2 Chapter 2

Page 1 of 3

It had rained for several days, but today the sun had finally come out. The sky after the rain was an especially deep blue, the clouds as thin as gauze, and the sunlight so bright it was almost dazzling.

Father and daughter walked toward the fields beneath the glaring white sun, one carrying a hoe over his shoulder and the other holding a bamboo basket.

There was no denying that this family was desperately poor. They barely had any usable belongings at home. Shen Shaoyuan had wanted to find his daughter a hat to shield her from the sun, but in the end, all he could find was half of a battered brim. He threaded strips of cloth through it and tied it onto her head. It looked bizarre, but at least it offered a little protection.

Shen Shaoyuan glanced at his daughter from time to time, his heart filled with complicated emotions.

Being alive was certainly worth everything, but he had no idea how much hardship his precious daughter would have to endure in the future.

Shen Mo’er, however, did not feel much of anything. The scenes in her dream had been terrifying; merely thinking about them still made her heart pound. Compared with dying horribly beneath a blade, what did being poor matter? Besides, they still had a treasure vault, didn’t they?

More than that, Shen Mo’er was concerned about the many ways this world differed from the Great Liang. She mentally went over the original host’s memories once more, quietly reminding Shen Shaoyuan to be extremely careful with everything he said and did. Then she urged him, “Dad, we’re already late. Let’s walk faster.”

Shen Shaoyuan was in no hurry. “It’s fine. Someone’s bound to be later than us.”

Willow Village was now called Willow Production Brigade. The brigade was divided into twelve production teams, and their family belonged to the Eighth Production Team.

The villagers in the brigade were now called commune members. They followed the brigade’s arrangements for work and earned work points, after which grain was distributed according to the ratio of “six for the people, four for labor.” In other words, the work points they earned each day accounted for only forty percent of their grain allocation when distribution time came. Naturally, the commune members had little enthusiasm for working.

Shen Shaoyuan remembered hearing a rhyme when “he” had gone to the commune to deliver the grain tax: “The first whistle, no one cares; the second whistle, heads appear; the third whistle, they slowly sway; when they reach the fields, their hoes are left behind—then back home they go to take another look...” And sure enough, some of the lazier commune members really were exactly like that.

So although they had wasted quite a bit of time at home adapting to their sudden arrival in this world, they truly were not the last to report for work.

Sure enough, when they reached the edge of the fields, Team Leader Zhou Peijun was standing on the ridge, cursing and berating those who had yet to arrive.

Shen Shaoyuan approached with a face full of guilt and explained, “Our roof was leaking, and the bedding got soaked through. My daughter caught a chill and wasn’t feeling well, so I hurried to boil her some herbal medicine. Before I knew it, it had gotten this late...”

Shen Mo’er cooperated by lowering her head and giving a weak cough. Zhou Peijun glanced at the father and daughter. Old Seventh Shen and his daughter had always worked hard. He had wondered why they had been late for once today, but now that he knew the reason, his expression softened.

“All right. I won’t deduct your work points.”

Thinking of how honest and simple the two of them were, he kindly added, “If the roof is leaking, repair it while the weather’s clear. That’s important. If you have to, take the day off.”

He did not suggest that Shen Mo’er go home and rest. A minor injury was no reason to leave the front line; a mere chill or cold was certainly no excuse to skip work.

Shen Shaoyuan gave a foolish grin. “All right. I’ll repair it this afternoon.”

That was his way of saying he would ask for the afternoon off.

Zhou Peijun opened his mouth. He wanted to say, Since you’re already late, why not just take the morning off and go home to fix it? But when he saw Shen Shaoyuan’s timid, shrinking appearance, he swallowed the words.

He thought to himself that Old Seventh Shen was simply too honest. There was no way he was trying to take advantage of the brigade. He was just incapable of adapting.

Zhou Peijun had no idea that Shen Shaoyuan was no longer the same man inside, so he did not suspect that this had been intentional at all.

The morning work period was shorter, while the afternoon work period was longer. Since Zhou Peijun had already said he would not deduct their work points, taking the afternoon off was naturally the more advantageous choice.

Father and daughter exchanged a glance. Shen Shaoyuan winked at her, then carried his hoe down into the field on the right. Shen Mo’er curved her lips into a smile and went down into the field on the left.

An adult man like Shen Shaoyuan counted as strong labor and was assigned to turn the soil in the field on the left. Shen Mo’er had been physically frail since childhood, and as a woman, she was assigned to pull weeds alongside the elderly and children.

Once she entered the field, Shen Mo’er did not go near the crowded areas. She simply found an empty corner and squatted down to pull weeds.

The original host had been weak and timid, and normally had little contact with outsiders. Even when she worked, she never went near crowded places. This was convenient for Shen Mo’er, since she did not have to face too many people immediately after arriving in this unfamiliar world.

Before long, two middle-aged women hurried into the field. Zhou Peijun glared at them so fiercely that his eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.

