Struggle Life in the 1970s

Xinnan County, Hexi Village, Chu Family Courtyard.

"This girl has been lying in bed for three days, and the fever hasn't subsided at all. I hope she won't become a fool from the fever." Chu's mother was sitting next to her and put a hot towel on the forehead of the person on the bed. The next second, she was suddenly met with a pair of dark eyes.

She was so scared that she trembled all over and her hands shook, "Pa!" The wet towel fell on Chu Ye's face.

Chu Ye was lying on the bed, with a thick quilt covering her body so that she could hardly move. She didn't move at all, and her brain was like a paste, unable to function.

"Oh, you dead child! You don't even know how to say a word after waking up. Do you want to scare your mother to death?" Chu's mother patted her chest. Seeing that Chu Ye didn't say a word, she reached out and picked up the towel.

The darkness in front of her eyes faded away, and the sunlight shone directly into her eyes, causing a momentary sting. After a long while, when Chu Ye recovered, she turned her head and asked in a puzzled tone, "Mom, why are you here?"

After she finished speaking, she realized that her throat was unusually hoarse.

"What are you talking about, little girl? You've had a fever for several days. Where else could I go if I wasn't by your side to watch over you?" Chu's mother poured warm water from the thermos at her feet and helped her drink it.

The warm water flowed down the mouth into the stomach. There was white sugar specially put by Chu's mother at the bottom of the bowl. The more he drank, the sweeter it became, as if a pair of warm little hands soothed the uneasiness in his heart.

After drinking, Chu Ye quietly looked at everything around him.

There was a wooden wardrobe in the corner of the gray cement floor, and a small table next to the bed with several junior high school textbooks on it. She was covered with a thick pink floral quilt, and there was a large wooden box at the end of the bed with an iron lock on it.

Looking to the side, I saw a cloth curtain hanging on the doorway, and under the curtain, I could vaguely see a few black table legs.

Chu's mother, who was sitting beside the bed, was looking at her expectantly. Her face was not as old as she remembered, and her head was still full of black hair.

The person in front of him opened his mouth and asked, "How do you feel now? Does your head still hurt?"

What was going on? Why was she in her own home? She clearly remembered that she had killed Zhao Xuesong and then lay in bed waiting for dawn, so why was she in her own home when she opened her eyes?

Is this the world after death?

"Child, have you been burned silly? Why haven't you said a word for such a long time?" Mother Chu muttered, and reached out her hand to her daughter's forehead worriedly.

"You've had a fever for several days, and I gave you medicine but it didn't get better. So I asked the witch at the entrance of the village to come and take a look at you. Unexpectedly, it really helped! Girl, be careful next time you come back. You may not be so lucky next time you fall into the river."

Chu's mother's words were nagging, but they seemed to fall from the sky and hit her ears.

Fell into the river? Had a fever? Seeked a fortune teller? She remembered that this happened when she was fifteen.

That day, she finished work and went home as usual. While walking by the stream, she accidentally fell into the water and was hit on the head by a stone, and she fell into coma. Later, a fellow villager who passed by saw her, fished her out, and carried her home.

It was strange, how could she think of something that happened so long ago. Moreover, why was the hand that Chu's mother had just touched her forehead warm?
Is this really the world after death? A bold suspicion gradually arose in her heart.

"Mom, what time is it today?" Chu Ye wanted to confirm her guess.

"Today? Are you really stupid? Today is March 76, 3." Mother Chu wondered whether she should invite the witch back to check the child again.

On March 76, 3, Chu Ye's heart seemed to be shaken by something. She hastily threw off the quilt on her body and walked out of the door quickly.

It was afternoon now, and most people in the village went to the fields to earn work points. The road was empty, and there were not many people. From afar, a field of golden rapeseed flowers could be seen. It was chilly in spring, and Chu Ye was awakened by the cold wind blowing in his face, and his brain became much clearer in an instant.

In front of her was the familiar village where she had lived for more than ten years. She lowered her head and looked at her pair of white and tender hands. Unlike the thick calluses from working in the fields, her fingernails were slightly long, with distinct knuckles. There was also a callus on the middle finger of her right hand, which was the mark left by years of holding a pen.

She clenched her fists tightly, feeling the pain of her nails digging into her flesh, and her heart was filled with joy.

Her guess was true! She was not in hell, she returned to when she was fifteen years old! Thinking of what happened afterwards, pain flashed in her eyes.

It was also at this time in her previous life that she obeyed her parents' arrangements and met Zhao Xuesong, who was introduced by a matchmaker. At that time, the matchmaker only said that Zhao Xuesong had a wealthy family and was an honest person.

Who would have thought that this was all Zhao Xuesong's disguise! After she married into the Zhao family, Zhao Xuesong still pretended at first, but after she gave birth to her first son, the Zhao family probably felt that they had her under control, and their attitude towards her was completely different from the beginning!

Zhao Xuesong showed his true colors, drinking and playing cards every day. She couldn't stand it, and every time Zhao Xuesong came home, they would have a big fight. Later, it turned into a fight between the two! Zhao Xuesong punched and kicked her when he was drunk, blaming her for all the unhappiness of losing money after playing cards.

Idiot! Even Chu Ye could see that the people playing cards with him were setting him up! But Zhao Xuesong got deeper and deeper into it and lost all the family money. Zhao's parents couldn't stand it and took their grandson home to raise him despite Chu Ye's objection, not allowing Chu Ye to contact their own children.

