I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 7: He Might Not Be Good

Yuan Juan couldn't suppress the smile on her face as she thought of this.

She was so happy that she didn't even notice what Chunmei said next. By the time she realized what was happening, Chunmei had already stood up and was walking out.

"Sister-in-law, you're leaving already?"

"Yes, my son said when he came home from school yesterday that his teacher told me to go to the school today, so I have to go now." As she spoke, she walked out, and turned back to remind him, "You know my address, so if you need anything, just come to my house. You can also come to my house to play when Jiangzhou comes back. When you two come back, come to my house for dinner together."

Yuan Juan readily agreed. After seeing the person off, she closed the door and eagerly took out the new clothes from her luggage bag, carefully touching them.

After touching it, he couldn't help but roll around on the bed hugging the clothes, feeling incredibly happy.

She never imagined that at this very moment, her secrets would be exposed.

"Political Commissar, is Jiang Zhou's wife—no, the woman staying at the guesthouse—a fake?" Li Shan, following behind his leader, still couldn't believe what he was hearing.

He had seen the photo; they looked very similar, so how could it be a fake?

Political Commissar Wang nodded. "That's what they said on the phone. I'll have to contact Xiangyang Commune to verify the specifics. By the way, hasn't your wife been spending a lot of time with her these past few days? Didn't she notice anything amiss?"

"I didn't notice anything. My husband just said that the girl seemed to have a good personality, gentle and always smiling."

"Didn't you hear her talk about her family?"

"No, their parents are all gone, how could my wife ask them that in front of them?"

Growing up without parents, what kind of good life can one expect?

Political Commissar Wang nodded: "Let's talk about it when Jiang Zhou comes back. Keep your mouth shut these next few days and don't let the news leak out. This is the military, and I'm afraid it's not just a simple case of impersonation. I also need to investigate whether she has any other background."

Li Shan nodded quickly: "Don't worry, Political Commissar, I'll have someone keep an eye on her."

"Don't make it too obvious."

"I'll personally oversee it."

That's even more obvious.

……

That evening, Chunmei dragged her son by the ear all the way from school to home. As soon as they stepped inside, she dropped him to grab a broom from the corner, which startled her son so much that he quickly hid behind his father, who came out from the inner room.

"What's wrong now?"

Chunmei's sister-in-law then realized that her husband was at home. She was furious. "What else could it be! Your son has caused trouble at school again! That kid is not learning good things. He dug up earthworms and put them in a female classmate's pencil case, scaring her so much that she cried! When the teacher talked about it, I wanted to dig a hole and crawl into the ground."

After hearing this, Li Shan grabbed his son from behind, pulled down his pants, pressed them against his lap, and slapped his bare bottom twice.

After those two slaps, her fair and tender bottom immediately turned red. "What are you doing? What are you doing! She herself said her family feeds chickens, and I'm wrong for digging earthworms for her?"

Chunmei's sister-in-law scolded, "You still think you're right? If you're going to dig for earthworms, fine, but why did you put them in someone's pencil case?"

"There's nowhere else to put it." The seven or eight-year-old child had a whole set of reasons in his mouth. He didn't cry when he was beaten. He was naughty and mischievous, and had been double-beaten by the couple many times.

"Li Tiejun, if you keep being naughty, you're going back to your hometown to be raised by your grandparents."

As soon as the topic of going back to the countryside came up, Li Tiejun immediately became well-behaved.

After disciplining his son, Li Shan asked his wife, "Hey, how's Xiao Jiang's boyfriend?"

"She's doing great. I went to see her this morning and told her that Jiangzhou is coming back the day after tomorrow. She was very happy."

"Anything else?"

"That's all. Your son called my parents, and I was in a hurry to get to school, so I didn't talk to her much."

"Before that, did she ask you anything about things in the military?"

"No, she might ask Jiang Zhou at most. I already told him everything, praising him to the skies. I'm afraid we'll be able to have a wedding banquet as soon as Jiang Zhou comes back."

Li Shan glared at him: "You silly woman, why do you tell everyone everything!"

Chunmei's sister-in-law was puzzled: "What's wrong? Didn't you tell me to praise Jiangzhou in front of that girl? If it weren't for you, would I have bothered to go and fawn over him?"

Li Shan slapped his own mouth, saying, "Serves you right for talking so much!"

……

Yuan Xiu boarded the train that afternoon and sat in a hard seat for two days and two nights.

When she got hungry, she asked a flight attendant for a cup of hot water to soak in her pancakes and eggs.

When she got cold, she would wrap herself up tightly in the blanket and sleep sitting in her seat.

It will ensure that even thieves won't have a chance to break in.

On the morning of the third day, she arrived at her destination city.

Following the flow of people out of the train station, Yuan Xiu exhaled a puff of white breath; it was much colder here than back home.

It's autumn back home, but here it looks like winter has already arrived.

Several tricycles carrying people and goods were parked by the roadside near the station, and the drivers were enthusiastically calling out to customers.

Yuan Xiu looked at the address in her hand and walked towards an elderly man. "Sir, do you know this place?"

The old man, whose eyesight was failing, squinted at him and said, "I know, I know, young lady, this place is quite far. It's across most of the city. It's in the suburbs. You'd better take the No. 7 bus first, and when you get to Liulichang Station, you can take a tricycle. That would be more economical."

Yuan Xiu smiled. "So, sir, are you going? How much will it cost?"

The old man was willing to go, but seeing that Yuan Xiu was young and looked to be from out of town, and didn't seem to be rich, he suggested that she take a bus that would only cost three cents to cross most of the city.

After agreeing on a price with the old man, Yuan Xiu got into the car and slowly ate the last pancake from her bag.

The pancake was a little hard, so she used her teeth to bite it little by little, coaxing her rumbling stomach.

The eggs were all gone. It wasn't that she ate them all by herself; some people on the bus saw that she had a lot of eggs, all of which were cooked, and asked to buy them from her.

In those days, city dwellers needed ration coupons to buy eggs, with a monthly quota per person. Yuan Xiu's eggs, however, didn't require coupons and could be eaten immediately, so they were all snapped up on the first day they boarded the train.

The old man rode his bicycle slowly, and Yuan Xiu didn't urge him. She sat in the back of the bicycle and leisurely enjoyed the scenery of the city.

She was wondering what would happen if Jiang Zhou and Yuan Juan were already married.

Or rather, Jiang Zhou took a liking to Yuan Juan and wanted to marry her.

If that's the case, she'll demand compensation from Yuan Juan. She can't let her take her marriage for nothing. Even if she marries Jiang Zhou, she won't let her have an easy life.

If we weren't married...

She then recalled what Yuan Juan had said: that Jiangzhou was cold and aloof, and that people there couldn't even have children.

He might not be able to do it.

If Jiang Zhou is willing to continue this engagement with her, she doesn't care. Her expectations for marriage were worn away during the more than twenty years of her previous life.

If Jiang Zhou wants a divorce in three years, she can also have one.

In three years, she will definitely be able to settle down in this place and have a job that allows her to earn a living.

Yuan Xiu suddenly became lost in thought...