Chapter 1

So hungry…

Can one feel hunger after death?

In a daze, these thoughts flickered through Sang Luo’s mind. After an unknown amount of time passed, the discomfort of hunger, which felt like it was gnawing at her from the front to the back, finally woke her up.

The moonlight, like a silver frost, illuminated the room. She felt a bit confused, her mind foggy for a moment, before remembering that she seemed to be dead? But, the afterlife shouldn’t look like this, right?

Although it was night, she could still see clearly in the moonlight that she was in a completely unfamiliar house.

She moved her fingertips and felt her body’s condition with each breath. Though somewhat weak, there was no pain as in illness. Gathering some strength, she placed her hand on her chest. Her skin was warm, and her heartbeat was not strong but definitely there.

Was she still alive?

As this thought crossed her mind, something inexplicable surged in her brain—a dense burst of pain. Sang Luo’s body arched, instinctively clutching her head. Memories belonging to another person merged and churned with her own, and when she finally absorbed those memories and understood that she had traveled through time, she was drenched in cold sweat from the pain.

Sang Luo propped herself up on the bed and sat up with effort, using the moonlight to survey the thatched cottage in her “memories.” The scene before her matched every detail of the memories.

She had crossed over to a dynasty called the Great Qian Dynasty. The original owner of this body was also named Sang Luo, fifteen years old, born into a commoner family. Due to flooding in her hometown, the original owner’s parents and siblings all perished, leaving only her to survive by following her fellow villagers in fleeing.

After months of fleeing, most people couldn’t endure any longer. Gradually, selling children and women became common, both to save the children and to provide a means for the family to survive.

The original owner had no family left but encountered Mrs. Li while passing through Qingpu Township, who wanted to find a wife for their nephew.

They had heard that Mrs. Li’s nephew, named Shen Lie, was tall and strong, not a gambler or a ruffian, but currently serving in the army and had not yet returned.

Marrying a farmer as a wife, although there was the risk of him not returning from military service, was still better than selling oneself as a slave. Besides, the original owner really had nowhere else to go. Moreover, at a time when the aunt who had taken care of her along the way was seriously ill and weak, the original owner gritted her teeth and found Mrs. Li, who was still asking for a price. She didn’t sell herself but exchanged herself for half a bag of grain to become Shen’s wife.

The grain was all given to her uncle and aunt, and she followed Mrs. Li back to Shili Village.

Compared to Sang Luo, Mrs. Li was much more proactive. Although Sang Luo wasn’t purchased, and there was no contract held by herself, Mrs. Li didn’t spend much money at all. Just half a bag of grain, without spending a penny more.

Upon returning to the village, she immediately sent her husband to find the local registrar and transferred the household registration of the original owner to the Shen family, and quickly arranged the marriage between the original owner and Shen Lie.

It was only then that the original owner learned that her so-called husband had been away for military service for two years and three months and had reportedly died in a battle.

In other words, the original owner, newly married, was already a widow.

Although the original owner was fearful and confused, she had no other choice. It was better than continuing to wander and beg or facing an uncertain future of being sold into slavery. At least now she had a “home”.

As for why Mrs. Li still wanted to find a wife for Shen Lie even though he was dead, this question was answered half a month after moving into the Shen family’s house.

The Shen family split, and Sang Luo, the head wife of the Shen family, along with Shen Lie’s two nine-year-old twin siblings, were separated from the main household.

It was only then that the original owner realized the role of the half bag of grain that Mrs. Li exchanged for her return.

An open and honest transaction.

The Great Qian Dynasty had been at war for years, and in the past decade, various natural disasters and man-made calamities had struck one after another, making life difficult for the people. The Shen family had settled here nine years ago after fleeing. Many of them died during the exodus, either because they protected their families or because they couldn’t endure sickness and hunger.

By the time they arrived, only Shen Lie, who was then only nine years old, and the twins, born to Shen Lie’s mother, named Zhang, had survived the journey. Zhang died shortly after giving birth. No one from the second household survived, and the couple from the third household, newlyweds at the time, had no children. They managed to survive by rationing their food and water.

The three children of the main household then lived with their uncle and aunt.

At first, it was alright, but after settling in Shili Village, Mrs. Li had two babies in three years and four in seven years. Naturally, she favored her own children. From the birth of the third child of the second household, life became much harder for the three children of the main household.

Fortunately, although Shen Lie was young, he had some skills. Perhaps because his parents were tall, Shen Lie, as he grew older, became much taller than his peers. At the age of twelve or thirteen, he could already undertake heavy labor at home. Shen’s uncle and aunt took advantage of this and continued to raise the two younger nephews and nieces.

The trouble came two years ago when the court conscripted soldiers. The most suitable candidate from the Shen family was actually Shen’s uncle, the head of the household. But would Shen’s uncle dare to go to the battlefield? Not in a million years!

Almost without any struggle, Shen’s uncle set his sights on Shen Lie, who was already sixteen. Without Shen Lie’s knowledge, he arranged everything with the local registrar, and Shen Lie’s name was submitted.

After all, since the main household and the second household hadn’t split, Shen’s uncle, as the head of the household, naturally acted as the head of the family.

