Accompanied by the coldness and decay gradually spreading through her body, a foul stench that she loathed and detested rose to the tip of Hua Yun’s nose. A single tear escaped the corner of her eye; the figure she had pushed upward had long since vanished. Before her lay a deathly silence. As the final tear rolled down her twitching cheek, her stiffening hand struggled to press a hidden button on the hem of her clothes.
I would rather die than…
Boom—
The pain is killing me!
As her consciousness dissipated, Hua Yun sank into silence. After an unknown amount of time, her five senses slowly returned. Through heavy eyelids, she could perceive light, and a distant yet shrill screaming pierced her ears.
Am I not dead?
Another bout of agonizing pain struck. Hua Yun instinctively wanted to open her mouth; she even felt an itch in her gums, especially… her canines!
She shuddered. Did I really undergo a corpse transformation?
But… why do I still have consciousness? And… the constant, sharp pain coming from my forehead and limbs… Did I directly become a Zombie King? Please, no!
In a plain farmhouse courtyard, a group of men and women surrounded several people. Two adults, a man and a woman, were kneeling before an elderly couple. They bowed their heads and wept, their bodies trembling like yellow leaves in the autumn wind. Behind them, two boys and a girl crouched over a girl’s body in grief and indignation.
The girl lying there had disheveled hair and filthy clothes. Her eyes were tightly shut, making it impossible to see her face clearly. What was visible, however, was the wound on her forehead, the bloodstains on her body, and her gaunt, shriveled frame.
“Mother, Mother, Yun’er didn’t mean it. She was just starving, that’s why… It’s all our fault for being bad parents. Please, just forgive her this once.”
“That’s right, Mother, it’s my fault for not looking after Yun’er properly. She’s learned her lesson and won’t ever dare to do it again. Please, show some mercy and let her go. I beg you…”
After speaking, the woman kept kowtowing, each impact making a dull thud. Soon, blood began to seep from her already bruised forehead. It was all her own uselessness; if she had fed Yun’er enough, how could the girl have done such a thing? And how could she have been punished by her mother-in-law? Now, she didn’t know how the child was doing. If something happened… Mrs. Wan’s tears were as bitter as gall.
The old woman’s face remained cold. “Though the Hua family is of humble origins, we are people of rules. Which family has a child who eats and eats all day long, knowing nothing but an insatiable hunger? Not only did she snatch food, she even resorted to stealing! Is there no discipline left?”
Mrs. Wan’s husband, Hua Changnian, said in a grieving voice, “Yun’er is still young…”
From the side, a sharp female voice mocked, “Still young? She’s over ten years old…”
Another female voice took over: “She may be over ten, but isn’t her head a bit slow? We all understand that Sister-in-law is busy with several nieces and nephews and forgot to teach this one, but…”
Yet another female voice added: “If word of this family-shaming matter gets out… I’m afraid it might affect our youngest sister’s marriage prospects…”
Mrs. Li’s already frost-like face grew three shades colder. “Eldest, your mother hasn’t mistreated you all these years. Don’t forget, if it weren’t for your mother when you had that high fever as a child, would you even be alive today? I don’t expect you to be exceptionally good to me, but you can’t let a single piece of rat dung from your house ruin things for your younger siblings, can you?”
Kneeling on the ground, Hua Changnian looked up at his father. “Father, Yun’er is also a granddaughter of the Hua family. A child just needs more teaching. Father, Father, I can’t bear to let her go…”
Old Man Hua looked conflicted. He glanced sideways at Mrs. Li and saw she was unmoved. Then he looked at the motionless Hua Yun lying on the ground. He said hesitantly, “Eldest, with her looking like this, who can support her for a lifetime? It would be better to…”
Hua Changnian’s heart sank.
“I will!” Mrs. Wan, who usually didn’t dare to breathe a word, suddenly shouted. “I’ll support my daughter! No matter what she becomes, I’ll support her for a lifetime!”
“Well said!” Mrs. Li’s lips curled into an icy smile. “You said it yourself; the Hua family does not raise thieves.” She paused, her cold gaze sweeping over everyone in Hua Changnian’s branch. Without even looking at Old Man Hua, she asked Hua Changnian directly.
“Eldest, since Hua Yun dared to steal from her elders, the Hua family cannot keep her. If you obediently kick her out, we’ll act as if nothing happened. If you’re unwilling, I won’t force you, but there must be a punishment for doing wrong. Don’t you agree?”
Weeping, Mrs. Wan pulled at Hua Changnian’s sleeve.
Hua Changnian looked to Old Man Hua for help, but Old Man Hua turned his face away.
The light in Hua Changnian’s eyes instantly dimmed. He looked back at his children. Hua Yun’s life or death was uncertain, and the other three children were looking at him tensely, their hands tightly gripping Hua Yun’s tattered clothes. Hua Changnian felt even more heartbroken. His wife’s lips trembled with fear, and tears fell incessantly.
