Chapter 21.1

“Her mother is awful. She doesn’t feed her and makes her do all the chores…” Qin Jiashu’s voice was filled with worry.

Xu Jiaojiao stopped walking Qin Jiashu toward the courtyard, a vivid image flashing through her mind of the frail little girl she’d seen that morning, struggling under the weight of a bamboo basket overflowing with dirty clothes.

“Did you and San Gouzi check all the places she might have gone?” Xu Jiaojiao asked.

Qin Jiashu nodded. “Yeah, she’s not in the cave or at home…”

Qinjia Village was small, with few places for a child to go. Selling her off seemed unlikely.

Xu Jiaojiao frowned, a sudden chill running through her. “Did you check the river?”

The little girl had carried so much laundry to the river that morning. By now, she should have finished washing it all.

As Xu Jiaojiao considered this, a premonition struck her. Could something have happened to the girl at the river?

As someone who had transmigrated into the book, Xu Jiaojiao had no real advantage. She hadn’t finished reading it, only skimming the beginning, middle, and end.

In other words, this was a rebirth sweet romance novel of over a million characters, but Xu Jiaojiao had barely read ten chapters before setting it aside.

Since transmigrating, she’d been living entirely off the original owner’s memories.

In Xu Jiaojiao’s view, transmigrating into the book as Xu Jiaojiao had already altered the plot’s course. Being unaware of the original storyline suited her just fine, she was content to adapt to whatever came her way.

But when Qin Jiashu mentioned they couldn’t find Qin Jiedi, the little girl who had been fetching his younger brother, Xu Jiaojiao suddenly recalled a few chapters she had skimmed through earlier.

She remembered reading that Qin Jiashu had developed psychological trauma after witnessing a friend freeze to death by the riverbank. He had suffered from nightmares for years, until the reborn female lead eventually healed him.

A friend freezing to death by the riverbank causing trauma?

Freezing to death by the riverbank…

Xu Jiaojiao’s breathing quickened as the realization dawned on her.

The river near Qinjia Village wasn’t large, only about five meters wide, with clear, gentle currents. In summer, the village women would often wash clothes there, but in winter, the icy water deterred most people.

“No,” Qin Jiashu replied, shaking his head in confusion. He couldn’t understand why they would search by the river.

“Come on, Auntie will help you look for her,” Xu Jiaojiao said, abruptly setting her rice bowl on the courtyard ground. She grabbed Qin Jiashu’s hand and turned to leave.

“Auntie…” Qin Jiashu suddenly felt a surge of anxiety, though he didn’t know why.

Xu Jiaojiao led Qin Jiashu out of the courtyard, closing the gate behind them. They glanced at the darkening sky in the distance and hurried toward Aunt Juhua’s house.

“Aunt Juhua, do you have a flashlight I can borrow?” Xu Jiaojiao asked urgently.

“We do have a flashlight. What’s wrong? Why are you so worried?” Aunt Juhua asked, puzzled.

Her family had eaten dinner early and was already at the table.

Xu Jiaojiao explained briefly that Qin Jiashu couldn’t find Jie Di. “This morning, when I took Xiao Shu to town, I saw her carrying dirty clothes to the river. I’m a little worried,” she admitted.

If it’s just a false alarm, that would be best. But what if something really happened to her?

“Ah!” Aunt Ju Hua instinctively raised her hand to her chest, panic-stricken after hearing Xu Jiajiao.

After a moment, she asked, “Zhengye’s wife, when you said ‘Jie Di‘ are you talking about Qin Zhuzi’s little girl?”

“Qin Zhuzi’s family?” Xu Jiaojiao lowered her head to look at Qin Jiashu in surprise. “Jie Di is Qin Zhuzi’s child?”

“Yes, didn’t you know?” Aunt Juhua replied.

“I don’t go out much and haven’t learned everyone’s names in the village,” Xu Jiaojiao shook her head.

