She never thought heaven would truly give her another chance.

    Now, she had returned, back to being the wife of Qian Tai, the eldest son of the Qian family, at the age of sixteen. However, her mind was filled with experiences far beyond the elders of this village.

    As soon as she gathered her thoughts, she resolved to make this new life one where her husband's family would thrive, surpassing all other families in the village.

    Haitang gazed at her husband's face beside her, feeling a whirlwind of emotions.

    This was the man she had wronged in countless ways, yet in her darkest times, he was the one who stayed by her side.

    With this new life, she vowed to be a good wife to him, a good sister-in-law to his three younger brothers, and a dutiful daughter-in-law to his parents.

    As for her own mother's family, if they dared to meddle again, she would chase them away with boiling water, making them scream louder than scalded dogs.

    Perhaps she had been staring at him for too long, as Qian Tai began to stir.

    "Did my snoring wake you?" he asked, though he knew he didn't snore, he thought it best to start by blaming himself.

    That was what Qian Tai thought when he began to speak.

    "No," Haitang replied softly.

    "Then you must be feeling hot. I'll go join the others," Qian Tai said, preparing to move.

    Since he had to wake up early, he usually slept on the outer edge of the bed, making it easy for him to get up and put on his shoes. But before he could finish putting on his shoes, Haitang, realizing she needed to quickly improve her behavior and fix her image in the Qian family's memory, hurriedly said,

    "Husband, I just couldn't sleep. Am I bothering you?"

    Haitang knew she had to use the charms she learned in her previous life on her husband now. Though he was just her husband in name at the moment, she believed that soon he would truly open his heart to her. They would have many children to bring joy to his parents, and they would be a warm family.

    But all that was in the future; she needed to fix her relationship with Qian Tai first.

    "You seem different. Do you no longer despise me?" Qian Tai asked, confused, knowing full well how much his wife had loathed him and his family.

    "Husband, what are you saying? You are my husband. We share the same bed and pillow, bowed to heaven and earth, and tied our hair as husband and wife. How could I despise you? Today, I just feel remorseful. As the eldest daughter-in-law of this household, I should behave properly. You sleep on the inside. I will sleep on the outside as I need to wake up early to cook."

    "Cook?" Qian Tai repeated in disbelief, staring at his wife, unable to trust his ears.

    Throughout the month they had been married, she hadn't even gotten up before noon, let alone cooked.

    "Don't doubt it. I've realized my mistakes. Quickly, go back to sleep."

    As she spoke, Haitang pulled her husband down to lie back on the bed, then climbed over him to push him further inside. She lay down on the outer side of the bed, pulled the thin blanket over both of them, and closed her eyes.

    Qian Tai watched his wife's strange behavior, feeling as if he had seen a ghost.

    This didn't seem like the Haitang he had married at all.

    But due to the exhaustion from a hard day's work, he soon drifted back to sleep.

    At the end of the Yin hour (03:00-04:59 AM), Haitang quietly got up from bed and went to the kitchen to knead dough for steaming buns for the four Qian brothers and their father to have for breakfast. For her mother-in-law, who was not in good health, she planned to make some soft porridge.

    In truth, Haitang had no experience in cooking. But in her past life, after losing her ability to smell herbs, her mother's family began to treat her like a maid, making her responsible for washing clothes, cooking, and other household chores. This forced her to learn how to cook on her own.

    However, the worse her cooking was, the more her mother and grandmother would scold her, sometimes even throwing dishes at her and beating her until she bled. Eventually, perhaps out of pity or simply not wanting to eat bad food anymore, her second aunt-in-law taught her how to cook, which improved her skills. While not as good as a professional chef, she could cook well enough to open a small restaurant.

    The Qian family members were not deep sleepers. Upon hearing faint sounds from the kitchen, the entire household woke up almost immediately.

    Usually, cooking was the responsibility of the four brothers, with the old Madam Qian sometimes cooking on days she had enough strength and always with the help of her husband or one of her sons.

    But this morning, when they saw who was bustling in the kitchen, everyone rubbed their eyes to make sure they weren't dreaming.

    "Husband, are you going to the field already? Isn't it earlier than usual?" Haitang asked when she saw her husband and his brothers walking out of their rooms.

    She didn’t realize that the way she addressed her husband made the group standing there switch from rubbing their eyes to digging their ears, all wondering if they were hearing things.

    Did they all mishear? Husband? Wasn't she supposed to call him ‘that Qian guy’?

    Qian Sao, the second eldest brother, and the twins, Qian San and Qian Xi, all looked at their eldest brother with questioning eyes. However, Qian Tai remained silent, as he couldn't explain the sudden change in his wife either.

    But if she was changing for the better, wasn't that a good thing?

    "Today, we're going to the fields early, so we can gather wild vegetables on the mountain later in the morning."

    "Oh! Then wait a moment," Haitang said, taking the freshly steamed buns, wrapping them in a clean cloth, and placing them in a basket before handing it to Qian Tai.

