Li Xia pursed her lips, her small brows furrowed into a deep frown as she cursed this wretched place hundreds of times in her heart. The mud-brick walls were so weathered they were shedding dust, the roof let in patches of light, and the wind made a whistling sound as it blew through—compared to the riverside penthouse she had lived in during her previous life, this was simply the difference between heaven and earth. What made her heart even more stifled was that her stomach was growling. Her past life of eating Michelin-starred meals, casually popping champagne, and being surrounded by male models was likely something she would never experience again in this lifetime; it was now an unknown whether she would even be able to have a full meal every day.
As she was sighing, a sudden, piercing white light flashed before her eyes, so bright she almost couldn’t keep them open. Before she could react, the ball of light slowly expanded like an old television powering on, turning into a semi-transparent screen. On it, written in white characters against a black background, were the words: “Welcome to the Random Lottery System. A first-time lottery draw is currently available. Would you like to participate immediately? Please click [YES] for yes, and [NO] for no.”
Li Xia’s eyes instantly lit up—talk about luck! The transmigrator’s “golden finger” might have arrived late, but it had arrived nonetheless! Having read so many novels in her previous life, she at least had that much awareness. Without a second thought, she used her mental intent to click [YES]. However, as soon as she clicked it, she panicked: this dilapidated place only had a wooden board and a pile of straw, with no cover whatsoever. If the prize suddenly dropped out with a “clatter” and was seen by the people in this room, wouldn’t they throw her out as a monster?
Just as she was pondering how to hide things, the pointer on the screen began to spin rapidly. After a crisp “ding,” the result came out: “Congratulations on obtaining the blind box prize—one hundred bags of baby diapers. Would you like to store them in the system space?”
Seeing the words “storable,” Li Xia’s heart immediately settled back into her chest, and she hurriedly used her intent to click [YES]. But when she clearly saw that the prize was “diapers,” the corners of her mouth twitched uncontrollably—was this system just for decoration? Could it be any more useless? She was now a newborn baby; while wearing diapers was reasonable, what era was this? Did the system really expect her to change her own diapers? She instantly felt that this electronic system was even more unreliable than the scumbags she had met in her previous life. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes mentally: “Ugh! It’s truly just one stroke of bad luck after another!”
As she was fuming at the system, a pair of rough yet relatively warm hands suddenly picked her up. Immediately following that, a strong scent of sweat mixed with a faint milky odor rushed toward her, hitting her right in the face. Li Xia didn’t even need to look to know this was the original body’s mother—having just given birth, she likely hadn’t had time to clean herself up. Sure enough, a second later, a slightly raspy female voice spoke, tinged with exhaustion: “Little Number Five, you must be hungry, right? Come and have some milk.”
Li Xia reflexively looked up and saw that the “granary” before her was somewhat damp with sweat, causing the clothes to stick to the skin. She instantly felt repulsed—in her previous life, she had a slight case of germaphobia; her home was always spotless, and her clothes were forever clean. Having to put her mouth to such a “smelly” granary now was something she truly couldn’t accept. But before she could resist, the back of her head was gently supported by a palm and slowly pressed toward the “granary.”
Li Xia quickly clamped her mouth shut, her head twisting desperately to the side. But the closer she got, the heavier the scent of sweat became. Combined with the post-childbirth odor, it drilled straight into her nose. Her stomach churned, and she couldn’t help but furrow her brows, her small face flushing red as if she were about to vomit at any moment.
“Oh my, Dad! Come quickly and look!” Mother Yuan, who was holding her, panicked and shouted toward the outside of the house. “Why won’t this girl drink her milk?”
A coarse, raspy male voice came from outside, accompanied by footsteps: “She won’t drink? She isn’t a simpleton, is she? Not even knowing to open her mouth.” As he spoke, a dark-skinned man wearing a patched short jacket walked in; it was the original body’s father, Father Yuan.
