Yang Aizhen's world has collapsed twice already.

The first time was when she was a teenager. During the land reform in her hometown, her family's thousands of acres of fertile land disappeared in an instant.

She went from being a rich young lady from a wealthy family to a despised and hated brat.

At that time, she was seeking a marriage partner, and all the suitors who came to propose were sons of local gentry and officials.

But a sudden change of events caused all the families who had originally intended to arrange the marriage to back down.

Before long, the local gentry and officials were just like her family.

The Yang family and the Qin family have been friends for generations. The two families had arranged a marriage in the previous generation, but due to the chaos of war, they missed the opportunity and the marriage did not take place.

With the Yang family in decline, Yang Aizhen was on the verge of not being able to get married. Only then did Yang Aizhen's father remember the marriage proposal to the Qin family and send Yang Aizhen to Qin Hanshu's father.

Despite the significant age difference between them, he shamelessly brought up the marriage proposal again, even bringing out the tokens that the older generation had exchanged years ago.

Although Qin Hanshu's father was quite old, he was focused on his career and had no plans to start a family.

However, since the Yang family brought up their ancestors and presented a token, their implication was clear: if the Qin family didn't want Yang Aizhen, then Yang Aizhen had to die...

Qin Hanshu's father respected his ancestors and also felt sorry for Yang Aizhen, so he agreed to the marriage.

Although Qin Hanshu's father was a capitalist, he had a wide circle of friends and was a flexible person, so he did not suffer any hardship.

After marrying into the Qin family, Yang Aizhen lived a life of plenty and without worries. She also had a good reputation among her neighbors.

The death of Qin Hanshu's father was the second time the sky had fallen.

At that time, Yang Aizhen cried in Qin Hanshu's arms every night, and her eyes developed a habit of tearing up in the wind.

Qin Feiyang was a young boy who could barely support the family, but he was still too young to handle important matters, especially since he had joined the army and left home.

In the years before marrying Hu Dayong, Yang Aizhen was always on edge and never slept soundly.

She felt that as a widow, people would look at her strangely when she went out.

The way those men looked at her took on an even more indescribable and ambiguous quality.

Yang Aizhen's biological mother instilled in her from a young age the idea that women can only survive in this world by relying on men.

Without a man, a woman is like a rootless duckweed; even with a fortune, she is nothing more than a piece of meat that attracts others' covetousness.

In the past, in rural society, women did not have the right to inherit property or the qualification to carry on the family line; otherwise, there would be no such thing as a family line ending in extinction.

What Yang Aizhen's mother said wasn't entirely wrong.

Having grown up immersed in this ideology, Yang Aizhen forgot that she had entered a new society and exaggeratedly placed men in a god-like position, while everything else was sidelined.

Ultimately, however, she was only doing it for herself.

Men are like the heavens, and she depends on them for survival.

When Hu Dayong's sky collapsed, after a brief period of grief, her first reaction was to find another sky she could rely on.

Yang Aizhen lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), a towel covering her forehead, looking utterly despondent, but in reality, she had already moved on.

However, seeing this, Grandma Hu felt much more at ease.

Old Mrs. Hu started planning for herself earlier than Yang Aizhen. Almost as soon as Hu Dayong was sentenced, she was already thinking about her future.

She only has one son, Hu Dayong. Her grandson, Hu Bingbing, is mentally challenged, useless, and can't take care of her.

After much thought, the only thing left to rely on was his daughter-in-law, Yang Aizhen.

She instantly changed her attitude towards Yang Aizhen.

Ever since Yang Aizhen was laid down on the kang (a heated brick bed), she has been serving her tea and water, and speaking to her in a way that is more gentle and kind than ever before.

Grandma Hu stewed two eggs and brought them over to feed Yang Aizhen.

Yang Aizhen, flattered, propped herself up and said, "Mom, I can do it myself."

Grandma Hu smiled and said, "You're not feeling well, so I'll take care of you."

Yang Aizhen couldn't refuse, so she let Old Lady Hu feed her two eggs.

Grandma Hu held an empty bowl in her hand, greeted Yang Aizhen a few times, and then sighed, "Child, what are your plans for the future?"

Yang Aizhen was startled. Could it be that Old Mrs. Hu had figured out that she wanted to remarry?

"I..." Yang Aizhen blushed slightly, as remarrying was not a respectable thing.

When Old Mrs. Hu saw this, she frowned. Could it be that this woman wanted to remarry?

She's already thinking about remarrying right after her husband, Dayong, died! What a fickle woman!

Despite cursing in her heart, Old Lady Hu didn't show it on her face.

“Sigh…” Old Mrs. Hu said with a distressed expression, “The police just came by and said that Bingbing and I don’t have household registration and are migrant workers. They told us to go back to our hometown as soon as possible.”

No one has ever said anything about them being migrant workers after living here for so long, but as soon as Hu Dayong died, they started saying they were migrant workers and wanted them to go back to the countryside. It must have been some damned scoundrel who reported them!

However, Grandma Hu is not opposed to returning to the countryside.

Since my son is already dead, there's no good fortune to enjoy in the city. I might as well go back to the countryside and work for work points; maybe I'll be better off there.

However, we must also bring Yang Aizhen back to the countryside to serve her!

When Yang Aizhen heard that Old Lady Hu was going back to the countryside, she was overjoyed, but Old Lady Hu's next words made her feel heavy-hearted.

“Once we leave, you’ll be living here alone. I see there are quite a few men in the front and back yards. Although you’re not young, you’re still pretty. I’m worried you’ll be harassed.”

Grandma Hu glanced at Yang Aizhen's expression and continued, "More importantly, with your family background... without me and Bingbing protecting you, what if someone causes you trouble?"

Yang Aizhen's pupils contracted.

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