Chapter 5 Instant Retribution "Didn't you want to marry me? I'll marry you..."

After the funeral, apart from the Li family members whose arms were wrapped in black cloth, the other villagers in Tonggan Production Team have returned to their original rhythm of life and continued their ordinary yet idyllic lives.

"Auntie, it's your turn!"

Zhong Guoqiang looked up at him with his big, bright eyes.

Zhong Ying snapped out of her reverie, glanced down at the ground, and drew an X in the upper right corner of the tic-tac-toe grid with a small stick.

Zhong Guoqiang immediately lowered his head, puffed out his cheeks, and began to think hard.

Zhong Ying continued to stare blankly, feeling utterly bored. She hadn't been to work these past few days, and Zhong Cheng was doing the work of two of hers—literally.

Originally, Zhong Ying was only willing to do light physical labor, and it would be good if she could earn six work points a day; but her brother Zhong Cheng went all out, choosing heavy physical labor to earn all twelve work points a day.

Although the Li family said they didn't need it, Zhong Cheng still recorded half of the work points he earned in a day for the Li family and the other half under his sister Zhong Ying's name.

Zhong Ying has been having such a leisurely and boring time these past few days. All she has to do every day is look after the children and feed the chickens. On the one hand, Zhong Cheng is helping her, and on the other hand, her mother, Deng Xia, is worried that Zhong Ying will attract unwanted attention and that people in the production team will say things like, "The person who saved her died, and the person who was saved is already lively and energetic after only a few days. What kind of mess is this?"

As for why Zhong Lao Er's daughter could help out at the funeral but later "had a head injury from hitting a rock and felt dizzy and nauseous at the slightest movement" and couldn't work, the people in the Tonggan production team didn't investigate further. After all, everyone earned their own work points, and it wasn't like the old days of eating from the same pot anymore. If her parents and brother wanted to spoil her, so be it, as long as she wasn't their daughter-in-law.

Zhong Guoqiang scratched his head with his little hands, racking his brains for a long time before hesitatingly drawing a circle in the right square of the second row.

Zhong Ying waited patiently, and upon seeing this, she immediately drew an X in the upper left corner of the grid, instantly making a row of three Xs in the first row.

The battle ended in the blink of an eye.

Little Zhong Guoqiang pouted, but thankfully he remembered his father's words that a man doesn't easily shed tears, so he didn't cry. He just said pitifully, "I lost again..."

"Ah," Zhong Ying responded listlessly, then switched hands and rested her face on her hand, lost in thought.

In modern times, she might have deliberately let the child have his way, but Zhong Ying, to avoid ruining her "persona," can only apologize to Guoqiang. The original Zhong Ying had no idea what "letting go" meant.

With the mess left by the original owner finally settled, Zhong Ying's life, like that of others in the Tonggan production team, slowly returned to its original trajectory. While being careful not to deviate from the original owner's temperament and habits, she gradually adapted to life in this small mountain village.

Being willful is a right.

The original "Zhong Ying" could squander and exercise her rights at will, but Zhong Ying was a child who had never had such rights before.

Although in modern times she is like "someone else's child," her father is the manager of a foreign trade company, her mother takes care of the family full-time, and Zhong Ying herself has excellent grades since childhood. She studied at a well-known art school and got a bachelor's and master's degree. After graduation, she entered a game company. It seems that she is set according to the excellent family template.

But behind the dazzling display lies a tangled mess.

The father has an NPD personality. Because he can only have one child and it's a girl, he completely dumps the responsibility of raising the child on his wife. If Zhong Ying does anything wrong, he will blame her mother for not knowing how to raise children.

In order to avoid becoming the trigger for her parents' arguments, Zhong Ying had to push herself relentlessly. She had to be at the top of her class in every exam, and she had to get into the best school and work for the best company.

But Zhong Ying's father still felt that none of these things made him feel as accomplished as the flattery he received at the company's drinking parties.

With a father who is always absent and a mother trapped in the family, Zhong Ying is forced to take on many of the things that her father should have done and the emotional support he should have provided.

Not only does she have to mediate when her parents argue, but she also has to be the emotional "husband" of the family. Zhong Ying is only twenty-seven years old, but she has been mired in the quagmire of married life for so many years. What right does she have to be willful? She must be a sensible daughter.

Taking advantage of his aunt's inattention, Zhong Guoqiang quickly wiped away his tears, wiped the tic-tac-toe grid on the ground with his foot, and drew a new chessboard with a small wooden stick, determined to start again!

Zhong Ying lazily picked one of the squares and drew an X on it.

Zhong Ying doesn't have to be a "queen of currying" to meet anyone's expectations, nor does she have to be molded into a sensible daughter by life. She feels that her current life is not bad. Although the living conditions are not as good as in modern times, she can be a carefree and lazy person.

