Wang Guihua looked at Ye Lao’er’s obedient demeanor and curled her lips in satisfaction. Turning around, she cast a sinister, cold smile at Ye Qing, who was collapsed on the ground.
“Just stay here and wait for death, you little wretch! Even if you starve to death and rot in this wood shed, no one will even collect your body!”
The door slammed shut from the outside.
The sound of footsteps, cursing, and children’s laughter gradually faded away. Ye Qing’s consciousness slowly began to blur…
……
Ye Qing rolled over weakly on the bed, and a sharp, piercing pain suddenly shot through her back. The agony was so intense that she gasped on the spot, tears almost bursting out.
What was wrong with this broken bed today? It felt like it was full of spikes, stabbing straight into her bones!
Annoyed, she slapped the surface beneath her—and the doubled pain shot back through her body, twisting into a tight, suffocating pain in her chest.
“Hiss! Ow…”
Grimacing, Ye Qing tried to sit up and take a look, but her eyelids felt unbearably heavy. She barely forced them open a slit—and instantly, all the hair on her body stood on end.
This… what kind of hellish place was this?!
This wasn’t her rented attic at all. In front of her was clearly a dilapidated firewood shed. She hadn’t seen such a rundown place in years. Could it be that she hadn’t been struck by lightning—but kidnapped instead?!
She lifted her head and saw cobwebs hanging in every corner. The air was thick with mold mixed with the dry, pungent smell of firewood, making her cough uncontrollably.
And she herself… was like an unwanted sack of trash, tossed carelessly beside a pile of firewood.
What kind of international joke was this?!
She had only gone up to the rooftop to collect laundry when a blinding bolt of lightning struck down. And when she opened her eyes again, she was here—in this godforsaken place.
A wave of dizziness hit her brain as she was forced to absorb the fragmented and tragic memories of the original owner of this body.
The original owner was also named Ye Qing, the only daughter of an ordinary farming family in Liuye Village.
Sounds like a precious only child, right?
Wrong.
Not long after she was born, her mother died of a sudden illness. Her father, Ye Lao’er, raised her alone until she was ten.
Ye Old Madam (the grandmother) frequently pressured him to remarry, and he eventually took in a widow from his maternal family named Wang Guihua, who brought along a son and daughter. Just seven months after entering the household, she gave birth to a younger son, Doudou.
From that moment on, the original owner’s life plunged straight into hell.
Liuye Village itself was a peaceful place surrounded by mountains, with fertile land and stable living conditions. Houses were made of brick and mud, warm in winter and cool in summer.
But no one would have guessed that from age ten onward, Ye Qing never again had a full meal or a proper night’s sleep.
After Wang Guihua entered the family, she controlled all resources and constantly beat and insulted her. All dirty and exhausting work was dumped on her, and she was given only scraps of coarse grain to keep her barely alive.
To make matters worse, three consecutive years of drought had devastated the land. Crops failed completely, rivers dried up, and even wells ran dry.
This year was even more catastrophic—the village’s only river had completely dried up just days ago.
Surrounding mountains had turned barren yellow, and even wild vegetables could no longer be found.
Facing starvation, the village head gritted his teeth and led the entire village away to seek survival elsewhere.
And the original owner was left behind—abandoned without hesitation.
Logically speaking, with so many Ye family members in Liuye Village, why did no one stand up for her?
Because Wang Guihua was a true “smiling tiger.” Outside, she presented herself as a kind and virtuous woman. She got along well with villagers and subtly spread rumors about Ye Qing. With Old Madam Ye backing her up, Ye Qing’s reputation as lazy, vicious toward children, and disrespectful to elders became firmly established.
The villagers were blinded by Wang Guihua’s sweet talk and didn’t care about the girl’s fate at all.
Besides, there was a superstition that she had “brought bad luck” and caused her mother’s death, so many people forbade their children from associating with her.
Ye Lao’er was completely controlled by Wang Guihua and could only watch helplessly as his half-conscious daughter was thrown into the firewood shed.
Despite everything, he still couldn’t bear it. Late at night, he secretly opened the shed door, looked at his dying daughter, and left behind a small bag of coarse grain flour and a small clay jar of water. With red eyes, he choked out:
“Qing’er… your father is useless. I’ve made you suffer with me. If you can survive this, run away and save yourself.
If you can’t… then go find your mother on the road to the underworld. She loved you the most…”
Then, flustered, he added, “But don’t come looking for your father… I had no choice…”
Thinking of this, Ye Qing internally rolled her eyes so hard they almost reached the sky.
Of course. Useless fathers really do come free.
After that, Ye Lao’er and Wang Guihua took the remaining grain and followed the fleeing villagers without looking back.
The poor original owner was left alone in the empty village, with not even a dog to guard the house.
Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.
In her past life she had already suffered more than most, and now after transmigrating she wasn’t even as good as a stray dog.
“God… please, can’t you leave me even a little way out to live?!”
[Already struck by lightning, don’t dare complain anymore.]
No. If she kept lying here waiting to die, she would really lose this newly regained life.
Gritting her teeth, Ye Qing forced herself up from the pile of firewood.
The pain in her chest came in waves, but she ignored it. She needed food and water—but where did that cheap father hide them?
The firewood shed was tiny. Broken tools lay in the corner, rotten hemp ropes hung from the beams—nothing else.
Leaning on a stick, she slowly searched the ground. When she found a raised stone slab, her heart jumped. In the original owner’s memory, her father had once hidden food here.
She used all her strength to lift it. Her arms trembled violently, and only managed to shift it slightly.
She reached inside eagerly—empty.
No food. Not even crumbs.
There was nowhere else to hide anything. Could it be… her memories were wrong from the start?
Hope collapsed again. She slumped to the ground, her eyes stinging, but no tears came out.
……
Forty li away, on a dusty road, the people of Liuye Village trudged forward with their belongings.
Wang Guihua glanced at Ye Lao’er pulling the cart ahead, then at the small bag of coarse grain hidden among the supplies. A vicious, satisfied smile curled on her lips.
“Ye Lao’er, do you really think I’m blind? I tolerated you secretly feeding that little wretch before.
But now, in these chaotic times, every grain of food and drop of water is life-saving—and you still want to save her? I’ll make sure all your efforts go to waste.”