The Good Mother System
How does an unmarried woman suddenly have an abundance of offspring everywhere? Female lead Dan Jingqiu suddenly dies from a heart attack. Her soul was taken away by 'The Good Mother System', 008, and brought into the world of novels. Aiming to fulfill the final wishes of mother characters and to release their souls from their regretful attachments to their respective world, The female lead travels through different novels to save various children from their pain and misfortune. In the process, she undergoes personal growth and change, Ultimately becoming the admirable good mother of her wards.
This novel is a series of short stories with quick plot developments. It delves into the complex relationships between a mother and her children involving love, conflict, and contradictions. Using empathy and love, the female lead changes various worlds' original storyline and ultimately prevents the bad endings of her children. Although the settings are all in the novel world, the solutions were practical and easily relatable.
Chapter 1: Prologue
"Mom, are you okay?! Mom!"
"Mom! Mom! Hurry up and wake up! Mom!"
…
At some point, Dan Jingqiu was surrounded by constant crying noises. She felt so dizzy that she wanted to stuff her ears with a pillow.
Confused, her brain suddenly did a record scratch. Hold up, What's going on? Where is that crying coming from?
As a woman living in the modern era, Dan Jingqiu enjoyed a long life of singlehood. Her suite was located on the 23rd floor and it came with first-rate soundproofing. So what was up with these mysterious crying noises she's hearing?
As she peeled open her heavy eyelids to take a look at her surroundings, a piercing light assaulted her, adding a frown into her squinted face. A few blinks later, she was finally able to take in her surroundings ——
Despite looking at a familiar white ceiling, the simple energy-saving lights were not part of her aesthetic. With a sweeping glance, she could gauge the size of the room, and with a slight tilt, she saw three sobbing girls by her side. They looked young, but she had never seen them all her life, so the entire scenario was starting to point towards some pretty scary answers. Not to mention, the sensations she's getting from the stiff mattress she's lying on! Who uses mahjong pads these days?!
As a person addicted to novels and TV drama series', the truth was as clear as day.
If this were not a dream, this meant that she had transmigrated, as described in those very novels!
Unprepared to respond to the situation, she took the opportunity to shut her eyes and feigned sleep while the other people were too busy wailing to notice.
Despite racking her brains, Dan Jingqiu could not figure out what crime she had committed to be dragged here. The sensations under her body and the obvious pain on the back of her head reminded her that this was not a dream.
Then again, reading novels as a young girl did give her about 1001 of those Mary-Sue like dreams.
HOWEVER! That was all in the past. The current Dan Jingqiu is a 32-year-old woman with a house, car, and personal savings. She was perfectly happy living out her spinster life, so why did she have to be kidnapped and transmigrate into different worlds?!
Thinking back on some of the novels she had read, female leads who transmigrated from a concussion would need to hit their heads again in order to return. Now that's a solution.
Perhaps…
"That idea in your brain is unlikely to succeed." Out of nowhere, a voice appeared in her head. Suddenly, the crying sounds beside her ears gradually faded away, replaced by a cold and mechanical sound that was inexplicably clear.
"You can call me 'Jinjiang System 008'."
Jinjiang System? What is that? There's even the number 008? Why eight?? Why not 007?! She internally complained.
The more she panicked, the more she overthinks, and now her mind is filled with irrelevant thoughts.
"Excellent. Your mental endurance currently meets all of our requirements." 008 is a beginner system that originated from 3000 worlds. Though being designated with the number 008 made it sound like an older model, in reality, it was still undergoing its early trial period. No matter how veteran it may sound, it could not hide the fact that it was still a novice.
The irrational worldviews and extreme encounters within online stories have brought those same worlds to the verge of collapse. Characters living in these stories have generated their own independent souls by merely going on with their day-to-day lives. At this point, the systems would randomly select slightly compulsive and strong-willed hosts to enter story worlds in order to help fulfill the wishes of dissipating souls, and thus, absorb their attachments to their previous lives, which would result in the stabilization of their collapsing worlds.
As for System 008, it had another name…
"Host, you may also call me the 'Good Mother System'."
The moment it introduced such an unreliable name, Dan Jingqiu's jaw almost dropped to the ground. For 32 years of her life, she had never been a mother, nor was she brought up by a loving mother of her own. Forget being a 'good mother,' simply being a mother herself was bizarre.
Not to mention, her 'forever 18' mentality outright rejects the idea that she was suddenly promoted to a mother-like figure.
While still dwelling in her unorganized thoughts, the cold and mechanical voice continued its annoying chatter.
"Host, please note that every time you travel to a different space, upon finishing your corresponding missions, you may choose to either leave the current world or remain in that world until the end. Once you obtain a sufficient amount of points, you may leave the system world, and return to your place of origin…"
"And if I refuse?"
"You will be erased from existence."
There was no hesitation in those cruel words. It almost made her burst a vein. While this was reasonable for a fictional novel setting, it was particularly infuriating that SHE was the one who had to be under someone else's control. Who cares if there were thousands of cheats? It would never compare to her simple life. Who would be ridiculous enough to agree being dragged into this strange world tour?
"Uh, pardon me, System 008, but did you get my consent before dragging into this place? And now you're talking about erasure? Fine then! Obliterate me! I'm done here!"
After bitterly spitting out her last words, Dan Jingqiu refused to spare the damned system another look. As someone who had always preferred positive reinforcements over negatives, this murderous/kidnapping attitude really annoyed her. Though anyone would have a desire to survive, but to be forced into this sort of agreement?
Hur hur.
"Host, the one terminating you would not be us, but…yourself." Listening to a reply in an empty world sounded very weird. The following words instantly extinguished her previous fury and replaced it with a cold, sinking feeling. "Your original body was born with hereditary heart disease. You died of a cardiac arrest this morning, they failed to revive you."
Suddenly, an image of herself materialized in front of Dan Jingqiu's eyes. She was laying in the middle of her large bed, her complexion pallid, her lips a deathly white, and there were no physical signs of breathing.
Though she wanted to convince herself that this might be another ridiculous hoax, her rationality told her that this was all probably real.
Right, she had always suffered from hereditary heart issues; it was the main reason why she decided to remain single.
"After you reject the mission, we will return your soul back to its original body…"
"And since my body is already dead, I only have death to look forward to?"
"Correct."
"Then, what if I complete the missions, and earn enough points?"
"Then the system will repair your original body, and allow you to return back to a healthy life."
…
After a long pause, Dan Jingqiu was still unable to think straight, for everything that happened had already far surpassed her imagination.
Analyzing all sorts of scenarios, her mind was trapped in endless darkness. She had thought that she would be at peace with death, in reality, though, when faced with the possibility of final death, her heart was filled with nostalgia towards living.
The thought of not leaving behind a will and leaving without a plan to divide her assets…
The thought of having no closure, and that her corpse would likely rot at home, producing a horrific smell…
The thought of all the incomplete conversations and words she wanted to say to her friends…
Her various regrets came surging out all at once.
As if it could read her mind, System 008 suddenly announced: "When travelling through worlds, you can redeem corresponding skills with the System. Once a skill is purchased and successfully learned, it would never be erased…"
"Of course, technologies existing beyond its times, and abilities that transcend reality would not be part of the redeemable list."
Temptations of the devil, unknown worlds, infinite challenges, various kinds of abilities, a sudden jump into the start of a game; even if she were to experience all of that, this once flatlined heart would continue beating.
This is the so-called 'carrot and stick' motivation technique. First, you cruelly announce that rejection would lead to death in the original world, then, you present a rare cheat as a life benefit.
What else is there to decide?
She pondered for a while before finally agreeing with a simple 'Okay.'
She still had unfulfilled desires in the real world.
As for this unknown world, Dan Jingqiu is up for the challenge.
Perhaps this was not such a bad choice, after all.
"Entering World One. Host, please observe the following rules and guidelines: 1) Words and deeds must conform to the character's personality; 2) No maliciously destroying the world; 3) Points will be rewarded according to the level of task completion. Each time you enter a world, 1,000 points will be deducted. Once the points become excessively overdrawn, the task will be terminated early, and the host will return to the original world. Host, please prepare yourself…"
"Initiating… 3… 2… 1…"
"Character memory, loading mission…"
Dan Jingqiu heard everything loud and clear, but before she had the chance to yell at the System for its heinous practice of initial point deduction, she fell into a deep darkness, and was hit by a sudden influx of memories.
All of a sudden, a figure of an unfamiliar curly-haired woman appeared before her eyes. She had a plump body, and looked rather overbearing. As she stood there with her hand on her hip, she cursed: "Where'd this bastard come from!? Like hell you're getting my daughter!"
Suddenly, that woman cried out again: "Oh lord, who's the bastard who deceived you…" Her tearful look was terrible.
Finally regaining her senses, Dan Jingqiu watched the brash woman silently.
Did this garbage System just scam her?!
The author has something to say: Settings:
No going OOC (Out of Character)
No destroying the world with malicious intent
Excessive point overdraft returns you to real world (Obliteration)
World One: Officially loading 'The profiteering woman who sells her daughters'!
Chapter 2: The Profiteering Mother Who Sells Her Daughters (1)
Overweight bodies are seriously difficult to use!
After her 1001st complaint, Dan Jingqiu felt that she had been thoroughly duped by the so-called System 008. Ever since entering this new world, she had been internally cursing at Jinjiang System 008, which had conveniently entered into its official play dead (hibernation) mode. When it failed to respond, the corners of her lips curled coldly.
Lu Chunhua froze as she watched her old neighbor, Dan Jingqiu furiously tremble in front of her.
She was only there to talk to Dan Jingqiu about the latest gossip but she looked livid. Did she offend her somehow? Carefully thinking back on the gossip she had just sprouted, Lu Chunhua, who was infamously known for her sharp tongue, fell silent as fear overtook her.
Seeing the changing colors on Lu Chunhua's face, Dan Jingqiu maintained an innocent look, not knowing that the simple curl of her lips had instantly caused the other person to second-guess their actions.
Recalling System 008's strong emphasis on conforming to the original character's personality and reactions, she sighed again. Suppressing her impatience and temper towards the other party, she continued the conversation.
"Madame Lu, please go on, I love your stories…" Dan Jingqiu revealed what she thought was a warm smile. However, she did not realize just how terrifyingly eager her smile looked like to the other party when it was plastered on a 100 kg middle-aged woman, whose height barely reached 1.6 meters.
"Err…where were we?" Lu Chunhua swallowed nervously.
Dan Jingqiu could not believe that this 40-year-old looking woman would be so forgetful, so she patiently reminded her: "Weren't you just saying that sister Wang's eldest son was looking for a bride?"
Madam Wang was another well-known figure in Lychee street. If Dan Jingqiu were infamous for running her relentless mouth, then Wang Yuhong, or Madam Wang, was known for being a shrew. She had managed to offend every single person living along that street. When angered, she had the ability to continuously curse her victim from the start until the end of that street. Her mean mouth and face were legendary to the locals.
As for Lu Chunhua, this gossipmonger was no better than Wang Yuhong! People who lived along the street called her 'Big Mouth Lu' behind her back. Any news she picked up would make its way around the street several times. She would even manage to get a hold of difficult to reach relatives to repeat her daily spiel. And while all the middle-aged women who lived along the street looked forward to her gossip visits, they were also terrified that their personal affairs might get overheard by her.
At the first crack of dawn, Lu Chunhua hastily made her way to Dan Jingqiu's house. Casually pouring herself a cup of cool water as she sat down; Her butt wiggled impatiently as she waited for Dan Jingqiu to finish her errands. After being pulled over to Dan Jingqiu's side, Lu Chunhua began her enthusiastic chatter.
The moment Dan Jingqiu reminded her of where she had left off in her gossip, Lu Chunhua could not be bothered with how she might have offended the other party and focused on spewing out all her rumors again.
"Aiyo, Xiao Dan, didn't you know? That Wang Yuhong, tsk tsk. That's what we call 'a toad that wants to eat swan meat'!" (T/N: Wooing someone who is way out of their league.) The more Lu Chunhua spoke, the more excited she became. She eagerly launched herself against Dan Jingqiu with an intense and conspiratory look: "Her toad of a son is so short. He goes around telling everyone that he's 1.7 meters tall, but I'd doubt it if he's even 1.65 meters! And while he does have a house here, none of the houses on our street have more than one room!"
"And did you know what she said her son was looking for in a wife? One that's 1.7 meters tall, with a stable job, parents that must have a retirement pension… and if they're from outside the city, their families must have savings to support their living expenses! She said her son has nothing to offer but a registered permanent residence in B city. Who doesn't have that here?! His house might get demolished in the future. Wang Yuhong's qualifications for her son's wife went way overboard, and beauty is also a harsh requirement too! And yet her son is still so picky!"
"But apparently, there's still someone who's willing to put up with that, what's wrong with them? Turns out; Wang Yuhong was bullying the other family's girl!"
"Tsk tsk, how delusional!"
As Lu Chunhua animatedly tattled on the latest gossip, she was so excited that spittle was flying everywhere. When she finally finished her piece and grabbed her cup from the table to gulp down its contents, she waited for her audience to react as she recovered her breath. This was when she had realized that the usually captivated audience was lost in thought.
It took a while before she was able to regain her senses.
Shit Shit Shit, this was a huge mistake! Lu Chunhua must have been crazy to gossip about Wang Yuhong's eldest son in front of Dan Jingqiu.
Just half a year ago, didn't the Dan family and the Wang family nearly tie the knot? Back then, their marriage plans fell through because of Wang Yuhong's unreasonable demands!
Who in their right minds would stick around? Fearing Dan Jingqiu's ire, Lu Chunhua hastily made up an excuse about grocery shopping and left in a hurry.
Dan Jinqiu was left behind in an empty living room with a half-filled cup of water. She left out a dry chuckle. Of course, she knew why Lu Chunhua ran off.
The so-called dwarf that Lu Chunhua was referring to was the Wang family's youngest son, Wang Qimeng. He also almost became the groom in the marriage talks with Dan Jingqiu's eldest daughter.
Dan Jingqiu felt exasperated when she recalled the series of messy issues that were associated with the Wang family.
The legendary so-called 'beginner's world' does not exist. She jumped straight into the Hellish Hard mode with all these initial setbacks!
Noticing that her brain had its own story within this world's story, she had an urge to give the evil System 008 a vicious beating.
