"Bang, bang, bang—"

"What time do you think it is? Still hiding in there?"

"You lazy, useless girl! All day long you don't cook, don't work. Think you've grown wings now? Open this door right now!"

Outside, the old woman kept pounding on the wooden door like she meant to break it down.

Inside, Evelyn Stanton felt like her skull was splitting in two.

Half-awake, she frowned and thought, Who the hell is smashing the door this early?

It's barely morning. Are people not allowed to sleep anymore?

"Get lost! Quit bugging me, I'm sleeping!"

By instinct, she reached for her phone, wanting to check the time.

The second her hand touched the bedding, she woke up for real.

Where had her soft memory pillow gone?

And what was this torn cotton cover under her hand?

She jerked upright at once.

The walls around her were peeling and mottled. Bare wooden beams crossed overhead, and a basket hung from one of them.

The window was pasted over with old newspaper.

Under her wasn't a bed at all, but a brick kang.

She'd slept on that hard slab all night, and now her whole body felt stiff.

The mat had pressed red lines all over her skin, itchy and numb at the same time.

What was going on?

What era was this? Who still washed their face with an enamel basin?

And that wooden washstand too...

"Bang, bang, bang—"

The knocking started again.

"You lazy good-for-nothing, get up already! What, did you die in there?"

That shrill voice made her headache worse. She clutched her head and shook it.

Then, all at once, a flood of memories forced its way into her mind.

She had transmigrated.

Straight into the 1970s.

The original owner of this body was also called Evelyn Stanton, a sent-down educated youth.

The day the new youths arrived, the production team had put together a little welcome gathering. Someone brought homemade rice wine, and after just one cup, the original Evelyn got dead drunk.

In the middle of the night, she got up to go to the latrine, but went the wrong way and happened to run into a man who wasn't in his right mind either.

That man was Vincent Caldwell, the only truly promising young man in Ping'an Brigade.

He joined the army right after finishing high school at eighteen, and by twenty-four he'd already made it to deputy regiment commander.

This time, his mother had lied and said she was sick, sending a telegram to trick him back from the army for a family visit.

She wanted him to marry Chen Chunxia, the niece of her sister-in-law from her maiden family.

The girl taught at the commune school and made twenty-five yuan a month. Once she married in, that salary would go straight into his mother's hands.

As for what Chen Chunxia looked like...

Her face was broad and round, and her eyes were so narrow they were nearly a line.

Vincent Caldwell wasn't the type to fuss too much over looks, but at the very least, he'd have to be able to stand looking at her.

He was already furious enough about being drugged in the first place, and he truly couldn't bring himself to want that woman.

He forced himself up, kicked the door open, and rushed outside—right into the drunken Evelyn Stanton, who had wandered the wrong way.

The original Evelyn had neat, pretty features, and after drinking, her eyes were hazy and soft.

Vincent's heart thudded hard, like something had struck him right in the chest.

The drug was taking hold. He couldn't hold out any longer.

When he pulled her into his arms, the only thought in his head was: If I have to marry somebody, better her than anyone else.

After it was over, he apologized and said he'd take responsibility to the end.

What else could Evelyn Stanton do?

She'd been drinking too. She had a part in it too.

And marrying a soldier didn't sound all that bad.

Vincent Caldwell had only returned on leave, and there wasn't enough time, so they could only hold a simple ceremony first, give her a proper title, and invite the villagers for a plain meal.

As soon as they were married, Evelyn Stanton moved out of the educated youth quarters and into the Caldwell home.

Old Mrs. Caldwell was furious, but cooked rice couldn't be turned back into raw grain. She had no choice but to quietly send Chen Chunxia away, and after that she kept glaring at Evelyn in private.

The original Evelyn had a soft temper. She couldn't bring herself to talk back to her mother-in-law, so she pretended not to notice.

Vincent Caldwell, on the other hand, was pretty satisfied with this sudden wife.

She was good-looking, and she was educated too.

Too bad there was no time to build any feelings. Two days later, he got an urgent recall back to the army.

Before leaving, he said that once he got back, he'd file the paperwork and then bring her over to live with him.

Four months had passed.

Not one word came back.

And after just those two nights, Evelyn Stanton had gotten pregnant.

Old Mrs. Caldwell failed to get what she wanted, so she dumped all that pent-up anger onto the original Evelyn.

The moment her son left, she started driving her daughter-in-law like a beast of burden.

Every day Evelyn had to cook for the whole family.

The eldest sister-in-law had given the old Caldwell family a grandson, so her status was high and she never touched housework.

The youngest daughter was greedy and lazy, and she never lifted a finger either.

After doing all the chores, Evelyn still had to go work in the fields. At mealtime she was always the last to eat. If she wasn't being cursed at, she was being hit, and not one person in that house spoke up for her.

Her belly grew bigger by the day, but her body got weaker and weaker, until in the end she just collapsed.

Then Evelyn Stanton's soul entered this body.

And now she had become the little Caldwell daughter-in-law everybody thought they could bully.

