Chapter 55 A Village Girl in the 1970s (The End)

After a lively dinner, the family sat together and chatted for a while until night fell. They then reluctantly parted ways and went to their rooms to rest.

Xie Jingyue and Yao Yunzhen also returned to the room she had before her marriage.

This was his first time entering this room.

Inside the room, Miao Cuilan had already thoughtfully cleaned the place, and the newly changed bedding exuded the fresh scent of soap.

Xie Jingyue's gaze couldn't help but trace every inch of the room, memorizing everything.

This small room holds memories of Zhenzhen's growth, and now he will leave his own mark here, where he will spend the rest of his life intertwined with Zhenzhen.

Xie Jingyue's heart softened beyond belief. He embraced Yao Yunzhen and pressed his burning lips to hers.

...

After the kiss, Xie Jingyue pressed his forehead against Yao Yunzhen's, his gaze tender: "Zhenzhen, the luckiest thing in my life is coming to Anyuan County and meeting you."

Yao Yunzhen's cheeks were flushed, and her eyes sparkled.

"Then you'll have to treat me well from now on, and you'll have to listen to everything I say."

As Yao Yunzhen said this, her hand on Xie Jingyue's back became restless, her fingertips curling up and gently drawing circles.

Xie Jingyue trembled and hugged Yao Yunzhen even tighter.

"That's natural."

Xie Jingyue simply responded, but it carried a depth of affection that could not be expressed in a thousand words.

The person he held in his arms had long surpassed the weight of his life; he would do everything in his power to protect and cherish her.

For him, Zhenzhen was his whole world.

Xie Jingyue kissed Yao Yunzhen again, and the two fell onto the bed in each other's arms.

...

...

[The following is a bonus chapter about Yao Meimei; you can skip it.]

When Yao Meimei received the verdict, the first thing that rose in her heart was not resentment or bitterness, but confusion.

She was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Seven years! She considered each of these trivial matters to be insignificant, yet she was sentenced to seven years.

Mingming, she had seen many worse things online in her previous life, and they were all fine. Why is it different for her?

Yao Meimei couldn't understand it, but she had no choice but to accept the punishment.

And so, she was punished by being sent to a labor camp for seven years.

Those seven years were incredibly tough. From sunrise to sunset, there was almost no time to rest. Clearing land, tilling fields, sowing seeds, harvesting, transporting, and so on—almost everything was done by hand. By the end of the day, my hands were often covered in blisters, and I was so exhausted that I couldn't even straighten my back.

The food and lodging were very basic. They slept on a stuffy, shared dormitory bed and ate coarse grains that were hard to swallow. They didn't eat any meat all year round.

Anyone who tries to slack off will be met with severe punishment, and will be dragged out for criticism every now and then, causing both mental and physical torment.

In a daze, Yao Meimei couldn't tell whether she suffered more in the Li family in her past life or in the labor camp in this life.

But no matter which is more difficult, she can only grit her teeth and persevere now.

She has been given a second chance at life by God's mercy, and she absolutely cannot fall here!

Finally, after enduring immense suffering, she was released from prison, but she looked much more haggard and aged.

But it's okay, she still has hope.

She came out at just the right time, when the country had just begun its reform and opening up.

In her previous life, she had heard many people say that during the reform and opening up in the 1980s, even a pig could take off, let alone her. She was not a pig; she was a reborn person who knew about the future!

Yao Meimei deeply resented the Yao family members who hadn't helped her, and instead of returning to Baiyang Brigade, she traveled to a big city.

She started by selling peanuts and melon seeds, and quickly saved up some initial capital. Then she began to travel south to wholesale a batch of clothes to sell.

However, she was robbed as soon as she arrived in the south. She reported the crime to the police but could not find the thief, and her initial capital vanished.

She decided not to go back and instead went to work in the south.

She did know something about the future, and soon she had saved up another sum of money.

This time, she's not planning to wholesale clothes anymore; she heard that selling electronics is a faster way to make money.

After making inquiries from various sources, she found a cheap electronics wholesale store and exchanged all her funds for a batch of electronic products.

But before she even reached the station, she was robbed again from behind by someone who had put a sack over her head.

This time, she didn't even get a clear look at the person and got beaten up.