She shared the same name as the body she was inhabiting; they are both called Dan Jingqiu. However, this world's Dan Jingqiu was a side character, a 45-year-old mother who was also supposed to be the wish-maker in this world. This first half of this character's life was rather smooth. She had a harmonious childhood and family, and after marrying her husband, Jin Youchen, she bore 3 daughters: eldest daughter Jin Lingzhu, second daughter Jin Xiuzhu, and third daughter Jin Wanzhu. Her husband operated a small restaurant, their earnings were average, they accumulated a small amount of savings, and their daughters were filial. But in the year she turned 45, her husband passed away from an illness. From that point on, her life underwent a drastic change.
Before her husband fell ill, she was a bit conceited and had spent all their savings. After their small restaurant went bankrupt and closed down, she was left with only her three daughters and a small house along Lychee street. Since then, money had been her highest priority in life.
When dealing with the marital affairs of her three daughters, she used money as the only criteria to judge the worth of future sons-in-law.
No house, no car, no savings? Sorry, next please.
And so began the tragedies.
First up was the eldest daughter, Lingzhu ——
Half a year ago, there were talks about marriage between Lingzhu and her childhood friend, Wang Qimeng. But life took a turn, and Wang Yuhong felt that Jin Youchen's illness meant the doom of their family, which later became a reality.
In order to draw a clear line between their families, Wang Yuhong acted like a shrew at their doorstep, mocking Lingzhu for shamelessly clinging to her family…
Upon hearing this, Lingzhu chose to give up the relationship, and spent the rest of her days taking care of her mother in her father's absence by running the small restaurant that was in danger of being closed down, and took it upon herself to single-handedly support the family.
Watching the original character's memories to this point, Dan Jingqiu felt only immense pity for this young lady. Still, she had never expected the latter parts of this story to rapidly take a jaw-dropping turn.
When she woke up, the original character's husband, Jin Youchen, was already cremated. She was so devastated during her husband's funeral that she passed out and was left bedridden for half a month without losing any weight. When she finally found the strength to climb out of bed, that was when she met the gossip monger, Lu Chunhua.
She was only able to regain her senses because this was the beginning of the original character's tragedy…
Not long after, Wang Yuhong would find her son a daughter-in-law from outside the city who came with her own dowry and had parents who had their own pension funds. Wang Yuhong would later boast about her ingenuity and foresight for rejecting Lingzhu, who had no future prospects and had selected the right daughter-in-law…
Over time, the original character's psychological state became twisted, and the first sacrifice was her eldest daughter, Lingzhu.
For the sake of proving that her family was not worse off without a husband, the original character forced her eldest daughter to undergo a matchmaking session. Looks and personality were not considered. Her only requirements were money and property. In the end, she picked a man who was ten years older for her daughter. Lingzhu was against the marriage, so the original character cornered and coerced, and finally, forced the wedding to happen.
However, not even two days had passed when she found that her carefully selected 35-year-old son-in-law had a history of domestic violence. The bastard would turn violent at the slightest provocation. Although he had never caused enough harm that would require hospitalization, there were visible injuries formed on Lingzhu's body after a mere three days.
Lingzhu wanted to file for a divorce. In order to save face, she coaxed her daughter to endure it again and again. Not a year later, Lingzhu could no longer bear the torment and jumped off from the highest floor of her building.
Xiuzhu and Wanzhu were unaware that their sister's suicide was related to their mother. Fearing resentment from her daughters, the original character kept the truth hidden from them, feigned ignorance on the outside, and only allowed her guilt and pain to resurface in her nightly dreams.
When Xiuzhu graduated from university, she wanted to marry an upperclassman that she had dated for the past three years. However, the aforementioned upperclassman had just entered into entrepreneurship. He did not have any net worth, came from a lower-class family, did not have his own house, and his so-called company was located in a basement. The original character wanted to respect her daughter's wishes. However, once she found out about the upperclassman's situation, she was so angry that she went up to shame the man and demanded that he leave her daughter. No matter how much Xiuzhu begged, she would not budge, and personally broke up the loving couple.
That's right, this upperclassman was one of the main leads of this world, and Xiuzhu would be what novels term as the "white moonlight," or the person that the male lead yearns but was never was never meant to be with. As for her mother, a.k.a the original character; she was the arrogant monster-in-law who wrecked the relationship between two lovers.
As for Wanzhu, she became the sacrificial pawn to bolster the almighty love between the male and female leads—— The female lead, who had always secretly admired the male lead, discovered this original character's vicious and evil ways. She had decided to not only give her a taste of humiliation, but to also force Xiuzhu's family out of the city when she finally broke up with the male lead.
Given the recent breakup, the female lead knew that she was not in a good position to lay her hands on Xiuzhu, so she shifted her focus on Wanzhu. According to the female lead, the impact would be far greater if the blow came from someone close.
So, she intentionally enlisted the help of a male supporting lead who was secretly in love with her and disguised him as the ideal rich son-in-law. Through various underhanded tactics, she was able to get the original character to matchmake the male supporting lead with Wanzhu. Of course, the perfect male supporting lead played the perfect potential son-in-law. So, the original character did everything she could to develop their relationship. Unbeknownst to her, this was all just a farce. The inexperienced Wanzhu and the supporting male lead underwent a passionate relationship. However, when the male supporting lead revealed his true nature, Wanzhu was ruthlessly ditched, but not before getting hurled with various hurtful reasons to her face.
In the end, the female lead delivered a recording to Xiuzhu and Wanzhu, containing a conversation of Lingzhu telling her mother about her abuse prior to her passing. The recording dealt a massive blow to the two sister's feelings and kinship. They both left the city without looking back.
Prior to leaving, the original character's beloved youngest daughter, Wanzhu, asked her mother solemnly: "Which is more important? Money, or us?"
After being left alone, the original character suffered a massive breakdown and jumped off the same building that took Lingzhu's life, and departed from this world. Her suffering spirit continued to wander restlessly, unable to move on.
However, her family's misfortune was only a tiny fragment of this world, and their story could be summarized in a line——
"I heard a rumor that after Xiuzhu and Wanzhu left the city, their money-loving mother jumped off a building.
But none of this has anything to do with the main plot."
Isn't this tragic?
The brazen middle-aged woman who seemed to be permanently bogged down by problems that Dan Jingqiu saw back then was the original character.
Every day, she endured and revisited her pain and struggles. She hated the men who hurt her daughters, but she hated herself even more for making her daughters suffer.
"What is your wish?"
"I wish for my daughters' happiness. I want them to know how much I love them…"
As the brazen woman recited her wish, her eyes were dull with tears, as if drowning in endless melancholy.
Dan Jingqiu could feel that the original character truly did love her daughters, and just like all three of their names, every single one was a precious pearl (zhu) in their mother's heart.
If Lingzhu's tragedy was caused by the original character, then what about Xiuzhu and Wanzhu? What did they do wrong? They accidentally entered into someone else's love story, but were forced to leave their hometown, and ended up with a broken family…
"Mom, I'm going to go tidy up the restaurant! You just recovered so you need to rest more!" The crisp sound echoed from the top floor, Lingzhu frantically grabbed the buns that Dan Jingqiu had purchased early that morning and ran out, and just like the wind, she disappeared with great gusto——
When Dan Jingqiu finally regained her senses, there was no one in sight.
After experiencing the original character's memories and being under the constant care of the three sisters for half a month, she could no longer sit around and do nothing. While in a trance, she even felt like she had personally raised these three daughters herself…
As of now, the energetic Lingzhu, who had supported her family without complaint, would become a depressed woman in the near future, and eventually leap off a building.
The childish Xiuzhu and Wanzhu would also consecutively get their feelings hurt and leave their hometown in a few years.
Dan Jingqiu felt an immense weight on her shoulders from these thoughts. Such heavy responsibilities and such a long way to go!
When she had just entered this world, she was immediately greeted with "I am dead. If you need something, burn paper." (T/N: The living can only give the dead items/requests by burning a paper version of that object.) She had exchanged her remaining novice bonus points for the Cooking Skill·Beginner Level, and recalled the bowl of clear noodle soup she made yesterday.
At this moment, Dan Jingqiu was quite satisfied that she had upgraded herself from a disabled person to a self-professed "cooking master." Now, she had set her sights on her first goal——
Changing the world begins from making a fortune!
The author has something to say： Reminder 1 – Character Age:
Mother: Dan Jingqiu (45)
Eldest Daughter: Jin Lingzhu (25)
2nd and 3rd Daughter: Jin Xiuzhu Jin Wanzhu (22) – Twins
Reminder 2:
I'll add another chapter once I hit 10 bookmarks! ( Me pretending there are 10 people who will bookmark this QAQ）
Chapter 3: The Profiteering Mother Who Sells Her Daughters (2)
Recently, the public account of a popular and famous B city food critic, [B City's Tip of the Tongue, has quietly posted such an article——
Title: Good food can be found in any alley! The sudden popularity of a small restaurant's home-cooked fare. Miraculous wait lines since launch. The waitlist is currently a month ahead!
The readers noticed the writing was a huge contrast to the editor's usual relentlessly sharp remarks. The tone of the entire article was almost at a fanatical level of obsessiveness. It was reluctant to use the slightest negative remark, extremely petty against all criticisms, while eagerly piling all its praise on the dishes and the description of the small restaurant.
The composition was filled with phrases like 'don't miss out,' 'unforgettable moments,' 'impressionable flavors.' The editor even stated that he was regretful that he was unable to generate the words to fully describe the deliciousness, and suggested everyone to taste it for themselves – coming from this person, this type of advertising was unheard of.
While describing a simple fried oyster dish, the paragraph was written as follows——
"A bowl of fried oysters personally prepared by the boss lady starts from selecting the freshest oysters; not the large ones that are meant to be sampled purely in its raw form, but the smaller ones that are suitable for frying in soy sauce. A small yet strong in flavor, it allows one to sample the unique taste of the sea. Powered with just the right amount of sweet potato flour after cleaning, she adds seasoning, stirs in pieces of leek over hot oil, adds chopped green onions for fragrance, and fries them into a crisp while maintaining their soft and chewy insides. She then mixes in a pre-prepared egg mixture, flipping the oysters to fry on the reversed side until it's ready to be served with some coriander as garnish. The only sauce available is the boss lady's secret sweet and sour sauce, unique only to the Golden Autumn Eatery. As for whether you should try it with dipping sauce, it is entirely up to the customer. If you want the original flavor, just send it right into your mouth, and if you want to taste the unique homemade sauce, dip it in to enjoy a different flavor."
Just like that, a bowl of fried oysters became the regular staple in the Golden Autumn Eatery, combined with seasonal sides chosen by the boss lady. Though the editor did not usually eat oysters, when these were served, the aroma was enough to tempt him to take a bite. The flavors that melted inside his mouth were unforgettable.
The exaggerated description only described the one dish from the Golden Autumn Eatery made by the owner. Though it may look like a paid review, the sentiment was shared by the tummies of many other food critics and gluttons.
Under the scoring section, the editor showcased yet another extreme like no other——
"Taste: Perfect score (If the menus were in front of me, I just want to eat it all!)
Environment: Perfect score (I just remember that it is very clean, the food is so amazing that I would have gone there even if it were covered in flies. Not to mention, the decent renovation!)
Service: Perfect Score (The boss lady is warm, friendly, and a great cook. I wanna marry her!)
Value: Perfect score (If only I could use money to buy a spot for dinner! I would even be willing to bankrupt myself!)"
Just the over-the-top caption was enough to make anyone sneer, but upon seeing high-resolution photographs, complete with a raving review that was even more exaggerated than the title. One has to wonder—— Just …Just how rich is the Golden Autumn Eatery? And it's a restaurant with such an outdated name? Do critics these days all write nonsense? Shouldn't there at least be some realism?
But in the end, with their 100,000 readership, and the replies in the comments section crying over reservation spots, this review had left critics momentarily speechless.
What is this?
Are there limitations?
Of course there are!
Prior to the sudden rise in popularity of the Golden Autumn Eatery, many gluttons have already rated this establishment as their personal No. 1 restaurant. They were so unwilling to share their #1 eatery with other people that they started inventing a myriad of weird code names to avoid getting caught when they talk about it in group chats or forums. After all, the waitlist was already filled to the brim. If they had to compete with new returning customers, it would only make it more difficult for them to return for more.
Unexpectedly, this review had now made headlines on a public account. Hearing this news, these gluttons could only suffer in silence as they speed-dialed the restaurants' number that was saved in their contacts, and made their reservations.
When they were finally connected to the other line, a gentle female voice came through saying: "I'm sorry, we have a 2-month long wait for the next reservation. Would that be acceptable?" With gritted teeth, they accepted the appointment and then headed over to the official page of the public account and reported it.
Who cares about dignity and patience?! Good food is life!
…
"Xiuzhu, have the senior take us out for dinner!" While the teacher on the podium was not paying attention, Fang Yanru turned and whispered to her dormmate, Jin Xiuzhu, with an eager expression.
Jin Xiuzhu gave her dorm mate an uncomfortable look and proceeded to purse her lips.
But Fang Yanru did not give up, pretending not to notice Jin Xiuzhu's social cues, she used her elbow to nudge her with a smirk: "Remember our dorm rules? Hur hur, looks like our Xiuxiu puts her boyfriend before her friends! How can you date a guy without letting us meet him?! That brother-in-law of ours hasn't passed our inspection yet!"
Right. Even Jin Xiuzhu was unable to refute that. After all, these were the customary rules she had agreed to after entering college. Yanru had previously invited them, so with that in mind, she quietly agreed, and not long after, the dorm group chat erupted.
Fang Yanru quickly sent out the news: "Ahem, I have a big announcement! Our Xiuzhu's boyfriend is going to treat everyone to dinner. Everyone come show your support!"
So, dorm mates Zhen Susu and Huang Xiaoping also started replying enthusiastically. These three started chatting up a storm, and even came up with various tricky questions to torture this 'brother-in-law' that night.
"Tonight, we shall eat our fill at the expense of the senior for stealing one of our dorm's 'flower'!"
"I'm looking for all the hard questions. Gonna make sure we give Senior Chen a thorough background check!"
"Totally necessary~ Then we should ask the senior to sing a song for our Xiuxiu, hehe!"
…
Jin Xiuzhu felt a sense of helplessness as she watched the flurry of text messages without responding.
Upperclassman Chen Wentian and her have been dating for 3 years now. She admired his intelligence, kindness, and tenacity. However, she also knew that he did not come from a good family background, which was the reason why she never introduced him to her dorm mates, and dated him secretly.
