Meng Yiyi walked to the door and smelled the aroma of scallions sizzling in the pan.

She knew that with Jiang Lin’s love for food, she must have had a good breakfast this morning.

Yiyi quickened her pace and went inside.

Of course, she wasn’t there to scrounge for food.

She was there to check on her younger sister.

Naturally, knowing her sister’s temperament, she was sure she would be offered something to eat.

With confidence, Meng Yiyi entered the Cheng household. “Linlin, Auntie, did you sleep well?”

Yan Runzhi put on a polite smile meant for visitors. “Comrade Meng, have you eaten yet?”

Meng Yiyi glanced around and saw the noodles they were eating.

Eating fried noodles just after moving out—what a good life, she thought.

She smiled slightly. “Not yet.” Saying this, she grabbed a small stool from the corner, sat at the table, and waited for Jiang Lin to serve her some noodles.

To her surprise, Jiang Lin calmly finished the soup in her own bowl and glanced at Dabao and Xiaobao, who were stunned.

She signaled them to hurry up and eat.

The two kids quickly finished their noodles and soup, then wiped their mouths with the backs of their hands.

Meng Yiyi was sure Jiang Lin would serve her noodles immediately, but she didn’t.

Yiyi felt a bit annoyed.

Yan Runzhi looked a bit embarrassed. “Comrade Meng, we only made a little bit of noodles, and we’ve finished them all. I have half a bowl of noodle soup left if you want…”

Meng Yiyi frowned, a flash of displeasure crossing her face, but she smiled and said, “Auntie, you’re too kind. I don’t need it. I’ll eat when I get home. I came to see if you’ve settled in well and if you need any help.”

Jiang Lin said to Dabao and Xiaobao, “After you finish eating, go play for a while.” The kids were too young to do much work.

Yan Runzhi had some embroidery to work on, so she quickly took her needlework basket and sat under the big locust tree for some shade.

At the door, she whispered to Dabao and Xiaobao to come home when the sun was at the top of the big locust tree to finish the noodles.

They wouldn’t spoil in just two hours.

Once they left, Meng Yiyi sat in Yan Runzhi’s seat and half-jokingly said, “Linlin, did your mother-in-law purposely make so little? I think she’s wary of you.”

She and Jiang Lin had been close since childhood, and she couldn’t believe they would suddenly grow apart.

She was sure it was the old lady who was being cautious.

When they were kids, Jiang Lin’s parents were quite strict and straightforward, often offending others with their bluntness.

Neighbors who liked to take advantage often clashed with them.

People said they were hypocritical and stingy, though in reality, they were more inclined to take advantage themselves.

Jiang Lin grew up to be very beautiful but had many small faults.

For various reasons, whether personal or because of their families, other children didn’t like playing with her.

Meng Yiyi was the only one willing to be her friend.

Of course, Meng Yiyi benefitted from this friendship.

She often got Jiang Lin to give her tasty treats, lend her new clothes and shoes during the day, which she would return in the evening, and so on.

If Jiang Lin didn’t listen, Meng Yiyi would threaten to stop playing with her, which scared Jiang Lin a lot.

As a result, Jiang Lin became increasingly dependent on Meng Yiyi, listening to her and giving her the best of everything.

Even as they grew older, the influence remained, causing Jiang Lin to prioritize Meng Yiyi whenever there was something good to share.

After making her remark, Meng Yiyi stared at Jiang Lin with a slight smirk, her eyes showing a hint of a challenge.

Jiang Lin thought, ‘Who do you think you are!’

She intentionally smiled and said to Meng Yiyi, “No, it’s just that her cooking was so good I accidentally finished it all. Haha. By the way, I need to gather some firewood. Could you wash the dishes for me?”

Everyone can be annoying.

You think you can talk about my family behind my back and get away with it?

Jiang Lin got up and started looking for a sickle and some hemp rope by the wall.

Since the household items had been divided the previous night, everything was still in a mess and hadn’t been sorted out.

When Meng Yiyi heard her being asked to wash the dishes, her face immediately soured.

She stood up and said to Jiang Lin, “Linlin, I have something to tell you.”

Jiang Lin gave her a mocking look and said, “If it’s about that person, don’t even start. I’ll break off our friendship.”

Meng Yiyi was displeased. “Linlin, do you really plan to stay here and live like this?”

Jiang Lin raised an eyebrow, gripping the sickle, and said coolly, “Yes, I can’t just abandon the kids.”

I have nowhere else to go!

Becoming a mistress for that scumbag Bian Haitao? I’d rather chop him up!

The countryside house wasn’t very bright, and Jiang Lin stood in the shadow behind the hall door.

Meng Yiyi couldn’t see her expression clearly, only the sharp, bright eyes on her delicate face.

Meng Yiyi smiled with a hint of something deeper. “Linlin, don’t tell me you’re reluctant to leave Cheng Rushan.”

Jiang Lin responded, “Cheng Rushan? I don’t even remember what he looks like, why would I be reluctant?”

Meng Yiyi’s suspicions grew.

She had been testing Jiang Lin, wondering if she was like herself.

But now, it seemed Jiang Lin might have genuinely forgotten or changed after hitting her head.

Yesterday evening, she had consulted the village barefoot doctor.

Though barely trained, he could handle minor ailments with common medicines like analgin and tetracycline, but he loved to show off his knowledge.

He said the head is both a hard and fragile organ, especially the back of the head and temples, where a small blow could be fatal.

Personality changes? Of course, it was possible! People change after emotional shocks, let alone a head injury, which could even cause amnesia.

