"Wake...wake up..."
"Take your medicine..."
The feeble voice at her ear pulled Shen Ning from her stupor.
She opened her eyes only to be assailed by a splitting headache.
Before her was a tender, young face, filled with worry, looking at her.
The child appeared to be about five or six years old, lithe and frail with impoverished, threadbare clothing. In his hand, he held a broken bowl, filled with something that resembled dark herbal medicine.
A pang hit her heart, and she quickly scanned the surroundings.
What met her eyes was a decrepit thatched cottage, walls made of smeared mud, and the ramshackle shelter was windy from all sides.
Shen Ning's face subtly shifted as she knitted her brows together.
Where was she? Who was this person?
Hadn't she just been in a hotel with her best friend, catching a cheater red-handed? She even had him cornered on the bed while she took a heap of pictures intending to make him socially obsolete.
But then, during his resistance, the bastard shoved her away. She hit her head and passed out.
Upon regaining consciousness, she was greeted with this scene.
Had she been kidnapped and sold off?
Before Shen Ning could open her mouth to ask, a sharp, grating voice echoed from outside.
"Damn you, little harlot, you're cunning as hell! Just because a car struck you doesn't mean you can lounge about and avoid work! How did our Xie family produce such a lazy, undeserving person like you!"
"Just a lowlife, but consider yourself a treasure? Expecting those little brats to serve you whether you live or die!"
"Get up and go to work now, if you cost our Xie family any profits, I'll break your leg!"
The old crone came in cursing, and upon seeing the child, her voice grew even louder.
"Little brat, where did you swipe the medicine from? Is that old hag worth medication? Such a worthless life, not even the King of Hell wants her!"
"Now get up and go to work, don't think about skiving off in here like her! Did you hear me! Damn, why is fate so blind? Why couldn't it kill all you four burdens at once? That would've saved me plenty of food!"
"Good for nothing, you're just a money parasite, yet you won't work!"
With these words, the old hag kicked the child hard.
The child let out a cry, the bowl of soup in his hand was knocked to the ground and shattered into two halves.
The old hag became furious, "You little bastard, dare to break my bowl! I'll kill you today unless you take my surname!"
The old hag said this and grabbed the broom from the corner, and started hitting the child.
The child cried out in pain, but didn't dare to dodge, his teary eyes were pitiful beyond measure.
“Stop!” Shen Ning yelled out, absolutely furious.
Propping herself up with difficulty, she snatched the broom from the old hag's grasp, and hit the old hag several times.
The old hag yelled and screeched, cursing, "This is an outrage! You dare hit me!"
"I'm hitting you precisely because you deserve it! You are abusing a child, you're truly disgusting!" Shen Ning retorted angrily, pulling the child protectively into her embrace.
She herself was an orphan, having no tolerance for those who abused children.
She glared at the distasteful older woman, gritting her teeth: "Are you a human trafficker? If I see you bully this child again, I will report it to the police, and they will arrest you!"
The old woman's face abruptly paled, she bent at the waist and retorted back furiously, "Dare you?! I am to discipline these brats, it's only natural! Even the police can't touch me!"
As she made the last utterance, there was a subtle hint of unease in her eyes.
Shen Ning captured this slight oddity and sneered, "Watch me! The likes of you who are utterly wicked and malicious, should be shot!"
The old woman's face turned a sickly pallor, exceedingly furious yet greatly unwilling. She pointed to Shen Ning and cursed, "You little harlot! Don't think just because the party secretary and the village chief are partial towards you, you can trample over me. If you really manage to get on my nerves, I'm not afraid of anything, I’m not afraid to fight you to the end! Disgusting!”
The old woman spat out a gob of thick sputum, delivering her ultimate threat, then she sulkily walked out of the house, her guilt evidently showing.
Shen Ning was somewhat stunned.
She originally thought that after she fainted, she had been sold into a rural area in remote mountains by that worthless man.
However, the way this old woman kept mentioning working credits, party secretary, and village chief, baffled her.
What was all this about?
She looked at the child held protectively in her arms.
The child seemed stunned, not knowing whether he was amazed by her protection, or shocked by her daring to confront the old woman.
Shen Ning began to inquire, "This…"
"Whoo, whoo!" Just as she was about to speak, the child's eyes suddenly moistened and he threw himself back into her arms, hugging her tightly.
Shen Ning was left stunned.
The next second, the child cried out, "Mother!"
Shen Ning: "..."
Shen Ning was completely dumbfounded.
"You, hold on..." Shen Ning quickly pushed the child away, but before she could speak, a sudden headache struck her.
A set of memories that didn't belong to her appeared abruptly in her mind, making her feel dizzy.
After a while, she finally absorbed all the memories.
She wasn't abducted.
She had travelled through time!
She became a female educated youth who was sent to the countryside in a county town in the 197s!
The original owner shares the same name and surname with her, also called Shen Ning. On her third month being sent to the Nanwan Village, her first love Sun Yue broke their promise and became the son-in-law of a county public security bureau deputy director.
Unable to bear the blow, the original host jumped into a river and was saved by Nanwan villager Xie Yuntian.
This era is very conservative, and the people are extremely sensitive to relationships between men and women. Those who were lascivious would be criticized or even paraded through the streets and shot.
So, she had no choice but to marry Xie Yuntian.
Xie Yuntian, a soldier who spent most of his time in the army, had scarce chances to meet with his wife. Only three days after their marriage, he was urgently recalled to his troop, leaving Shen Ning at the Xie family home.
Ten months later, Shen Ning gave birth to triplets, which became the talk of the town in Nanwan village.
Yet, the Xie family paid no heed to this.
The family was ruled by the old Xie matriarch, and Xie Yuntian, her stepson, had a low status in the family.
After marrying into the Xie family and having three children, Shen Ning added four more mouths to feed. This made the old matriarch furious to the point she wanted to throw them out of the house.
It was only after the intervention of the local party secretary that the old matriarch reluctantly allowed Shen Ning and her children to stay.
Harboring resentment, the old matriarch constantly berated and abused Shen Ning and her children.
Previously, Xie Yuntian would send money home every month from the army, and the old matriarch might occasionally give these four a bit of leftover food.
But in recent months, they had received neither money nor news from Xie Yuntian.
Outside rumors were swirling, suggesting that he either had died or had eloped with another woman, and hence the lack of communication.
Upon hearing this, the old matriarch furiously ousted Shen Ning and the children from the house.
On that stormy night, with nowhere to turn, Shen Ning headed towards the county town in desperation, hoping to seek help from her parents.
Unexpectedly, a military vehicle hit her.
The original owner of the body died, and Shen Ning found herself transported to a different world.
Shen Ning clutched her forehead and groaned, "Oh, heavens..."
She had unbelievably experienced what was only found in legends – time travel!
And she'd ended up in the impoverished 197s, oppressed by a cruel mother-in-law, and mothered three children painlessly!
Could anything be more absurd than this?
