Chapter 1 The Ungrateful Wolf
Old Mrs. Lin had been planning this for a while now.
Lin Ying was a golden phoenix that flew out of Linjiazui Brigade. Not only was she beautiful, but she also had excellent grades. After graduating from high school, she went to teach at the village primary school. Two years later, Lin Ying met her current husband by chance. He was a teacher at the commune middle school and fell in love with her at first sight. Before long, he persuaded his parents to send a matchmaker to the Lin family to propose marriage.
After getting married, Lin Ying was transferred to the commune primary school through her husband's family's connections, and became a city dweller who received government-supplied food.
Although she became a city dweller, Lin Ying's life in her husband's family was not easy because her family was not as powerful as her husband's. Old Mrs. Lin had always been proud of her daughter and naturally hoped that she could gain a foothold in her husband's family as soon as possible, so she advised her to get pregnant as soon as possible.
However, having a child isn't something you can just decide to do. Two years into their marriage, Lin Ying had even tried folk remedies like eating incense ash, but nothing had happened. Now, her mother-in-law had lost patience and insisted that she and her husband go to the hospital for a checkup.
Upon investigation, the problem was discovered.
Although her husband felt sorry for her and lied to his mother, saying that he couldn't have children, her mother-in-law was always shrewd and had already become suspicious before she returned to her parents' home.
These days, people value offspring. If a woman cannot have children, it means her life is over!
After thinking it over, Lin Ying thought of her younger sister and went home to discuss the matter with her mother.
Old Mrs. Lin didn't quite agree at the time, not because she felt sorry for Lin Qingqing, but because she felt that if it weren't for their Lin family, this adopted daughter would have been dead long ago. Even if she were to ask Lin Qingqing to repay with her life now, it would be only right. It's just having a child, isn't it?
She was worried that the hospital might have made a mistake, whether there was any room for reconciliation, and also about what would happen if Lin Qingqing, who hadn't gotten pregnant the first time, developed feelings for her son-in-law after spending more time together. So she said she needed to think about it.
This consideration lasted for almost a month. A few days ago, the original owner of the body fell into the water, and Lin Ying came again. Her mother-in-law discovered that they had lied and forced her son to divorce her.
Seeing that her daughter's marriage was on the verge of collapse, Old Mrs. Lin finally made a decision—
She made her adopted daughter give birth in place of her biological daughter!
Old Mrs. Lin had already figured out what to do. Once her adopted daughter got pregnant, she would bring her home and have her daughter pretend to be pregnant. After the child was born, if it was a boy, she would immediately send her adopted daughter away to get married. From then on, the child would only recognize her daughter as his mother, and she wouldn't have to worry about her son-in-law developing feelings for her adopted daughter.
Seeing that Lin Qingqing remained silent for a long time, Old Madam Lin grew displeased and frowned, saying, "This matter is settled then. You stay home quietly for the next few days..."
"Mom, isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Lin Qingqing said, coming back to her senses. "That's my brother-in-law!"
"What brother-in-law? You and Yingzi aren't blood sisters." Old Mrs. Lin scoffed, thinking Lin Qingqing was overthinking things. But thinking that she still needed to use her adopted daughter, she softened her tone and said, "I know this is unfair to you, but don't worry, as long as you give birth to a son, I will definitely find you a good marriage. Our Lin family will always be your maternal family."
Hearing this, Lin Qingqing almost burst out laughing.
When she read the original novel, she found it very strange that there could be such shameless people in the world.
For the sake of her own daughter's marriage, she could sacrifice her adopted daughter's life without any remorse. Even when she was begging for help, she felt no shame whatsoever, so nonchalant, so arrogant, as if everyone owed her something!
Unfortunately, she wasn't the original owner of this body, so she couldn't selflessly dedicate everything to her adoptive mother and sister like the original owner did.
Seeing that Lin Qingqing was silent again, Old Madam Lin's face darkened. "If it weren't for Weimin's father, you would have been kidnapped long ago. You've been eating and drinking my food all these years, and I haven't said a word. Now I'm just asking you to help your third sister have a child, and you're still making excuses!"
