In her dream, Li Xiaoxiao seemed to see another version of herself—the little princess her parents had once cherished.
Back then, she had been a delicate, doll-like girl. As her parents’ youngest child, born late in their lives, she had been showered with affection.
But happiness never lasted long.
When she was ten years old, her mother passed away.
From that moment on, her older brother and sister-in-law began bullying her whenever her father wasn’t looking.
Within only a few short years, she learned how to wash clothes, cook meals, carry water, and tend fields.
The once-soft, fair hands of a pampered child gradually became rough and calloused.
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, she was fifteen.
That year, her father carefully chose a peach-blossom jade hairpin as her coming-of-age gift.
Looking at her with reluctant pride, he said:
“My Cuihua has grown up. It’s time to start looking for a husband. I need to find my daughter a good young man.”
The fifteen-year-old girl immediately blushed scarlet.
Then the scene changed.
Snowflakes drifted down from the sky.
Someone came running toward her in panic.
“Your father fell into the river!”
When the girl reached the riverbank, her father was already lying there cold and lifeless.
She burst into tears.
She cried until she lost consciousness.
Then came the funeral.
Less than a hundred days after her father’s death, her brother and sister-in-law sold her into marriage for five taels of silver.
On her wedding day, they refused to let her take anything from home.
But she was determined to keep the silver bracelets and jade hairpin her parents had left her.
Dressed in red wedding clothes, she pressed a kitchen knife against her own throat and refused to move.
Only then did they allow her to take those precious keepsakes.
Snow was falling heavily that day.
The only thing she carried was a small camphorwood box.
Following the matchmaker, she climbed onto Qin Youfu’s donkey and left to become someone else’s wife.
Along the way, the man promised her:
“I’ll give you a good life.”
The dream shifted again.
Three months after the wedding, her mother-in-law ordered her to carry water.
She miscarried the child she had conceived barely a month after marriage.
Qin Youfu argued with his mother over it.
As a result, both husband and wife were driven out of the family home.
The village chief couldn’t bear to watch.
After forcing the family to act reasonably, he secured them a basket of sweet potatoes and two drafty thatched huts.
Qin Youfu told her:
“Trust me.”
Then he borrowed money from the village chief and began traveling as a merchant.
The following year, they welcomed their first son.
Life gradually improved.
The thatched hut became a brick house with tiled roofing.
They acquired fertile farmland.
Afterward she gave birth to two more sons and a daughter.
For a time, life seemed almost perfect.
But slowly she noticed a change.
Her husband’s heart was no longer with her.
They spent less and less time together.
He spent more and more time drinking, gambling, and entertaining himself elsewhere.
At first she argued.
Then she fought.
Eventually she stopped caring.
As long as he brought money home, she ignored whatever he did outside.
Then one day, he returned carrying two chests.
One was filled with silver.
The other was packed with gold and jewelry.
He told her solemnly:
“The jewelry must never be touched.”
She wanted to ask questions.
Before she could, his younger brother called him away.
As he left, he looked back and said:
“Hide these things carefully.”
Those were the last words Qin Youfu ever spoke to her.
The dream changed again.
A little girl with tiny legs was desperately chasing a man and woman walking ahead of her.
The couple appeared to be husband and wife.
No matter how hard the little girl ran, they continued moving forward at a steady pace.
Gradually, the girl grew.
She was no longer a child.
Yet her parents never stopped walking.
Finally, she caught up and grabbed their sleeves.
The couple turned around.
Smiling warmly, they held out their hands.
They wanted her to come with them.
But before taking those hands, the girl suddenly turned toward Li Xiaoxiao.
“I have to go now.”
“My parents came to take me home.”
“Please… take care of everything from now on.”
Before Li Xiaoxiao could answer, the beautiful little girl took her parents’ hands and ran into a sea of mist.
Then she disappeared.
“Don’t go!”
Li Xiaoxiao reached out desperately.
“Did you hear me? Don’t go!”
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t catch them.
She jolted awake.
For a moment she sat motionless.
Then she felt it.
Something inside her body was fading away.
She knew exactly what it was.
The original Li Cuihua’s final lingering attachment to the world had finally disappeared.
