Xu Cuihua was still immersed in the shock of arriving in a brand-new world and hadn’t noticed Ming Fei’s unusual behavior.
Unlike Ming Fei, she came from an ancient world. The moment she regained consciousness, she was overwhelmed by a flood of memories, and her condition wasn’t great. She hadn’t been able to calm down and think things through before jumping into action. Now that there was no one else around, she naturally began to settle down.
This world was truly peculiar. Women were the ones giving birth, and they were also responsible for managing household affairs and taking care of the elderly. Men, on the other hand, were tasked with providing for the family. To Xu Cuihua, this seemed completely upside down. In her world, men were the ones who gave birth, while women supported the family, served as officials, and held positions of power. Men simply took care of household matters—the exact opposite of this world.
Another thing that shocked Xu Cuihua was that this world no longer had an emperor. She heard that the emperor had been overthrown years ago, and now it was the common people who were in charge.
All of this was extremely unsettling for Xu Cuihua, who hailed from the Kingdom of Fenglai. However, she wasn’t alone now. She had a daughter and a husband. With her husband injured and her daughter sick, she quickly snapped into action.
In her previous life, she had no children. She never expected that after dying once, she would end up with such a grown daughter. But looking at Ming Fei’s withered, yellowish hair and thin, gaunt face, she resolved to find more nutritious food to help the child regain her health. She heard there was game in the mountains behind the Seventh Dadui, so she decided to find an opportunity to explore there someday.
As for the original host… By the time Xu Cuihua arrived, the original host was already dead. Therefore, she didn’t feel guilty about occupying her body. Perhaps the original host had wanted her to come and protect her husband, child, and mother?
"Mom, we’re here!"
Ming Fei noticed Xu Cuihua was lost in thought and had no idea what she was thinking about. She simply shook her hand to bring her back to reality.
The question of whether she was an imposter or not could be set aside for now. The most important thing at the moment was to treat the wound on Xu Cuihua’s head—it was no minor injury.
The original host was often sick, and since her grandmother, Xu Sulan, was a Chijiao Daifu, she was very familiar with the clinic. As soon as the people inside saw Ming Fei, they rushed out to greet her, only to be startled by the sight of Xu Cuihua’s blood-covered face.
"Sister-in-law Cuihua, what happened to your head? Come in quickly!"
Doctor Hu hurriedly ushered them inside, rummaged through cabinets to find alcohol, tweezers, and gauze, and then fetched some water.
Ming Fei’s entire body ached—a dull, throbbing pain. Seeing that Xu Cuihua was fine, she relaxed, and the exhaustion from her ordeal began to set in. But as she watched Doctor Hu’s somewhat clumsy movements and the basin of water he had just fetched from outside to clean the wound… she gained a deeper understanding of the scarcity of resources in the 1960s.
No gloves were worn.
No sterilization was done.
The cloth used to wipe the wound was yellowish, having been used countless times.
As a medical student, the mere thought of it made her scalp tingle. Yet Ming Fei knew this wasn’t Doctor Hu’s fault. In these times, everyone was like this. Only hospitals in the cities were slightly better.
At this moment, Ming Fei forgot that she herself was quite reckless—sterilizing a knife over a flame before using it to cut open wounds.
After sitting on the only sickbed for a while, Ming Fei began to feel drowsy, her little head nodding off bit by bit.
Xu Cuihua sat imposingly, allowing Doctor Hu to tend to her wounds while keeping her attention fixed on Ming Fei. Seeing Ming Fei dozing off, she immediately signaled Doctor Hu to lower his voice.
Doctor Hu had already learned from Xu Cuihua what had happened and was muttering curses at the Jin Dan brothers. At Xu Cuihua's reminder, he glanced at Ming Fei and felt even more pity for her.
Ming Fei only felt the sounds around her grow faint and distant, as if coming from far away, until she could no longer hear them at all. When she opened her eyes again, she was lying on Xu Cuihua's back, being carried home.
"Feifei, are you hungry? We'll go home and cook!" Sensing the child on her back had awakened, Xu Cuihua immediately asked.
"Mom, I'm not hungry. Does it hurt?" Ming Fei tightened her arms around Xu Cuihua's neck, her stomach rumbling in contradiction.
In her dream, she had watched the original host's entire life like a movie.
When she first Transmigrated, she had some memories but not many, and she hadn't had time to think too much about it then. Now, however, she had seen the original host's entire life.
As mentioned earlier, both Xu Cuihua and Ming Erde died that day. After their deaths, the original host's tragic life truly began.
As a young girl who had lost both parents, she naturally needed a new guardian. The Dadui couldn't let a young girl live on her own. To take her away, her grandmother Xu Sulan had to give up the family house on behalf of the original host, handing it over to Ming Dade's family.
Otherwise, Ming Dade's family would not have agreed to let Xu Sulan take the original host away. Since the original host bore the Ming surname, without their consent, Xu Sulan couldn't take her.
If Ming Dade's family had been reliable, Xu Sulan wouldn't have insisted. But her daughter and son-in-law had essentially died because of that family. She dared not imagine what kind of life the original host would have had in Ming Dade's household—whether she might have… suddenly died young.
After all, the mortality rate for children was already high, especially since the original host was not in good health.
To protect her only granddaughter, Xu Sulan had to suppress her hatred and give up the house that rightfully belonged to the original host.
