Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Someone shoved a watermelon into Feng Yanwen’s hands and took off before she could react. She tried chasing after them, but with the watermelon in her arms, all she could do was watch them disappear—leaving her torn between laughter and frustration.

She’d once been an English teacher, always well-liked by everyone.

But the moment she saw her daughter, Feng Yanwen carried the watermelon over.

The weather had been sweltering lately, and Xu Meng’s mood hadn’t been great either. The watermelon would be just the thing to cheer her up.

Seeing Xu Meng’s tears, Feng Yanwen approached, set the watermelon down, and gently brushed the stray hairs from her forehead. “It’s just a fight. Don’t cry over it. This damn thing’s too heavy for me alone—help me carry it.”

The watermelon was wrapped in a nylon net, and the rope had already left a red mark across her hand.

It hit Xu Meng then—she’d gone back to the summer of her second year in high school.

The previous year, her cousin Xu Dawei had just gotten into college.

The family had blown up over it.

Xu Dawei got into a vocational school but refused to take one of the subsidized majors. He insisted on some bullshit business degree instead. Tuition bled them dry, not to mention living expenses—it added up fast. To fund their precious grandson’s education, Grandma Xue pushed Xu Meng to drop out and work.

"Just some adopted brat—who does she think she is, dreaming of finishing high school and going to college?"

Unexpectedly, Feng Yanwen, usually so timid, stood firm. She insisted Xu Meng finish high school.

The family argued and screamed for days. Then Feng Yanwen fell and never woke up again. But then, out of nowhere, the Xus caved and let Xu Meng stay in school.

After failing the gaokao, the family accepted a huge dowry to marry her off to a disabled man from another province. Xu Meng ran away in secret.

With her household registration locked at home, she became a nobody with no papers. Desperate, she turned to an old classmate, Chang Xi, for help. After years of drifting, she finally settled in the south. Back then, she used to think—if she got a do-over, she’d grab Feng Yanwen and run. If she could make it on her own in the south, how much harder could it be with her mother?

Given another shot, she’d live better than ever.

Feng Yanwen was such a good mother—raising her like she was made of gold, teaching her to love the world even when life crushed her down.

Granny Xue’s mouth and Xu Jiefang’s fists had always rained down on Feng Yanwen.

Feng had been a teacher once, but lost her job thanks to some scandal. Without that, the Xus wouldn’t have dared treat her like dirt.

Thinking about it now, Xu Meng was already planning—she had to get her mom out.

As soon as possible.

They carried the watermelon together, heading home. Before they even reached the door, they ran into Granny Xue.

Spotting the big melon, Granny Xue assumed Feng Yanwen bought it herself—and went ballistic. “You little bitch spawned by a whore—spending money like it grows on trees! Not a penny earned, yet you’re buying watermelons? Look at yourself—do you even deserve this? Freeloading all these years, not a care for the family! If you were like my Dawei, getting into a good university, I’d sell my coffin to support you. But no—you’ve got rotten grades and still want to waste food and cash staying in school? Garbage breeding garbage, dreaming of college? A waste of skin like you—kick the bucket early and do us all a favor!”

In her eyes, women spending money was damn near murder. A stupid watermelon might as well have been a death sentence.

Back during the worst times, there was a week when only ten yuan was left in the house. Feng Yanwen sent Xu Jiefang out for flour. He came back with a pack of cigarettes instead, bragging like he’d won the lottery over some ‘rare’ smokes.

Cigarettes were rationed back then. Xu Jiefang forgot all about the flour in his excitement. Feng Yanwen saw red—since when were cigarettes worth more than food?

And Granny Xue didn’t say a word against her son. Instead, she backed him up and called Feng Yanwen a shrew.

“Who’s gonna stop me? Huh? All of you—good-for-nothing leeches! Seventeen years of raising trash for nothing! Should’ve held your face in the shit bucket the second you drew breath!”

Granny Xue was the queen of bile, famous for ranting for hours straight. That morning at breakfast, another argument over school erupted. Xu Jiefang blew his top and stomped out, leaving the old hag to hold court. Xu Meng figured the old bat’s lungs had to be the size of footballs—could probably spit 5,000 curses in one breath and outlast a dolphin underwater.

All the neighbors turned to look.

Normally, no one would be rude enough to interfere at times like this.

Granny Xue's outburst was, as always, about money.

The Xu family had three sons and one daughter. The daughter had married off early and rarely came home.

Xu Dawei was Old Xu's son.

Putting someone through college these days wasn’t easy. Not only had they drained Old Xu’s savings, but the second and third sons’ families had also contributed their share. But the old woman still wasn’t satisfied and wanted Xu Meng to work in a factory to earn living expenses for her eldest grandson.

