girl.

Meanwhile, back at home, Li Xiuying was still crying. Though crying wasn’t good during pregnancy, she couldn’t help it. Thinking about the rough times ahead, she imagined her daughter growing up frail and underfed like her nieces.

Lin Shu had been dozing off but was roused by her mother’s sobbing. She heard her mother lamenting about not having given birth to a boy.

She felt exasperated—she didn’t want to be born as a boy! Being a male in 1950s or 60s China meant working in the fields to support the family, and she had no interest in exhausting herself. She just wanted to eat, sleep, and relax.

So, Mom, don’t worry about me. Your daughter has no desire to be a boy!

Sensing her mother’s tears, Lin Shu clumsily reached out, touching her mother’s face. Her blurry vision prevented her from seeing clearly, but she did her best to wipe her mother’s tears away.

Seeing her little girl’s tiny hand reaching for her, Li Xiuying felt her heart melt. She kissed her daughter’s soft little face. “Such a thoughtful girl.”

Just then, the door opened, and the formidable Lin Matriarch entered, carrying a bowl of brown sugar egg soup.

The old lady’s face was full of wrinkles, yet she forced a smile that resembled a blooming chrysanthemum. Old Madam Lin had a strong presence—her three daughters-in-law were like quails in front of her, not daring to utter a single word.

Among her three daughters-in-law, she liked the third one the most. She was good-looking, spoke gently, and was a perfect match for her third son. After marrying into the family, she quickly gave birth to two healthy baby boys.

Although the third child turned out to be a girl, Old Madam Lin didn’t blame her. After all, childbirth was a man’s business—if anyone was to blame, it was her son for not trying hard enough. At this moment, she subconsciously ignored the fact that when her eldest and second daughters-in-law had given birth, she had scolded them for only producing useless, money-draining daughters.

She never abused her granddaughters, but times were tough, and raising so many girls who would eventually be married off to other families made her feel bitter. However, when it came to the daughter born to her favourite third daughter-in-law, she was willing to like her a little more.

Li Xiuying, seeing her mother-in-law smiling, quickly sat up straight and placed her daughter to the side. She intended to pick up the bowl of sweetened egg soup herself, but before she could, Old Madam Lin skilfully sidestepped her and placed the bowl right next to her.

With a gentle voice, she said, “Xiuying, you’ve worked hard. Here, drink this bowl of brown sugar egg soup—I specially made it for you. Drink up and replenish your strength.”

Li Xiuying was baffled by her mother-in-law’s sudden kindness. However, as long as she wasn’t being scorned for giving birth to a girl, she was already content.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she felt touched, “Wuwu, Mother, you are so kind to me.”

Old Madam Lin smiled and patted her daughter-in-law’s head—no, more like she petted her as if she were a small dog. But Li Xiuying didn’t mind. She simply felt that her mother-in-law was being especially kind today. She secretly made up her mind—she would never again plot with her two sisters-in-law to complain about their mother-in-law and try to seize control of the household.

From now on, if anyone spoke ill of her mother-in-law, she would fight them.

If Old Madam Lin knew what she was thinking, she would probably give her a big slap.

Old Madam Lin had no idea what was going through her daughter-in-law’s mind. She reached out her rough, chapped hands and picked up Lin Shu.

“Oh my, this is my little granddaughter? She’s such a beauty!”

She then examined the baby’s small face closely. “She looks just like me. Look at those eyes—she’s going to have big, beautiful eyes when she grows up.”

Li Xiuying was still feeling emotional, so of course, whatever her mother-in-law said was right. If her mother-in-law said the child looked like her, then that must be true.

Holding her little granddaughter, Old Madam Lin felt lighter on her feet. Her heart was filled with joy—this granddaughter was truly to her liking.

Last night, she had even had a dream. An old deity had given their family a golden egg. Wasn’t that a sign of good fortune?

And this morning, her little granddaughter was born. Among all the children her three daughters-in-law had given birth to over the years, this was the first time she had ever had such a dream beforehand.

This child must be the family’s lucky star. Even before meeting her, she had already left a good impression. Now that she had seen her, and her eyes looked so much like her own, Old Madam Lin felt completely different toward this granddaughter compared to the previous three. In fact, she even started to treat her on par with her eldest grandson.

She wasn’t lacking grandsons, but she was lacking a golden egg gifted by the heavens!

Li Xiuying carefully sipped the sweetened egg soup, finally feeling relieved now that her mother-in-law liked her daughter so much. She smiled and said, “Mother, this girl is quite heavy. You must be tired from holding her—why don’t you put her down and rest for a bit?”

Unexpectedly, Old Madam Lin replied with a proud expression, “Not heavy at all! I have plenty of strength to hold my precious granddaughter.”

Li Xiuying: “……” As long as you’re happy, Mother.

Lin Shu, having comforted her mother earlier, had already dozed off. She was a newborn, and newborns naturally slept a lot—what was the point of struggling when eating and sleeping were so comfortable?

She couldn’t even remember the last time she had slept this well.

But when she was woken up, she found herself in the arms of an old lady whose face was like a blooming chrysanthemum. The rough hands holding her scraped against her delicate baby skin, but when she saw the old lady’s beaming smile and heard her affectionately calling her “granddaughter,” she instantly knew—this was her grandmother in this life.

So, Lin Shu gave an utterly shameless grin at her grandmother.

That delighted Old Madam Lin even more.

“Oh my, my little golden granddaughter really likes me!” She exclaimed before planting two kisses on Lin Shu’s face.

Lin Shu didn’t mind at all. She even tried to lift her tiny body and return the favour by kissing Old Madam Lin’s face twice.

That completely shocked Old Madam Lin. None of her grandsons or granddaughters had ever been this affectionate with her before! Her heart instantly melted, and she liked this little granddaughter even more.

“Oh oh, my dear, Grandma has saved lots of good food for you. Let’s go to the other room and take a look.”

Li Xiuying: “Mother… Mother, did you forget about me?”

She watched as her supposedly strict and traditional mother-in-law, who valued sons over daughters, smiled happily while carrying the baby girl off to see her treasures.

Even her eldest grandson had never received this kind of treatment!

(End of Chapter)