Meng Yiyi thought perhaps Jiang Lin had undergone a personality change after Bian Haitao’s betrayal, and now, after hitting her head, her old personality had resurfaced.

However, this made Meng Yiyi ucomfortable.

After Jiang Lin was betrayed by Bian Haitao and cut off from her family, they had grown closer.

Now it seemed they were drifting apart.

“Linlin, do you really care about the kids?” Meng Yiyi probed.

Jiang Lin, annoyed, replied, “Do you think I’m faking it? Aren’t they my sons? If I abandon them, they’d grow up without a mother, constantly bullied and called orphans.

Wouldn’t that lead to daily fights? Without parents, they’d rebel, and who knows, might end up on the wrong path—fighting, gambling, drugs, gangs.

They’d either harm others or get harmed. If a child isn’t taught well and harms someone, don’t you think the parents are to blame? I’d be the one at fault! What’s Bian Haitao compared to that?”

Meng Yiyi was stunned into silence, unable to respond.

It was clear that Jiang Lin wasn’t staying because she missed Cheng Rushan, but because she genuinely felt responsible for the kids.

It seemed she had indeed found her way back to the right path.

She sneered inwardly: “Without you, the kids still have their father. Stop meddling; they’ll be fine.”

Jiang Lin continued, “If you have any contact with Bian Haitao, next time you see him, tell him something for me.”

Meng Yiyi instinctively asked, “Tell him what?”

Jiang Lin coldly smiled, “Tell him to go to hell!”

Next time they met, she’d bash his head in. No mercy!

Meng Yiyi felt a chill run down her spine and took two involuntary steps back.

She was lucky Jiang Lin hadn’t been reborn; it was herself who had been favored by fate.

Meng Yiyi found it miraculous.

Half a month ago, she had caught a cold in the rain and had a high fever.

When she woke up, she had the memories of her past life.

More accurately, she, unhappy and unsatisfied in middle age, had been reborn back to the summer of 1976.

The memories fit perfectly.

In her youth, she had lofty ambitions, believing her life would be brilliant.

But living through it had shown her those were just dreams.

She had once thought that if she could live her life over, she would do things differently.

But faced with the reality of starting over, she realized that her appearance, intelligence, and habits were hard to change.

She wasn’t suddenly going to become capable or strikingly beautiful.

While she knew some things in advance, she had no capital to exploit them.

For most people, the first pot of gold is a peak they struggle to reach their entire lives.

Moreover, making money requires hard work and effort.

Especially in the 80s and 90s, even street vending was profitable, but who understood the hardships involved?

Like Jiang Lin, she was lazy and afraid of hardship and fatigue.

The physical toil was something she truly couldn’t endure.

So, after her rebirth, she faced reality—she couldn’t change her fate and achieve greatness on her own.

She just wanted to find a good man to marry and let him take care of her.

The best man she could think of was Cheng Rushan.

Cheng Rushan, despite his poor background, had always been wise and resourceful, never accepting his fate or compromising.

He worked hard to change his circumstances and would soon start a transportation business, becoming a local transportation tycoon in the 80s, expanding his logistics company nationwide in the 90s, and eventually becoming a renowned international logistics magnate.

This handsome and wealthy legendary man had come from Shuihuai Village, where she was sent down.

And it was she who had matched Jiang Lin with him.

The thought infuriated her!

Jiang Lin was just a pretty face; what right did she have?

Back in school, they were all confused.

Bian Haitao had taken a fancy to Jiang Lin, using her connections and even introducing her to Qian Bo, but Qian Bo also preferred pretty women like Jiang Lin.

Later, when they were sent to the countryside, she aimed to marry the textile factory director’s son.

But that jerk said, “Meng Yiyi, don’t you think that in front of Jiang Lin, boys can’t see any other girl? How is she so beautiful?”

Shameless!

Why did they like a woman like her?

What did she have besides her looks?

To avoid labor, she married a man she didn’t love and then sold her children to run away with Bian Haitao as his mistress.

All it took was someone suggesting it, and she sold her kids.

Yan Runzhi almost went mad with worry, but thankfully, Cheng Rushan found the children.

Since Xiaobao wanted his mother, Cheng Rushan even took the kids to the city to find her.

But she was determined not to return because Bian Haitao promised to divorce his wife and marry her.

Later, Cheng Rushan became successful, while Bian Haitao was subjected to a disciplinary inspection and incurred a huge debt.

To repay the debt, Jiang Lin sought Cheng Rushan to reconcile, only to be coldly rejected.

He declared that their relationship was long over.

She tried to curry favor with the children. Dabao ignored her, stating bluntly, “My mom is long dead.”

Xiaobao missed his mom, so she tricked him into going out to play, leading to his accidental death.

Yan Runzhi went mad afterward, asking everyone if they had seen her Xiaobao.

If not for Dabao, Cheng Rushan might have killed her.

Yet, she did not mend her ways.

She even resorted to designing a kidnapping scheme for Dabao to get money.

But Cheng Rushan saw through her plan, used it against her, and killed Bian Haitao, throwing her into prison in the process.

Later, when Meng Yiyi visited her in prison, she wept bitterly, repenting for wronging Cheng Rushan and the children.

She vowed that if she had another chance, she would love her husband and children properly and never run away again.

Meng Yiyi sneered.

In this world, where would you find such luck? After all the evil deeds, you’d still get a second chance to make amends?

She stared at Jiang Lin with a complex expression.

This life, Cheng Rushan is mine.

You better get out of the way quickly!