Chapter 4

Unlike my dad, who kept putting on airs as a big boss even after being sent down to the farm, Richard fit right in with the village leaders. Richard even taught the village kids how to do military drills. Thanks to his great reputation, our whole family soon got to move out of that stinky cowshed.

Susan spent 50 dollars to buy two unused houses from the village, one for her and Richard, the other one for Leon and me.

After I got together with Leon, I finally realized that Ashley in the last timeline really didn't know how good she had it. She was blessed and didn't even appreciate it.

Aside from being quiet, there wasn't a single flaw in Leon. He was basically perfect.

As his wife, I couldn't ask for more. He was always the first to help out, never letting me lift a finger when it came to heavy chores like hauling water or chopping wood.

He might not say much, but Leon was incredibly attentive. He noticed right away that my hands were cracked from soaking in seawater.

The very next day, he ran off to the shop and bought cold cream and clam oil for Susan and me.

Three months after we'd settled in the village, I ended up pregnant with Leon's baby.

Susan asked if I wanted to write a letter to my parents to share the good news, but I shook my head.

To my surprise, even though I didn't write to them, just a few days later, I actually got a letter from my parents.

In the previous timeline, my parents were always singing Ashley's praises, right up until the day I died.

But this time around, even though Ashley was living with them, their letter to me was full of complaints about her.

Turns out, without me, the one who always did the work without a word of complaint, life was really tough for my parents and sister after they got sent down to the farm.

My dad was still putting on airs like he was some big boss, just like in the last timeline. He flat-out refused to shovel out the pigsty or deal with the manure.

He figured Ashley would just take over and do all the dirty work for him, the way I always did.

But as soon as Ashley got close to the pigsty, she started gagging and crying, then straight-up fainted on the spot.

My mom had never even held a spatula before, so handling a shovel full of pig crap was totally out of the question for her.

In the end, none of them wanted to do any farm work, so the three of them ended up starving for a whole three days.

The first three days weren't too bad. Before leaving, my mom had packed some cookies, so the three of them managed to eat just enough to keep from starving.

But soon enough, they'd finished off all the cookies.

The farm had told them no work, no food.

After three days of going hungry, my parents and sister had no choice but to join the rest in the fields.

But my mom had never farmed a day in her life. She couldn't tell a seedling from a weed to save her life. After working all day, she ended up yanking out a whole patch of seedlings, thinking they were weeds.

Not only did she not earn a single work point, but the farm even slapped her with a hundred-point penalty.

Ashley's health was always fragile, and after just half a day of foraging pigweed in the hills, she was so wiped out she got sick. Mom had to run around serving her, fetching water, and fussing over her.

Dad had no choice but to swallow his pride and let go of his dignity. He spent his days out in the fields earning work points, and when he got home at night, he still had to haul water, chop wood, wash clothes, and cook meals.

Living like that, I toughed it out for a whole five years in the last timeline.

But this time, my parents couldn't even make it five months before they were crying their eyes out in their letter, saying they totally regretted it.

Dad called Ashley a total dead weight. He'd thought bringing her to the farm meant she'd be the one taking care of them, like doing the laundry, cooking, and waiting on them hand and foot.

But she looked half-dead the whole trip, and as soon as they got to the farm, she just collapsed and got sick.

Now, instead of her looking after them, my parents had to pamper her, making sure she had good food and drinks every day.

In the letter, Dad said he and Mom were getting too old to keep taking care of Ashley.

So they decided to arrange a hospital note for her and send her back to the city for medical care.

But our old house had already been reclaimed by Dad's work unit.

If Ashley wanted to return to the city for treatment, she'd have no choice but to stay at our place.

Mom also wrote in the letter that marrying into the Gordon family was supposed to be Ashley's deal. She only gave it up for me.

Ashley was so sick on the farm that she was basically at death's door, all because she took my place and suffered for me.

If I had even a bit of conscience, I should bring Ashley back to live with us, treat her like royalty, and make sure she got to recover in comfort at our home.

Mom was subtly asking in her letter if Leon and I had slept together yet.

If we hadn't, she wanted me to let Ashley marry into the Gordon family instead.

That way, Ashley could stay in the town, live in the military compound, and recover in comfort.

As for me, Mom thought I should just divorce Leon, move back to the farm, and be with them, so I could look after them.

After reading the letter, I couldn't help but laugh in anger. I just tossed the whole thing, letter and envelope, straight into the cooking stove.

The flames were blazing, and in no time, those papers were nothing but ashes.

Leon gave me a worried look and asked hesitantly, "Are you really not going to write back to your folks?"

I shook my head. "My parents already publicly disowned me in the newspaper. They cut all ties."