Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Crossing Over with a Magical Space Zhizhi died. When she woke up, she found herself in a mud-brick house with wind blowing in from all four sides. As far as she knew, even the remotest mountain valleys no longer had houses like this. Moreover, the gray wooden window frames were divided into little squares, and the paper pasted over them had holes torn in several places. She could see the brilliant blue sky outside. The whole thing was an antique among antiques. Oh, my God! So she hadn't died after all. She had transmigrated to another era... No, it looked farther back than that. The Qing Dynasty? Maybe even earlier? Fine, so she'd crossed over. But was Heaven afraid she'd have too easy a life, so it had dumped her in such a poor place? The house had nothing but four bare walls—not even a single intact table or chair. A foul stench wafted over. Unable to bear it, she kicked away the blanket, so filthy it looked ready to ooze, and was just about to sit up. (⊙o⊙)…??? !!! Then she felt a sudden tightness in her abdomen. What the hell?! Zhizhi felt as if the sky had collapsed. She had to be six, seven, maybe even eight months pregnant, right? Was she about to give birth? She lowered her head and stared at the huge belly protruding high in front of her… Even “devastated” didn't begin to describe how she felt. She wanted to die! Girls, did anyone understand? She was an older unmarried woman who had never even properly held a boy's hand, and now she had suddenly become pregnant? Mom, I want to go home! As she bounced back and forth between despair and wanting to die, faint sounds came from outside the broken door. Then a timid yet sweet voice called out, “Ma, I'm hungry!” The “I'm hungry” was even softer and weaker than the “Ma,” so timid and pitiful that it broke one's heart. Zhizhi's head rang with another boom. Could that “Ma” have been directed at her? As if the baby of who-knew-how-many months in her belly wasn't enough, there were more children? At that moment, memories that did not belong to her began flashing through her mind like scenes on a television. The pain nearly made her curse. When the images finally stopped, she wanted to curse Heaven even more. Damn it! She was a young beauty, for crying out loud, and now she'd somehow become the mother of six children? And there was still one more in her belly? Oh, my God—was she about to collect the whole set of Calabash Brothers? Judging by how ridiculously huge her belly was, she suspected there might be more than one baby in there! What left her truly speechless was that, even after having six children, the body's original owner was still only twenty-eight—the same age as Zhizhi had been in her own time. The body's original owner had truly led a hard life. Around seven or eight months ago, her husband had been seized for forced military service and sent to the army. Three days ago, terrible news had suddenly arrived: he had died in battle. There had been no death compensation or anything else—just that one message. The original owner had been unable to withstand the blow and had fallen ill. It seemed she'd simply kicked the bucket, and Zhizhi had arrived in her place. The key point was that after the man of the family was gone, the household was so poor that all it had left were four walls and six starving children crying for food! But for Zhizhi, who had just crossed over, her husband being dead was definitely a good thing. With her awful temper, there was absolutely no way she could live with an unfamiliar man. “Ma?” When no answer came, the tottering door creaked open from outside. A little girl of five or six stood timidly in the doorway, not daring to come in. She cast Zhizhi a hesitant glance. Zhizhi froze as though struck by lightning. The child was so thin she looked like a refugee from Africa. Her tiny, delicate body supported an enormous head, and her already-large eyes looked absurdly huge. Her hair had become one tangled mass. Who knew how long it had been since it had been washed or combed? From the memories, this should be six-year-old Sihua. Their eyes met. Frightened, Sihua hurriedly shrank back and pulled the door shut behind her. Zhizhi: “…” Was she really that frightening? (⊙o⊙)…! Oh, right. The original owner really was quite terrifying. She had strongly favored sons over daughters and treated her daughters as if they were enemies. She had only one son, whom she had treasured like a precious jewel. What the hell! As a woman herself, she hadn't even treated her daughters well. Was her brain broken? After taking a moment to recover, Zhizhi braced herself against the bed and sat up. Her stomach was painfully empty. It seemed that after receiving the news of her husband's death, the original owner had not eaten anything at all. If her memories were correct, there was probably nothing edible left in the house either. The sky was falling! Getting hit hadn't finished her off, but was starvation going to kill her instead? Had Heaven never intended to let her live? She really wanted to eat a hot, steaming meat bun before she died! The next second, something in her hand turned piping hot, so hot she nearly flung it away. Fortunately, her instinct for survival made her catch it with her other hand. It really was a big meat bun? Could it be like in the novels, with Heaven giving her a magical space? She immediately closed her eyes and tried desperately to sense it. Wow! The next second… Uh (⊙o⊙)…!! Wasn't this her modern employer's manor? Wait… Now she was confused! She was very grateful to have been given a magical space… Especially since the house inside was large and beautiful. It was Nongquan Manor, complete with a courtyard and two small cooking stoves, both sending white smoke into the air. Beyond it was a small farm. Several rows of vegetables grew there, including cucumbers, long beans, tomatoes, and chili peppers. Beside it was an orchard planted with strawberries, blueberries, and cherries. There were even watermelons, for goodness' sake! Farther on stood a small mountain. All kinds of fruit trees grew on it, and they had already begun bearing fruit, though the fruit had not yet ripened. Below, chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits roamed freely. In the pigsty on the other side, there were even two pigs. Most outrageously, there was a patch of paddy field at the foot of the mountain. It was lush and green at the moment. Could that be rice? Actually, she'd only ever seen it in videos, so she wasn't sure. All of this was incredibly useful! Especially now, when she didn't even have a mouthful of rice. The fields and hills outside had all turned yellow and dry, and there was nothing to eat anywhere. With all these supplies, she finally had confidence! But… what did her employer have to do with her transmigration? Could it be because she had died on her employer's farm? Whatever! She sent the large bun back into the magical space. In her mind's eye, she saw the bun return to the large steamer in the courtyard. Wow! There were five full steamer trays of buns and three of dumplings, with both meat and vegetable fillings. On the other stove was a huge pot of pork ribs stewed with long beans, potatoes, and eggplant. Beside it was another huge pot of white rice. She swallowed. She hadn't eaten for three days, so she really didn't dare eat anything too rich. Thus, she entered the three-story house and headed straight for the refrigerator. The three double-door refrigerators and three freezers were packed full. In the storage room in the basement were more than a dozen bags of rice and flour, along with numerous containers of olive oil, peanut oil, and rapeseed oil. The shelves were stocked with all kinds of noodles, instant noodles, seasonings, and more. Don't ask. If you did, the answer was that this miserable wage slave not only had to work for her boss but had also been made to work weekends, buying supplies and delivering them to the farm, all because he wanted to entertain distinguished guests there. She had driven back and forth countless times before she finally filled the place. The shelves along the opposite wall were filled with all kinds of snacks. There were as many varieties as in a supermarket, though only two or three bags of each kind. Who knew why such a wealthy boss, who normally wore a cold, expressionless face, liked snacks as much as a little girl? She first took some milk from the refrigerator and drank half a cup. Then she ate a can of Eight-Treasure Porridge and two convenience-store eggs with soft yolks. Only then did she feel as if she'd come back to life. Once she was full, she looked down and saw her enormous belly again, leaving her speechless all over again. Thoughts of wanting to die began creeping back into her head. Suddenly, several voices cried out: “Eldest Sister… Don't take my eldest sister! Sob… Ma… Grandmother's going to take Eldest Sister away, Ma…”