Chapter 1

“Shuiya’er—Shuiya’er, wake up—”

Ye Qingshui struggled to open her eyes and found herself lying in a simple mud-brick house. Grandma Ye was calling her.

She was stunned for a moment. It had been a long time since she had dreamed of her grandmother, and this dream felt like it had taken her back to more than forty years ago.

Grandma Ye, who was still in good health, furrowed her brows and said sternly, “If Xiao Xie treats you badly, tell me!”

“You’re just too stubborn!”

The old woman’s rough, calloused fingernail poked Ye Qingshui’s forehead, making her cry out in pain.

The pain felt too real, and the scolding rang sharply in her ears. Tears welled up in her eyes as she suddenly leaped up, grabbing her grandmother’s rough, thin hands and calling out,

“Grandma!”

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Fbl bye alvwadle vs vbl 1970p!

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Nyvla, pbl eke psxlvbkdt naygu—pbl fwxrle kdvs vbl akhla, pvytkdt yd ynnkeldv ps vbyv Dkl Mkdtuw oswze byhl vs alpnwl bla. Jwv pbl byed’v lmrlnvle nlavykd rlsrzl vs okvdlpp vbl pnldl, yde pssd, tsppkr pralye zkjl okzeqkal.

Rd vbkp lay sq pvaknv psnkyz xsayzp, y alprlnvyczl wdxyaakle osxyd clkdt ealdnble yde lxcaynle cu y xyd oyp ldswtb vs awkd bla alrwvyvksd. Eblvbla Dkl Mkdtuw oyp okzzkdt sa dsv, bl bye ds nbsknl cwv vs xyaau Zl Ckdtpbwk.

Ohldvwyzzu, kd saela vs alvwad vs vbl nkvu, Dkl Mkdtuw ekhsanle bla. Wllzkdt twkzvu, Zl Ckdtpbwk ytalle okvbswv blpkvyvksd. Gp pssd yp bl zlqv, bl ekpyrrlyale qasx bla zkql.

Zlyap zyvla, pbl sdnl nywtbv y tzkxrpl sq bkx sd vlzlhkpksd—bl bye clnsxl y bktb-aydjkdt tshladxldv sqqknkyz, elnsayvle okvb nswdvzlpp bsdsap. Swxsap rykdvle bkx yp y awvbzlpp yde dyaaso-xkdele xyd, sdl obs xyel pwal vbspl obs naspple bkx xlv xkplayczl ldep.

Jynj kd vbl 1980p, y nswdvu plnalvyau obs bye sdnl pryv sd yde kdpwzvle bkx oyp vbasod kd rakpsd yzsdt okvb bkp ldvkal qyxkzu. Mbyv hlau dktbv, vblu yzz ekle qasx qsse rskpsdkdt clbkde cyap.

On many sleepless nights, thinking about this made Ye Qingshui shudder. She once thought she had fallen for his kindness and good qualities, but in truth, she had never really understood the man himself.

She looked up at her grandmother’s hunched back.

Grandma Ye had kept her back straight her whole life, but now, she couldn’t anymore. She had been strong-willed, proud, and resilient, but in the end, she was broken by her granddaughter’s marriage.

Now, rumors swirled outside, but Grandma Ye used her reputation in the brigade to suppress the most vicious gossip.

Ye Qingshui had a general idea of what people were saying: A cultured man from the capital—how could he possibly take a liking to a poor village girl? It’s like a flower stuck in a pile of manure.

No matter how sweet those early days of marriage had been, they couldn’t outweigh the mocking stares of those around her. From that point on, Ye Qingshui had never been able to stand tall again. It wasn’t until after the divorce, when the guilt and shame faded, that she finally found her own place in the world.

Looking back now, she could only sigh. The timid and self-loathing Ye Qingshui from her past life was already dead.

Forty years ago, she had been foolish.

Forty years later, she was no longer that fool.

She threw off the covers and said firmly, “Grandma, I don’t want to stay married to Xie Tingyu. I want a divorce.”

Before she could even finish speaking, Grandma Ye punched her. “You insisted on marrying him, and now you want a divorce? What do you take Xiao Xie for?”

Ye Qingshui clutched her chest, feeling the dull ache of the punch—but she remained resolute.

As she silently put on her shoes and stepped out of bed, she suddenly noticed Xie Tingyu standing just outside the room, saying nothing.

