Chapter 1

“Mom, Dad, I’m not going into this new bridal room to spend the wedding night with Educated Youth Zhi.” “I’ve thought it through now. No matter how beautiful Qi Bingxue is, she still can’t compare to Liu Yanyan, who is round and plump, looks blessed, and can bring good fortune to her husband. She can also help with the farm work.” “Beauty is the most useless thing in this day and age.” “Just look at her. Her arms and legs are so thin. You can tell at a glance that she can’t even lift anything or do any heavy work.” “I’m a grown man. If I marry her, am I supposed to… am I supposed to serve her instead? Do all the work for her?” The man spoke with firm conviction. He knew his parents doted on him the most and certainly wouldn’t want him to end up serving someone else. “So, let my cousin, Cui Yan, enter the bridal room and spend the wedding night with Educated Youth Zhi instead.” The older woman was so anxious that her voice became sharp, and she unconsciously raised it. “Runsheng, how can you do this? Haven’t we already agreed on everything?” “It’s true that Educated Youth Zhi doesn’t do much farm work, but her parents in Shanghai send her plenty of money and ration coupons every time. Her family is wealthy!” “She’s also more beautiful than a heavenly fairy. What more could you possibly want, son?” “If your cousin Cui Yan hadn’t saved her, would she have agreed to marry into our family?” “For the sake of her family’s wealth and connections, so what if you have to take care of her? Just think of it as earning work points!” Upon hearing this, his younger cousin, Cui Runsheng, was pleased. He immediately began making up lies, speaking even louder than his mother. “Mom, I heard that Educated Youth Zhi’s family is in trouble right now. They’re being criticized and persecuted in Shanghai. If I marry her, your son will get dragged into her family’s mess!” “I only agreed before because she was so beautiful. I overlooked her family’s problems. But now I’ve come to my senses. Our family absolutely cannot marry this woman!” “If I’m going to marry anyone, I want to marry the woman I originally intended to marry—Liu Yanyan, the village chief’s daughter!” A somewhat deep voice spoke in disbelief. “Runsheng, is what you’re saying true or not?” “Dad, why would I lie to you? It’s true! The more I think about it, the more I feel that Liu Yanyan is the better choice.” “Liu Yanyan is the village chief’s daughter, after all. We’re rural people. We should keep our feet on the ground and work honestly.” “Besides, with the village chief as our relative, we’ll have someone to support us. When the policies change and restrictions are… eventually relaxed, we’ll have connections and opportunities to make money.” “Our lives will definitely get better and better.” Cui Yan was lying on the bed, feeling dizzy and disoriented because he was drunk. His young body, which was not accustomed to drinking, simply couldn't process the high concentration of alcohol in his bloodstream. At that moment, his soul was quietly replaced by a soul from twenty years in the future through a mysterious force. As a result, his consciousness gradually began to clear, and he retained all the memories of his previous life. There was no electric light bulb in the room, something that had become extremely common in later generations. Instead, the room was still lit by a dim kerosene lamp. Cui Yan slowly opened his eyes. In the faint light, he examined the old furniture inside the room. The walls had been coated with white lime plaster, with large red double happiness characters pasted on them. They were particularly eye-catching. Those red wedding decorations were the only new things in the entire room. This was the countryside in the late 1970s, an era when even electricity had not yet reached every household in rural villages. He had really returned! He had returned to the time before he was tricked into marrying Liu Yanyan. Cui Yan looked toward the direction of the voices outside the room. If he wasn't mistaken, his younger cousin had almost let slip something about the Reform and Opening-Up policies just now. If that was the case, then he could be certain that his cousin, Cui Runsheng, had also been reborn, just like him. Cui Yan still remembered what had happened in his previous life. He had packed up his ex-wife, Liu Yanyan, and sent her to Southeast Asia to pursue the man she had always loved. He was feeling particularly refreshed and pleased with himself, as people often did when everything was going their way. While walking along the street, he happened to run into his younger cousin. Cui Yan had always disliked this cousin, but since he was in a good mood, he took Cui Runsheng, who was dressed like a beggar, to a five-star hotel to enjoy a luxurious meal. At first, Cui Runsheng had been extremely respectful toward him. The envy in his eyes whenever he looked at Cui Yan's comfortable lifestyle was impossible to hide. However, after drinking quite a bit of alcohol, Cui Runsheng began speaking without thinking. “Cousin, if I were