“My father and mother fell in love at first sight, and they got married soon after. Once they became family, the old village headman put even more effort into helping my two uncles. My eldest uncle and second uncle were hardworking and clever, too. In just over a year, with financial help from my grandfather, they managed to get their own fishing boat.
“That was also the year my eldest aunt—the mother-in-law of Jinxi—fled an arranged marriage and ended up in Shen Family Village. By pure coincidence, she collapsed from hunger right outside my eldest uncle’s rundown house.
“Oh, so that was love at first sight too?” Chang Guangying asked.
“Exactly.” Shen Yinxing gave another mysterious smile. “But the person who carried my eldest aunt into the house was actually my second uncle. My eldest uncle and second uncle were only two years apart in age. The two of them took turns going out to sea and staying home to look after their younger siblings. That just happened to be one of the times my second uncle was home.
“Back then, my eldest uncle was young and full of ambition. Whenever he went out to sea, he always went far offshore, sometimes staying away for more than ten days. The longest trip took more than thirty days, I heard. My mother told me that… But you all have to promise not to tell anyone what I’m about to say!”
“Just tell us! We swear we won’t tell anyone!” Chang Guangying was so eager for gossip that she was even willing to swear an oath.
“Fine, fine, I’ll tell you. Just stop with all that nonsense and hurry up and spit three times!”
Shen Yinxing waited until Chang Guangying had dutifully spat three times before continuing. “While my eldest aunt was staying at my uncles’ house recovering, she and my second uncle secretly pledged themselves to each other.”
“What?!”
Several people widened their eyes and exclaimed at the same time.
Luo Tiantian was no exception. This was the first time she’d heard any of this, too.
“When you say they secretly pledged themselves to each other, do you mean… exactly what I think you mean?”
As she spoke, Chang Guangying pressed the tips of her two index fingers together and tapped them against each other several times.
Shen Yinxing nodded. “Yes.”
“What?!”
Another round of shocked exclamations erupted.
“More than ten days later, my eldest uncle came back, and my second uncle took a group of people out to sea in his place. He was gone for more than ten days as well. By the time he returned, the two lovers had become my eldest uncle and eldest aunt.”
“I remember hearing that Second Granduncle never married. Could it be because he never managed to let go of my grandmother? I mean, with my grandmother looking like that…” Shen Meng couldn’t help saying.
“Your grandmother must have been quite pretty when she was young. Just look at your father…” Bai Jinxi paused for a moment before continuing. “Well, look at your second uncle and your youngest uncle. You can tell from their looks. It’s not enough for only your grandfather to be handsome. There’s a saying that if the father is short, one child will be short, and if the mother is short, the whole litter will be short. I suppose looks probably work the same way.”
“My mother did say that my eldest aunt was very pretty back then. Otherwise, how could my second uncle have fallen for her at first sight? And my mother said that my eldest aunt was bold, capable, and hardworking. That’s exactly what my eldest uncle liked about her. He needed a strong wife who could manage the household and hold the family together while he was out at sea.”
“Honestly, I think my eldest uncle and eldest aunt both put their own interests first. They’re two peas in a pod. Birds of a feather flock together. It’s just too bad for my second uncle. After that, he became withdrawn and rarely spoke. During the first year after my eldest uncle and aunt got married, my second uncle volunteered to be the one going out to sea. He barely spent a few days at home.”
“Think about it. After Xiaomeng’s father died, her maternal grandfather, who worked at the government office, died too. Her dowry and her family’s property were all seized and taken by those two. They’d already stripped her family bare. And the two of them were women who couldn’t go out to sea or catch fish. They were basically useless to that family. How could anyone expect them to treat the two of them well?”
“But my mother and I are women, too, aren’t we? Are we useless as well? Will Grandma and Father treat us badly too?” Liu Huiqiao asked, sounding frightened and sad.
Shen Yinxing sighed and gently patted Liu Huiqiao’s head. “That’s the hardship women face in this world. Whether we live well or suffer depends entirely on the conscience of our fathers, husbands, and in-laws. We have to live at the mercy of others. We’re considered lucky, but even this kind of luck isn’t something we can control ourselves. Who knows how long it’ll last?”
“Don’t talk like everything is so hopeless. We have hands and feet. We can still rely on ourselves!” Chang Guangying said.
“The fact that women aren’t allowed to establish their own households binds us down. So what if we have hands and feet? We still have to let others control our lives for the rest of our lives. We’re like dodder growing on the mountain. We can only survive by clinging to other plants.”
Bai Jinxi sighed as she spoke. She didn’t have much hope for the future of women.
“But a lot of the time, dodder can turn the tables and become the dominant one. It can affect the growth and development of its host plant, reducing its yield and even causing the host plant to die,” Shen Meng added.
Now that she’d come to this world with superpowers and a system, she was determined to carve out a path for the women here.
The others all looked at Shen Meng in surprise when they heard her words.
