Chapter 1
“Quick, quick! Jiancheng’s wife has fainted! Get her to the clinic, now!”
A booming voice roared in Ye Qingzhi’s ears, deafening her. It was followed by a cacophony of noise, a droning buzz that felt like it was about to make her head explode. Then, her consciousness faded to black, and she passed out completely.
After a long while, Ye Qingzhi slowly regained awareness. She stared blankly at the ceiling of the clinic, her mind in a daze.
Just moments ago, she had received a flood of memories—or rather, the memories of this body.
That’s right. The current her was no longer the original her. To use a more modern term—she had transmigrated.
She had been perfectly healthy, her parents were alive and well, she had a doting older brother, and her job was stable and easy. She was an ordinary but happy person, not meeting a single criterion for transmigration. Yet, here she was, thrown into the year 1968, an era of scarcity where food and clothing were in short supply.
Fine, so she’d transmigrated. But why did she, a thirty-year-old woman who had never even been in a relationship, suddenly become the mother of two children? And a widow, at that?
Yes, a widow. A freshly minted one.
The original owner of this body had fainted from the shock of receiving her husband’s death notice, which was how she ended up here.
Sigh. The original owner was a pitiful soul. She married Wei Jiancheng at seventeen, became a mother at eighteen, and had her second child at nineteen. Before she had even finished her postpartum confinement, Wei Jiancheng somehow found a connection and left to become a temporary worker at a “Third Front” factory.
At first, he sent a little money home every month. But after half a year, all contact ceased. No one here could reach him. Just when the original owner had resigned herself to the idea that he was gone for good, Wei Jiancheng suddenly sent a letter, telling her to stay home and raise the children peacefully. He promised to bring them over once he secured a permanent position.
Day after day, she waited with bated breath, only to finally receive the news of his death.
Sigh. Ye Qingzhi couldn’t help but let out another sigh. The first was for the original owner; this one was for herself.
She had just been sleeping peacefully at home. How did she end up here?
Did she die in her previous life?
Her parents and brother would be heartbroken, wouldn’t they?
Thankfully, her brother was still there, so her parents would have someone to rely on. In any case, she didn’t dare try to return by killing herself.
But now she was an uneducated country widow with two sons to raise. How was she supposed to live out the rest of her days?
“Jiancheng’s wife? You’re awake? Oh, Second Great-Aunt, come quickly! Jiancheng’s wife is awake!” Auntie Lin entered with a bowl of water and, seeing Ye Qingzhi’s open eyes, immediately called out.
Ye Qingzhi blinked. She tried to open her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Seeing this, Auntie Lin quickly offered her the water.
After taking two sips from the bowl held by Auntie Lin, Ye Qingzhi cleared her throat and asked in a hoarse voice, “Auntie, I dreamed that Jiancheng died. It scared me to death.”
Auntie Lin looked at her with deep sympathy. “Qingzhi, the dead can’t be brought back to life. You still have two children. For their sake, no matter how hard or bitter it gets, you have to keep going.”
Ye Qingzhi struggled to sit up, tears streaming down her face. “This can’t be real! How could Jiancheng just leave the three of us behind? Sob, sob… What are my sons and I going to do now?”
Thinking of her parents and brother from her past life, and the happy existence that was gone forever, Ye Qingzhi’s sobs were utterly genuine. It was a sound that would make any bystander grieve and any listener weep. Auntie Lin was already wiping away her own tears.
“Sigh, she’ll be fine. She just fainted from excessive grief. A couple of days of good rest at home and she’ll be alright,” said Second Great-Aunt, who had come in after hearing Auntie Lin’s call. She took Ye Qingzhi’s pulse and spoke with a soft sigh.
Second Great-Aunt was their village’s “barefoot doctor.” After the founding of the nation, she was officially incorporated into the state system and became the doctor at the village clinic. Her skills were excellent, and the villagers would come to her for any minor ailment. She was also the original owner’s maternal grandfather’s cousin, making her a distant great-aunt. As a relative, she had always looked out for the original owner and her two children.
