Liang Shuyan sat under the eaves, lost in thought.
I've been transported to a remote village at the foot of Qingyun Mountain in Jingyuan County, Lizhou, during the Great Zhou Dynasty for two full days.
Before me, in the pitch-black room, a straw mat was laid on the kang (a heated brick bed), looking as if it had been chewed by a dog. Not a single quilt could be seen. Near the window, there was a small wooden table with a limp leg.
Liang Shuyan looked out the window at her two daughters-in-law cooking in the low shack, who were whispering and gesturing, clearly discussing their mother-in-law.
"Hey, have you noticed that Mother has been acting strangely these past few days?" Liu's small eyes darted around as she nudged Zhang, who was chopping vegetables.
Liu was the original owner's second wife. She was a cunning, gossipy, and sly person. She wasn't exactly unfilial, but she loved to gossip.
"My mother was pushed down by my second aunt. She's old, so it's a miracle she's alive. It's understandable that she's a little angry. Don't overthink it."
The eldest son's wife, Zhang, was honest and kind, and very filial to the original owner of the body, even though the original owner didn't really like her and often encouraged her son to beat her.
"Sister-in-law, you're such a kind person. Mother treats you so well all the time, and you still..."
Zhang lowered her head and chopped vegetables, saying as she worked, "No matter what, a mother is a mother, and we are the younger generation, aren't we?"
Liu pouted and said somewhat reluctantly, "Forget it, let's not talk about Mother anymore. Tell me, does God want people to live? There hasn't been a drop of rain since spring, and the crops in the fields have all dried up."
"We can't control what God does. You pack your things and take some food to Grandma later, otherwise she'll start cursing again."
Zhang cooked some thin porridge, took out some pickled vegetables from the jar, put them on the stove, and stopped listening to her second son's wife Liu's complaints, turning the topic to the old lady.
Liang Shuyan understood. It turned out that the reason why the second wife was so arrogant was because her mother-in-law was backing her up. The original owner's mother-in-law, Li, was biased and sided with the second wife. She was always thinking about draining the eldest son's family's wealth to subsidize the youngest son's family.
The original owner was unhappy and complained to her mother-in-law about it. Li Shi was strong-willed and threatened her son that she would divorce the original owner on the spot. Helpless, the original owner's husband was blindly filial and agreed immediately. The original owner was so angry that she died on the spot, and that's how Liang Shuyan transmigrated.
The original owner's mother-in-law, Li, was so shocked to learn that her eldest daughter-in-law had been angered to death that she fainted. The old lady, who was over fifty years old, was said to have only woken up this morning.
Liang Shuyan sorted through the jumbled memories in her mind, feeling so frustrated she wanted to curse. You see, in modern times, she was the sales director of a real estate sales company. After her parents divorced, she lived with her mother, Li Lanfang, who was an attending physician at a top-tier hospital in the city. Her mother doted on her and raised her with great care. Now that she was grown up, she wanted to take good care of her!
During the May Day holiday, Liang Shuyan took her mother, Li Lanfang, on a road trip to Xinjiang, but unexpectedly, a car accident occurred.
Now she has transmigrated into the body of the original owner, and she doesn't know if her mother has also transmigrated with her. Forget it, what a coincidence that there is a world like this, in this godforsaken place. If her mother really came, wouldn't she have to suffer with her?
Liu swaggered out, carrying a patched bamboo basket: "Sister-in-law, I'll go and bring food to Grandma!"
When Liang Shuyan saw that Liu had come out, she wanted to follow Liu to see the original owner's mother-in-law, Li.
Liu's eyes widened: "Mother, you, you'd better not go. Otherwise, if my grandmother sees you two arguing, I, I'll be the one to take the blame!"
"If I'm not afraid, what are you afraid of?"
Liu didn't speak, carrying her basket and following behind Liang Shuyan, a bunch of questions popping into her head: "Strange, Mother doesn't usually visit Grandma. In her words, she wouldn't go looking for trouble! What's wrong today?"
Jin Wang was somewhat reluctant when he saw Liu Shi and her mother-in-law arrive, but when he saw the bamboo basket in Liu Shi's hand, he came over with a big smile.
"Oh, my dear niece-in-law, what delicious food did you bring today? Let your uncle have some!"
Liu had never liked Jin Wang. She glared at Liu and put the bamboo basket behind her.
"Second Uncle, what are you thinking? I'm getting this for my grandma!"
Jin Wang is the second son of the original owner's mother-in-law. He is not only lazy and gluttonous, but also easily influenced by his wife. His wife, on the other hand, keeps sending anything she has to her family, making her a typical "brother-supporting demon".
Jin Wang's family lived behind the original owner's house, but it was necessary to go around a hill to get to Jin Wang's house.
A small, square courtyard with two mud-brick houses. Li was placed in a small thatched hut in the corner of the courtyard.
"Hey, sister-in-law, what are you doing here? I'm warning you, if you make my mother angry again, I'll beat you to death!" Jin Wang stared at Liang Shuyan with a fierce look, showing absolutely no respect for his elder sister-in-law.
"I came to see my mother, not you, why are you so agitated?" Liang Shuyan didn't care, and gave Jin Wang a fierce sidelong glance.
With a creak, Liang Shuyan watched as her second daughter-in-law, Liu, pushed open the door. She followed her in, wanting to find out what had happened to the original owner's mother-in-law who had collapsed.
"What's wrong with Zhang today? I only said one thing to her, and she looks at me like she wants to eat me alive!" Standing in the courtyard, Jin Wang found it hard to accept the change in his sister-in-law's attitude. She used to be timid, but today she dared to come to his house so boldly.
Inside the small dark room, Liu walked towards the old lady lying on the bed. The old lady was wearing a black overcoat and a small black round hat. Her haggard eyes were staring blankly.
It wasn't until Liu put the things down that the old lady came to her senses. When she saw someone come in, her eyes lit up. Liang Shuyan felt that the old lady's expression and eyes were not quite like the original owner's sharp-tongued mother-in-law, but she didn't say anything and planned to observe her further.
The old lady seemed quite kind. She glanced at the two people who came in and spoke first, "Second granddaughter-in-law, what delicious treats did you bring for Grandma this time?"
The old lady on the bed sat up. A dirty cotton quilt was torn, revealing the dark cotton balls inside. The old lady glanced at it and frowned with some disgust.
Liu stood there, basket in hand, stunned. Was this the same grandmother who was usually so fierce to them? Why was she being so polite and easy to talk to today? Had the sun risen in the west? Liu thought to herself.
"Grandma, well, it's not anything fancy, just some thin porridge and a small dish of pickled vegetables!"
Liu's mouth was moving, but her thoughts were far away. Why was Grandma acting so strangely today?
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