Reborn in the 1980s: Old Madam Abandons her Ungrateful Children and Husband

Li Shuping, known as Old Madam Li, endures a harrowing final chapter in her life at a dilapidated nursing home. Abandoned by her two sons, who refuse to pay her fees, and shunned by her daughter, she suffers neglect, abuse, and starvation. Her physical decline is marked by pressure sores and infestation, culminating in a moment of despair where she questions her worth as a mother. As her consciousness fades, she is reborn, waking up on the wedding day of her second son, Lin Jianshe. The setting is a bustling courtyard home decorated for the celebration, and she finds herself in her younger, healthier body, surrounded by family members who were long dead or estranged in her previous life.

The wedding day begins with immediate hostility. Liu Yong, the aggressive younger brother of the bride Liu Qin, leads a group of young men in a traditional but cruel ritual of "teasing" the groom's mother. They smear soot on Li Shuping's face, strip her coat, and force her to wear a humiliating sign that reads, "Proud to Be the Servant Mom, Gloriously Serving My Daughter-in-Law." In her past life, she had endured this silence, but this time, she fights back, slapping Liu Yong across the face. The act shocks the crowd and her family. Her husband, Lin Yongnian, a rigid patriarch who values face above all, demands she apologize. Her eldest son, Lin Guodong, laughs along, while her second son, Lin Jianshe, prioritizes his bride's feelings over his mother's dignity, demanding she kneel to Liu Yong.

Li Shuping refuses to submit. She publicly denounces her sons as ungrateful and her husband as complicit in her abuse. When Lin Yongnian strikes her, she retaliates with a ferocity that leaves him injured and the family in disarray. The conflict escalates when Liu Qin demands a substantial red envelope as compensation for the incident, threatening to call off the wedding. Li Shuping rejects these demands outright, causing her eldest daughter-in-law, Zhang Jiao, to leave for her parents' home in protest over perceived favoritism. Li Shuping collapses from the emotional and physical strain and is taken to the hospital, where her youngest daughter, Lin Xiaoyu, is the only family member to keep vigil. This moment of clarity reveals to Li Shuping that her daughter, whom she had previously neglected in favor of her sons, is the only one who truly cares for her.

Upon returning home, Li Shuping observes the aftermath of her rebellion. Her husband and sons are unable to manage the household chores, having relied on her labor for decades. Lin Yongnian accuses her of doing nothing, a phrase that had haunted her in her previous life. Enraged by this erasure of her contributions, Li Shuping demands a divorce. To everyone's surprise, including her husband's, she follows through with the legal proceedings. She splits their marital savings evenly and insists on taking Lin Xiaoyu with her, rejecting the sons who treated her as a servant. She also demands financial restitution from Lin Jianshe for the job she sacrificed to secure for him, forcing Lin Yongnian to write an IOU.

The divorce marks a decisive break from her past. Li Shuping moves out with her daughter, leaving the Lin family to face the consequences of their neglect. She resolves to live for herself, rejecting the role of the self-sacrificing mother and wife. The story concludes with her beginning a new life, determined to protect her daughter from the same fate and to ensure that her remaining years are spent on her own terms, free from the exploitation of her ungrateful family.