Chapter 1: Awakening

In mid-July, the frantic double harvest began, with every production team scrambling to work.

As the golden sun sank westward, its brilliant afterglow lit up most of the mountain; as the sunset dipped below the western hills, the members of Fengshou Team packed up and headed home.

Along the way, a group chattered endlessly about village gossip, with Gu family’s third daughter-in-law, Lin Zhao, being mentioned most often.

“Hey, Gu’s third daughter-in-law didn’t show up for work today—she’s the only one in the whole team living in luxury!” spoke a woman, her skin dark and rough, her short, coarse hair soaked with sweat and stuck to her forehead, reeking of body odor.

Another woman, equally drenched in sweat, snorted coldly, her tone brimming with resentment toward Gu’s third daughter-in-law—anyone unaware might think she was the woman’s own daughter-in-law: “Da Cai’s mother looks all seductive and flashy—clearly no good. A lazy coward—I saw it from the start.”

“Oh? You saw it again?”

Someone behind caught up, glancing sideways at them, her voice tinged with resignation: “Say all you want, but she’s the one who can bear children.”

The women fell silent.

Being able to bear children? In rural China in the 1960s, that was a massive advantage!!

After everyone left, a thin, expressionless woman stepped out, standing motionless for a long while before murmuring softly: “If only I could bear children like that too…”

Stray dogs barked everywhere in the village, mingled with children’s chatter and occasional sharp screeches from women—noisy and chaotic.

Wang Chunhua carried a basin of dirty water out the door and poured it onto the small vegetable patch by the gate; just as she turned to go back inside, she saw a girl of fifteen or sixteen burst out of the neighboring earthen house.

The girl looked wildly panicked; upon seeing someone at the door, her face stiffened, her eyes darted away, then she lowered her head and ran off.

Wang Chunhua stared, utterly baffled—what’s wrong with her…

She had barely turned when she heard a child’s tearful cry from next door: “Mama!”

“Someone! Help! My mama fainted!!”

Gu Da Cai’s voice, loud and shrill, startled Gu Er Cai, who was pulling cabbage in the backyard.

Gu Er Cai’s legs flew as he rushed over, saw his mother lying on the ground with a large bump on her forehead, and frantically tried to lift her with his skinny little arms alongside his brother—but they were too small and weak to move her; his voice trembled with panic: “Brother, what’s wrong with Mama?”

“Mama was pushed down by Little Aunt,” Da Cai choked out, his small body shaking.

Seeing Lin Zhao still unconscious, five-year-old Gu Da Cai calmed down and told his brother: “Er Cai, go find Nai.”

At the door, Wang Chunhua heard the commotion, dropped the basin, wiped her hands on her heavily patched pants, and hurried into the neighbor’s house.

Upon entering, she heard Da Cai’s words—Oh my, what a clever child!

Seeing an adult arrive, Da Cai immediately felt reassured and pleaded urgently: “Auntie, please check on my mama—she was pushed down by my little aunt!”

Wang Chunhua saw the huge bump on Lin Zhao’s head and gasped: “Good heavens, how swollen! Lying on the floor won’t do—we need to get her onto the bed first.”

“Auntie, I’ll help you,” Da Cai said, gripping his mother’s side.

Seeing he was no longer needed, Er Cai noticed the broken bowl and egg custard scraps on the floor; his eyes darted, then he bolted out the door, shouting loudly as he ran: “Grandpa! Nai! Mama was knocked out by Little Aunt!”

It was quitting time; the road was crowded. Gu Er Cai’s loud, wailing cry drew everyone’s attention—passersby stopped to stare.

Huh, Chenghuai’s family is at it again with the little sister? Sounds like this time she actually laid hands on her!

The Gu family was also in the team’s quitting line—over a dozen of them. Everyone was exhausted from the day’s labor, just wanting to go home and eat, when they heard the familiar wailing…

Gu Mu, walking ahead, turned pale instantly, assuming someone was tormenting her precious second grandson; she gripped her large hoe and marched forward quickly.

Before she even arrived, her voice rang out—equally loud: “Er Cai, what’s wrong? Who’s bullying you? Tell Nai!”

Er Cai wiped his tears, his eyes red, looking up at his Nai with grievance: “It’s Little Aunt—she bullied Mama, pushed her down! Mama’s head has a bump as big as a bowl—no, a basin! She hasn’t woken up yet, Nai—I want Mama, I want my Mama… waaahhh…”

Favored children act without fear—Er Cai knew Nai doted on them, and he wailed so loudly even the birds in the branches fled this scene of chaos.

Among the onlookers, someone snorted with laughter.

Meeting Er Cai’s furious glare, the man rubbed his nose and teased: “Er Cai, do you even know how big a basin-sized bump is?”

“Shoo, shoo, what’s it to you!” Gu Mu glared at the man.

