With Chen Lihong’s help, she got washed up and drank a large bowl of brown sugar water.
Daya took Er’ya outside, and Chen Lihong brought over a nursing woman from the village to feed Sanya, who finally drifted off to sleep. Only then did Chen Lihyun piece together what was actually happening.
It seemed she had run into something supernatural.
Qi Hong was dead, and her eldest cousin along with many from the Chen family had been unable to escape execution. Having avenged Abao, she had felt there was nothing left to live for. Yet downing that cup of poisoned wine had not killed her. Instead, she had woken up as Chen Lihyun, a woman with three daughters.
This other Chen Lihyun shared her name, but lived in a completely unfamiliar era.
Having absorbed all of her predecessor’s memories, she knew this place was the countryside. While wealth still divided people, there were no princes, generals, ministers, noble estates, or pampered young mistresses like in the Great Qi Dynasty. Most people here were peasants who worked the land for a living.
This era was far less harsh on women than the Great Qi Dynasty had been. As her sister Chen Lihong had put it, women held up half the sky. Whether rich or poor, women could leave the house to get an education and earn a living, and those with enough skill could even run businesses in town.
Their clothing was drastically different as well. Unlike women in the Great Qi Dynasty who had to keep themselves bundled up tightly all year round, women here wore short sleeves that bared their arms, as well as skirts that showed their calves and entire feet. It was completely normal.
As for the younger generation, every child in the village went to school as long as their family could afford it, boys and girls alike.
They went through elementary school, middle school, and high school. The smart ones could even get into college, and a college degree promised a good job with good pay.
In this era, Chen Liyun’s older sister, Chen Lihong, had eight-year-old fraternal twins, a son and a daughter, who were currently in the first grade. Chen Liyun’s own eldest daughter, Daya, was already seven and should have started school the following year.
The only problem was that Chen Liyun had given birth to three daughters in a row, and her husband, Qi Hongwei, had abandoned her without leaving a single cent.
Qi Hongwei…
Chen Liyun repeated the name silently, instantly thinking of Qi Hong.
Their names were so similar. Could they be the same person?
“Xiao Yun, get some rest. I’ll go make dinner,” Chen Lihong said, finally finding a free moment after being busy for most of the day. “Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
“No.”
She had no appetite at all.
Chen Liyun shook her head, her thoughts still lingering on Qi Hong. Could he have also…
“Xiao Yun!” Chen Lihong raised her voice slightly, gripping Chen Liyun’s hand tightly. “You barely survived this. Promise me you won’t do anything foolish ever again!”
It was the same face, though subtle details differed. Seeing genuine concern in those familiar features stirred something deep within Chen Liyun. In her past life during the Great Qi Dynasty, she had known only coldness and cruelty from the age of fourteen. Not a single member of her family had truly cared for her. Yet now, unexpectedly, she had an older sister who treated her with genuine kindness.
Perhaps it was the familiar face that softened her defenses. Chen Liyun managed a faint smile and said, “Don’t worry, Jie. I won’t.”
If for no other reason, she would live for Sanya, who had just fallen asleep in her arms. The girl was so young, just like her Abao, and looked equally frail and sickly. She could never bear to abandon such a small child.
Chen Lihong looked closely at her sister, relaxing only when she saw no sign of pretense. She glanced uneasily toward the door, then leaned in close, keeping her voice low.
“Xiao Yun, you need to think carefully about the future. My advice is to focus on getting well, then divorce Qi Hongwei. At most, take Sanya with you. Daya and Er’ya are older, so leave them to Qi Hongwei. Even if he works away from home and ignores them, his parents are still around. Their own grandparents won’t let them starve. But if you try to take all three girls, finding someone else to marry will be almost impossible. Even if you did manage to find a man willing to take in three daughters, he probably wouldn’t be much of a catch.”
Chen Lihong had always considered herself pretty, and since Chen Liyun looked just like her, she was naturally attractive too. Chen Lihong had married a capable man from a well-off family, and she saw no reason her sister could not do the same. Even as a divorced woman, Chen Liyun deserved a good match.
Remarry?
The mere thought made Chen Liyun sick to her stomach. Part of the disgust came from her feelings toward Qi Hong, while the rest stemmed from the original Chen Liyun drowning herself in the river, combined with the hazy memories of Qi Hongwei’s face.
Frowning, she said, “Let’s talk about it later, sister. Not right now.”
Chen Lihong considered this and nodded. She was right. Having just walked back from the brink of death, Chen Liyun needed to focus on recovering her strength.
Leaving Chen Liyun to rest, Chen Lihong hurried out to check on Daya, who was already in the kitchen making dinner with her younger sister. She lifted the pot lid to find water boiling and steamed buns reheating.
“Daya, don’t make porridge once the water boils. I’m going home to get a chicken, and I’ll butcher it for you in a bit.”
Still holding a bit of a grudge, Daya gave a muted hum of acknowledgment without saying anything more.
Chen Lihong did not hold it against the child. With a sigh, she walked briskly back to her own home. She had married into the neighboring village, but even so, a brisk round-trip walk between their houses took only half an hour.
When she arrived, her husband, Fang Dahai, was not home. Her daughter, Fang Jing, was at the stove preparing dinner, while her son, Fang Lei, was nowhere to be found, likely running around the village after school.
In the countryside, boys were rarely expected to help in the kitchen, so she paid it no mind.
Working quickly, she stir-fried a large bowl of green beans for Fang Dahai’s dinner.
She told Fang Jing to finish the porridge, find Fang Lei, and bring him over to their fourth aunt’s house in Qijia Village. Then, grabbing a live chicken, Chen Lihong hurried out the door.
