Chapter 1

Su Ting lay on the wooden bed, staring at the ceiling, which was covered in a layer of dust. Her face was filled with a sense of hopelessness.

Two days ago, she had worked overtime as usual until ten at night. Since both the bus and subway had stopped running, she had no choice but to take a taxi home.

She was always cautious, and her new apartment was not far from the company—about a fifteen-minute drive. Therefore, no matter how tired she was after work, whether physically or mentally, she would never fall asleep in a taxi.

But that day, she was unusually exhausted. As soon as she got into the car, her eyelids began to fight with each other, and before she could hold on any longer, she fell asleep in the taxi.

Before plunging into the darkness, the only thought left in her mind was: “I’m screwed!”

As it turned out, she really was screwed.

When she opened her eyes again, the whole world had changed. She had gone from being a single office worker in the 21st century to a newlywed military wife in the 1970s. Oh, and she also had a six-year-old stepson, suddenly jumping from marriage to motherhood in one go.

The process of falling in love had been omitted, mainly because Yuanshen had never been in a relationship with her so-called “cheap husband.” If one had to describe it, it was a story of East Guo Sir and the wolf.

Yes, He Dongchuan was the East Guo Sir, and Yuanshen was the wolf.

The incident had started three months earlier, with a letter from an unfamiliar sender addressed to Yuanshen’s mother.

The letter was from He Dongchuan’s mother, Chen Xiaoman. She and Yuanshen’s mother had been good friends for many years, but after they both married, their circumstances took different turns.

After marriage, Chen Xiaoman followed her husband He Rong into the military, becoming a battlefield nurse. Meanwhile, Yuanshen’s mother stayed in her hometown with her husband, working hard on the farm to support herself.

Years later, He Rong had become a high-ranking official in the military, and Chen Xiaoman had become the head nurse at a military hospital. Yuanshen’s father, known for his lively and enthusiastic personality, had been elected as the team leader, with Yuanshen’s mother serving as the supportive wife.

After the founding of the country, there were significant changes in the towns and villages, and the Hongxing Commune where the Su family lived found itself situated between two regions, shifting back and forth. Due to inconvenient transportation and communication, the people living in both places were unable to re-establish contact.

It wasn’t until more than three months ago, when Chen Xiaoman met an old friend who was traveling to the capital, that she learned about Yuanshen’s mother through her friend’s words. That was when the letter was sent.

Yuanshen’s mother was very happy to receive the letter from her old friend and immediately had Yuanshen write a response to send back. Back and forth, the two agreed on Chen Xiaoman visiting her hometown to see her family.

Chen Xiaoman had lost both of her parents early in life, and she had no close relatives or friends. He Rong did have siblings, but they were all the children of his stepmother, and none of them had a good relationship with him.

Therefore, Chen Xiaoman’s visit to her hometown was essentially to visit Yuanshen’s mother.

At that time, He Dongchuan was on vacation. He Rong, not trusting his wife to go back alone, assigned He Dongchuan to accompany her.

It was during this visit that Yuanshen fell head over heels for He Dongchuan at first sight, deciding she would marry no one but him.

But Yuanshen was confused. Her mother was no fool. Putting aside the differences between the two families, the disparity in the personal conditions of Yuanshen and He Dongchuan was undeniable.

Yuanshen claimed to have graduated from middle school, but in reality, she had only completed the first year of junior high. She had to return home in her second year due to school closures. When classes resumed, her batch of students was simply handed graduation certificates without further education due to a shortage of teachers and other issues. The students from the city were sent to work in rural areas, and the rural students returned to their homes.

On the other hand, He Dongchuan was a real military academy graduate. His educational background and cultural level were far superior to Yuanshen’s.

Additionally, after returning home, Yuanshen had worked as a scorekeeper, but this wasn’t because she was exceptionally capable—it was because of her father’s connections. Her father had originally wanted her to work in the village, perhaps with the Women’s Federation Director or the Village Accountant, but since Yuanshen was quite incapable, she could only manage the scorekeeper position, a task that didn’t require much thinking.

Then there was He Dongchuan. After graduating from military school, he joined a Special Military Unit. At only 27 years old, he had already become a company-level officer with immense potential.

Of course, He Dongchuan’s situation wasn’t perfect. He had been married before and had a six-year-old child.

But with his background and personal qualifications, it would be easy for him to remarry, especially if he wanted to find a young woman with an urban household registration and a stable job.

As much as Yuanshen’s mother loved her daughter, she couldn’t force her friend’s son to marry a daughter who, aside from her looks, had nothing else to offer. So she urged Yuanshen to give up on the idea.

Yuanshen felt deeply wronged. How could her own mother look down on her like this? What was it that made her unworthy of He Dongchuan? She still wanted to marry him.

But since her mother was uncooperative, Yuanshen resorted to devious means. She pretended to fall into a pond when He Dongchuan was passing by.

He Dongchuan saved Yuanshen.

In fact, he hadn’t really wanted to save her. Her plan was too obvious—anyone with a brain could see through it. No one would go out in the middle of winter wearing a thin shirt unless they were completely clueless.

However, in the few seconds it took for him to get closer, he realized that Yuanshen truly couldn’t swim.

The pond wasn’t in a remote area; it was in the center of the village. The problem was that most of the villagers had gone off to work, so there were very few people passing by, and not everyone among them knew how to swim.

If he had left, Yuanshen might have drowned.

Thinking of her mother’s joy in reuniting with her old friend, He Dongchuan finally turned back and pulled Yuanshen out of the pond.

What happened next was inevitable—Yuanshen latched onto him.