Old Mrs. Lin was talking about what happened when the original owner of this body was five years old. It was during a famine, and the original owner's entire family had died. She was abandoned and taken to Yutian Town, where she was rescued by Old Man Lin. Old Man Lin was kind-hearted, and seeing that she was so young and couldn't say where she lived or who she was with, he took her home and raised her.
However, Old Man Lin was a good man, but Old Lady Lin was not easy to get along with.
She felt that having more people meant more mouths to feed, so she refused to take care of the original owner of the body. It was only because Old Man Lin said that it was only temporary and that he would send her away once he found out about the original owner's family. In addition, the original owner was hardworking and could help raise chickens and ducks and do housework when she was only five years old, so Old Lady Lin reluctantly kept her. She said she would raise her as her daughter, but in reality, she was more like a farmhand.
When Old Man Lin was alive, things were fine; the original owner only did some housework. But after Old Man Lin died, Old Woman Lin forced the original owner to work in the fields to earn work points, treating a half-grown child like an adult.
The original owner of this body was diligent and hardworking, and even felt that the Lin family had done her a great favor. But Lin Qingqing didn't think so, and muttered, "I didn't eat and drink for free."
Old Mrs. Lin choked upon hearing this, and angrily slammed her hand on the bed, "Do you think our Lin family has wronged you? If I had known you were such a heartless person, I would have preferred to watch you starve to death! My husband, you died unjustly! Back then, you tightened your belts, willing to go without food and drink, only to save such an ingrate!"
Old Mrs. Lin started wailing. Hearing this, the two brothers, Lin Weimin and Lin Weiguo, pushed open the door and rushed in, asking in a panic, "Mother, what's wrong?"
Despite the fact that Old Mrs. Lin was crying so hard in front of Lin Qingqing, she didn't want to make a fuss before things were settled. She immediately wiped away her tears and said, "It's okay. I'm talking to your sister. You should all go out now. Don't come in unless I call for anyone."
"Mom, are you really alright?" Lin Weijun was skeptical, and Lin Weimin hesitated to speak.
"What could possibly happen if there are only the two of us in the house?" Old Mrs. Lin was annoyed that her speech had been interrupted. "Just get out when I tell you to!"
Seeing that Old Mrs. Lin was angry, and looking at Lin Qingqing's thin figure, the two brothers silently closed the door.
As soon as they left, Old Mrs. Lin continued to pretend to wipe away her tears, saying, "I didn't ask you to do anything, it was just a small favor! If you don't help, your third sister will be forced to divorce your brother-in-law, how can you live with yourself?"
At this point, Old Lady Lin stopped mentioning that Lin Ying and Lin Qingqing were not biological sisters.
Lin Qingqing sensed the difference and felt very sorry for the original owner of the body. In the original story, the original owner agreed to bear a child for her adoptive sister in order to repay a debt of gratitude, but she had three daughters in a row and only gave birth to a son on her fourth pregnancy, a period of more than seven years.
The original owner of this body grew from a young girl into a woman, and her mindset changed from repaying a debt of gratitude to simply wanting to stay by her children's side. However, after spending a long time with Lin Ying, her husband developed feelings of pity for her, and coupled with the natural bond between mother and daughters, all the daughters were very close to the original owner. Lin Ying sensed a crisis and discussed with her mother about breaking their initial promise.
To minimize contact between the child and the original owner of the body, they deliberately arranged for her to be introduced to a widower with three children several towns away. The widower was physically disabled and had a violent temper, frequently resorting to physical violence against her. He died in a fight within two years.
The original owner of this body silently endured her husband's violence and, after his death, devoted herself to caring for her stepchildren. The children's attitude towards her changed from hostility to respect, and the family lived happily together. However, every year, the original owner would return to Yutian Town to secretly see her children. They no longer recognized her, but she felt that just seeing them from afar and knowing that they were doing well was enough.
The original owner of this body developed Alzheimer's disease in her old age and only remembered the children she hadn't spent many years with. Her adopted daughter learned about her past through subtle clues and contacted the original owner's eldest daughter to visit her in the hospital.
In the original story, the original owner's eldest daughter, whom she hadn't seen for many years, hugged her and cried out, "Mom!" Upon hearing this, the original owner passed away peacefully with tears in her eyes.
This ending infuriated Lin Qingqing so much that she couldn't sleep all night. In her drowsy state before closing her eyes, she thought that if she were the female lead, she would definitely perish together with the awful character. But when she opened her eyes again, she really had become the female lead of this melodramatic period novel.