Feng Yanwen wouldn’t hear of it. Xu Meng had only one year left to graduate. Even if she didn’t get into college after another year of hard work, at least she’d have a high school diploma.

If she dropped out now, she’d only be a middle school graduate.

Feng Yanwen had already endured a day of scolding and was physically and mentally exhausted, crouching on the ground sobbing.

When Granny Xue tried to pull Xu Meng’s hair, Feng Yanwen stepped in to stop her, only to be overpowered by the old lady, who slapped her hard, leaving bloody marks on her face.

That’s when Xu Meng snapped and lunged at her.

In her previous life, she’d been in sales and seen all kinds of scenes—she wasn’t afraid of some old hag.

Sure enough, Xu Meng immediately pinned the old lady down and gave her a hard slap in return, leaving her stunned silent. The old lady screamed about calling the cops and sending Xu Meng to jail, which terrified Feng Yanwen, who dropped to her knees to beg for mercy.

"Mom, don’t beg her." Xu Meng pulled Feng Yanwen to her feet and sneered, "You ungrateful old witch! Your family took benefits from my parents back then. Now that you’ve eaten all the food, you think I’m useless? What kind of logic is that?"

Xu Meng was adopted, not picked up off the streets.

Her parents were intellectuals labeled as "stinking ninth category" and were sent to labor camps. Unable to bear the thought of their infant child suffering in the countryside, they entrusted her to relatives still in the city.

Those were lean times. The Xu family had three grown sons out of work and nearly starved. If not for the 500 jin of grain coupons, 200 yuan, and a rare color TV set Xu Meng’s parents left behind, they wouldn’t have survived that winter, and Old Xu wouldn’t have found work.

From the moment Xu Meng could remember, she knew she was living with relatives and did as much work as she could. Even as a child, she was a strong laborer in the household, shouldering her share of housework.

It was the Xu family who had taken her in initially, but they later pawned her off on Feng Yanwen when she remained childless.

At first, Feng Yanwen hadn’t wanted to raise an unrelated child, but seeing the frail, nearly lifeless baby in her arms, sucking weakly on her fingers, and behaving so sweetly, her heart softened.

Initially, the Xu family treated her well, but as time passed, their attitudes changed.

When her parents failed to return with generous repayment, the family’s attitude turned to outright disdain.

Only Feng Yanwen remained true to her kind nature, treating Xu Meng like her own daughter.

Li Xiuzhi, the eldest aunt, had just returned and sneered, "Neither of you earns money. How dare you talk about wanting to study?"

As soon as summer vacation began, she’d sent Xu Meng to clean her son’s dorm. Xu Meng went but couldn’t find him and waited at the school all day, only to learn Xu Dawei had gone dancing. Li Xiuzhi accused Xu Meng of slacking off and started berating her the moment she got home.

Being a bus conductor, Li Xiuzhi put on airs like all the Eight Great Workers did, putting on airs and looking down her nose at everyone.

Like many men in later generations who looked down on stay-at-home wives, Li Xiuzhi also looked down on Feng Yanwen for "not earning money."

But Feng Yanwen had once had a job. Even after being suspended, she still received a basic living allowance from the school every month.

Housework was seen as valueless. No one appreciated her efforts—in their eyes, Feng Yanwen and her daughter were just dead weight.

Granny Xue snorted, "All these years, she’s eaten so much of our food. Call it an advance payment. I raised you for seventeen years—now you owe me seventeen years’ worth of payback."

All that old woman ever talks about is money.

Feng Yanwen tightly shielded her daughter behind her, her thin body trembling slightly with anger: "Have you lost all shame? Money back then wasn't the same as money now. That food meant survival back then—she doesn’t owe you anything!"

Xu Meng knew just how much courage it took for Feng Yanwen to stand up for her like this.

"Mom, you don’t have to protect me. If they want me to pay them back, fine—we’ll take this to the local authorities and get a fair judgment. Let’s find an accountant to calculate it properly. Based on the prices back then, how much would 200 yuan be worth today? How much should those 500 jin (about 600 pounds) of grain coupons be worth now? And what about your brother’s job? Let’s carefully figure out who really owes whom." Xu Meng stayed calm and brought the government into it.

This was something she had wanted to say in her past life!

At the mention of involving the government, Granny Xue immediately started pretending to faint.

Hearing this, Li Xiuzhi was the first to panic: "You ungrateful brat, how dare you speak to your elders like that!"

Feng Yanwen was fiercely protective though hopeless at arguing: "Don’t you dare scold her."

Xu Meng, meanwhile, stormed into the house and came back out holding a long knife.

One look at it, and Granny Xue nearly fainted for real.

"Ahhh—" A blood-curdling scream rang out: "Murder! That wretched girl is trying to kill someone!"