Chapter 1

“Move it, all of you, faster…”

Under the night sky on the hillside, the only things in sight were the exposed land and piles of stones.

The village head of Aozi Gou, Laifu, was glaring and yelling at everyone. He was trying hard to make his thin face look more spirited.

Looking around, the villagers of Aozi Gou were scattered across the hillside, some lying down, some sitting—half-dead, lethargic, and powerless.

Now, three members of a family had died in the village, and Laifu had ordered them to use their hands to dig and bury them.

Someone protested, “Uncle Lai, this is just looking for trouble. We’re so hungry we can’t lift our hands. How could we have the strength to bury anyone?”

“Exactly.”

“Just throw them into the ravine. What’s the point of burying them?”

“I don’t have the strength! I finally got a bite of food. I’m not moving, or I’ll be hungry again.”

Hearing the cold and indifferent comments, Li Dafeng, a sixty-year-old woman, began to cry out loudly, “Damn it! Who was the bastard who lied and said there was water ahead? If it weren’t for that, my family wouldn’t have died! Damn it!”

Her cry pulled everyone’s spirits down.

The village head, Laifu, felt guilty and shouted with all his might, “Everyone, shut up! Stop with the cold remarks! You’ll be the ones to die next, and will you throw yourselves into the ravine then? Get to work, all of you—old and young, just a few more shovels and we’re done.”

At this point, not moving was no longer an option.

The old and young villagers of Aozi Gou gathered in a circle and began to dig with their hands.

No one noticed that at that moment…

The three corpses behind the stones— the one in the middle—slowly sat up.

Where is this?

Ding Xiaodie shook her head. Wasn’t she on a mission?

Why was she opening her eyes in this strange place?

Looking around, she saw a group of ragged people sitting on the ground, digging something in a circle, while another group was either lying or sitting on the barren land.

One old woman was crying hoarsely.

Soon, the memories of the original owner flashed through her mind.

Xiaodie was stunned.

She had transmigrated!

Before she could fully accept this harsh reality, people on both sides of her slowly began to wake up.

“Dad!” Ding Gui cried out. “Xiaodie, run!”

Zhang Xiu instinctively screamed, “Xiaodie, don’t worry about us, run, run!”

The couple opened their eyes and stared blankly at the unfamiliar face in front of them for five seconds before they realized—it was true. They had all transmigrated here.

This was great! As long as they were alive, there was hope.

Ding Gui immediately smiled foolishly and hugged his wife and daughter.

“Xiaodie, my precious.”

“Dad, Mom!”

“Ugh, we’re not dead, thank goodness!”

Ding Xiaodie was a police officer, a criminal investigator. During her mission, she discovered that the robbers had taken her parents, who ran a supermarket.

When the robbers set off explosives, she impulsively rushed in to try to save her parents.

After a huge explosion, they ended up here.

Surviving this disaster, the family of three clung to each other, crying and laughing.

Luckily, her professional habits kept Ding Xiaodie somewhat alert. She quickly realized something was wrong and whispered to her parents, “From now on, I’ll call you ‘Dad’ and ‘Mom.’ Just act like the original owner’s personality and don’t expose ourselves.”

Ding Gui and his wife nodded.

The three slowly separated and turned around…

Behind them, a large group of villagers was supporting each other, their dirty faces showing surprise as they looked at them.

In the night wind, their ragged clothes fluttered.

At this moment, not just the villagers, but even the village head, Laifu, was so shocked that he couldn’t say a word.

What was going on?

He had checked their pulses—dead as a doornail—how did they suddenly come back to life?

“My son!”

Suddenly, a loud, crackling cry startled everyone.

Then, the old woman, who had been crying weakly, pushed through the crowd and rushed into the family’s circle. She hugged one, squeezed the other, and cried as if she might choke.

“Thank goodness you’re alive, thank goodness! There’s hope, I’m saved, I’m saved! Thank you, heaven!”

Who was this old woman?

Ding Gui and his wife exchanged glances and then looked at their daughter.

It soon dawned on them that this was Ding Gui’s mother, Xiaodie’s grandmother.

And just like that, all the past memories came flooding back.

Although Li Dafeng seemed devastated now, she was actually a notorious villain in Aozi Gou. Growing up, she would beat and scold Ding Gui, shaping his timid and weak personality.

After getting married, Ding Gui had a wife, Zhang Xiu, and a daughter, Ding Xiaodie, but they were still mistreated by Li Dafeng.

This was the rare and devastating drought.

As they saw more and more people starving to death, the village head, Laifu, suggested that the villagers take all the food they had left and escape together.

But even in this situation, Li Dafeng was selfish. All the remaining food in the house went straight into her mouth, leaving Ding Gui’s family weak and vulnerable.

When they finally arrived at a hill called Lizi Po, someone ahead shouted about a waterhole, and the villagers, like they were injected with adrenaline, rushed forward.

Unfortunately, Ding Gui’s family, who were already weak, couldn’t avoid being trampled to death.

That was why the village head, Laifu, forced everyone to dig holes and bury them.

Once Xiaodie understood the situation, she almost pushed the old woman away.

But Ding Gui and Zhang Xiu played along, pretending to cry.

“Yes, Mom, we’re alive, we’re alive.”

Looking at their family crying together, the village head, Lai Fu, reluctantly accepted the situation and weakly said, “Alright, stop crying. If you’re not dead, save your strength. Everyone, scatter and rest. Once the sun comes up, we’ll cross this mountain. Yangliu Town is ahead, and we’ll be able to find food!”

Everyone stopped being so curious and turned to find a flat area to lie down or sit.

Ding Gui began to comfort Li Dafeng, “Mom, stop crying. Lie down and rest.”

Li Dafeng sniffed and wiped her nose, “Alright, alright, as long as you’re still alive, I won’t starve.”

After saying that, she lay down and casually leaned on Ding Gui’s leg.

The Ding family was speechless.

The old woman hadn’t changed at all. She wasn’t worried about the original owner dying, but rather about not having anyone to support her.

As the surroundings grew quiet, Ding Xiaodie softly asked, “Dad, Mom, do you know what year it is now?”