Lin Wanqiu squatted in front of the small vegetable patch in her backyard, which was tightly enclosed by a fence. The moment her fingertips touched the glossy green leaves, she was startled by their freshness. This was not something that should have been there in the winter of 1960—the emerald green leaves were still covered with morning dew, which felt cool on her fingertips. When she smelled it closely, it was full of the unique sweet aroma of vegetables. Unlike the crops in the fields outside, which had long been frozen by the cold wind and left only withered yellow stalks.
Only then did she truly realize that the ancestral jade pendant space was not an illusion. The night before last, while Nian'an was fast asleep, she scattered a handful of vegetable seeds she had found in a modern warehouse on the black soil in the space. At the time, she wondered if the seeds would expire, but to her surprise, in just three days, they grew even more beautifully than the ones sold in the county market.
"Mom, what are you looking at?" A soft voice came from behind. Shen Nian'an, wrapped in an old cotton-padded coat with several patches, peeked her little head through the gap in the fence, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the green vegetables in the field. "These vegetables are so green, they look even better than the ones in the brigade's vegetable garden."
Lin Wanqiu quickly turned around and covered his mouth, glancing left and right at the commotion outside the courtyard wall, and said in a low voice, "Keep your voice down. This is something your mother planted secretly. We can't let outsiders see it, or we won't have any vegetables to eat."
Nian'an nodded as if she understood, and pulled a crumpled sweet potato from her cotton-padded jacket pocket with her little paws, handing it to her: "Mom, here, have this. Grandma Wang secretly gave it to me yesterday, but I couldn't bear to eat it."
Looking at her son's little hands, red from the cold, and the cautious, pleading look in his eyes, Lin Wanqiu felt a lump in her throat. Before, back in the Shen family, this child never even got a hot meal. Old Mrs. Shen always said, "Boys should do more work and eat less." Four-year-old Nian'an was as thin as a two-year-old, and he didn't even dare to speak loudly. Lately, she had been slowly nourishing him with steamed buns and egg custard from her spatial storage, and he had finally regained some color and dared to act spoiled with her.
"Mommy won't eat it, An'an will." She stuffed the sweet potato back into her son's pocket and patted his head. "Mommy will pick some greens and make you a vegetable and egg soup tonight, okay?"
“Okay!” Nian’an’s eyes lit up immediately. She ran to her side and obediently helped her hold the fence, afraid that she might damage those precious vegetables.
Lin Wanqiu carefully picked five or six green vegetables. Just as she was about to get up, she heard Old Mrs. Shen's shrill voice coming from outside the courtyard gate. It could be heard even from a distance, as it was clear through the cold wind: "Lin Wanqiu! You lazy bum, the sun is already high in the sky and you're still not out gathering firewood. Do you want our Shen family to freeze to death?"
Her heart skipped a beat. She quickly stuffed the vegetables into the cloth bag in her arms, wrapped them tightly in her cotton-padded coat, and then pulled Nian Anying out.
At the courtyard gate, Old Mrs. Shen stood with her hands on her hips, followed by her sister-in-law Zhang Lan, who hung her head. Although the old woman's cotton-padded coat was patched, it was newly washed and starched, much better than Lin Wanqiu's thin and tattered one. Yet, her face still showed a look of utter misery. Upon seeing Lin Wanqiu, she began to wipe away tears: "My life is so miserable! My son just died, and this daughter-in-law is so unfilial! She won't even gather firewood in the dead of winter; does she want this old woman to freeze and starve to death?!"
Zhang Lan chimed in, "That's right, Wanqiu. Mom is so old, how can you let her worry about these things? Hurry up and go to the back mountain to gather firewood, otherwise our whole family will freeze tonight."
Lin Wanqiu sneered inwardly. These two weren't actually short of firewood; they were clearly upset because they'd heard that Lin Wanqiu had argued her way out of the grain distribution a few days ago and gotten back the rations that were rightfully theirs. They were looking for trouble again. The original owner of this body was weak and easily manipulated, but now she was Lin Wanqiu, not that pushover.
“Mother, sister-in-law, it’s not that I don’t want to gather firewood.” She deliberately rubbed her arm, revealing a pale face. “I got cold when we were distributing grain the other day, and my arms and legs have been hurting terribly these past two days. I really can’t walk. Besides, An’an is still young. I’m worried about leaving him alone at home if I leave.”
Old Mrs. Shen glared at her: "Stop pretending! Everyone knows you're in good health. Don't think you're so great just because you got some grain back. That grain belongs to the Shen family. You're an outsider, so if you eat our food, you have to work!"
“Mother, that’s not right,” Lin Wanqiu said calmly. “My and An’an’s food rations are distributed by the brigade according to the number of people, and have nothing to do with the Shen family. Besides, before Tingzhou sacrificed himself, he sent money home every month. That money was enough to buy so much firewood. Why is it that when it comes to me, I have to go and gather firewood myself?”
These words struck a nerve with Old Mrs. Shen. Most of the money Shen Tingzhou had sent her before had been secretly saved for her second son's wedding; she couldn't bear to spend it on Lin Wanqiu and Nian'an. Her face flushed red, and she pointed at Lin Wanqiu's nose, yelling, "You little whore! How dare you talk about me like that? I think you don't want to stay in the Shen family anymore!"
"Whether we stay or not is not up to Mother to decide." Lin Wanqiu took out the divorce papers she had prepared earlier from her bosom—she had asked the brigade clerk to help her write them a few days ago, just in case Old Madam Shen came to make trouble again. "I said the other day that if Mother continues to torment us like before, I will take An'an and move out, severing all ties with the Shen family. I have already signed these papers, and I am just waiting for Mother and my eldest brother and sister-in-law to sign them. Then An'an and I will leave cleanly and will never benefit from the Shen family again."
Grandma Shen and Zhang Lan were both stunned. They thought Lin Wanqiu was just talking, but they never expected her to actually sign the divorce papers! You have to understand that in this day and age, divorce is a huge deal, especially when a woman initiates it; the gossip and criticism can be overwhelming. But the resolute look on Lin Wanqiu's face didn't seem fake at all.
Zhang Lan quickly tugged at Old Lady Shen's sleeve and whispered, "Mom, don't get angry with her. If we really get divorced and she takes An'an away, who will do the work for us? Besides, if Tingzhou finds out, he'll blame us too."
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