Aunt Ju Hua nodded understandingly and shouted into the house, “Datou, Dazhuang, Zhengye’s wife said the little girl from Qin Zhizi’s family is missing. She’s going to the river to look. You all come help look too…”

Aunt Ju Hua called over her husband and eldest son.

“Dazhuang, take the flashlight from the drawer at the dining table and go with them,” Aunt Ju Hua reminded her son.

The sky was almost dark, and it would be completely dark by the time they reached the riverbank.

“Xiao Shu, why don’t you stay and play at Aunt’s house? Aunt will be right back, okay?”

Xu Jiaojiao remembered reading in a book that Qin Jiashu had been traumatized after witnessing a playmate freeze to death. Given the approaching darkness, she wanted to leave the child at Aunt Ju Hua’s house.

“Xiao Shu wants to go,” Qin Jiashu insisted, his eyes reddening as he clung tightly to Xu Jiaojiao’s hand.

Seeing the boy’s unwavering determination, Xu Jiaojiao sighed helplessly. She wanted to comfort him but feared wasting precious time, knowing a young life hung in the balance.

“Then Xiao Shu must hold Aunt’s hand very tightly.”

“Okay.”

Aunt Ju Hua stood at the courtyard gate, watching the group head toward the river. Turning back, she called to her younger son, “Daqiang, go check on Qin Zhuzi’s family and see what’s happening there.”

“Their own child goes missing and they don’t seem worried at all… What kind of people…” Aunt Juhua shook her head and muttered in disapproval.

Qin Daqiang nodded, tightened his coat, and hurried out without another word.

Xu Jiaojiao and Qin Jiashu followed behind Qin Datou and his son Qin Dazhuang, who led the way.

The river wasn’t far from Qinjia Village, about a ten-minute walk.

When Xu Jiaojiao and Qin Jiashu left, dusk had already begun to fall. Now, halfway to the river, darkness had completely enveloped them.

Qin Dazhuang, leading the way, switched on his dim flashlight.

“Be careful,” Xu Jiaojiao whispered to Qin Jiashu, who was walking beside her.

Qin Jiashu bravely nodded in response.

The group quickly reached the riverbank, where they usually washed clothes. Qin Dazhuang swept the area with his flashlight but found no one by the water.

“No one’s here,” Qin Dazhuang reported.

“Jie Di…” Qin Jiashu suddenly choked out, his voice trembling.

Seeing the boy’s distress, Xu Jiaojiao scanned the riverbank. “Jie Di, are you there?”

Silence.

The only sound was the chilling wind whistling through the reeds.

“Aunt, what should we do?” Qin Jiashu looked up at Xu Jiaojiao.

Xu Jiaojiao patted his head reassuringly. “Uncle Qin, let’s search along the riverbank.”

“Dazhuang, sweep the area with the flashlight,” Qin Datou instructed his son.

Qin Dazhuang moved toward the reedy marsh, his flashlight beam cutting through the darkness. The tall reeds, swaying eerily in the cold wind, rustled with a sinister sound.

Xu Jiaojiao followed with Qin Jiashu in tow. She was now grateful she had borrowed the flashlight from Aunt Juhua. Without it, she and Qin Jiashu would have had to search in complete darkness, likely turning back halfway.

The rural area was pitch-black, without electricity. The occasional cry of a small animal in the distance sent shivers down one’s spine.

Xu Jiaojiao could only hope that Qin Jiedi was safe and sound, and that tonight’s search would prove to be a false alarm.

But before her wish could fully form, Qin Dazhuang’s voice cut through the night.

“Dad, something’s not right with this reed patch…” Qin Dazhuang had walked about ten meters into the reeds, his flashlight beam cutting through the darkness, when he suddenly stopped, puzzled, and turned back.

Xu Jiaojiao’s heart leaped into her throat. Qin Jiashu, who was holding her hand, could feel her panic.

