Chapter 2: The Terrible Birth Mother

Chapter 2: The Terrible Birth Mother

The woman in front of her was probably in her forties or fifties, dark-skinned and thin, with hair that had already turned gray and a face full of wrinkles. Although her demeanor was kind and gentle, she might actually have been younger than she appeared. Su Taotao couldn’t bring herself to meet the woman’s gaze, her eyes filled with sorrow and a silent plea. Just how many hardships had she endured to have such eyes?

Su Taotao shifted her gaze downward and saw the small child in the woman’s arms. The child was so emaciated that he was almost unrecognizable. His features were finely chiseled, but his expression was dull. He stared with large, lifeless eyes, as if looking through her to somewhere else, his gaze unfocused.

Su Taotao had encountered children with similar expressions during her volunteer teaching trips to remote mountainous areas during her summer and winter breaks in the past. They were children with autism who had been left behind, but in the 21st century, they at least had enough to eat and wear. They wouldn’t be this thin and frail.

The child in front of her was almost skin and bones.

Su Taotao had only seen children this thin and with such heart-wrenching expressions in documentaries about refugee camps in war-torn countries, where people had lost their homes due to war.

After all, this child was her own flesh and blood in this body. Perhaps it was the connection of blood, but Su Taotao’s eyes suddenly turned red.

She had just looked at her own hands, which were tender, white, and delicate, without a single trace of the hardships of labor. They were well-nourished, showing that she hadn’t suffered much, let alone gone hungry.

What kind of mother could let her own child suffer like this? How heartless must one be to let her mother-in-law endure such hardship while she ate well and lived comfortably? Su Taotao felt an overwhelming urge to slap the original owner of this body for the sake of this old woman and the child.

She remembered that Fu Zhengtu had left a large sum of money for the family before he went on his mission. Even if she didn’t work in the fields, that money should have been enough to ensure basic food and clothing in the countryside. But the original owner had been extravagant, regularly splurging on food and drinks in the town. She had probably squandered it all.

Su Taotao was so furious that she clenched her teeth.

Zhou Linglan had no idea that her daughter-in-law had a different heart. She didn’t know what Su Taotao was thinking. Seeing her with red eyes and a look of seething anger, Zhou Linglan feared that Su Taotao was about to cause another scene. She quickly changed her words, “Taotao, if you’re unwilling, then forget it. If you really want to leave, I…”

Realizing that calling her “Mom” might no longer be appropriate, Zhou Linglan quickly adjusted her words, “I’ll go beg the old party secretary to write you a letter of recommendation so you can return to the city. But please, don’t do anything foolish again. Nothing matters more than your life.”

As she spoke, Zhou Linglan began to cry again.

Zhou Linglan wasn’t one to cry easily, but...

Her husband died in war, but she didn’t cry. She grit her teeth and single-handedly raised two sons. The younger son was born after his father’s death and never met him;

Her elder son had been gone for over two years with no news, but she didn’t cry. She firmly believed that he would not abandon them. He promised to return after three years, and he would definitely come back; it was just that they couldn’t contact each other for the time being;

Su Taotao married into the family, and especially after the elder son left, the household knew no peace. She would constantly rant and stir up trouble, using all sorts of underhanded tactics. But even then, she never cried or harbored resentment. She understood the hardships of being a widow better than anyone. And because she, a beautiful young woman, had given birth to the wonderful grandson, Chenchen, for the Fu family, Zhou Linglan could forgive her anything.

But today, when Su Taotao tried to commit suicide by drowning and was rescued barely alive, Zhou Linglan wept bitterly. When the elder son left, Su Taotao was already pregnant, but he didn’t know. The poor child had never met his father, and if he were to lose his mother too, how pitiful he would be.

Listening to Zhou Linglan, Su Taotao wanted to slap the original owner again. She took a deep breath and inwardly cursed the original owner, calling her a heartless bitch.

“Taotao?”

Zhou Linglan was worried that Su Taotao might have been in the cold water too long, noticing her expression shift but not saying a word.

The chill of early spring was harsh, and though it was just past the beginning of spring, falling into the river at this time could lead to serious consequences.

