Chapter 2

“Brother, the wild vegetables have all been taken away by that old woman. What are you going to eat?” the young man asked.

Zhou Jing only then realized that those few bitter wild vegetables were the only food in the house, and there wasn’t even a grain of rice bran left.

The man, holding a bowl, cast his eyes down, his expression dark.

“Then I won’t eat. It was always like this before; not eating one meal won’t make a difference,” the man continued. “Xiao Lin, go ahead and eat. Remember not to argue with Wang Chunhua.”

After saying this, the man continued to feed Zhou Jing the only remaining food in the house.

Even though Zhou Jing was so hungry that he felt like he could eat a whole cow, he couldn’t bring himself to swallow it.

Zhou Jing turned his head to the side. He avoided the spoon that the man was trying to feed him. The man was momentarily stunned, perhaps not expecting him to refuse.

“Don’t want to eat?” The man, puzzled by Zhou Jing’s sudden refusal to eat after usually consuming food heartily, asked: “Do you have no appetite? If so, I’ll put it away for now and reheat it later when you’re hungry.”

The young man, called Xiao Lin, could no longer contain his frustration and shouted, “Brother, why are you being so kind to him? Have you forgotten that the reason we have no food is because of him? It’s all because he promised that old shrew he would deliver food to her every day. That’s why we work so hard digging for vegetables and still end up without enough to eat!”

“And… even after all this, he still hits you. Is there any part of you that isn’t injured now?”

What? Those injuries were caused by ‘him’?

Zhou Jing’s eyes widened, he wanted to say something, but when he tried to talk, only incoherent sound came out from his throat.

He was unable to express what he felt. None of them, including himself, could understand what was he trying to say.

Zhou Jing hated the kind of person who was tyrannical within their own home, beating their spouse and cursing their parents. Although the wife of this body was a man, he was still “his” closest person in this world—someone he would spend a lifetime with!

And yet, he had been beaten him so badly? From Xiao Lin’s words, it seemed the injuries were not just on the surface but also on hidden parts of his body!

Seeing Zhou Jing so agitated, the man probably thought that Xiao Lin’s words had upset him and might worsen his condition. He scolded, “Shen Lin, stop talking. It’s getting dark. Hurry back, or there won’t even be soup left!”

Shen Lin, who was rarely scolded so sternly by his brother, was so angry that his eyes turned red.

“Brother, you’re yelling at me because of him? You have never done this before!”

 Shen Lin ran off, feeling extremely wronged.

The man, unable to let it go, chased after him. After a while and some soothing words, he finally returned.

Upon coming back, he took the remaining half bowl of wild vegetables and put it on the stove. He then turned around and drank a large amount of cold water in one gulp.

Zhou Jing wanted to tell him that drinking cold water was bad and could cause a stomach ache, but these words were stuck in his throat and would not come out.

In ancient times, rural households had no electricity, and at night, everything was pitch-black with no other forms of entertainment.

His family didn’t even have an oil lamp, making it difficult to do any needlework to supplement the household income.

The man could only take off his clothes and go to bed.

Since they were married, there was no need to be modest. As the man undressed, Zhou Jing could see his injuries clearly in the moonlight.

Every part of his chest and back that Zhou Jing’s gaze fell upon was covered in wounds!

Beast!

Zhou Jing wished he could pull the original owner’s soul over and give it a good beating.

As Zhou Jing could see the man’s injuries clearly in the moonlight, the man, in turn, could discern Zhou Jing’s expression.

His gaze flickered slightly, but he lay down and closed his eyes as if he felt nothing. In reality, the man hardly slept that night—lost in his thoughts.

Despite being seriously injured and anxious, Zhou Jing eventually managed to fall asleep. When he woke up, the day was bright, and the Shen brothers had already returned with wild vegetables, which they were cooking on the stove.

“Xiao Di, watch the pot. When the vegetables are cooked, you can eat them first; don’t wait for me. As for Zhou Jing, you don’t need to worry about him. I’ll feed him when I return.”

“Brother, no one is bullying us as much as the Wang family. They have a whole household of people, and only three men. Why can’t they go to the mountains themselves to collect some vegetables? We can barely feed ourselves, and yet we have to give them half of what we get! At this rate, we’re going to starve!”

“What else can we do? Zhou Jing promised to deliver half of our food to the Wang family every day. We are ger; once married, it is the husband’s responsibility to run the household. A promise is a promise, and we have no choice but to follow it.”

Shen Lin pursued his lips disdainfully.

The man went out and quickly returned. The first thing he did upon entering the house was to wash his hands and feed Zhou Jing the wild vegetables.

Zhou Jing was fully aware of the family’s dire situation. The family was extremely poor, and there was so much that needed to be done. However, no matter what he planned, he had to first regain his strength; otherwise, all other plans were futile. So, he ate the wild vegetables greedily.

After eating and sleeping, and sleeping and eating for seven days, Zhou Jing finally managed to get out of bed with assistance.

The burning sensation in his throat had disappeared, and he could speak normally.

The first question he asked was, “What is your name?”

This was a plan Zhou Jing had long prepared. He knew nothing about this era, and in the future, there would be even more things he wouldn’t understand.

The person closest to him, his pillow companion would surely notice something was off. Rather than be suspected later, he might as well seize this opportunity to pretend he had amnesia.

Amnesia was something that could occur with a bump or a knock to the head; without the ability to perform a CT scan at the moment, no one could prove that he was faking it.

The man was stunned. Shen Lin, however, was the first to speak up: “Zhou Jing, what trick are you trying to play this time?”

Zhou Jing replied in a hoarse voice, “You might not believe it, but I really don’t remember anything.”