She was not ashamed of him for his origins, however. Instead, she worried that he might be placed in embarrassing and difficult situations.
Her roommates' boyfriends would often give them branded bags and makeup, and take them out for expensive meals. On the other hand, Jin Xiuzhu enjoyed dates that involved strolling together, watching movies, or reading in the library.
Chen Wentian was never stingy with her. He was more than willing to spend whatever money he had on her, but he also carried the burden of taking care of his family and repaying his student loans, which left him with little to spare on the side. She was understanding about all of this, and they have a romantic relationship that was unique to them.
However, the practice of treating your dorm mates was implemented before her relationship started, so, while it troubled her, she did not know how to politely reject it.
Recalling that she still had quite a bit of money left over for living expenses, she relaxed, knowing that she should be able to cover this meal, and so she sent a text to Chen Wentian.
"Wentian, my dorm mates and I are going out to eat tonight. You should come too!"
After getting a confirmation, Jin Xiuzhu nodded at her own carefully crafted message. The other party should not be expected to pay for the meal!
But not long after, Jin Xiuzhu was given another shock!
Fang Yanru casually announced to the group: "I have a reservation at this restaurant with a long waitlist, which just happens to be tonight. Location is still a secret~ Hehe, make sure your senior has his purse strings ready, we don't intend to go easy on him!"
As soon as that text came through, everyone fell silent. Ever since they enrolled into university, out of the 4 of roommates, everyone knew that Fang Yanru came from the most well-to-do family. Her branded handbags and makeup are worth thousands, and yet she would just leave them carelessly lying around. Her boyfriends were all from rich backgrounds. Despite being in her 4th year in college, she has never eaten a single meal in the campus cafeteria. If she were to have a long-term reservation at a restaurant, then that would mean…
Zhen Susu could not help herself and felt that Fang Yanru was purposefully trying to make Jin Xiuzhu look bad. Recently, she kept picking up on Fang Yanru's sarcastic remarks that were deliberately meant to embarrass Xiuzhu, but ripping off someone else's boyfriend is going overboard. Won't this negatively affect their relationship?! She suppressed her anger, and tried to turn things around: "I think we should pay for ourselves. I seem to have a healthy appetite lately, and I'm afraid to bankrupt Xiuzhu's boyfriend. I'm a character that is capable of eating 10 bowls a meal!"
Sensing the awkward tension, Huang Xiaoping also chimed into the group chat: "Right right! Yanru, the restaurants you pick never fills me up QAQ, I think the small side restaurant outside our school is pretty good! Guaranteed full belly!"
"Didn't my boyfriend take everyone out for a meal? Side street restaurant?! It's not healthy nor hygienic! I guarantee that we will be well fed at the restaurant I booked tonight! Don't worry about your pretty bellies; this is not western food, it's eastern fare. Reservations are difficult to get. You can't even jump the line!"
Fang Yanru felt like she might have been too harsh, so she added: "How much a man loves you is dependent on how much he's willing to spend on you. Can't you all just be a bit more realistic? This Chen Tianwen graduated a year earlier than us. If he can't even afford us a meal, then he definitely won't spend a single cent on our Xiuxiu! If he really doesn't have the money, then I can just pay. Would that do?"
Her reply was considerate towards Jin Xiuzhu, and it was enough to repel their words. The group chat went silent once more.
Zhen Susu and Huang Xiaoping could not be bothered to lecture the privileged Fang Yanru about money, and secretly opened another chat without her. They told Xiuzhu that they were willing to pay for themselves later. Xiuzhu did not wish to take advantage of them, and only responded with an emoji.
Not wanting her dorm mates to start a fight over a meal, Jin Xiuzhu decided to end it: "I know that Yanru was doing this for my own good. Fine, let's meet at 6 PM at the entrance. You can be our guide~"
In reality, she immediately regretted it after sending that text, but her mother had repeatedly told her to never take advantage of others. Now she would just have to grin and bear it. As a precaution, she quietly borrowed 2000 yuan from her younger twin, Wanzhu, and felt slightly better.
Well, I'll just have to treat it as the necessary funds to woo my senior!
That was how she comforted herself.
After suppressing the rebels, Fang Yanru was proud of herself. After all, the male-god that she had a secret crush on somehow ended up with her dorm mate. She could not bear it. In her opinion, from name to personality, Jin Xiuzhu is just a dull person. How can she be of any help to her senior? What a joke!
Her suggestions today were set up to intentionally bleed Chen Wentian dry. She had long asked her family to cause some obstacles to Chen Wentian's entrepreneur company, and when she was sure that he had no money to spare, she quickly requested this get-together. She spent a long time before this to find someone who was willing to sell their spot to this private eatery. It costs at least 1000 per person to eat there!
She wanted the senior to know that Jin Xiuzhu is unworthy of him, and would only be a hindrance to his future. She also wanted Xiuzhu to know that the senior is a bottomless pit that is not suitable for her, so she should break up with him as soon as possible!
She has to have Chen Wentian, whatever it takes!
Chapter 4: The Profiteering Mother Who Sells Her Daughters (3)
"I'm sorry, I'm not interested in an interview! Thank you very much!" The woman hung up the phone impatiently and leaned against a table in the middle of the restaurant. As the afternoon sun made her feel lazy and tired, a small fan cast a gentle breeze above her head.
Though the restaurant was small, its decor was rather specific. Neatly displayed in the center of the eatery were 6 round wooden tables carved from their original stumps, giving it an eclectic aesthetic. There was also a small courtyard and a functioning well just outside the restaurant. On the side was a lush plot of unknown green plants and vegetables. A wind chime was hung just above the door entrance, making a clear and crisp sound with the slightest breeze.
Although it was the middle of the afternoon, the stone construction material ensured that the building did not feel scorching hot. A dark fan hung on the ceiling, churning a light breeze. An air conditioning unit sat against the side, with a cover placed over it. It seemed hardly used. The tableware consisted of a set of neatly arranged blue and white porcelain and a pair of wooden chopsticks, giving each table a simple and clean look.
From the outside, the restaurant was hardly noticeable. It required one to push through the doors just to find the restaurant's sign on the entrance, which, printed in clear writing: Golden Autumn Eatery.
That's right! She was currently the legendary boss lady "Auntie Autumn," whose local eatery churned out a storm in everyone's social media thanks to a certain food critic. Of course, Dan Jingqiu was completely ignorant of that particular nickname, or she would have grabbed her sharp meat cleaver and demanded blood from those bastards who dared call her AUNTIE!
When she had arrived in this world, Dan Jingqiu had spent half the month recovering from her sickness. During that time, she carefully went over the previous host's dying wishes, which was also her main mission's objective: The original host wished for her daughters to be happy and for them to know that their mother deeply loves all of them. So this was not a short-term mission.
After carefully combing through the host's limited memories, she realized that the Jin family started out with an exceptionally harmonious relationship. In the end, a large part of the tragedy that befell the Jin family's three sisters originated from the passing of her husband, which led to their financial downfall, as well as the meddling of the twisted Female Lead.
To avoid deviating from the requests set by the original host while dealing with the impending tragedy of the original storyline, she had to give up any long-term plans and find the quickest solution.
Unfortunately, before reincarnating in this world, Dan Jingqiu was only an ordinary white-collar worker, so she did not have many powerful abilities to turn things around.
Fortunately for her, before the garbage System faked its death and pre-deducted points from her, she was able to obtain her novice points, which she used in the System's shop to buy the cheapest skills.
Thinking back on the purchasable skills that were listed in ascending order still renders her speechless.
Stuff like 'Calligraphy.Beginner Level,' or 'Drawing.Beginner Level,' or 'Chess.Beginner Level'… Heaven only knows what 'Drive. Beginner Level' does.
While browsing through the endless list of skills, she just Couldn't.See.Straight.Anymore! (TL wants to just use this emoji ()︵ )
However, she knew which skills could alleviate one from poverty. As they say, hunger breeds discontentment, and so she chose the skill, 'Cooking.Beginner Level.' Worse comes to worst; she could always push a food cart and sell snacks to help contribute to the family's living costs.
Perhaps this was the so-called 'light at the end of the tunnel,' or maybe it was the garbage System's final act of goodwill, but the 'Cooking.Beginner Level' skill was so much more impressive than she had initially thought.
All the skills in the System's shop were divided into 3 levels: High, Mid, and Beginner. There were obviously skills that sounded powerful based on their names alone, and those skills would be further subdivided into lower-tier skills.
According to Dan Jingqiu's experimentation and speculation, her 'Cooking.Beginner Level' skill would be considered as a "Specialization in Home Cooking." At higher levels, this skill would likely allow her to master high-end delicacies.
Even so, every time she tasted her own home-cooked meal, she could automatically hear the BGM of the anime, 'Chinese Cooking Master Boy' playing in her head, as if she were chasing after the unlimited flavors of the world that leaves one addicted and wanting more.
So when her body recovered, she and her daughter, Lingzhu, bought over a restaurant previously called the "Golden Maiden Eatery," which later became the "Golden Autumn Eatery." Luckily, the previous host's husband, Jin Youchen, had decent cooking skills. He was the one who prepared all of the family's meals, and after she fell ill, it was Lingzhu who was in charge of the meals at home and for their hospital meals. So when Dan Jingqiu exhibited exceptional cooking skills, the three daughters just assumed that it was one of their mother's talents that no one had previously discovered.
Back then, they were an army of four ladies, and no one anticipated that the small eatery would later progress to this stage.
"Mom, all 6 tables are booked again tonight. President Wang will be bringing people over to the private VIP room." Jin Lingzhu walked out from behind the kitchen counter and adjusted her apron. She leaned against her mother, who was sitting lazily, daydreaming on the side. Though she knew that her mother did not want to listen to this update, she still mercilessly revealed it.
Yup, upon hearing this news, it was as if Dan Jingqiu grew a pair of puppy ears on the top of her head. Her whole being exuded an aura of frustration. Though she heard what Lingzhu said, she did not acknowledge it, as if she could escape the busy night had she just pretended it did not exist.
Upon seeing her mother, Jin Lingzhu's gentle face unconsciously grinned.
Her mother seemed younger these days, always acting wilful and cute. They say as people age, the more childish they become, but her mother was not even old, and she was already acting like a spoiled child.
But she did not find it annoying.
After her father passed away, Lingzhu was overwhelmed. Back then, even her father's partner and main chef that started out the business with him also left. Her own cooking skills did not match up to the regulars' expectations, and it became a struggle to make ends meet.
With unmarried sisters who recently entered college, Lingzhu had once felt the burden to be unbearable. Before her father passed away, her mother often nagged for her to find a capable man with a car and house. And hopefully help her younger sisters financially… because even she was unconsciously led to believe this was the way things should be, that it would be nice if there were such a person around to help her.
There was once a time when Jin Lingzhu thought she had such a person in her life, and that was Wang Qimeng.
However, that unrealistic dream long ended when her father laid on his deathbed.
Not long after her father passed, Lingzhu heard that Wang Qimeng had undergone many matchmaking sessions under his mother's orders, and while she was busy taking care of her mother, she heard that he had gotten married. It was impossible for her to be ignorant. After all, Madam Wang wanted everyone to know how smart she was, and her decision to not let her precious son get mixed up with that loser Lingzhu girl was announced far and wide.
Lychee Street was a small alley.
The soundproofing between the old buildings was poor.
All sounds coming from the Wang family next door were loud and clear, and every time she dragged her exhausted body back home, she could hear these words passing through their doors.
"Hehe, Old Man Wang, see how brilliant I am for finding that new daughter-in-law? Her parents intend to give our son a down payment for a house. Other people can't even dream about saving for a down payment in their lifetime!"
"Look here; our daughter-in-law is such a rare find. Our son can save himself at least 20 years of hard work!"
"Our precious daughter-in-law doesn't even need us to help her with living expenses, and in the future, all her inheritance will belong to our grandchildren!"
…
Lingzhu knew that every single sentence was a jab at her.
She was really upset back then. There was even a point where she wished she could find a rich man to marry so that she could walk proudly down their street, and face Madam Wang and say, 'Look. I, Lingzhu, am a caring and devoted person that could not be bothered with your useless son.'
And she almost walked down the wrong path.
But her mother, who raised her with these beliefs, suddenly changed.
She would drag Lingzhu and station her in the restaurant. Then, she would go to the wholesale market early in the morning to brave the crowds and buy the cheapest and freshest vegetables. Not even a radish would change hands without careful consideration. The previously vain and proud mother, who used to be arrogant because they had a small business, would even run out of their restaurant to offer samples, wipe down tables, and do dishes. Over time, she lost her chubby frame and became as skinny as Lingzhu.
But this daily bustle gradually put Lingzhu's overwhelmed and wavering heart at ease, grounding her bit by bit.
Lingzhu remembered how they would bust their butts every day until 8-9 PM. When her younger sister got out of class, the four of them would clear the place up until it was close to 10 PM. When Madam Wang began spreading her slew of unkind words, her mother would march up to their house. With one hand supporting her hip, and another flapping her fan, she would holler against the tightly shut door:
"Say, is it just me or our society is failing our youngsters. To think there are so many men who are afraid of hard work and enjoy being sugar babies~ All these man children~"
"Even thieves know that they will be imprisoned if they get caught stealing, so why do today's men find it so glorious when they leech off another family's wealth?"
"Hehe, if this were ancient times, men who look for a wife to provide for a house and car are doing the opposite of what tradition dictates! Somehow, modern times redefined this behavior, so now men were getting praised if they know how to scam money! The way I see, they all lack a spine!"
She even took a line from the lyrics of You are Vicious: "I'd say he's quite vicious, to take advantage of another's kindness and cheat them of their money! Feeling so proud that he found a wife who hands him money to buy a house~" Her song was out of tune, but she sang it louder and louder, without a shred of shame.
If Madam Wang showed herself, her mother would scoff in a higher octave: "What? Why are you getting all mad when I am just talking about men who are sugar babies? Are you saying your Ah Meng is a sugar baby?! Oh no! I never thought your Ah Meng was THAT kind of person!"
Those unkind words that used to stress out Jin Lingzhu's heart were slowly soothed over by her mother's rebukes, and eventually, she could not help but laugh at her mother's singing.
