Before the sun had even fully risen on New Year’s Day, and the window paper was just beginning to turn a hazy, ash-white color, Lixia was jolted awake by a familiar “ding” in her mind. It was the notification sound for the startup of the lottery system, a sound she had been eagerly anticipating for nearly three months! In an instant, any lingering sleepiness vanished. Filled with excitement, she kicked her tiny arms and legs beneath the quilt before quickly tucking them back in.
The January weather was piercingly cold, and the air outside the blanket felt like shards of ice. Lixia blew some warm breath onto her stiff, frozen little hands, watching the white mist disperse before her eyes. In her heart, she quickly prayed to every deity she could think of: “Jade Emperor, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Earth God, please let me draw something practical this time!” After completing her prayers, she cautiously extended her pinky finger and tapped precisely on the “Start” button on the screen. The images of blind boxes on the screen spun at a breakneck speed, making Lixia’s heart leap into her throat.
“Ding~ Congratulations! You have obtained one ‘Vitality Pill’!” A massive notification popped up, followed by a line of detailed description on the screen interface: “This pill contains natural vitality energy. Consumption is beneficial to human growth and development, boosts immunity, and enhances memory, while also improving skin quality… The optimal time for use is between six months and three years of age. Would you like to deposit it into the system storage space immediately?”
Lixia stared at the words “Vitality Pill,” her eyes widening in disbelief. Had this system somehow connected to the internet of a cultivation world? Last time she drew biscuits and eggs, and this time it was straight-up alchemy pills! She didn’t have time to overthink it, nor did she select “store in system.” Instead, she directly tapped “Retrieve.” A completely translucent, pearl-white pill, resembling a small marble, instantly appeared in her palm, emitting a faint, refreshing scent of herbs and vegetation. Fearing that someone might discover her, Lixia swiftly popped the pill into her mouth. She wanted to smack her lips and savor the taste, but the pill dissolved into a sweet, warm current, sliding down her throat and into her belly without leaving a single trace of residue.
She immediately froze her tiny body and held her breath to feel the changes. Had her strength increased? Or had her mind become sharper? However, after waiting for a quarter of an hour, apart from a cozy warmth in her stomach, her arms and legs remained as soft and chubby as before. “Could it be that it takes time to take effect?” Lixia felt a little puzzled. But on second thought, it was better than drawing nothing at all; perhaps the effects would manifest gradually. With that, she stopped dwelling on it.
Just then, the bedroom door opened with a creak, and Mother Yuan walked in carrying a copper basin filled with steaming warm water. “Is the fifth child awake?” Mother smiled as she picked Lixia up, using a warm towel to wipe her face and hands. She then skillfully changed her into a newly made, small padded jacket. This jacket had been refashioned from the fourth child’s old padded jacket before the New Year. The fabric was coarse cotton and the lining was stuffed with old cotton batting, but it possessed the virtue of being clean and warm. Once Lixia was dressed, Mother carried her to the adjacent room where her older brothers and sister were. “Play with your brothers for a while. Mom is going to cook dumplings.”
Right after Lixia was set down, Father walked in holding a coarse porcelain bowl. The bowl was piled with several pieces of glistening, glisteningly fatty meat, and a rich aroma instantly filled the small room. “Come on, kids, hurry up and grab the fat!” Father smiled as he raised his chopsticks, first placing the largest piece into the bowl of the eldest child, and then distributing pieces to the second, third, and fourth children in turn. “Eating a piece of fat on New Year’s Day means you won’t lack food all year round!”
The children rarely got to taste meat throughout the year, so their eyes lit up instantly. They grabbed the fatty meat and stuffed it into their mouths, eating until their lips were covered in grease, with oily spots hanging from the corners of their mouths. They cried out repeatedly, “Delicious! Dad, is there more?” Sitting to the side, Lixia looked at those large chunks of greasy meat and couldn’t help but swallow her saliva. Good heavens, she had actually started to crave fatty meat. Noticing her gaze, Father smiled and lifted his chopsticks, making a motion to feed her a little piece. Terrified, Lixia quickly shrank back, scooting her tiny body toward the inner side of the bed. This threw Father into a hearty laugh: “You little greedy cat, eat it when you grow up!” After saying that, he walked out holding the empty bowl.
Watching her brothers and sister finish off all the fatty meat, Lixia felt a bit worried. Could their small spleens and stomachs actually digest such large chunks of fatty meat? Fortunately, throughout the entire morning, none of the children complained of stomachaches and continued to run, jump, and play as usual, allowing her to put her mind at ease.
It wasn’t until lunchtime when they ate dumplings that Lixia noticed something amiss. Her brothers and sister, who had been scrambling to eat fatty meat this morning, actually showed none of their usual enthusiasm when facing the meat-stuffed dumplings in their bowls. Each of them put down their chopsticks after eating only seven or eight dumplings, saying they were “full.” Not only that, but over the next few days while visiting relatives, she noticed that the children of other families were exactly the same—they couldn’t muster any interest in the meat dishes on the table. The adults even laughed and said, “This is being ‘satiated by the New Year.’ Since their bellies got plenty of grease during the New Year, they don’t crave meat anymore!”
After hearing this, Lixia rolled her eyes heavily in her mind. What “satiated by the New Year”? It was clearly because, early in the morning on New Year’s Day, the children were forced to eat a large chunk of fatty meat that they couldn’t get even once a year. This completely overwhelmed and clogged up their spleens and stomachs, leaving them unable to digest any greasy meat dishes for the rest of the New Year festival! She didn’t know who invented this custom, but it was practically filled with malice, preventing the children from enjoying the good meals of the New Year.
Early in the morning on the second day of the New Year, the family finished packing and prepared to visit Grandmother’s house. Grandmother’s house was in the neighboring village, more than ten kilometers away. In those days, there were no bicycles, let alone cars, so the entire journey relied on walking on two legs. Lixia was held in Mother’s arms, but after walking for just a short while, Mother grew tired, and Father took over. When Father grew tired, the eldest brother and the second brother took turns carrying her. Along the way, Lixia leaned against the adults’ shoulders, looking at the rows of low, earthen adobe houses by the roadside. The roofs were thatched with straw, and the plaster on the walls would flake off whenever it rained, revealing the yellow soil and grass roots underneath. She couldn’t help but sigh in her heart: When will we ever get to live in a house built of blue bricks and large tiles?
In her past life, she had been accustomed to living in high-rise buildings and skyscrapers, so after crossing over to this world, she had initially been somewhat picky about her living arrangements. Now, however, she had long since abandoned any extravagant demands. Never mind a villa or a large luxury apartment—as long as she could live in a brick-and-tile house where the roof wasn’t drafty thatch, the wall plaster didn’t crumble into yellow dust at a touch, and the floor wasn’t a bumpy, uneven dirt ground, she would be completely satisfied.