My Beloved, From Dawn to Dusk

Among the countless things in this fleeting world, I love three: the sun, the moon, and you. The sun is the morning, the moon is the evening, and you are every morning and evening. In modern times, Li Minxiu is trapped in a quagmire: an exhausted housewife whose work, children, and chores drain every last moment of her time. She and her husband fight over their financial struggles and give each other the cold shoulder, turning their home into an ice cellar. Awake alone in the middle of the night, she stares at the ceiling as regret wells up inside her. “Why did I marry him? What if I’d chosen my old love? If I’d studied hard, where would I be now?” She stumbled through love and marriage without understanding either, and by the time she woke up, her life was no longer what she wanted. When she opens her eyes, she sees the canopy of a wooden bed. She has become a three-year-old girl! Her father, Li Chengjiang, is a constable, and she has four older sisters. Her mother had been unable to conceive for eight years, but finally became pregnant in her zodiac year. With her belly pointed, everyone was certain she was carrying a boy. Delighted, Li Chengjiang sought out a fortune-teller, who declared with absolute certainty, “It will be a son! He is destined to have five sons. This is the final jewel, precious beyond words!” Li Chengjiang paid a whole tael of silver for the name “Li Minze.” Outside the delivery room, Li Chengjiang waited eagerly. The midwife’s announcement struck like thunder: “Congratulations, Constable Li! It’s a girl!” His smile froze. At thirty-six, in his zodiac year, he could only stare in shock and let out a heavy sigh. The son he had waited eight years for, the “precious boy” from the fortune-teller’s prediction, had turned out to be another daughter! Looking at the newborn’s delicate face, then squeezing the red paper bearing the name “Li Minze,” which had cost a whole tael of silver, Li Chengjiang gave a wry smile and shook his head. “Fine! The name’s already chosen, and she’s ‘precious beyond words.’ I’ve already spent the money… I can’t let it go to waste.” He made the decision: “She’ll be called Minze! Li Minze! Who says a girl can’t have a boy’s ambition and bring blessings to the family?”