Chapter 3: The Comparison

Ever since Wang Guoguo lost her sight, her eldest daughter-in-law’s meals had become nothing more than a joke.

Today, for example, the family had a feast—a hotpot with snow peas, garlic shoots, and cured pork. Meanwhile, she was given nothing but a bowl of plain rice noodles, barely even seasoned with lard. Even then, they hadn’t bothered to scoop out the solid bits—just a bowl of watery gruel.

The eldest son probably couldn’t bear to watch any longer and secretly slipped her two pieces of cured meat.

His wife, however, knowing that her mother-in-law was blind and couldn’t see, picked them out and threw them on the ground to feed the chickens. The sound of the meat hitting the floor echoed in Wang Guoguo’s empty stomach, making her hunger pains even worse.

Though she was blind, her heart was sharper than ever.

Back when she was strong and healthy, her eldest daughter-in-law sweet-talked her every day, calling her “Mom” sweetly and even swearing to take care of her in her old age.

Believing those words, Wang Guoguo helped around the house, took care of her eldest son’s children, and even saved up the little money she made from small trades for them.

But when she fell ill, her eldest son, Han Feng, took her to the hospital once. After hearing that an X-ray would cost several dozen yuan, he immediately gave up on getting her treated and brought her back home, making vague excuses.

Though he didn’t say it outright, it was clear that he and his wife were planning to push her to the second son’s household.

They wanted the second son to bear the burden of her medical bills.

They wanted him to take care of this blind old woman until she died.

How could Wang Guoguo not be angry with such ungrateful children?

At this moment, Chen Yufeng should have just pretended to be deaf and dumb, stayed out of it, and prepared to leave with her husband Han Chao when he returned.

If she were tough enough to turn a blind eye, the eldest son and his wife would be forced to take responsibility. If they were heartless enough, they could watch Wang Guoguo die under their roof.

After all, she acknowledged her own son. It was her burden to bear, her karma.

But no, Chen Yufeng insisted on getting involved, infuriating the old lady.

If she were to fall or get hurt, her eldest son and daughter-in-law would take the opportunity to send her to the second son’s house. Wouldn’t that just be adding to their troubles?

“Go away! I don’t want your food!” Wang Guoguo snapped.

“Even if you want to scold me, at least eat first, alright?” Chen Yufeng scooped up a mouthful with her chopsticks. “Or should I feed you myself?”

Wang Guoguo swung her hand, pretending to hit her. But before she could connect, Chen Yufeng quickly stuffed a big prawn into her mouth.

The shrimp was firm and chewy, so fresh that Wang Guoguo could tell it had probably been swimming in the river just moments ago.

“Feng’er, if you keep this up… I’ll really have to hit you,” Wang Guoguo sighed, but she ended up eating the shrimp.

Chen Yufeng handed her the chopsticks, saying, “Go on then, hit me. Maybe after that, my sister-in-law will give you something good to eat.”

They were just bickering, of course.

Having grown up together and knowing each other’s tempers so well, they could afford to tease like this.

Meanwhile, the eldest daughter-in-law, Su Hong, who had claimed to have back pain, was eavesdropping with her ears pricked up.

Wang Guoguo deliberately raised her voice, “Back when we divided the family property, I gave more to your sister-in-law. Why? Because she promised to take care of me in my old age! Now she’s not fulfilling her promise, and you’re stepping in? Are you stupid? You should hurry up and follow Han Chao to the city, leave me here to be a burden! Don’t you get it? I’m just a blind old woman—who cares if I live or die?”

Chen Yufeng replied, “Mom, we’ll talk about everything when Han Chao gets back. And stop talking about life and death, please?”

“Go on, leave! I helped your eldest brother, so he should be the one taking care of me! Even if I die, it’ll be in his house!”

Wang Guoguo’s roar made Su Hong grit her teeth in the other room.

This mother-in-law was no pushover. Back when her husband was alive, he had a habit of hitting people when he was drunk, but she always fought back.

If she weren’t blind now, Su Hong wouldn’t dare to mistreat her.

“Just eat already. I’m starving and too weak to argue with you,” Chen Yufeng said, setting down the pot before leaving.