    "Keep these for Father and Mother," Qian Tai said, hesitating to take the basket for fear his parents would have nothing to eat.

    "Don't worry, Father's portion is still in the stove, so he can have it hot. As for Mother, I've made vegetable porridge with an egg for her,"

    Haitang replied, causing the four brothers to look at her as if they were seeing a ghost again.

    Did she just call their parents Father and Mother? Normally, she called them Old Qian and Old Madam Qian. And she made food for their parents? They couldn't help but wonder if she intended to poison their family.

    "Are you trying to poison my mother?" Qian Sao, straightforward by nature, asked bluntly.

    Haitang smiled at their suspicion, understanding that given her previous behavior, it was reasonable for them to doubt her.

    "You don't have to worry. I've changed. From now on, I promise to be a good sister-in-law to you all, a good daughter-in-law to Father and Mother, and a good wife to your eldest brother. If you don't believe me, I'll eat it first to show you. Then you can each have a spoonful before giving it to Mother. How about that?"

    "That sounds good," Qian Sao said, feeling reassured by the arrangement.

    So Haitang took a spoonful of the porridge herself and then offered another spoonful to her husband.

    Qian Tai ate the porridge his wife gave him without hesitation, trusting that she no longer harbored any ill intentions.

    "See? I'm not dead, and your eldest brother isn't dead either."

    "Who knows? You might poison it after we leave," Qian Sao remained cautious.

    "What poison?" The elderly voice of their father called out, drawing everyone's attention.

    Though the villagers called their father Lao Qian, he was actually only forty years old. Years of hard work had aged him prematurely, and a leg injury made him walk with a limp, making him appear older.

    "Father, you're awake. I've steamed some hot buns. Would you like to eat now?" Haitang asked, shifting her focus from her husband's brothers to her father-in-law.

    "Yes, bring them over."

    "Has Mother woken up? I've made porridge for her," she continued.

    "She's awake. Go ahead and serve it. I'll feed her myself," he replied.

    Upon hearing this, Haitang hurried to ladle the porridge and place the buns on a tray. "Here, Father, let me carry it. You go open the door."

    Haitang volunteered with a cheerful face. Old Qian didn’t say anything but seemed to remember something just as he was about to walk away.

    “Aren’t you boys going to the fields yet? If you don’t hurry, you won’t be back in time to go up the mountain to gather wild vegetables. Get moving!”

    He scolded his four sons, who promptly ran out of the house. Then, Qian Zhou turned to lead his daughter-in-law, who was carrying the tray of food, into the bedroom where his wife was resting.

    Haitang followed her father-in-law, Qian Zhou, into the room of the two elders.

    The largest room in the house was the one shared by the three brothers. Qian Tai used to sleep there as well, but after marrying Haitang, a part of that large room was partitioned off to create a separate room for the couple.

    This elder’s room wasn’t very big, just enough to fit a bed and an old wooden cabinet. At the moment, her mother-in-law was sitting, leaning on the stove bed, the only one in the house.

    “My dear, the eldest daughter-in-law has made porridge for you. Eat it before taking your medicine.”

    Zhou Zhushi, Haitang’s mother-in-law, looked directly at the slender figure following her husband with a tray of food in hand, hardly believing what she was hearing.

    Wasn't this daughter-in-law the one who despised their family? This woman had never respected her as her mother-in-law because she didn't consider herself the wife of Qian Tai, their eldest son.

    What was happening today?

    Haitang looked at her mother-in-law, who had been frail for many years. Having given birth to four sons and not receiving proper care after the birth of the twins, she had grown weaker, needing nourishing medicine and egg-based foods to sustain her fragile health.

    “Mother, I have prepared this porridge specially for you. It contains both vegetables and eggs. Please try it,” Haitang said, placing the food on the table before bringing a small bowl of porridge to her mother-in-law.

    “Here, let me do it. You can go now,” the middle-aged man told his daughter-in-law.

    Haitang handed the porridge to her father-in-law but stood still, not leaving as he had instructed. She seemed hesitant, as if she had something to say, prompting Zhou Zhushi to finally ask.

    “Do you have something to say?”

    “Father, Mother, I have treated both of you poorly in the past. I have now realized my mistakes and promise to improve myself.” With that, Haitang dropped to her knees on the floor. “Your ungrateful daughter-in-law begs for your forgiveness.”

    She didn't just say it; she also kowtowed loudly on the floor, startling the two elders.

    “Now, now, let’s talk this over calmly. Get up first.”

    “Yes, yes. If you have truly realized your mistakes, we are relieved. My husband and I hold no grudge. We just hope you genuinely mean it. Though our family is poor, we will try our best to ensure you do not suffer.”

    “Mother, please don’t say that. It was my fault for being unwise before. Now that I understand, I know that as a daughter-in-law of the Qian family, I must stand by this family through thick and thin.”

    “Good. It’s good that you’ve realized this. Now go and eat.”