When the restaurant's business improved, her mother's lazy attitude returned, and she did everything in her power to reduce the long line of customers. At first, she repeatedly raised the price, but it did not deter the customers, and later, the Golden Autumn Eatery came up with these strange rules——
(1) The restaurant opens at 5:30 every evening, (2) only 6 tables and 1 private room will be serviced (must be reserved), and (3) menu items are on the blackboard (no personal requests accepted).
Despite the 3 demanding rules, business was still booming, so much so that when a public account wrote a headline, the reservation waitlist had reached 4 months.
The income generated by a restaurant with expensive fare and limited-seating exceeded many people's expectations. While managing the family's accounts, Lingzhu was surprised to find that they were even able to recover the savings spent on their late father's medical fees and had accumulated a hefty deposit.
That day, she happily took the ledger over and told her mother. Her mother was slowly gathering up the ingredients needed for that night and replied without turning her head.
"At first, I took your father's death really hard. He left without warning and without leaving anything behind. What's the point of love? The four of us need to be fed, and all of you need to continue school, marry, have weddings. Will love pay for any of that? We lacked nothing but money in our lives, but this little bit of money was enough to ruin this family!"
"I was also foolish. I thought this could all be fixed if I just find rich men for all of you! Now I'm not trying to be biased because I am your mother, but Wang Yuhong really pissed me off that time. My daughter is amazing! What gave her the right to criticize you? Even if she wanted to complain, she is not allowed to criticize you. And this was all because our family lacked money!"
"But what do we do when we don't have money? Do I sell the three of you off for money? I really thought it was a good idea back then. Won't it be nice to find rich men for all three of you?"
"But thanks to Wang Yuhong, I refuse to let it go. My daughters are all so good. Why should they be bullied by the likes of her? I want to save lots of money for the three of you so that you can all have a grand wedding. Just find yourself a guy you like, proudly bring him in front of me, and tell me that you fancy him! As long as they are sincere towards you, I will take care of the money. I don't need to sell my daughters for money!"
"Find someone like your father. Back then, I blamed him for not growing old with me, but we cared for each other deeply and never fought a day in our marriage. So I thought to myself: What if my daughters settled for a man they were not satisfied with for the sake of money? I only hope the three of you will find someone you like and not be bullied. If, at any point, you feel unhappy with your lives, just come back to my side! In this world, your mother will always support you! My daughters are the best, and that's the truth!"
…
That day, Dan Jingqiu spoke a lot, and every word was carved deeply into Lingzhu's heart.
From that moment on, all her negative thoughts had disappeared without a trace.
See, I have a mother who loves me the most. She is a profiteer, but she only wanted her daughters to find a man they like the most.
No matter right or wrong, she would stand protectively by my side.
"For tonight's reservations, there is a new customer among those 6 tables, a Miss Fang. The rest are regulars. Mom, here's the reservation book, look over it later. I already asked ahead, and there are no restrictions in flavors. What menu items do you want?"
"Mm, pick between the Mushroom Duck Soup and Lotus Root Pig Tripe Soup, then add Stir Fry Pork, Braised Meats, Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs… Let's start with those. Pick a few dishes from the expensive menu, in case they just want to eat the expensive stuff…"
Dan Jingqiu, who, until just now, pretended that she was deaf to the idea of work, quickly picked up the menu and then swiftly disappeared into the kitchen to make the preparations.
Seeing her mother's instant recovery, Lingzhu grinned.
Just like how every dish in this restaurant has its own unique characteristic that shines like fireworks, as long as her mother continues to stand strong, she is at peace, and her days are filled with excitement.
As she watched her mother's busy shadow inside the restaurant, many thoughts ran through her head.
The three daughters only have one regret: In order to make money for the family, their mother had lost a lot of weight to keep up with the business. If possible, they wished to slowly fatten up their mother back to her previous happy chubby self.
Dan Jingqiu, who had spent a lot of effort and successfully lost weight: ????
TL Notes:
You are Vicious is a hip hop song with rap elements. For those are interested, please search for 算你狠 by 陳小春
Chapter 5: The Profiteering Mother Who Sells Her Daughters (4)
Watching from afar, Jin Xiuzhu could make out the figure of her boyfriend Chen Wentian, who was standing by the school entrance. So she dashed over to grab his arm.
Although she had previously found a thousand reasons to keep their relationship a secret, she was still delighted to be able to officially introduce him to her dorm mates. Because, like most girls of her age, she desired to show off her boyfriend.
The moment she laid eyes on him, the unease she felt during class was long abandoned to the back of her mind.
After all, she was armed with all the money from her and her twin sister. With money in your pocket, there is nothing to fear!
Chen Wentian lowered his head slightly and glanced at the girl that had pounced on him. Then, he carefully smoothed out her messy hair. His usual solemn expression softened, and even his eyebrows relaxed: "What are you running around for? Working up a sweat like that. What if you catch a cold later?" He moved closer to her ear and whispered gently, "I'll worry."
Those sweet words made Xiuzhu blush so hard that she was too embarrassed to lift her head up.
In spite of all the mental preparations, every time they got close, she still acted like a deer in the headlights.
"Tsk tsk, it's still broad daylight. Your mushiness is making all the singles jealous!" Fang Yanru calmly strolled over with a teasing tone, but if anyone were to pay attention, they would notice that she was tightly clutching her purse strap and figure out just how unstable she was feeling.
Heaven knows how much she wanted to tear Jin Xiuzhu and Chen Wentian apart when she saw them holding hands!
But there's no need to rush. Soon, she would be able to do just that.
Huang Xiaoping was lagging behind, and when she noticed that something didn't seem right, she quickly caught up and reassured them: "Not at all! There's only admiration on my part. Senior Chen and our Xiuxiu are so compatible! A match made in heaven!"
As someone who was ignorant during class, Huang Xiaoping would be oblivious if she could not feel that something was amiss. Though not one to usually assume the worst of others, she could tell that Fang Yanru was clearly picking on Xiuzhu.
She would need to find a chance to warn Xiuzhu to pay attention.
Soon, everyone arrived. Zhen Susu was worried that Fang Yanru had picked an extravagant restaurant, so she did not ask her boyfriend to come along. So the 5 people standing at the school gate consisted of all 4 members of Dorm 405, plus Chen Wentian.
Chen Wentian raised his head and asked: "Should I call for a cab? Where are we going?"
He had prepared the money. Though he was met with some hardships recently, Xiuzhu was his topmost priority right this moment. To be introduced to her dorm mates made him extremely happy.
He had previously contacted a few pals to ask for advice, jotted down some notes, and despite his calm exterior, his heart was reciting all the rules to heart.
His buddies that went through thick and thin with him. provided him with all the perfect answers that he committed to memory.
Number 1: You must be sincere. Express your feelings to your girlfriend. Show some sweetness when appropriate, but don't go overboard.
Number 2: Don't be stingy. You must be generous, impress your girlfriend's dorm mates, and make her look good.
Number 3: Most importantly, maintain a safe distance away from your girlfriend's dorm mates. Don't give her reasons to feel insecure.
Fang Yanru glanced at him and nudged her chin up high: "My Ah Bin will take us with his car. As for where we're going, that's still a secret."
Right as she said that, her boyfriend, Xu Libin, drove over his black Mercedes-Maybach S-series 6-seater sedan and stopped in front of them. Lowering his car window, he greeted the group coolly.
Fang Yanru strutted like a proud peacock, leering at her dumbfounded dorm mates as she arrogantly took the front seat, and hassled them to board the car quickly.
However, unbeknownst to her—— Her 3 dorm mates, as well as Chen Wentian, had all hesitated because they were mentally calculating the cost of including an extra person to see if they brought enough money. And as for the price of the car or whatever, no one cared because they don't know anything about cars.
Xu Libin's driving skills were good, the car was moved steadily down the road, and soon, Fang Yanru could not help but begin her introduction. She turned to face the group behind her and began her little act.
"The restaurant we're going to today was really difficult to book. I planned to reserve a spot half a month ago, but never got to it, and had to find a ticket dealer to snatch a spot! I heard that restaurant has many rules, but other than it being expensive and difficult to reserve a spot, nothing else is negative!"
"But the menu selection is limited, so we get what we get, such a pity!"
…
Hearing Fan Yanru's words, Zhen Susu shot Huang Xiaoping a meaningful look. She would have never imagined Fang Yanru to dare pick something so overboard. Based on the description: Limited menu, difficult to book, long wait, expensive, ticket dealer… in the end, these are all used to describe a high-end private diner. She gritted her teeth, feeling deeply concerned. Whatever, worse comes to worst she will just take out the rest of her living expenses that month. No matter what, she would not put Xiuzhu and her boyfriend in a tight spot.
On the other hand, Chen Wentian was not the least worried. Because before he showed up, he had borrowed every single cent from his buddies, and mentally prepared himself. However, he was deep in thought, not following Fang Yanru's speech, but wondering how he could follow the core rules and properly display his affections…
The evening scenery passed leisurely outside the window, but even if the roads were dark and difficult to see, Jin Xiuzhu felt a sense of deja vu. On top of that, Fang Yanru rattled on about a bunch of awfully familiar peculiarities. She could not help but have a hunch, and frowned as she fell deep in thought.
Seeing the various expressions on the people's faces who were sitting behind her, Fang Yanru felt a sense of gratification.
What's better than watching your carefully designed plots come to fruition?
Of course, the exciting part has yet to come.
…
Jin Xiuzhu did not come to her senses until Fang Yanru led them to the Autumn Eatery's round table and sat down.
What a coincidence?
She was just guessing their location, but she did not expect to actually be dragged into her own family's eatery, and served by unfamiliar waitstaff.
Astounded, she wanted to explain the situation to her dorm mates, but Fang Yanru's rapid ordering from the menu cut her off.
"I want one of everything on the menu. Include the boss lady's personally cooked Crab Powder Tofu, Pufferfish Skin, Boiling Shrimp, White Jade Rolls, and Scallion Chicken!"
The waitstaff hesitated: "The six of you might not finish… Are you sure? The soups of the day include the Mushroom Duck Soup and Lotus Root Pig Tripe Soup. Do you want to order both? Our restaurant doesn't serve soup with the rest of the dishes."
"No problem. That is all. Be quick, please. Thank you!"
At this point, even the usually slow Jin Xiuzhu finally understood that something was amiss.
She's not an idiot.
Written on the menu by the door, a single portion of soup costs 688 yuan. Even if the table can accommodate a dozen people or so, it is still not some cheap soup, not to mention, she knows just how much it costs to make these portions.
They couldn't finish everything even if they had 6 more people. Isn't this clearly daylight robbery?
Should she be grateful that Fang Yanru had not ordered her mother's exorbitant house wine?
"Right, I heard your boss lady's wine is pretty famous. Let's have…6 servings of that!"
Fang Yanru pondered for a bit. She had ordered everything on the menu, and there's nothing else that could be added. Satisfied, she gestured to the waitstaff to go ahead and prepare the food.
Jin Xiuzhu did her best to resist making a sarcastic remark, revealing a smirk.
Alright then.
Bring it.
Chen Wentian was a little nervous. Though it was not to the point of meeting the parents, according to his friends, meeting a girlfriend's dorm mates is akin to a warm-up match before actually meeting the parents. If he does not perform well here, he can kiss their future goodbye.
Downing his water in one gulp, he looked around and finally summoned the courage to stand.
Concealing any sign of helplessness, he put up a brave front and announced: "Hello everyone, I am Chen Wentian. As you all know, I am Xiuzhu's boyfriend. I have already graduated and have been dating Xiuzhu for a long while now. I apologize for waiting so long to introduce myself… Thank you everyone for taking care of Xiuzhu!"
Words cannot even begin to describe just how nervous he was.
Jin Xiuzhu watched her boyfriend, knowing he has inherent stage fright in front of strangers, and now he was able to overcome that for her sake. Introducing himself like a host was not an easy feat for him.
Fang Yanru smiled coldly, but she immediately switched to a warm expression: "Aiya, it's so rare to see a senior again. We would love to get to know you!"
Unwilling to put a damper on Xiuzhu's celebratory party, Zhen Susu and Huang Xiaoping readily agreed, making the atmosphere as festive as possible.
After a short chat, the waitstaff brought out one dish after another, filling the entire table. Since their table was full, dishes that could not fit on the table were stored in the back kitchen to prevent them from getting cold.
The moment food was served, a delightful aroma filled the room, and their exciting chatter came to a halt.
When faced with such delicacies, who wants to do anything other than eat?
Cold Pufferfish skin is an uncommon dish. Shredded green vegetables, a few slices of red chili peppers, and carefully prepared pufferfish skin served on a simple platter. Who knows what went into the seasoning, but the moment it enters the mouth, it can even dispel any previous frustration by making you concentrate on the crisp and tender texture between the teeth.
The Braised Meat plate is made up of 3 different meats, pre-selected by the boss lady. It included chopped pig ears, sliced pig's tongue, and beef slices that consisted of the perfect muscle to tendon ratio. Eating the Braised plate alone is like eating 3 large bowls of rice!
When the Boiling Shrimp arrived at the table, it was still making fresh cracking sounds. Shrimp sectioned in 9 different places with its vein threads removed, the sizes were just right, not too big or too small, and accompanied by a tangy spicy aroma that makes you drool.
…
One dish came after another. Even the small cup of dinner wine was demolished without a trace.
Though the amount of food was extreme, no one could bear leaving a single scrap, shoveling one mouthful after another until their stomachs were bloated.
Delicious!
Good food is the best way to close the distances between people.
Chen Wentian found Fang Yanru's staring terribly distracting. And even his girlfriend, who had remained quiet this whole time, began looking at them suspiciously.
Fang Yanru felt a little shy. Luckily, she was currently eating some spicy hot dishes, so her blush was not as obvious.
Did he realize that I am much better than Jin Xiuzhu?
Was he moved by my upright sitting posture and elegant table manners?
Chen Wentian sincerely announced his gratitude: "Junior sister Fang, the restaurant you chose tonight is excellent!" Triggered by his speaking anxiety, he began rambling: "Xiuzhu and I will usually eat at the street near the university. She's really picky and hardly enjoys eating out, but she seems so content with tonight's dinner. If you find any similarly good restaurants, can you recommend them to me? I will definitely take Xiuxiu there!"
He pondered for a moment: "If you can think of any restaurant…you can EMAIL me!"
Chen Wentian was very satisfied with how he handled it.
After sincerely expressing himself, he found that he had perfectly adhered to all the rules and taken the right precautions.
Expressing affection, achieved! Maintaining distance, achieved! Forthcoming and sincere, achieved!