Back at her own home, she cooked herself a bowl of rice noodles with soy sauce and chopped chili. Finding the taste too bland, she added a few slices of matsutake mushroom on top, finally achieving the rich flavor she craved.

After eating, she set up a large pot to cook the mushrooms she had gathered that morning.

The oil-infused mushrooms she made were famous for their rich flavor because she was generous with the oil and knew how to control the heat perfectly. The aroma could travel for miles.

She turned on the radio, and Li Guyi’s tender, melodic voice filled the air with the familiar tune of “Sister Seeks Brother with Tears Flowing.”

“Sister seeks brother with tears flowing, not seeing him her heart is heavy, eyes strained from longing, seasons pass as flowers bloom and fall…”

To the rhythm of the beautiful song, she fried the mushrooms until they were golden and soaked in fragrant oil.

After letting them cool, she carefully packed them into a large, clean earthen jar.

She then went inside, opened a notebook, and took out a photo from its plastic sleeve. Turning around, she pulled out a piece of rope from under the bed and headed out with the jar.

Under the clear afternoon sky of Guihua Town, with blooming flowers all around, she was on her way to her parents’ house on the east side of town. Along the way, she could sell the jar of mushrooms.

This was Chen Yufeng’s way of doing things: even though her husband had an army salary, she was still capable of earning enough on her own to run the household smoothly.

Just as she stepped out, she bumped into her sister-in-law, Su Hong.

Despite her earlier complaints about back pain, Su Hong now seemed full of energy, practically bouncing with every step.

“Are you taking that rope to tie up Mimi again?” Su Hong teased.

Besides her daughter Tiantian, Chen Yufeng had another daughter named Mimi. A tomboyish and mischievous child who had been raised by Chen Yufeng’s parents, she was so unruly that she always ran away at the sight of her mother.

Without the rope, there was no way to catch her and bring her home.

Chen Yufeng ignored Su Hong and kept walking. Su Hong’s eyes gleamed with curiosity as she continued, “Did you hear? Qi Cailing from the Qi Family Distillery is going on a blind date today. They say the man is a widower, and if she marries him, she’ll have to be a stepmother right away.”

Chen Yufeng paused for a moment. She had dreamed of a book where the female protagonist was Qi Cailing, who indeed married a widower. But in the dream, the man was a high-ranking military officer—a regimental commander.

This made Chen Yufeng even more convinced that her dreams were prophetic.

However, other people’s lives, even the protagonist’s, didn’t concern her. Her husband Han Chao was about to return, and she had to hurry to catch Mimi.

Meanwhile, Su Hong, always nosy, eagerly ran off to the Qi Family Distillery to watch the drama unfold.

The story of Qi Cailing and Chen Yufeng is quite intriguing. Not only were they born in the same town, but they are also about the same age. Both of their parents were former educated youth who returned to the city, leaving behind their spouses and daughters.

These two young women, both of mixed urban and rural backgrounds and equally beautiful, were often compared when it came to marriage prospects.

Chen Yufeng married a notorious bully, a rather pitiable situation. Meanwhile, Qi Cailing, with her good looks and high ambitions, had been picky about her suitors. She had turned down many offers, whether they were sons of county officials or wealthy businessmen—each one either rich or influential.

From the age of 18 until now, at 25, everyone believed she was destined to marry into wealth.

But who could have guessed? Like a sudden thunderclap, the news broke—Qi Cailing was going to meet a 37-year-old widower with two children, an old bachelor!

The entire town was stunned.

Especially Su Hong. Her temperament was such that she loved to envy those who had more and mock those who had less. She was particularly bitter about Chen Yufeng’s current good fortune and the absurdity of a former bully like Han Chao being featured in the newspaper.

To her, whether it was Qi Cailing or Chen Yufeng, it didn’t really matter. But as a sister-in-law, she couldn’t help but compare. She hoped Qi Cailing would marry better than Chen Yufeng. The thought of the beautiful Qi Cailing becoming a stepmother made her more anxious than Qi Cailing’s own father, Uncle Qi.

When she arrived at the entrance of the Qi family’s distillery, she saw Qi Cailing with her wavy curls, wearing a pink dress and bold red lipstick. Su Hong rushed over and asked, “Cailing, you’re not really going to marry a widower and be a stepmother, are you?”

