Late autumn. After four consecutive years of natural disasters, the Great Qi Dynasty was riddled with gaping wounds, and its people were destitute.
Eighty li outside the capital, in Tangjia Fort of Xin’an Town, Li Qiushuang, the wife of the Tang family’s eldest son, was kneeling in the courtyard, holding her barely breathing daughter and trying her utmost not to let her tears fall.
“Mother, I’m begging you, just give me a few coins! Tang Bao’er has had a fever for two days, she has to see a doctor! If we delay any longer, the fever will make her simple-minded! Mother, I beg you, think of Dayong who died in battle, and please save his child!”
The unconscious Tang Tian felt a sharp pain from something jabbing into her. The moment she frowned and opened her eyes, a strange and brief memory suddenly flooded her mind, making her feel even more dizzy and nauseous.
She had just died amidst a horde of zombies in the apocalypse, and in the blink of an eye, she was reborn into the body of a four-year-old girl with the same name?
An orphan since childhood who had tasted every bitterness, she never thought she would have such good fortune!
She glanced at the dim yellow sky above, the dilapidated courtyard around her, and finally focused her attention on her mother, Li Qiushuang, who was holding her tightly.
Although she was only in her thirties, years of hard labor had aged her to look as if she were over fifty. Her tattered clothes were covered in patches upon patches, her arms were withered and thin, and with her sunken eye sockets, sallow complexion, and a forehead bleeding from kowtowing, she was a picture of utter misery.
But the Tang family’s matriarch, standing on the steps opposite them, was wearing a brown dress that was eighty percent new. It wrapped around her slightly plump figure, her face was piled with cruel, fleshy jowls, and she even had a silver hairpin in her hair. No matter how one looked at her, she didn’t seem like someone who had suffered in these disastrous years!
At this moment, Tang Laotai’s expression held not a shred of pity. Instead, she pointed her finger and screeched furiously.
“You damned little harlot, you’re truly shameless! What kind of times are these? The family can’t even afford to eat, where am I supposed to find money for you? If a worthless girl dies, she dies. Wrapping her in cattail reeds and burying her would be considered a kindness! In any other family, she would have been thrown into a pot and boiled long ago. At least she could have filled everyone’s bellies for a few meals! Hurry up and take her far away to die! If you dare bring misfortune upon our family, see if I don’t beat you to death!”
Liu Meihua, the wife of the second son, who was standing on the side watching the spectacle, flicked her sleeves and chimed in with gusto.
“That’s right, Eldest Sister-in-law, don’t make things difficult for Mother! Never mind money, our family doesn’t even have a single grain of rice. The wild vegetables and tree leaves outside have all been stripped bare. We’ve been eating bran cakes recently, and my Jin Bao’er is so constipated he can’t even poop, just cries and wails all day.
“Your family’s Chuan’er is half-dead all day and could breathe his last at any moment, and Hai’er is a simpleton. It’s obvious you can’t count on either of them. Our whole family is relying on my Jin Bao’er to learn a skill and make a name for himself in the future. Even so, I haven’t said anything about taking Jin Bao’er to see a doctor!
“Besides, that money-losing baggage of yours is a jinx. Ever since you gave birth to her, we’ve had endless natural disasters here every year. Last year she got sick, and everyone said she was going to die. But she just had to live, and instead, Eldest Brother died on the battlefield. It must have been her who cursed her own father to death! Now she’s sick again, who knows who she’s trying to curse this time…”
As she spoke, her gaze flickered toward Tang Laotai.
Sure enough, Tang Laotai’s face darkened!
“Scram! Get the hell out of here right now!” Tang Laotai grabbed a large broom and swung it at her daughter-in-law and granddaughter.
Li Qiushuang hadn’t expected her to resort to violence so suddenly and quickly turned to shield her daughter.
“Mother, Brother Dayong died in battle! It has nothing to do with the child!”
Unfortunately, Tang Laotai wouldn’t listen at all. She even called out to Tang Laoer and Tang Laosan, who were slacking off under the eaves.
“What are you waiting for, do you want to watch me get cursed to death?! Hurry up and help me beat this family of jinxes out of here! When they bring misfortune upon the family, you’ll have plenty of time for regrets!”