Meanwhile, Chen Liyun lay in bed, unable to sleep. She turned over their current situation in her mind once more.
Glancing at Sanya, who was sound asleep, she braced herself and got out of bed.
Whether in the Great Qi Dynasty or this era, the old wisdom dictated that a woman rest properly during her postpartum month. Yet from the original host’s memories, she knew this woman had to cook all three meals herself just a day after giving birth.
There was no other choice. Her husband was away, her mother-in-law refused to help, and her own mother had passed away. Even though her eldest daughter could pitch in, the girl was only seven, and Chen Liyun could not bear to dump every chore on a child.
Lying there, perhaps driven by the lingering feelings of the original host, Chen Liyun grew worried about Daya and Er’ya. She steadied herself and made her way toward the kitchen.
“Mom!” Er’ya spotted her first. Rushing out of the kitchen, she threw her arms around Chen Liyun’s legs. “Mom!” The little girl looked up, gazing at her with wide, longing eyes.
Though five years old, she grew up in the countryside under harsh conditions. Her short hair was wispy and yellowed, her cheeks sunken and thin, giving her a pitiable look.
The impact made Chen Liyun stumble, and she quickly grabbed the kitchen doorframe to steady herself.
Looking down at this body’s second daughter, she saw a patched, short-sleeved jacket that had faded to a dingy yellow from too many washes. She couldn’t help but stroke the little girl’s head. When the child rubbed affectionately against her palm, a sudden wave of tenderness made Chen Liyun’s eyes sting.
“I’m here,” she answered softly.
By then, Daya had stood up from by the stove. Just as gaunt and sallow, she was barely taller than the stovetop. Her small face tightened with disapproval as she looked at Chen Liyun. “Mom, why are you out of bed? You’re still weak. Go back and lie down. Third Aunt will be here soon.”
Chen Liyun turned her gaze to her. “What are you doing?”
“Cooking dinner,” Daya replied. “Third Aunt told me not to make porridge, just to boil the water and leave it. She went home to grab a chicken and said she’d butcher it for us soon!”
She was still just a child, and the thought of eating meat brought a spark of eager anticipation to her face.
Chen Liyun felt a pang in her heart. Did a child so young really have to cook?
In fact, back in the Great Qi Dynasty, Chen Liyun had seen young girls working. Growing up, she had two maidservants attending to her, one two years older and one a year younger. But she had never thought much of it back then. Looking at Daya now, realizing this was her own daughter, so sweet and sensible that she was already trying to cook for her mother, Chen Liyun felt a surge of heartache mixed with deep tenderness.
Whether these emotions belonged to her or to the body’s original owner, she could not tell, nor could she calm down enough to ponder it. She simply stepped into the kitchen and pulled Daya toward her.
“Mom?” Daya asked, confused.
Chen Liyun sat down by the stove. “Take your sister out to play. Mom will… Mom will tend the fire.”
Before Daya could answer, Chen Lihong barged into the kitchen, her face grim.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she scolded instantly. “Xiao Yun, you really have a death wish! What kind of state do you think you’re in? You jumped into a river right after giving birth, and now you won’t even rest properly. Are you trying to ruin your health for the rest of your life? Hurry up, go back to bed for the children’s sake! Daya, Er’ya, help your mother to her room!”
Before Chen Liyun could object, Chen Lihong gripped the chicken in one hand and hauled her to her feet with the other. Daya and Er’ya quickly hurried over, taking hold of her from both sides.
Across two lifetimes, this was the very first time Chen Liyun had felt genuine care and concern from family. She gazed at Chen Lihong for a long moment before finally nodding. Still, looking at the live chicken clutched in Chen Lihong’s hand, she felt uneasy. “Sister, this chicken…”
Even if Chen Lihong’s family was somewhat better off, hardly any household in this era could bear to slaughter a chicken for food outside of New Year celebrations. Back in the Great Qi Dynasty, a single chicken brought on a visit home would have been trivial, but here and now, Chen Liyun knew full well what an enormous expense it was.
Chen Lihong, however, brushed it off completely. “Just eat in peace. When your days get better later on, you can pay me back. We’re sisters, flesh and blood. You have a whole lifetime to return the favor.”
Working briskly, Chen Lihong soon had a pot of chicken braised with glass noodles and a pot of chicken broth simmering on the stove. By the time the food was ready, her son Fang Lei and daughter Fang Jing had arrived as well.
With freshly made cornmeal porridge, large white flour steamed buns, and a heaping portion of noodles cooked with the chicken, it was a feast the children rarely saw twice a year. Chen Lihong settled for a few scrap cuts herself, taking a bowl of meat and a large bowl of rich broth over to Chen Liyun to help her recover her strength.
Drinking the big bowl of chicken soup brought a comforting warmth spreading through Chen Liyun’s body. Outside in the main room, Chen Lihong was bustling about, calling the children over to eat.
A gentle smile crept onto Chen Liyun’s lips before she even realized it. Was the little girl sleeping so quietly beside her really her Abao? The heavens must have taken pity on her, returning Abao to her arms and blessing her with Daya and Er’ya as well. She had gone from a grieving, childless mother to having three daughters of her own. In an instant, every trace of resentment and anger in her heart vanished, replaced by an overwhelming sense of happiness.
Her smile broadened as she watched Chen Lihong scold Fang Lei, sternly warning him not to snatch the chicken from his little sisters. Crossing into an entirely different era after dying had gifted her with the dearest family she could ever ask for.
This sister was better to her than all the relatives from her past life combined.