Transmigration
In the height of summer, golden waves of wheat swayed gently in the breeze, creating a vast and magnificent scene.
Most of the people in Willow Leaf Village were busy working in the fields, leaving the village itself unusually quiet. In an unassuming mud house at the edge of the village, Zhang Shi was in the backyard feeding the chickens. However, his attention was far from the chicken coop, his face clouded with worry, and he sighed heavily from time to time.
After emptying the last of the husks from the winnowing basket into the trough, Zhang Shi gripped the fence tightly, his fingers clenching as if he had finally made a difficult decision.
Just then, a loud voice called from outside the gate, “Zhang Shi, it’s me! There’s news about the matter you asked me to look into!”
Zhang Shi’s eyes lit up. He set down the basket and hurried to the front yard.
At the entrance stood a plump middle-aged man wearing a reddish-brown short jacket, with a bright red mole on his forehead.
Seeing Zhang Shi come out, Uncle Qi beamed and strode in from the gate.
“Uncle Qi, is there really someone willing to marry my son Yang Lan?” Zhang Shi clutched Uncle Qi’s wrist tightly, as if holding onto his last hope.
His grip was strong, but Uncle Qi understood his anxiety and didn’t mind. He patted Zhang Shi’s hand reassuringly, “Don’t worry, there’s an eligible Ge’er in the neighboring village whose family has agreed. This is Lan Xiaozi’s fate! Maybe getting married will bring him good fortune and improve his health!”
Zhang Shi was pleased to hear this, and the worry on his face eased a little.
His son had fallen into the river at the village entrance five days ago. They had called doctors from the village and the town, tried various medicines, but he still hadn’t woken up.
Yesterday, Doctor Li came by, didn’t prescribe any medicine, and sighed heavily, advising Zhang Shi to prepare for the worst.
It felt like a bolt from the blue for Zhang Shi. With no other options, Uncle Qi suggested marrying off Lan Xiaozi to dispel the bad luck, hoping it might turn things around.
In the past, Zhang Shi would never have believed in such things, but now, with no other choice, he had to grit his teeth and agree.
Uncle Qi was a well-known matchmaker in the area, and surprisingly, he brought good news the very next day.
However, Zhang Shi’s joy was short-lived as he calmed down. His son’s life was still uncertain, and he wondered why any good family would want to marry their child into such a situation.
So he tentatively asked, “Which family’s Ge’er is it?”
Upon hearing this, Uncle Qi sighed deeply, “It’s Lin Qiao from the Lin family in the neighboring Shangguan Village. The child is good, diligent, and sensible. He has three older brothers who are all of marriageable age, and the Lin family isn’t wealthy, so they…”
Zhang Shi understood the unspoken words.
Marrying off a Ge’er to get a dowry for a son’s marriage was common practice here, and it wasn’t up to them to question its rightness. Zhang Shi was thinking about something else. They had spent a lot on Yang Lan’s treatment recently, and their savings were running low…
“How much are they asking?”
Uncle Qi glanced at Zhang Shi’s expression cautiously and said with some embarrassment, “Two taels.”
Zhang Shi’s expression didn’t change much. Ge’ers weren’t as favored as daughters, and around here, a family marrying a Ge’er would at most give one tael of silver as a dowry.
Two taels of silver was already a year’s worth of living expenses for a large family.
“It’s a bit much, but I’ve already checked Qiao Ge’er’s birth chart. It’s a perfect match for Lan Xiaozi, truly destined…” Uncle Qi added.
Thinking of his son, who was wasting away on the sickbed, Zhang Shi gritted his teeth, “Alright, let’s do it.”
Yang Lan had been a renowned top lawyer in the capital city, a graduate from a prestigious university with excellent grades. After graduation, he interned at a top law firm in the city and stayed on after a year.
Ten years had passed, and he had handled over a hundred cases, from major corporate secrets to ordinary civil disputes, all completed brilliantly.
But he never expected that his success would also lead to his downfall.
This time, he had helped a rising enterprise protect its trade secrets, and after winning the case, he naturally offended some powerful figures on the other side. Before he could even enjoy the hefty fee, he was hit by an out-of-control truck on his way home from court.
Even in the face of death, Yang Lan remained calm. He had no close family, only regretting the newly acquired villa in the capital that he hadn’t had the chance to enjoy.
However, the expected pain never came.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying in a simple wooden house. His bed was by the window, and on the paper-covered window was a large red Double Happiness Character, starkly contrasting with the dark surroundings.
Before he could figure out where he was, the wooden door creaked open, and in the dim light filtering through the door crack, he saw a thin young boy carrying a bowl.
The boy approached cautiously, unexpectedly meeting a pair of calm, dark eyes.
His eyes widened in shock, and he couldn’t help but exclaim, dropping the bowl. The dark medicinal liquid spilled onto the floor, filling the air with a strong bitter scent.
Yang Lan wrinkled his nose at the smell, instinctively frowning as if the same bitterness lingered in his mouth.
“Are you alright?” Yang Lan sat up, pulling the boy to sit by the bed.