While basking in his own satisfaction, Chen Wentiann did not notice that his 'EMAIL' talk made everyone exchange glances and laugh unconsciously.
It was also too much to expect a guy like him, who only has eyes for his girlfriend, to notice that Fang Yanru was clutching on her bowl so tightly that she almost broke her nails.
Fang Yanru, who had intended to leave a good impression of herself in front of the senior, felt a small flame ignite within her.
This senior must have lost his mind over Jin Xiuzhu!
She must first straight out his head!
Love makes one blind!
Chapter 6: The Profiteering Mother Who Sells Her Daughters (5)
After the funny email incident, the previously uncomfortable atmosphere had instantly dissipated.
Under the influence of good food, even Zhen Susu and Huang Xiaoping had let their guard down around Fang Yanru.
Maybe she just really wanted to eat at the Golden Autumn Eatery? After all, the food here really rocks!
If Fang Yanru could read the minds of the people around her, she would throw an absolute fit.
After dinner, it was time to undergo her roommates' "soul interrogation" routine.
Chen Wentian was having heart palpitations as they fired one question after another, worried that he might carelessly end up in a fatal trap.
Questions like "Have you held hands with our Xiuxiu?!" or "When do you plan on marrying our Xiuxiu"…were manageable.
And then there were questions such as "How many girlfriends did you have in the past?!" or, "How did you come to like our Xiuxiu?" posed as deadly traps that might land him in hot water if he was careless, and it was starting to make Chen Wentian's back sweat.
But, after having undergone some training, he was able to handle these questions quite well.
"Senior, you're currently starting up a foreign company. Do you plan on staying in B city? Ah, but the housing prices in B city are a little high!"
Fang Yanru looked around the table and casually dropped a bomb. Chen Wentian could never afford a downpayment, much less buy a house! And Jin Xiuzhu's family was barely average; no way her family would accept such a match!
Fang Yanru wished she could hold up a sign that said, 'Look at me! Look at me!' because, from her perspective, a talented but penniless man like Chen Wentian should pursue a beautiful and wealthy specimen like her. Why would you go looking for a Cinderella and endure hardships together?!
Great men will get with the times, and smart birds would choose ideal wood for their habitats. Today, she would have Chen Wentian know that he had found himself a "bad piece of wood"!
Unbeknownst to her, Chen Wentian did not covet for a sugar mama. When the question was asked, his thoughts could not be more different.
Chen Wentian's face stiffened, and his relaxed posture instantly straightened.
It's here!
The key question that his friends had emphasized on multiple occasions——You are currently a man without money nor status, so words like 'looking forward to future challenges' are meaningless! Your girlfriend's friends would definitely ask this: With no money nor achievements to speak of, how do you intend to take care of your girlfriend? Through dreams and ambition? Those are all empty promises! You must present yourself as sincere, realistic, and reply honestly!
He'll let Xiuzhu know that this Fang Yanru seemed like a good friend who was only concerned for her.
"We just started the foreign business, and the company hasn't turned a profit yet. I will take Xiuxiu's opinions into consideration when we decide where we want to live in the future." He spoke solemnly.
"I've also considered our future. And to be honest, the company ran into a few roadblocks, and it seems like our development prospects aren't going well. If it worsens, we might have to end the business. Before I graduated, I received a few offers from the companies I worked with while I was in college. The starting pay and benefits are decent. I believe that as long as I work hard, I'll never let Xiuzhu suffer."
He spoke loudly and firmly, and the listening audience could feel his convictions.
Jin Xiuzhu was already teary-eyed as she stared at the people around her.
She witnessed the tragedy of her older sister, Lingzhu, who was torn away from her childhood friend of 20 years due to disputes in their family backgrounds.
Ever since then, she repeatedly told herself that if she ever fell in love with a person, she would never stop protecting and loving him.
Like the line in TV drama wedding vows that she had watched as a child.
"For richer or poorer."
To lighten up the mood, Zhen Susu quickly scrunched up her face in disgust, "So mushy! Too mushy! PDA!"
The oblivious Xu Libin foolishly joined in on the applause. Meanwhile, Fang Yanru was unable to hide her anger and glared daggers at him.
If she had known how dumb this guy was, she'd rather call a taxi than ask him to come!
She was so angry that she could not speak and wanted to quickly end this futile farce of a meal.
Fang Yanru packed her bag and whispered: "Oh yeah. Senior, thank you for treating us to this extravagant meal. Unlike you who have already started working, the rest of us are still in college and are relying on our families for everything. We'll gratefully accept your generosity and repay you in the future."
Her tone sounded gentle and innocent.
"I…Didn't I say I'll be the one paying?!" Jin Xiuzhu stood up angrily and stopped Chen Wentian from pulling out his wallet.
She couldn't understand what she did to offend Fang Yanru. Tonight's dinner would rack up at least 10,000 yuan. Even if Chen Wentian had money, she could never let him be bullied by others like this!
"Aiyo, ever heard of 'false bravado'?" Fan Yanru's voice was laced with mockery.
Jin Xiuzhu rarely got involved in fights, and right now, she was so angry that her hands formed tightly clenched fists, but she still could not bring herself to be mean: "I have money!"
"Hah? You have money?" Fang Yanru burst out laughing when she heard that, "We've been dorm mates for 4 years, and I've never heard your family had money! Oh right, the news has been reporting that there's been a rise in college girls who prostitute themselves to pay for their campus loans. There are also loans that require them to give up nude photos of themselves. Did you…"
Fang Yanru wanted to utterly tear this woman's image into shreds. Ever since they entered college, she could not stand Jin Xiuzhu's 'good girl' act. Always going home to help her mother with work and whatever. Who would believe that in this day and age?
Fang Yanru intentionally flaunted her expensive belongings, but Jin Xiuzhu was not the least bit impressed! She is clearly better than her in every way!
In the end, when Fang Yanru found herself a second-generation rich heir for a boyfriend, Jin Xiuzhu had somehow managed to snatch the senior she had a crush on.
If Jin Xiuzhu could read Fan Yanru's thoughts, she would be dumbfounded.
Her father passed away soon after she started college. Their family's finances were thrown into chaos. And with her mother and older sister working hard to help the family recover, where would she find the energy to chase after luxury goods? Would anyone pursue materialistic items if their lives were thrown into uncertainty?
If others wanted to accuse her of being pretentious for going home every day to work, then Jin Xiuzhu could only helplessly rub her temples.
But she did not know what Fang Yanru was thinking, so she felt mistreated, and could not understand why her dorm mate of 4 years was behaving like this.
Chen Wentian smiled gently: "Alright now, stop fighting. It's okay. I'm prepared to treat everyone tonight!"
Now he could plainly see that Xiuzhu's friend, Fang-whatever, did not have good intentions. Given how hard Fang Yanru was trying to drive a wedge in their relationship, Chen Wentian silently wondered if she was planted there by someone who was interested in pursuing Xiuzhu.
Speaking of, there was one suspect in the restaurant…
He glanced warily at Xu Libin, who was sitting calmly to the side.
However, now was not the time to investigate the suspect.
His fingers skimmed over his wallet. Fortunately, he had saved up a few dozen grand from working for a few years, not to mention the money he borrowed from his business partners.
"Don't worry, just take my card." He pulled out a credit card, handed it over to the uncomfortable waitstaff, and lightly blocked his girlfriend from trying to take it away.
Easy-going and generous, achieved!
It was extremely satisfying to have everything go according to plan.
Fang Yanru's charming delusions had vanished without a trace. This senior she once had a crush on was displaying false bravado like the rest of them- All vulgar and unbearable.
She crossed her arms and glared frostily.
Let's see how much it hurts when you are 10-20,000 in the hole!
You're just putting up a brave front and crying when no one's looking!
"Wait!" Jin Xiuzhu yelled after the waitstaff, who was about to leave. She was about to say something when a cheery voice piped up.
"Oh, Second Young Lady, why didn't you tell us you're back?" A figure sprang out from the side of the screen. It was Uncle Liu, an old employee from the Golden Autumn Eatery who was responsible for all the heavy lifting in the restaurant. He also used to work in the back kitchen.
Uncle Liu smiled brightly as if there was never a tense moment in the air: "Aiyo, Xiao Zhang!" He suddenly noticed the credit card in the waiter's hand, so he retrieved it and placed it in Xiuzhu's palm before turning and chastising the other party, "how could you accept the Second Young Lady's card?! So ignorant. This is our Second Young Lady!"
"Apologies, Second Young Lady, this Xiao Zhang is new and doesn't know you yet!"
The sudden interaction was like a tag-teamed punch to the face, and Jin Xiuzhu felt like she was in a dream as she nodded with a dumbfounded expression.
What…What Second Young Lady, doesn't Uncle Liu usually call me Xiuxiu…?
"Oh right, Second Young Lady, the Madam is tending to the customers in the VIP room and doesn't know you're here. Should I go get her?" Uncle Liu suddenly asked.
Jin Xiuzhu tilted her head and saw that her boyfriend literally froze up when he heard the word, "Madam," and felt really embarrassed.
What is going on here?!
Is there something wrong with me, or is there something wrong with the world?
"No need…" Xiuzhu said timidly, "I'm busy tonight, so I'm just going to go back with my classmates, let's not bother Mama…"
She then hastily grabbed the senior, Zhen Susu, and Huang Xiaoping and fled the scene.
Good heavens! She only wanted to introduce her classmates to the senior, but if her mother found out…
Everything happened so quickly that by the time Fang Yanru could react, Xu Libin was the only one left.
She was livid. She never expected Jin Xiuzhu would keep such a secret. To think her family even operated such a successful restaurant.
Then why did she pretend to be poor?
Noticing Uncle Liu and the waiter looking curiously at her, Fang Yanru replied fiercely: "What are you looking at?!" and then stormed out the premises without caring if Xu Libin followed.
As soon as the people left, Dan Jingqiu gently retracted her hand that was holding onto Lingzhu and then dragged her out from the other side of the screen.
Uncle Liu waggled his brows: "How's that Xiao Dan? My acting's pretty good, right?"
Dan Jingqiu flashed an approving thumbs up.
Lingzhu felt a sense of helplessness as she watched her mother and Uncle Liu's performance.
"What are you doing?"
Dan Jingqiu cleared her throat and said: "Aiya, don't you know those classic plots from TV series? Go watch Cinderella's Crystal Shoes that was broadcasted a few days ago. There's a protagonist just like that. When everyone thought he was poor, he suddenly dished out a hundred large bills!"
"That's how you introduce our Xiuxiu with style!"
She felt really satisfied with herself. After all, before she reincarnated into this world, she was obsessed with novels and had memorized about 10,000 classic ways to throw shade at someone. If Xiuzhu had not fled so quickly, she even prepared a classic mother appearance flanked by wait staff —— even though there were only two of them. She would have had her staff follow Xiuzhu out and loudly send their young lady off…etcetera etcetera.
Of course, this was also a part of her impish personality that should be left unmentioned.
Lingzhu watched her increasingly childish mother and thought, it's probably the better of two evils, luckily…her younger sister was quick to run and avoided a grand sendoff by Uncle Liu and Xiao Zhang…
Otherwise, her sister would definitely die from embarrassment.
Chapter 7: The Profiteering Mother Who Sells Her Daughters (6)
Dan Jingqiu had a simplistic view when it came to food. She loved good food but she was not obsessed with it. In other words, feast if it's there, move on if it's not. Before she left her own world, she purchased a ton of delicacies from Jack Ma's*. With an additional fee, it was possible to get whatever food she wanted no matter how popular or rare it was. (TL Note: Jack Ma is the founder of Alibaba, the largest online retail in China.)
This was why she never understood why people insisted on standing in line on a scorching hot day for 4 to 5 hours, just to eat something.
As an honest and trustworthy good citizen, she never missed an appointment, and right now as she looked at her extremely full ledger, Dan Jingqiu was ashamed to say that all her time and energy was restricted to the Golden Autumn Eatery.
Fortunately, she was able to catch her target, the third daughter, Jin Wanzhu, in her shop today.
A few days ago, after sending off Fang Yanru and the group, Dan Jingqiu suddenly recalled hearing about the unknown "Female Lead" in the original character's memories. She had concluded that it was probably Fang Yanru, the person who was desperately putting down her daughter. Since most of Dan Jingqiu's understanding of the world originated from the original character's memories and the cheating System's synopsis, she did not have a deep impression of the female lead.
The only thing she knew was this female lead's personality is abnormally "unique."
Her general understanding of the storyline was this: An "infatuated" female lead woos the Male Lead. Under the influence of love, she targeted the 'white moonlight' aka Xiuzhu,who hurt the male lead, as well as the original character who verbally humiliated the male lead. Not only did the female lead make sure the original character lost her daughters' trust, but she even made sure the youngest daughter, Wanzhu, underwent the same verbal humiliation suffered by the male lead.
Without the original character's memories, one would probably think that the female lead was just being overly protective of the male lead.
But once you add the original character's memories, the fates of these supporting characters in this romantic comedy were seriously tragic. The female lead's extreme and temperamental personality went beyond everyone's imagination, and her controversial actions could easily populate discussion forums for days.
Dang Jingqiu's peculiar performance was her way of preventing Lingzhu from carelessly intervening out of concern for her younger sister.
After all, given the female lead's extreme ideas, a background character like Lingzhu might become the next Wanzhu.
However, there was fortune to be found in misfortune. Unlike those violent/ gang-leader type students that Dan Jingqiu grew up watching, though Fang Yanru's methods were not honorable, they did not cause people to lose their lives.
Or else this story would really be in Hellish Mode.
Dan Jingqiu's mind was overthinking now because she did not know how to start a conversation.
Although she possessed a lot of the original character's memories, and she could treat these three daughters as her precious treasures, she's actually not that good at dealing with personal relationships.
She quietly watched her youngest daughter, Wanzhu, who was busy tidying up the dining room. She had spent half the day muttering to herself, not knowing where to start.
"Hey Mom, what's going on with you? Why did you ask me to come here? I promise to complete whatever task!"
Jin Wanzhu surrendered to her mother. This woman had specifically summoned her back from school, sent away her older sister, and had been staring at her back this entire time. The feeling of being constantly watched from behind was really scary.
Once Dan Jingqiu realized that she had been discovered, she finally found her voice: "That…I just want to know, how are you doing in school these days?"
