Back in the village, the evening buzz of cicadas filled the air. Lin Degang was threshing millet with the children, the rhythm of wooden flails thudding steady as a drumbeat.
When Qingya entered with her basket, the smell of roasted chicken drifted out. Jintao ran to help. Zhenzhu and Baozhu stared at the glossy paper packets in awe.
"Go call your mother, " Qingya said cheerfully.
"Tonight we all eat chicken together."
The children gasped. "Two chickens?"
"Yes, two."
Across the wall, Zhou Min's family sniffed the aroma and swallowed hard.
Karma had its own timing, Qingya thought.
Degang looked at the feast, eyes misty with pride and regret. "Sister, from now on, you walk your own road. We'll always have your back, but you don't owe anyone anything anymore."
Qingya smiled. "I know, Brother. I finally understand."
Tomorrow she would leave for the city for a new start.
...
The night breeze carried the faint smell of roasted grain across the courtyard. The pot of braised chicken still steamed on the wooden table, it's glossy skin glistening under the lamplight. The scent alone could make a person forget every hardship of the day.
Lin Degong looked around. "Where's your sister-in-law? She's been gone too long."
He tore off a leg from the chicken placed it in a bowl, then oulled another and handed it to Qingya. "Eat first. I'll go check the fields. Maybe She's still collecting millet."
The children hesitated, their eyes darting between the steaming dish and the empty doorway.
"You eat," Qingya said softly, taking a leg herself and heading out with it. "I'll find her."
...
The sky was bright with moonlight, so clear that even the wheat shadows looked blue.
From a distance, Qingya spotted two silhouettes by the small river. One was her sister-in-law, Zhou Qiaofang; the other, tall and slim, with curled hair that caught the silver light, unmistakably Zhou Xinyi, her sister-in-law's younger sister.
Their voices floated through the air.
"Are you out of your mind?" Zhou Qiaofang scolded. "Your children are all alone at you husbands house with no one to cook for them, and you are buying gifts for someone else's kids"?
Zhou Xinyi's tone was sharp, defiant. "Sister, stop with your backward talk. I don't need you telling me how to live. You take care of your own family."
Qingya froze. Yes!
In her previous life, Zhou Xinyi had only divorced with her husband years later. How could she now already he sneaking around with another man.
The thought hit her hard. Could Zhou Xinyi be reborn too?
She stood hidden in the shadows, her face calm but her mind spinning.
Let her chase another man if she wanted. That man was no prize unfortunately she will learn the hardware she learnt.
Zhou Qiaofang's temper snapped. "You've lost your mind! You have really gone ahead and married someone else, You dont even know if your kids are well taken cared of, and you are out here buying fancy things for a man's spoiled brats!"
Xinyi turned away without a word, crossing the shallow river and vanishing into the trees.
"Ha!" Zhou Qiaofang shouted after her. "If that man even becomes rich, I'll eat my own broom!"
When she turned back and saw Qingya standing there, she nearly jumped.
"Qingya, you nearly scared me! What are you doing out here?"
"Just cane to find you," Qingya said with a faint smile. "Everyone's waiting to eat. The food's getting cold."
The two women walked home under the pale moonlight.
For the first time, Zhou Qiaofang found herself comparing her sister-in-law to her own younger sister. Under that moonlight, Qingya's simple blue shirt tucked into her skirt outlined a trim waist and a quiet grace.
Her sister might have had the city looks once, but tonight, it was clear who truly shone brighter.
The next morning dawned bright and clean. Qingya wore her favourite pink shirt and skirt, a scarf tied neatly around her hard. Lim Chen dressed in his Khaki pants and white shirt with the star brooch on his collar.
At the village gate, Lin Chen looked back at his cousin's, who were waving and crying. He held her mother's hands tightly.
"Mom, will the new dad like me?" He asked nervously.
"If he doesn't," Qingya said with a grin, "I'll just leave him."
Lim Degang pedalled them to the county bus stop, the bag full of luggage bumping behind the bicycle.
When they arrived, the crowd was already thick. Amid the noise, Qingya spotted him immediately.
Han Yuzhe stood tall in a clean green uniform, his belt glinting with the police emblem. He looked every bit tge soldier he once was. Still, calm, and sharp-eyed as he scanned the station.
For a moment, his gaze swept past her and didn't stop. He had failed to recognise her. The woman in the city-style clothes with bright eyes and a confident air didn't resemble the tired, dusty widow he'd met three days ago.
Qingya smiled faintly and walked closer, her steps steady.
...
Meanwhile, across the valley, Zhou Xinyi woke with a start. The mud House around her was dim and cracked, pigs snorting in the yard. Her hair was a tangled mess, her back aching from the hard kang bed.
It took her a moment to remember, she'd married Yun Han yesterday.
The future "Richest Man in Xiping."
She stepped over a chamber pot and sighed. So this was the start of her grand life.
The courtyard stank of feed. The man himself had already gone out, leaving nothing behind but a pair of muddy boots.
Xinyi picked up a pail, muttering bitterly as she poured out the water. "Han Yuzhe was dull, but atleast he boiled me tea every morning."
Still, she straightened her hair and smiled faintly. "Just wait, Yun Han. One day, you'll have the world at your feet. And I'll be there beside you."