While trying to be closer to the original owner's temperament, Zhong Ying felt a sense of releasing her true nature, as if those edges that had been smoothed out had grown back.

"Woof woof—"

The big black dog, Brown Sugar, crawled out of its kennel by the door and started barking wildly at the gate.

Looking over, Zhong Ying suddenly felt that compared to the lofty and ethereal Mountain Goddess, the watchdog was more like a guardian deity, dutifully protecting this small courtyard. The doghouse, made of broken bricks and stones, resembled a small shrine, and each meal was an offering from the people to it.

A moment later, Deng Xia's voice rang out from outside the door. Zhong Ying looked up at the sun in the sky; it was her mother coming back from the fields to cook lunch.

As Zhong Ying opened her front door, she saw a slender mother and daughter walking right up to her door.

The young girl's eyes lit up when she saw Zhong Ying, and she called out, "Sister Ying, are you feeling better?"

The older woman frowned, grabbed her daughter, and said irritably, "Go back and cook. Your father, your third sister, and your youngest sister are waiting for you in the fields."

The girl was dragged away by her mother, and the two quickly entered the house next to the Zhong family's house.

Deng Xia, who returned a little later, also saw what had just happened. She just pursed her lips, beckoned Zhong Ying to come in, and glanced at her hair strangely, "Why did you comb your hair like that?"

"It's cooler this way." Zhong Ying is actually twenty-seven years old. She couldn't stand the act of trying to look young after wearing braids like the original owner of the body for a few days, so she casually put her hair up in a low bun today, which was also a small attempt to change things up.

“Only married women wear their hair up like that. What young woman would wear her hair like that? People will think you’re determined to be a widow for that Li boy and stay by his side.” Deng Xia said with a frown, feeling more and more annoyed as she spoke, and urged her daughter, “Take it down and redo it!”

Helpless, Zhong Ying had no choice but to go back to her room and re-braid her hair into two pigtails.

Smoke rose from every household. Although she had raised a lazy and gluttonous daughter, Deng Xia herself was a quick and efficient worker. She chopped the radishes she had grown in her small plot of land behind her house into chunks, added two eggs she had taken from the henhouse that morning, and stewed a large pot of stew.

While waiting for the food to be cooked, Deng Xia didn't stop. She made flatbreads with coarse flour and stuck them around the top edge of the large pot. This way, she could stew and pan-fry the food efficiently.

“You’re getting married after the New Year. Let me tell you, stay away from that old maid next door. Don’t let your future in-laws in the Zhoujiawowo production brigade think you’re the same kind of person as her!”

"Mom, why are you shouting like that? Stop talking and let's cook..."

The Zhong family's kitchen was built against the courtyard wall, so the voices of the mother and daughter next door could be heard clearly.

Zhong Guoqiang didn't understand what it meant to find a husband or be an old maid. He just stared longingly at the pot on the stove, his mouth watering at the aroma of the steaming rice.

Zhong Ying glanced at Deng Xia.

Deng Xia, as if used to it, calmly continued doing her work, saying, "Ignore her nonsense, don't listen."

Zhong Ying nodded. From the original owner's memories, she could tell that her family and the neighbors next door were not exactly harmonious neighbors, and there were many instances of veiled insults like this on a daily basis.

As for when the feud between the two families began, Zhong Ying couldn't find the answer in her memory.

"Mom, how did our family end up like this with the Fan family next door?" Zhong Ying asked curiously.

Deng Xia lifted the pot lid and carefully added a pinch of salt. Recalling the feud between the two families, she couldn't help but roll her eyes and said irritably, "That happened seventeen or eighteen years ago. How old were you then? Maybe three or four? You definitely don't remember..."

Because the memory was so vivid, Deng Xia still clearly remembers what happened at that time.

“Your Uncle Fan and your father got married around the same time next door, and their children were born around the same time,” Deng Xia said. “Fan’s eldest daughter is the same age as your brother, and his second daughter is only a year younger than you.”

The girl who just greeted Zhong Ying is Fan Erni.

“I took a toll on my health by giving birth to you two siblings, and your Aunt Fan Wu soon gave birth to her third daughter.” Deng Xia picked up the pot lid again and flipped the pancakes on the edge of the pot over one by one. “You heard it just now, we could hear the commotion between the two families very clearly. Back then, I could often hear Fan Wu next door cursing his wife for only giving birth to daughters, saying that his Fan family line was going to end.”

At this point, Deng Xia couldn't help but spit out her food. "Don't be fooled by your Uncle Fan's seemingly kind demeanor. He doesn't offend anyone, and no one speaks ill of him. I, Deng Xia, just think that man is no good! See? He's always picking fights and saying this and that. Now he's getting his just desserts, and his family line has really died out!"