“Father, Mother, no matter what happens to Yun’er, she is my child. I cannot abandon her.”
To kick out a child who was mentally lacking and unable to care for herself—would he even be human?
Mrs. Li sneered. “The Hua family isn’t heartless. If you want to keep her, your father and I won’t say anything; she is your child, after all. But her theft cannot go unpunished. How about this: since she always cries about never having enough to eat, it must be that I, as her grandmother, have mistreated you all. From now on, the eldest branch will find your own way to provide for your daily meals. The main house will no longer interfere. Don’t come begging if you eat poorly, and your parents won’t expect a share if you eat well.”
As soon as Mrs. Li said this, the other three daughters-in-law understood their mother-in-law’s plan. This meant that the eldest branch would have to scramble for their own food and drink and could forget about using the family’s communal resources, yet they would still have to do the work required of them. They couldn’t help but exchange triumphant smiles; saving the food and drink for the six people of the eldest branch would be quite a gain.
Hua Changnian and Mrs. Wan felt a profound sorrow. Arranging their own food and drink sounded easy, but for all these years, everything they earned had been handed over to the communal pot. Where would they get money or grain?
Hua Yu was crouched over her sister. Though she was small, she had a big temper. Hearing Mrs. Li’s words, her body shook with rage. Her high-pitched, childish voice suddenly erupted, piercing the ears of everyone present.
“You’re giving us nothing? When Mother embroidered handkerchiefs during the New Year and earned fifty wen, didn’t she give it all to Grandmother? Didn’t Father give all his wages from odd jobs to Grandmother? The rabbits my brother trapped were even taken by Second Uncle and the others to go with their wine! If we have to find our own food and drink, isn’t that just trying to starve us to death? Ptu!”
It was unknown who Hua Yu took after, but she was nothing like her mild-mannered, honest, and slow-tongued parents. Taking advantage of her young age, she dared to say anything, and her speech was fast, like a little firecracker.
Although the eldest brother Hua Lei and the youngest brother Hua Bing didn’t speak, their faces were full of fury, silently condemning the elders.
The three of them didn’t look at Mrs. Li, only glaring at Old Man Hua.
Old Man Hua felt inexplicably guilty and cleared his throat.
“Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law certainly have a ‘fine’ way of raising children. When our mother speaks, a little brat like Hua Yu actually dares to jump out and talk back. Look at Hua Lei and Hua Bing; they look like they want to eat people! No wonder a fool like Hua Yun could do something so rebellious; looking at these children of the eldest branch, it’s not surprising. They clearly have no respect for their parents.”
Mrs. Li’s face grew darker and darker. Mrs. Zhang, who had spoken, smiled triumphantly.
Eat people? On the ground, those two words felt inexplicably attractive to Hua Yun. Her gums itched intensely, as if her teeth were scrambling to burst out.
“I wouldn’t dare try to teach such ‘capable’ children,” Mrs. Li said coldly. “From now on, the money you earn from private work doesn’t need to be handed over; keep it for yourselves. But you must finish all the household chores first.”
Mrs. Li calculated as she spoke. Based on previous years, finishing all the household chores left no free time. Mrs. Wan could only embroider handkerchiefs during the winter lull, and that didn’t sell for much. Hua Changnian could only find odd jobs a few times a year, which earned even less. The communal pot wouldn’t lose out.
Mrs. Li only thought about not losing out herself, but she gave no thought to how Hua Changnian’s family would survive.
“Father, Mother, how are we supposed to live? We have no way to earn money…”
Hua Changguang snorted. “Can’t Hua Lei trap rabbits? If he catches one a day, you’ll be living much better than the rest of us.”
Hua Lei was so angry he wanted to pounce. One a day? He had only caught three in the entire last year! And they were all taken by them to have with their wine; the eldest branch hadn’t even gotten a rabbit hair.
Hua Yu held him back and whispered, “Big Brother, can’t you see? They want to drive us to our deaths. Do you think we can get anything out of them?”
Hua Lei’s chest heaved. “Regardless of whether we get anything, we have to protect Sister.”
Little Hua Bing nodded repeatedly. “Sister, want Sister.”
No matter how Hua Changnian and Mrs. Wan pleaded, Mrs. Li refused to budge. As for Old Man Hua, who was so easily swayed, what could they expect from him?
By the time Hua Yun finally suppressed the surging itch in her gums, she had already been carried back to a dilapidated room.
“Father, Mother, don’t worry. How can people be starved to death? I’ll go dig for wild vegetables right now.”
Mrs. Wan’s lips twitched as her rough hand brushed over Hua Yu’s small face. “Boil some water first and wipe your sister’s face.”
Hua Yun just kept her eyes closed and listened, feeling completely bewildered. Where on earth am I? I didn’t fall to my death? But what’s with all this ‘Sister’ and ‘Mother’ business?