Chapter 1

What is the happiest thing in the world?

Answer: Winning a five-million-dollar lottery jackpot!

And what is the most painful thing?

Answer: Just after hitting the jackpot, before spending a single cent, you suddenly receive a time-travel package. Yep, that’s the kind of terrible luck I have—me, Nan Sheng!

As the saying goes, extreme joy often leads to sorrow; I’ve now experienced that firsthand!

Oh, and don’t get me wrong—I’m not some flawless, perfect heroine from a novel, a shining white lotus in a prosperous world. No, I’m the cold-hearted, ruthless stepmother!

The system told Nan Sheng that as long as she unlocks the entire storyline of this book, she can choose to stay or leave. Thinking about the countless zeros in her bank account, Nan Sheng was filled with determination.

Back! I absolutely have to go back!

To help her get into the groove quickly, the system generously unlocked the first three chapters for free. After just browsing through them, a dirty little girl suddenly appeared in the courtyard.

“Mom, I dug up some vegetables. Can we have an egg for dinner tonight?”

Siqi looked up at her stepmother, her big eyes glistening with tears. She held a small basket filled with wild greens—she must have spent quite some time gathering them.

Nan Sheng, a grown woman who had never married, used to only drool over kids through a screen. Now, seeing such a well-behaved child, her eyes instantly gleamed green with excitement.

“Of course! Mom will fry you an egg right away!”

Nan Sheng turned and headed to the kitchen, ready to work hard. But when she scooped out the porridge, she realized it wasn’t porridge at all—more like corn mush so bad that even a fly would slip and slide in it.

Is this even food?

Lin Sizhe, the stepson, also came back from work. The system prompted Nan Sheng that he was the key person she needed to win over to unlock new chapters.

Sizhe had just turned ten and had already started earning work points for the commune. Seeing his little sister so filthy, he immediately called her over to take care of her.

“Siqi, don’t put away those wild greens just yet. I’ll take you to wash your face.”

In his heart, he swore that once his father came home, he would definitely kick the stepmother out!

Nan Sheng was unaware of what was going on outside. She was about to pour the porridge back into the pot and add some cornmeal to cook, but got stuck at the first step—how the heck do you light a fire under this old rural kang bed?

She asked the system, but it was useless!

No wonder intelligent technology can never replace humans; sometimes this thing is just downright useless.

Sizhe washed his sister’s face in the courtyard and braided her hair. The siblings went inside together, expecting a meal that was already prepared—but it was just plain broth, thin and tasteless.

But when they entered the room, the table was completely empty. What was this? Did someone just save them the trouble of going to the bathroom?

Sizhe thought to himself, even if he was going to get beaten, today he had to make sure his sister ate her fill. Just as he was bracing himself, he heard Nan Sheng call him over.

“Big one, come help me with something.”

Suddenly, she sounded polite!

Sizhe didn’t respond but walked over directly. Seeing Nan Sheng’s face, a flash of hatred crossed his eyes. Was she about to hit him?

“Here? Hurry up and light the fire. I’ll cook the porridge and fry the dishes.”

Nan Sheng didn’t bother being polite to her stepson. Kids are kids; when it’s time to boss them around, you can’t be soft-hearted. If you raise someone clueless about farming, you’ll suffer in the end.

Starting a fire is definitely better than getting beaten, Si Zhe silently crouched down and lit the firewood.

Nan Sheng kept watching him, feeling that she had finally learned how to do it, then began cooking the porridge. Her mistake was adding too much firewood right after lighting the fire, which almost smothered the flames.

Nan Sheng continued issuing orders, “Big one, you get the other pot going too. Then go to the vegetable garden and pick a few cucumbers, wash them clean. I’ll use them later to stir-fry some eggs.”

Nan Sheng gave an order, and Si Zhe followed it exactly. When he returned with the cucumbers, he kept staring at his stepmother.

His unusual behavior made him suspect that Nan Sheng wanted to poison him and his sister so she could run away.

As Nan Sheng cooked, she recalled the events of the previous three chapters with a sense of disbelief. The original protagonist and the male lead in the book had been dating, but to save money, they starved themselves and their children until they looked like walking skeletons.

When people are this hungry, tempers flare. So the two kids got beaten even though they hadn’t eaten enough. Maybe adding a couple of eggs at noon would help them recover a bit...

The meals were simple and didn’t take long to prepare.

When Nan Sheng finally brought the food to the table, her daughter Mei said, “Mom, you really did fry eggs! Qi Qi still has to go to the field this afternoon to dig up more wild vegetables!”