“Don’t remember?” Shen Lin raised his voice. “Are you saying you even forgot that my brother is your husband?”

“Well… I only learned that from hearing you talk after I woke up. But I only know that he is my husband and that you are his Xiao Di; beyond that, I truly cannot remember anything!”

“I don’t believe you! I’m telling you, don’t even think about—”

The man stopped Shen Lin from continuing. After the initial shock, he composed himself and said, “I believe him. There’s no benefit for him to lie about something like this.”

Shen Lin glared at Zhou Jing, still seemingly not convinced.

“I am Shen Mo, and this is my little brother, Shen Lin,” the man said.

‘Shen Mo… Shen Mo… What a good name.’

After how many days, he finally learned the name of his wife.

Zhou Jing said, “I really can’t remember anything. Could you please tell me about things inside and outside the house? Surely, you wouldn’t want me to be completely blind?”

Shen Mo thought for a moment and said, “What do you want to know? Just ask.”

What Zhou Jing wanted to know most was whether the old woman who had come that day was truly the biological mother of this body, or if she was a stepmother who had taken on this role later. Why was she treating them so harshly? It seemed that Shen Mo had suffered quite a bit under her. Thinking this, Zhou Jing asked.

“She is your biological mother. Everyone in the village knows that. But she wishes she weren’t your mother at all, that you had no relation to her whatsoever!”

“Why?” Zhou Jing asked.

“She nearly died during your birth, struggling for half the night before you were finally born. It took almost half her life. Because she had a demanding mother-in-law, she didn’t get to rest properly and had to do all the work both inside and outside the house. She didn’t eat well, her body was weak, and her milk supply was low. On top of that, you were particularly troublesome, crying day and night. Your grandmother would scold her for not being able to take care of the child and for not having enough milk!”

“Your grandmother knew it was because of her poor nutrition that she didn’t have enough milk, but still, she wasn’t allowed to eat well. She was constantly scolded, didn’t recover well during her confinement, and fell into depression. Within a month, she developed a chronic illness.”

“The villagers originally thought that given the way she was tormented by her mother-in-law, she would have passed away long ago. However, unexpectedly, during your first birthday the following year, your grandmother suddenly fell ill and died. A year later, your grandfather also passed away. In the third year, while your mother was working in the fields, she suddenly fainted. They called a doctor and took several doses of medicine, but her condition only worsened. They went to a medical clinic in the town, spending a lot of money, but there was still no improvement, and her condition seemed to get worse every day.”

“Later, the villagers, with good intentions, suggested that there was an old woman in Zhou Village who was known for her mystical abilities, able to tell fortunes and exorcise spirits. They invited her to your home. Upon entering, she saw you and inquired about your birth date and your mother’s. After calculating, she determined that your family was doomed to be mutually destructive. Your destiny was too strong for them to overcome, so they could only let you cause their demise.”

“At the time, the villagers believed this, considering that your birth had already led to the death of the Wang family elders, and now your mother was affected. The old woman then proposed a solution: you should recognize a century-old tree at the village entrance as your godmother, and address your biological parents as ‘uncle’ and ‘aunt,’ instead of ‘father’ and ‘mother,’ to avoid any harmful effects.”

“After you accepted the old tree as your godmother, your mother’s health miraculously improved, and she even became pregnant again, giving birth to a healthy baby boy. But happiness didn’t last long; your little brother fell ill, and no medicine seemed to help. At this point, your mother suspected that you were once again causing harm to them. She invited the old woman back. The old woman inspected the situation but didn’t say a word, and went directly to the old tree at the village entrance. To everyone’s shock, the old tree had died; its branches had withered. This confirmed to the entire village, including those who had previously been skeptical, that you were indeed a curse to your family.”

“Seeing the tree dead, the old woman shook her head and said that unless you were no longer considered your parents’ child, there was no way to resolve the issue.”

“Your mother then asked what it meant to no longer be her child. The old woman replied that you should be removed from the family registry, and you should not bear the Wang family surname anymore. Only then would there be no more harm.”

The family had a discussion and concluded that the original owner’s fate was too harsh. They feared that if they did not follow the old woman’s advice, everyone might be affected by their misfortune, so they decided to heed her words. They removed the original owner’s name from the family register, changed their surname, and decreed that they could no longer keep the surname Wang.

The question of what surname to adopt stirred quite a commotion in the village. Families with other surnames were worried that if the original owner took on their surname, they might end up bringing misfortune to them instead. Therefore, no one was willing to allow the original owner to adopt their surname. After much consideration, the Village Chief suggested that since there was no Zhou surname in the village, they might as well take it. So, the original owner was given the surname Zhou and named Zhou Jing.

As for the original owner’s mother, she had also removed the original owner from the family register and changed their surname. She continued to believe that the original owner was a source of trouble for her, and when the original owner turned ten and was capable of doing household chores, she urged the father to drive the original owner out to live on their own. After the original owner left, the family indeed experienced fewer illnesses. The mother became even more convinced that the original owner was causing misfortune and treated them more harshly.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jing was at a loss for words. It seemed that this mother and child were perhaps simply destined not to have a good relationship.

“Since it is said that I bring misfortune to my relatives, why did you still agree to marry me?” Zhou Jing asked.

Shen Mo lowered her eyes and replied, “My biological mother passed away, and my father remarried. My stepmother believed that I, too, was a source of misfortune for them and that we matched perfectly with each other, so she arranged for me to marry you.”

“It is not true at all! My older brother does not bring misfortune to our family. What happened to my mother was an accident! That stepmother is truly malicious. She could not stand to see me and my brother living a good life! That’s why he wanted to marry my brother off to you, hoping you would torment him to death!”