Su Taotao snapped back to reality, shook her head at the kind and gentle woman, and said lightly, “I’m fine. I realized a lot of things that used to confuse me when I fell into the river. I was too immature before and made many mistakes. Now that I think about it, I feel quite ashamed.”

Whether she liked it or not, Su Taotao had to take responsibility for the mess she was in.

Zhou Linglan was so shocked she nearly dropped Chenchen. She looked at Su Taotao in disbelief. “You, you, are you really okay? I’ll call Huang Liu back right away and have him check your pulse. You should lie down first…”

Looking like she’d seen a ghost, Zhou Linglan didn’t let Su Taotao get a word in and rushed out of the room. Su Taotao couldn’t stop her even if she wanted to.

Sighing, Su Taotao knew she had frightened her. If it weren’t for being possessed, how could the original owner possibly say such things?

Su Taotao lay back down, her mind in chaos. Although she knew she should stay calm and make the best of the situation, for now, the most important thing was to figure out how to survive in this era.

She had read the plot before and remembered the general outline. She knew that Fu Zhengtu would return soon. According to the development of the story, the original owner would leave her child behind and return to the city. At that time, Fu Zhengtu had left in a hurry and missed the originally scheduled day to get their marriage certificate. In this era, people valued wedding banquets and de facto marriages more, so they were actually an unmarried couple.

After returning to the city, the original owner kept secret her marriage and child from her childhood sweetheart and quickly remarried him.

However, the childhood sweetheart was no better. He married the production team leader’s daughter soon after moving to the countryside, had a child, and never officially registered the marriage. Later, he seized the opportunity to return to the city and abandoned his wife and child.

When you're comfortable and well-fed, other desires come into play. Leaving aside their personalities, the original owner was stunning—pale skin, striking looks, an hourglass figure, and long legs. Without the pressure of life, other women naturally wouldn’t catch the childhood sweetheart’s eye. Thus, he went to great lengths to find the original owner, and the two of them, like dry wood meeting a fierce fire, hit it off immediately.

The marriage of these two people naturally didn’t end well.

In any case, when Fu Zhengtu returned, he learned about this matter. He immediately obtained a document from the village authorities proving the breakdown of their marriage, ensuring they could both remarry without complications. After that, he took his entire family away. Later, when the original owner and the childhood sweetheart’s life became difficult and they wanted to return to their previous relationship, they couldn’t find anyone.

Su Taotao turned around, thinking about her current situation. It was still 1973, and there were still more than four years before the resumption of the college entrance examination. Without marrying her childhood sweetheart, there was no realistic way for her to return to the city. Even if she were to return to the city with Chenchen now, she had no job and no place to live.

The original owner’s family of seven or eight people lived in a cramped 20-square-meter room in a crowded courtyard house, a traditional Chinese courtyard house where multiple families lived together in small, shared spaces. Her elder brother only dared to go on a blind date and get married after she went to the countryside to free up space. The book didn’t devote much ink to her, let alone her family. In the original owner’s memory, she wasn’t close to her family either. In short, the path back to the city was blocked.

The best option was to stay here and wait for the return of her so-called "husband."

After an unknown amount of time, Su Taotao dozed off again in a half-dream state. It seemed that Zhou Linglan had brought a rural doctor to check her pulse, and a warm hand gently touched her forehead. When she woke up again, it was already dark.

When Su Taotao opened her eyes, she found herself staring eye to eye with a little boy sitting by her bedside, which startled her. She then realized that this delicately featured child was her son.

Su Taotao’s heart softened, and she gently touched his face. "Chenchen, what are you doing?"

The handsome little boy pursed his lips, glanced at her with his long, thick lashes fluttering like tiny fans, then looked away and returned to playing with his toy.

Su Taotao stared at him intently, not daring to breathe too heavily. She hadn’t seen herself in a mirror yet and had no idea what she looked like now, nor did she remember what Fu Zhengtu looked like. She was very curious about what kind of parents could give birth to such a beautifully crafted little angel.

Su Taotao reached out to take his hand, but when she saw what he was holding, she froze in surprise...