After decades of turmoil, this land was finally unified.
The new ruler planned to name the nation “Great Xia.”
Nine fangli formed one township, and each township contained five li, with one village head assigned to every li.
Dashi Village belonged to Yongping Township and was a newly established village after the war.
The villagers were all refugees who had fled there, carrying different surnames and speaking with different accents.
The first decree issued by the new ruler was: give the people a chance to recover. Widowers, widows, orphans, and solitary people were allowed to freely form households and reproduce.
“Xie Lang formally proposes, the Zhou family formally consents. Joined as husband and wife, sharing the ancestral shrine and dining together… the ceremony is complete, escort them to the bridal chamber…”
When Zhou Xing woke up, she found herself at a wedding ceremony.
Men dressed in red and women dressed in green were bowing in marriage.
She could not quite process what was happening.
But when she thought about the miserable events of her previous life, she simply closed her eyes and silently thanked heaven for giving her another chance at life.
Zhou Xing inherited the original owner’s few remaining memories, though there was not much to remember.
Endless suffering. The hardships of fleeing during the chaos. All she remembered was thirst and hunger.
She only remembered being unable to endure the starvation anymore and following the stream of refugees to this place. Later, for some unknown reason, several men gathered around her, choosing and discussing among themselves, though she could not understand what they were saying.
The original owner’s thoughts were simple. Whoever could provide her with food was enough.
Unfortunately, this frail body still could not survive. On a cold spring night, Zhou Xing transmigrated into it.
The original owner’s surname was also Zhou, named Zhou Axing.
Zhou Xing thought perhaps there was some sort of connection between them.
While she was lost in thought, the broken wooden door creaked open.
Through the gap beneath the worn red bridal veil, she saw a pair of old but clean cloth shoes.
The edges of the shoes were frayed, though carefully washed.
Looking at the feet, Zhou Xing guessed the owner probably had a well-proportioned build.
“A… Xing, from today onward, I am your husband.” The man sat beside her on the bed and spoke calmly.
His voice was steady and without emotion.
The wooden bed creaked. Zhou Xing remained silent and listened for what he would say next.
His voice was not unpleasant, and he did not sound very old.
As Zhou Xing waited, a large hand suddenly lifted the bridal veil.
Under the dim light, she finally saw his face clearly.
A young face that was overly pale, yet with well-defined features.
“My name is Xie Yuan. I fled here from the northern lands. These are my two nephews, Xiao Zong and Xiao Yao.” Xie Yuan pointed toward the doorway.
Only then did Zhou Xing follow his gesture.
Two tiny figures stood by the door, about four or five years old, forcing smiles as they looked at her.
“Auntie… Auntie…”
“Yes,” Zhou Xing responded.
The two children looked pitiful indeed—large heads on thin bodies, with sparse yellow hair like dry weeds in the fields, though their smiles were bright.
The introductions ended.
On their wedding night, nothing happened.
Xie Yuan solemnly explained that he first needed to stabilize his life and could not afford another person who only ate without working.
Zhou Xing let out a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly.
From then on, she cooked, washed clothes, and began her days as an unpaid caretaker.
But although she knew the Xie family was poor, she never expected them to be this poor!
Altogether, they only had three mud-brick rooms, built little by little by Xie Yuan and his brothers like swallows carrying mud.
One central hall and two side rooms. The east and west wings had not even been built yet.
Naturally, there was no courtyard either.
The only grain in the household had already been handed over to her for management.
When he gave it to her, Xie Yuan was very serious.
“This is enough rations for two months. Use it sparingly, or we will not last until the summer harvest.”
Out of so many girls, Xie Yuan had chosen her because of her rough hands and steady yet gentle eyes. She looked like someone who knew how to manage a household. Perhaps, more than that, it was simply a strange impulse—he felt she would not cause trouble.
One sack of dark coarse rice and half a sack of millet.
After weighing them in her hands, Zhou Xing estimated there were only about fifty jin of rice.
The millet was only around thirty jin.
Even the cleverest housewife could not cook without enough grain.
“Auntie, there are wild vegetables in the mountains and little fish in the creek. My younger brother and I can catch some,” Xiao Zong hurriedly said.
Their parents were gone. Their uncle was not their father. Now that they had gained an aunt, they needed to work harder so they would not become disliked.
The child’s eyes sparkled cautiously.
At a glance, Zhou Xing realized she must have frightened him.
Children who had lost their parents were naturally sensitive.
She had overlooked that.
Do not ask her how she knew. She simply understood from experience.
“Really? Then Xiao Zong can take Auntie there. The creek is dangerous, so you two must not go alone,” Zhou Xing quickly said.
After all, they were children of the Xie family. She felt like a kindergarten teacher and could not allow any accidents to happen.
At least she had that much awareness.
Xiao Zong smiled brightly. “Okay, we’ll take Auntie there.”
Xiao Yao was too shy to step forward and was more timid than his older brother.
Zhou Xing’s stomach growled with hunger. “By the way, where is your uncle?”
“He went to Uncle Tieniu’s house. The two of them went into the mountains and said they would return this afternoon,” Xiao Zong answered quickly. After thinking for a moment, he added, “Uncle is a scholar. His handwriting is very good, and he can earn money by copying books.”
This aunt seemed nice, so he wanted to improve his uncle’s image in her eyes.
Zhou Xing nodded. “I understand. You two go wash up first while I make breakfast.”
“Okay.” The two Xie children nodded blankly.
Although they did not know what “wash up” meant, it probably meant washing their faces.
The creek water was still too cold, and they did not want to wash.
Zhou Xing did not care what they thought because she was truly starving.
Yesterday had been their wedding day, yet there had barely been anything to eat. Just a hard bean cake tough enough to chip teeth and a bowl of porridge.
After thinking for a moment, she scooped half a ladle of coarse rice into a clay pot and added water to boil it.
Still not enough.
She grabbed a handful of half-dried wild vegetables hanging beneath the roof, chopped them up, and threw them into the pot. Finally, she sprinkled in a little salt before serving it.
A thin, watery porridge made from wild vegetables and coarse rice.
It scratched the throat and carried a faint bitter taste of grass and plants. In short… it was difficult to describe.
She wanted to apologize and explain that the ingredients were limited, but when she looked up, she saw the two children eating with complete enjoyment.
Their heads were nearly buried in their bowls.
“Auntie, this is delicious!” Xiao Zong exclaimed.
“This is the tastiest thing ever! I haven’t eaten flavorful food in so long!” Xiao Yao said happily.
Zhou Xing also felt happy. She had not expected children here to be so easily satisfied.
“As long as you like it. If we can find wild vegetables in the mountains, Auntie can make cold vegetable dishes for you. They taste wonderful,” Zhou Xing said with a smile.
“I’ll wash the bowls!” Xiao Zong gulped down the porridge, carefully slurped around the edge of the bowl, and even licked the bottom clean to make sure not a single bit was wasted.
Xiao Yao did the same.
After eating, the two children carried the bowls and chopsticks to the water jar and washed them clean.
What considerate children.
Zhou Xing secretly felt delighted.
In the past, she had never liked children much. She and her husband had agreed to remain child-free.
But later, her husband changed his mind and suddenly wanted a child.
By then, she was already successful in her career and powerless to comply. Soon after, the mistress and her child openly intruded into her life.
Reasonable, yet unexpected.
She truly never imagined she could have been so blind…