Chapter 1

On the bed lay a woman with her head wrapped in gauze, dressed in coarse linen clothing.  

Beside her stood two dusty-faced children, about four years old.  

“Brother, when Mom wakes up, are you really going to send me to someone else’s house?” The little girl, with two crooked pigtails and a dirt-smudged face, asked timidly. Despite her unkempt appearance, her bright, clear eyes were strikingly beautiful.  

“No, I’ll beg Mom not to!” the little boy replied seriously, though a closer look revealed his nervousness and unease.  

Just then, a girl about the same age walked in, carrying a stack of clean clothes. She spoke softly, “Don’t just stand there, or Mom will scold us when she wakes up.”  

“Big Sis, I heard the old folks say that if you hit your head, you might turn into a fool. Will Mom become a fool?” the boy asked.  

At that moment, the woman on the bed coughed twice and opened her eyes.  

The three children jumped in fright. The two girls immediately fell silent, looking nervous and scared. Only the boy mustered the courage to speak, “Mom, you’re awake. I’ll go get you some water.”  

A wide-mouthed ceramic bowl, chipped at the edge, was shakily brought to her. It was filled halfway with water.  

She was indeed thirsty and, ignoring everything else, drank it all in one go.  

After finishing, she met the panicked, uneasy gazes of the three children. Suddenly, she realized—the little boy had just called her “Mom.” No way!  

She, Su Qianqian, a Ph.D. in agricultural sciences, had somehow transmigrated into the body of a rural village woman!  

These three kids? They were her body’s offspring—triplets!  

Daya, Erbao, and Sanya!  

And this was the 1970s. The shock was too much for her. Her vision went dark, and she fainted again.  

The three children exchanged bewildered glances.  

“Grandma! Mom fainted again!” Daya ran outside to call for their grandmother. “Just now, Mom woke up, drank some water, and then fainted again.”  

Zhu Tianfang’s face changed. She wiped her hands on her apron and hurried over to check on Su Qianqian.  

She felt her forehead—no fever.  

She checked her breathing—still alive.  

“It’s fine, fine. Don’t be scared. She’ll probably wake up after a while,” Zhu Tianfang sighed, feeling sorry for the three poor children stuck with such a mother. As their grandmother, there was only so much she could do. “Sanya, when your mom wakes up, bring her the boiled egg to eat.”  

“Got it, Grandma,” Sanya obediently agreed, secretly wondering if giving her mom the egg might mean she wouldn’t be sent away.  

Two hours later.  

Su Qianqian finally woke up properly. She had absorbed all the original owner’s memories. The original Su Qianqian was a fierce, domineering woman with a strong preference for boys over girls. Her reputation in the village was terrible.  

She got out of bed, only to feel pain in her head and a bit of dizziness. She’d injured her head while standing up for her nephew at her parents’ house. They hadn’t cared about her injury and had sent her away. She fainted on the way back and was brought home by someone else.  

“Mom! Mom’s awake!” Sanya exclaimed happily. She immediately ran to the stove, climbed onto a small stool, and grabbed the boiled egg. It was so hot that she quickly wrapped it in her clothes before rushing to Su Qianqian. “Mom, eat the egg!”  

Her tone was cautious yet eager to please.  

Taking the egg, Su Qianqian felt it burning her hand and quickly placed it on the table.  

How could such a small child handle such a hot egg?  

“Let me see your hands,” she said, worried that Sanya might have burned herself.  

Sanya flinched in fear and quickly shook her head. “Mom, I didn’t steal the egg. I didn’t! Really, you can smell my hands. There’s no egg smell, and my mouth doesn’t have any either.” She opened her mouth wide and held out her hands for inspection.  

Su Qianqian’s heart ached. What a cruel fate these children had endured! The original owner had been horrible to Sanya, constantly berating her as a “money-waster” and threatening to throw her away.  

“Sanya, don’t be scared. I… Mom just wants to check if your hands got burned. The egg was too hot.” She gently held Sanya’s tiny hands, noticing her reddened fingers. Her nails were dirty—clear signs of neglect.  

She lightly blew on Sanya’s fingers. Sanya widened her eyes in astonishment, staring at Su Qianqian in disbelief.  

Was her mom being nice to her because she was really going to give her away?  

Su Qianqian led Sanya to wash her hands before peeling the egg.  

She handed it to Sanya. “Sanya, eat the egg.”  

Sanya’s face immediately filled with fear, and she backed away. “No, no! I won’t eat it! Mom, you eat it!”  

Too abrupt. Su Qianqian realized she needed to take it slow.  

She split the egg in two. “Mom doesn’t like egg yolk. Here’s the yolk part—it’s more yolk than white. You eat it, or Mom will get mad.”  

Sanya was tiny and clearly malnourished, her large eyes looking even bigger on her small face.  

While eating the egg, tears welled up in Sanya’s eyes. Su Qianqian poured her some water to help her swallow.  

“I ate it. Mom, don’t be mad,” she whispered softly.  

Su Qianqian finished the other half of the egg herself, realizing how poorly nourished this body was. In this era, simply not going hungry was already fortunate. Eating well was a luxury.  

Sanya stood in front of her, looking anxious, her eyes not daring to meet hers.  

Just then, someone called out from outside, “Anyone home? Sanya’s mom? Are you there?”  

Su Qianqian went out and saw an older woman standing at the door. From her memories, she recognized her as Tian Guihua from a nearby village.  

“Sanya’s mom, you’re home. Great. I’m here to pick up Sanya,” Tian Guihua said with a smile, looking around for Sanya. When she spotted her hiding behind Su Qianqian, she waved. “Sanya, come here. From now on, I’ll be your mom.”  

“No! I don’t want to go!” Sanya clung tightly to Su Qianqian’s clothes, shaking her head desperately, tears streaming down her face.  

Tian Guihua didn’t seem bothered by her resistance. She took out the goods she’d brought. “Sanya’s mom, here’s a bag of white flour, a bag of cornmeal, and a bag of sweet potatoes. Take these, and I’ll take Sanya with me. After this, she’ll have nothing to do with your family.”  

She glanced at the white flour—a rare treat in this era, usually reserved for special occasions or wealthy families.  

With a thud, Sanya suddenly knelt before Su Qianqian, sobbing uncontrollably.  

“Mom, please don’t send me away. I’ll be good. I can do all the chores. I don’t need to eat eggs. I’ll save them all for Brother. Mom, I’m begging you. I won’t go!” Crying, she crawled on her knees to hug Su Qianqian’s leg. “Mom, I’ll eat less. I’ll work more. Just don’t send me away!”  

At that moment, Zhu Tianfang entered with Daya and Erbao. Seeing the scene, they were all stunned.