Chapter 8: The Space Appears 

There were over 700 households in Dawa Village, making it a large village. Yet, despite its size, there were only two wells.

It hadn’t rained for a long time. Every hour of the day, someone was drawing water at the wells. The villagers often quarreled and even fought over who got to draw water.

With no better option, the village head laid down rules: Everyone must line up, and each household may only carry one load of water at a time.

If you wanted more water, you had to go back to the end of the line and wait again.

When Granny Li and Qin Nian arrived at the well, Qin Nian spotted a familiar figure.

It was Dong Biao—the same man who had fled naked from the mountain cave the day she arrived in this world.

Dong Biao was hunched over, big rear sticking out, sweating as he turned the windlass, drawing up two buckets of water.

His older brother, Dong Hu, carried away those two buckets. But Dong Biao stayed behind, grabbing another pair of empty buckets—he intended to draw more.

There were four brothers in the Dong family, all married with children. Plus their parents—it was a household of over ten people.

Their great-grandfather had once been a successful businessman and had saved up quite a bit. Though the family had declined by Dong Biao’s father’s generation and had moved to the countryside, they were still considered a relatively well-off household in the village.

One load of water barely lasted for cooking and washing. If they wanted more, they had to line up again and wait a long time.

Dong Biao and Dong Hu had made a plan: the two of them would go together, draw two buckets, and then one of them would carry the water back while the other kept drawing.

The people behind them in line weren’t having it—they began scolding Dong Biao for breaking the rules.

Dong Biao stuck out his neck and shouted back:

“What are you yelling for? Look at you poor wretches. All you can rely on is water to stay alive—why don’t you try saving your strength?”

The crowd was furious and started shouting back:

“Dong Biao, your family isn’t poor, so why are you stealing water from people like us who literally survive on it?”

“You can eat your fill now, but don’t get cocky. You never know—your family might end up relying on water to stay alive too.”

Dong Biao threw back his head and let out a haughty laugh before speaking again:

“My family has many mouths to feed. We need more water to rinse rice and wash vegetables, so we should be allowed to carry more.

You lot—do you even have rice or vegetables at home? Probably nothing, right? Then you don’t need water. Get lost.

Only those with food at home are qualified to draw water.”

A sturdy man bellowed:

“Get out of the way! If you want more water, line up again! If not, we’ll throw you in the well and drown you.”

Dong Biao’s wide, flat face twisted into a cocky smirk.

“Sun Dalei, you poor mongrel—you think you can throw me into the well? Go ahead! Try it!

I’ll even stand a bit closer to the edge. Who dares push me?”

With that, he plopped his wide rear down on the windlass handle, facing the angry crowd, swaying back and forth arrogantly.

Sun Dalei was Lin Cuizhi’s husband. Since she couldn’t carry water herself, he had come in her place.

Everyone’s face turned red with anger, but no one dared push Dong Biao. If he fell into the well, it could be a fatal accident.

Qin Nian couldn’t bear to watch any longer. She walked forward, her gaze locking onto Dong Biao’s wide pancake face:

“Dong Biao, what are you doing sitting on the windlass handle? The sunset is so beautiful—why don’t you get up and run a few laps to show everyone?”

“Run a few laps—”

Dong Biao faltered when he saw who was talking—it was Qin Nian.

A few days ago, he had gone into the mountains with Lin Cuizhi to fool around, and Qin Nian had caught them in the act. After escaping, he had regretted it deeply—why hadn’t he checked the cave first? Why had he been in such a rush?

But then again, they’d used that rundown mountain cave countless times and had never been caught before.

It just had to be that day when that wretched girl saw them.

He had spent the past two days on edge, heart pounding with fear. But nothing happened. No rumors. No fallout.

Dong Biao figured it out—Lin Cuizhi must have begged Qin Nian to keep quiet.

Qin Nian was just a girl, and it really was a scandal no proper girl would want to talk about. His heart finally settled.