The boy wore straw sandals, now splattered with the medicine, “Did the shards cut your foot?”
Before the boy could answer, a middle-aged man’s voice sounded from outside, getting closer, “Qiao Ge’er? What’s wrong?”
Lin Qiao flinched at the voice, hurriedly stood up, and looked at the broken pieces on the floor, his face turning pale.
“Qiao Ge’er?” The man’s voice was at the door.
Soon, Yang Lan saw a similarly thin, slightly hunched man enter.
Seeing him, the man’s steps halted abruptly, and tears streamed down his face instantly, “My Lan’er! Lan’er! You’re finally awake!”
Lan’er?
Yang Lan was taken aback. Was he being called?
Zhang Shi rushed over, pulling Yang Lan into his arms, his voice hoarse and almost inaudible, “Lan’er, you scared Father to death. If anything happened to you, how could Father live?”
At that moment, a flood of memories that didn’t belong to him surged into his mind.
Yang Lan’s pupils widened slightly. He hadn’t died; he had transmigrated!
After Zhang Shi’s tearful outburst finally subsided, the smile on his face was unstoppable. He looked at Lin Qiao, who seemed a bit timid, with satisfaction.
Uncle Qi was right. This Qiao Ge’er was indeed a blessing to their family!
Lin Qiao, seeing Zhang Shi finally focus on him, quickly apologized in a low voice, “Father, I’m sorry. I slipped and broke the bowl. Please punish me.”
Zhang Shi, in high spirits, didn’t care about a broken bowl. He called Lin Qiao over, held his hand, and said, “Silly child, it’s just a bowl. Sweep it up with the broom, and it’ll be fine.”
Lin Qiao’s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Zhang Shi.
Zhang Shi, knowing Lin Qiao’s past hardships at home, felt a pang of sorrow and led him outside, “Let’s go cook. We’ll celebrate Lan’er’s recovery with a meat dinner tonight!”
Lin Qiao, seeing that Zhang Shi wasn’t angry, breathed a sigh of relief and softly replied, “Okay.”
Zhang Shi turned to Yang Lan, “Lan’er, you rest well. Qiao Ge’er and I will prepare dinner.”
Yang Lan nodded absentmindedly, his eyes complex as he watched them leave.
His mind was powerful, and in this short time, he had skimmed through the original owner’s memories.
He had transmigrated to a fictional ancient dynasty called the Great Li Dynasty.
The original owner was also named Yang Lan. He started studying at eight, had an eidetic memory, and was known as a prodigy in the surrounding villages. At fourteen, he passed the child student exam.
This achievement not only made Willow Leaf Village proud but also attracted the gentry from the town, who invited him to their homes, hoping to introduce him to their sons and share in his good fortune.
At fourteen, his values were not yet formed, and the original owner was dazzled by wealth and fame, no longer willing to focus on his studies, instead mingling with a group of wealthy second-generation heirs.
After a year of such indulgence, he naturally failed to pass the scholar exam, but no one minded, as there were no fifteen-year-old scholars in the entire county.
The original owner thought the same, not only failing to change his ways but becoming even more excessive.
For five consecutive years, he failed to pass the scholar exam, and people realized that the once-prodigy had become ordinary.
Five days ago, on the day of the exam results, the original owner unsurprisingly failed again. On his way back, he was mocked, lost in thought, and accidentally fell into the river.
When he woke up again, the body had a new soul.
If that were all, Yang Lan wouldn’t be so conflicted. What he found hardest to accept was that the thin young boy earlier was his husband!
This world had not only men and women but also a gender called Ge’er.
Ge’ers looked similar to men but were more delicate and could conceive and bear children. However, since most men still preferred women, Ge’ers had a very low status.
Zhang Shi was his father and also a Ge’er. The original owner’s father had died early, and Zhang Shi had raised him alone, working various jobs to make ends meet.
With the original owner unconscious from the fall, Zhang Shi, desperate, had married him to a Ge’er to ward off bad luck.
He had been so happy earlier, not knowing that his son Yang Lan was already dead, and the one who had awakened was a wandering soul from another world.
Just then, the door creaked again, pulling him back to reality.
Qiao Ge’er entered with a broom and dustpan, flinching slightly at his gaze, and said softly, “Sorry to disturb… Husband’s rest. I’m here to clean up the broken pieces.”
Yang Lan was startled by being called “Husband,” almost choking on his own saliva.
In his previous life, he was over thirty and had been single since birth. He wasn’t interested in men or women, only wanting to work hard, a true workaholic. Yet now, after transmigrating, he unexpectedly had a husband.
Even though he didn’t like it, he wouldn’t divorce Lin Qiao.
This world was different from the modern one. For a Ge’er, being abandoned by their husband for any reason was a disaster.
Yang Lan looked the person in front of him up and down and asked, “How old are you?”
“Eighteen,” Lin Qiao replied softly.
Yang Lan nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. The original owner of this body was only twenty-one, but he himself was a man in his thirties.
In an instant, the phrase “an old cow eating young grass” was etched on his forehead.