Before nine o'clock at night, the entire village had fallen into utter silence, with only the occasional bark of a dog piercing the quiet.
Because it was situated within the mountains and due to poverty, the village had yet to be electrified, let alone have access to a television set.
To this day, villagers still relied on kerosene lamps and candles for light, and with no other form of entertainment, they would all go to bed early after dinner.
Shen Baolan tossed and turned on the pile of wheat stalks in the firewood shed, unable to sleep.
It wasn't because of the beating she had endured at the hands of her in-laws that evening, but because she was hungry.
In the years since she'd been sold to the Yang Family, beatings had become part of her daily life, and had toughened her skin and flesh.
But the feeling of an empty stomach was truly unbearable.
Especially after she had stolen a bowl of meat that afternoon, that craving for food, like an addict's withdrawal, was intolerable.