But now, her words clearly mocked the day he’d been caught cheating and ran away naked.

Instinctively, Dong Biao glanced over at the towering Sun Dalei. He might not be brave enough to throw him into the well now, but…

If he found out his wife had slept with another man and been caught by Qin Nian, then—what wouldn’t he dare do?

Besides, once this kind of scandal became public knowledge, Dong Biao’s reputation in the village would be ruined forever. He’d never be able to act arrogant again.

Granny Li came over carrying a large water bucket. She gave Dong Biao a few glances and said dryly:

“Dong Biao, how is it your face is both flat and wide—makes a pig’s rump look positively shapely.”

What kind of comparison was that?!

Qin Nian laughed so hard she squatted down, and the bucket in her hand slipped from her grasp and rolled a good distance away.

The crowd burst into roaring laughter.

Dong Biao’s wide pancake face turned the color of pig liver—that old hag must know about his affair with Lin Cuizhi.

Qin Nian wouldn’t tell anyone else, but she’d definitely tell her.

Where was his big brother? Why wasn’t he back yet? Dong Biao anxiously turned to look in the direction of his home.

Granny Li put on an innocent face and said cheerfully, “Why is the back of your head so flat? Not a single bump—looks just like the bottom of a wine jug.”

Oh dear, what kind of comparison was that? Each one more ridiculous than the last.

Qin Nian laughed so hard she couldn’t even stand up straight.

Dong Biao, furious, tried to get up and go home—but forgot he was sitting on the windlass handle.

He gave a strong push with his foot. The handle wobbled, and his body tilted—

With a loud “Ow!” he fell into the well.

“Help! Someone pull me up!” he screamed.

Flailing around at the bottom of the well, he finally managed to grab the rope. He clung to it, hoping someone would help pull him up.

But with his behavior? No one moved.

The villagers all turned and left without a word.

Qin Nian and Granny Li also picked up their now-empty bucket and walked home.

On the way, Qin Nian began to think seriously. A village this large, and only two wells?

If it didn’t rain soon, the wells would eventually run dry. And if they did, the villagers would be forced to flee for survival.

Dragging entire families with them—where would they go? Most of them wouldn’t survive the journey.

She looked toward the mountains of Western Zhou. With mountains that big, surely there had to be a spring somewhere?

Qin Nian made a decision: the next time she went into the mountains to dig up wild greens, she would also try to search for water sources.

Even a small spring could save many lives.

Night once again enveloped the mountain village. It was only halfway into the xū hour (around 7:30 PM), yet most villagers were already asleep.

Even her grandmother had started to snore softly.

Qin Nian lay in the darkness, unable to sleep. They had bought 50 jin of cornmeal that day, so food was temporarily not a problem.

But what about later? If it never rained again, they’d be forced to rely on the mountains for survival.

She remembered all those time-travel novels she’d read in her previous life—everyone else got a magical space. Why didn’t she?

If she had space, so many problems would be solved.

The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she got. In her heart, she began to mutter in desperation:

“I want space. Let me enter the space!”

Suddenly, a light flashed before her eyes.

Qin Nian realized—she was no longer lying in the dark, but sitting up in bed.

And this bed—she knew it very well. This was her house from her previous life!

Before, when she’d moved in with her fiancé, she’d left this place vacant.

Her home had three large rooms, blue brick and red tiles, with two side rooms on each end. It had a spacious courtyard and modern amenities.

Qin Nian broke into a smile. So she did have space—she just hadn’t discovered it before!

The first thing she did after realizing this was leap out of bed and run into the bathroom to check herself in the mirror.

Reflected back at her was a young, delicate face. Big eyes, small mouth, fair but bloodless skin—pale from hunger.

Qin Nian muttered to herself:

“Not bad-looking… but way too thin. That pointy chin really does look like that snake spirit from the Calabash Brothers cartoon.”

“But it’s fine. Give it a bit of time—this snake-spirit chin will be nice and round again.”