“Aunt…”

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” Xu Jiaojiao whispered to reassure Qin Jiashu, quickening her pace toward Qin Dazhuang.

“Oh my god, she’s here! She’s fallen into the reeds…” Qin Dazhuang’s flashlight beam landed on a figure submerged in the thicket.

As Xu Jiaojiao approached, she followed the flashlight’s beam and saw the frail little girl lying motionless in the reeds, her eyes closed, her fate uncertain.

The weather was bitterly cold. Although the sun had melted some of the snow during the day, nighttime temperatures remained frigid, causing even the flowing river to show signs of freezing. The reed patch, sheltered from the sun, would be even colder.

“I’ll go down and check,” Qin Dazhuang said, handing the flashlight to his father. He carefully lowered himself into the reeds, gripping the stalks for support.

“Slow down,” Qin Datou called out, holding his flashlight to illuminate the way.

“Okay,” Qin Dazhuang replied, struggling to slide down. His foot landed on a patch of ice in the reed marsh.

Crack!

Qin Dazhuang was tall and heavy. The ice, not yet solid enough, shattered under his weight, and he immediately sank into the mud.

“Ugh!” Qin Dazhuang gasped, feeling his legs go numb.

“It’s freezing!” he shivered, hurrying toward the unconscious girl.

“Jie Di!” Qin Dazhuang shouted, reaching for the girl’s arm to pull her closer.

The girl lay motionless in the reeds, her face pale and still, as if she had stopped breathing.

Qin Dazhuang’s heart pounded. He strained to pull her free, but she wouldn’t budge. Upon closer inspection, he realized one of Qin Jiedi’s feet was trapped in the frozen mud.

“Her foot’s frozen stuck,” Qin Dazhuang said, turning to his father. Fearfully, he leaned down to check for breath at the girl’s nose.

Xu Jiaojiao even saw Qin Dazhuang’s hand trembling.

Qin Dazhuang’s face paled. Whether from the cold or something else, he couldn’t feel any sign of breathing.

Qin Datou, older and more composed, frowned gravely. “Dazhuang, no matter what, get her out of there first.”

“Okay,” Qin Dazhuang said, bending down and using all his strength to strike Qin Jiedi’s frozen feet. He broke the ice and successfully lifted the little girl up.

Qin Datou leaned down with a flashlight to help. Both father and son were tall enough, and Qin Datou grabbed Qin Jiedi by the collar, pulling her up in one swift motion.

“Jie Di…” Qin Jiashu couldn’t hold back his tears.

“I don’t know how long she was in the water. She’s probably gone,” Qin Datou said, taking the child. He touched Jie Di’s nose and felt no breath.

Xu Jiaojiao’s heart skipped a beat.

“Waaah, Jie Di, don’t die…” Qin Jiashu wailed in despair.

As Qin Jiedi was being pulled up, Xu Jiaojiao reached out to cover Qin Jiashu’s eyes. But the boy pushed her hand away, stubbornly wanting to see.

Qin Datou laid Jie Di down without hope, sighed, and turned to help Qin Dazhuang out of the reeds. “Come on up.”

“Okay,” Qin Dazhuang said, shivering as he climbed out. His pants were soaked, covered in soft black mud from the reeds.

“Don’t cry, Auntie will check her first,” Xu Jiaojiao said, taking a deep breath. She released Qin Jiashu, knelt beside Jiedi, and touched the child’s body.

Qin Jiedi’s eyes were closed, and she appeared lifeless, but her body remained soft, not yet completely frozen. Xu Jiaojiao, clinging to a sliver of hope, began emergency measures.

She knelt, bending her knees at a ninety-degree angle, and pressed Qin Jiedi face-down across her lap, pushing against the child’s abdomen to check for water in her lungs.

After several compressions, the little girl remained unresponsive, limp and silent like a rag doll.

Xu Jiaojiao laid Qin Jiedi flat on her back, adjusted her head, and pried open her mouth.

