In the cold winter, the northwest wind howled across the land of J province, and the withered yellow grass and the trees that had lost all their leaves and were left with only branches swayed back and forth in the gale.
It seemed that only the howling wind could be heard in the world, and no other sounds could be heard.
Although the Lunar New Year has passed, the weather is still very cold even though it's not yet over.
Du Yuhan tightened her thin, stiff, patched-up cotton-padded jacket, revealing black cotton underneath, but she still felt very cold.
This was already the thickest coat she had. Given her family's circumstances and her status within the household, it was impossible to make her a new cotton-padded coat; she had to find a way herself.
Du Yuhan used her hands, covered in chilblains, to pick up the dry branches that had fallen from the trees, bundled them together, and carried them home to use as firewood. She also carried a wood-chopping knife, which she used to chop down any low-lying, still-fallen dry branches she encountered.
As Du Yuhan gathered firewood, she thought about her rebirth.
She's been reborn for three days now, and she's still a bit disoriented. Although she'd read a few rebirth novels in her previous life when she was bored, influenced by some young people, she never imagined something like this would happen to her.
Three days ago, she was pushed to the ground by her aunt, and her head hit the threshold. When she woke up again, she was reborn.
Du Yuhan recalled the scene before her death in her previous life. She had only gone to the mall to buy some clothes for her grandson when she unfortunately encountered robbers robbing a jewelry store. The police arrived quickly, and the robbers, unable to escape, took her and several others hostage.
Her identity was somewhat special; she was a returned overseas Chinese, a well-known entrepreneur, and had made many contributions to the country's development in the early days of reform and opening up. She was also registered with the government. When they heard the report that she had been abducted, several high-ranking officials arrived at the scene. Even her ex-husband came.
Her ex-husband is Zhou Zhengye, the head of a famous family in Kyoto, Z country. He is also a very remarkable person. He came to the scene despite his old age when he heard that she had been kidnapped.
The leaders unanimously demanded that the safety of the hostages be guaranteed and that people be sent to negotiate with the perpetrators.
Before the negotiations had even begun, an out-of-control thug detonated a bomb, triggering a chain reaction of explosions throughout the mall. The turn of events was too sudden, and she was not spared either.
On her deathbed, she was only reluctant to leave behind her filial son and her lovely grandchildren.
Unexpectedly, she was able to be reborn and return to the past. Could she then change many of the regrets left over from her previous life?
Although she may never see her son and grandson again, she is content because they have already shared a lifetime with her.
Now that she's back, she's determined to change her former fate. First and foremost, she must change the fate of her adoptive parents, who starved to death, and allow them to live peacefully and safely.
A great famine is coming soon. There has only been one light snowfall all winter, and she knows that it will not snow again this winter.
Now that the Spring Festival is over, the weather will gradually warm up, and drought will descend upon this land, further reducing the already barren harvest. This year's famine is not particularly severe; the following years will be the most difficult.
The most urgent matter now is figuring out how to separate their branch of the Du family from the oppression of their grandmother, Liu Cuilian. Otherwise, the second branch will inevitably starve to death.
Du Yuhan is the eldest daughter of Du Lianqiao, the second son of the Du family, in a mountain village called Xikou Village in J Province.
Du Yuhan's grandfather was named Du Dachuan, and her grandmother was named Liu Cuilian. They were the heads of the Du family.
Liu Cuilian was Du Dachuan's second wife. His eldest and second sons were from his first wife, who had passed away. His third, fourth, youngest son, and youngest daughter were Liu Cuilian's children. Of the five sons and one daughter in the Du family, all but the youngest son and daughter were already married.
Du Yuhan's father is Du Lianqiao, the second son in his family, and her mother is Wang Yuqiao. Du Yuhan also has three younger brothers: Du Haifeng (10 years old), Du Haichao (8 years old), and Du Haisheng (4 years old). Du Yuhan is 15 years old this year, and she has helped raise her three younger brothers.
Du Yuhan's grandmother, like a traditional feudal patriarch, controlled the family's finances. Du Lianqiao's branch of the family was the least favored by the old man and woman, and consequently, Du Yuhan was the most mistreated member of the family.
Compared to her other cousins, Du Yuhan did the most chores and ate the least; even when she wanted food, the old lady wouldn't give her any. Therefore, although Du Yuhan was already fifteen years old, she looked only twelve or thirteen, and was very thin and small.
In her previous life, Du Yuhan lived a very oppressive life in the Du family. It wasn't until she left the Du family that she was able to escape the oppression of the Du family matriarch and the bullying from the other branches of the Du family.
Du Yuhan thought about how pathetic she had been in the Du family in her previous life, and then she remembered the events that were about to happen during this period of her previous life: Liu Cuilian wanted to marry her off to a bachelor in his forties in exchange for dowry money to help her youngest son get married. Because that old bachelor would offer the most dowry money.
Fortunately, Du Yuhan met Han Xiuqin, who came from a prominent family in Kyoto, and she was able to find a wife for her paralyzed nephew, thus saving her from the fate of marrying an old bachelor.
At the time, Han Xiuqin directly stated that she was finding a wife for her nephew and that she would also transfer Du Yuhan's household registration. She also told the old lady that Du Yuhan would have no further connection with the Du family, all to dissuade the old lady from having any other ideas. The Han family didn't want to be associated with a bunch of awful relatives.
Liu Cuilian essentially sold her granddaughter.
Du Yuhan then recalled how her mother, Wang Yuqiao, had told her about her past life before she passed away in her previous life.
It turns out that Du Yuhan is not the biological daughter of the second branch of the Du family, but an adopted daughter.
Du Yuhan's biological parents were both revolutionary soldiers. When they encountered the Japanese army, it was too dangerous to take the child with them, so they entrusted Du Yuhan to the Du family, a local villager, and gave them a sum of money to raise her, saying that they would come back to pick up the child when the situation improved.
A few months later, the Du family's hometown was struck by a natural disaster, and the Du family fled to seek refuge with relatives, eventually settling in what is now Xikou Village. The fate of Du Yuhan's biological parents remains unknown; even if they are alive, they wouldn't know where their youngest daughter is.
Du Yuhan changed her original surname from He to Du, and He Yuhan became Du Yuhan. Du Yuhan grew up in the Du family.
The Du family did not use the child support money for Du Yuhan; Liu Cuilian had already seized the money.
Du Yuhan started working at a very young age. Although her adoptive parents also felt sorry for her, they couldn't resist the old lady's powerful influence.
The second wife was not Liu Cuilian's biological daughter, and Du Yuhan was not the second wife's biological daughter either, so it's easy to imagine that her situation in the Du family was the worst.
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