In the late winter of 2010, the earth was bleak and the wind howled fiercely.

The courtyard of an ordinary peasant's family in the Heishan Production Brigade was full of excited fellow villagers.

Two big immortals were dancing around in the courtyard, holding drums and cymbals. They mumbled something to themselves while they danced.

Zhao Hai's wife, Tong Xuemei, had been lying in bed for three days without taking a breath. Zhao Hai spent fifty yuan and five jin of millet to invite a Taoist priest to perform a ritual at home, hoping that Tong Xuemei would ascend to heaven sooner.

"How are you still alive?" a man wearing ragged cotton clothes craned his neck towards the house.

He is Tong Xuemei's eldest son, Zhao Qiang. He is tall and strong, but he has the same cold heart as his father.

Lying on the bed, Tong Xuemei's mouth moved slightly, her wrinkled face was expressionless, her eye sockets were sunken, and she only exhaled, not inhaled.

Zhao Qiang quietly walked over and stared at the bracelet on Tong Xuemei's wrist with covetous eyes.

This bracelet looks like a treasure. It's just that Mom has been wearing it all the time, so I haven't had a chance. Since no one is home right now, I absolutely have to take this bracelet off her.

Zhao Qiang grabbed the bangle and pulled it down hard. With a jerk, Tong Xuemei woke up. Seeing Zhao Qiang, she stammered, "Qiang... Mom wants to... drink water..."

Having not received the bracelet, Zhao Qiang was very annoyed. "What are you drinking? Just die already!" Zhao Qiang pushed the door open and walked out angrily.

On the wooden bed, Tong Xuemei's aged face was covered with tears.

This is the child of his life, all hoping to die early. And this eldest son, he's been thinking about that bracelet for quite some time now. If he could take it off, he would have snatched it away long ago.

I don't know how long it had been, the room was deathly silent, and the loudspeaker outside started up again. In this bleak winter, the sound felt even more desolate.

A simple spirit altar was set up, with a brazier on the ground inside which were burning yellowed paper offerings.

The three Zhao children were dressed in mourning clothes, but there was no sadness on their faces.

Before long, voices of several people could be heard coming from outside the window. The nearly dying Tong Xuemei could hear it was her dearest youngest son, Zhao Sheng's voice.

"Brother, how's Mom doing?" Zhao Sheng said, then glanced toward the room.

"The immortal said that it was past yesterday, but it's been two days now. This old woman hasn't died yet." Zhao Qiang became impatient.

Everything was ready, they were just waiting for the old woman to die so they could bury her, but she stubbornly lived for several more days.

Zhaqiang looked at Zhao Sheng as if remembering something, "Why don't you go in and have a look? Mom loves you the most, she probably wouldn't want to see you leave..."

"Yes," Zhao Jia Xia'er Zhao Zaohua also chimed in, "Mom has been so good to you. When you were little, she gave you all the best food. Now that she's like this, why don't you go and see her?"

"I'm not going," Zhao Sheng said, his face full of reluctance, and he even took a step back. "We said if I went, I'd have to take my soul with me. I wouldn't dare go!"

At this time, Tong Xuemei in the house heard the sound outside the window, and a large tear rolled down her cheek.

This is a son born against all odds, when he was born he was big and almost didn't make it.

Zhao Sheng was poor since he was a child. His mother, frugal and thrifty, would save up by selling eggs to buy him supplements. She treasured Zhao Sheng as the apple of her eye.

Upon hearing Zhao Sheng's words, Tong Xuemei was overcome with sadness.

The door creaked open again, and the man glanced into the room. The moon shining through the window illuminated his grotesquely ugly face.

He is Tong Xuemei's husband, Zhao Hai, also a notorious lazy man in the village.

Zhao Hai held a smoking pipe in his hand and limped to the bed. His cloudy eyes blinked, "Old woman, did you hear? The immortal found a way for you to ascend to heaven. Just go with peace of mind!"

When Tong Xuemei heard Zhao Quezi's voice, she trembled involuntarily. Years of domestic abuse by Zhao Quezi had instilled in her an extreme fear.

"Are you just lying there, not eating or drinking? Is something wrong?"

Tong Xuemei was still expressionless, staring at the roof. She pursed her cracked lips.

"Xuemei, I know, our Zhao family owes you an apology. You've never been lucky in life with me. But this is your destiny! Our family is poor and we can't afford to pay for your medical treatment. If you leave, there will be even more trouble."

Tong Xuemei sneered in her heart: She had known all along that Zhao Hai wouldn't spend a penny to see a doctor, he just hoped she would die sooner.

Though people say fate is in their own hands, why is life so hard?

This lifetime, a mere fifty years, ever since I followed Zhao Hai, life has been like bitter gourd boiled in gentian root water—bitterness upon bitterness.

Even in death, there is liberation.

At the brink of death, Tong Xuemei thought of the only person in the village who cared about her.

He Gu Jingchen, is the eldest son of villager Gu Yumin.

It is said that after Gu Yumin's death, he was stimulated and his head wasn't quite right. He spoke and acted like a three-year-old child.

At the time, Zhao Hai had assaulted her, and everyone in the village knew about it, but no one did anything about it. Only he said he would avenge her.

Tong Xuemei didn't take his words seriously. What could a fool do?

Unexpectedly, the day after he said this, Gu Jingchen went to report to the countryside at night along the mountain road, but accidentally tripped and fell, hitting his head.

Only then did I realize that he wasn't just talking idly. He really went to the countryside and reported me.

After the injury, Tong Xuemei went to see Gu Jingcheng. He had a bandage on his head. The first thing he said was, "I want Zhao Hai to go to jail!"

His eyes were firm, and Tong Xuemei only then believed that Gu Jingcheng wasn't just talking idly. He really was willing to do anything for himself.

Gu Jingchen was taken away by a divine man on his wedding day and never returned to the village afterwards.

I don't know where he is now, nor do I know how he's doing?

Tong Xuemei has always felt guilty in her heart. She harmed that man who truly helped her.

Gu Jingchen left, and no one sincerely helped. At that time, I didn't want to marry Zhao Hai, who was old and ugly.

There was no turning back now. Zhao Quazi, right there in front of the whole village, declared that he had already slept with her.

Over and over again I explained, but back then, who would believe a young outsider like me?

No one in the village believed he had been attacked. He was a child, orphaned and alone. With such misfortune befalling him, there was only one person he could turn to: Wang Xiping from their team.

Because Wang Xiping has been pursuing me, and our relationship has always been in a hazy and ambiguous stage.

At that time, I was desperate and went to him, but Wang Xiping pointed at my nose and cursed me as a slut.

Others said it was already bad enough, but even the one she liked said that. Tong Xuemei was utterly heartbroken.

I've thought about death, been saved by others, and considered abortion, but I haven't done either.

In the end, I had no choice but to marry Zhao Hai and became a true farmer's wife.

In just a few years, my father was falsely accused and jumped from a building in despair. My mother was devastated by the news and fell ill shortly after. She passed away two years later.

When it came time to find out, my brother was gone because no one was home to watch him, and nobody knew where he had gone.

A good home is gone, Tong Xuemei fell seriously ill, and after waking up, she became delirious.

That's when the god became agitated and frequently fell ill.

When Zhao Hai was sick, he would beat the children, and they did not respect him. They treated him like a lunatic.

(Editor in charge:shogun novel)