Chapter 108: Chu Ling’s Foolish Life Across Two Lifetimes

At the brigade captain’s house, Father Liu and Mother Liu had lately felt that something in the household atmosphere was off.

Their youngest daughter, who used to be the noisiest of the lot, had suddenly grown quiet and still. She would sit in her room with a book for an entire day, saying little and hardly moving at all.

And their eldest son—this fellow seemed almost absurdly diligent. He spent the whole day toiling in the fields, and when he came home at night, he still would not stop working. Not only did he take over chopping firewood and carrying water for the family, he even fought to do the cooking and laundry.

Mother Liu said, “You don’t know, old man. I was astonished this morning when I found the clothes in the yard already hung out to dry.”

Father Liu glanced at her with a smile. “Isn’t that a good thing? He’s done all your work, so you can rest.”

Mother Liu muttered, “But I can’t sit idle. If I’ve got nothing to do, I start feeling uneasy.”

What she did not say was that she worried her eldest son would keep currying favor with her every day, and that one day she might waver.

Father Liu had lived with her for decades; how could he not understand his wife’s mind?

“It’s fine. As long as he doesn’t stir up trouble and behaves himself a little, let him live like this.”

How much the severing of ties had hurt them then, and now how firm their resolve not to forgive had become.

Father Liu had no desire at all to take this son back into the family.

But he was old now, and the household truly did need a strong young man to hold things together. These days, both he and his wife had clearly been much more at ease.

“Let’s just treat him as the hired laborer who does the hard work at home. We’re still feeding him, so you don’t need to feel burdened by it.”

Under Father Liu’s persuasion, Mother Liu also came to terms with it.

Yes—she had worked hard all her life. It was time she enjoyed some peace.

After that, Mother Liu began ordering Liu’s eldest brother around without the slightest hesitation.

The eldest brother complained not once. On the contrary, he was cheerful all day long.

Whenever she had free time, Mother Liu liked to wander around and take leisurely walks.

The older women in the village were envious to no end, and they all praised her for having such a filial son.

Liu Yaner did not stop her mother either.

She had only told Sister Xiaodou about the things from her dreams, because Xiaodou had been her great benefactor.

As for her parents, she decided not to tell them. They were old, and she feared they would not be able to bear it.

As for her own change, she brushed it off with the excuse that she was studying.

Once winter break was over, she would be entering the second half of her final year of high school.

No matter what happened, she had to earn her diploma. After that, she would see whether she could find work in the county. If she truly could not, then she would have no choice but to return home and work the fields.

As the New Year approached, the village was filled everywhere with a festive cheer.

But at the Han household at the end of the village, the air remained dreary and heavy.

Ever since Han Guoqiang returned from the county hospital, he had stayed at home and refused to go out. He had even stopped working in the fields.

The brigade captain came to urge him twice, and each time Han Guoqiang fobbed him off with the excuse that he was unwell.

“Guoqiang, if you don’t go to work, you won’t get any grain distributed. What are you going to do about feeding such a big family?” the brigade captain asked earnestly. He had truly thought highly of the young man in the beginning, who could have imagined that things would turn out like this?

Han Guoqiang said, “Thank you for your concern, Brigade Captain. Let’s talk about it again when I’m better.”

He really did not want to go out. The moment he stepped outside, he had to face the pitiful looks of the villagers.

Besides, the village had only just divided the grain not long ago, and this amount was enough to last several months. He would think of a way later.

At worst, he would stay home and care for his mother, while letting Chu Ling go out to work in the fields.

Han Guoqiang had planned well enough, but he had no idea that Chu Ling was already on the verge of collapse.

Her monthly bleeding had been ten days late this time, and Chu Ling could almost confirm that she was pregnant.

In her previous life, it had been at exactly this time that she discovered she was expecting—and it had been twins.

These two children had been the ones she had longed for ever since her rebirth.

Even though Han Guoqiang was treating her terribly now, whenever she thought of those two obedient, sensible children from her previous life, she could still endure.