“Why don’t you wait until sunset before showing up?” he roared.

Shen Mo’er looked up. One of the women had high cheekbones, while the other had slanting, narrow eyes. The high-cheekboned woman was Tian Fang, the original host’s second aunt by marriage. The narrow-eyed woman was Cao Mei, the original host’s third aunt by marriage. These were the two who had taken her family’s grain.

Tian Fang always wore a three-part smile when speaking to others. “Peijun, dear, I really didn’t do it on purpose. I woke up feeling unwell this morning, so I boiled myself a bowl of mugwort tea before coming. And your Aunt Cao Mei was only being kind—she was afraid something might be wrong with me, so she came along to keep me company. It was my fault. If you’re going to deduct work points, just deduct mine.”

If Cao Mei had said those words, Zhou Peijun would never have believed her. Everyone in the brigade knew that Third Uncle Shen and his wife were extraordinarily lazy and always dragged their feet when it came to work.

Page 2 of 3

But Tian Fang was amiable and diligent, and she had always enjoyed a good reputation in the brigade. When she said she had been unwell, Zhou Peijun believed her.

Still, why were there suddenly so many people feeling ill today?

Remembering how erratic the weather had been lately, Zhou Peijun found the situation somewhat understandable. Old Seventh Shen’s family had caught a chill because their bedding got soaked, while Aunt Tian had probably suffered from the sudden heat and gotten a touch of sunstroke.

Since they were feeling unwell, he naturally would not deduct their work points.

Zhou Peijun waved helplessly. “Get to work.”

A minor ailment was no reason to abandon one’s post. Having drunk mugwort tea, they should naturally continue working.

Tian Fang exchanged a few more polite words with him. Once she confirmed that he would not deduct their work points, she exchanged a glance with Cao Mei, both of them wearing smug expressions.

She had not been feeling unwell at all. She had deliberately washed clothes at home before coming.

Zhou Peijun was all bluster and no backbone. For all his loud shouting, he was actually the softest-hearted of the twelve team leaders. Fooling someone like him was as easy as picking something up.

Tian Fang swept her eyes over the field ridge and spotted Shen Mo’er in the corner. She gave Cao Mei a meaningful look, and Cao Mei immediately said, “Oh, isn’t that Mo’er? She’s all alone, without anyone beside her. Sister-in-law, let’s go keep her company.”

“Exactly. Let’s go keep her company and help her with some of the work, so poor Mo’er won’t have to do as much. Just look how thin the child is.”

As they spoke, the two women headed toward Shen Mo’er.

Watching them from behind, Zhou Peijun thought that, among the entire Shen family, Aunt Tian was still the kindest. She knew how to feel sorry for Shen Mo’er, that poor little girl without a mother.

Had Shen Mo’er known what Zhou Peijun was thinking, she would certainly have cursed him for being a fool.

There truly were not many good people in the Shen family, but Tian Fang was actually the most vicious of the lot. Take the matter of the stolen grain: Cao Mei had done it on the surface, but the idea had come from Tian Fang. The original host had once overheard the two of them discussing how to divide up the spoils.

Shen Mo’er naturally knew that the two women had come over now not to help her as they claimed. On the contrary, they knew that “Shen Mo’er” would only bury her head and work, and would never dare complain even if she suffered a loss. They had deliberately come to work alongside her so that they could slack off.

The moment she entered the field, Cao Mei began complaining. “You’re far too slow. You’ve been working all this time and have pulled only that few weeds?”

Shen Mo’er glanced at her without saying anything.

Cao Mei was not surprised. Old Seventh Shen could not force a word out even with three blows of a stick, and his daughter was much the same. Today, at least, she had looked up at Cao Mei once; normally, she did not even dare raise her head.

Tian Fang was accustomed to playing the good person. With a smile, she said, “Mo’er is weak and can’t do much work. You know that perfectly well. As her aunts, we can simply do a little more.”

“Shen Mo’er” was indeed physically weak, but she had always been willing to put effort into her work. She could not match the exceptionally capable workers, but she was at least average.

However, because the Shen family always stole the fruits of her labor whenever they worked, and because Tian Fang had spent more than a decade proclaiming that she was too weak to work, everyone in the brigade had come to believe that she was incapable of doing any labor.

It was not only the people of Willow Production Brigade who knew this. Even the neighboring villages knew that Old Seventh Shen’s daughter was too frail to work, and that no one should ever marry such a sickly woman.

The fellow villagers working in the fields secretly glanced at Shen Mo’er and sighed inwardly. The child was truly pitiful, and truly obedient as well. What a shame that she was in such poor health.

Country folk made their living by the strength of their bodies. How could anyone manage with a weak constitution?

Tian Fang and Cao Mei had never truly come to help Shen Mo’er. They had not worked for long before Cao Mei began dragging the weeds Shen Mo’er had pulled from behind her over to her own side, casually dividing some of them between herself and Tian Fang. Tian Fang merely cast a glance at the weeds and said nothing.