The Fan family next door has five children, all of them daughters. Except for the fourth child who died young, the other daughters all grew up healthy.

If it were the original Zhong Ying, she might not have thought anything was wrong with these words, after all, she grew up in this era and was influenced by the ideas of this era.

However, Zhong Ying, who comes from the new era and has a new mindset, couldn't help but raise an objection to one point in Deng Xia's words.

“How can having a daughter mean having no descendants? If you ask me…” Zhong Ying recalled the little incident at the funeral a few days ago, and thought of someone, “If you ask me, if we’re talking about having no descendants, Lai Hunzi is the real one who has no descendants.”

Deng Xia was stunned for a moment, then thought about it carefully and realized, hey, it actually makes sense.

A daughter can have grandchildren after she gets married, so how can that not be considered a drop of bloodline being passed down? Unlike a lazy bum like Lai Hunzi, who is over forty years old and still a bachelor, that's all he'll ever be. When he dies, there won't even be anyone to burn paper money for him. He'll truly be a family without descendants.

Zhong Ying's doubts remained unresolved, so she urged her mother to steer the conversation back on track, "So what exactly is the feud between our family and the neighbors?"

Deng Xia snapped out of her thoughts and continued, "I think Nie Ying isn't having an easy time either, so I don't bother with her petty, sarcastic remarks, but what she said that time was really too much."

Deng Xia felt angry just thinking about it. "Her daughters were all skinny and small. Instead of asking her husband Fan Wubi for food, she just couldn't stand your brother and you. Your father and I would rather go without food ourselves than let the kids go hungry. Naturally, the kids grew up to look like little calves! Listen to what she said back then, saying that she was feeding the children dead people's food. Wasn't she afraid of shortening her own lifespan?"

Zhong Ying was dumbfounded. She thought these words were a bit too much, let alone Deng Xia, who was the mother. Wasn't this cursing the child to die in front of the parents?

“I was furious at the time. Your father does weddings and funerals, and he can bring back some food from time to time to help support the family. But that's all thanks to your father playing the suona horn one after another. It's always the same principle: hiring people and providing meals. How can it be called 'death food' if your father is reluctant to eat it and brings it back for the children? It's food saved from your father's mouth!”

Deng Xia spoke faster and faster, filled with righteous indignation, "Besides, your father didn't only play the suona at funerals, did he also have wedding banquets? Furthermore, aren't there also happy funerals among the funerals?"

Zhong Ying quickly reassured her mother, "Yes, yes, Mother, look, we've all grown up healthy and strong, so what you're saying is just like farting, it doesn't count..."

Seeing her mother like this now, Zhong Ying could imagine what had happened back then. With Deng Xia's fiery temper, she probably would have taken revenge on the spot, which is why the two families became enemies.

Although Deng Xia still wanted to rush next door and fight Nie Ying again, it was all over ten years ago. Now she was a grandmother and maternal grandmother. It would be quite shameful to fight like she did when she was young, pulling each other's hair.

Thinking this, Deng Xia suppressed her anger. She lifted the lid of the pot again, and a rich aroma wafted out. The freshly made pancakes had a layer of brown, crispy crust, crunchy and chewy. Little Guoqiang loved this kind of pancake and was already impatiently calling out, "Grandma, Grandma, I want pancakes..."

Deng Xia first picked out two pancakes from the pot and gave one to each of the two children. Then she scooped out a porcelain bowl of vegetables and placed it on the small wooden stools in front of the two children. The green radishes were mixed with the tender yellow eggs, and the dish looked and smelled delicious.

She scooped the remaining vegetables and flatbread from the pot into a large plate, then took out a piece of cured meat, carefully cut off a small section, sliced ​​it, and stir-fried it with the zucchini.

She felt like she was being treated like a three-year-old child, while Deng Xia, who was busy cooking, was sweating profusely but hadn't eaten a single bite. Zhong Ying couldn't help but feel a pang of conscience.

Thinking that although the original owner was a spoiled girl, she was not so heartless as to not care about her mother, Zhong Ying took a pancake, put some vegetables in it, and handed it to Deng Xia's mouth.

"You eat yours, I'll go to the fields later and eat with your dad and the others." Deng Xia didn't take the food, but she felt extremely warm inside. Her daughter was the best. Those people who laughed at her for treating her daughter, who would eventually marry into another family, like a treasure, didn't understand anything! Her daughter deserved it! Neither her eldest son, Zhong Cheng, nor her youngest son, Zhong Xin, had ever shown this kind of thoughtfulness and consideration.

Thinking this, Deng Xia scooped a large spoonful of the quickly stir-fried cured pork and zucchini from the pot for her beloved daughter.

