It was midsummer. The blazing sun scorched the earth until even the shaded ground had cracked open.
“Waaah… Sister, wake up! Father and Mother are gone, Brother hasn’t come back yet. Niannian doesn’t want to be sold…”
Inside a dilapidated thatched hut, a girl of about fifteen or sixteen lay on the bed. She was so thin she was little more than skin and bones, her breath completely gone.
A sallow, emaciated little girl knelt by the bedside, her small hands gripping the thin wrist of the person on the bed.
Her voice was choked with sobs, but after several days without food, even her crying sounded faint and weak.
What’s going on—
Lin Sisi’s consciousness wavered. Her eyelids were heavy. She hadn’t yet recovered from the shock of being hit by a car and dying when a sharp voice exploded beside her ear.
“If you behave obediently now, I’ll let you eat a full meal. Otherwise, don’t blame me, your aunt, for being heartless!”
Lin Sisi’s awareness gradually returned. Before she could understand what was happening, she heard the little girl’s tearful voice again.
“You said you’d treat Sister properly, that’s why I went with you! But you never cared about her at all! I won’t believe you anymore!”
With those words, a flood of unfamiliar memories suddenly poured into Lin Sisi’s mind.
She had transmigrated.
The sharp-tongued, mean-looking woman before her was the original body’s second aunt. And right now, she was trying to sell her younger sister!
Lin Sisi let out a silent sigh.
Being an orphan in her previous life was bad enough. It seemed in this life she was also fated to have no parents.
Fortunately, this little sister truly cared about her.
Lin Sisi forced her eyes open and saw the small, frail figure standing in front of her, desperately shielding her.
From this moment on, she decided—she would be this girl’s real sister.
Second Aunt Li’s face turned red, then pale with anger. Her expression darkened. “Do you think you can escape today?”
Before her words even finished, she reached out to grab the girl.
But just as her hand was about to catch Lin Niannian, another hand suddenly shot out from behind the child and slapped her arm hard, leaving a bright red mark instantly.
Second Aunt Li glared furiously. “You little wretch! How dare you hit me? I’m your elder!”
“Sister, you’re awake?!” the younger girl cried in delight.
Lin Sisi slowly climbed up from the broken bed, looking so weak she seemed as though she might faint at any moment—completely unlike the person who had just delivered that fierce slap.
“You steal our grain and try to sell someone else’s daughter. An elder like you? I don’t dare acknowledge.”
“You unfilial girl! Selling one child can feed the whole family. Why shouldn’t we sell her?”
Lin Sisi pulled Lin Niannian behind her, grabbed a stick from beside the bed, weighed it casually in her hand, and let out a cold laugh.
“You have three sons and one daughter. Wouldn’t selling one of yours be even more worthwhile?”
Second Aunt Li hadn’t expected Lin Sisi to become so sharp-tongued after waking up. She was so angry she couldn’t speak.
She had wanted to drag Lin Niannian away by force, but when she met Lin Sisi’s icy, unfamiliar gaze, a flicker of fear rose in her heart.
“The villagers are about to flee the famine. Without food, let’s see how long you can stay so tough!”
Worried Lin Sisi might fight her to the bitter end, she could only leave unwillingly.
Once Second Aunt Li disappeared beyond the courtyard gate, Lin Sisi forced herself to shut the door and collapsed onto the ground.
This body had already been ill, and without proper food or water, it was extremely weak.
Driving off her aunt had already been her limit. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have let her leave so easily.
“Sister!” Lin Niannian rushed over in fright, carefully helping her up. She took out half a dark, coarse flatbread from her clothes.
“Sister must be starving. I still have half a bun—I secretly saved it earlier. Sister, you eat it.”
Lin Sisi’s stomach burned with hunger. She immediately stuffed the half piece of black flour bread into her mouth.
It was dry and hard, scraping painfully against the tender flesh inside her mouth. But hunger overpowered everything.
She forced down the lump stuck in her throat, swallowing it along with the blood it had drawn.
After finishing the half bread, Lin Sisi finally felt a bit of strength return.
According to her memories, this region had been suffering from drought for more than half a year. Whatever they planted withered. Grain prices in town rose day by day.
The village head of Little River Village had once been a famine refugee himself. Knowing that if this continued people would die, he decided to lead the villagers to flee.
Lin Sisi tapped lightly on the edge of the bed, thinking.
Her parents were missing, but she still had an older brother who could shield them from the storm.
Yet ever since her brother went to the neighboring county twenty days ago to purchase grain, there had been no news. Otherwise, their uncle’s family wouldn’t have dared bully them like this.
The village head had already told everyone to pack their belongings, though no departure date had been set. She still had time to look for news of her brother.
Just as she was thinking this, a commotion erupted outside the courtyard gate.
Her first reaction was that her uncle’s family had returned to cause trouble. She grabbed the stick and rushed out.
“Girl! Come quickly and look at your brother! He left in good condition—how did he end up like this?!”
Their neighbor Aunt Yang was frantic. “Hurry and drag him inside! I’ll go call Old Man Li!”
At the courtyard entrance lay a refined-looking young man, unconscious. Across his back was a deep knife wound, so deep bone could be seen. It had only been crudely bandaged.
“Brother!”
Lin Sisi gasped, dropping the stick. After thanking Aunt Yang, she dragged him inside.
What should she do?
Medical technology in ancient times was terribly backward. There weren’t even tetanus shots.
Such a large wound—already showing signs of inflammation. He was burning with fever. Could a doctor really cure him?
Just as panic rose in her heart, the scenery before her suddenly changed.
The broken thatched hut disappeared. In its place was a small spring.
Around the spring, only about one square foot was visible. Everything else was shrouded in thick white mist.
The water was exceptionally clear. Just approaching it made one feel refreshed.
Lin Sisi leaned down and took a small sip.
Her weak body immediately regained some strength.
So heaven hadn’t treated her too badly after all. The golden finger every transmigrated heroine needed—here it was.
She scooped up a handful of spring water, exited the space, and carefully fed it to her brother.
Seeing his labored breathing gradually calm, she finally relaxed.
She was just about to clean his wound when Lin Zheng opened his eyes at some unknown moment.
Shock and confusion flickered in them—then turned into intense urgency.
“Go find the village head quickly. The government is about to start forced conscription. We must leave immediately!”