Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Lin Xiaomeng’s Goal, Xu Huaian’s Unease

Ever since her rebirth, Lin Xiaomeng had made up her mind: this time, she was going to win her husband’s heart and raise her child to be on her side.

But reality still dealt her a heavy blow.

Her in-laws were still the same as before. Her sister-in-law and brother-in-law were just as unbearable as in her previous life—a family of troublemakers, each more aggravating than the last.

Living with them was pure torture, almost like being cut by a thousand knives. If it weren’t for Xu Huaizhi, she would have left again without a second thought.

In truth, when she abandoned her husband and child in her past life, the Xu family was also at fault—it wasn’t just her. Life had simply forced her hand.

Lin Xiaomeng was from Beijing, but her family wasn’t well off. Her parents were ordinary workers, and she was the eldest of five siblings—three younger sisters and a little brother.

She chose to marry Xu Huaizhi because she knew she had no hope of returning to the city. Her parents would never give her their job positions, nor would they help her find a way out. She had to plan for herself early.

She’d thought Xu Huaizhi had a proper job, his father was the village secretary, and his younger brother in the army was said to be doing well. Most importantly, he was good-looking and genuinely cared for her.

That’s why she married him so early.

But after marriage, Xu Huaizhi was away working most of the year, leaving her alone to be tormented by his family—up before dawn, to bed after midnight, endless farm work.

She had to cook for the whole family, earn work points, and wash everyone’s clothes by herself.

What was even more outrageous was that her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, both grown adults, still expected her, their sister-in-law, to wash their underwear for them.

It was disgusting beyond words!

She’d married Xu Huaizhi partly for his looks, but also hoping for a comfortable life. Who could have guessed the Xu family was all show on the outside and rotten within?

Not only did they wear her down, but they also controlled Xu Huaizhi’s salary. If she wanted to spend a single cent, she had to ask her in-laws.

What she couldn’t accept most was that in her past life, she was so busy with chores that her mother-in-law ended up raising her son—and Liu Guifang turned him into a little monster who even hit his own mother.

Every day, her mother-in-law would badmouth her in front of her child, saying she was unchaste, lazy, greedy, and selfish.

Her son would hit and curse her at the slightest provocation, kicking and punching.

She couldn’t bear such a miserable life, and with her child turning against her, she lost her last bit of hope.

Utterly disheartened, a few years later, she ran away with a male educated youth from a neighboring village.

Now, in this life, she’d done a lot of mental preparation, determined to start over, but seeing these infuriating people still made her miserable.

Fortunately, this time she’d managed to win her son Dacheng over, and their relationship was better than ever.

She also had a lucky space with a spring of blessed water.

After some experimentation, she discovered that drinking the spring water would slowly increase her luck every day—though the process was very slow.

Soon, she made another discovery: if someone else drank the blessed spring water, she could use it as a medium to siphon off their luck for herself.

Her first test subject was Xu Lao’er, the village rascal who often harassed her and tried to corner her on the road.

Although he never got his way, it was still extremely unpleasant.

Xu Lao’er didn’t have much luck, but even a little was better than nothing. Thanks to him, her luck value rose to 30%.

To test it out, she went up the mountain and ended up finding a hundred-year-old wild ginseng.

She secretly sold it for 300 yuan, her first stash of private money. The excitement she felt was indescribable.

In her past life, she’d been let down by her parents and bullied by her husband’s family, living in utter misery.

From now on, she’d never have to live at the mercy of others—she could finally rely on herself.

Having tasted success, she set her sights on Xu Mingshan and his wife, as well as Xu Meiling and Xu Huaiyu.

But she found that the four of them had even less luck than the rascal Xu Lao’er—pitifully little.

Heaven truly had eyes; people like them didn’t deserve good fortune.

Still, she didn’t dare act rashly. Everything was interconnected, and she worried that draining their luck might affect Xu Huaizhi and herself.

Recently, she found a new target: Qian Caihua.

This woman gossiped all day long. Just because Lin Xiaomeng had earned some money and bought a new outfit, Qian Caihua pointed fingers, telling her to be frugal and running her mouth.

Lin Xiaomeng decided to drain her luck and see if she’d still be able to laugh when she was down and out.

With her plan set, Lin Xiaomeng began to act.

She didn’t want to admit it, but the truth was, she just wanted to take Qian Caihua’s luck for herself.

She was becoming addicted to the feeling of growing stronger.

—

Gu Qinghuan used spiritual spring water to make a table full of delicious food.

The two little ones stood at the kitchen door, drawn by the aroma, their mouths watering. Gu Qinghuan tossed each of them a piece of rib, which left them both in a blissful daze.

Ever since Xu Huaian learned that Gu Qinghuan would be picking up her grandparents for dinner that night, he’d been on edge.

He admitted to himself that he was being greedy.

He didn’t want the elders to see him in such a sorry, useless state;

He didn’t want them to think their granddaughter had married the wrong person;

He didn’t want to see disappointment or sadness in their eyes.

After agonizing over it for a long time, he finally steeled himself, picked up the scissors, and snipped off the ropes binding his legs.

His emotions had been stable these past few days, and today he hadn’t felt any anxiety or agitation at all—he’d been clear-headed the whole time. He believed he could control himself.

The moment he freed his legs, he felt an immense sense of relief and relaxation, followed by excruciating pain. After so long without moving his legs, they simply wouldn’t obey him.

Quietly, he massaged his legs, enduring the pain as he tried again and again to get them to move—

All for the sake of preserving his dignity.

Or maybe, just for the chance to surprise someone for a moment.

At this moment, he admitted to himself that he’d fallen for the girl who had pulled him out of hell.

He was becoming strange—restless, insecure, plagued by a deep sense of inferiority, feeling unworthy and afraid to lose her.

This bittersweet feeling even made him forget his usual anxiety and irritability; his mind was filled with thoughts of her.

She was like a beam of light, appearing out of nowhere and illuminating his entire world."