    Haitang bowed to her in-laws once more before leaving the room to prepare lunch. She also planned to take the laundry to the stream for washing.

    "Husband, do you think the daughter-in-law has truly changed?" Zhushi asked her husband.

    "If she says so, we should give her a chance to prove herself. Distance tests a horse, and time tests a person. Whether she is sincere or pretending, time will reveal the truth," Qian Zhou said as he fed his wife the porridge.

    "If she has truly changed, it is a blessing for our eldest. After all, they are husband and wife," Zhushi said, having just swallowed a mouthful of porridge.

    She had to admit that the vegetable porridge her daughter-in-law made tasted quite good.

    Meanwhile, Haitang carried the laundry basket filled with clothes from everyone in the household.

    Previously, the responsibility of washing clothes fell to the four brothers because their mother was too weak, and it would be unfilial to make their father do it. So, the brothers took turns doing the laundry. Even after Haitang married into the family, these chores remained the responsibility of the brothers. Whenever it was Qian Tai’s turn, he also washed Haitang’s clothes.

    Typically, these tasks were done by women, so the men of the Qian family were often teased by other men who saw them. Even older women couldn't help but mock them.

    The brothers learned to ignore the taunts, knowing that words didn't put food on the table, and thus paid no mind to the periodic insults.

    "Look, look! Who's doing the laundry today? Isn’t it the high and mighty lady herself? Why is she lowering herself to do laundry? Could it be that her husband is about to write her a divorce letter, and she’s trying to win him over? Ha Ha," one woman mocked.

    "You don't know anything. If her husband really wrote a divorce letter, she would be dancing with joy. But I guess Qian Tai is making her do household chores before he agrees to divorce her. That’s why she’s washing clothes for the whole family," another woman added.

    The married and unmarried women took great delight in gossiping, but Haitang paid no attention to their long-winded remarks. As long as they didn’t confront her directly, she considered their chatter as nothing more than the barking of dogs, unworthy of her engagement.

    Amidst the chirping of birds and the chatter around her, Haitang's mind was occupied with thoughts of dinner. There wasn’t much rice left at home, and the crops weren’t ready for harvest. If this continued, they might have to survive on wild vegetables. That was not to mention the medical and medicinal expenses for her mother-in-law.

    The Qian family’s poverty was largely due to her mother-in-law's need for nourishing medicine, which included ginseng. No matter how much money they earned, it was never enough, and they were still in debt to the clinic for several taels of silver.

    As she washed the clothes, Haitang's mind raced with ideas on how to earn money.

    The three younger brothers, Qian Sao and the twins, Qian San and Qian Xi, were of similar build, with only their height differing with age. Qian Tai, the eldest, was more robust due to his age; at twenty, he was five years older than Qian Sao, who was fifteen, while the twins were twelve. It was considered that Qian Tai was quite far in age from his three younger brothers.

    Rip!

    Lost in thought, she accidentally tore a long rip in an old, worn-out shirt belonging to the third brother. The shirt had already been patched numerous times. Seeing the state of the clothes only reinforced her resolve that she needed to take action soon.

    In my past life, I helped my mother's family become wealthy.

    In this life, I will help my husband's family rise to prosperity, or let it be known.

    Knowing that the clothes were very old and needed careful handling, Haitang focused more on her laundry, concentrating solely on the clothes in her hands.

    "Oh, did I say something wrong that offended Miss Haitang? Those clothes... you must be careful. Your husband's family will need them for many more years," said a woman named He Jiaojiao, who had married the son of the village headman and considered her family the wealthiest in the village, thus she was quite arrogant.

    "The clothes of my husband's family do not need your concern," Haitang retorted for the first time after enduring countless sarcastic remarks in silence.

    "I was only being kind. If you don’t appreciate my kindness, that’s your issue," He Jiaojiao said, feigning hurt but clearly mocking.

    “What are you dawdling for? Why are you so slow?”

    The speaker was none other than the village headman's wife, He Jiaojiao's mother-in-law.

    “Keep your false kindness to yourself. I don’t need it. By the way, Madam Headman, it seems your daughter-in-law has too much free time if she’s so concerned about my husband's brother’s clothes. Perhaps you should find her more chores,” Haitang said, having finished washing and now carrying the laundry basket to confront the pair of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law standing not far away.

    “What nonsense are you spouting? I wasn't concerned about your husband's brother,” He Jiaojiao’s face turned red.

    How dare this wretch say such things in front of her mother-in-law? What would her mother-in-law think of her now?

    “Didn't you just express concern over my husband’s brother’s torn clothes? Everyone here can testify, unless they are all deaf and blind,” Haitang said calmly.

    “Well, I... I...” He Jiaojiao tried to explain.

    “Enough talking! If you don’t finish washing the clothes soon, I’ll beat you. Since you have so much time to meddle in others’ affairs, once you’re done with the laundry, go up the mountain to gather vegetables and cut firewood. If you don’t finish your chores, you won’t get to eat,” her mother-in-law scolded.