Wow, this daughter of hers looked quite handsome after washing up.

“So capable! When the New Year comes, I’ll kill a chicken for you to eat!”

Nan Sheng praised her generously, shaking her head in admiration at the child’s beauty.

Siqi was still very young. After sitting down at the table, despite the porridge just coming off the stove, she bent down to eat immediately. Seeing this, Nan Sheng flicked her arm with a chopstick.

She instantly regretted it, sure she had hurt the child. Damn muscle memory—she quickly tried to make up for it.

“Siqi, be good. The porridge just came off the stove; it’s too hot. Let it cool down a bit before eating.”

Siqi nodded vaguely, wiping away tears and obediently sitting back in her chair to wait.

Si Zhe touched the edge of his bowl to check the temperature but said nothing. Instead, he quietly took his sister’s bowl and stirred it quickly with his chopsticks.

The porridge, made from cornmeal, was thick and creamy. The plate of cucumber stir-fried with eggs was piled high. Si Zhe glanced at it—at least six eggs had been used.

What kind of shock did their stepmother take to be willing to spare food for them?

Once the porridge cooled, Si Zhe fed his sister spoonful by spoonful. He didn’t dare just give her eggs; he fed her mostly cucumber.

After Siqi finished eating, she rubbed her round belly and tilted her face to one side. “Tummy’s full!”

Nan Sheng, who had been starved for a long time, couldn’t eat much herself. She only drank a bowl of porridge, letting Si Zhe eat the rest.

Later, he even felt a bit guilty, wondering why he hadn’t fed his sister a few more bites of eggs.

In the afternoon, Si Zhe still had to go to work. After Nan Sheng washed the dishes, she sat on the kang bed, lost in thought. Next to her, Qi Qi was sleeping soundly.

She summoned her system, and a book slowly opened in front of her, but only the first three chapters were unlocked.

Chapter One: The male lead actively seduces the female supporting character Nan Sheng, and she falls in love at first sight.

Chapter Two: The male lead, a sly playboy, deliberately plays the victim. The supporting female character sells herself to raise money to help him return to the city and marries the wealthy, two-kid father Lin Han.

Chapter Three is even more heart-wrenching—throughout the whole chapter, it’s all about how the children are being mistreated. Watching it made her feel deeply sorry for the two kids; this kind of romance is really tough on them.

After finishing a hearty meal, Nan Sheng checked the affection meter. It was pitch black—so touching in its own way. She sighed deeply; this was truly a difficult task to complete.

Sizhe was busy working, weeding at a speed that rivaled adult women, yet because of his young age, he could only earn six work points.

The villagers saw such a small child having to work and cursed Nan Sheng silently for not sparing the kids.

Grandpa Lin, worried about his grandson, sent his eldest grandson, Lin Sizhong, over to bring some steamed buns made from cornmeal to his younger brother. But Sizhe refused, saying, “Big brother, please take the buns back.”

Every family was struggling to get by, and those buns were saved from the mouths of Grandpa and Grandma. He didn’t want them, and besides, his eldest aunt would scold him if she found out.

“Just take it for now. My mother is talkative, but she means no harm.”

Lin Sizhong was eighteen this year, old enough to marry. His family was living frugally to save a bride price for him, so much so that they hadn’t eaten meat for months.

Sizhe was proud. Once, when he was starving, he went to Grandpa’s house for a meal but was pushed away by his eldest aunt. He would rather go hungry than go there again.

“Big brother, please take it back. I really don’t want it. I ate well at noon.”

Sizhe was stubborn. After saying this, he bent down and continued working. Lin Sizhong had no choice but to leave. He had been out too long, and the villagers working alongside him would start to complain.

As the sun set, everyone rushed toward the scorekeeper when they heard a whistle.

Sizhe wore a cold expression. If it weren’t for his little sister still being young, he wouldn’t want to go home at all.

Lately, every time it rained, he prayed for a thunderbolt to strike and kill his stepmother.

When he got home, the meal was already prepared, and Nan Sheng’s tone was gentle.

“Big boy’s back? Wipe yourself off and get ready to eat.”

Sizhe said nothing, suspecting that his stepmother might be ill.

Nan Sheng placed the dishes on the table. Besides a large plate of steamed buns, there was a dish of scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Each bowl was thoughtfully filled with cool boiled water, in case anyone choked while eating.

Seeing Sizhe standing still by the table, Siqi, who had already taken a bite of a bun, called out to him.

Her eyes sparkled. “Brother, come eat!”

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