Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Awakening Li Qingsong had just reached the doorway of the main room when he heard his grandfather say to his father: “Second Son, talk some sense into your wife. There’s no point wasting your effort on that Qing girl. If she’s lucky enough to pull through this time, then it’s her good fortune. If she doesn’t make it, she’ll just have to accept her fate. Who can she blame when she was born unlucky?” Wang Guizhi continued, “Exactly. How much silver have we spent treating her all these years? And has she gotten any better? “I told you back then not to marry that jinx into the family. What good could come of someone who came here fleeing disaster? But you just wouldn’t listen.” Hearing his parents say this, Li Erzhu didn’t even dare raise his head. He had failed his parents by fathering a foolish daughter. He nodded. “I know. I’ll talk to Zhao Lan.” Li Qingsong trembled with rage. His hands clenched so tightly that his nails dug deep into his flesh, yet he felt no pain. He wanted to hit them, but they were all his elders. He couldn’t strike them. He still had to protect his mother and his younger siblings. He couldn’t take on the reputation of being unfilial. He drew a deep breath to calm himself, then walked quietly to the table. He picked up four wotou and turned to leave. Seeing his attitude, Li Erzhu angrily said, “Stop! What kind of attitude is that? Can’t you see that the whole family is eating? You don’t even know to greet your elders. Is this how your mother taught you?” Li Qingsong squeezed the buns tightly and forced out through clenched teeth, “My younger siblings haven’t eaten yet. I’m taking these back for them! Grandpa, Grandma… enjoy your meal. I’m going back first.” Without paying any more attention to the voices behind him, he hurried back to their room. Li Qingsong came in with the buns and handed one to each of them. “Mother, eat quickly. I’m going up the mountain later to see if I can find some medicinal herbs to sell for money.” In recent years, he had often gone into town to get medicine for his Second Sister, so he had learned to recognize some medicinal herbs. If he gathered some on the mountain and sold them in town, he could earn a little silver. After saying this, he ate a bun while preparing his basket to go up the mountain. Zhao Lan poured out the medicine and set it aside to cool, then cautioned him, “Don’t go into the deep mountains. Be careful of wild beasts. In a couple of days, when your Second Sister is feeling better, I’ll go look with you.” Li Qingsong nodded. “Mother, don’t worry. I won’t go into the deep mountains. You stay home and watch your younger siblings. I’ll be careful.” With that, he hurried off into the mountains. Zhao Lan carried the bowl of medicine to the side of the bed. She scooped up a spoonful, blew on it until it cooled, and fed it to Li Wanqing. Seeing that she could swallow, Zhao Lan felt a little relieved. As long as she could drink it, that was enough. After feeding her the medicine, she instructed the two little ones, “Keep an eye on your sister. When the towel on her head gets warm, change it. I’m going to embroider some more handkerchiefs.” The two little ones nodded. “Don’t worry, Mother. Go ahead. We’ll watch over Sister.” Zhao Lan took up her embroidery and sat nearby, working intently. She had to embroider as many as she could and sell them for money so she could take Qingqing into town to see a physician. The two little ones focused on changing the towel on Li Wanqing’s forehead. One sat on the bed to change it while the other washed it below. The two worked together with remarkable efficiency. Li Wanqing could only feel the bitterness in her mouth. It was so bitter that she felt like vomiting. Since she was truly uncomfortable, she struggled to open her eyes. Above her was a thatched roof. The earthen plaster on the walls was pitted and uneven. For a moment, she couldn’t react. Even in the three years since the apocalypse began, she had never seen a place this impoverished. Oh! No, that was wrong. She had already been reborn. She was now an ancient-era little fool. Thinking of this reminded her of the memories she had received from the original owner. Well, they couldn’t exactly be called memories. It was more like she had watched a film, following the original owner through eleven years of her life. From those memories, she knew that this dynasty was called the Dazhao Dynasty, and the Emperor’s surname was Zhao. The original owner lived in Lijia Village, beneath Qingshi Town, in Yuanhe County, which was governed by Luoping Prefecture. Most of the