When Shen Lie returned from the mountains, before he could figure out the situation, he was forcibly taken away by the conscription officers.

With Shen Lie gone, life became difficult for the twins. At first, it was alright, as they still worried about Shen Lie and felt guilty. But a few months ago, some people who had gone to serve in the military returned from a neighboring village with news of a major defeat on the front lines. They reported that only three out of ten soldiers from the vanguard survived, and the entire regiment where Shen Lie was stationed was said to have been wiped out.

With Shen Lie dead, Mrs. Li was no longer willing to continue caring for the twins. Moreover, the government hadn’t provided any compensation, which further infuriated Mrs. Li. Initially, she was worried that the news might be inaccurate, but as time passed, everyone who could return had returned except for Shen Lie. Mrs. Li’s courage grew, and her thoughts turned sour.

The Shen family had only been rooted here for nine years. Although they had cleared some acres of land, it was still limited. Most of the land they cultivated was leased, and after deducting the rent and various taxes, life was already difficult.

With her own four children to feed, Li’s family already had six mouths to feed. It was difficult to ensure they had enough to eat, and adding the two children from the main household meant eight mouths to feed.

With the additional two mouths, how much less would her children have to eat?

Although Mrs. Li had ideas, Shen Lie had been only sixteen when he was conscripted by his own uncle. Now that he had died on the battlefield…

Even if they wanted to abandon the two children from the main household, they didn’t dare to actually do it. Not only would they be criticized by the villagers, but Shen’s uncle himself would fear facing his deceased elder brother in the afterlife.

Those two children couldn’t be abandoned; they would starve if they were.

While reluctant to care for them, they couldn’t find a way to abandon them immediately. They could only hold off and wait for an opportunity. It wasn’t until the group of refugees appeared in the village that Mrs. Li saw an opportunity and exchanged half a bag of grain for a bride for Shen Lie.

Mrs. Li felt very clever. Without an elder brother, why not bring back a sister-in-law? Wasn’t it said that a sister-in-law was like a mother?

With two children who couldn’t be sent away, bringing back an older bride and then sending her away would solve the problem.

Upon returning home, Mrs. Li shared this idea with Shen’s uncle, and the couple quickly agreed. They swiftly arranged everything and let the new bride from the main household stay at home for half a month before proceeding with the separation.

The belongings given to the main household were simple: the thatched cottage they had built when they first arrived at Shili Village, a few self-made stools, some bed boards, bedding, a few old clothes, a bag of grain, a clay pot, three sets of tableware, some farming tools, and a bit of salt.

The most valuable item was the piece of uncultivated mountain land where the cottage was located.

Shen’s uncle thought he was quite generous. Wasn’t the mountain also land? He himself still leased half of the land he currently cultivated from a large landlord.

Having raised three nephews for all these years, Shen felt he had done enough. As for the fact that the hill they were allocated was one of the two hills given to them for settling when they were refugees, meant for cultivation and firewood gathering, which should have belonged to Shen Lie, Shen conveniently overlooked.

Shen Lie had lost his life because he was pushed out to fight on his behalf, and the promise he made to take care of the two children before he left… Shen and his wife felt that by using half a bag of grain to find a wife for Shen Lie and having Shen Lie’s wife take care of the children, they weren’t violating their promise.

The two children were powerless to resist, and the original owner, a fifteen-year-old girl who couldn’t carry or lift things, didn’t dare to speak up after being widowed upon entering the house with just half a bag of grain.

The Shen family had fled here without relatives or elders to restrain them, and even if the villagers felt that Shen and his wife had done something unsightly, they had no standing to say anything.

In the end, this separation was reluctantly accepted.

The original owner, a fifteen-year-old girl who couldn’t carry or lift things, lived on the mountain with her nine-year-old nephew and niece for three months, and the food they received was almost depleted.

The two children couldn’t bear the hunger and went to their uncle to ask for food. Shen would nod, but Mrs. Li’s provisions were limited, and she would say, “We are already struggling to make ends meet at home. Since you’ve been given your share, it’s not good to keep coming here asking for food.” Even if she gave them something occasionally, it would only be enough to fill their stomachs a little and prevent them from starving to death.

However, the two children had good hearts. Although the older sister-in-law had inexplicably appeared, they had depended on each other for more than three months. Whenever they got food, they would bring it back to share with the original owner. With two meals a day, the rice they begged for, combined with boiled wild vegetables, was one meal.

Before Sang Luo crossed over, the family had been in a state of semi-starvation for over ten days.

The original owner’s body was already weakened from the journey of fleeing, and the constant fear and anxiety had made her dizzy and weak for two days before she fell ill. Under the combination of sickness and hunger, she passed away in the middle of the night, and when she woke up again, it was as Sang Luo with a changed heart.

Even at this moment, Sang Luo still couldn’t believe it. With trembling hands, she moved to her chest, feeling her heartbeat, then trembled as she pinched the tender flesh on her thigh with all her strength.

Hmm, the heartbeat was real, the body temperature was real, the pain from pinching was real, and the discomfort of hunger and weakness was also very real.

She… was really alive?!

Author’s Note:

A lighthearted story set in the later years of a fictional dynasty, depicting the daily lives of common people in chaotic times.