Hua Changnian, the eldest son of the Hua family, was married to Mrs. Wan and had four children: the eldest son Hua Lei, the second daughter Hua Yun, the third daughter Hua Yu, and the fourth son Hua Bing. Below Hua Changnian were four younger brothers—Hua Changguang, Hua Changzong, Hua Changyao, and Hua Changzu—and one younger sister, Hua Changfang. All four brothers were married with children of their own, while only Hua Changfang remained unmarried, with marriage arrangements currently being discussed.
Hua Yun thought to herself, was this a coincidence? They actually shared the same name. She turned the analyzed information over and over in her mind, afraid she might forget it. But even if she forgot, it wouldn’t matter—Hua Yu, that little girl, had already started recounting everything from the beginning again.
It was unclear what method Hua Changnian and Mrs. Wan had devised, but although the eldest branch no longer went to the main house for meals, they at least didn’t starve. However, every meal consisted of watery porridge so thin you could see your reflection and various boiled wild vegetables without salt, leaving Hua Yun looking pale and malnourished. Although in the Post-apocalyptic Era, green vegetables were rare, even rarer than meat, Hua Yun, with her half-Zombie nature, could hear her soul screaming every day: Meat! Meat! Meat!
Sitting on a broken little stool, Hua Yun gazed at the sky, thinking herself melancholic while others saw her as foolish. Meat, meat, where was the meat? She curled her lips—at least it was meat and not blood.
Hua Lei quietly walked over and asked gently, “Big sister, what are you thinking about?”
Hua Yun turned her face toward him: “Hungry…”
Hua Lei forced an ugly smile, blaming himself as the eldest brother for letting his own sister go hungry. He looked up at the sky—it was still a long way until lunchtime. Talking to his sister might help distract her: “Big sister, say ‘brother,’ brother, brother, brother…”
When Hua Yun had first spoken the word “mother,” the eldest branch had been overjoyed for days. Even Mrs. Wan, despite reporting to her in-laws only to be scolded by Mrs. Li, remained happy on her own. She didn’t even get angry when her four younger siblings pushed all the household chores onto her—though, of course, she had long grown accustomed to it over the years.
However, Hua Yun hadn’t spoken any other words since then. Hua Changnian had called out “father” to her morning and night, but she hadn’t bothered to learn to say it.
Aside from not wanting to waste energy due to hunger and feeling too embarrassed as a grown woman to speak, there was also a layer of disdain.
She had mostly figured out the situation of the eldest branch. As the captain of the First Hunting Brigade in the Post-apocalyptic Era, she had gained some reputation in an era where only the strong survived. Every person under her command was tough, resilient, and capable of taking on ten or even a hundred opponents. Moreover, for the survival and reproduction of humanity, the Human Alliance prioritized the protection of children above all else, ensuring their care even in the most difficult circumstances. So, looking at Hua Changnian, the head of this family, and seeing the pale, malnourished faces of the children, Hua Yun lost all interest in dealing with him.
Despite this, Hua Changnian remained undiscouraged, calling out “father” to her punctually every morning and night.
Hua Yun didn’t think much more highly of Hua Lei, the other man in the family, but considering he was still a minor and seemed more responsible than his father, she gave him a bit more face. Hearing him ask her to call him “brother,” Hua Yun moved her lips.
“Meat…”
Hua Yun was taken aback—how had “brother” turned into “meat”?
Hua Lei struggled to curl his lips into a smile, which looked more like crying than laughing.
Hua Yun couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt. From Hua Yu, the little girl, she had learned that even during the New Year, the children of the eldest branch might not get a single bite of meat.
Hua Lei stroked Hua Yun’s dry, tangled hair, once, twice, and then again, before gritting his teeth and stomping his foot: “I’ll take you to trap rabbits. Since Grandmother said our branch can cook for ourselves, I don’t believe they’d dare to steal from us.”
Hearing about rabbits, Hua Yun instantly thought of the rabbits from her world—ones that were a full size larger than humans. Though not particularly strong in combat, her former self could have wiped out entire swathes of them with a mere wave of her hand. Their meat wasn’t tasty, but it was edible!
“Let’s go.” Hua Lei ran to the chicken coop to tell Mrs. Wan, then dashed back, grabbed the hemp rope hanging on the wall, and led Hua Yun out through the back door.
The Hua family had quite a few rooms. The main house consisted of five spacious, bright tile-roofed rooms. The central room served as both a reception area and dining space. One end housed Old Man Hua, his wife, and Hua Changfang, while the other end’s two rooms were given to the fifth son, Hua Changzu, and his wife. On each side were six wing rooms: the east wing housed the families of the second son, Hua Changguang, and the third son, Hua Changzong, with three rooms each. The west wing held three rooms for the fourth son, Hua Changyao. The remaining three rooms were used as a kitchen and storage.
The eldest son, Hua Changnian, however, lived with his family crammed into three low, narrow rooms against the back wall of the rear courtyard. Typically, such a spot would be used for storage, given that the front faced vegetable plots, the sides held chicken coops and pigsties, and the outhouse was nearby. When the weather turned hot, who could stand the smell?
