The year 2000.
A scorching afternoon under the blazing sun.
Su Yun arrived at the hospital to relieve her younger brother, Su Baoguo. She first wiped down her father, who had been in a vegetative state for years. Then she washed the bedding and clothes, hanging them out to dry. Only after finishing everything did she leave the hospital. Her weathered face carried a strange sense of relief as she hurried home.
At the entrance of the dilapidated house, Su Yun took out her key and unlocked the door. Before she could even step inside, an empty liquor bottle flew out from within, barely missing her face—
"You wretched woman! Always running around outside, leaving my paralyzed mother alone at home without a care! I wake up and can't even get a hot meal! I don't know why I married you in the first place. You can't even give me a son, and you can't take care of my mother. You're nothing but a useless burden!"
Jiang Guangzong stood in the courtyard, reeking of alcohol, glaring at Su Yun with fury. "You eat my food and drink my drinks every day. All I ask is that you do some housework and take care of my mom. Such simple tasks, and you can't even manage them? Worthless! I could hire a maid off the street who'd be better than you!"
From inside the house, Jiang's mother chimed in, "Guangzong, don't waste your breath with her. Isn't it a daughter-in-law's duty to serve her mother-in-law?"
"A wife is like a horse you've bought—meant to be ridden and beaten. That's how it's always been since ancient times. Yet she's so restless, always thinking about that half-dead father of hers!"
"If a woman doesn't behave, beat her a few times and she'll learn. She's just a hen that can't lay eggs. Keeping her alive is a waste of food. You might as well beat her to death!"
Hearing these words, Su Yun felt nothing.
She had married into the Jiang family at seventeen. For more than twenty years, she had never borne a child. These insults were things she heard countless times every day. She had long grown accustomed to them.
If not for repaying the kindness Jiang's late father had once shown her family, she would never have endured this humiliation for so long.
At that moment, Su Yun quickly took a medical report from her pocket. Calmly, she handed it to Jiang Guangzong, her voice louder than ever before.
"Guangzong, the results of our medical examinations came out. This one is yours. Take a look."
Jiang Guangzong had just raised his hand to strike her, but the report was suddenly thrust before his eyes.
With a single glance, he saw the bold, unmistakable words on the paper: Infertile.
Instantly, his face flushed red, his eyes bulging with rage.
He snatched the report and read it carefully. His expression turned murderous. Without hesitation, he tore the flimsy paper into pieces and pointed at Su Yun, cursing furiously.
"You bitch! I've been married to you for over twenty years and never complained that you couldn't give me a son. And now you dare to turn the tables and slander me?"
Smack!
He struck her hard across the face. The force sent Su Yun flying into the corner, where her head slammed against the edge of a flowerpot. Her forehead split open, blood pouring down her face.
Clutching her head, she gasped, "I didn't slander you. I've already been examined. There's nothing wrong with me. It's you—ah!"
Before she could finish, Jiang Guangzong kicked her square in the chest. She spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Damn it! How dare you talk nonsense? How dare you try to trick me? You useless woman who can't bear a son! Let's see how I deal with you!"
He kicked and cursed, each blow heavier and more vicious than the last.
Inside, Jiang's mother heard Su Yun's screams. Instead of stopping him, she sounded excited. "That's right, my son! Beat her to death! If she ever disobeys you again, beat her like this! Women are born to be beaten by men. The harder you beat them, the more obedient they become!"
Before long, silence fell outside.
The door burst open, and Jiang Guangzong stumbled inside, pale and trembling. He crouched beside his mother's bed, panic written all over his face.
"Mom… that woman… I think she's dead."
Jiang's mother frowned and grumbled, "Dead already? How weak can she be?"
His fear deepened. Grabbing his mother's thick arm, he stammered, "Mom, I killed someone. What do I do?"
Though paralyzed for years, Jiang's mother's voice was still shrill and loud. "What are you afraid of? You killed your own wife, not a stranger. Even if the police come, they won't care! Besides, she was a useless woman who couldn't bear a son. She deserved to die. Which wife hasn't been beaten? She's just fragile. Died after a few hits? That's her bad luck, not our fault!"
"Hmph. It's even better that she's dead. In a few days, I'll find a matchmaker and get you a young, pretty wife. You're only forty-three, still in your prime. This time we'll find a college graduate—she'll definitely give us a son…"
Outside, slumped against the wall in a pool of blood, Su Yun heard every word. The last thread of her consciousness finally slipped away.
Pain.
That was the first sensation when she regained awareness—like something had struck her hard in the chest.
"What are you doing? How dare you throw a stone at my second sister?"
A familiar child's voice rang out, followed by the sound of a child crying in pain.
The noise around her became chaotic.
"You little brat! How dare you hit my son? No upbringing at all! Is this how the Su family raises their children? If this is how your youngest behaves, I doubt your daughter is any better. There's no need to continue this matchmaking!"
"Guangzong, Yaozu, let's go!"
That voice…
Su Yun's heart jolted.
She had been scolded by that voice for over twenty years. She would never mistake it.
It was Jiang's mother's voice!
She was already dead. Why could she still hear that sharp, venomous tone?
Su Yun slowly opened her eyes.
She found herself sitting on the heated kang bed in a bright main hall. She was wearing a brand-new floral blouse and gray trousers. The furnishings looked painfully familiar. This was her family home before she married—located in a courtyard house down the alley.
Her family owned three rooms in that courtyard—one large and two small.
After being beaten to death by Jiang Guangzong, had she returned to her parents' home?
In disbelief, she looked up at the calendar on the opposite wall.
It read: May 8, 1977.
The calendar bore several quotations from great leaders, and beside it hung two portraits of them.
Everything was so familiar.
At that moment, at the entrance of the main hall, Jiang's mother stood arrogantly. In her left hand she held twenty-year-old Jiang Guangzong. In her right, she dragged fifteen-year-old Jiang Yaozu, whose face was streaked with tears and snot. Ignoring the matchmaker's attempts to stop them, she looked ready to storm out at any second.
Su Yun's mother, Chen Xiue, hurried forward with a forced smile, speaking in a low, placating tone. "Sister Jiang, this is all a misunderstanding. Our Little Five didn't mean it. You're the elder—please don't argue with a child."
After saying that, Chen Xiue turned and glared at Su Baoguo, gritting her teeth. "Little Five! Hurry up and apologize to Aunt Jiang!"
Ten-year-old Su Baoguo—Su Yun's younger brother—stood in the middle of the hall, small but defiant, refusing to admit fault.
"I didn't do anything wrong! Her son threw a stone at my second sister as soon as he came in. I just hit him back. He deserved it!"