Chen Qingqing walked as she quietly gathered information about this era.
The Great Ning Dynasty had an open-minded social atmosphere — women appearing in public wasn’t frowned upon.
In short, those with ability could claim their place.
She was quite satisfied with that.It meant she could open a pharmacy and do business in the future — she was confident she could live freely and unrestrained in this world.
Without realizing it, she had already reached the village head’s home.
…
At that moment, the village head’s wife, Madam Li, was in the courtyard chatting with Wu Bao’an, who was plucking feathers from a hen.
“Old man, did the Chen family really separate out Zhan’s family? Even cut off ties?”
“Sure did. How could it be fake? I personally wrote the severance deed,” Wu Bao’an replied.
“Tsk, tsk, that Old Madam Chen is far too biased. Zhan’s family has worked like slaves for them all these years, and in the end, they got nothing.”
Madam Li looked indignant.“Chen Zhancai has been taking the exams for more than ten years and hasn’t even passed as a scholar. I say, he’s not cut out for studying at all. If the Chen family doesn’t stop this soon, their future will only get worse.”
“Enough,” said Wu Bao’an. “Whether he passes or not has nothing to do with us. Don’t waste your sympathy.”
“I just can’t help feeling sorry for Zhan’s family,” she muttered.
Wu Bao’an sighed.“If you ask me, the separation was for the best. Zhan’s a hardworking man — they won’t starve. But if they hadn’t split off, that girl Qing’er and her brother Han’er would have been sold by the old lady sooner or later.”
“You’re right about that,” Li nodded.
As she spoke, she looked up and saw Chen Qingqing approaching.
She quickly smiled and greeted warmly, “Qing girl! Come in, come in!”
Wu Bao’an also put down the chicken and stood up.“Qing girl, have you settled things at home?”
Chen Qingqing smiled lightly.“My parents are tidying up. It’s almost done.”
“That’s good. Speak freely, girl — no need to be polite with your uncle here.”
Hearing that, Chen Qingqing couldn’t help but secretly praise Wu Bao’an for being a perceptive man.He knew she must have come for a reason — truly, it was a pleasure dealing with smart people.
Scratching her head a bit embarrassedly, she said,“Uncle Village Head, we don’t have any pots or bowls. We can’t even cook tonight.”
Without a second thought, Wu Bao’an said,“No problem. I happen to have a new pot at home. Take it and use it for now — no rush to return it.”
“Thank you, Uncle Village Head. Then I won’t stand on ceremony.”
He turned to his wife, “Dear, go fetch a few sets of bowls and chopsticks for her.”
“Alright,” Madam Li said, taking out a large serving bowl and five pairs of bowls and chopsticks.“Qing girl, see if there’s anything else you need. Auntie will get it for you.”
Chen Qingqing smiled shyly, “Then… could Auntie spare me some seasoning too?”
“Of course, wait a moment.”Li went inside and came out with half a bag of millet and several kinds of condiments.
“Here, take this millet too. You can’t live on bran alone — your body won’t hold up.”
“Thank you, Auntie. Once our situation improves, I’ll repay this millet.”
“Repay what? Since I gave it to you, I never planned to take it back.”
“Thank you so much, Auntie.”
“You child, what’s there to thank me for?”
Her own grandparents hadn’t treated them as humans, yet these outsiders gave her warmth and kindness.
Chen Qingqing knew the truth — with only bran to eat, their family wouldn’t last three or five days.Now, with this millet, they could at least survive another ten.
Her eyes misted slightly as she accepted the bag.“Auntie, I’ll head back now. You two carry on.”
“Alright, go on back. Come play at Auntie’s place when you have time.”
“Okay. No need to see me off.” Chen Qingqing smiled and turned to leave.
Watching her go, Madam Li sighed.“What a good child — still in the bloom of youth — and that old hag Chen wanted to marry her off to the butcher Li. How heartless!”
Wu Bao’an gave a short laugh.“If you ask me, the Chen family will regret it sooner or later.”
“Oh? What makes you say that?”
“I can see that girl’s got grit. Mark my words — she’ll amount to something. Just wait and see.”
Madam Li nodded.“I hope so. Poor child, though… I wonder how much more suffering she’ll have to endure before things turn around.”
..
When Chen Qingqing returned home, she found that the thatched house had already been cleaned spotless.
Her parents had built a simple partition out of wood and made two beds from planks resting on stumps, stuffed with straw and covered with old quilts.
Though the place was shabby, at least it was a home.
Seeing how tidy and neat it was, she couldn’t help but smile.
Wasn’t this the kind of peaceful, countryside life she used to dream of?
She never imagined it would actually come true.
But this era was truly poor.
She’d have to work hard, earn money, and get her parents out of this cowshed into a life of comfort.
As the sun set, Chen Zhanshan was outside building a stove out of stones, boiling water in the pot.
“Father, you’re amazing!” Chen Qingqing said with genuine admiration. “Look at that stove — it’s perfect!”
Her father smiled indulgently.“You little girl, when did you get so good at flattery?”
“I’ve always been like this, just that no one noticed before,” she teased playfully.
Her mother, Madam Lin, felt a sting in her heart.
No matter what her child did in the past, no matter how hard she worked, her in-laws had never once cared — only beatings and scoldings.
Meanwhile, the third son’s children did nothing yet were showered with smiles.
How ironic.
There was no clearer pain than comparison.
Now, though life was hard, their hearts were light — being happy together as a family was worth everything.
“Qing’er, come here,” Madam Lin called softly. “Let me clean your wound.”
Only then did Chen Qingqing remember the injury on her head.
She scolded herself silently — how careless!
The wound wasn’t big, but if it got infected, in an age with such poor medicine, it could be fatal.
“Mother, please scoop me a bowl of hot water.”
“Alright.” Madam Lin took a bowlful of boiling water from the pot.
Chen Qingqing added a pinch of salt, stirred it to dissolve, and dipped a clean cloth in it to clean her wound.
As the saltwater touched her skin, a sharp sting made her gasp in pain.
That old witch Chen had really hit hard — it must have taken all her strength to knock out the original host.
That’s the only reason she, Chen Qingqing, could take over this body.
Madam Lin frowned in concern. “Qing girl, that must sting!”
“I’m fine, Mother. It’ll stop in a moment.”
She sighed inwardly.No iodine, no hydrogen peroxide — in this era, saltwater was the best she could do.At least it was something.
“Mother,” she said after cleaning the wound, “please prepare that hen. We’ll have stewed chicken tonight — to celebrate our new beginning.”
“Alright, I’ll get it ready.”
Before long, Lin had chopped up the fat hen.“Qing girl, I don’t even know how to cook something this nice.”
“Then rest, Mother. I’ll cook tonight.”
She decided to make chicken soup.
Old hens were the most nourishing, and though she’d been a doctor in her past life, she also knew how to enjoy life — her hands could wield a scalpel or a frying pan equally well.
“Xiao Han, start the fire,” she said.
“Got it!” her younger brother replied eagerly.