Chapter 2: The Reason for Jumping into the River
Before long, Zhao Cui’er came in carrying a chipped porcelain bowl.
Inside was half a bowl of cornmeal porridge cooked with wild vegetables, topped with two poached eggs.
Zhao Cui’er said cautiously, “Su He, eating too many poached eggs is hard to digest. So I only made two. You can save the rest for tomorrow.”
In front of her biological daughter, who had only recently been found and brought home, Zhao Cui’er always acted a bit humble and eager to please.
It wasn’t about personal gain—just maternal love.
She was afraid her daughter would resent their poor household, afraid she wouldn’t be able to adjust to village life, and even more afraid that she wouldn’t accept her as her real mother.
Su He responded with a soft “Mm,” picked up a poached egg, and took a bite.
Probably because this body hadn’t had anything oily in a long time, Su He thought this was the most delicious poached egg she had ever tasted.
In just a few bites, she finished one.
She didn’t touch the other and instead drank the wild vegetable porridge.
It was currently the season of scarcity, and many families in the village added wild vegetables to their cornmeal gruel to stretch their food.
Su He sighed inwardly. Although this entire era was generally impoverished, Huangxi Village was especially destitute.
To say nothing of other places, Huangxi Village had consistently ranked dead last economically among the twenty production brigades of the Huaihua Commune. Every year at this time, they relied on relief grain just to survive.
“Mom, I can’t eat anymore. Let’s save this one for Second Girl to have after school.”
At the mention of Second Girl, Su He sighed again.
The second daughter was Zhao Cui’er’s younger daughter, born during the time of “Xiaoman” (Grain Full), so she was named Su Xiaoman.
Su Xiaoman was nine this year. She constantly trailed behind Shen Ruyi, and at such a young age, she was already lazy, gluttonous, and a compulsive liar.
Because she was close with Shen Ruyi, she often bullied the original Su He, even scaring her with pranks involving bugs.
Unfortunately, she saw Shen Ruyi as a sister, but Shen Ruyi was dragging her into ruin.
In the novel, under Shen Ruyi’s influence, Su Xiaoman didn’t even make it to middle school before getting involved with a delinquent. She went on to commit home invasions and highway robbery, and in the end, was sentenced to death…
On this side, Zhao Cui’er was delighted to hear Su He’s words. She’d worried the two girls wouldn’t get along, but now it seemed that blood really was thicker than water—not like that Ruyi girl who always goaded her younger daughter into causing trouble and taking the blame.
After a while, seeing that Su He’s fever had subsided, Zhao Cui’er gave a few instructions and went off to work.
She had no choice—skipping meant losing work credits.
Old Man Su and Su Yongguo also went off to their labor.
Each of them brought two wild vegetable buns with them, so they wouldn’t have to come back for lunch.
Only Old Madam Su stayed home under the excuse of “taking care of Su He.”
Of course, “care” was out of the question. After locking up the east room, she went out to gossip and visit neighbors.
Su He felt groggy and soon fell asleep.
She slept all the way till noon, and there was still no sign of Old Madam Su—who knew which neighbor’s house she’d gone to this time.
Lying on the kang bed, Su He continued to reflect on why the original Su He had jumped into the river…
Even though the original Su He had faced a crushing emotional blow after returning to the Su family, she still held on to a sliver of hope.
That hope was her fiancé, Qi Yuansheng.
The Qi family was slightly more influential than the Shen family, and the engagement between the two children had been agreed upon early for strategic reasons—a union between two strong families.
Before being sent back to the countryside, Qi Yuansheng had sworn that he would find a way to bring her back to the provincial capital. He said they’d marry in a few years.
But two days ago, Shen Ruyi asked the original Su He to meet, and the moment they met, she mocked and sneered at her before finally saying:
“You’re not still pinning your hopes on Brother Yuansheng, are you? He already told me—if you hadn’t clung to him like a leech, he wouldn’t have even looked your way.
Oh, you don’t know yet? He and I both got into the Workers-Peasants-Soldiers University. In two months, we’re heading to the capital to study!”
The original Su He hadn’t believed it—until Shen Ruyi pulled out a letter from Qi Yuansheng.
Though the words were gentle, it was clearly a breakup letter.
Seeing how shattered Su He was, Shen Ruyi sneered, “What’s wrong? Can’t take it anymore? Let me tell you, this is just the beginning.
You stole 18 years of my good life—I’ll make sure you and the Su family pay the price!
I’ll make your life a living hell! I’ll make sure the Su family is in constant chaos, never knowing peace!”
Heartbroken by her fiancé’s betrayal and terrified by Shen Ruyi’s threats, the original Su He lost all hope—and jumped into the river.
Su He sneered.
That Qi Yuansheng was nothing but a scumbag. He had been the one pursuing the original Su He because of her beauty—that’s how they got together in the first place.
The night before she was sent back to the countryside, he even tried to pressure her into sleeping with him. Luckily, she had the sense to refuse.
Thinking about her appearance, Su He got up from the kang.
In the mirror, she saw a delicate and beautiful face: arched willow brows, bright almond-shaped eyes that blinked with a watery glint—only her complexion was a bit pale.
She looked exactly like her modern-day self—even the small red beauty mark at the corner of her eye was identical.
Only… this one looked even redder than hers.
She instinctively reached up to touch it—and was hit with a wave of dizziness…