On one side was her best friend’s son, and on the other was her own daughter who had tried to end her life. With the rumors growing louder outside, Yuanshen’s mother found herself unable to choose between the two.

Mother He, however, wasn’t as conflicted. Because she liked He Dongchuan, Yuanshen deliberately tried to please her, putting in effort to impress. And seeing Yuanshen through the lens of a relative, Mother He thought she was perfect in every way.

So when the rumors spread that her son had “seen through” Yuanshen, Mother He quickly began treating Yuanshen like a daughter-in-law and encouraged her son to marry her.

After much back-and-forth, He Dongchuan eventually relented and agreed to marry Yuanshen.

If the story ended there, it might have been a happy ending for Yuanshen, but there was no “if.”

Perhaps because their marriage had been the result of a scheme, He Dongchuan wasn’t satisfied with Yuanshen. Or maybe it was because of his naturally indifferent nature—either way, their relationship was not good after marriage. Yuanshen’s feelings went unreciprocated, and gradually, she grew dissatisfied.

In the third year of their marriage, He Dongchuan died in an accident. After the funeral, Mother He planned to have Yuanshen remarry. She was still young and didn’t need to spend her life waiting for a deceased husband.

But Yuanshen refused to remarry. She insisted on staying faithful to He Dongchuan for life and vowed to raise the young He Yan.

Seeing her determination, Mother He had no choice but to agree. She was also moved by Yuanshen’s commitment, so she didn’t oppose Yuanshen raising He Yan.

She thought Yuanshen wanted to raise her grandson out of love for He Dongchuan, but in reality, Yuanshen did it as an act of revenge.

After settling into the job arranged by Father He, she found an excuse to move out of the He family home, and she began venting the dissatisfaction she had accumulated over three years of marriage on the young He Yan.

At first, she didn’t dare to be too obvious, but once He Dongchuan’s parents had both passed away, she had no more reservations. The abuse escalated from emotional to physical.

In this daily cycle of abuse, He Yan’s character became increasingly warped. So, when he grew stronger, he started to exact his revenge on Yuanshen. In the end, he succeeded in sending her to prison.

This, in short, is the tragic life of “Su Ting.” the stepmother of the male protagonist in the novel *The Ups and Downs of the Business World*.

But what made Su Ting feel hopeless was not Yuanshen’s fate, since she had gotten what she deserved earlier.

Yuanshen had just married He Dongchuan, and in order to win her husband’s heart, she was still working hard to please He Yan. At this point, the male protagonist was still a soft and adorable little bundle.

Su Ting believed that as long as she didn’t become as crazily infatuated with He Dongchuan as Yuanshen, and instead kept her heart closed, focusing on treating He Yan well, there was no way she would end up like Yuanshen.

What made her feel hopeless, however, was the fact that after working as a corporate slave for so many years, after enduring all the hardships, she had finally bought and renovated a house and had just moved in. Yet, after barely two months of living there, she was suddenly thrust back to square one.

No, she was even worse off than when she had started.

At least before, during the 5G era, everything from food, clothing, housing, to transportation had been convenient. She had a job and abilities, and perhaps she could have bought a house and relaxed early. But now, looking at her situation, there seemed to be no future in sight.

Sigh.

As Su Ting sighed, a knock sounded at the door. She turned her head slightly, tiredly asking: “What’s up?”

“It’s time for lunch.”

Su Ting glanced at the clock on the bedside table. It was twelve twenty-one, indeed time for lunch.

Actually, she wasn’t particularly in the mood to eat. But just as she was about to speak, a sudden “gurgling” sound came from the bedroom.

Su Ting sighed deeply, rolled over, and climbed out of bed. “Coming.” she replied.

Slipping on her slippers, she trudged to the door and opened it. As she looked down, she saw the little bundle standing in the doorway.

The little bundle was He Yan. He had just turned six in February, but he was much taller than what she remembered a six-year-old to be. With long arms and legs, he was definitely going to be tall when he grew up.

He looked not at all thin, his face round and his skin very fair—he clearly had been well taken care of.

This, of course, wasn’t due to He Dongchuan’s efforts. Before Yuanshen and He Dongchuan got married, the little bundle had been living with Grandpa and Grandma in the capital. Mother He, heartbroken over his young age and the loss of his mother, spoiled him even more than usual. She always made sure he had the best food and drink, which was how he had turned out this way.

However, He Yan’s temperament wasn’t one of indulgence. Su Ting had been here for two days, yet she still hadn’t come to terms with the reality. Every day felt draining. After eating and drinking, all she wanted to do was lie on the bed and dream of sleeping her way back to her previous life.

To her shame, the three meals a day over the past two days had been brought back from the cafeteria by He Yan.

She couldn’t keep sinking into this laziness.

Su Ting pulled herself together and followed He Yan to the dining table.

The place where He Dongchuan’s military unit was stationed was called Pingchuan Island. Since it was an island, seafood was naturally abundant, and the supply was generous. Most fish didn’t require tickets, so the main meat dishes in the family compound’s cafeteria were seafood.

Two days ago, they had oyster omelet with fried eggs for lunch, yesterday it was braised prawns, and today it was steamed turbot fish.

The food was decent, and the chef’s skills were good, but the rice was hard to swallow.

Before her transmigration, Su Ting had read a lot of historical novels. They often mentioned how fine rice and noodles were considered good, while cornmeal and sorghum flour were coarse grains, barely enough to fill the stomach.

So, upon learning that Pingchuan Island was located in the Fujian region, where rice was the main grain, Su Ting had felt a sense of relief, thinking she was a staunch rice lover.

But that relief quickly turned to despair.

The rice served in the cafeteria—it… it was scratchy and rough!

She just wanted to go back.