The 1980s: Two Women Fought Over a Husband, and I Won

In 1985, my parents died, and I was left to live under someone else’s roof.

The production team leader arranged a match between Director Liu’s disabled son and Cuihua, a girl from the eastern end of the village. Everyone said the marriage was as good as settled.

But my aunt dragged me into the kitchen. “Yulan, you should compete for him too. Director Liu works for the state. Marry into that family and you’ll have a secure job for life.”

Cuihua cursed me in the street, calling me a homeless wretch with no parents. I didn’t cry. I just smiled and handed her a glass of water. “May the best one win.”

She didn’t know I had been reborn. In my previous life, I was the manager of the Xinhua Bookstore. I knew exactly which industries would make a fortune and which old books would be worth a fortune. The yellowing thread-bound books in Director Liu’s study looked like a gold mine to me.

The more furiously Cuihua carried on, the more Director Liu shook his head. I took the initiative to lower the bride price from two thousand to one thousand, asking only that my fiancé be allowed to work at the library.

On my wedding day, Cuihua stood outside, wiping away tears. She thought I had won the wedding.

Ten years later, she was crouched at the market selling vegetables, while I owned the biggest bookstore in the county. When her daughter couldn’t afford to study, I offered to sponsor her.

With red-rimmed eyes, she asked me, “What were you really competing for back then?”

I smiled.

“I wasn’t competing for your man. I was fighting for a life where I get to make my own choices.”

Click to see how I turned my disabled husband into a golden ticket.