Chapter 1: Rebirth in '83

"What’s going on with Li Xiangqin in Bed 45? She’s been behind on her fees for a month. Notify her family immediately. This nursing home isn't a charity; if they don't pay up, we’re sending her back."

"I’ve been hounding them, but Li Xiangqin’s sons either don't answer their phones or keep passing the buck. Nobody wants to pay."

"If they won't pay, they don't want her here. Just pack her things, put her at the gate, and tell the family to come get her."

The director glanced at the old woman lying on the bed and issued the ultimatum.

Li Xiangqin gripped her quilt, her heart racing and her eyes filled with terror. If she were thrown out at the gate in the middle of winter, she would surely freeze to death.

In her panic, she lost control of her body and became incontinent!

"Ugh... you wretched old hag! Even at the end, you’re still causing us trouble. You’ve already been abandoned by your children; you’d be better off dead and saving us the hassle."

The nurse cursed and swore, pinching and twisting the old woman as she cleaned her up. Only after seeing the old woman shed tears from the pain did she feel satisfied. Afterward, she pushed her to the front gate, made one final call to the family, and washed her hands of the matter.

Li Xiangqin lay on the stretcher, wearing only the thin clothes she had arrived in during the summer. The cold wind made her entire body shiver. She stared at the gloomy sky with hollow eyes.

"Jianguo, Jianshe, Jianmin, Jiankang... my sons... please, come and take Mom home..."

By the time night fell, none of her four sons had appeared. Seeing the situation, the nursing home feared a death on their doorstep and pushed her back inside.

Unfortunately, after freezing outside all day, the sudden shift from cold to heat caused her to pass away in the middle of the night.

...

"Did you hear? The Zhang family started fighting the moment Old Zhang was buried."

"What happened?"

"What else could it be? Old Zhang was a Grade 5 machinist at the machinery plant; the benefits are excellent. Zhang’s second, third, and fourth sons all want to take over his position.

I heard the brick kiln factory paid two thousand yuan in compensation alone. That’s real, hard cash. How could the sons and daughters-in-law not be jealous? They’ll probably end up breaking each other's heads over it."

"That’s true. All the sons are married and have their own little schemes. It’s enough to make Auntie Xiangqin’s life difficult."

"Who’s to say it isn't?"

Li Xiangqin was woken up by the noise. She opened her eyes, feeling dazed, and heard her sons arguing without a shred of restraint. Staring at the familiar ceiling, she was momentarily confused. Wasn't she dead?

"Third brother, what are you making a scene for? I’m the second son; by order of seniority, it should be me taking over Dad’s job. Besides, Mom and Dad already pulled strings to get you into the soap factory. You’ll be a permanent employee in a year, so why are you still eyeing Dad’s job?"

"Bullshit. Do you think I’m stupid? Can the benefits at the soap factory compare to the machinery plant? Dad was a Grade 5 machinist! If I go there, my status will skyrocket."

"Stop arguing, both of you. Look at the occasion—Mom is already heartbroken."

The one speaking was the eldest, Zhang Jianguo. He pushed up the glasses on his nose, glanced through the curtain at his mother lying in the inner room, and waved his hand to stop his two red-faced brothers.

"Second brother, Third brother, your eldest brother is right. Dad passed away suddenly; Mom must be devastated. We need to be considerate of her feelings."

"Heh~, Sister-in-law is truly a woman of letters; nothing but pretty words. But the eldest brother has already taken all the benefits of this family. You two are the only ones living comfortably. What right do you have to make snide remarks?"

"That’s called 'having your cake and eating it too.' If you really cared about this family, you wouldn't be eyeing the family’s assets."

The second and third brothers scoffed mockingly, showing no respect at all, which made Zhang Yanli’s face turn bright red.

As the eldest son and one of the first college students after the resumption of the college entrance exam, Zhang Jianguo had always felt superior. Seeing his brothers humiliate his wife right in front of him, he was instantly incensed.

"Is there no sense of propriety left? She is your sister-in-law."

The two of them scoffed. They hated this "eldest son" act of his more than anything.

"If you want to be the eldest brother and sister-in-law that your brothers respect, then stop eyeing Dad’s compensation money. We’ll be respectful enough then."

They were all family; who didn't know who? Why put on an act!

"...You are simply unreasonable."

Zhang Jianguo’s eyes narrowed behind his lenses, and he scolded them angrily. Unfortunately, the two turned their heads away, not caring in the slightest.

Li Xiangqin, lying in the inner room, turned over and looked at the tear-off calendar on the wall.

June 28, 1983.

She couldn't help but pinch her thigh, finally confirming that she had been reborn—and reborn on the very afternoon of the old man’s funeral.

She had finished the old man’s funeral, exhausted and heartbroken, and collapsed onto the bed, losing consciousness...

Now, listening to her sons arguing unscrupulously in the living room, she thought of being thrown at the nursing home gate in the middle of winter, feeling only coldness and anger.

The old man had just been buried, and these white-eyed wolves were already eyeing his money and his job, without a shred of grief.

She thought of how the old man, to feed his children, had worked at a brick kiln in the suburbs in addition to his job at the machinery plant to supplement the household income.

Twenty-four hours a day, aside from the eight hours for sleeping and eating, he spent the rest of his time working his fingers to the bone.

She hadn't expected that the raw bricks drying at the kiln would collapse and bury him. By the time they dug him out, he had stopped breathing before they could even get him to the hospital.

This was a production accident at the brick kiln. The old man had been well-liked and often helped repair tractors and such, saving the factory director a lot of trouble. After the accident, the director didn't shirk responsibility and paid two thousand yuan in compensation.

Technically, the old man’s moonlighting violated the machinery plant’s employment regulations.

But the director, remembering their friendship, gave them special consideration. He approved it as a death due to illness, provided a one-time payment of ten months' salary as a condolence fee, six months of funeral expenses, and allowed one child to take over his position.

It was fortunate that the machinery plant had good benefits; if it had been a smaller factory, no amount of friendship would have mattered.

Seeing the scene from her past life play out again, Li Xiangqin couldn't help but feel her heart turn cold.

"Mom, are you awake?" The eldest, Zhang Jianguo, had just lifted the door curtain when he saw his mother’s eyes open. He pushed up his glasses and spoke with surprise.

Li Xiangqin turned her head to look at her eldest son at the door. This was once her pride, the eldest son she valued most, the college student who made her stand tall. He was assigned to work at a newspaper office, holding a pen and writing articles—a very respectable position.

But when her health failed, he was the first to suggest she go to a nursing home, and he and his wife were the first to stop paying the fees.

At the thought of the abuse she suffered in the nursing home, a surge of anger rose in her heart.

"A bunch of white-eyed wolves! Howling and wailing one by one, practically crawling into my ears. I’m not deaf, you know—how could I possibly sleep?"

Everyone: "..."

Li Xiangqin rolled over and sat up, walking out in a rage. She shoved the eldest son, who was blocking the door, causing him to stumble.

"You blind fool, what are you doing standing there like a door god?"

The eldest daughter-in-law instinctively reached out to steady him, looking at her mother-in-law with dissatisfaction.

"Mom, why are you pushing people?"

"So what if I pushed him? I raised him with my own blood, sweat, and tears. Forget about touching him with a finger—even if I beat him, he’d better just take it."