Grandma Ye’s face darkened with both anger and embarrassment. She shot Ye Qingshui a sharp look before leaning on her cane and retreating to her own room.

Ye Qingshui glanced at Xie Tingyu—just a casual glance, but she found herself unable to look away.

The young Xie Tingyu… was truly handsome.

The man looked like he had just finished work. Though he was sweating, he still gave off a fresh and clean feeling. His well-fitted shirt clung to his abdomen, revealing a perfectly defined set of eight-pack abs. His face was handsome and fair, with deep, silent eyes resembling precious black jade, and thick, sword-like eyebrows. Standing in this shabby little house, he made the entire space seem a little brighter.

With such good looks and a kind-hearted nature, if he were in the modern era, plenty of girls would probably be willing to jump into a river for him.

Seeing Xie Tingyu from forty years ago again, Ye Qingshui felt like she was reinterpreting the foolish choices she had made in her youth. Time had rewound, and the clumsy, naive emotions of her younger self seemed to resurface.

She quickly averted her gaze, pressing a hand against her pounding heart—then she ran off.

Xie Tingyu frowned slightly, a barely perceptible sigh of relief escaping his lips.

He was rather wary of this village woman’s persistence—just last night, she had shockingly lunged at him and tried to pull down his pants. In his twenty years of life, he had never encountered such a bold woman. Even the most daring city girls would, at most, only steal a few lingering glances at him.

…

Later, as Ye Qingshui picked vegetables in her family’s private plot, she belatedly realized the meaning behind Xie Tingyu’s cold gaze.

Memories from back then surfaced—when they were newlyweds, she had been overjoyed, thinking of ways to get close to Xie Tingyu every night. But he had no interest in her. After rejecting her several times, he eventually resigned himself to sleeping on a makeshift, rickety bed for an entire year.

Looking back, her youthful ignorance felt like a public humiliation. Her face grew hotter with embarrassment, and even her movements while scrubbing vegetables at the well became heavier.

She was too old now to be thinking about such foolish, romantic matters.

While she was washing sweet potatoes, Aunt Wang from next door leaned in, winking slyly. “Shuiya, you’re really something, huh? Marrying Xie Zhiqing¹Zhiqing (知青) refers to the “Sent-Down Youth”—a group of young people in China who were sent from cities to rural areas during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) under Mao Zedong’s policies.—you’re going to live a life of endless blessings…”

Aunt Wang’s smile quickly disappeared into the wrinkles on her face. Everyone in the brigade suspected that Ye Qingshui had schemed to trap Xie Zhiqing into marriage. Otherwise, how could a cultured young man from the capital possibly fall for a lowly farm girl? It was like a beautiful flower being stuck in a pile of manure—shocking and regretful.

Sure, Ye Qingshui was considered a local beauty in the surrounding ten miles, but had Xie Zhiqing not seen enough fine women before? According to Aunt Wang’s son, who studied in the city, the women in the capital were fair-skinned, tall, and elegant. Their minds were progressive, and some had even met the Chairman himself. Compared to them, what was a little country girl like Ye Qingshui worth?

That insincere smile—Ye Qingshui could see right through it.

Her expression remained calm as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and said, “Whether I live a blessed life or not remains to be seen. But tonight, we don’t have any fancy dishes to offer you. We’re just eating sweet potatoes.”

Of course, Aunt Wang had no interest in eating sweet potatoes. She refused to believe that Xie Zhiqing, a man of such high status, hadn’t brought back some meat. After all, how could a newlywed couple be eating sweet potatoes for every meal? That wasn’t something someone like Xie Zhiqing would tolerate.

But since Ye Qingshui didn’t invite her, Aunt Wang wasn’t thick-skinned enough to shamelessly invite herself over.

After finishing the vegetable washing, Ye Qingshui walked into the firewood room and saw a bowl filled with evenly marbled pork belly. The only person she could think of as the source was the generous Comrade Xie Tingyu.

The Ye family was so poor that even their roof had gaps, letting the wind through. They could never afford to buy meat. Back when she had secretly admired Xie Tingyu, he had once given her a piece of meat, and she had nearly been overjoyed to madness.

A single piece of meat—it was something that could make people seethe with jealousy. That one piece of meat had essentially bought her for life. Looking back now, she realized that while Xie Tingyu was wealthy, the scraps he casually let slip through his fingers could drive others insane with envy. But to him, it was just a passing gesture of “kindness.”