Dan Jingqiu knew that something was wrong the moment those words left her mouth. Back in the day, she and her friends used to rant about their parents. It seemed like whenever their parents wanted to talk to them they would always start off by asking how they were recently. Now that she had landed in a story world and became someone else's mother, she somehow became just like her parents.
Jin Wanzhu turned to look at her mother's face, slightly worried: "It's been fine, mom. if you have something to say, just say it!"
Wait, did my twin sister's relationship get exposed?
Crap, she even came and borrowed money from me a few days ago, did she…
"Mom! I really don't know anything about Xiuzhu borrowing money to raise a kept man!" Wanzhu lifted both her hands and frantically spilled her heart out.
Dan Jingqiu almost fell over: "What did you say?!"
Wasn't her second daughter Xiuzhu supposed to be the pure and simple one in the storyline who dedicated herself to protecting her penniless boyfriend? The one who had no regrets no matter how many times she was beaten down for it? What's this about her borrowing money and raising a sugar baby?!
The pair went back and forth for a while before things were finally cleared up. Dan Jingqiu glared fiercely at her imaginative youngest daughter. It's all Wanzhu's fault for giving her weird ideas!
"But mom, what were you trying to ask?" Once Jin Wanzhu's curiosity got piqued, she would never let it go.
Dan Jingqiu decided to be blunt: "Wanzhu, tell me honestly! What are your opinions on dating and marriage?!"
Dan Jingqiu mentally prepared herself as she stepped on that landmine without knowing what the potential damage and casualties that may lie.
Right now, she could safely set aside Lingzhu's relationship. Since Xiuzhu had just started hers, then the story of her youngest daughter, Wanzhu, was inevitably coming soon.
However, having experienced her care and guidance, her daughters clearly seemed much more livelier. This was largely different from the previous story arc, where the gullible and naive Wanzhu was being taken for a ride.
Nonetheless, she was determined to take all preventative measures.
Jin Wanzhu bit her lip and lowered her head: "Mom…You found out that Brother Lin Lin and I were dating!" Scraping the soles of her shoe against the floor restlessly, she added, "I didn't mean to hide it from you."
"What are you talking about?!" Dan Jingqiu slammed the table harshly and shot up, the pain in both her palms made her face look a little intimidating.
Wanzhu noted her mother's furious expression. Fearing that she might burst a vessel, she quickly helped Dan Jingqiu back to her seat. She then started fanning her, pouring her water, and spilling the beans to all her secrets.
"Mom, don't be mad, calm down. I'll tell you, I'll tell you! Here,…just relax, I'll stop playing with Brother Lin Lin's feelings. Ah! How about I just break up with him?! I know relationships are supposed to be serious! I'm sorry!"
Dan Jingqiu, who had just sat down, nearly had another heart attack.
Before she could verify why 'Lin Lin' sounded like such a familiar name, she was shocked by Wanzhu's words.
What…He dares to toy with my daughter?!
Wait, no…My daughter is toying with someone else?!
Nope nope nope. This must be the original character and Jin Youchen's fault. You can't blame this outer world visitor for this child's upbringing issues.
But why is it sooo infuriating whenever I think about it?!
"Explain everything, and don't you dare lie to me!" Dan Jingqiu's tone was devoid of any amusement. Right now, she couldn't care less who this Lin Lin was. She just wanted to get to the bottom of what Wanzhu was playing with!
"That… I was just curious about being in a relationship…" Jin Wanzhu slowly began her story.
"Many of my classmates were dating…and then my twin sister started too? I was really curious about what it felt like to be in love…and then I met Brother Lin Lin. He had a nice personality and he's really handsome. Mom, you should see how good-looking he is."
Mmhmm. Dan Jingqiu internally nodded. Of course she knew. How could this mother not know that her daughter prioritizes looks?
"….Anyway, later on, I realized I was wrong. I thought I liked him because I liked his face, so I courted him."
"Once we got together, I found that our relationship was not like what Sis has. I don't feel concerned towards him, and I don't get jealous…but I don't want to be alone because everyone else around me is in a relationship. I know this isn't right, but…"
After a long pause, Wanzhu felt guilty as she watched her mother become motionless from shock. After all, her actions were somewhat rebellious. Swallowing embarrassingly, she quickly told her statue-like mother she was going to go tidy up the restaurant before running off and pretended to be busy.
Dan Jingqiu quietly chuckled as she watched her busy bee of a daughter.
She never expected that the Wanzhu, the story's most innocent character, and the daughter she fretted most, was actually the boldest.
Then there's the familiar-sounding name, "Lin Lin." While it might not be the same person, there should be only one guy who had the same name, who lived in this city, and who knew her youngest daughter…
That would be the supporting male lead who toyed with the feelings of her "innocent and kind" daughter in order to assist the female lead behind the scenes.
And now, he's the one clinging to Wanzhu in this relationship.
The story had gone full circle.
In reality, Dan Jingqiu was under tremendous pressure, because saving the lives of others sounded like a heavy responsibility.
Not to mention this storyline was quite…depressing and tragic.
She did not know how to resolve every single issue in the plotline.
Should she kill off the female lead?
Or maybe kill off the supporting male lead?
As each day passed, she made a surprising discovery.
The solution to all the problems were shockingly simple.
Lingzhu's tragedy originated from her "obedience. " Like those "Fang Shengmei*" characters you see on the news, or those ladies who became "victims of domestic violence." These women had all the opportunities to leave, but lost their survival instinct to flee because they were"filial" and "obedient." As a mother, it was her responsibility to guide Lingzhu in the right direction so that she could make decisions for herself and gain control over her own life. (TL: Fang Shengmei is a tv drama character who was overly submissive and loyal to her parents and was willing to suffer through unreasonable situations out of filial piety.)
Xiuzhu's tragedy started from the original character's interference. Of course, when their father had passed, Xiuzhu understood that Chen Wentian's family background might not be compatible. So the only things Dan Jingqiu could provide was unconditional support and guidance, and to ensure that their family would not become a burden in Xiuzhu's life.
Wanzhu's bad ending was the result of a lack of attention and general neglect after the passing of her father. It made her vulnerable to affections, and she lost herself when she fell for someone. But this time, as she was showered with sufficient love and attention, Wanzhu was no longer obsessed with being in a romantic relationship and was able to cope without them.
In truth, the solutions could never be derived from the female lead —— even if she was the source of all those problems.
With enough self-sufficiency, there was no need to be bothered by her.
Because the female lead had no control over their lives.
Just like that day, when Fang Yanru's schemes all went up in smoke.
If the female lead did not exist in this world, would the original character's three daughters attain happiness?
At least for Lingzhu, that would not be the case.
Dan Jingqiu suddenly realized that when the original character said, "I want them to be happy" and "let them know I really love them," these two missions do not overlap.
Just because she loved them does not mean they would be happy.
She came to an unexpected conclusion.
Chapter 8: The Profiteering Mother Who Sells Her Daughters (7)
"Hey, Yanru, come to the class reunion. Your three roommates will be there!"
"How can we have our 10-year reunion without you?!"
…
Fang Yanru stood outside the hotel and watched the beaming neon lights in a daze.
She could not understand what came over her when she accepted the old class president's request to attend the class reunion.
She tidied her hair, adjusted the jade pendant that hung against the middle of her V-shaped neckline, and perched her Gucci sunglasses on top of her head before stepping forward in her high heels.
Despite all her preparations, she still halted herself, hesitating in front of the reserved private room that the class president had told her about.
As she pushed through the doors, Fang Yanru was greeted with interiors that were bustling with excitement. She took a quick look around. That woman was not here yet.
Most of the familiar faces have changed. Some were proud and astute. Others were timid and uncertain…
The previously quiet Xiaoping, who often sat in a corner, had aged considerably. Fang Yanru heard that she had managed to get a position as a civil servant after graduation, and was none too happy about it.
The one with the volatile temper, Zhen Susu, looked okay. Though her clothing was a bit pompous, Fang Yanru knew that those luxury goods were old and long out of fashion. Just like how she was in the past, she was trying too hard.
…
Fang Yanru walked towards her previous dorm mates and sat down in the center.
She immediately felt the accumulation of stares. Some were envious, some were jealous, and some were angry…
She was used to it.
She always knew that people loved money, and those without wealth were jealous of those who do.
The class president now worked as a salesman at a company. He had previously come to Yanru's house to ask for favors, And now that she had appeared, he had been escorting one person after another before her to rub elbows.
See that? This is how it should be.
"Sorry I'm late!"
The refreshing and clear voice was like a blast to the past.
It was Jin Xiuzhu.
Now in her thirties, she had a slim waist, her hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she wore a simple white T-shirt, jeans, and a pair of running shoes. None of which were expensive brands, but overall, she looked neat and comfortable.
She had not changed one bit.
Fang Yanru could not understand why she was feeling a little annoyed.
Doesn't Chen Wentian make a lot of money? What was she trying to do? Afraid that those old classmates would cosy up to try and take advantage of her?!
Hypocritical goody-two-shoes!
Jin Xiuzhu hastened her footsteps. She weaved through the crowd and sat down next to Fang Yanru. Now all four dorm mates have finally regrouped after 10 long years.
Fang Yanru's face stiffened as she listened to her peers chat enthusiastically as if nothing had changed.
Did she not notice Zhen Susu's dress? Or Huang Xiaoping's sullen expression?
Was it meaningful to talk to these people?
During the entire meal, Fang Yanru never stopped talking, and neither did Jin Xiuzhu.
From her peripheral, she could see that Jin Xiuzhu's eyes were filled with delight as she reminisced about the past. Even the depressed Zhen Susu and Huang Xiaoping looked much more relaxed.
Today's gathering did not include a lot of activities because, in 6 months, their school would be hosting their hundredth year anniversary, so there would be even more people planning on attending.
Hence, the crowd quickly scattered after dinner.
The people flitted past one another. Fang Yanru waited for her ride outside the hotel and trained her eyes forward, refusing to turn around as she listened to the excited chatter that made her sneer. Are they seriously planning on keeping touch? Classless people just stay classless.
She waited impatiently for her ride, wondering when her chauffeur would appear.
It suddenly became quiet behind her, and someone patted her shoulder.
It was Jin Xiuzhu.
"Long time no see. I wish you good luck." She tilted her head with a sweet smile; her eyes were filled with sincerity.
Fang Yanru was stunned, and could only bring herself to nod in agreement.
Then she watched as Jin Xiuzhu took two small steps and stopped in front of a black Mercedes-Benz.
A man pushed open the car door and got out of the passenger seat from the back.
It was Chen Wentian.
Together with Xiuzhu, they waved and bid her farewell. Chen Wentian then hugged Xiuzhu and boarded the car, and the vehicle disappeared further and further away.
Heh.
Not long after, Fang Yanru's ride also arrived. It was a black Bentley.
Her surrounding classmates were envious. Despite reaching their 30s, the supposedly composed crowd unconsciously let out sounds of envy.
She ignored all of it as she boarded the car, closed the door, and felt the lingering cold of the night's air.
Yup, she still hated Jin Xiuzhu.
It's nice to be rich, so why wasn't she envious? Why wasn't she jealous?
Such a hypocrite.
…
What she thought was the most difficult challenge somehow passed unceremoniously.
The years passed in a blink of an eye, and the now 60-year-old Dan Jingqiu was laying in bed, surrounded by her children and grandchildren; her heart was filled with calmness.
There was a faint smile on her lips, her gaze was warm, as if she was trying to record every moment deep in her memory.
Since she entered this world, these beautiful young ladies have now entered their middle ages, but the three of them were still the same in Dan Jingqiu's heart as the first time she laid eyes on them.
Lingzhu had cried to the point that she could no longer spear. An honest-looking man stood behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and gently stroked her hair. This was Lingzhu's husband, Zhang De.
Zhang De had average looks, but he had a talent in cooking. After Dan Jingqiu's health declined in the last few years, he was the one helping her in the kitchens.
With how mature and honest he looked right now, who would have guessed that he was once a second-year student who went around challenging restaurants in culinary battles. That was when he met her pampered Lingzhu, and it was love at first sight. Ignoring his parents' concerns over love between an older woman and a younger man, he wooed Lingzhu for three years before he was successful.
Dan Jingqiu recalled that she was worried that the plotline…would cause Lingzhu to meet the same end as the original story. Her constant worries even made her fall ill out of stress. This was also partially due to the weak constitution of the original character's body.
Had she not fallen ill, she would not have discovered…
Her "kind" and "easily bullied" Lingzhu had been pampered to an entirely different person. Standing outside the sick ward, Lingzhu was lightly tugging on Zhang De's ear and telling him that he was wrong. That firm yet loving gesture was something she had never seen before,
After secretly observing for some time, Dan Jingqiu finally realized… Her daughter utterly bullied the tall and strong man. Talk about taking a beating silently. He would occasionally test Lingzhu's temper and welcome her loving punches with open arms. (The power behind these small punches would depend on the bruises Zhang De revealed whenever he came to borrow ointment.)
This resolved one worry in Dan Jingqiu's mind and created another. Would her daughter go too far and end up destroying her chance at marriage?
Fortunately, as the old saying goes, if there's one who's willing to dish it, there's another who's willing to take it.
The pair finally tied the knot and now operated the Golden Autumn Eatery together.
She moved her gaze further out to watch a tired Xiuzhu who spent the night accompanying her without rest, had collapsed against the table, and fallen asleep. Her husband, Chen Wentian, carefully draped a coat over her body.
Her second daughter, Xiuzhu, and Chen Wentian had a strong relationship.
Chen Wentian was deeply in love with Xiuzhu, and without the "evil mother" coming in between them, their relationship had advanced leaps and bounds. Not long after she introduced Chen Wentian to her dorm mates, Xiuzhu shyly brought her boyfriend to their doorstep.
That day, Dan Jingqiu realized this man had a one-track mind and was hopelessly oblivious. Only a silly sweetheart like Xiuzhu would remain by his side through thick and thin.
As far as she knew, the female lead made many more attempts to demean Xiuzhu.
But naturally, all these acts were utterly useless against the King of Obliviousness.
As for the financial pressure… it was undeniable that the 'protagonist halo' exists in this world. (T/L: Protagonist Halo is a phrase to describe a cheat that male and female protagonists have in their worlds. In other words, they cannot truly be harmed in their stories.)
When there were no more obstacles hindering Chen Wentian's company, the business boomed. And like a dark horse, it overtook its competition and left them in the dust.
