The city of Yimin County in 1975 was ancient and desolate.
Waking up in one of the chambers of the Wang family's compound, Yu Le Yang felt a burning sting on her cheek, and realized she was being pinned down by a man who seemed to be taking advantage of her situation.
Sexual assault?
"Go to hell, dare to touch Yang sister!" Yu Le Yang slapped him across the face.
The man was caught off guard and was struck with a solid smack.
"Damn it, dare to hit me! I'll slap you silly," the middle-aged man roared gruffly, one hand tightening on her throat as the other raised to slap her.
Frightened, Yu Le Yang covered her face with her hands, thrusting her knee forcefully towards the man's groin.
"Ah—"
The man screamed in pain, clutching at his groin as he toppled onto the bed.
Using the opportunity to push him away, Yu Le Yang leaped out of bed. Looking around at the room that appeared to be from the sixties or seventies, a flood of memories suddenly surged into her mind, leaving her bewildered.
What had happened? She was just out inspecting the farm in the rain, how did she end up time-traveling after being struck by lightning?!
What's worse, she seemed to have not just time-traveled, but also inhabited the body of another Yu Le Yang - someone with the same name and surname. As if the situation could not be any more unfortunate, she found herself in the body of a selfish and utterly wicked woman.
The story really began a month prior - the original host's parents had tragically died while trying to save collective property, leaving behind a sixteen-year-old girl
the original host
, a thirteen-year-old younger brother, and a pair of twins, barely four years old.
The original host, being notorious since young, grew even more reckless without the restraint of her parents. She squandered her family's savings in less than a month.
With her purse running empty, and in order to keep up her comfortable lifestyle, she decided to marry Wang Butcher, an official at the county meat factory.
Wang Butcher was twenty years older than the original host, old enough to be her father, and he was a divorcee. Her grandmother was the first to disapprove.
Following the instructions of her cousin, Yu Baidai, the original host not only fed her grandmother with drugged food, but also sold her younger sister for twenty dollars as a dowry.
Holding the money from selling her sister, she happily went to Wang's house, only to encounter domestic violence on her wedding day.
Yu Le Yang, touched her cheek that was red and swollen, causing her to grimace in pain.
Damn it, what a bunch of bad luck, starting off with an abusive husband!
"Divorce." Yu Le Yang was resolute, ready for a quick battle.
She was desperate to ransom her sister, Yu Le Yao.
The Chen couple who bought her sister didn't seem like good people. During the transaction that morning, the man looked at her sister with too much fervor. It did not seem like the delight of finally having a child, but more like having obtained a satisfying toy.
And also, it was now 1975. There were only two years left till the restoration of the gaokao
college entrance examination
, and three years until self-employment was allowed. If she had to survive in Sanhe Village for two to three years, she needed to maintain a good relationship with the Yu family!
So, she planned to ransom her sister back before the family noticed, and then beg the family for forgiveness.
"Ha! Lousy girl! After I've beaten you, you want a divorce; dream on. Yu Baidai has already sold you to me. Unless you die, don't even think of leaving the Wang's house! Once I'm better, I'll make sure you can't survive!" Wang Butcher, holding his groins, crawled off the bed and struggled to reach her.
Yu Le Yang kicked him away, tousled her hair, and launched a barrage of insults at Wang Butcher: "Kill me? Do you even have the ability? With your size and length comparable to a toothpick, I doubt everything works properly!
I heard you're thirty-six this year? Tsk tsk, half your life's gone, and you still haven't had a son. Could it be that you're fundamentally incapable?"
"Since you're useless, why not just cut off your balls and donate them to those in need? You're the one who caused the Wang family to have no descendants. You're the sinner of the Wang family. You're not only a waste of food by living but also polluting the air. If you have any self-awareness, you should just find a cow's hoofprint, take a piss, bury your face in it, and drown. That's your worth."
Each word from Yu Leyang strikes Wang Tubao's tipping point, making him lose all reason, disregarding even his pain as he pounces at him ferociously.
Yu Leyang was waiting for this moment, and he quickly pulls open the door and runs, "Help! Murder! Help!"
Yimin town is not big — there are only three main streets, and Wang's house is located on the busiest street, not far from a police station.
Yu Leyang, disheveled and staggering weakly, rushes directly to the police station.
Wang Tubao, blinded by rage, doesn't even realize he's being led astray.
All he can think about now is how to torture Yu Leyang after catching him.
First, he'll break both his legs so see if he dares to cause further trouble.
And that foul mouth of his, it'd be best to sew it shut so he can't utter another word for the rest of his life!
In the blink of an eye, they arrive at the police station entrance.
Yu Leyang looks back at Wang Tubao who's only a few steps behind, deliberately trips himself, his frail body wavers, and is promptly caught by Wang Tubao.
"Run, keep running! You shameless bastard! Wait till I get you home and see how I'll deal with you," Wang Tubao violently drags him, if it weren't for the public street, he'd slap him across the face right then and there.
In terms of physical strength, Yu Leyang is no match for Wang Tubao.
He flings his arm and grabs the hair of a plump woman standing by the road.
The aunt let out a yelp as she stumbled and crashed into a honeycomb briquette cart next to her. The cart jolted, and a dozen or so briquettes fell onto the ground.
The cart puller caught the hefty aunt, who in turn grabbed onto Le Yang. The entrance of the police station instantly erupted into a scene of unruly commotion.
Swarms of buzzing activity quickly attracted the attention of the police station. As soon as two uniformed officers appeared, Le Yang emitted a scream: "Officers, help! He's a trafficker who sells women. He wants to sell me to the mountains."
Le Yang revealed her swollen, bruised face. Her frail body trembled as tears streamed down her face.
The onlookers glared furiously at the butcher Wang. A heartless human trafficker!
Trafficking women was a severe crime.
Wang, driven to wit's end by the sudden rage, shuddered: Damn it, I've been deceived!
Le Yang was agile and swift, there was no chance she would fail to get away. She'd intentionally made him angry and ran towards the police station. What was she planning to do!?
"The officer's face darkened, grabbing hold of the butcher Wang: "What's going on?"
Wang gave an honest chuckle, feeling like a genuine man: "Officers, please don't misunderstand. She's my wife. She has a big temper, had a quarrel with me at home, and ran away crying. I'm just bringing her back home to comfort her." "Dear, stop being angry and come back home with me. I will let you beat me up when we get home to vent your anger, I'll kneel and wash the clothes, and sleep on the floor tonight," Wang pleaded humbly to Le Yang. He seemed nothing like a notorious human trafficker, but more like a whipped husband.
Such an honest man, how could he possibly be a trafficker?!
Le Yang covered her swollen cheek, tears cascading down her face like disconnected strings of pearls: "You weren't saying that when you hit me! If we're married, show everyone our marriage certificate."
Wang merely clutched his hair, on the verge of crying: "How could I possibly carry the marriage certificate with me all the time? I really..."
Le Yang cut him off: "If you can't show the marriage certificate, you should at least remember the date of registration!
If we're married, do you know how to write my name?"
What is my educational background?
How old am I this year, and when is my birthday?
On what particular day and location did we meet each other's families?
How much betrothal gifts did your family give? How much dowry did my family offer?
How many siblings do I have? What are their names and how old are they?
How old are my parents this year?