The lazy Tang Laoer glanced at his smug wife, then reached out to grab his sister-in-law and niece.
The sharp-faced, skinny Tang Laosan ran to a dark side room and dragged out the sickly Tang Chuan and the simple-minded Tang Hai.
In the blink of an eye, Li Qiushuang and her three children were thrown out of the Tang family’s main gate.
Lying on the cold ground, Tang Tian felt so dizzy she wanted to curse, but she didn’t have the strength.
It was the pale-faced Tang Chuan who crawled over and desperately hugged his younger sister.
Tang Tian couldn’t help but complain inwardly. A different embrace, but the bones were just as sharp!
What kind of life was this family living!
Li Qiushuang bit her lip tightly, wanting to give in to despair, but then she looked at her three children…
She began to pound on the courtyard gate again with all her might.
“Mother, open the door, open the door! The three children are Brother Dayong’s flesh and blood. Brother Dayong is watching from the heavens, you can’t do this!”
After a long while, the courtyard gate was opened again. Tang Laoer and Liu Meihua threw out two old quilts.
Liu Meihua’s face was full of schadenfreude, yet she pretended to offer kind advice.
“Eldest Sister-in-law, don’t blame Mother for not loving you. Tell me, which family’s daughter-in-law gives birth to children who aren’t lively and healthy? Only you—one is sickly, one is a simpleton, and one is half-dead. It’s a blessing Mother hasn’t divorced you! You should hurry and find a place to hide. Once Mother has calmed down, we’ll put in a good word for you. Maybe she’ll let you come back!”
Tang Chuan was so angry he wanted to speak up for his mother, but the moment he opened his mouth, he broke into a violent coughing fit.
Liu Meihua looked utterly disgusted and quickly shut the gate.
Li Qiushuang was equally furious, but night was about to fall. She didn’t mind the cold wind, but it would definitely make her children’s illnesses worse!
She quickly grabbed the quilts, wrapped them around her children, and led them toward a dilapidated shack at the village entrance.
This dilapidated shack was really just a triangular frame made of chopped wood, with wooden planks nailed to the sides and a cattail mat laid on the roof.
It was originally the home of a lone old man. After he starved to death two years ago, it had been left empty. Now, although it was drafty and leaked, it became a place for the mother and her four children to stay.
While her elder brother closed his eyes and coughed and her mother was busy sweeping away the dust, Tang Tian secretly took out the only recovery potion from her interdimensional space, mixed it with the spring water from her space, and quickly gulped it down.
In a short while, warmth spread from her stomach throughout her body. Her mind became much clearer, she had strength in her limbs, and she could finally think properly.
To be honest, she was very dissatisfied with this starting situation.
But thankfully, her mother and brother both doted on her. Now that they had left that man-eating old house, they were free from its constraints and could live their lives freely from now on.
After many years in the apocalypse, her interdimensional space had accumulated a lot of supplies, enough for her family of four to live without worrying about food or clothing.
But in such a disastrous year, she couldn’t take out the white rice and fine flour just yet. It would be too conspicuous and easily attract trouble…
The drowsing Tang Chuan suddenly cried out “Father,” having dreamt of something.
This reminded Tang Tian that after Tang Dayong had died in battle, the yamen had delayed for a long time before finally sending one hundred catties of coarse rice to the family last month as a pension.
But Tang Laotai and her two sons had taken it all, not letting the widow and orphans see even a shadow of it!
No way!
She had to get at least half of it back!
Even if this cheap father of hers was dead, supporting his wife and children was a responsibility he couldn’t escape!
Li Qiushuang busied herself for a long time. The dilapidated shack was cleaned up and was finally habitable. When she touched her daughter’s forehead and found it was no longer burning, she was even happier!
“Tang Bao’er, you watch your brothers. Mother is going into the village to see if I can borrow… borrow some water!”
She wanted to say borrow grain, but she knew it was a fool’s dream. After all, every family was starving.
Borrowing grain at a time like this was, in fact, borrowing life!
Tang Tian nodded quickly. Seeing her mother walk away, she also slipped back toward the village