“What are you doing?” Qin Datou asked, holding up his flashlight in confusion.

“I’m giving her CPR,” Xu Jiaojiao replied, her voice strained as she desperately pressed on the child’s chest with her limited first-aid knowledge.

She didn’t know if it would work, but she had to try. Qin Jie Di was only four years old, so small and vulnerable.

Qin Jiashu stood nearby, biting his lip and sobbing, tears welling in his eyes.

“It’ll be okay, she’ll be okay…” Xu Jiaojiao whispered, trying to reassure both Qin Jiashu and herself. She repeated the CPR compressions, forcing air into the little girl’s mouth, but Jie Di showed no signs of life.

Xu Jiaojiao’s compressions grew desperate, her arms aching and nearly cramping.

“Uncle Qin, can you help…?” Xu Jiaojiao wanted Qin Datou and his son to take over the CPR.

“Cough…” Suddenly, the little girl beneath Xu Jiaojiao stirred, letting out a faint cough.

“She’s alive?” Qin Dazhuang exclaimed in astonishment.

“Quick, take her home,” Xu Jiaojiao said urgently, breathing a sigh of relief.

Qin Dazhuang immediately bent down to pick up the girl, and the group hurried away from the riverbank.

At Qin Zhuzi’s house, the family was eating dinner when Qin Daqiang knocked and explained the situation. The couple’s faces darkened.

“Just a worthless girl. If she’s gone, she’s gone. Why bother looking? With her gone, we’ll save food for Tianbao,” Qin Zhuzi’s wife, Li Xiaomai, grumbled, shoving her husband aside.

Qin Zhuzi’s tone was equally irritable. “Who cares about that dead girl’s fate? But have you forgotten she took a basket of dirty clothes to wash today? You didn’t care about her, and now you don’t care about the clothes either?”

“The clothes! Oh no! That stupid girl took Tianbao’s new padded jacket to wash too!” Li Xiaomai gasped.

Qin Zhuzi strode irritably toward the riverbank, meeting Xu Jiaojiao and the others halfway.

“Datou…” Qin Zhuzi called out to Qin Datou.

“You little wretch! Where are the clothes you took to wash today?” Li Xiaomai rushed forward, completely ignoring her daughter’s near-death state, and demanded of the barely conscious Qin Jiedi.

To Li Xiaomai, Qin Jiedi’s life seemed less valuable than a few pieces of clothing.

Qin Jiedi had been freezing for a long time, her clothes completely soaked. When Li Xiaomai questioned her, her teeth chattered so violently she couldn’t utter a word, only staring at Li Xiaomai with desperate eyes.

Xu Jiaojiao, holding Qin Jiashu’s hand, also witnessed the couple’s behavior.

“Speak! Are you mute?” Li Xiaomai slapped Qin Jie Di hard across the face.

She seemed oblivious to Qin Jiedi’s drenched and muddy state, fixated solely on finding her precious son’s clothes.

“The clothes and bamboo basket are in the reeds by the river,” Qin Dazhuang replied in a muffled voice, still cradling Qin Jiedi.

Earlier, he had considered retrieving the items from the reeds, but the water was too cold. He couldn’t bear standing in the muddy water for more than a moment and abandoned the effort.

Now, Qin Dazhuang pursed his lips, grateful he hadn’t tried. Otherwise, he would have been furious.

“What? Dropped them in the reeds?” Li Xiaomai’s eyes widened. “You useless girl! What good is it that I gave birth to you? You’re nothing but a debt collector! You can’t even wash a few clothes properly, and now you’ve dragged your father and me out here in the middle of the night to search for you! Why don’t you just die out there?!”

Qin Jiedi remained silent, showing no reaction to Li Xiaomai’s furious scolding.

Xu Jiaojiao and the others listened to Li Xiaomai’s furious scolding, feeling deeply uncomfortable.