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Mother Yuan glared at him, then looked down at Li Xia, her tone full of worry. “Look at her expression, is she about to vomit? Her little face is all flushed.”
“How is that possible?” Father Yuan leaned over to take a look and waved his hand dismissively. “How can a newborn baby vomit? You must be overthinking it.”
“Then what’s wrong with her?” Mother Yuan grew even more frantic, her hands trembling slightly as she held Li Xia.
At that moment, a small boy of about three or four years old, wearing open-crotch pants, came bouncing in. It was the original body’s youngest brother, Guyu. He leaned in close to Li Xia, tilted his head to look at her crumpled little face, and suddenly clapped his hands, saying loudly: “I know! She’s being smoked by the smell on Mom!”
Mother Yuan’s face instantly turned red. She reached out and gave Guyu a swat. “You child, what nonsense are you talking! Know your place!”
“I’m not talking nonsense!” Guyu pouted aggrievedly and pointed at Li Xia. “Last time I smelled the stinky fart Third Brother let out under the covers, he had this exact same expression! Brows furrowed, looking like he was about to cry!”
Mother Yuan was left speechless by her youngest son. She froze for a moment, then turned to look at Father Yuan, her tone uncertain: “Dad, do you think… could this girl really be disdainful of me?”
Father Yuan rubbed the back of his head and said somewhat sheepishly, “How is that possible? How old is she even? But then again, you’re covered in sweat after giving birth; it must be uncomfortable. How about I go get a basin of hot water so you can wipe yourself down and change into some clean clothes?”
“Fine then!” Mother Yuan had a bit of a temper. She placed Li Xia onto the k’ang bed. “Since she isn’t hungry, let her go hungry! I’ll wait until I’ve cleaned myself up.”
Father Yuan hurriedly went out to fetch water, while Mother Yuan called for her eldest daughter, Yuan Chunfen, telling her to go to the kitchen to light the stove. After a while, Father Yuan brought in a basin of steaming hot water. Mother Yuan used the hot water to wipe her body and changed into a clean set of coarse cloth clothes. After she finished tidying up, she carried Li Xia back to the main room—in the countryside, most women gave birth in the side rooms, fearing that the “blood filth” would dirty the main room and bring bad luck.
Mother Yuan lay down on the wooden bed, looking at Li Xia’s half-closed eyes. Still feeling a bit uneasy, she picked her up again and tentatively brought the “granary” to her mouth: “Try again. It’s not smelly this time, okay?”
Li Xia sniffed. This time, there truly wasn’t that pungent scent of sweat anymore, only a faint milky fragrance. Her stomach was growling with hunger, and logic told her: if she wanted to survive, she had to drink milk. Closing her eyes, she resigned herself to her fate and latched onto the “granary,” cheering herself on in her heart: “For the sake of survival, it’s no big deal! It’s just drinking milk! It’s not like I didn’t do it in my past life, I just don’t remember it… but now I remember it vividly! Waaa… when will these days end!”
Seeing her youngest daughter finally willing to drink milk, Mother Yuan was both annoyed and amused. Just as Father Yuan came in carrying the empty water basin, she couldn’t help but complain: “Dad, look! Guyu was actually right—this girl really was disdainful of me! Now that I’ve cleaned up, she’s willing to drink!”
Father Yuan leaned over to look and laughed, scratching his head. “Oh, she really is drinking! Maybe she just wasn’t hungry before, and you were overthinking. How can a baby the size of an egg know what disdain is?”
“Hmph, I don’t believe it!” Mother Yuan gently patted Li Xia’s back, her tone carrying a hint of doting. “I think this girl is going to become a spirit!”
The couple chatted and babbled on. Having drunk her fill of milk, Li Xia’s eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Before long, she couldn’t hold out any longer and fell into a deep sleep in Mother Yuan’s arms—to heck with the diaper system, and to heck with her rough parents. She’d sleep her fill first before having the energy to think about the days ahead.