Chapter 2

Damn IOUs!

Wang Anran trembled as he opened the paper that had been thrown in front of him. When he saw that it really had his signature on it, his eyes widened in shock.

“You! You—!”

He pointed at Xia Wenhua, stammering, but couldn’t see a hint of guilt in her eyes. He couldn’t help but wonder if he really had written those IOUs before—could it have been during one of his drunken episodes?

Pei Songbai had finally gotten family leave, and the moment he returned and heard from his mother that his wife was planning to run off with another man, he rushed over here without a second thought. He had no patience for watching their back-and-forth argument.

Whether Xia Wenhua had really planned to elope before he came, or if she was just trying to get money—so long as she was still willing to stay in the marriage, for the sake of their two children, he was going to bring her back home.

Not allowing Wang Anran and Xia Wenhua to waste much time talking, Pei Songbai stepped forward directly:
“If you don’t pay the money back, I’ll take these IOUs to the team leader. At the very least, you’ll be sentenced to a few years. Since you think our Hongshan brigade isn’t good enough, then head off to the labor farm!”

“No, no, no! I’ll pay, I’ll pay!”
As soon as Pei Songbai made his move, Wang Anran didn’t hesitate at all and immediately agreed to repay the debt.

That talk about eloping—he was just using it to fool this gullible idiot Xia Wenhua. He’d hoped to squeeze more money out of her and see if he could pull some strings to get a job in town.

Now, not only had he failed to get the money, he’d also provoked a walking nightmare. Worse still, he had to return the money he’d previously scammed—his heart ached bitterly. After fumbling around for a while, he finally gritted his teeth and took the cash out of a box.

Once Wang Anran repaid the money, Pei Songbai turned and left without even glancing at Xia Wenhua.

Even though she wasn’t the one who had cheated, Xia Wenhua still felt inexplicably guilty and hurried to follow after the formidable man.

Fortunately, everyone was out working in the fields at this hour, and the village was nearly empty. On the way back, they didn’t run into anyone.

Back home, before Xia Wenhua could say a word, Pei Songbai grabbed his farming tools and walked right out. In the blink of an eye, she was the only one left in the house.

The sun had just crested the mountain ridge; morning work had only just begun, so no one would return anytime soon. Xia Wenhua walked into the room and collapsed onto the kang bed, letting out a long breath.

To be thrust into the middle of a cheating scandal right after time-traveling—she was genuinely afraid she wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Luckily, Pei Songbai didn’t seem as terrifying as she had imagined. Even though he had taken action against Wang Anran, he had kept his emotions under control, which gave her a great deal of relief.

There was no sign of the male lead turning dark—first challenge cleared. From now on, she’d just have to manage daily life step by step.

It was now the beginning of 1968, an era of severe shortages—of food, of clothes, of everything.

Even with Xia Wenhua’s meager knowledge of history, she knew it wouldn’t be easy to survive here.

Fortunately, the “Time-Traveling God” wasn’t completely stingy. Since she was needed to stabilize this world, she was granted a special cheat: one shopping opportunity per week.

Under their agreed rules, Xia Wenhua could shop at the supermarket she used to frequent when she was alive—once per week.

Limited to a small shopping bag, she could take whatever she could fit inside, as long as the item already existed in this time period.

Anything she brought back would automatically transform into the version available in the current era and could be stored in the system space—her lifeline for survival.

The activation would be based on her first use. Seeing as no one was around now, Xia Wenhua decided to take advantage of the opportunity right away.

As soon as she closed her eyes, her consciousness entered a special version of the supermarket created by the Time-Traveling God. Everything looked just like it did the last time she had gone shopping, but there was no one around. The world was eerily empty—only her.

Xia Wenhua shook her head to clear it of strange thoughts, grabbed the shopping bag at hand, and dashed inside.

Even though luxury cigarettes and wine were free and on full display, she wasn’t swayed at all. She went straight for the rice and flour section.
In the 1960s, if you asked a hundred people what was most valuable, you’d get one answer: grain!

There was both rice and flour. Having grown up eating noodles, she naturally made a beeline for the white flour.

Although she couldn’t cook yet, she had inherited the original host’s memories and knew exactly how important grain was during this time.

Unfortunately, the bag was too small—she could only fit two 1kg bags of white flour inside at most.

She considered her options, squeezed in two packs, and found the bag already full.

The saddest thing in the world:
A massive supermarket is at your disposal, and you still can’t take much.

Xia Wenhua’s heart ached with sorrow. She cast a regretful glance at the store, but still angrily left.

While the shopping had been great, she hadn’t expected to hear a noisy commotion the moment she opened her eyes.

“She’s part of the same family—why doesn’t she have to go out and work?”

“Exactly, Mother! It’s one thing if Sister-in-law doesn’t go work in the fields, but at least she could make the meals. But she doesn’t do that either—isn’t she just taking advantage of us?”

“If we don’t get an explanation, then no one’s eating today!”

One sharp female voice after another clamored to be heard, like they were all trying to squeeze into Xia Wenhua’s brain.

She had inherited all of the original host’s memories and quickly recognized that the people outside were the wives of Pei Songbai’s younger brothers.

Xia Wenhua frowned, puzzled. Though they’d always argued at home, the moment Pei Songbai was present, they’d instantly transform into the world’s most obedient sisters-in-law. What was going on today? Even Pei Songbai’s presence didn’t work anymore?

Before she could think further, the women, still unsatisfied from venting outside, shoved their way to her bedroom door.

“Open the door! Open up!”

Led by Pei Songbai’s second brother’s wife, Wang Chunhua, the three women were aggressive. Pei Mother stood by, holding two children and gently trying to mediate, but no one was listening. They looked ready to drag Xia Wenhua out and throw her into the fields.

In this household, Pei Mother never had much say. In the past, Xia Wenhua’s aloof nature and unwillingness to argue had only emboldened the others. Their insults had become increasingly vile.

Suddenly, Xia Wenhua yanked open the door:
“Even if there’s no food, do you all have to go digging around in the toilet? Your mouths smell like you’ve been eating shit—disgusting!”

She leaned casually against the door frame, looking down at the three sisters-in-law with disdainful eyes that made them flinch.

Wang Chunhua, the other two sisters-in-law, and even Pei Mother holding the children were all stunned:
Was this really their cold, quiet, introverted sister-in-law/daughter-in-law?

The three sisters-in-law picked fights with Xia Wenhua every year. She was a city-educated youth who disliked physical labor, but with a good family backing her and regular remittances, the others always stirred up drama to squeeze some money out of her—a routine they knew well.

Now that summer work had just begun, they came home and saw that not even the vegetables were prepped. Naturally, they assumed it was another great time to stir the pot.

Who could have expected that Xia Wenhua would go off-script and curse them out?

They hadn’t gotten any money and might have just made an enemy instead. Now what? Would they still be able to get that summer work bonus this year?