Out of sympathy for Su Qing, nearly all the villagers who had gathered to watch lent a hand. Soon, they had cleared out the two rooms belonging to Su Qing. They also moved all the items that had originally belonged to her family over to her rooms, arranging them neatly. The villagers paid no mind to the furious glares from the Old Su Family.
'They've been squatting on her property for years. Now that it's just being returned to its rightful owner, they act like they're the ones being robbed. So shameless!'
Once the rooms were cleared and everything was moved, Su Qing thanked them all one by one with a grateful expression. 'I'll have to prepare some thank-you gifts for these villagers later to show my appreciation for their help,' she thought.
In the afternoon, Zhao Youcai had some men find time to help Su Qing build a mud-brick wall. At the same time, they installed a new gate on her side of the courtyard. Many hands make light work; everyone took turns, and by the end of the afternoon, the job was done. With this, her home was now completely separate from the Old Su Family's.
Zhao Youcai had arranged for the mud bricks and the wooden door. Su Qing gave him the money for the materials, as well as payment for the helpers. Knowing that Su Qing wasn't short on cash, Zhao Youcai accepted it. He urged her to live well and to come find him if she ran into any trouble, then left with his men.
After everyone had left, Su Qing shut the door and let out a joyful sigh of relief. She looked around at the small courtyard that was now hers. There were two rooms—one for a bedroom, one for storage—and a small kitchen. The only thing she wasn't happy about was the lack of a private toilet, but there was no helping it. That was just how things were in this era; she would have to make do.
After today's commotion, the villagers held the Old Su Family's character in even greater contempt. 'If the Old Su Family tries to cause trouble again, I won't mind teaching them another lesson.'
'Right now, what I need to do is build a good life for myself, quickly. Since I've transmigrated and can't go back, I just have to live well in the present. Whether it's the apocalypse or the 1970s, I, Su Qing, have the confidence to make a good life for myself.'
But when she thought of the body's original owner and her parents, Su Qing couldn't help but sigh softly.
The original owner of the body was sixteen years old. Her father, Su Shengjun, was the family's second son, and her mother, Li Wan, was an educated youth sent down to the countryside. Su Shengjun and Li Wan had married for love and ended up having only one child, a daughter.
Su Shengjun was one of three brothers, the second-born. He was the classic middle child—often overlooked, neither doted upon nor especially loved by his parents. But Su Shengjun was ambitious and made his own way. He was not only the village's sole high school graduate but had also relied on his own abilities to get into the county's food processing plant. He became a worker, a position of honor, and was the only person in the entire Su Family—and indeed, in all of Lihua Village—to hold an "iron rice bowl."
The factory even provided Su Shengjun with housing. The original Su Qing had grown up living with her parents in the county, only returning to Lihua Village for holidays.
Thanks to Su Shengjun, the Old Su Family could finally hold their heads high in Lihua Village. Consequently, Old Su and Old Lady Su were all smiles and benevolence toward Li Wan and her daughter. Whenever the family of three returned, the original Su Qing received the best treatment; even her male cousins had to take a backseat.
You could say that before the age of ten, her life was as sweet as honey.
However, misfortune struck the year she turned ten.
That year, Su Shengjun brought his family back to Lihua Village for the New Year. As he did every year, he went into the mountains to hunt with a few friends, hoping to put some meat on the table.
But their luck was bad that time. They ran into a black bear. The men were no match for it, and they scattered in a panic. Five men went into the mountains, but only two came back alive. The village chief organized a search party, but they only found the bodies of two of the missing men. Su Shengjun, however, had vanished. The only thing they found of him was his bloodstained jacket, torn to shreds.
He was never seen again, dead or alive.
With Su Shengjun gone, Old Su and Old Lady Su immediately showed their true colors. While Li Wan was too overwhelmed by grief to react, they had Su Qing's eldest uncle, Su Shengguo, take over Su Shengjun's job. They also spread rumors behind her back, saying that Li Wan's fate was too "hard" and that she had jinxed her husband to death.
But Li Wan was a strong-willed woman. At first, she was too grief-stricken to process what was happening. When she finally did, she had a fierce argument with Old Su and Old Lady Su. Then, she had the brigade leader and the village party secretary bear witness as she demanded the family assets be divided, officially separating herself and her daughter from the main household.
Old Su and Old Lady Su were initially unwilling. But Li Wan threatened to take her case to the Women's Federation and the factory to demand justice. The brigade leader and party secretary couldn't let the village get a bad name. Besides, they knew the old Su couple had acted outrageously. In the end, Li Wan and her daughter were officially separated from the family. They were not only allocated their own house, grain, and a sum of money, but the job was also addressed. The separation agreement clearly stated that the factory position was to be returned to the original Su Qing when she turned sixteen. Su Shengguo had even been made to seal the deal with his thumbprint.
Since they had been allocated two rooms in the old family home, Li Wan hired some villagers to build a wall, completely sectioning off their part of the house. She even expanded the area to create a small courtyard, making it a rather spacious home for the mother and daughter.
However, not long after the family assets were divided, someone from Li Wan's maiden family unexpectedly arrived. It was her older brother—the original Su Qing's eldest maternal uncle. He claimed their mother, Su Qing's maternal grandmother, was gravely ill and wished to see her daughter, so he had come to take Li Wan back to the city.
Li Wan had intended to take her daughter with her. But on the night before their departure, the girl suddenly fell ill with vomiting, diarrhea, and a fever. Li Wan wanted to wait until her daughter recovered before they left together, but her brother was insistent, saying he was afraid their elderly mother wouldn't be able to hold on. Torn, and pressured by her brother, Li Wan had no choice but to entrust her daughter to the care of a friendly village family and leave Lihua Village.
But after Li Wan left, she never returned. Later, it was discovered that even her household registration had been secretly transferred away at some point.
After that, the original Su Qing was taken back in by the Old Su Family, where she endured several years of misery. It was only when she learned she was to be sold to that fool, Shitou, that she finally lost the will to live.
Su Qing sorted through the memories in her mind again. 'There's something not right about Li Wan's departure,' she thought. 'Logically, she doted on her daughter so much. How could she have borne to just abandon her?'
'Even if something had happened, couldn't she have found someone to bring a message back?'
'So, there must be more to the story. If I get the chance in the future, I have to find out what really happened. But not now. In my current frail state, the brigade leader would never write me a letter of introduction to travel far. Besides, while I have money, I don't have any ration coupons. In this era, coupons are absolutely essential. I need to figure out a way to get some.'
As she thought this, Su Qing touched the scar on her face. It was from when Su Tao had deliberately burned her. For the person she was now, healing it wouldn't be difficult. 'But,' she thought, 'I have to settle this score for the original Su Qing.'
Meanwhile, next door, Su Tao was threatening to kill herself, absolutely refusing to marry Shitou.