This should have been something joyful.

By the calendar, the conception had occurred right around New Year’s.

But on those days, she had not only been with Han Guoqiang; afterward, she had also been abducted by those beasts and humiliatingly violated in turn.

So whose children were in her womb? Han Guoqiang’s—or one of those men’s?

Chu Ling did not dare think about it. The very thought made her tremble all over.

She did not even dare tell Han Guoqiang about it.

He was deeply suspicious now and would not listen to her explanation at all. He would surely force her to have the child removed.

Chu Ling could not bear that. What if the child really was Han Guoqiang’s? Would she not then miss out on her two precious babies?

In her previous life, she had given them not a trace of motherly love. In this one, she wanted to love them properly.

Perhaps the children’s arrival would even help Han Guoqiang turn over a new leaf and treat her better.

Chu Ling decided not to tell him for now, and to speak only when her belly grew large.

Then she would beg Mother Han to help keep the children.

As long as she waited until they were born and saw what they looked like, Han Guoqiang would no longer doubt her.

Though Chu Ling guarded the secret carefully, it was still discovered.

That day, her sister-in-law came crashing toward her in a crazed state. Chu Ling could not dodge in time and ended up falling hard onto the ground.

Soon after, blood began to flow between her thighs.

The neighbor woman next door happened to see it, and quickly called over the barefoot doctor who was treating people nearby to take Chu Ling’s pulse.

“Comrade Chu is pregnant. There’s some bleeding, but the child can still be saved. You’ll need to be more careful from now on.”

When the barefoot doctor said this, Chu Ling saw Han Guoqiang’s entire face go black.

Once the onlookers in the yard had dispersed, he shoved her straight into the room.

A slap came flying toward her face at once.

“You filthy woman! You actually dared to sneak around behind my back! Are you looking for a second husband because I’m no good?” he roared.

“No, that’s not it! Brother Guoqiang, those are your children. The barefoot doctor just said it—I’ve been pregnant for more than a month!”

The moment Chu Ling finished explaining, her head seemed to explode with a deafening roar, and her face turned deathly pale.

It was over. She had actually said it out loud.

Han Guoqiang hated those villains who had ruined him more than anything.

If she said this now, he would only become even more enraged.

Sure enough, what followed was the most brutal beating Chu Ling had ever suffered in her life.

“Bitch! So you already knew you were pregnant, and you still dared not tell me!

“The child in your belly is a bastard. I’m going to beat it out of you myself and teach you a lesson!”

Han Guoqiang was like a raging lion, his fists slamming into Chu Ling’s stomach again and again.

“Stop, Han Guoqiang! Those are your children. How can you be so cruel?”

The louder Chu Ling cried for help, the harder he hit.

Soon, a large pool of blood appeared beneath her.

In the end, the child in Chu Ling’s womb was beaten out of her by Han Guoqiang’s own fists.

If the neighbors next door had not rushed over in time, Chu Ling might not even have survived.

At the township clinic, Chu Ling woke from unconsciousness and learned that the child was gone. She plunged into madness.

“No! My child! My child!”

The only thing she had been waiting for, the only thing she had been living for, was gone.

Chu Ling went mad.

On a quiet evening, she poisoned every member of the Han household with rat poison, killing Han Guoqiang, Mother Han, and Han’s younger sister.

Then she set a fire and burned the entire Han household to the ground.

After that, she took a kitchen knife and rushed to the educated-youth compound, where she found Chen Guang, who had a broken leg, and hacked at him wildly.

“It was you who ruined me! It was you who ruined me! Give me back my life!”

In her frenzy, Chu Ling struck Chen Guang more than ten times, hacking him to death on the spot.

Finally, amid the shocked screams of all the educated youths, she slit her own throat with the kitchen knife and ended her life by her own hand.

Everything had begun at the educated-youth compound, so let it end there too.

Farewell to the foolish life she had lived across two lifetimes.