Thinking of Er Cai’s words, Gu Mu’s face darkened, her whole body tensing.

That damn girl went to the third son’s house again!?

Why the hell is she bothering the third daughter-in-law?

Gu Mu’s mood soured; she didn’t even bother asking for details, and hurried off toward the third son’s house.

Gu Fu wiped his grandson’s tears and asked what happened.

Er Cai was sharp and observant; remembering the broken bowl and egg custard at the spot where his mother fell, he pieced together most of the story.

He fumed: “Bad Little Aunt stole our egg custard and pushed Mama!”

The Fengshou Team members exchanged strange glances.

Over a bowl of egg custard, she pushed her own sister-in-law…?

Even their three-year-olds wouldn’t do something like that.

“...”

Gu Fu’s hands trembled.

Family shame must not be aired publicly.

Seeing Er Cai’s rabbit-like eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to scold him further.

Fine—Xing’er brought this upon herself; she must bear the consequences.

He and her mother had tried to teach her, but the girl always had some excuse to argue back.

The two sisters-in-law exchanged glances, grimacing—given the third daughter-in-law’s stubborn, unforgiving nature, this time… trouble was coming.

?-

Gu Mu rushed to Da Cai’s house, heart pounding wildly, nearly leaping from her chest; she leaned against the doorframe to enter, saw the third daughter-in-law lying on the bed, eyes open, and let out a long breath of relief.

“Thank goodness, thank goodness,” she rubbed her chest—what a terrifying journey that had been.

“Nai,” Da Cai said, no longer crying, but his eyes still red.

“Ah, Da Cai, you were terrified, weren’t you?” Gu Mu noticed his eyes were redder than Er Cai’s—clearly shaken to the core; she patted his head tenderly.

She turned to Wang Chunhua and thanked her: “Thank you.”

Wang Chunhua waved her hand: “Nothing. I checked—your daughter-in-law’s fine, just the bump looks scary. Her brain’s not hurt.”

With that, she remembered her stove was still lit, bid Gu Mu farewell, and left.

Gu Da Cai walked her to the door.

Wang Chunhua sighed inwardly—what a good child. How could Chenghuai’s wife not cherish him?

Inside, Gu Mu sat on a stool beside the bed, her voice lowered several degrees: “Third daughter-in-law, are you alright? How do you feel? Still in pain? What do you want to eat? I’ll make it for you.”

Lin Zhao, lying on the bed, blinked—no, she had a problem. A huge one.

Just now, her world had collapsed—

She had been a character in the novel *The Stepmother’s Daily Care for Her Adopted Kids*: a lickspittle male side character, a disposable female side character’s dead biological mother, who died today—over a bowl of egg custard… just a bowl of egg custard!

What a miserable way to die.

The injustice burned inside her chest like fire, swelling until she wanted to blast the author into ashes!

Worse still, in the novel, she had only one line of dialogue—and worse, the book called her a drama queen who had squandered all her good fortune.

“I’m so angry, aaaaaaah!” Lin Zhao pounded the bed, her fair, beautiful face flushed with rage, eyes reddened with fury.

As she raged, she noticed—floating in the air before her—a giant spinning wheel, translucent and ethereal, its color a luminous, intricate black, radiating elegance and mystery.

The moment it caught her gaze, a few characters flashed:

【Mysterious Prize Wheel】

Within moments, the basic rules appeared in her mind: complete tasks to earn points; points could be used to spin for prizes.

Lin Zhao blinked—her head really couldn’t be injured; the aftereffects were severe. Right now, she was hallucinating…

After blinking, she waited silently—still, the wheel remained.

“!”

Unable to resist, she reached out and poked it a few times—she could touch it. Her pupils dilated in shock.

Gu Mu, seeing the third daughter-in-law remain silent for so long, grew deeply uneasy; her loud voice softened: “Third daughter-in-law?”

Lin Zhao looked up, dazed.

She had a stunningly beautiful face: dark, classical phoenix eyes, perfectly arched double eyelids, a straight, delicate nose, lips softly pink and moist. Her features were exceptional enough—but her skin was dazzlingly white.

In looks, she was the most striking in the entire village.

Now, her eyes were reddened at the corners—not fierce, but stripped of her usual arrogance and coldness.

Even Gu Mu, who had always harbored some resentment toward the third daughter-in-law, felt a pang of sympathy—she thought her daughter had gone too far and needed a good scolding.

“Third daughter-in-law, today’s incident was all Xing’er’s fault—I’ll punish her when I get home…” Gu Mu couldn’t help speaking gently.

Before she finished, Lin Zhao slammed the bed again—*thud!*—had Chenghuai not reinforced the bedframe repeatedly, those two hits would’ve shattered it!