Speaking of her worries…
Dan Jingqiu's gaze landed on her younger daughter, Wanzhu, who had just returned from sending the grandchildren back home.
The original story's most innocent character has now become the most "lawless" one of all.
Back then, for the sake of Chen Wentian, the female lead secretly revealed that Lin Lin and she were childhood sweethearts, with the intent to sow discord to their family.
Upon learning the truth, Wanzhu stood outside their house and admonished Lin Lin for being a liar, and cried all the way back home.
Later, a worried Dan Jingqiu entered Wanzhu's room to find…
Her youngest daughter, hiding under the covers with trembling shoulders…
And the sounds of laughter.
Till today, the pair often took vacations together and remained quite close.
But their relationship was always on and off.
Based on Lin Lin's words, it was her own daughter that was unwilling to make an honest man out of him.
But as a good mother who would never pressure marriage, she refused to force her daughter in that direction.
"Host, your current body's lifespan would terminate in half an hour. Please prepare yourself."
The sudden robotic voice in her brain was exceptionally refreshing. It belonged to System 008, which had been playing dead for the longest time. This also made Dan Jingqiu, who was immersed in this character for 20 years, realized —— Right, this was never her own life.
But she could not think about any of that and felt an immense reluctance….
Raising her hand, her surrounding daughters and son-in-laws all rushed over. Even the sleeping Xiuzhu was woken up by Chen Wentian. After all, everyone had an inkling of what was about to happen.
"I am going to go find your father now…" Dan Jingqiu lips curled into a peaceful smile.
"I leave the Golden Autumn Eatery to your oldest sister and brother-in-law since none of you know how to cook…As for the savings, divide it between Xiuzhu and Wanzhu. Leave the family home on Lychee street to Wanzhu. After all, she's not married yet, so she must have a house…"
As she addressed how everything would be distributed, her three daughters wept uncontrollably and shook their heads.
They were not the least bit concerned over the money. They just couldn't bear the inevitable…
"Lingzhu, don't be stubborn and learn to be a role model for the children…don't always bully our Ah De." Struggling to lift her hand, Dan Jingqiu pulled both their hands to her, "Ah De, please be patient with our Lingzhu. She throws a tantrum every once in a while because her father and I failed to give her an adequate sense of security…so I'll be relying on you for that."
The three of them held on to each other tightly. Lingzhu's tears have dripped all over their hands. She would have collapsed were she not leaning against her husband and supported by his arm. Zhang De's eyes were also red with tears as he nodded furiously, hoping to give his mother-in-law a peace of mind.
Dan Jingqiu shifted her gaze to the back. Lingzhu and her husband knew their mother wanted to relay some last words to Xiuzhu and her husband, so they slowly retreated back. Xiu Zhu threw herself by her mother's side.
"I'm not as worried about Xiuzhu and Wentian. As long as the two of you are together and well, there's nothing you can't weather…" She blinked softly at her son-in-law, "Now, I'm really leaving my daughter in your care, promise me that you would treat her well…"
Chen Wentian loudly agreed. His voice was slightly hoarse, so Dan Jingqiu knew he would keep his promise.
Without waiting for her to say anything, her youngest and most pampered daughter immediately raced to her bedside and placed her head under her palm, and wailed desperately.
"Our Wanzhu is the most spoiled. Originally I had a lot to tell you, but when I think about it, I realized that if I asked you to marry, buy a house, and whatnot, my Wanzhu would have forced herself and do it, and that would not make me happy… I only hope that you will do whatever you set your heart on and continue to be happy…"
Surrounded by daughters who were by her side for so long, all her reluctance turned into bliss. Her present self could not imagine what would have happened if her three good daughters were to face the same adversity as before.
She never regretted a single day…
"Don't cry. I'm only going to see your father. I lived a really happy life, with the three of you as my precious daughters…" Her voice gradually faded, and her eyelids grew heavier as she descended into darkness.
Feeling the icy coldness in her hand, Wanzhu collapsed against her mother's body and sobbed. Seeing that their mother's chest no longer moved, Xiuzhu and Lingzhu both leaned against their husband's shoulders and bawled.
Birth, old age, sickness, and death are all a part of the human condition.
…
"Mission 1: Help the original character's 3 daughters attain happiness. Complete."
"Mission 2: Become a loving mother to her daughters. Complete."
…
The sounds of machinery echoed in the empty space. Dan Jingqiu had originally intended to take a quiet breather and barely had time to respond when the silent space was suddenly filled with crying sounds.
Suddenly, an image of a plain woman appeared in the system space. Her cries were so muffled that it would have been impossible to hear if one was not paying attention.
Like a small animal, the soft voice consistently echoed: "Why is everyone bullying me…"
Hur hur.
Dan Jingqiu knew this garbage of a System was planning on working her to death.
The doors to the new world are opening…
Chapter 9: O! You Shrew! Relentless Abuser! (1)
Dan Jingqiu wanted to take back her previous thoughts. She wanted to get her hands on that no-good-always-playing-dead-System 008, and beat the hell out of it.
Faced with the commotion happening in front of her, she was speechless; the last world was truly a Beginner's world.
Right, this must be the legendary·Hellish mode.
"Hah! Who would accept that as a reason?! Everyone, come gather round and witness this daughter-in-law bully her mother-in-law!!"
"Dan Jingqiu, my son died because he married an unlucky wrench like you! You cursed him to death! And now you dare usurp my son's house?!"
…
Dan Jingqiu had a blank look as she watched the drama unfold before her eyes, the corners of her mouth twisted into a sneer.
Upon understanding the plotline of this world, Dan Jingqiu gave another cursory glance at the old woman, who was rolling on the floor from anger. As she did so, Dan Jingqiu felt an overwhelming sense of bitterness.
In her lifetime, quality trash like this could only be found on online tabloids or rant forums. Who would've thought she would witness a real-life version of it?
The original host's past experiences could only be summarized as 'tragic.'
But was she truly innocent? Some might disagree.
There's a saying: Always the victim but never the victor; precisely what the original host's life was based on.
If the world's main theme was written into a book, Dan Jingqiu could just see it having one of those cliche titles such as The Good Old 1970s, Return Back to the 70s to Find my Soldier Boy or something similar along these lines.
Anyone who saw these titles would immediately understand that this was a typical piece of dated fiction. The story's protagonist, Lin Qing, had her soul transmigrated to Datong village in the 60s, where it entered the body of an unborn girl with the same name. Using her wits and intelligence, she attained true love with a soldier boy and lived happily ever after.
But what about the original host?
Her family was a part of the background to the main plotline and played a huge role in emphasizing the story's "quality kinship."
Datong village was located in the Lizi ravine of the C province in Tongshan county. Most of the villagers were there because their ancestors had migrated and settled there for generations. Like many traditional villages, the three most prominent surnames in Datong village were Ling, Li, and Sun.
The original host was from Daxing village, on the other side of the mountain, and was brought over here through marriage.
As for the role of the original host in this story —— 'Ridiculous,' was the most suitable word to describe it.
When the female lead had transmigrated into the little girl, like many dated fiction, she found herself related to a family filled with these 'amazing' relatives.
Female lead Lin Qing's granny was called Sun Jinhua. She controlled Lin Yaoxi's entire fortune and was the embodiment of a biased mother. Though she raised 3 sons and 2 daughters, she showed extreme favoritism. However, not long after marrying her husband, Lin Yaoxi, Sun Jinhua suffered hard times. It was during these hard times when she birthed the eldest son Lin Jianguo, second son Lin Jianjun, and eldest daughter Lin Taohua. After undergoing poverty and hardships for 5 years, she gave birth to a pair of twins, youngest son Lin Jiandang and youngest daughter Lin Xinghua.
Though she had 3 sons and 2 daughters, Sun Jinhua only had love for the youngest two. And she could not wait to rob all of the other children's inheritance to supplement herself.
Why's that, you ask?
Simple, Sun Jinhua was utterly superstitious.
During the years when life was tough, Sun Jinhua would carry red paper strips containing the birth dates of Jianguo, Jianjun, and Taohua. Along with her meager savings, she would visit the famous Blind Wang residing in the city to read their fortunes. After all, life was too hard, and her mental state was hanging by a thread. Without superstition as an outlet, she could barely endure the realities of taking care of a house full of wailing children and the seemingly endless poverty.
Blind Wang had a blunt conclusion for Sun Jinhua. He claimed that the current children she had were not destined to be filial and would amount to nothing. The penniless condition of the household was due to the bad fortunes of these three children, and their luck could only be turned around by the next birth.
Naturally, Sun Jinhua did not take it seriously in the beginning and only kept those negative thoughts to herself. After all, this involved all her children, and she could not just abandon them.
But strangely enough, when Sun Jinhua became expectant once more, the beginnings of the pregnancy showed vast differences. The pregnancy was smooth sailing, and without any signs of morning sickness to be found.
Her pregnancy aside, the financial conditions of the household seemed to change for the better.
And when the twins were born, Lin Yaoxi's older brother, Yaodong, had successfully retired from the army and returned home with plenty of resources, and left a decent amount of money to his younger brothers who were not doing as well. This helped Lin Yaoxi improve his position in the Lin family, and their lives were different ever since.
And now, Sun Jinhua was thoroughly convinced that her youngest son and daughter were the reason for their prosperity.
She also decided from that point on, the two older sons and eldest daughter had cursed the family!
Since then, she gave everything to her precious twins, while the other 3 children were treated worse than how the village's stepmothers would treat their children.
It was fine while they were young. Since the worst that could happen was doing more manual labor and eating less. They were still recognized in the village, and the family kept their dirty laundry to themselves.
But when they got older, the challenges have also increased. The hard days had arrived!
The two older brothers began farming with what limited strength they had, while Taohua stayed at home to care for the two youngest children.
But farming was not good enough. Most of the children in the village that were of the age were sent away for an education, but Sun Jinhua refused to let her two oldest sons leave.
Sun Jinhua was famously known for her stingy and cunning nature. If her two children went to school, their ambitions would soar! Not to mention losing those two free laborers would make her life more difficult! Don't even think about it! She would never make such an unprofitable business decision!
Oh, you want to talk about Taohua? This child was fated to be married off, so why would Sun Jinhua spend the family's money to send her off for an education? She was better off staying at home and babysitting her younger siblings.
And so the children became adults under these grueling conditions.
When Lin Jianguo was of marriageable age, Sun Jinhua absolutely refused to give him a single cent for a dowry. As someone who only knew how to farm, possessing no other talent, and a large family to feed, who would be willing to marry him?
Coincidentally, the Dan family, who lived in a village away, were also facing hardships. The Dan family had 3 daughters and a son, and the Dan patriarch, who was looking for a daughter-in-law, had set his sights on Lin Taohua. Like many other poor families, Old Man Dan came up with the idea to swap relatives with Sun Jinhua. He would allow his eldest daughter, Dan Jingqiu, to marry Lin Jianguo. And then, Lin Taohua would marry into his household.
After that, only Lin Jianjun remains. While she did not wish to spend the money, Sun Jinhua could not find another solution. You couldn't expect her to just swap her precious daughter, Xinghua, in the same marriage arrangement?! So, after racking her brains, she finally came up with a solution. Sun Jinhua went to a matchmaker who lived on the mountain top and was known for matching the poorest families within the 5000 m radius. She spent 3 dollars and a bag of rice and bought a second daughter-in-law, Wu Qiuyun.
Now that everything's planned and settled, Sun Jinhua believed she could unreasonably control and demand anything out of these sons and daughters-in-law.
But this also had something to do with their personalities.
Lin Jianguo, Lin Jianjun, Wu Qiuyun, and the original host have always been cowardly people. And it was due to their cowardice that Sun Jinhua was able to control her sons and daughters-in-law.
All of them naturally fell in line when this shrew of a mother loses her temper.
And so, this tragic life became more difficult by the day. And even Lin Jianguo's eldest daughter, Lin Yu, was made to till the farms in place of her youngest aunt and uncle!
"Ma, stop crying, Let's go back in." Lin Xinghua, who had been pampered for 18 years, felt embarrassed just watching her mother, Sun Jinhua, rolling on the ground. She could not wait to drag her back into the house, lest some outsider saw them.
After all, everyone knew how her eldest brother died. It was eerie watching her mother throw a tantrum when the corpse had not yet cooled.
But Lin Xinghua did not say another word. Why? Because she secretly hoped her mother would succeed.
She also believed that since her eldest brother was no longer alive, his wife should pack up and go back to her maiden home. Though there would be fewer people to till the lands, Lin Xinghua would gain a house. After all, she's a big girl now, and did not wish to sleep in a makeshift cubicle in her parents' bedroom.
As for the pair of children left behind by her oldest brother, they can just sleep anywhere. Why would two adolescent children need their own single room?
Li Xinghua had already begun making decoration plans for when she gets her hands on that house.
Dan Jingqiu looked coldly at Lin Xinghua, who was standing straight as a pencil. She looked quite mature and healthy, but based on how upright she stood and how she seemed unwilling to bend over and help Sun Jinhua up, Dan Jingqiu already had a good grasp of her personality and what she was thinking.
And from here on out, this story began its dramatic prologue.
Under his mother's request, the original host's husband, Lin Jianguo, accompanied an infamous smuggler from the neighboring village. Together, they secretly brought a bunch of wildlife from the mountains to resell in the city. On their way back, they were discovered by the patrol, and while they were desperately on the run to evade the patrol officers, Lin Jianguo clumsily slipped and fell on the roadside. His forehead was split open by a rock, and just like that, he died from excessive blood loss.
As a result, Dan Jingqiu was suffering from a blow upon just learning about her husband's death, but before she could come to her senses, Sun Jinhua was already causing a ruckus at her doorstep.
Sun Jinhua kept calling the original host a husband-killing jinx, accusing her of cursing her husband to death and was determined to get rid of the original host. She went as far as shrewdly throwing herself to the ground, screaming and kicking to attract attention.
How does the cowardly original host fight back?
The original host was foolishly chased out of the house without bringing a single item with her. In her despair, she only remembered kneeling and crying outside the door as she begged Sun Jinhua to let her stay while the woman ignored her.
She dared not mention her son and daughter, fearing that Sun Jinhua might kick them out along with her, and was forced to leave in silence under Sun Jinhua's menacing threats.
But where could she go?
She could not abandon her children behind, so she stayed in the cowshed at the entrance of the village under the kindness of the village elder, barely living with what little work points she could get from the government. (TL: Work Points = Under the Chinese government, agricultural workers are awarded work points based on work input/out, that can be exchanged for food or money.)
