Reborn in a virtual world, before the house was taken away

While Feng Qingqing's life in the countryside was gradually improving, Feng Damei's life in the city was truly miserable, with every day being difficult to endure.

Ever since Jiang Hongbing's job fell through, the atmosphere at the Jiang family home has been tense, especially for Feng Damei, who was blamed by both her husband and son. Jiang Yong was so angry that he beat her every day for several days in a row, which resulted in her face being covered in bruises. Her son, Jiang Hongbing, who watched the whole thing from the sidelines, did not stop the fight or even say a word of advice; he just stood by and watched coldly.

Feng Damei was both heartbroken by her son's treatment and furious at Feng Qingqing's deception.

After lying at home for several days without daring to leave the house, Feng Damei was finally able to go out.

She wasn't going out for a stroll; she was going to the neighborhood office to find odd jobs to do at home. Ever since Jiang Hongbing's job fell through, not only was Dandan's previously good relationship with her family forcibly broken up with by her parents, but the 600 yuan the family had scraped together for Feng Qingqing—most of which was borrowed from relatives and friends when their savings were meager—was now being demanded by them for the debt, which was the main reason for the tense atmosphere at home lately.

After leaving home, Feng Damei deliberately took a less crowded side road to reach the neighborhood office. Although she hadn't left the house these past few days, there had been plenty of gossip about her family in the streets and alleys; it was practically the hottest topic of conversation. This made her feel extremely embarrassed; the more high-profile her family had been before, the more disheveled she was now.

These factors contributed to her growing resentment towards Feng Qingqing.

Recently, her son Jiang Hongbing's condition has been causing her great distress. He has lost the job and house he was promised, and the relationship he was very satisfied with has fallen apart. He also has to endure the merciless ridicule from his neighbors and friends. He can't stay at home all day like his mother. He thought he was going to get a formal job, so he sold his temporary job, which has made things even worse. He spends his days idly wandering around.

If this goes on for too long, she will definitely be reported by others or forced to go to the countryside by the street office, neither of which is what Feng Damei wants to see.

Although Feng Damei has been lying in bed these past few days, her mind has been constantly working on what to do next. She can't let all her children go to the countryside; she absolutely cannot accept that.

According to Feng Damei's observation, none of the children who went to the countryside ever came back. Among the many children from her neighborhood who went to the countryside, she never saw any of them return to the city.

As Feng Damei pondered this, she walked briskly toward the subdistrict office. The staff there had heard about her family's situation to some extent and knew that they had three children who had gone to the countryside and were now struggling financially. So they didn't make things difficult for her and gave her some matchbox pasting work to take home, hoping it would help supplement their income.

When Feng Damei returned with her bags full of things, she unfortunately ran into some acquaintances from the street. They all greeted her warmly, but Feng Damei felt that they were silently mocking and ridiculing her. She had no mood to deal with them and simply ignored some of them before going back.

But there was no other way; life had to go on. She still had several children suffering in the countryside, waiting for her support.

If Feng Damei learns from the letters Jiang Yun and the others send back in a few days what happened between them and Feng Qingqing in the countryside, it remains to be seen whether she will be able to continue to endure and restrain herself or explode in anger.

Lanshan Brigade

These past few days, Feng Qingqing has been thriving in the circle of middle-aged and elderly women in Lanshan Brigade. In her previous life, she lived in this brigade for several years and knew all too well the power of rumors and gossip. Since she couldn't escape the temptations after being reborn, she had no choice but to join them.

See, we've gotten some useful information for her.

It turned out that during their break that day, while they were chatting in a group, one of the older women who lived next to Old He's house pretended to look around, then whispered to her group of old friends, including Feng Qingqing:

"You know what? The He family's twins came back yesterday. Oh my, their clothes, their airs! You'd think they were some young masters and ladies from the city."

At this point, seeing the envious look on her face, the other aunties chimed in with perfect understanding:

"What's wrong this time? They don't come back very often. Two country kids, looking down on the countryside, what a show-off."

"Old He and his wife are really in for a lot of trouble from now on. With how much they spoil their kids, they'll end up with two ungrateful wretches sooner or later."

See, those on the sidelines always see the problem more clearly.

These two must have been ungrateful in their past lives. After leaving their parents, neither of them cared for them. The other children also had many complaints about their parents' favoritism towards the two younger ones, and their filial piety was mostly just a perfunctory task.

Another auntie said with a look that said, "Is this even worth mentioning?"

"They're never like this, what's there to say, and why are you making such a fuss?"

The neighbor from the He family who spoke first had a look on his face that said, "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"You're so impatient. What do you know? I overheard them from the corner. That youngest son isn't studying properly at school. It seems he joined the Red Guards, and now he hardly goes to school anymore. He just spends his days doing odd jobs and looting with a bunch of Red Guards in the county. Can you believe what kind of situation that is?"

Although the woman initially took it as a joke, she became somewhat worried afterward. "How can the world be so chaotic? What if it affects our brigade?" she thought.

People nowadays are not like they were at the beginning. They all have a vague feeling that these Little Red Guards are probably not good people. What decent family's children and young men should be working hard to earn work points or find a job? Instead, they are always gathering in large groups to rob this house or burn that house. Some families have been robbed and it was really terrible.

Although it hadn't happened in their neighborhood, it had occurred in the commune. People who frequently went to the commune to buy things witnessed the scene, which was truly pitiful, especially the women and elderly, who were particularly kind-hearted.

Although these Red Guards didn't say anything openly, nor dared to say anything for fear of bringing trouble to their families, they all cursed them in their hearts.

Upon hearing this, the group of middle-aged women around them fell silent instantly, and the surroundings became quiet. This was a difficult question to answer; if word got out, it would be no laughing matter.

That concludes our discussion for today, and the group of middle-aged women gradually dispersed.

Upon hearing this, Feng Qingqing smiled. She had finally heard some useful information, and it was about those two ungrateful wretches.

This made her feel even more refreshed than drinking a bowl of ice water on a hot summer day. Let's see how these two brats will court disaster.

In her past life, after she died, her two children were bullied quite a bit by these two elders. In this life, she absolutely cannot let these two people live too comfortably.

Feng Qingqing stood up, patted the dirt off her body. Because she was strong now, she could finish her work quickly. Sometimes after finishing, she would help out the aunties and older women she knew. Over time, they became closer and closer.

Many aunties now love her the most, without a doubt. She's sweet-talking, efficient, and often helps them out. Occasionally, she'll even give them a piece of candy to sweeten their grandchildren's mouths. You really can't find a auntie like that even with a lantern in the surrounding villages.

As darkness fell, Feng Qingqing slowly walked back, her mind preoccupied with thoughts.

In the past few days, she and her man have met several times at the gathering point on the mountain, and they are becoming more and more familiar with each other, which is a good sign. However, Feng Qingqing is still somewhat unsatisfied. She feels that the progress is too slow. Since her rebirth, she does not want to waste even a little bit of their time.

She wanted that man to be involved in many of her plans. Some things were too difficult for one person to do alone, and she hoped that they could work together and support each other.