Lin Wanqiu, a sent-down youth, married into the Jiang family and spent five years working like a beast of burden, becoming an unpaid stepmother. Her sharp-tongued mother-in-law wrung every bit of value out of her, the whole family made her life miserable, and even the children went hungry and cold.
Once she saw through her in-laws’ parasitic ways, she finally came to her senses. She stopped swallowing her pain, stood up to her awful family despite the village gossip, and took her two stepsons with her to split from the household and make a life of their own!
In a shabby mud-brick house, she made a fresh start with her needlework and cooking skills, stitching soles, sewing new clothes, and steadily saving money to build a livelihood.
Jiang Lincuan, a tough veteran, quietly stood by her and sheltered her from life’s storms. The two children went from resisting her to relying on her with all their hearts.
The poems in this book are really well written and very beautiful.