Shen Mo’er was not a block of wood. How could she fail to notice their little tricks?

Nor did Tian Fang and Cao Mei expect to hide them from her. They were simply certain that she was timid and afraid of trouble, and that even if she suffered a loss, she would not dare speak up.

Shen Mo’er secretly checked her position, then raised a hand to wipe away her sweat. Suddenly, her whole body began to sway. After wobbling for two or three seconds, she collapsed sideways onto the ground with a thud.

At the instant she fell, she cried out in a weak, hoarse voice, “Dad—”

Before anyone in her section of the field could react, Shen Shaoyuan came charging over from the opposite field, across a narrow path. As he ran, he shouted, “Mo’er! My Mo’er...”

Page 3 of 3

“What happened? What happened?”

“Oh no, Old Seventh Shen’s Mo’er has fainted!”

“Good heavens, is it heatstroke or an illness? Hurry and call Old Liu over to take a look!”

The crowd fell into confusion. Someone ran at full speed toward the First Team’s fields to fetch Old Liu, the barefoot doctor.

“There’s no need to call a doctor. Just press her philtrum and she’ll wake up.” Cao Mei reached out to do it, but Shen Shaoyuan grabbed her and flung her aside, sending her crashing onto her bottom.

She glared at him angrily. “Old Seventh, why did you push me?”

Shen Shaoyuan ignored her completely. Holding Shen Mo’er in his arms, he began to wail. “Mo’er, Mo’er, what’s wrong? I have only one daughter, you know! If something happens to you, what am I supposed to do...?”

Everyone around them fell silent.

Zhou Peijun hurried over as well. “It’s not that serious, really. She may simply have heatstroke. Uncle Liu will be here any moment. Don’t panic.”

Shen Shaoyuan continued howling. Someone nearby muttered, “How can Old Seventh Shen cry so much? How come none of us ever noticed before?”

Another person said, “He has only one daughter. Of course he’s frightened and crying. When people are pushed to the limit, nothing they do is strange.”

Shen Mo’er was afraid that Shen Shaoyuan might overact. When she heard someone shouting in the distance that Uncle Liu had arrived, she timely “awakened” and spoke weakly.

“Dad, I’m all right...”

Seeing that she had woken up, the surrounding commune members immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh, thank goodness she’s awake! As long as she’s awake, that’s what matters!”

Shen Shaoyuan began crying again. “Mo’er, you nearly scared your father to death...”

Shen Mo’er grabbed his arm, looking weak yet determined to get up. “Dad, I’m fine now. I can keep working. I’ve only done this little bit of work; how can that be enough? I can do more...”

Her words drew everyone’s attention to the large pile of weeds already heaped around the spot where she had fainted.

“Oh my, that’s hardly a little bit of work! She did all that in such a short time. Impressive!”

“Who would have thought? Mo’er is actually quite capable!”

The onlookers began exclaiming one after another. They had always heard that Old Seventh Shen’s daughter was weak and unable to work, but now she did not seem nearly so incapable.

Tian Fang and Cao Mei, who had been standing nearby watching the commotion, were stunned. That pile of weeds clearly belonged to them. Although quite a few had been pulled from Shen Mo’er’s side, many had also been pulled by the two of them.

But at a moment like this, with someone having just fainted, they could hardly step forward and announce that they had pulled the weeds themselves. Besides, Shen Mo’er had happened to collapse right on top of the pile. Even if they said anything, no one would likely believe them.

Cao Mei opened her mouth, but Tian Fang tugged at her. Reluctantly, Cao Mei closed it again.

Doctor Liu arrived just then. After examining Shen Mo’er and listening to the father and daughter describe what had happened, he reached his conclusion: she had caught a slight chill, but the real cause was hunger.

The onlookers immediately broke into a chorus of sighs. The outside world had been chaotic in recent years, and agricultural production in the commune had suffered as well. Grain yields were low, and after the grain tax had been paid, the brigade’s reserves were stretched to the breaking point. Nearly every household was struggling to eat its fill.

Still, some people felt that while no one was eating enough, surely it was not enough to leave someone starving to this extent. Both father and daughter were honest, hardworking laborers, and they had no other burdens to support. By rights, their life should not have been this difficult.

Then they saw Shen Mo’er brace her frail body and shakily struggle to her feet. She seized Tian Fang and Cao Mei and cried out mournfully, “Second Aunt, Third Aunt, could you please return the grain you borrowed from our family? Truly, my father and I aren’t being petty. It’s just that our family has had nothing to cook for several days. If this continues, my father and I really will starve to death!”

“If I weren’t desperate, I wouldn’t dare ask you, but I’m truly so hungry. I can’t work properly like this. Sob... I don’t want to hold everyone back...”

Caught off guard and suddenly pulled forward by Shen Mo’er, Tian Fang and Cao Mei were speechless.