Chapter 2: Transmigration

After buying things that day, Mi Xia returned to her booked hotel, ordered a meal to be delivered to her room, and after showering and applying skincare, her meal arrived. After eating her fill, she went to rest, preparing to continue her shopping spree the next day.

The next day, Mi Xia opened her eyes feeling refreshed, but then a sharp pain shot through her head, and a series of memories not her own flooded in. The original owner had the same name as her, but their life trajectories were completely different.

Mi Xia II was a single, independent woman, while the original owner had married early and had a one-year-old daughter. Because she married young, she was only twenty-one years old.

The marriage had been arranged when the original owner was very young by her grandfather, who had saved Mo Haoyue’s grandfather.

The original owner’s grandfather had passed away early, and her parents had also died when she was young. She grew up with her older brother and sister-in-law, which made her cautious and taciturn.

After Mo Haoyue joined the army and became an officer, he became his mother’s most favored son. His monthly salary and allowance totaled thirty-six yuan. In the 1970s, especially in rural areas, this was a considerable sum that a family couldn’t save in a whole year.

When Mo’s mother visited her son in the army, she learned that a high-ranking official’s daughter was pursuing him. Upon returning home, she disliked the original owner and wanted to call off the engagement. She felt that her son, having become so successful, was too good for the original owner.

A rural child with no parents couldn’t compare to the daughter of a high-ranking official.

However, Mo’s grandfather disagreed, and Mo’s mother, having no choice, could only allow the marriage to proceed. The original owner was beautiful, and Mo Haoyue wasn’t bad either.

He had sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, a high nose bridge, and alluring peach blossom eyes—a look almost unseen in the countryside. Therefore, the original owner loved Mo Haoyue.

After their marriage, Mo Haoyue treated the original owner fairly well. He had to return to his duties, so after the wedding banquet, he stayed for ten days before returning to the army.

Logically, with so much allowance, the original owner should have lived a comfortable life. However, after marrying Mo Haoyue, she didn’t have a separate household, and her mother-in-law managed the finances.

The original owner had no access to the money, and Mo’s mother used it to subsidize other family members.

A month after Mo Haoyue left on a mission, he went missing. Mo’s mother blamed the original owner, saying that her son’s disappearance was because of her, calling her a jinx.

Around this time, the original owner discovered she was pregnant. Fearing gossip about mistreating a pregnant woman, Mo’s mother treated the original owner slightly better, but she still made her do all the work, just without the beatings and scolding.

The original owner gave birth to a daughter under these circumstances. In rural areas at that time, sons were favored over daughters. After the birth of her daughter, Mo’s mother intensified her mistreatment.

Many rural daughters-in-law who gave birth to granddaughters were mistreated by their mothers-in-law, so Mo’s mother wasn’t afraid of being criticized.

During her confinement period, Mo’s mother made her wash clothes in cold water, cook, work in the fields during the day while carrying the child, and then return home to do housework. She also had to stay up late at night to care for the baby, never getting enough rest.

Even so, Mo’s mother would constantly scold the original owner, saying that her son had taken the place of the official’s daughter by marrying her, and now her son was missing.

The original owner felt guilty, believing she had caused Mo Haoyue’s disappearance, and dared not disobey. She did everything she was told, and after more than a year of this, she died of exhaustion, which led to Mi Xia’s arrival.

After absorbing these memories, Mi Xia sighed. Truly, kindness is often met with cruelty. But now that she was here, things would change for the better.

Looking around, she found herself lying on a kang (a heated brick bed), with several wooden boxes at the head of the bed, covered by a thin, dark, worn-out cotton quilt. Next to her, a little girl was sleeping.

She was thankful for her mental preparation. Otherwise, arriving in this environment and era would have been unbearable. This place was a parallel universe she’d never heard of, with different names for historical figures, but the overall trajectory of events was similar to her own time.

The original owner lived in a village called Mojia Village, almost entirely populated by people with the surname Mo. Mojia Village was nestled in the mountains. People in this era relied on the mountains and the sea for their livelihoods. The men often hunted wild chickens and rabbits in the outer mountains, and the children gathered pigweed in the foothills to earn work points.

