A female classmate from the same village came from a family so poor that things felt downright destitute. Her father had a crippled leg and couldn’t do heavy work, and she also wasn’t doing well in her studies. In her heart it was as clear as if she could see it in a mirror: in this lifetime, there was no way to turn things around just by reading and learning—so she chose another road. In junior middle school in town, she deliberately dated boys from well-off families; when she went on to high school in the county seat, she decisively dumped her previous boyfriend and went after a richer target. At the time, everyone sneered and looked down on her for it.