Yet Hua Changnian, as the eldest son, had been persuaded by Mrs. Li with arguments like the family was too crowded, his younger brothers had many children, and as the eldest he should bear more responsibility. So he moved his wife and children here. Even so, only two of the three rooms were lived in; the third truly stored farm tools, sacks, and other miscellaneous items.
Hua Yun sighed inwardly. She saw clearly that since she woke up, the eldest branch of the family hardly went to the front except to cook, spending most of their time in the rear courtyard. The family’s tasks could be summed up as: serving people, serving chickens, serving pigs, and serving the land. Take Mrs. Wan, for example: after making breakfast at the front, she returned to the back to handle the eldest branch’s meals, then fed the chickens and pigs, cleaned the coops, and weeded and fertilized the vegetable plots. Earlier, she had been sweeping the chicken coop, instructed Hua Lei to take good care of Hua Yun, and then bowed her head again.
Hua Yun glanced at the earthen manure pile against the wall outside the back door. Hua Yu said it was compost—a mix of human waste, pig manure, chicken droppings, and soil. No doubt, this was also the eldest branch’s responsibility. Hua Yun wondered if this small back door had been installed just for this manure pile.
With warm weather, the eldest branch’s “prime location” ensured a persistent odor both inside and outside the rooms. But no one complained; the family was used to it. As for Hua Yun, she didn’t mind either—could any stench be worse than the rotting smell of Zombies?
Right now, she only cared about one thing: how to get meat. She had a feeling that if she didn’t eat meat soon, she would shut down completely.
Behind the Hua house, there were no other homes—just a vast stretch of wild land where all sorts of wild vegetables competed to grow, a sea of green wilderness. Hua Yu was leading Hua Bing in digging up wild vegetables, muttering, “Dig more, Sis isn’t getting enough to eat,” when she looked up: “Brother, Sis, where are you going?”
Hua Lei raised the rope in his hand: “Going to the mountain to set traps for rabbits.”
Hua Yu’s eyes lit up: “We’ll come too.”
“What are you going for? Stay here and dig the vegetables properly, or what will we eat today?”
Hua Bing’s eyes darted around: “There are more wild vegetables over by the mountain, and wild fruits too.”
Hua Yu pouted: “Anyway, there’s not much to do at home. Dad’s out doing odd jobs, Mom’s cooking—we can’t help much. Coming along will keep us from arguing with Hua Xiang’er.” After saying this, she called toward the courtyard, and Mrs. Wan’s instructions echoed back. Hua Yu and Hua Bing followed along.
Hua Yun knew of Hua Xiang'er, the daughter of the second branch, who was younger than her. According to Hua Yu, she was a scheming little troublemaker, and Hua Yu strongly suspected that Hua Yun's recent beating was brought about by her. Although Hua Yun had never met Hua Xiang'er, she couldn't avoid hearing about her every day, as Hua Yu would return from the front courtyard after making a huge scene, proudly boasting about how she had left Hua Xiang'er speechless.
In truth, Hua Yun found it strange. As the saying goes, you reap what you sow. Hua Changnian and Mrs. Wan were clearly timid and weak-willed, the kind of people who would let others walk all over them and still worry about them stumbling. So how did they manage to raise children with such strong personalities? Hua Yu was like a firecracker, exploding at anyone she encountered. Hua Lei, though not as hot-tempered, was not one to back down either. And little Hua Bing, though only six years old, had a fierce glint in his eyes. Judging by their temperaments alone, they hardly seemed like the offspring of such a meek couple.
Soon, Hua Yun discovered the reason. They were cornered by a group of bratty kids.
Hua Yun was quite tolerant of children, provided they weren't shouting, laughing, and calling her names like "idiot," "fool," or "stupid pig."
Though Hua Yun was angry, she didn't plan to do anything about it. After all, they were just kids—what harm could they do besides mouthing off? But she was mistaken. These brats didn't just talk; they also took action.
One, two, three small stones came flying at her. Hua Yun frowned and dodged them.
A snot-nosed black-haired boy in the lead pointed a finger right at her nose. "Stupid pig, idiot, how dare you dodge?"
Hua Yun's eyes sharpened. She had seen clearly that one of the stones had been aimed at her head, and it was this very boy who had thrown it.
"You're asking for it!" Hua Yu shrieked, clutching a small stone she had somehow gotten hold of, and hurled it at the black-haired boy.
Hua Lei followed closely behind, throwing stone after stone at the other side.
Hua Bing, being small and lacking arm strength, scooped small stones from his pockets and supplied them to his older siblings as ammunition.
Hua Yun began to suspect that this kind of thing must happen often. Otherwise, why would the three of them carry small stones with them, clearly prepared to retaliate at any moment? The thought moved her. Although the previous Hua Yun had been mentally impaired, she had been fortunate to have three wonderful siblings who protected her like a treasure. And there was also what she had overheard—how the three of them had stood up to the pressure from the main household to fiercely defend her.
Perhaps this was why their personalities weren't as weak as their parents'. Because they had to step up at any moment to protect Hua Yun—how could they do that without being sharp and strong?