Yao Meimei was so eager to succeed and live a good life that she didn't give up and started saving money again.

However, the South was too chaotic and full of all sorts of people. She was either robbed or harassed by thugs, and a few times, she was almost kidnapped by human traffickers.

After several years of struggling, more people have entered the business world, and the competition has intensified. Even the number of people selling melon seeds outside movie theaters has increased significantly. She can no longer quickly accumulate capital through these small businesses, and other more respectable and promising jobs are no longer available to her.

She's completely incompetent and has a criminal record.

The series of failures finally hit Yao Meimei hard, and she boarded a train to leave the south.

It wasn't until she got off the bus that she realized she had returned to the city where she lived in her previous life.

Without much hesitation, Yao Meimei stepped outside.

She wanted to go and see the Li family, to see how Li Yunqi was doing.

If things are going well for her, she'll definitely cause a huge uproar!

She had a miserable life in her past life, and she won't live a decent life in this one either. So why is the Li family able to have a happy and harmonious life?

Yao Meimei was very familiar with the way back to the Li family.

She arrived at the Li family's building with familiarity, and as soon as she got closer, she saw a very familiar old woman.

She looked closely and realized that this was actually Li Yunqi's mother, the old witch who had tormented her in her past life.

Yao Meimei found it hard to believe. The old woman with her furrowed brows in front of her was so different from the arrogant old woman in her previous life who used to look down on her.

After making some inquiries, Yao Meimei finally found out the truth.

It turns out that Li Yunqi broke both his legs in the countryside years ago. Because his money was stolen, he did not receive timely treatment, and his legs were completely ruined, making it impossible for him to walk again.

Because of his broken leg, Li Yunqi's temper became extremely irritable. He would throw tantrums and smash dishes at home all day long, which caused his elderly parents a lot of trouble.

Yao Meimei was overjoyed. It seemed that God had eyes after all, and this scumbag finally got his comeuppance.

Yao Meimei found a new source of amusement: spending her days watching the Li family's misery unfold around their home.

However, watching the spectacle also comes at a cost. She hadn't saved much money to begin with, and during this period she had spent all her savings.

But this city wasn't as open as the south, and there were even fewer ways to make money. She couldn't even find temporary work.

In the end... with nowhere else to turn, Yao Meimei chose the same path she had taken in her previous life and married Li Yunqi.

Of course, she wasn't going to be a slave in this marriage; she was going to lord it over everyone.

The elderly couple went to great lengths to find a wife for their son.

Li Yunqi was disabled and had a violent temper, so no girl would be interested in him, but these were not disadvantages for Yao Meimei.

It's good that she's crippled, then no one can hit her anymore. On the contrary, now she can hit her whenever she wants.

Yao Meimei not only beat Li Yunqi at home, but also the two old men, and even kicked them out to work.

Whether they're doing odd jobs or collecting scraps, they're not allowed to go home until they've earned money.

The elderly couple were afraid that if she ran away, their son would be left without anyone to take care of him, so they dared not speak out against her anger and had no choice but to work diligently and hand over their household expenses.

Yao Meimei has finally found the right way of life. When you think about it carefully, this life is actually much easier and more comfortable than when she was starting her business.

All they had to do all day was eat and drink, and occasionally beat up Li Yunqi. Their clothes were washed and their meals were cooked.

She even felt a little regretful. If she had known that she had crippled Li Yunqi in her past life, her good days would have come much sooner.

But it's not too late in this life. She will make up for all the suffering she endured in the Li family in her previous life!

As for the Yao family, she had long since stopped paying attention to them.

Over the years, she has come out of that obsession and knows that she was terribly wrong in some things.

But so what? It's too late now; they'll never accept her again.

As for her good parents, the son they raised was no good at all. They had a miserable old age in their previous life, and Yao Meimei didn't think anything would change in this life.

She wouldn't mind making fun of them then.

"Beep beep beep—"

The alarm clock on the table interrupted Yao Meimei's worries.

It's time to eat.

Yao Meimei stretched and yawned, then got up and slapped Li Yunqi, who was huddled in the corner.

"You good-for-nothing, what are you standing there for? Do you want me to starve to death? Get up and cook!"

Li Yunqi shrank back, not daring to say a word, and quickly crawled towards the kitchen.