Zhong Ying stared speechlessly at the overflowing bowl in front of her. Her mother was feeding her while cooking, and she was almost finished eating.

And that was indeed the case. Deng Xia carried a jar and a basket. The jar contained sweet and cool boiled water, and the basket contained two large plates of vegetables and flatbread. She packed them up and prepared to deliver them to the fields without stopping.

Zhong Ying swallowed the last bite of rice in her mouth and quickly said, "I'll help you carry it."

Deng Xia thought about it and agreed. She knew her explanation was clumsy, and most of the people in the production team understood. Seeing that no one was saying anything, she didn't need to force her daughter to stay at home and not go out. Besides, several days had already passed. "Okay, then you can take these bowls and chopsticks home after you finish eating. I won't come back and will go straight to work in the fields."

After instructing Zhong Guoqiang, who was still eating, to stay home and not wander off, the mother and daughter each took a can and a basket and went out.

Along the way, Deng Xia met several women and exchanged a few pleasantries with them. As she walked, she talked about what she had cooked that day. She mentioned that the meals were most complete during the busy farming season, so she didn't have to put in much effort to cook frugally.

When the wheat harvesters saw the women approaching from afar, they eagerly gathered around them. As for Zhong Ying, who was prone to dizziness with the slightest movement, the villagers, focused only on food, didn't pay her much attention.

After everyone finished eating, Zhong Ying had already left with the empty cans and a much lighter basket.

Not long after Zhong Ying left the fields, the sky suddenly darkened, dark clouds blocked the sun, and the originally hot midday temperature dropped, as if it would rain at any moment.

In the fields, while everyone else was working hard, Lai Hunzi secretly straightened up. Knowing his past record, Li Ming would occasionally glance up to keep an eye on him, and soon Lai Hunzi was caught red-handed slacking off.

"You're trying to cheat again! I'll only give you six work points today!" Li Ming frowned and said sternly.

Lai Hunzi quickly begged for mercy, "No! Captain, no! I'm looking at the sky, and it looks like it's going to rain!"

The worst thing about wheat harvesting is rain. Li Ming didn't have time to worry about that. He squinted at the sky, and his heart eased a little. "It looks like the dark clouds are still over on the other side of the village. The sky is still clear over the fields, but we can't say for sure if they'll blow over here. Everyone hurry up and harvest as fast as you can. If it really rains, dig drainage ditches. We can't let all the hard-earned grain get soaked."

A sense of tension arose in the hearts of the people in the fields, and they immediately mustered all their energy to work hard.

A drop of water fell from above onto Zhong Ying's nose. She subconsciously took a step towards the shade of a tree, but as she hid under the tree, she remembered something was wrong. If it really rained, wouldn't hiding under a tree mean getting struck by lightning? So she quickly walked back outside, preparing to jog home.

But as soon as Zhong Ying took a step out, she was pulled back by a force.

A cold, hard arm, as hard as cast iron, suddenly appeared across Zhong Ying's neck, pulling her into a chest damp with the cold scent of river water.

On a June noon, Zhong Ying suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, and cold sweat broke out on her brow.

Who is it?

Aren't the people in the Tonggan production team all simple, honest farmers who live and work in peace and contentment? How could someone suddenly attack her? And when she left, everyone was still working in the fields.

Are they from another village?

In a few seconds, many guesses flashed through Zhong Ying's mind. She tried to calm herself down and attempted to obtain more information.

She gripped the arm across her neck tightly while glancing quickly downwards.

White shirt sleeves.

Few people in the countryside would wear clothes of this color and style, as they are neither durable nor practical for working. Even the educated youth who were sent to the countryside stopped wearing such clothes after living there for a period of time.

Zhong Ying suddenly found traces of this kind of clothing in her recent memories. It was... at the funeral a few days ago, her brother Zhong Cheng and other villagers carried the person in the side room, along with the wooden plank under him, into the coffin. Before the coffin lid was closed, Zhong Ying only glanced at him and saw that the person was wearing a clean white shirt and black pants.

White shirt...

Zhong Ying felt her breath catch for a moment, her hair stood on end, and her stormy thoughts lasted only a few seconds. But when she glimpsed the truth, her worldview collapsed. No wonder she felt her back was soaked; it was probably not just her cold sweat, but also the river water on the other person's body.

The arms around her neck were tightening, and a suffocating feeling, almost like drowning, was gradually creeping in. The person behind her, or rather, the ghost, whispered in her ear, seemingly affectionate but filled with sinister resentment, "Didn't you want to marry me? I've come to marry you."

What do you mean by "marrying you"? It's more like "taking your life"!

Zhong Ying's face turned pale, and she felt like she was suffocating.

A note from the author:

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Zhong Ying: Ah, back, back, back—

There will be an extra chapter at 6 PM tonight!