Winter, 1994.
Zhoujia Village, Taohua Town, Yushan County, Z Province.
It was 2 p.m. and the sky was overcast.
In winter, the weather is too cold, there is not much work to do in the fields, and most villagers stay at home and do not like to go out.
At Zhou Fugui's house at the village entrance, the door quietly opened, and a disheveled old woman walked out.
The woman was dressed in rags, her hair was gray, and her eyes were lifeless.
After leaving the house, the woman limped toward the village entrance.
"Pearl, where are you going?" asked Aunt Zhang, the neighbor.
"Go home, I want to go home," the woman muttered.
"Pearl, there's no one left in your family. Where are you going back to?" Aunt Zhang reminded her.
"Go home, I want to go home." The woman seemed not to hear Aunt Zhang's words, repeating these two sentences over and over again.
Aunt Zhang shook her head, sighed, and said to her old friend Aunt Qiu, who had just come to visit, "Pearl is really pitiful. She had just recovered from her madness not long ago, but after hearing the news of Yunyun's death, she has lost her mind again."
"Yunyun is dead? Didn't Yunyun just get married last month? An eighteen-year-old girl, as beautiful as a flower, how could she be dead?" Aunt Qiu was shocked.
"Sigh! It's all because the Zhou family is so shameless." Aunt Zhang said, glancing around to make sure no one was watching. She lowered her voice and said to Aunt Qiu, "I overheard something last night. Yunyun's old bachelor son-in-law got drunk and beat Yunyun to death."
"Huh? Aren't the Zhou family going to report it to the police? Yunyun is dead, that old bachelor should pay with his life." Aunt Qiu gritted her teeth in anger.
"Ha! The old bachelor gave Zhou Fugui five hundred yuan, and that's the end of it. Last night, the Zhou family was quite lively; they even killed a chicken to eat!" Aunt Zhang said disdainfully, curling her lip.
Zhou Fugui has three sons. Even if one of them dies, there are still two left, plus four grandsons, making a total of seven male descendants!
If they were willing to stand up for Zhou Yunyun and seek justice, they would surely cause a scene in Wangjiagou.
But what did they do? They took five hundred yuan in compensation from Yunyun's husband, and before Yunyun's body was even cold, the Zhou family was already celebrating by killing a chicken and drinking wine at home.
Even as an outsider, Aunt Zhang felt uncomfortable seeing such a thing happen, so one can imagine how distressed Zhou Yunyun's biological mother, Zhao Zhenzhu, must have felt.
"The Zhou family is outrageous. It's so pitiful for Pearl and her children," Aunt Qiu sighed.
In rural areas, a daughter-in-law without her own family's support is considered less valuable than grass.
Since the Zhao family and Zhou Bingchen got into trouble one after another, the people in Zhou Fugui's family have been treating Zhao Zhenzhu like livestock.
Aunt Qiu had personally witnessed Zhao Zhenzhu's beauty when she was young.
Zhao Zhenzhu is forty-two years old this year, but she looks no different from an old woman in her sixties.
No wonder the old folks say that getting married is like a woman being reborn.
The beautiful and delicate Zhao Zhenzhu has been worn down by her husband's family over the past twenty-odd years, turning her into the inhuman and ghostly creature she is today.
"Sigh! If Pearl's family were still around, the Zhou family wouldn't dare to bully her like this." Aunt Zhang sighed as well.
Aunt Zhang lived next door to Zhou Fugui's house. She witnessed Zhao Zhenzhu going to the river to wash the whole family's clothes before dawn every day, and then rushing home to cook dinner. At night, after the Zhou family had all gone to sleep, Zhao Zhenzhu was still busy with chores such as washing dishes and feeding the pigs, and she would also take the time to sew shoe soles and clothes for the whole family.
Zhao Zhenzhu never sleeps for more than five hours a day.
Even with an iron body, after enduring so many years, it wouldn't last!
