Rebirth of a Village Girl Chapter 1 - 1 001: Return to 17 Years Old_1
Agony.
An intense, searing pain.
It felt as though she had been hurled from a towering skyscraper, her body trapped in a terrifying state of weightlessness.
She had been smashed into bloody shards!
Ni Yang snapped awake, her eyes forcing themselves open despite a skull-splitting headache.
Her blurred sight gradually began to focus.
The muffled noises drifting around her became distinct as well.
Ni Yang narrowed her gaze.
Above her, a dim yellow light flickered. It was the kind of old-fashioned bulb typical of rural areas in the 70s and 80s—the sort of light that could easily make one’s head spin.
“Wah... wah...” The sudden, sharp cry of a newborn sliced through the air.
Where was she?
And why was there a baby wailing?
Suddenly, Ni Yang realized that the scene unfolding before her was hauntingly familiar.
Before she could fully process her thoughts, a tall, gaunt elderly woman charged into the room. She was shouting with excitement, “It’s born! My eldest grandson is finally here! Let me see him! My precious grandson, your grandma has come for you!”
On the bed, the woman clutching the crying infant showed no joy. Instead, her eyes were filled with nothing but shame. “Mother, I’m sorry...”
The child wasn't a boy.
It was a girl.
She knew she was about to face the old woman's wrath.
Old Mrs. Mu lunged forward and yanked back the blanket covering the baby. As she looked, tears of joy turned into a mask of fury. “My eldest grandson! Where is he? You wicked woman, give me back my grandson!”
The woman on the bed broke into miserable sobs. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Mother. I’ve failed the Mu family. But I promise, I swear I’ll bear a son for the family in the next pregnancy!”
“The next one! You actually have the nerve to talk about another one? Look at how many liabilities you’ve already birthed! You useless old hen who can’t even produce a son!” Mrs. Mu spat out harshly. “Get rid of it right now! The Mu family will not waste resources on such a liability!”
As those horrific words rang in her ears, Ni Yang pressed her hands against her temples.
Suddenly, she froze.
These hands were smooth, delicate, and incredibly slender. Her own hands, weathered by years of hardship and scars, could never look this beautiful. Yet, the tiny red birthmark on the tiger’s mouth was unmistakably hers.
The truth hit Ni Yang instantly. These were her hands from her youth.
If this wasn't some hallucination, then it was the summer of 1983—the year she lost everything.
Back then, her name was Mu Yang.
Ni Yang was the name she had adopted only after fleeing that living hell.
She had been born into a family that obsessed over sons and despised daughters.
Her mother, Ni Cuihua, had given birth to four girls, three of whom were simply thrown away!
Her father, Mu Jinbao, was so desperate for a male heir that he kept a mistress on the side.
Ni Cuihua hadn't just slaved away like a beast of burden for that mistress; she eventually died from the relentless torment of that family.
And what about her?
The mistress had sold her to an old bachelor in a neighboring village, where she endured endless suffering!
That cruel, foul-mouthed woman standing there was her grandmother, Mrs. Mu!
In her past life, she had failed to save her mother and her youngest sister. This time, even if this was only a dream, she would protect them both!
“Grandmother, please don’t! Don’t throw my sister away!” Ni Yang cried out, throwing her arms wide to shield her mother and the baby.
Mrs. Mu swung a vicious slap at Ni Yang’s face, leaving a bright red handprint. “Shut up! You loss-generating brat! How dare you stand against me? Do you want to die?”
The pain was agonizing!
A thin trail of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth.
Ni Yang touched her stinging left cheek, her eyes wide with shock.
Could a dream feel this painful?
This was no dream!
She had truly been reborn!
She was back!
Despite the nightmare of the situation, a surge of joy rose within Ni Yang.
In this life, she was determined to seize control of her own fate!
She would guard those she loved and defy Mrs. Mu until the very end!
Ni Yang looked directly at Mrs. Mu and challenged, “Grandma, I am your own flesh and blood. When you curse me as a ‘loss,’ have you considered your own worth as a woman?”
To Ni Yang, Mrs. Mu—a woman who hated her own gender—was absolutely loathsome!
Mrs. Mu was stunned into silence, her clouded eyes bulging as if they might pop out of her head!
This little burden actually dared to talk back to her!
However, Mrs. Mu momentarily checked her rage.
If she continued to berate Ni Yang in that way, wouldn’t she be admitting that she was a "loss" herself?
“You ungrateful brat. Get out of the way, or I’ll kill you!” Mrs. Mu shoved Ni Yang aside and snatched the infant girl from Ni Cuihua’s trembling arms.
“Grandma, she’s your granddaughter too. Please, I beg you, don’t throw her away!” Seeing the danger, Ni Yang resorted to pleading with the old woman.
Her newborn sister wouldn't survive; if she were abandoned in the mountains, she would be nothing more than a snack for wild dogs.