"Ah!"
With a sharp scream, Ke Xiaohong suddenly jerked her head up, her eyes wide with terror. Her hands involuntarily clutched her head as her body trembled uncontrollably. There was no sticky blood on her forehead, nor was there any pain.
Ke Xiaohong slowly regained her senses, looking with utter confusion at the black-and-white photograph displayed on the table in front of her.
"Who is this? Who died?"
She knocked on her own head, filled with bewilderment. Hadn't she died from a gunshot to the head? How did she end up here? Whose mourning hall was this? Was she dead? Or had she not died after all? Was this a final flash of consciousness before death?
Her mind was a whirlwind of questions. It was no wonder she had forgotten; after all, her first husband had left home shortly after they were married, and when she received word of him again, he was already dead. Before the traditional seven-day mourning period had even passed, her mother-in-law had driven her out of the house, claiming she was a "husband-killer" who could not bear children. The years that followed had been lived in a daze, a desperate existence where she barely knew if she would survive from one day to the next.
So much time had passed... the memories of her youth had long been buried by the years.
Just as she lifted her head, looking around, her elbow was suddenly grabbed forcefully from behind. Before she could speak, she was pulled forward, nearly sent sprawling to the ground.
"Xiaohong, why are you still kneeling here?" her Second Aunt said. "Your mother-in-law fell off the wall. Come on, hurry!"
Listening to her Second Aunt’s chattering, it all came back to her. She remembered everything. The portrait on the table was that of her short-lived, late husband, and today was the day of his funeral procession, the day he was to be buried.
"I’ve been reborn? I’ve returned to the time before I sacrificed myself, before I was ground down to nothing? Heavens, are you giving me another chance because you couldn't bear to watch what became of me?"
Tears slipped down her cheeks, one by one. Despite the joy she felt, she could not find it in her heart to be happy. Her Second Aunt, oblivious to the strange behavior of the person behind her, continued to prattle on.
"Your mother, honestly... at her age, she’s still acting like a young girl. Climbing such a high wall just like that—she wasn't worried about throwing out her back? Well, now she’s got what was coming to her."
Ke Xiaohong suddenly remembered. Her short-lived husband had died while trying to save a child who had fallen into the water on his way home. That child’s family was quite wealthy and had given them a significant amount of money. Her stingy mother-in-law, wanting to properly entertain them, had climbed the wall to pick vegetables from the greenhouse in the neighbor's yard.
In these past two years, the political climate had eased, and many people were finding ways to make money. The elderly Mr. Wang next door had built a shed in his yard to grow vegetables. He would eat some, and when there was a surplus, he sold them at the market. It was a good business, especially in the winter; those fresh greens were in high demand and never hard to sell. But Mr. Wang had likely injured his eyes in his younger years, and as he grew older, his vision had worsened.
Her mother-in-law had noticed that the weather was poor today, with heavy fog, and had thought to snatch some free vegetables to save face. Usually, she could have scaled the four-foot wall with ease, but the last two days had been foggy with drizzling rain, making the mud-brick wall slick. And so, she had accidentally tumbled down.
That scream she had heard earlier? That had been her.
In her previous life, it was at this very moment that her Second Aunt had dragged her away to tend to her mother-in-law, causing her to miss the conversation between her father-in-law and Uncle Jiang. That had led to her returning home with nothing to her name, only to be looked down upon. She had only learned later, after meeting her Second Aunt again, that Uncle Jiang had come that day to offer them money and a job.
*No, she cannot go to her mother-in-law.* She had to seize this opportunity.
"Second Aunt, you go ahead and help Mother up. I’ll go call for a vehicle."
She gripped her Second Aunt’s arm, shoved her aside, and ran back without looking back.
"Hey! No, wait... why are you running back? The vehicles are out front!"
Watching Ke Xiaohong dash into the house in just a few strides, Second Aunt was filled with resentment.
"Hmph. Who did I offend? I come to give you people a message, and one by one you make excuses. None of you are going, right? Fine!"
She decided not to go, either. Let whoever wanted to handle it handle it. Including Ke Xiaohong, she had already called three people over—one said they had a stomachache, another said they had to serve tea, and this one was even more absurd, saying she had to find a vehicle.
Fine. That was just fine.
Second Aunt stomped off toward the main hall, grumbling. To hell with it; she wasn't going to wait on them. Besides, it wasn't raining anymore; at worst, her clothes would just get a little damp. It wasn't a big deal.
Just as Ke Xiaohong ran into the inner room, she saw her eldest sister-in-law skulking under the window, eavesdropping. Seeing the sister-in-law’s posture, she knew her father-in-law must be inside. She quietly moved to the other side. Fortunately, it was only around six in the morning, the sky was not yet fully bright, and the fog had not dissipated, or she surely would have been spotted.
The window on the other side was near the pigpen. It was usually welded shut, but for some reason, a small gap had been left open today. She couldn't worry about that now; she found a suitable spot, endured the stench, and crouched down, listening intently to the voices inside.
"Old brother," Uncle Jiang said, "I am sorry. It is because I failed to discipline my son that your son has passed away. You can beat me or curse me, I will accept whatever you decide. I have no complaints."
As he spoke, he pushed the sobbing, chubby boy hiding behind him forward.
"Why go to such lengths?" Li Youqing replied. "No one wanted this to happen. But since it has, what is the point of beating or cursing a child? Can it bring my son back to life? Can it? What am I supposed to do? Tell me, what can I do?" He finished by clutching his head in grief, turning away as if all the spirit had been drained from him.
Uncle Jiang continued, "Old brother, please rest assured. The debt of saving his life—my whole family remembers it. From now on, this boy is like another son to you. Every holiday, I will bring him here to show his filial piety."
The room fell into an eerie silence.
Finally, Uncle Jiang, unable to bear the weight of it, spoke again. "Old brother, I have applied for a 'brave deeds' commendation for Jianshe. I also have an opening for a permanent position here—a spinner at the cotton mill. I thought, since Jianshe is gone, with this job, your daughter-in-law, as a widow, would have an easier life."
Hearing this, Ke Xiaohong, crouching by the window, was filled with shock and fury. *So that’s why they drove me out in my previous life!*
Before she could think about her next step, a voice came from inside again.
"And this money, old brother, please take it for now. I know you cannot take in anything right now. I will come to visit again another day."
As he spoke, he pulled his kneeling son up and headed toward the door. He crossed paths with the eldest son, Jianshe, who was coming in with a tray of tea.
Jianshe watched Uncle Jiang walk away, his face full of confusion. "Dad, why did Uncle Jiang leave?"
His father, Li Youqing, frowned, his face full of displeasure. "Why shouldn't he leave? Should he stay so you can suck up to him? Look at the expression on your face—you might as well call him 'Dad' right now!"
Did he think he was blind? Seeing someone dressed well, carrying bags of gifts, his eyes had started darting around restlessly. And that wretched old woman, seeing someone arrive with expensive gifts, she had practically fawned over him, not only taking the items but insisting he stay for a meal.
Stupid, thick-headed woman. Her brain was filled with nothing but waste. Serving a funeral meal and asking people to stay—she had no sense of propriety.
He couldn't be bothered to talk to these two, who were as dense as pigs. Li Youqing grabbed the black bag and walked toward his own room, leaving a bewildered Li Jianshe behind.
"Hey... no, Dad! What are you holding in your hand?"