people in the village were surnamed Li, and many of them were related to one another. The original owner’s mother had fled to this village. Her father, Li Erzhu, had saved her, and she had married him. Her grandfather was Li Shoutian, and her grandmother was Wang Guizhi. Together, they had four children. Their eldest son was Li Dazhu, who had married Wang Guizhi’s distant niece, Wang Cuilan. They had three children. The eldest, Li Bo'an, was a fourteen-year-old boy. He had attended private school for nine years but had still failed to become a tongsheng. Their daughter, Li Wanxiu, was twelve years old, one year older than the original owner. Their youngest, Li Jinbao, was six years old. He was the chubby boy who had cursed at the original owner by the river two days ago, and he was also the primary culprit behind her death. Their second son was the original owner’s father. He was utterly filial. In his heart, everything his parents said was an imperial edict. He did whatever they said. As far as he was concerned, everyone in the family mattered more than his own children and wife! The original owner’s paternal aunt had married into neighboring Zhaojia Village, where she had given birth to a son and a daughter. The most favored was the family’s youngest son, Li Wangshu. He studied at the private school in town and had already become a tongsheng. This year, he was preparing to take the examination for the rank of scholar. Their own family had four children. The eldest was Li Qingsong, who was thirteen years old. The second was the original owner, who was eleven. Below them were a pair of fraternal twins: the elder boy, Li Qinghe, and the younger girl, Li Wanlian. Both were five years old. In this family, the members of their branch were the least welcome—except in their father’s eyes. He believed they should work like oxen and horses for the entire family. They had to obey their grandparents. Thinking of this, she sighed softly. It seemed she truly had no bond with her father. Still, the original owner’s mother, older brother, and younger siblings had all treated her very well. In her heart, she said to the original owner, “Go in peace. I’ll take good care of them for you.” As soon as she finished speaking, two streams of tears slipped from the corners of her eyes. This was merely the body’s reaction; she hadn’t wanted to cry. Afterward, she felt as though her body had become slightly more relaxed. Just then, Li Wanlian was about to change the towel when she saw Li Wanqing open her eyes. She immediately cried out in delight, “Second Sister, you’re awake! Mother! Second Sister is awake!” The moment Zhao Lan heard this, she tossed aside her embroidery and rushed over. “Qingqing, you’re awake? Is anything hurting?” As she spoke, she reached out to touch Li Wanqing’s forehead. “It seems your fever has gone down a little. Are you hungry? Mother will cook some porridge for you.” Li Wanqing rasped, “Mother… Qingqing is thirsty!” Zhao Lan’s eyes filled with tears of excitement. “All right… all right. Mother will get you some water.” Li Qinghe said excitedly, “Mother, I’ll get the water. You stay with Second Sister.” He hurried to the table in the outer room and poured some water. Then he carefully carried the bowl to the bedside and handed it to Zhao Lan. Zhao Lan helped Li Wanqing sit up against the headboard, took the bowl, and fed her the water. After drinking a few mouthfuls, Li Wanqing shook her head to show that she didn’t want any more. Zhao Lan handed the bowl to Li Qinghe. Looking at Li Wanqing, she choked out, “Qingqing, you frightened Mother to death. Do you know that? I thought you would never wake up again.” As she spoke, she pulled Li Wanqing tightly into her arms. Her tears could no longer be held back. “Why has my Qingqing had such a hard life? If you hadn’t woken up, how could Mother have gone on living…?” Seeing their mother cry, the two little ones began sobbing as well. “Wuwu…” Li Wanqing gently patted her mother’s back. “Mother… don’t cry. Qingqing isn’t hurting.” She didn’t dare show too clearly that she had recovered. She was afraid of frightening them. She would have to wait for a suitable opportunity before she could “get better.” Zhao Lan released Li Wanqing. “All right, Mother won’t cry. As long as Qingqing gets better, Mother won’t cry. When your Big Brother comes back and sees that you’re awake, he’ll definitely be happy.” She turned and patted the two little ones on the head. “Xiaohe, Xiaolian, don’t cry anymore. Stay here with your sister. I’m going to cook some porridge for her.” The two little ones nodded. “All right. We’ll watch over Sister.”