"Pearl is such a gentle woman. Yunyun just left like that, and she didn't even cause a scene with the Zhou family?" Aunt Qiu asked.
“Where is she not? Pearl cried a few times last night, and that old hag Ding Ermei thought it was too noisy, so she called her eldest and second daughters-in-law together and beat Pearl up. Look, Pearl's leg is still limping!” Aunt Zhang gestured to her sister-in-law to look at Zhao Pearl's limping back.
"Oh my! How did Pearl end up on the riverbank?" Aunt Qiu exclaimed in surprise.
There is a river at the entrance of Zhoujia Village. The section with the riverbank is very deep, and the water is a deep green color. If you fall in, there is basically no chance of survival.
The people of Zhoujia Village usually walk around that section of the riverbank.
Zhao Zhenzhu spread her arms wide, looked up at the sky, and cried out in grief and indignation, "God! Why are you doing this to me? Why?"
Zhao Zhenzhu's voice was mournful, and Aunt Qiu and Aunt Zhang looked at each other in fright.
"Spring... Spring Flower, is Pearl going to commit suicide?" Aunt Qiu asked.
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhao Zhenzhu plunged headfirst into the river.
"Zhou Fugui, Ding Ermei, your youngest daughter-in-law has jumped into the river! Come out and save her!" Aunt Zhang shouted as she rushed out of the house.
The Zhou family remained silent.
"These heartless bastards," Aunt Zhang cursed, then turned to Aunt Qiu and said, "Qiuju, you hurry up and go find the Party Secretary to arrange for the rescue. I'm going to check on the Zhou family."
After saying that, Aunt Zhang strode towards the Zhou family's house.
The Zhou family's door was ajar, and Aunt Zhang pushed it open.
After Aunt Zhang entered the room, she noticed something was wrong.
The Zhou family members lay sprawled on the ground, all bleeding from their seven orifices and motionless.
"Ah~!" Aunt Zhang cried out in shock, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
Winter, 2028.
Shenzhen, Shenzhen Bay No. 1 Villa.
Forty-two-year-old Zhao Zhenzhu woke up from a nightmare.
Touching the white jade gourd pendant hanging on her chest, Zhao Zhenzhu's wildly beating heart slowly calmed down.
For the past two years, Zhao Zhenzhu has frequently had this kind of dream.
In my dream, there was a woman with the same name as Zhao Zhenzhu, and her tragic life.
Zhao Zhenzhu married Zhou Bingchen, who was 23 and had joined the army, when she was 21.
At first, Zhao Zhenzhu's life was quite comfortable.
Her family was supportive, and her husband was considerate and capable.
Not long after their marriage, Zhou Bingchen was promoted to military officer and would return home to visit his family every year.
Three years after their marriage, Zhao Zhenzhu gave birth to a son and a daughter.
Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long.
Seven years after their marriage, trouble struck the Zhao family.
Zhao Zhenzhu's younger brother was reported for embezzlement and imprisoned, and Zhao Zhenzhu's parents passed away one after another.
That wasn't all. When Zhou Bingchen returned home to visit his family again, he was found dead, naked, at the home of Liu Moli, a young widow in the same village.
The young widow tearfully recounted that two years ago, Zhou Bingchen, captivated by her beauty, raped her. Left with no other option, she secretly began an affair with Zhou Bingchen.
Zhou Bingchen came again last night.
After that, the young widow fell asleep; she truly didn't know why Zhou Bingchen had died.
The young widow's husband's family went to the Zhou family and caused a scene, taking away all of Zhao Zhenzhu's belongings as compensation.
The Zhou family dared not confront the young widow; instead, they blamed "Zhao Zhenzhu" for failing to control her husband and bringing shame upon the entire family.
"Zhao Zhenzhu" was also foolish. After being manipulated by the Zhou family, she actually took all the blame upon herself.
To atone for her sins, "Zhao Zhenzhu" did the hardest work at home and ate the worst food. She lived a life of constant fear and trembling with anxiety, raising her son and daughter.
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