But she was nothing like the original owner, the kind who just swallowed every grievance.

Get bullied?

In their dreams.

"Eldest, smash this door open for me!"

The old woman was still outside slapping at the door.

"I want to see just how long this little fox spirit plans to sleep! The whole family is waiting to eat before going out to the fields!"

Evelyn slowly got dressed, slipped on her shoes, pulled the door bar free, and gripped it in her hand before yanking the door open.

The old woman couldn't stop her momentum. With an "Ow!" she pitched straight inside, smashing her forehead on the ground. A huge lump rose up almost immediately.

"You jinx! You actually dared hit your own mother-in-law! Just you wait—I’ll deal with you—"

She scrambled up off the floor and lunged to grab her.

But Evelyn wasn't the original punching bag.

In her last life she'd learned self-defense for a few years. The only problem was, with her pregnant belly, fighting barehanded wasn't convenient—

So she'd use a weapon.

She swung the door bar and smacked it against the old woman's backside and chest.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

She picked the soft spots on purpose. Hurt plenty, but wouldn't leave obvious marks.

Just hearing it land felt satisfying.

"Ow! You damned little wretch, you dare beat your elder? Is there no law left in this world?"

"Old man! Eldest! Get over here and help!"

Taking advantage of the chaos, Evelyn slipped out the door, ran straight to the kitchen, grabbed a cleaver on the way, and turned back into the yard.

One hand held the cleaver.

The other gripped the door bar.

By now, the villagers had already finished breakfast and were getting ready to head out for work. Hearing the commotion, they all came crowding over.

Someone hurried off to fetch the brigade leader.

Old Mrs. Caldwell was so mad she stopped caring whether she lost face or not. Holding her waist, she stumbled out and shouted at her children,

"All of you, get her! Beat her hard!"

The eldest Caldwell son had just taken one step forward when Evelyn swung the cleaver right at him.

That fierce look on his face vanished the second he saw part of his sleeve sliced clean off.

His expression changed on the spot.

This woman really dared use a blade.

Patty Caldwell stood off to the side, her eyes darting around.

Of everyone, Patty hated this third sister-in-law the most.

That face of hers was too eye-catching. Every young man in the village stared whenever they saw her.

Even Brother Chen, the educated youth Patty liked, always drifted over to Evelyn in the fields, helping her with this and that.

And then her third brother had only come home for a few days before marrying the woman into the house. What rotten luck.

Though after he left, there was one good thing about it. With Evelyn around, their mother didn't order Patty around anymore.

So what if she was pretty? She still ended up in the Caldwell family working like an ox and horse.

But had this woman gone crazy today or what?

That wouldn't do.

Patty ran to the foot of the wall, grabbed a hoe, and swung it straight at Evelyn.

Evelyn might be pregnant, but she'd trained before in her past life. She shifted aside in a flash and dodged it cleanly.

Patty missed and raised the hoe again, but Evelyn was faster. She brought the door bar down hard on Patty's wrist.

Clang—

The hoe dropped straight down and smashed onto Patty's foot.

"Ow! I'll kill you!"

Patty clutched her foot and screamed, her whole face twisted from pain.

More and more people gathered outside to watch, but none of them dared come too close, afraid they'd get caught up in it.

"That girl from the Caldwell family—she's sixteen already, right? She's vicious. Trying to smash her pregnant sister-in-law to death? Who'd dare marry a wife like that home? That's asking for trouble."

"Exactly. The whole family bullying a pregnant woman—it's hard to even watch. But who dares go break it up? What if that hoe lands on us..."

"If Vincent Caldwell knew his wife was being treated like this, he'd lose his mind. She's carrying his child too!"

"Go get the brigade leader fast, and call a few sturdy young men too."

One of the aunties in the crowd called out to her child.

Even with the yard in this kind of uproar, Franklin Caldwell hid inside and said nothing, pretending he heard nothing at all.

The eldest daughter-in-law also stayed shut in her own room, like none of this had anything to do with her.

Evelyn kicked the hoe away in one hard motion, sending it to a spot they couldn't reach.

"No law anymore! A daughter-in-law is beating her mother-in-law and sister-in-law! You cursed woman, I'll make my son divorce you!"

"Heh. So now you're talking about law and reason."

Evelyn curled her lip and said coldly, "A mother-in-law works her daughter-in-law half to death, won't even let her eat properly, curses her whenever she likes, and hits her too."

"The elder brother beats his younger brother's wife, and the younger sister even dares lay hands on her pregnant sister-in-law. Your whole family is rotten to the core."

"Let me make this clear today. I've had enough. Before, I put up with all of you because you're Vincent Caldwell's family. From now on, if anyone dares bully me again, I'll chop off their hand."

She was not the original Evelyn, not some easy target people could kick around.

"What age do you think this is? You still think you can just cast off a daughter-in-law? The country's been liberated for years, so why is your family still living like it's the old society?"

Old Mrs. Caldwell's face went white.

Her lips moved a little, but in the end, she didn't dare say another word.