“It’s her fault!” Lin Zhao cut her off angrily. “This is my home. She came to steal from me—is that not her fault? Who’s ever heard of a little sister hitting her sister-in-law? Gu Xing’er is so violent, we should call the Public Security Bureau…”

Let people judge.

Before she finished the last three words, Gu Mu, thinking she meant to report to the police, grabbed her hand urgently: “Don’t call the police, third daughter-in-law! For all the years I’ve treated you fairly, don’t call the police. Let Xing’er pay you ten yuan, and we’ll call it even—okay?”

“No!” Lin Zhao was still furious.

Gu Mu had expected the third daughter-in-law wouldn’t be easy to appease; she gritted her teeth: “Then what do you want? Name it. If we can do it, we will.”

Lin Zhao had been waiting for this—Gu Xing’er had pushed her, giving her a headache; she wouldn’t let her off lightly.

The sickly beauty on the bed let out a delicate sigh and raised her slender, pale hand to list her demands:

“First, Gu Xing’er’s tuition and living expenses will no longer be paid by the third household. Second, you and Father must control her—she must never come to my house again. Third, she must gather firewood for me—two bundles daily, for one full month, and no one else may help.”

After stating the three demands, Lin Zhao fell silent. Gu Mu froze—just that?

Had the third daughter-in-law suddenly changed her nature?

Gu Mu felt stunned—even unnerved. Was Da Cai’s mother plotting something worse…?

She didn’t mean to assume the worst of the third daughter-in-law, but ever since Lin Zhao married into the Gu family, she’d been nothing but trouble—spoiled, dramatic, and difficult.

At first, she’d pretended to be proper—except for being lazy and refusing to work, she’d seemed tolerable. But the moment she got pregnant, she started demanding a separate household, crying, screaming, even threatening suicide—until the Gu family finally gave in and split off the third household.

After splitting the household, she cried about being neglected, so Gu Mu had no choice but to make three trips a day to cook and wash clothes for them—those days were truly unbearable to recall.

Today, the third son’s wife had become so reasonable; Gu Mu truly felt as if she’d seen a ghost!

Lin Zhao saw her mother-in-law silent for a long time and assumed she was trying to haggle; instantly, she pulled a long face and moved to get out of bed.

“If you think I’m being unreasonable, why not report me to the Public Security Bureau?”

Gu Mu snapped back to reality and hurriedly said, “Not unreasonable at all—not even a little.”

“We’ll do as you say—I and your father will take care of Xing’er!” she assured repeatedly.

Lin Zhao snorted dismissively: “I hope Xing’er learns her lesson. If there’s a next time, I’ll definitely report her to the Public Security Bureau!”

Gu Mu: “...”

The third son’s wife really knows how to sting.

She was used to it and didn’t bother arguing with Lin Zhao.

After working all morning, she had other things to do; Gu Mu didn’t delay long, offered a few more words of concern, told Da Cai and Er Cai to come to the old house if they needed her, then hurried off.

Inside the room, Lin Zhao lay on the bed, studying the prize wheel.

“How do you even activate it...” she muttered.

No sooner had she spoken than a transparent line of text floated before the wheel.

“Obtained one free spin. Would you like to use it?”

Lin Zhao silently thought: “Use it.”

The red pointer began to spin, slowing from fast to slow, finally stopping on the Grain and Oil Grand Gift Package. The text on the package list was tiny, yet strangely, Lin Zhao clearly read exactly what it said.

【5kg Eight-Star Snowflake Wheat Flour × 5 bags】

【5kg Premium Pearl Rice × 5 bags】

【2kg Egg Noodles × 2 packs】

【Farm-Raised Pork × 10 jin】

【Authentic Free-Range Eggs × 100 eggs】

【Peanut Oil × 5 barrels】

【Braised Chicken Drumstick × 1】

【500g Rock Sugar × 2 bags】

【Meat Canned Goods × 2 cans】

【Essential Household Seasoning Pack...】

“Would you like to claim your reward?” The words appeared again before the wheel.

Lin Zhao, dazed, murmured: “Claim it.”

In the next instant.

The empty space in the room was piled high with supplies.

“!”

Lin Zhao stood frozen in shock.

The noise from inside the room carried outside; a small voice called from the door: “Ma?”

Da Cai had brought a small stool and sat outside Lin Zhao’s room, guarding his mother; hearing movement inside, he cautiously called out.

Lin Zhao had a fertile body, envied by the entire commune for her ability to bear children. Her first birth delivered twins—both boys, Da Cai and Er Cai. Years later, when Gu Chenghuai returned home for a visit, she became pregnant again, this time giving birth to a set of Long Fengtai, now just over a year old.

Two births, four treasures.

Lin Zhao snapped back to herself, hurriedly shoved the piled supplies into the cabinet, locked it with a click, walked to the door, and opened it—there stood thin, small Da Cai. The memory of his final, brutal death on the street struck her like a heart attack.