“Why do I feel like Xiaomeng has changed somehow?”
Luo Tiantian looked at Shen Meng suspiciously.
“She just figured some things out recently. Her mind has opened up,” Bai Jinxi quickly explained.
“With Xiaomeng backing you up, things will get better for you in the future.” Shen Yinxing patted Bai Jinxi on the arm. “We’ll help you, too.”
“Exactly. You two never stood up for yourselves before. How were we supposed to help you? You had us worried sick, but there was nothing we could do!” Chang Guangying said.
“Now that we’ve completely fallen out with them, we’ll inevitably have to trouble you in the future,” Bai Jinxi said.
“Don’t worry. We’ll definitely stand by you!”
Chang Guangying raised a hand and tried to pat Bai Jinxi on the shoulder, but Bai Jinxi shifted aside and dodged her.
She said with a smile, “I can’t handle those tiger paws of yours.”
The group burst into laughter and started fooling around like children.
Shen Meng, Luo Tiantian, and Liu Huiqiao—the three actual children—pouted and rolled their eyes.
They had to get the firewood back before dinner, so once the sun began to sink toward the west, everyone started loading the wood and making their way down the mountain.
“The skinny little boy who spoke first among the children who gave you the wild fruit is named Li Shuanzhu. He’s twelve this year. He depends on his grandmother, and they fled here from the south. There’s no one else in his family.”
As they walked, Bai Jinxi introduced the children to Shen Meng, afraid she might call someone by the wrong name when she delivered the firewood later.
“Twelve? I thought he was only eight or nine,” Shen Meng said in surprise.
“They fled here as refugees. He probably didn’t get enough to eat when he was little, so he never grew properly,” Bai Jinxi explained.
“As for those two siblings…”
Bai Jinxi raised her chin and pointed toward the boy and girl walking side by side a short distance ahead.
Shen Meng remembered them. They had both given her wild fruit.
“The older brother is Cui Dahai. He’s sixteen this year. His younger sister is Cui Xiaoyu, who’s thirteen.”
“So the older brother is actually the same age as me.”
Looking at the two thin, frail figures, Shen Meng sighed inwardly. Life was simply too hard for people in this era.
“That woman is their mother, He Hua.”
Bai Jinxi raised her chin again and pointed at the frail woman walking beside the two siblings.
“The whole family came up the mountain to gather firewood. How do they make a living?” Shen Meng asked.
The people of Shen Family Village generally relied on the able-bodied men going out to sea to fish and sell their catch. Chang Guangying’s family was an exception.
The women and children went into the mountains to cut and gather firewood so the family would have fuel for cooking and heating.
“Alas…” Bai Jinxi sighed. “They trade the firewood for food and other necessities with the villagers.”
“Why doesn’t Cui Dahai go out to sea and fish with someone else’s boat?” Shen Meng asked.
“With that little body of his? He’s about your size, and he’s not even as tall as you. What could he possibly do on a boat?” Bai Jinxi said. “Who would want to take on someone like that?”
“Out at sea, the weather can change without warning. It’s dangerous work where you have to put your life on the line. You need enough strength to haul the sails and turn the rudder.”
Bai Jinxi added another explanation.
“What does Li Shuanzhu’s family live on?” Shen Meng asked again.
“They trade firewood for supplies, too,” Bai Jinxi said.
“But his grandmother’s back problem flared up these past two days. She can’t get out of bed and is lying at home.”
“The remaining little boy is named Wang Haijing. He’s eleven this year. He also has an older brother named Wang Haiping, who’s sixteen. He went out to sea with our family’s boat.”
“Although they don’t have the surname Shen, their ancestors have lived in Shen Family Village for generations. They’re not outsiders. Their family just never had many children. Their father, Wang Tie, was the only son. A maritime disaster two years ago took Wang Tie, his father, his father-in-law, and his younger brother-in-law.”
“So their entire family was basically wiped out,” Shen Meng said with a sigh.
“Exactly. When Wang Haijing’s mother, Shen Xiaomei, heard the news back then, she cried herself unconscious on the spot. Less than half a year later, she died from depression. Shen Xiaomei’s mother had already passed away ten years earlier. She only had that one younger brother, and he hadn’t even married before he died at sea. Once she died, that side of the family was completely gone.”
Shen Meng sighed again. After hearing the stories of these three families, it felt like all she’d done along the way was sigh.
“Wang Haijing is actually pretty sturdy. He’s eleven, but he looks more like fourteen or fifteen. From what you’ve told me, his family seems to be in the best situation out of the three.”
After a while, Shen Meng spoke again.
“I guess there’s some objective reason why rural families have so many children.”
“That is how it is.” Bai Jinxi sighed. “Some things just can’t be fought against. Sometimes, I even blame myself for not having more children. I wish I’d had a son.”
Shen Meng patted Bai Jinxi on the arm, but she didn’t know what to say.
Many times, people simply couldn’t fight against the circumstances and environment around them.