Staring at the familiar flagstone path beneath her feet, Mo Xiaoman snapped out of her memories. She looked up and heaved a long sigh. 'Ahead of me is that "home." No matter how slowly I walk, I've still arrived!'
Having been reborn and knowing the whole truth, Mo Xiaoman utterly loathed this "home"—a place with no blood ties to her, a place that had ruined her entire life.
But leaving immediately was nearly impossible. It was 1977, after all—a special era. If she left her permanent residence without official documentation, she would be arrested as a vagrant and sent back. She was still a minor and couldn't obtain the necessary papers without a guardian. For now, leaving this place was impossible.
But she didn't want to—and couldn't—stay in this house any longer!
Because danger was fast approaching.
It was now July. By this time, Mo Guoqiang and Liu Fengying had already found the girl named Tang Yaxuan and met with her several times.
In her previous life, Mo Xiaoman had been disfigured by hot oil in early September, just before the start of the new school year.
Then, this October, not long after the start of winter, the third Mo child would strike her on the forehead with red-hot wire pliers, branding her with four dark, crisscrossing marks that looked like a net.
Then, during the twelfth lunar month, as they prepared for the New Year, Mo Guoqiang and Liu Fengying would take their six children to the commune market to buy pork, cabbage, and other holiday goods. They would also stop by the commune's only photo studio for a family portrait. They even made a point of having a solo picture taken of Mo Xiaoman. The second child, Mo Xiaofeng, wanted one too, but to save money, Liu Fengying refused. Because of this, Mo Xiaoman was endlessly ridiculed by her younger siblings afterward.
After that day at the studio, the family portrait was placed in a frame in the main hall, but Mo Xiaoman's solo picture was nowhere to be found. When Mo Xiaofeng curiously asked about it, Liu Fengying just rolled her eyes at her.
'Even without proof, I couldn't say anything rash, despite my suspicions. But I will *never* let a tragedy like being disfigured by hot oil happen to me again!'
'How can I prevent it?'
She knew her biological parents were still in the regional city. They had broken her heart in her past life, but she had memorized the names of every single one of them.
'It's only a three-yuan fare and a three-hour trip to the regional city of Wancheng. If I insist on finding them, would they accept me?'
The moment the thought surfaced, Mo Xiaoman let out a cold, self-mocking laugh. 'Possible? They abandoned me across two lifetimes, and here I am, thinking of crawling back to them!'
'The Mo Xiaoman of my past life might have done something that stupid. But in this one, with my soul cleansed and tempered, I will absolutely not allow myself to be such a fool!'
'Those who cast me aside, I too shall despise!'
'In my last life, I was ignorant and foolish. I had no real family, and I stumbled through endless hardships, yet I still managed to live to forty-five. Now that my eyes are open in this life, I refuse to believe I can't live a few more years just as I please!'
'Besides, I have the Treasure Pearl Spirit Spring!'
'If I can't even manage to live well this time, even that snake would scorn me!'
Mo Xiaoman returned home empty-handed and soaking wet. Just as she'd expected, when Liu Fengying learned that she had fallen into the water crossing the bridge—and that the sickle, the bamboo basket, and all the pig feed inside had sunk—she flew into a rage and started raining curses down on her.
Her younger siblings—Mo Xiaofeng, Mo Xiaoqiang, Mo Xiao Zhi, and Mo Xiaoneng—all stood behind Liu Fengying, staring at Mo Xiaoman with contempt. Every one of them looked gleeful at her misfortune.
Even three-year-old Mo Xiaohua had a look of disgust on her face as she picked up a small, dry twig from the ground and threw it at Mo Xiaoman.
Mo Xiaoman gave a bitter, inward smile and once again mourned for her past self. 'How dense and sanctimonious must I have been? How could I not see it? These aren't my siblings; they're a pack of ungrateful wolves!'
In her last life, disfigured by the oil burns and the scar on her forehead, she was considered unsightly. It wasn't until she was twenty-two that a lame man came to ask for her hand in marriage. Liu Fengying took the three-hundred-yuan bride price but didn't host a single banquet table or even have a new outfit made. She simply let the man take Mo Xiaoman back to his village. Less than a year later, Mo Xiaoman suffered a miscarriage from his abuse and was promptly kicked out and sent back home. Yet, not only did these 'siblings' of hers show no sympathy, they rolled their eyes at her and complained that she was taking up space.