“Li Cuihua…”
Li Xiaoxiao stared at the brightening sky outside the window.
“You sure left cleanly, didn’t you? Hmph.”
Sleep was impossible now.
With a thought, she entered her mysterious space.
After taking a quick look around and confirming it wasn’t a dream, she returned to her bed.
Yesterday she had earned an entire tael of silver.
Today she intended to eat something good.
From now on she would eat when she wanted, drink when she wanted, and enjoy life while she could.
Otherwise she would spend her whole life pinching pennies only for someone else to benefit in the end.
Just like her six-figure savings account.
Just like the small apartment she’d worked so hard to buy.
The thought made her heart ache all over again.
Pulling out two strings of copper coins, she mentally calculated market prices.
Pork belly with fat: 15 wen per jin.
Lard fat: 13 wen per jin.
Lean meat: 10 wen per jin.
Ribs and meaty bones: 5 wen per jin.
Bare soup bones were usually thrown in for free.
Pig organs were generally purchased only by doctors or people making medicinal dishes.
A pig heart cost 5 wen.
Pig liver was 3 wen per jin.
A pig lung cost 2 wen.
A pig stomach was 10 wen.
A full set of intestines cost 3 wen.
And yes—
People in this world actually ate pig intestines, usually braised.
“Forget it.”
“I’ll just go see what Butcher Qin has today before deciding.”
At that moment—
Knock knock knock.
A voice sounded outside.
“Mother, are you awake? Your daughter-in-law is here to collect today’s grain for cooking.”
It was Zhang Ermei, the second son’s wife.
“All right, all right. Stop rushing me.”
Li Xiaoxiao got up and opened the door.
After letting Zhang Ermei inside, Li Xiaoxiao went to fetch the grain.
When she returned, she discovered that Zhang Ermei had already neatly made her bed.
Li Xiaoxiao, who had briefly considered lying down again, immediately felt irritated.
Meanwhile Zhang Ermei stood there with an eager expression that practically screamed:
Praise me! Praise me!
Li Xiaoxiao tossed the grain into her arms and sat down at the dressing table.
She began vigorously combing her hair.
Completely unaware she’d annoyed her mother-in-law, Zhang Ermei cheerfully said:
“Mother, wait here. I’ll bring you some hot water to wash up.”
By the time Li Xiaoxiao had finished arranging her hair, Zhang Ermei had already prepared everything.
A basin of warm water.
A fresh willow twig for brushing teeth.
Even rinse water had been set out.
She looked like an enthusiastic little lackey trying to earn points.
At that moment Li Xiaoxiao finally understood where Erhua got it from.
She inherited it from her mother.
“Go cook breakfast.”
Li Xiaoxiao waved her away.
“I don’t need you here.”
“Okay, Mother!”
Zhang Ermei happily left.
After washing up, Li Xiaoxiao dumped out the water and prepared to head out.
She wanted pork.
A person couldn’t live properly on coarse grain alone.
Food needed meat.
“Mother, where are you going? Take me with you!”
Before she could leave the courtyard, Qin Sanmu called after her.
“I’m going to eat shit.”
Li Xiaoxiao replied without missing a beat.
Being questioned about everything annoyed her.
Qin Sanmu was instantly rendered speechless.
He stood there awkwardly, unsure whether to stay or leave.
Li Xiaoxiao walked out the gate.
After a few steps, she remembered she might need someone to carry things.
Without turning around, she shouted:
“Hurry up and follow me! What, do I need to drag you there myself?”
Qin Sanmu immediately brightened.
“Oh! Coming, Mother!”
He hurried after her.
The two headed toward the eastern side of the village.
According to Li Cuihua’s memories, Butcher Qin sold pork every morning at the fork in the road near the village entrance.
Several neighboring villages also came there to buy meat.
Along the way, many villagers greeted Li Xiaoxiao.
Yet every one of them behaved like schoolchildren unexpectedly running into their stern homeroom teacher outside of class.
They greeted her quickly—
Then escaped as fast as possible.
Li Xiaoxiao merely nodded calmly in response as she continued toward the butcher’s stall.