“Jiancheng’s wife, stop crying. If you ruin your health, what will happen to your two boys?” Auntie Ye helped Ye Qingzhi out of bed. “Come on, let’s get you home to rest for a couple of days. I’ll ask for leave from the production brigade for you.”
In ’68, the economy was still collective. As a farmer, one had to report for work every day. If you couldn’t make it, you had to request leave. Ye Qingzhi had never done manual labor in her life. Even with the original owner’s memories, she would surely be exposed if she went.
She nodded quickly. “Thank you, Auntie Ye.”
On the way back, Ye Qingzhi continued to sort through her memories while pretending to be choked with grief.
The original owner was also named Ye Qingzhi. She was twenty-five this year, a full five years younger than her, yet she was already a mother of two.
She was born in Daye Village to an ordinary family. With two older brothers, an older sister, and younger siblings below her, she was stuck in the middle and had been overlooked since childhood.
In 1960, her family could no longer make ends meet and planned to marry her off in exchange for a bride price.
The Wei family wasn’t wealthy either, but Wei Jiancheng’s mother was on her deathbed at the time. Worried that after she was gone, Wei Jiancheng’s father, Wei Youliang, would neglect his son, she used twenty catties of grain to secure Ye Qingzhi as his bride.
Wei Mu’s worries were not unfounded. Less than a hundred days after her death, Wei Youliang brought another woman home—a widow who came with a son only a year younger than Wei Jiancheng.
At that time, the original owner was just over a month pregnant. To please the widow and his new stepson, Wei Youliang demanded to formally split the household from Wei Jiancheng, nearly making his own son die of anger.
After the split, if not for the grain Wei Mu had secretly hidden away before her death, the young couple might have starved. From that day on, the two families stopped speaking to each other.
In other words, the original owner couldn’t rely on her own family, and her in-laws were as good as non-existent. Now her husband was dead, and she was left to raise two sons all by herself…
Ye Qingzhi’s sobs grew even more sorrowful.
“Jiancheng’s wife, try to look on the bright side. In these times, which family doesn’t lose a few people? A few years back, when Jiancheng stopped sending letters, didn’t you already treat him as if he were gone?” Auntie Lin couldn’t help but try to comfort her.
Beside her, Auntie Ye shot Auntie Lin a glare. If you don’t know how to talk, then don’t! What kind of comfort is that?
“Jiancheng’s wife, don’t listen to your Auntie Lin’s nonsense. But you do need to look on the bright side. If you cry yourself sick, you’ll have to go to the hospital, which costs money, and you won’t be able to work for work-points. What will your two sons do then?” Auntie Ye knew her words weren’t pleasant, but they were the plain truth.
Wei Jiancheng’s two children were still young—the older one was seven, the younger six. If they lost their mother too, how would they survive?
Finally arriving home, Ye Qingzhi said faintly, “Auntie, Auntie, I’ve kept you from your work. You should hurry back. I’ll be fine. You’re right, even if it’s just for my two boys, I have to grit my teeth and carry on.”
Seeing a flicker of light return to Ye Qingzhi’s eyes, Auntie Ye and Auntie Lin nodded in satisfaction. They then rushed off to work; if they went now, they could still get credit for a full day and avoid having their work-points docked.
Once they were gone, Ye Qingzhi quickly pulled the letter from her pocket. It had been delivered by the commune clerk, who said the factory had called to report that Wei Jiancheng had passed away from an illness. The original owner had fainted before she even had a chance to read it.
She had to read it carefully. A man couldn’t just die without any explanation. And what about Wei Jiancheng’s savings from all these years? Surely he didn’t leave without a single cent?
Wife, by the time you read this letter, I may already be gone. I have a very serious illness, and the doctor says I don’t have many days left.
When I left, our second son had just turned one month old. I never even heard him call me ‘Dad’! And our eldest, I wonder what he looks like now?
But it’s you I miss the most, and it’s you I’ve wronged the most. It must be so hard for you, raising two children all alone, and I can’t do anything to help you…
Wife, if I don’t make it back, you… you should remarry!
Wife, I really can’t bear to leave you. I think about you and our sons every single day.
Wife, I’ve been working so hard to save money all these years, just so I could buy a house and bring you all over. Why do I have to die now?