The original host grew up relying on Xu Sulan. She was bright, clever, and filial, excelling academically all the way through junior high school and gaining admission to the best high school in Heshan Xian. However, just then, Xu Sulan fell ill. To care for her, the original host did not continue her education.
Two years later, Xu Sulan passed away. Her aunt Zhao Xiulan, seeing how beautiful, capable, and educated the original host had become—still a junior high school graduate—set her sights on her, planning to marry her off for a bride price to fund her son's wedding. Unwilling to comply, the original host hastily married a Zhiqing to escape the schemes of Ming Dade's family. She was only seventeen at the time.
Yet, misfortune seemed relentless. No sooner had she married than news of the Gaokao's restoration broke. The Zhiqing passed the exam, returned to the city for university, and left her behind.
What followed was a story all too common in that era. The Zhiqing returned to the city and found a new partner. Since she had only held a wedding banquet without a marriage certificate, she had no legal recourse to seek him out, and she had no family to stand up for her.
The Daduizhang wanted to take her to confront him but was stopped by Ming Dade's family.
The Ming Dade family once again set their sights on the original host. Although she had been married before, the original host was young and beautiful. Remarrying might not be as easy as a first marriage, but it wasn’t difficult either—whether marrying an old widower or becoming a stepmother, there were plenty of people willing to take her.
In this way, the original host and her cousin Ming Fang became a stark contrast.
Ming Fang and the original host were born on the same day, with Ming Fang arriving just a few hours earlier. However, Ming Fang’s parents were city dwellers, both alive and well, while the original host lived in a poor Dadui, with both her parents passing away early.
When Ming Fang returned to the Dadui, the Ming Dade family treated her as an honored guest, while the original host was utterly despised.
Both of them passed the entrance exam for the county high school, but Ming Fang went on to study, while the original host had to drop out due to Xu Sulan’s misfortune.
When Ming Fang was admitted to university, the original host was abandoned by her husband in the countryside, forced to face gossip, ridicule, and the covetous eyes of the Ming Dade family alone.
By the time Ming Fang graduated from university and secured an enviable job, the original host was already a stepmother to three children, enduring physical abuse from her husband.
Born on the same day, the two sisters led completely different lives. Those who knew them said the original host was unlucky, cursed to bring misfortune to her parents and anyone close to her, while Ming Fang was blessed with good fortune, bringing prosperity to her family.
The last news the original host heard about Ming Fang came from Zhao Xiulan: Ming Fang had married a man from the capital, who cherished her dearly. She had also earned a great deal of money and bought a large house for her parents. Not long after, however, she was slashed on the shoulder while trying to save a child from domestic violence and died from excessive blood loss.
Before her death, she mustered her last ounce of strength to stab the man to death.
This was the life of the original host as a Duizhaozu.
While others were unaware, Ming Fei knew very well that Ming Fang’s good fortune wasn’t about bringing prosperity to her family but rather the chance to start over.
Yes, Ming Fang was a reincarnator.
After reflecting on the original host, Ming Fei turned her thoughts to herself.
Before the Moshi, she was just an ordinary college student. After the Moshi, although she possessed a Space, it was different from others—very small, only ten square meters, which included fifteen plots of cultivable land, each about a foot wide.
However, each of these fifteen plots could only hold one seed, making her Space rather useless.
During the Moshi, Ming Fei could only store her meager belongings in the Space, as it couldn’t hold much more. Fortunately, doctors were in high demand during the Moshi, and with some practice, her half-baked skills became sufficient.
Even though she hadn’t graduated or obtained a license, her medical background gave her an edge over those with no foundational knowledge. Thus, she managed to survive, albeit with great difficulty.
Ming Fei focused for a while but still couldn’t sense the presence of the Space. Disappointed, she assumed it was gone, though the feeling lasted only briefly.
To be reborn after death, and in an era of abundant resources—what more could she ask for? While others might view the resource-scarce, tumultuous 1960s and 1970s as harsh, for Ming Fei, it was an excellent era.
No matter what, now that the original host had somehow become her, she would not follow the same path as in the original host’s memories. Besides, there was still Xu Cuihua to consider.
She now wondered if the original host's birth mother had also foreseen the tragic life of the original host, which was why Xu Cuihua had arrived. It wasn't impossible—in fact, it seemed highly plausible. Unfortunately, Ming Fei had no way of confirming this.
She wasn't yet sure what kind of person Xu Cuihua was and didn't dare reveal herself, but she likely wasn't a bad person, as Ming Fei could sense her affection and care.
Xu Cuihua had no idea Ming Fei was pondering so much on her back. Hearing Ming Fei's stomach growl, she immediately quickened her pace.
She was also very hungry. The original host hadn't had time to eat lunch, and the two wowotou she had in the morning were hardly filling.
The two soon arrived home, and only then did Xu Cuihua set Ming Fei down.
The old hen at home was kept to lay eggs to nourish the original host's health. Seeing its owner return, it clucked softly.
The Ming family's home was similar to others in the Seventh Dadui—a thatched-roof hut with mud walls and a small window, only about thirty gongfen wide. This made the interior noticeably dimmer.
As the two lifted the curtain and entered, a man with bandages wrapped around his head immediately looked over, his gaze filled with curiosity.
Ming Fei: "…"
Author's Note:
The family of three is now complete.
The cover has been updated—finally, it's no longer the ugly one I made.