given another chance, I definitely wouldn't have stolen your wife.” “Qi Bingxue. Educated Youth Zhi. Do you still remember her?” “Back then, you were supposed to spend your wedding night with her. Your family told you that you had gotten drunk and accidentally entered the wrong room.” “But that wasn't what really happened. My parents and I deliberately plotted against you. We purposely got you drunk and sent you into Liu Yanyan's room.” “Meanwhile, I went into Qi Bingxue's room.” “In the end, you married Liu Yanyan, while I married Qi Bingxue.” “Cousin, I really had no choice! Qi Bingxue was just too beautiful. I would have been willing to do anything, even just for the chance to kiss her once.” “After you married Liu Yanyan, your life turned out so well. Surely you can forgive me, right, Cousin?” Cui Runsheng's face was flushed red from drinking. He leaned closer with a shameless grin as he spoke. After hearing this, Cui Yan didn't lose his temper. Instead, he calmly took a cigarette out of his pocket, pulled one from the pack, and lit it. Through the smoke he exhaled, he recalled an incident from the past. He also remembered Qi Bingxue. He could no longer clearly remember what the girl looked like. He only remembered that she had a pair of large, exceptionally bright and expressive phoenix eyes. From time to time, she would shyly glance at him. Unfortunately, back then, he had been nothing more than an ordinary young man from a rural village. He had completely failed to recognize the deep affection hidden in her eyes. Cui Yan spoke slowly and casually. “Now that you mention it, I remember. Back then, she fell into the water, and I was the one who rescued her, right? It was summer, so we were both wearing thin clothes. You could practically see through them.” “She probably felt that since I had already held her in my arms, I should take responsibility and marry her.” With Cui Runsheng's reminder, Cui Yan began recalling what had happened back in 1977. His younger cousin, Cui Runsheng, had already been engaged to Liu Yanyan, the village chief's daughter. Meanwhile, after Cui Yan rescued Qi Bingxue, she had also wanted to marry him. As a result, both families discussed the matter and decided to hold the two weddings together on the same day. Cui Yan was originally supposed to marry Qi Bingxue. However, because he had gotten drunk and entered the wrong bridal room, everything went wrong. In the end, he had no choice but to accept the situation and register his marriage with Liu Yanyan. He had originally thought that the whole incident was just an unfortunate misunderstanding. He believed that Cui Runsheng had fallen in love with Qi Bingxue and, together with his parents, had deliberately schemed against him. At the thought of Liu Yanyan, a fierce and murderous glint appeared in Cui Yan's eyes. “Cousin, I once met a fortune-teller. He told me that Liu Yanyan clearly has the fate of a woman who brings good fortune to her husband. Why do you think your business is doing so well now? It must be because your wife brings you good luck!” “A woman who brings good fortune to her husband?” Upon hearing that, Cui Yan let out a cold laugh. A woman like Liu Yanyan, that wretched woman, was supposed to bring good fortune to her husband? The murderous intent in Cui Yan's eyes grew stronger. Looking at Cui Runsheng, who was becoming increasingly emotional, he continued listening. “Back then, we both got married in 1977. Shortly after your wedding, Liu Yanyan's family quickly arranged a job for you as a Chinese language teacher at the town's elementary school. What an easy and comfortable job that was!” “Unlike me, who had to struggle in the fields just to earn enough to eat.” “Cousin, you have no idea how miserable my life was!” “It took me so much effort to finally get a wife. But when I entered the room, Qi Bingxue immediately realized I wasn't you. She firmly refused to let me touch her. She even held a pair of scissors against me and threatened that if I dared lay a finger on her, she would stab me to death!” “At first, I thought that if she didn't want me to touch her, then fine. I could take my time and slowly develop feelings for her. But who would have thought that by the next morning, she had completely disappeared!” As he spoke, Cui Runsheng suddenly burst into tears. He began complaining endlessly about how much money his family had spent building a new house and preparing for the wedding, only for the bride they had finally managed to secure to disappear. He kept rambling about all the hardships he had suffered, blaming every misfortune in his life on Qi Bingxue. Cui Yan hadn't expected his younger cousin, Cui Runsheng, to steer the conversation back to him again. “Cousin, your life really turned out so well.” “I'm so incredibly jealous of you.” “Not only did you get such a good job back then, but you also had a son. And thanks to Liu Yanyan's family connections, you were able to become a daoye (a businessman who made money through buying and reselling goods during the early years of China's