Thanks to the mountains, even during the most difficult times, Mojia Village and the surrounding villagers persevered, relying on the continuous mountain range.

The date was July 22nd, 1975. The college entrance examination would be reinstated in 1977. Mi Xia wanted to use these two years to study hard. Although she had been a top student in her previous life, the subjects studied in this era were different from those in the modern era.

Just as she had composed herself, she heard the urgent voice of Mo Jianguo, Mo Lao Er’s son, from outside. “Fourth Aunt, Fourth Aunt! It’s not good! Grandma says she’s going to sell my sister (the original owner’s daughter) to the landlord’s idiot son!”

Before Mi Xia’s arrival, Mo Jianguo had been kind to her and her daughter because he admired his fourth uncle, Mo Haoyue. Before Mo Haoyue left, he asked Mo Jianguo to take care of Mi Xia.

Mo Haoyue knew what his mother was like and was worried, so he asked Mo Jianguo to write to him if anything happened. Unfortunately, Mo Haoyue disappeared without a trace.

When Mi Xia and her daughter had nothing to eat, Mo Jianguo would share his rations with them, and he would also speak up for them and help them with work when they were bullied.

Mi Xia searched for information about the landlord’s idiot son and found him to be a true simpleton.

Mo Zhixia was very cute, inheriting the best features of both Mi Xia and Mo Haoyue. This attracted the attention of Butler Zhang, the landlord’s steward.

Mi Xia was furious. While sending Mo Jianguo to call the village chief, she went outside and saw Mo Haoyue’s mother (her mother-in-law) and Butler Zhang discussing the price.

Mo’s mother always considered Mo Zhixia a burden, wasting the family’s food, and destined to become someone else’s wife. She didn’t realize how much work the original owner did, including the one-year-old Mo Zhixia, who helped her mother with chores, while Mo Lao Da and Mo Lao San’s children played all day.

Mo’s mother favored Mo Lao Da the most because he was her first son, securing her position in her husband’s family. Mo Lao San was articulate and good at flattering people, so he also received preferential treatment. When Mo’s mother was pleased, Mo Haoyue’s allowance would be given to them.

Mo Lao Er and his wife were honest and not good at flattery, so their family was disliked. They had to do housework after work, especially the original owner (the fourth daughter-in-law), who was the least favored, and her daughter was also disliked.

“If you dare to sell Xia Xia, I’ll fight you!” Mi Xia said angrily.

The fourth daughter-in-law dared to defy her. Mi Xia had always been meek, never daring to utter a word in front of her, but today she dared to defy her. Mo’s mother was furious.

“Fourth daughter-in-law, you’ve gone too far! You have no right to speak here! I’ll beat you to death!” She grabbed a tree branch from the yard.

“She’s my daughter! Why do you have the right to sell her? Are you trying to drive us mother and daughter to death? If you dare to sell Xia Xia, I’ll fight you!” Mi Xia glared fiercely at Mo’s mother.

“Why? Because you and your daughter have been eating and living off of me for these two years!” Mo’s mother was startled by Mi Xia’s gaze and mumbled softly.

“What’s all the commotion? Don’t you care about being seen?” The village chief walked over with his hands behind his back, followed by several villagers who had come to watch the spectacle.

“Village Chief, I want a divorce. My mother-in-law wants to sell Xia Xia. Now that Mo Haoyue is missing, she’s my only daughter. My mother-in-law is trying to make life impossible for us!” Possibly influenced by the original owner’s emotions, Mi Xia cried and wiped her tears.

Suddenly, she felt a small hand grasping hers. It was Mo Zhixia. She squeezed her palm and comforted her, “Xia Xia, don’t be afraid. Mommy will protect you. Grandma won’t be able to sell you.”

Xia Xia held onto Mi Xia’s clothes and nodded obediently.

“Mo’s wife, is this how you treat Xia Xia? Xia Xia is so young, how much food can she eat? I know what kind of life you two have been living. You do the most work and get the least food.”

“This is your son’s daughter! Your son is a national hero, yet you’re selling his daughter! Is your family so poor that you have to sell your granddaughter? Aren’t you afraid of being arrested for selling a military family member?”

The village chief’s words left Mo’s mother speechless. She was also afraid of being arrested. She had finally gotten a better life and didn’t want to go to jail.