And yet, she had treated them like her dearest siblings. She had eagerly done the housework every day and worked herself to the bone to pay for their education and expenses. They took it all for granted, believing it was what she was supposed to do.
Even now, she was fully responsible for her five younger siblings. On top of her other chores, she had to wash their clothes and braid their hair every day. Each night, she would get them cleaned up and send them off to bed. Three-year-old Mo Xiaohua was especially clingy, refusing to sleep unless Mo Xiaoman coaxed her.
Mo Xiaoman snorted. 'That ends now. I will never sacrifice anything for you again!'
As Mo Xiaoman stood there in silence, Liu Fengying, still in the middle of her tirade, suddenly lunged forward. She raised her hand, and a bamboo switch came whipping down wildly toward Mo Xiaoman.
Mo Xiaoman scrambled away. In her past life, she wouldn't have moved. She would have just stood there foolishly, letting Liu Fengying hit her, believing she had done something wrong. 'Losing the basket and the sickle... that was a loss of the family's assets!'
But Liu Fengying was strong and sturdy and wasn't about to let her get away. She immediately chased after her, grabbing her like a hawk snatching a chick. Raising the bamboo switch in her right hand—WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! No matter how much Mo Xiaoman struggled, in the blink of an eye, a dozen blows landed on her backside, legs, feet, and back.
Mo Xiaoman winced, sucking in a sharp breath through her teeth. 'So painful!'
'This damn woman is vicious! She's so strong, and she hits so hard. In this small body of mine, there's no way I can fight back!'
Mo Xiaoman turned and glared at Liu Fengying, which only enraged the woman more. "You dare glare at me? Huh? Watch me gouge your eyes out! We only have three or four sickles and two baskets in this entire family! The basket you took was our biggest and practically new, and you just lost it! You think we're made of money? You think you're justified, is that it? It's a good thing Second Girl also went to gather pig feed, otherwise what would we use to feed the pigs tomorrow? Tell me, do you think you're right? Do you?!"
Screaming, Liu Fengying swung the bamboo switch again, this time aiming for Mo Xiaoman's head and face. Mo Xiaoman shielded her head, yelling for help as she desperately tried to escape through the courtyard gate.
But the robust Liu Fengying wouldn't let her get away. With one quick motion, she snatched Mo Xiaoman and dragged her back.
Just as Mo Xiaoman was trying to figure out how to break free, she heard the sound of a cracked bamboo pole tapping on the ground. It was a special kind of pole, used for herding chickens and ducks. The noise it made was harsh and unpleasant, but very effective at getting one's attention.
Liu Fengying involuntarily turned to look. Mo Xiaoman glanced over as well, and her heart skipped a beat. She saw Grandma!
'That's right! Grandma is still alive! And Grandpa is alive, too!'
Grandma was blind and in poor health. She rarely made a sound in the courtyard, but when she did speak, people had to listen. That was because Grandpa cherished and protected her above all else.
'I think it's today or tomorrow. Grandpa is going to find out that Second Aunt and her kids have been eating good food behind Grandma's back. A huge fight will erupt. Grandpa will stand in the middle of the courtyard, stomping and yelling. After that, Grandpa and Grandma will stop living and eating with Second Uncle and Second Aunt, and they'll announce that the family is splitting.'
'That time, after yelling at Second Uncle, Grandpa will also yell at my 'father,' Mo Guoqiang. Shortly after, he'll take Grandma and leave this courtyard, moving into the square compound at the village entrance... the one that used to be the sent-down youth station and has a huge grain-sunning field...'
Mo Xiaoman's eyes lit up. She threw herself forward recklessly, crying out, "Grandma! Grandma, help me! Grandma, please save Xiao Man!"
Perhaps moved by Mo Xiaoman's miserable wails, the blind Granny Mo suddenly rose from the doorway of her small hut. Her face tensed. Tossing aside the cracked bamboo pole, she reached out, her hands grasping at the empty air. Her voice was weak and frail, but it held an undeniable authority:
"Xiao Man! Xiao Man, where are you? You come over here! I'd like to see who dares to lay a hand on you! If you're going to hit someone, you can hit this old woman, too!"
Mo Xiaoman threw herself into Grandma's embrace, clinging tightly to the woman's small, frail frame as she broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.