economic reforms) and earn a fortune!” Upon hearing this, Cui Yan couldn't help but find the whole thing ridiculous. It was absolutely laughable. What was so great about Liu Yanyan's family? Back then, Liu Yanyan had secretly gotten together with a male educated youth in a cornfield and become pregnant before marriage. However, her father looked down on that educated youth because he was incapable of doing farm work. Only then did he remember the existing marriage arrangement and insist that Liu Yanyan marry into the Cui family. Looking back now, was it possible that Liu Yanyan's family had already known about the scheme orchestrated by Cui Runsheng's family? After all, the village chief's family had always looked down on Cui Runsheng and his parents. The three of them were constantly idle, never working properly to earn work points. In their eyes, even the educated youths were better than that family. Perhaps Liu Yanyan's family had actually set their sights on Cui Yan, who was also a member of the Cui family. They had simply taken advantage of the situation and allowed the marriage arrangement to proceed as planned. Liu Yanyan was an even more despicable woman. She had already been carrying another man's child, yet she shamelessly deceived him. On the first night, taking advantage of the fact that he was completely unconscious from drinking, she claimed that they had already consummated their marriage. Later, when the national college entrance examination was reinstated, Cui Yan took the exam and achieved excellent results, earning admission to a prestigious university in his province. However, that wretched Liu Yanyan intercepted his admission letter and handed it over to her lover, the educated youth Hu Wenbing. University students were incredibly precious in the late 1970s! Yet, because of Liu Yanyan's schemes, he missed the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend university and completely change his destiny. As for his younger cousin, Cui Runsheng, who kept claiming that his wealth came from having a wife with a prosperous fate, the truth was that Cui Yan had spent all those years cleaning up after Liu Yanyan, who was always reckless with money. Back when Cui Yan was running his business, he couldn't even remember how many times Liu Yanyan had sabotaged his plans. She had driven him to the point where he drank so much that he suffered from gastric bleeding. Fortunately, one day, his son developed a fever and became ill, so Cui Yan took him to the hospital. A blood test was required. It was only when he saw the blood test report that he discovered the child wasn't his at all! He had nearly been deceived for his entire life, unknowingly wearing a green hat for years and raising another man's child. No one would have imagined that, even in that turbulent and conservative era, Liu Yanyan would dare to shamelessly sneak off to a cornfield with a male educated youth. After Cui Yan discovered that he had been cheated on, he decided to leave no stone unturned. He thoroughly investigated everything that had happened in the past. As for Hu Wenbing, the man who had used Cui Yan's admission letter to attend university, Cui Yan directly sent a signed report to the Ministry of Education, exposing him. As a result, the university expelled him. Meanwhile, he also used his connections and methods to send that despicable woman, Liu Yanyan, to Northern Myanmar, where she ended up being brutally exploited and killed, suffering the ultimate fate of having her heart and organs cut out. Cui Yan and Liu Yanyan had always been sworn enemies. There was absolutely no chance of reconciliation between them. Yet now, his younger cousin, Cui Runsheng, was actually claiming that all of Cui Yan's success came from Liu Yanyan's supposed ability to bring good fortune to her husband and her family's connections. The whole thing was simply absurd and laughable. It was so ridiculous that Cui Yan almost wanted to burst out laughing. Cui Yan couldn't be bothered to waste any more time talking to his younger cousin. He decided to leave. However, after Cui Yan paid the bill for his cousin, Cui Runsheng actually staggered after him. With bloodshot eyes, he stared straight at Cui Yan. His entire expression looked utterly deranged. “Cui Yan, our lives should have been switched! I should have been the successful businessman, not you! You should have been unable to find a wife, remained a bachelor your entire life, spent all your family's savings, and lived like a miserable beggar!” “And I should have married Liu Yanyan! I should have been enjoying a warm home with a wife and children, while also owning a publicly listed company!” Seeing his cousin's condition, Cui Yan knew that he was starting to act like a drunken lunatic. He didn't want to waste any more time arguing with an intoxicated man. However, his cousin still refused to leave him alone. Just as a large freight truck approached, Cui Runsheng suddenly charged toward him and crashed into him. The two men were struck and sent flying through the air together...