Mi Xia, having transmigrated, was unwilling to suffer this injustice, so she pressed on. “Village Chief, I want a divorce. I want to take Xia Xia and move out. Here, I fear we’ll have no way to survive.”

Mo’s mother realized she couldn’t sell her granddaughter today. She felt sorry for the sixty yuan she was going to get. She had promised to buy her daughter new clothes, but she was still afraid of being arrested.

“You little vixen, you want a divorce? Fine! But don’t think you’ll get any of our family’s grain! I tell you, my son was killed by you, and you gave birth to such a burden! Take this good-for-nothing and get out! The farther the better! I don’t want to see you!” Mo’s mother yelled, spitting as she spoke.

“Mother, since I got married, I haven’t been idle for more than a year. I work in the fields and do housework with Er Sao. But Xiao Mei is eighteen and still doesn’t work. All the housework is done by Er Sao and me.”

“You and Da Sao and San Sao can rest after work, but what about Er Sao and me? We have endless housework. Did I say anything? Now you want to sell Xia Xia, and I don’t want to let go of my daughter, so I want a divorce. Am I wrong?” Mi Xia cried, tears and snot running down her face.

“Isn’t doing housework what you’re supposed to do as daughters-in-law? If you don’t do it, should I, your mother-in-law, do it? Which daughter-in-law doesn’t do housework?”

“That’s going too far, Old lady Mo! Mi Xia has been working in the fields and doing housework for over a year. We all know this. If you’re getting a divorce, you have to divide the grain!” The village chief couldn’t stand it anymore and spoke up.

Before he could finish, Old Mrs. Mo quickly interrupted, “We don’t have enough grain for our family. The grain she earned from working in the fields is all eaten by her and her daughter. If you want a divorce, you can have the old house, but nothing else.” Mo’s mother was heartbroken. If she hadn’t interrupted the village chief, he might have given them something else.

“Fine, I’ll take the old house. I don’t want anything else. If you agree, let’s write a deed now.” Mi Xia calmly said.

“Girl, that won’t work! You have no grain, no money. What will you eat? And that old house hasn’t been lived in for ten years. It’s falling apart.” The village chief couldn’t understand why Mi Xia would do this.

Before Mi Xia could answer, Mo’s mother quickly said, “Fine, take this good-for-nothing and get out! We won’t support you.”

“Isn’t this girl stupid? Without grain, what will she eat? And the house is falling apart. I saw it a few days ago when I passed by.” A woman watching the commotion said.

“Yeah, this divorce is a bad deal. The mother and daughter will starve to death.”

“That Mo Po Niang is not a good person. This girl is capable except for not giving birth to a son. My mother-in-law mistreated me, but I didn’t do as much work as this girl.”

“Exactly. This girl actually agreed to this kind of divorce. If they really split, the mother and daughter will starve to death.”

The village chief couldn’t do anything else, so he went home and wrote three copies of the deed. He kept one, Mi Xia took another and put it into her space, and Mo’s mother took the last one.

“Thank you, Village Chief. You’ve worked hard,” Mi Xia bowed to the village chief, holding Mo Zhixia’s hand.

“Girl, don’t do that. Mo Haoyue asked me to take care of you before he left, but this happened. You’ve suffered.

“By the way, I’ll bring some sweet potatoes to you later. Make do with them for a few days.” Although the village chief didn’t understand why Mi Xia did this, he still offered help considering their situation.

“No need, Village Chief. I plan to take Zhixia to my brother’s place.” Mi Xia was truly touched by the village chief’s kindness. In this time, everyone was barely getting enough to eat, yet the village chief, an outsider, was willing to give them food, while her mother-in-law only wanted to sell Zhixia. Why was a stranger kinder than her own grandmother?

“Okay, since you have a plan, I won’t stop you. You haven’t had lunch yet. Come to my house and eat something before you go.” The village chief thought to himself that the fourth daughter-in-law had become assertive. Before, she had been so downtrodden, but now this was good.

“No need, Village Chief. We’ve already troubled you this morning. We won’t bother you further. I’ll take Zhixia to my brother’s place. Zhixia, say goodbye to the Village Chief.” Mo Zhixia waved goodbye to the village chief.