But when the time came, Lin Qingqing couldn't bring herself to die with them.
It's better to be alive. Although her life was tough this time, at least she was born in a peaceful era. Who knows, her next time travel might be to a war-torn era or a palace intrigue drama. Someone as simple-minded and even simple-minded as her probably wouldn't survive more than two episodes.
Lin Qingqing came to her senses and continued, following the old lady's words, "Of course I feel bad, but... this is no small matter, you should at least let me think about it."
"How long do you need to think about it?" Grandma Lin asked.
"A month?"
Old Mrs. Lin raised her eyebrows. "No way! I'll give you three days. You'll have to agree whether you like it or not."
Lin Qingqing knew that Old Madam Lin's words were ineffective. In the original story, Old Madam Lin changed her mind as soon as she saw her daughter being forced back by her mother-in-law, and moved the time forward to tomorrow night. Therefore, she had no intention of bargaining with Old Madam Lin about the time, and nodded indifferently.
Seeing that she had relented, Old Mrs. Lin's expression softened again. "Although you are not my biological daughter, I have treated you the same way I have treated Yingzi all these years. Don't worry, after this is done, I will not mistreat you."
Her only way to treat the original owner of this body well was to marry her off to a violent cripple. Lin Qingqing scoffed at this and then asked, "Then, Mother, could you give me a few dollars?"
In the 1970s, a few dollars was no small sum. Old Mrs. Lin was startled and asked, "What do you need so much money for?"
"I should go to the Xie family to thank Comrade Xie. I can't go empty-handed, can I?" Lin Qingqing reminded her, "You already promised."
Old Mrs. Lin thought to herself, "You're just here to express your gratitude, why are you asking for something worth only a few dollars?" She regretted that her daughter had spoken too confidently earlier, and now that she needed to win over this adopted daughter, she couldn't let her down. So she gritted her teeth and asked, "How much do you want?"
Lin Qingqing naturally offered an extra eight yuan.
"You want this—"
Old Mrs. Lin blurted out, but before she could finish speaking, Lin Qingqing interrupted her, "You just said you wouldn't mistreat me, you wouldn't refuse to give me even a few dollars, would you?"
"How could that be..." Old Mrs. Lin forced a pained smile, "Your mother loves you so much, how could she be reluctant to spend money?"
Old Mrs. Lin went around to the back of the bed, unlocked the cabinet inside with her key, took out the money box, and counted out eight yuan. But before she could give the money to Lin Qingqing, she heard her unlucky adopted daughter say, "You need coupons to buy things at the supply and marketing cooperative, right? Mother, do you have any coupons? Preferably ones that can be used as gifts."
Hearing this, Old Mrs. Lin felt a lump in her throat. With trembling hands, she took out two pieces of cloth and two pastry tickets from inside, quickly went around the bed, stuffed them into Lin Qingqing's hand, and waved her hand, saying, "It's getting late, you should hurry up and go out."
The currency currently in circulation is the third set of banknotes, with the largest denomination being ten yuan. Grandma Lin gave Lin Qingqing one five-yuan note, two one-yuan notes, and two fifty-cent notes. Lin Qingqing casually put the money in her pocket, neither more nor less, and stood up to say to Grandma Lin, "Mother, I'll be going now. Don't worry, I'll carefully consider what you told me these next few days."
"Go on, go on!" Old Mrs. Lin waved her hand impatiently, afraid that Lin Qingqing would ask her for money again. But as soon as Lin Qingqing went out, she couldn't help but call her back and instructed her, "This money is mainly for your pocket money. Don't be silly and buy things with it."
"Hey! Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Lin Qingqing readily agreed and went straight to Granny Wang's house in the east of the village after leaving the house.
Grandma Wang has an old hen that lays eggs that she usually saves up to sell in town at the end of the month, rather than eating them herself. Lin Qingqing had already arranged with Grandma Wang yesterday to let her keep two jin of eggs, and she would bring the money to pick them up today.
When they arrived at Granny Wang's house, Lin Qingqing exchanged money for eggs, borrowed a bamboo basket from Granny Wang, and carried it to the Xie family in Xingfeng Brigade.
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