Wife, since my illness is incurable, I won’t waste money on treatment. I’m sending all my remaining money to you. You… you and the children must live well.
Ye Qingzhi raised an eyebrow. What a letter. First, he played the emotional card with the children, then he professed how much he missed his wife, and only then did he suggest she remarry. But the way he kept calling her “Wife” in every subsequent sentence—given the original owner’s personality, she would have never remarried.
However, Wei Jiancheng had sent money?
Ye Qingzhi shook the envelope, and a money order slipped out. It was for the sum of one hundred yuan. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to solve their immediate crisis.
If her memory served her right, the original owner was dirt poor. She only had one yuan to her name and owed the production brigade a significant amount of grain, which could only be paid back when the harvest was distributed. Still, for a single woman to be able to support two children was already quite an achievement.
“Mama… Mama…”
Ye Qingzhi watched two little boys come running back. They were the original owner’s sons. The older one was Wei Anmin, the younger Wei Anjie…
Wei Jiancheng, Wei Anmin, Wei Anjie, plus the fact that the original owner was also named Ye Qingzhi…
Ye Qingzhi froze on the spot. This might not be a simple transmigration. She had transmigrated into a book.
It was a period novel she had just read two days ago. The female lead was named Su Nuan, a girl from a high-ranking official’s family. The male lead was her childhood sweetheart. The second male lead was named Wei Anmin, who silently loved the female lead. The book also had a major villain who was eventually sent to prison by the male lead—and that villain was Wei Anjie.
As their names suggested, Wei Anmin and Wei Anjie were brothers, and their mother was named Ye Qingzhi. Because they shared the same name, the character had left a particularly deep impression on her.
Ye Qingzhi quickly recalled the plot. In the original novel, Wei Jiancheng didn’t die at all. He had faked his death to marry into a more powerful family. He then changed his name and married Su Nuan’s mother, Su Mengwan. Using the Su family’s connections, he climbed the ranks and lived a life of great success.
The original owner, on the other hand, did exactly as Wei Jiancheng had hoped. She never remarried, raising their two sons through immense hardship. But just after her sons graduated from university, she collapsed from exhaustion and died without enjoying a single day of comfort.
Wei Anmin became a university professor and met Su Nuan, who was a student at the time. He fell in love with the sunny girl, only to discover that she was his half-sister, which led him to uncover the secret of Wei Jiancheng’s fake death.
The male lead discovered it as well. Worried that the truth would hurt Su Nuan, he wrote an anonymous letter accusing Wei Anmin of harassing a female student.
Because of this, Wei Anmin’s reputation was ruined, and he was fired from the university. He suffered a mental breakdown and was killed by a car while crossing the street.
Having lost the brother he depended on, Wei Anjie completely descended into darkness. He tried to get revenge on the male and female leads but was sent to prison by the male lead, where he eventually died.
Ye Qingzhi looked at the two brothers crying as they clung to her arms. My god, the original owner’s life was too tragic, and these two kids were too tragic.
No, wait. She was the most tragic one. Now she was the one who had to endure all of this!
“Mama, I heard Fugui’s dad say… that our papa is dead?” Wei Anjie asked through his sobs.
Ye Qingzhi hugged them tightly. Perhaps because of the original owner’s memories, or perhaps due to a primal instinct of the body, she quickly accepted these two children as her own.
“It’s okay. You still have me.”
“That’s right, it’s okay. We didn’t really have a papa before, and we lived just fine,” Wei Anmin said. He wasn’t tall, but he spoke like a grown-up. “Mama, don’t worry. With me and Anjie here, we brothers can support this family.”
Anjie, his eyes red, nodded his little head vigorously. “Mama, you have me and big brother.”
Looking at the two sensible boys and thinking of their tragic fates, Ye Qingzhi’s hatred for Wei Jiancheng intensified.
If he wanted to marry up, fine. Couldn’t he have just gotten a divorce? Did he have to fake his death? He condemned the original owner and her two sons to miserable ends.
And he expected her to remain a widow for him? In his dreams. She was going on a blind date tomorrow. And she was going to change her sons’ surnames and have them call another man ‘Dad’. That would surely piss him off.