Uncle Qi, a distillery owner who loved to drink, was perpetually drunk and had a violent temper. He had beaten Qi Cailing since she was young. At this moment, he was nearly taking off his shoe to hit her, spitting a glob of phlegm as he shouted, “Ugh, if she dares to go on this date, I’ll break her legs!”

“Cailing, you’re still so young. So many young men have courted you, and now you want to be a stepmother?” Su Hong tried to persuade her.

Aunt Sun added, “Being a stepmother isn’t easy. No matter how much you give, those kids will never see you as their real mother.”

Qi Cailing casually tossed her hair, her gaze sweeping over the nosy women, a smirk curling at her lips. “Aunties, don’t bother persuading me. My mind is made up. I’m going on this date today.”

So, it was true. She really was going to meet a widower!

Uncle Qi, always quick-tempered, still hungover from the day before, immediately grabbed a stick and charged at her.

Logically, a girl should be scared when her father wanted to hit her, right? But not Qi Cailing. Not only was she unafraid, but she also burst into laughter—laughing like a madwoman.

A crowd had gathered. They couldn’t really let Uncle Qi beat his daughter, so they quickly held him back.

“Uncle Qi, don’t hit the child!” someone said.

Another chimed in, “Cailing, stop laughing. Go hide somewhere and come back when your dad has cooled down.”

Qi Cailing continued to laugh, the bus to the county just arriving. She bounded over, hopped on, and even waved goodbye to the crowd as the bus pulled away.

“Is this girl crazy? Did a donkey kick her in the head?” Aunt Sun held back Uncle Qi and shouted.

Su Hong nodded firmly. “I think her brain isn’t right. She must’ve been through some kind of trauma—she’s lost it!”

Everyone was baffled. How did a perfectly fine young woman suddenly go mad?

But Qi Cailing wasn’t crazy. She wasn’t kicked by a donkey. She had transmigrated—into a book, no less.

And even more fortunately, the book she had entered was one she had written herself, and she was now the protagonist.

You see, in the future, “stepmother literature” would become particularly popular. Drawing from her own life experiences, and casting herself as the heroine, Qi Cailing had once written such a story. In her book, she set herself up as the protagonist, marrying a military officer 12 years her senior and raising his two sons, who were born geniuses.

Living in the military compound, she would be the most beautiful, gentle, and kind stepmother.

She would also be the most exceptional, most admired military wife.

But as the saying goes, red flowers need green leaves as a backdrop—happiness shines brightest when compared to others. It wasn’t enough for her to be happy on her own; in her story, she created a character to serve as a contrast to her blissful life.

That contrasting character was Chen Yufeng.

The officer she was to marry held the rank of regiment commander, a higher position than Chen Yufeng’s husband, Han Chao. That was one contrast.

Her stepsons were boys—brilliant ones—while Chen Yufeng’s daughters were troublemakers. One was a little devil, born to be bad, and the other was silly and slow-witted.

Qi Cailing’s stepsons were obedient, gifted prodigies from a young age, whereas Chen Yufeng’s daughters only caused trouble and brought endless headaches to their parents. That was another stark contrast.

In the future, Chen Yufeng would die in childbirth, desperately trying to give birth to a son.

Meanwhile, Qi Cailing would leverage her husband’s connections in the military’s logistics department to take over military assets, making a fortune. Even Han Chao, after rising to a high rank, would become a godfather to her sons, providing tremendous support for their careers.

The book wasn’t finished when Qi Cailing found herself waking up inside it.

And it happened to be right at the pivotal moment—her date with the male lead.

So, when an author becomes the protagonist of her own story, how could she not follow the glorious path she had written, unfurling the beautiful tapestry of her life? What kind of fool would she be to miss this opportunity?

Uncle Qi, still wielding his stick, chased after the bus while Qi Cailing urged the driver to speed up.

She had written a “stepmother literature” story, with her two stepsons portrayed as outstanding young men.

Qi Cailing couldn’t wait to go on the date, to marry quickly, and to begin the life of a stepmother she had once so vividly described in her novel.