Liu Ye pressed her faintly aching stomach and walked out of the pigpen straight toward the kitchen. As soon as she arrived, she found someone inside.
And it wasn’t a stranger—it was the foolish girl’s mother, Liu Wangshi.
Liu Wangshi wasn’t ugly. She had a small palm-sized face, willow-shaped brows, and cherry lips. But her skin was dark and yellowed, and she was extremely thin—arms and legs like dried sticks. Though only in her thirties, she looked like she was in her fifties.
She wasn’t tall, but because she was so thin, her clothes hung loosely on her body. The garments were also heavily patched and worn, making her look both poor and sharp-tongued.
In truth, she was indeed sharp-tongued and harsh. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have mistreated her own daughter. A mother should be a child’s support and warm shelter—but Liu Wangshi didn’t deserve to be a mother at all.
Just as Liu Ye was about to turn and leave, Liu Wangshi called out, “Stop! Hurry up and help me light the fire, you deaf and stupid brat! After you’re done, go empty the chamber pot!”
Disheveled, Liu Ye nodded and imitated the foolish girl’s usual behavior, squatting blankly by the stove to light the fire.
In the pot, there were cornmeal cakes steaming in a basin. The smell drifted straight into her nose, making her mouth water. If she hadn’t kept her lips tightly shut, she would’ve been drooling already.
But this wasn’t the right time to act. She had to wait until the foolish girl’s mother left.
Just as she thought this, a rough male voice came from outside:
“Second daughter-in-law, get in here and find my clothes!”
Hearing this, Liu Wangshi hurried out of the kitchen and ran toward the three dilapidated thatched rooms on the east side.
The Liu family courtyard had three main rooms where the old couple lived. On the east side were three side rooms where the eldest son’s family lived, and on both sides were more side rooms for the second son’s family. All of them were mud houses. When it rained outside, it rained inside too.
The Liu family was famously poor in the village. The whole family was lazy and had bad character. No one wanted to hire them for work because they were known for slacking off and even petty theft.
Taking advantage of the moment, Liu Ye quickly waved her hand and stored two corn cakes into her spatial space. She couldn’t take more—if she did, it would be noticed. The foolish girl could be beaten, but she couldn’t take the same punishment.
Soon, Liu Wangshi returned, not noticing that two cakes were missing. The foolish girl never dared to steal food anyway—she wasn’t allowed to eat without permission and had been beaten into obedience.
Only then did Liu Ye finally relax a little.
Liu Wangshi cooked a pot of cabbage soup, finishing breakfast. Then she kicked Liu Ye and said with disgust, “Get lost! Go empty the chamber pot. And don’t forget to feed the pigs!”
Rubbing her sore backside, Liu Ye walked out of the Liu household with a dull expression and ran toward the mountain behind the village.
Early in the morning, many villagers were already on the mountain digging wild vegetables. She avoided them and went deeper into the forest until no one was around.
Only then did she hide behind a thick tree and take out the corn cakes from her space. But as soon as she reached out, the smell on her body nearly made her vomit.
No, the foolish girl’s body was too filthy. She had to bathe immediately—or she would die of starvation without even being eaten.
Closing her eyes, Liu Ye searched the girl’s memories. Soon she found a river.
She opened her eyes and followed the mountain path westward. After about half an hour, she found a shallow stream flowing down from the mountains.
She looked around carefully—no one was there. Only then did she quickly take off her clothes and step into the water.
The stream was so shallow that when she sat down, it didn’t even reach her thighs.
As she scrubbed, large clumps of dirt came off her body. Her face was just as filthy. It was as if the foolish girl had never washed her face in her entire life.
She spent nearly half an hour washing until no more dirt came off. Even her hair was a tangled mess like a bird’s nest, impossible to comb through. She gave up and left it as it was.
After all, she was supposed to be a fool—too neat would be suspicious. Her messy hair even helped cover her face.
She washed her clothes by the river using mud as makeshift detergent, scrubbing them against rocks.
But when she finished and shook them out, she realized something terrible—the clothes were ruined. The pants had split open, and the skirt and sleeves were full of holes.
There was no spare clothing.
Sighing, she hung the ruined clothes on a rock. Then she took out two corn cakes from her space and ate them quickly. Once she was full, her stomach pain eased.
Looking at her ruined clothes, she decided she could only go home at night and secretly steal a set of clothes from the Liu family.
For now, she put the torn clothes back on, though they felt uncomfortable and drafty.
She made herself a pair of straw sandals from grass, then lay down on a rock to sunbathe.
As she rested, she thought idly about her appearance. In the reflection of the water earlier, she had noticed that she actually looked quite similar to this foolish girl—especially like herself at fifteen or sixteen.
Just thinner, paler, and without pimples or marks, though that might have been because the face was so dirty.
When she was sixteen, she still had a bit of baby fat, but she was tall—about 168 cm then, and later 170 cm after college. She never looked fat because of her height.
This foolish girl wasn’t short either—probably also around 168 cm, which satisfied her.
She didn’t want to be a short little thing.
As Liu Ye lay sunbathing and daydreaming, she had no idea the Liu family was already in chaos.
Old Madam Liu had a habit: after every meal, she first went to check the pigpen. Today, when she went as usual—
She discovered the pig was gone.