The transmigrated female lead took away her parents, so Lin Jianjun and his family left and were able to build a better life.
Now Sun Jinhua absolutely refused to let Dan Jingqiu's children go. Who else was going to be the free labor?
And so, this pair of siblings followed their father's footsteps and were forced to live their days doing grueling labor.
Dan Jingqiu would starve herself, offering up rice that she had traded with work points, in hopes that Sun Jinhua would be kinder to her children. But alas, it was of no avail.
What about later?
Dan Jingqiu's daughter was married off to the village cripple —— all because the cripple's family had money. Luckily, though the cripple was old, he was a skilled crafter and did not mistreat her daughter. But ultimately, her daughter was married off to an old and crippled man who was decades older than her.
What about her son? After working in the family farm day after day, he became another Lin Jianguo.
Though Dan Jingqiu was chased out of the house, she still took care of Sun Jinhua through old age. Because if she didn't, her own son would be worked to death.
At her deathbed, she could tell that her son had aged quite considerably compared to his peers. She wondered what she did wrong in her life to cause this.
She was "obedient" all her life, so just how did she end up here after being so obedient? Even her daughter was unwilling to see her one last time.
Life can offer anything, but the useless original host only had a few wishes before she died.
She did not wish for riches, nor did she wish to fight with Sun Jinhua.
She only wished for a peaceful life where she was not so timid. She wanted to be like Sun Jinhua and not be bullied by anyone.
She wished to do right by her children, so they could live without regrets.
Dan Jingqiu watched the tear-stricken old woman mutter her wishes into the void and slowly disappear in a trance-like state.
Even on the verge of death, while making her wish, she was stammering hesitantly: "Could you…Could you help me…help my Ah Yu and Ah Xiong…"
The original host knew that a lot of her sufferings were self-inflicted. But Dan Jingqiu had no words while she watched her and only offered a sigh.
In this story, the original host's experience was used to remind the readers of the awfulness of Sun Jinhua. The story's summary was written like this:
"Lin Qing personally watched as her aunt was chased out of the house that day, wearing only a robe, wiping her tears and constantly looking back as she took each step.
Lin Yu and Lin Xiong, who were left behind, watched in shock, but could not find the courage to even step out.
Sun Jinhua then yelled at Lin Yu and Lin Xiong to go back in and wash the dishes. From that day onwards, those two pairs of hands, which looked so thin that they might break, undertook all the housework in the family.
The calculative Lin Qing would not tolerate it any longer. Sun Jinhua's heartlessness made her bristle in anger.
She must take her parents away from this misery."
And so the awakened Lin Qing packed up and dragged her foolish parents out of that house.
Of course, before they left, Lin Qing felt immense pity for her cousins and occasionally thought about them, but that was the extent of it.
…
When Sun Jinhua saw that her honest daughter-in-law seemed unresponsive from fear, she secretly smirked, calling her useless inwardly.
She did not feel a shred of guilt. Useless people deserved to be bullied.
Once again, she strained her vocal cords and yelled, not the least bit embarrassed to be seen as a spectacle.
"This jinx dares to continue staying under my roof. She wishes to curse my entire family to death!"
Her heart-wrenching cries echoed in the empty courtyard.
Dan Jingqiu watched the other party shamelessly display their unreasonable attitude and smirked inwardly.
Bad people would get their dues.
Let me punish you on behalf of the original host.
Chapter 10: O! You Shrew! Relentless Abuser! (2)
Dan Jingqiu developed a few suspicions after going through the story.
Based on her experience in the last world, she had realized that, even within the world of novels, anything that seemed illogical had actually followed logic, and changes to the plot were incidents that were possible in reality.
But the death surrounding the original host's husband, Lin Jianguo, did not seem to follow the normal flow of logic.
How did an honest and obedient farmer suddenly get the urge to follow and do business with a smuggler?
It couldn't have been for money, because they were already used to living in poverty.
After all, prior to separating households, Sun Jinhua had complete control over their family's finances. Not even a single grain of rice could be hidden from her.
There was no illness nor emergency in the family that required quick cash, so why did Lin Jianguo suddenly get the urge to sell smuggled goods?
Not to mention, the original host was completely in the dark about this incident. If it weren't for a returning villager who found him lying on the ground with a face full of blood and brought Lin Jianguo back, his body would have gone missing forever.
If his body had not suddenly been brought back along with his gathering basket, which contained a casual military outfit that he had traded with those smuggled goods. Then the original host would probably die without knowing what her husband was doing when he took a day off with the farming brigade.
Luckily, it was Sun Jinshu, one of the simple-minded villagers and also Sun Jinhua's younger brother, who recognized Lin Jianguo as the body that was laying on the side of the road in his own blood. And so he rushed back frantically to inform Sun Jinhua. Upon hearing the news, the original host followed bewilderedly behind Sun Jinhua and saw the lifeless body of her husband —— and noticed that Sun Jinhua was hastily hiding whatever was inside the gathering basket.
Naturally, the original host was not the type of person to find it suspicious. She was still shocked and trying to come to terms that her husband had, without reason, left the house, died outside mysteriously, and ultimately left her a widow.
But just because the original host didn't notice doesn't mean Dan Jingqiu didn't.
Weren't these casual military clothes a popular trend item because it could be worn in place of the formal military uniform?
Other than Lin Jiandang and Lin Xinghua, who were given the opportunity to pursue an education in this family, was there anyone else who would need such flashy items? Who else in the family won't be happy with just a rag over their heads?
But considering Sun Jinhua's morals, these sorts of actions were unsurprising.
As her husband, Lin Yaoxi's reputation in the village remained quite important to Sun Jinhua. After all, they relied on his brother, Lin Yaodong's influence to get ahead around here. Sun Jinhua could not imagine what would happen if their family's reputation was tarnished, especially how it would negatively impact the chances of her precious son, Lin Jiandang, from entering the military and getting a decent job!
So chasing away Dan Jingqiu before Lin Jianguo was even buried looked completely contradictory to how Sun Jinhua would usually handle affairs.
In the middle of all the chaos, Dan Jingqiu came up with a conjecture.
Of course, it would still need to be verified.
Watching Dan Jingqiu, seemingly lost in thought, Sun Jinhua lost her temper.
Based on her usual personality, after getting berated to this extent, this stupid daughter-in-law should have long cried her eyes out while kneeling on the floor and begging for forgiveness. But now she's just standing there and staring back stupidly. Did she lose her mind?
Sun Jinhua could not help but feel a sense of loss. Though she had made the decision many years ago to not consider these unluckily children as her own, they were still a part of her flesh, so it was impossible to be unaffected.
But if she did not get rid of this daughter-in-law, what if…
With that thought, Sun Jinhua hardened her resolve. She must kick this woman out of the house today! As for the woman's two young children, she'll just keep them around and distract them with house chores.
Sun Jinhua viciously blocked what she was trying to hide with her leg and began wailing emotionally.
"My poor son! Your jinx wife is trying to curse your entire family. She wants your mother to die horribly. I shouldn't have let you marry this jinx. It's all my fault! Ohhh Jianguo…"
With that exaggerated and earnest expression, strangers would unknowingly mistake this person as a loving mother.
Dan Jingqiu towered over and observed the humorous antics of her mother-in-law.
The more exaggerated Sun Jinhua acted, the more she was certain about her conjectures and decided to compete with her acting. Dan Jingqiu also had a skill or two when it came to fake mourning.
"Jianguo, how can you just die like that?! How can our mother survive alone? Jianguo, how can you make me a widow and leave our children fatherless?!" As if regaining her senses, the previously cold and unfeeling Dan Jingqiu suddenly supported her hand against the wall to steady her wobbling body and shrieked dramatically.
Hearing her cries, Sun Jinhua felt overshadowed.
Who can blame her for lacking in sincere affections? Even if she did have any, it was all sacrificed for her self-interests.
Before she could react, Dan Jingqiu had pounced heavily over Sun Jinhua's body like a hungry tiger overtaking its prey and brawling earnestly.
The original host and her family had never received sufficient nutrition. The original host could even be compared to a White Bone Witch* whereas Sun Jinhua's figure was chubby like a healthy pearl, which was not easy to achieve in this challenging era. (TL: A female demon from 'Journey to the West' whose original form is a bare skeleton.)
Dan Jingqiu aimed and landed on a critical joint on Sun Jinhua's body with a smash, and then amplified her wails to cover up Sun Jinhua's painful howls. Since Sun Jinhua had not done manual labor in years, she was unable to overcome the original host's strength and ended up being viciously pinned down.
Feeling immense pain radiating through her body after being smashed by her bony daughter-in-law, the exhausted Sun Jinhua was about to swear up a storm. However, when she suddenly caught a glimpse of the biggest gossiper, Li Cuihua, from behind Dan Jingqiu's lowered head, secretly watching their exchange, she had to quickly swallow up her curses.
"Oh my poor son, how can you leave us like that…"
Sun Jinhua quickly resumed her cries. Perhaps due to her fat figure, when she actually put in the effort, her voice finally covered up her daughter-in-law's sounds, and just as Sun Jinhua was about to call her a husband-killing jinx again, Dan Jingqiu had leaned against the side of her ear. Her voice instantly brought along a chill.
Dan Jingqiu had used the opportunity to lean over to whisper into Sun Jinghua's ear.
Knowing that she could hear everything clearly.
"Mom, do you think other people knew that Lin Jiandang's mother was involved in smuggling?"
This caught Sun Jinhua's attention, and she immediately froze, but seeing Li Cuihua from her periphery, she dared not stop crying. Only she knew that hidden within her desperate wails was a deep sense of dread.
How, how did she know?
Did Jianguo tell her? Impossible! Where would he find the guts?
Can't even die without giving her worries!
While she was immersed in her crying act, each word from that faint whisper continued to intrude into Sun Jinhua's ear.
"Mom, this is a full set of casual military wear. It's not the only thing in this gathering basket, right?"
"Mom, say, what do you think was sold to exchange for so much?"
"Do you think our family would be okay if I alerted the authorities?"
"I'm just a woman who lost her man anyway. Worse comes to worst; I'll just remarry. I heard from our youngest uncle that the new trend in the city was 'righteous justice against one's family for the greater good.' I'm an uneducated soul, so Mom, what do you think that means?"
Sun Jinhua was hoarse, but she needed to continue crying. Dan Jingqiu was using every ounce of strength to hold her tight, and only she knew just how painful she was holding her.
But who cares if the pain was physical or mental.
One thing is for sure; this issue was destined to have a bad ending!
Lin Xinghua and Li Cuihua, who were watching on the sidelines, were flabbergasted,
Lin Xinghua was wondering why her mother was tearfully hugging her sister-in-law when she was only just insisting that she would chase that woman away and claim the house for her daughter!
Could it… Could it be that her older brother's ghost was the cause of it?
Thinking about it gave her goosebumps. But, even if she wanted to pretend to mourn, the tears just wouldn't fall.
Li Cuihua, who was previously hiding behind the door and secretly watching, was now blatantly staring at them with her hand on her hip.
She thought this was strange. As the village's number 1 gossipmonger, she was quite familiar with Lin Yaoxi's family situation.
If Sun Jinhua was capable of caring for her eldest son, then sows can climb trees.
Just to set the record straight, when they were poor back then, Sun Jinhua almost sold off her eldest son!
So what's happening here? Did she finally grow a conscience, or was there a ghost pulling strings?
Li Cuihua rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Could she have overimagined just how bad the other party was? Was Sun Jinhua only a little biased when it came to her children?
Turning her gaze away, she quickly ran off. Something as strange as the sun rising from the West had occurred. How can she keep this news to herself?
Didn't she run all the way here while pretending she needed to use the bathroom just for this piece of gossip?
She must hurry and spread the news to everyone —— Sun Jinhua had changed! She finally came to her senses after the death of her son, and not only was she upset for her oldest son, she even treated her daughter-in-law like a human being! These two were seen hugging each other tightly and crying together!
…
After an excruciating effort, Sun Jinhua was finally able to escape from her daughter-in-law's "(bear) hug," but she still could not fathom just how her deeds became exposed.
She had repeatedly reminded her son never to tell his wife. Did her son really dare to oppose her?
She could not understand it no matter how much she tried, and it's not like she could go ask her dead son!
Vexed from her racking her brains, Sun Jinhua decided to regroup with the rest of her family that night before making another move. After all, Dan Jingqiu did not look like she was pretending to be cornered.
She could not afford to test her boundaries further, lest she accidentally hit a valuable vase while trying to hunt a rat!
Sun Jinhua rubbed her painfully throbbing arm as she walked. She sighted Li Cuihua in the center of a group of middle-aged women from a distance, expressively gesturing and narrating loudly to the crowd.
Did something else happen recently? Why's that spinster hag from the next village making a fuss?
When she joined in to listen to the rabble, her complexion darkened.
"Sun Jinhua was hugging her eldest daughter-in-law and mourning. The two of them were on the ground crying their hearts out together! Ay, it's so pitiful. Who'd have thought Jianguo would just die after getting hit by a rock!" Li Cuihua's voice was loud and crystal clear.
The bystanders could not help but join in.
"Ay, it's so pitiful to be widowed with young children. No wonder Jinhua stopped bullying her daughter-in-law."
"Yes yes yes, Sun Jinhua cried so hard that she lost her voice. She was still crying even though she had no more tears left, Ay…"
…
The group of gossipers turned towards the approaching Sun Jinhua.
With a face as black as thunder, Sun Jinhua was so angry that her voice came out in heaving puffs of air: "I…" The moment she spoke, the pain from Dan Jingqiu's hug was so immense that the remainder of her sentence was stuck in her throat.
Seeing that Sun Jinhua's body was covered in dirt (from rolling on the ground), with an ashen expression (from anger), while tightly holding her arms in a helpless fashion (from being painfully squeezed), and above all, the loss of her voice, had made everyone see her in a different light.
This instantaneously verified Li Cuihua's words and erased any doubt in everyone's minds.
—— Ay, this Sun Jinhua, what were you doing? Do you now understand the meaning of regret now that your son is gone?
—— Sun Jinhua did not have it easy either. Looks like Jianguo's death was a huge blow to her!
Though she could not hear the thoughts of the people around her, Sun Jinhua was about to vomit blood when she heard their persistent condolences. Who knew these people would crown her as some reformed good mother who regrets her past choices?!