But how can parents who raised Zhao Xuesong like this educate their grandson well? When the child was seven years old, he had been spoiled into a gangster, had no respect for Chu Ye, and would insult her at the slightest dissatisfaction. Chu Ye originally planned to bring the child to her side to raise him personally, but what happened? Zhao's parents stopped her, saying that they and their children were not living well and were unwilling to send their grandson back.

Zhao Xuesong just spread his hands and didn't interfere in the child's affairs at all.

Until that time, Chu Ye came home from working in the fields and saw the child lying on the bed, puffing away at Zhao Xuesong's cigarette.

This made Chu Ye very angry, and she scolded the child, but he actually went back and lied to Zhao's parents, slandering Chu Ye for beating him! Then he was smug under the protection of Zhao's parents, as if he had a grudge against his mother.

Too many trivial matters made her feel suffocated. Many times she went back to Chu's mother to cry, but she always got the same answer: As a woman, you just have to bear it and it will pass.

Just bear with it? How long will it take to bear with it?

She said she wanted a divorce.

Chu's mother said, "My brother is planning to get married soon. If you dare to do something as shameful as getting a divorce, I will beat you to death first."

She had no choice but to break her own bones, swallow the blood and tears in her heart, and like millions of other women, no longer complain about the pain of life.

She thought this kind of life would never end, but Zhao Xuesong came home drunk that day and vented his resentment for losing on her. She couldn't help struggling, and finally an amazing strength burst out of her body, strangling Zhao Xuesong to death.

After her trance passed and her mind became clear, Chu Ye realized that she had strangled someone to death!
Apart from the fear at the beginning, she felt relieved. The huge rock that was weighing on her heart was toppled. She let out a long sigh, and ended all the unhappiness since she got married.

Smelling the alcohol in the air and touching Zhao Xuesong's gradually cooling body, she regained her spirits, and lay peacefully on the bed, with her hands placed considerately on her chest, and then stared with her dark eyes open until the roosters crowed outside the house, and until dawn broke outside.

Then she stood up and planned to turn herself in to the village brigade and let them arrest her.

Unexpectedly, she stumbled and fell. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Chu's mother standing by the bed.

Holding onto the door frame and facing the cold wind, she couldn't help but shiver all over. God had mercy on her by letting her go back to the time when everything had not yet begun. No matter what, she would never repeat her previous path - getting married early under the arrangement of her parents, being bullied by others without confidence, and then living a cowardly life.

After making up her mind, she turned around and asked Chu's mother about the current situation at home. Chu's mother didn't understand, so she answered honestly: "Your brother Chu Guangyao is still in school and won't be back until the weekend. Your father went to the fields to work and earn work points this afternoon."

Sure enough, everything was the same as she remembered. She suppressed the ecstasy in her heart and began to think about how to change her destiny in this life.

Based on her experience in her previous life, after she woke up from falling into the water, Chu's mother saw that she was not seriously injured and started to talk about a blind date.

As if it was a prophecy of fate, Chu Ye's thoughts had just flashed through her mind when her mother's voice came from behind, "Girl, let me tell you something. A while ago, a matchmaker from the next village came to our house and said that she wanted to arrange a meeting with someone for you."

As Chu's mother spoke, she secretly observed Chu Ye's reaction with her eyes, and then continued, "What the matchmaker meant is that the man has a good appearance and family background, and you have to seize the opportunity. If he hadn't chosen you, with our family conditions, you wouldn't have been able to get in."

Although Chu Ye didn't show it on his face, alarm bells were already ringing in his heart!

Here they come, the same words as in the previous life.

Chu Ye knew clearly in her heart that the person the matchmaker was talking about was Zhao Xuesong, her future partner, husband, and - enemy.

There was a turbulent wave in her heart. If she had felt a little happy when she first woke up and realized that she was reborn, now she was filled with real fear, as if the hand of fate was pushing her step by step onto the predetermined track.

It was the same in her previous life. She had just woken up from a serious illness and was stunned when she heard what Chu's mother said. Before she could react, she heard Chu's mother trying to persuade her, saying that she was almost done with junior high school and that at her age in the countryside, she should consider these things.

Then, under the arrangement of the matchmaker, he met Zhao Xuesong without knowing what was going on.

It must be said that Zhao Xuesong was really good at pretending. Every time he was with her, he was always polite and gentle. When they talked, he always went along with her, fearing that she would be dissatisfied. Chu Ye soon fell deeply in love with him, and a year later she agreed to Zhao Xuesong's proposal.

Then they got married and had children, and everything went smoothly until Zhao Xuesong revealed his true nature after marriage. Chu Ye's happy life came to an abrupt end, and fate finally revealed its vicious fangs to her.

Chu Ye remained calm, pretending to be ignorant, and asked Chu's mother, "Did the matchmaker tell me what the man's name is?"

"It seems his last name is Zhao, and his name is Xuesong. It sounds like a good name. Xuesong Xuesong, learn from the pine tree." A smile appeared on Chu's mother's face. She was very satisfied with Chu Ye's inquiry about the man. She felt that this was a sign that the child was sensible.

Sure enough, it was Zhao Xuesong! Chu Ye's brain was working rapidly, and she had to come up with an excuse to refuse in a very short time.

(End of this chapter)