Volume 1, Chapter 1: On the Day of My Rebirth, I Took It Upon Myself to Choose My Sister-in-Law

Shen Lingshuang believed she had died a peaceful death in old age.

On New Year's Eve, surrounded by her children and grandchildren amidst the crackle of firecrackers, she lay in a rocking chair in the rooftop sunroom of the Shen Mansion, swaying gently as she looked back on her life.

Born in 1958 during a time of famine, she had survived the bitter days of eating tree bark, stubbornly clinging to life. Yet before she reached adulthood, tragedy struck repeatedly: her parents died young, her older brother met a brutal end, and her younger sister was abducted by human traffickers and beaten to death along the way. Left entirely alone with no one to rely on, she became an orphan in Xiaoshan Village.

Relying on a tough, relentless grit, Shen Lingshuang ventured south alone and carved out a path to survival. Starting with a dumpling shop, she moved on to a clothing boutique, and eventually established cross-border trade routes that spanned the globe. She amassed immense wealth, with a net worth exceeding ten billion.

She returned to her hometown with her husband, funding road construction, building schools, investing in agriculture, developing cultural tourism projects... and even rebuilding the Shen family ancestral hall. Every year on the third day of the Lunar New Year, she would return to pay her respects and have a good cry. She missed her family deeply; she missed them terribly.

"Mother, Brother, Sister... if only you were still here, we could have enjoyed this good life together!"

But this year, she knew she wouldn't be going back. She felt her heartbeat slowing down. On the rocking chair, she drifted into an eternal sleep.

***

"Shen Aodong! I know under those circumstances you only had physical contact with Song Qiuran to save her life! But so many people saw you kissing her mouth! How is she supposed to find a match in the future?!"

Shen Aodong replied coldly, "Then call a meeting of the entire brigade, and I will apologize to her in public."

"Shen Aodong! This isn't a matter of apologies! Song Qiuran said she is willing to marry you! Just give me a straight answer—will you marry her or not?"

Shen Aodong maintained his emotionless tone. "I cannot. Our family is too poor. Father passed away early, Mother is disabled, my eldest younger sister has been bedridden since winter set in, and my youngest sister is as thin as a matchstick... We cannot afford to feed another mouth!"

"We can afford it!"

Shen Lingshuang sat up abruptly from the brick bed, startling the brigade leader sitting by the table.

"Lingshuang!"

Shen Aodong rushed to the bedside, but Shen Lingshuang pushed him away without hesitation. Though weak, she slipped into her old cotton shoes, got off the bed, and walked to the table. Grabbing the brigade leader's arms, she said resolutely, "Where is Sister Qiuran? I'll go with my brother to fetch her! Right now!"

Recovering from his shock, the brigade leader gently held her back. "Lingshuang, you've only just recovered. There's no rush! I'll go inform the educated youth team first. Your family just needs to give a definite answer!"

"No! A human life is at stake! We must go now!"

Shen Lingshuang insisted on going out, even though her limbs felt weak and heavy. She quickly dressed and put on her hat. Touching these relics of the 1960s, feeling the coarse texture of the hand-knit wool sweater and the heavy weight of the dark blue cotton-padded coat... her eyes instantly welled with hot tears.

Large tears fell, their heat scalding the back of her hand with undeniable reality.

She was back! She had returned to the year she was twelve!

This was the year her older brother, Shen Aodong, out of sheer kindness, rescued Song Qiuran, a female educated youth who had fallen into the river. In the urgency of the moment, he had performed artificial respiration on her, using the method taught by the old doctor at the village clinic.

Song Qiuran survived, but before the New Year was even over, she committed suicide by burning charcoal in the youth dormitory. Less than a year after that, someone suddenly came to Shen Village from the city and stabbed her brother, Shen Aodong, to death.

The villagers all said it was the Song family seeking revenge. When Shen Lingshuang prepared his body for burial back then, she had seen only his mangled, bloody abdomen...

No! She had to save her brother! And the key to keeping Shen Aodong alive was to save Song Qiuran first!

Shen Lingshuang quickly wiped away her tears. She turned around to face her brother, her gaze as resolute as steel.

"Brother, Sister Qiuran is a proud and headstrong person. Now that the whole village knows you kissed her, who knows how much whispering and finger-pointing she will have to endure back at the youth team!"

She turned back to the brigade leader. "Uncle Dongfang, you know how terrifying rumors can be! A few malicious words and a bit of spit can drown a person. How is this not a matter of life and death?"

Without waiting for either of them to react, Shen Lingshuang pulled down her cotton hat and dashed out the door. She vaguely remembered the direction of the youth team's quarters.

In her past life, she had been deeply grateful to the educated youth for setting up a teaching team that taught her how to read and do arithmetic. That knowledge had given her the confidence and courage to avoid countless pitfalls on her entrepreneurial journey later in life. She was going to see her teachers again!

"Lingshuang! Slow down!"

Shen Aodong caught up with her, wrapping a woolen scarf twice around her neck.

Taking the opportunity, Shen Lingshuang grabbed his arm, her voice urgent and pleading. "Brother! We must marry Sister Qiuran! A living human life is at stake!"

Shen Aodong fell silent.

"Brother! If you help someone, you must see it through to the end! You wouldn't want her to survive with such difficulty only to be driven to suicide by shame and gossip, would you?"

Worry clouded Shen Aodong's brow. "But..."

"No buts!" Shen Lingshuang straightened her back. "As long as she doesn't mind our poverty, as long as our family sticks together, we will find a way to make a good life! Trust me! Just trust me this once!"

Shen Aodong hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.

The three of them hurried along and arrived at "Peace Farm," the base of the educated youth team in Shen Village. The two newly built rows of single-story brick houses on the south side of the farm served as the youth dormitories. Song Qiuran lived in the third room of the second row.

Before they even reached the door, they heard snickers and chatter coming from inside.

"Who knew that local hillbilly would know artificial respiration! He went mouth-to-mouth with Song Qiuran, and plenty of villagers saw it!"

"Well, he did it to save her life. If she wasn't so stubborn and insisted on running down to the river in the dead of winter, would this have happened?"

"Now everyone knows Song Qiuran is ruined! If you ask me, she should just marry that mutt! Besides, there's hardly anyone left in her family back in the city. Better to stay here and chew on corn cobs than go back to be an orphan!"

"She might want to, but they might not even want her! She's such a troublemaker—whoever marries her is in for a lifetime of misfortune!"

"Hahaha!"

Shen Lingshuang stopped in her tracks and turned to look meaningfully at the two men.

Brigade Leader Wang Dongfang's face darkened as he knocked firmly on the door of Room 03.

"Comrades in Room 03, please open the door! I am Wang Dongfang, leader of the Third Brigade of Shuangjingping! I have come to visit Comrade Song Qiuran!"

The gossip inside ceased instantly. A moment later, the door opened a crack.

"Brigade Leader, Comrade Song Qiuran isn't awake yet... Wait, who are you? What are you doing coming in?"

Shen Lingshuang slipped past her like a shadow, heading straight for the shared platform bed to check on Song Qiuran. Though the girl appeared to be asleep, one look was enough for Shen Lingshuang to know she was already awake.

"Sister Qiuran!" she called out, raising her voice so everyone in the room could hear. "My brother says he wants to marry you! Will you have him?"