At the end of June, the weather was hot.
Under the shade of a row of locust trees in Shuiwan Village, a number of people sat in twos and threes. They were dressed in simple, dark clothes and sat on the spot, chatting while enjoying the cool air.
"Have you heard? Wen Qing is getting married and moving to the county town!"
"I heard that Wen Qing's bachelor second uncle, before he died, managed to snag Ji Yanjun, a rich and handsome son-in-law."
"Wen Qing is so lucky. She has such a bad temper, loves to fight, and loves to show off. Nobody in the whole village likes her, and her family is so poor they can barely afford to eat. Yet she managed to marry into the county town. I really don't know what kind of temple she burned incense at..."
"Poor? You must be joking. The Wen family is about to turn their lives around and become rich."
"That's right! I heard the Ji family is very wealthy, a ten-thousand-yuan household!"
"A millionaire? Hmph, that's a long shot. What if the Ji family doesn't want Wen Qing anymore? Then all our joy will be for nothing. Besides, we can easily find out what kind of person Wen Qing is. Who would want to marry her!"
"..."
Wen Qing has been a ghost for a day.
One moment she died in front of Ji Yanjun, watching him hold her body and say sorry with remorse; the next moment she drifted uncontrollably through clouds, mountains, and seas. Now she's inexplicably stuck here eavesdropping.
She wasn't listening to the corner of a wall in the 21st century, but to the corner of a wall in Shuiwan Village in the 1980s where she lived. She was listening openly and honestly. Is this what they call divine mercy, letting humans see her life story after she died?
So this is how she was seen by the villagers: bad-tempered, prone to fighting, vain, and disliked by everyone in the village.
A gust of wind blew by. Wen Qing couldn't control herself and her body swayed with the wind. After swaying for a long time, she finally stopped in her own yard, where she saw herself, seventeen years old, arguing with her mother, Yao Shiling.
"Wen Qing, you bought a new dress again?" Yao Shiling came out of the east room, holding a floral cotton dress in her hand and questioned her.
"I didn't buy it, I made it myself." Xiao Wenqing was sitting on a wooden stool, cutting out shoe pattern paste.
"You made it yourself? Where did you get this fabric?" Yao Shiling asked, touching the fabric.
Xiao Wenqing didn't even look up: "I bought the fabric."
"You bought it? Where did you get the money?" Yao Shiling asked.
Ask, ask, ask again, asking about everything, isn't it annoying!
Xiao Wenqing was unhappy. She lowered her head and cut the shoe pattern with all her might, as if she was secretly competing with herself. She pursed her lips and remained silent.
Yao Shiling suddenly realized something and asked, "Wen Qing, you didn't use Ji Yanjun's money, did you?"
"No," Xiao Wenqing replied curtly.
"No? Don't lie to me. This fabric, this elastic band, this thread, and these stitches—it's clearly machine-made. It should cost at least ten yuan. Where did you get so much money..."
With a "bang," Xiao Wenqing slammed the scissors and shoe pattern onto the small table, stood up abruptly, and snatched the floral cotton dress from her: "I said no, and I mean no. If you don't believe me, fine!"
"No one would believe you. You're my daughter, don't I know you? Wen Qing, let me tell you, don't spend Ji Yanjun's money, I will not agree to your marriage." Yao Shiling stated her position.
Xiao Wenqing immediately became unhappy: "Why do you disagree?"
“Because I am your biological mother who gave birth to you and raised you, because Ji Yanjun didn’t really want to marry you, because his family is rich and our family is poor, because his mother is arrogant and looks down on you and our family.” Yao Shiling pointed at Xiao Wenqing: “Wenqing, if you have any backbone, come with me and we’ll talk things out in a few days and break off the engagement.”
Break off the engagement?
Xiao Wenqing's temper flared up instantly, like a little monster baring its teeth and claws. She raised her voice, "I won't back down! You married him, not his mother! Why should I care about his mother!" Xiao Wenqing glared at Yao Shiling and questioned, "Mom, are you even my real mother? You don't want me to marry well, you just want me to marry someone nearby. Would you be happy if I married that old bachelor who repairs shoes at the east end of the village?"
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Yao Shiling's hands trembled with anger.
Xiao Wenqing's words were so hurtful that Wenqing desperately wanted to stop her, to stop her from hurting her mother any further. But when she rushed forward, she passed right through Xiao Wenqing's body, almost forgetting that she was a ghost. She turned to look at Xiao Wenqing, who, because of her father's death, was now blaming Yao Shiling for her father's mistreatment and harsh treatment.
Especially in her previous life, Yao Shiling had vehemently opposed her marriage, which made her loathe Yao Shiling to the extreme. It wasn't until she fell ill, miscarried, and had no one to rely on, with only Yao Shiling silently staying by her side to take care of her, that she realized she was wrong, so terribly wrong.
However, Xiao Wenqing doesn't understand Yao Shiling's good intentions now.
"I'm talking nonsense? Mom, don't think I don't know what you're up to. You're just like Lü'e's mother, favoring sons over daughters. You only raise daughters to work and earn money so your son can get a wife! You're so selfish, only thinking about yourself. My dad was killed because of you! He was killed because of you!"
“You…” Yao Shiling could no longer hold back and raised her hand to slap him.
Wen Qing remembers that it was because of that slap that completely broke her relationship with her mother, and afterwards she rebelled and went down a path of no return.
"No, don't hit me!" Wen Qing shouted anxiously, rushing forward to try and stop the slap from happening.
Suddenly, her vision went white, and she heard a crisp "smack." She immediately felt a burning pain on her left cheek.
Yao Shiling stared at Wen Qing in shock, her eyes gradually reddening. She had hit Wen Qing; it was the first time she had ever hit Wen Qing…
Wen Qing stared at Yao Shiling in astonishment, her eyes gradually turning red. She felt the pain, a real, tangible pain...
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