Ye Qingshui didn’t hesitate. She picked up the knife she sharpened daily and began slicing the meat with precision.

Compared to Xie Tingyu, who later made a name for himself in politics, she had struggled her entire life and ended up as nothing more than a cook—a restaurant owner. The contrast was humiliating.

But now that she had returned to this starting point, she no longer thought of her skills as worthless. As the cold steel of the knife glinted under the dim light, the tight furrow in her brows gradually relaxed.

At the very least, right now, she could make a good meal and fill her stomach.

She couldn’t bear to waste such beautiful pork belly by simply stir-frying it. No matter how delicious a stir-fry was, it couldn’t compare to a slow-cooked braised pork dish.

She simmered a pot of braised pork belly, letting it stew all afternoon. Soon, the bubbling broth thickened into a deep amber glaze, coating the meat in a rich, fragrant sauce.

From outside, her mother’s surprised voice rang out: “Shui’er, what are you cooking? It smells amazing!”

The aroma was so mouthwatering that it made people drool. Meat was already a luxury, and in these hard times when people rarely had the chance to taste it, being able to eat meat was a big deal—especially when it was cooked by Ye Qingshui’s hands.

Ye Qingshui said, “Xie Tingyu bought some pork belly. We’re having meat tonight, Mother, go wash your hands.”

After finishing the dish, she followed her usual habit of bowing slightly in gratitude to the pig that had provided their meal.

Ye’s mother patted her hand and grumbled, “You’re married now, so why are you still calling Xiao Xie so formally?”

She glanced at her daughter, who had grown into a graceful young woman—slender and tall, with large eyes and delicate brows. When she smiled, her eyes curved like the crescent moon. She was known as one of the most beautiful girls in the entire village. Ye’s mother was illiterate and couldn’t put her daughter’s beauty into poetic words, but she still vividly remembered the year Qingshui was born, by that clear, sparkling stream that ran through the village.

Ye Qingshui’s father had been a soldier and had died honorably on a mission, so their family had cherished Qingshui even more.

Seventeen years had passed, and the once-fragile infant had grown into a fine young woman. Ye’s mother was deeply comforted by this. Even though Qingshui wasn’t highly educated, she was undeniably beautiful, and plenty of young men had come forward with marriage proposals over the years. In Ye’s mother’s eyes, marrying Xie Zhiqing, who came from a good family and was well-educated, was a perfectly suitable match.

The only one in the Ye family who truly saw things clearly was Ye’s grandmother. But now… there was also a reborn Ye Qingshui, who had a much clearer understanding of her own situation.

Ye Qingshui smiled and handed her mother a pair of chopsticks, saying brightly, “You’re right, Mother. I’ll ask him later if he has a childhood nickname.”

Ye’s mother had been ready to continue the conversation, but as soon as she took a bite of the braised pork, the words died in her throat—and so did all her resistance.

The pork had been simmering in hot broth all afternoon. The fatty parts were so soft they melted into rich, fragrant oil with a single bite, while the lean meat was tender yet satisfyingly chewy. The pigskin, steamed to a rosy hue, was as delicate and smooth as a baby’s skin.

It wasn’t that the Ye family had never eaten meat before—not even during the toughest years—but this time, Ye’s mother found herself eating in a frenzy, almost desperately.

After finishing one piece, she glanced at the pot. Five ounces of meat was nowhere near enough to satisfy them. Her throat moved slightly as she swallowed, and she quickly averted her gaze.

She said, “It’s delicious… I haven’t had meat this good in years. It reminds me of when your father was still alive. Shui’er, I’ll go call your grandmother and Xiao Xie for dinner.”

She hurriedly fled the kitchen, and just before stepping out the door, she couldn’t help but take a deep breath, almost turning back for another bite as if under some irresistible spell.

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Sansukini: Hi guys, another new translation. My first 70’s era translation. Please note that our ML is not a scum, never was. This novel is a matter of perspective, from our FL’s POV. But what she remembers might not be what really happened and there are things that were hidden from her for her own protection. Anyways, I won’t spoil it much. I just don’t want the ML to be hated from the get-go. This novel is a second chance to change and understand what happened in their previous life. Please add it to your reading list.

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