Chapter 2: Eldest Daughter Su Ying

"Yes, brother!" Su Lao Er and Su Lao San did not fight for it. They took their wives and children to clean the house.

Old Mrs. Su sat alone, crying and wiping her tears. At her age, she should be enjoying her retirement and not worrying about these mundane things. Only her children and grandchildren could do that.

"Uncle, why does my family live on the right?" Su He, the daughter of Su Laoer, did not move and pouted in dissatisfaction.

The house on the left is obviously much better. My uncle's family thinks they are still in Chang'an. They have to follow his lead and listen to his arrangements in everything. My uncle's family has to use the best!

"He'er, what do you know? Stop talking nonsense!" Su Laoer shouted at his daughter.

The eldest brother's house is closest to the mountain. If a wild beast comes, they will be the first to suffer.

He understood what his eldest brother meant. The two brothers lived at both ends to guard against both wild beasts and bad people, and to protect their old mother and the third brother's family in the middle.

The daughter is a few months older than her niece Su Ying. She is not as smart as Su Ying, but she likes to be competitive and wants to compete with Su Ying in everything.

"Yeah!" Su He was not convinced.

"It's getting late, go clean the room and let your grandmother rest early!" Su Laoer didn't have the energy to reason with his daughter.

"Where is Su Ying? Why doesn't she go?" Su He refused.

When the family is prosperous, Su Ying takes all the limelight; when the family is in trouble, no one in the family is left behind and all suffer misfortune!

The whole family was exiled because of her, so why is she acting like nothing happened? Shouldn't she work harder to atone for her sins?

Su Ying came out of the house holding a bundle of rotten straw.

"Su He, if you don't want to do it, just shut up. No one thinks you're dumb! Aren't you tired of all the babble?"

"You!" Su He was furious when he heard this. "It's all your fault. You've ruined us all. How dare you say that!"

Su He's temper was exactly the same as Old Lady Su's, with the same expression and tone.

In the past, she had to please and flatter Su Ying all the time, but now, she will no longer indulge her. Su Ying is the sinner of the Su family!

"Oh!" Su Ying shook her head and turned to go back to work.

This cousin is not very smart, but she likes to be smart. It's a pity for her pretty face. Her beauty and intelligence don't match.

Debating with stupid people will only lower your own IQ and do nothing else.

I'm tired and hungry now, I just want to finish it quickly, eat and rest.

"Hmph, you know you're in the wrong! Aren't you capable? You're eloquent and known as the talented woman of Chang'an, so why don't you say anything?" Su He didn't intend to let Su Ying go.

The resentment and anger that had been suppressed for so long had to be vented. She, Su Ying, was the culprit and should bear this anger.

"Su He, you've walked thousands of miles, and you lost your brain? Did you leave it in Chang'an and not take it with you?

Are you trying to show off your abilities by bickering here? Will arguing about this change the status quo? This matter was initiated by me, wasn't it also decided after discussion between Aye, Second Uncle, and Third Uncle?

As for how things have developed to this point today, don't you have any idea?"

Su Ying looked at Su He steadily and stopped talking, not wanting to hurt the harmony between the families. Now was the most difficult time, and everyone needed to work together and stick together.

"You!" Su He's pupils suddenly widened and he was speechless.

He didn't speak for a long time, huddled behind Old Lady Su with a guilty look on his face, and refused to work.

Even the youngest Su Tao went to help.

After a lot of hard work, we finally cleared out the dilapidated house. The house was clean, but empty, with nothing in it.

When I came, I received a few bags of old rice, some vegetable seeds, winter wheat seeds, a few hoes, a kitchen knife, and a machete from the county government office.

The exiles have nothing, so it is impossible to not give them any food and let them starve to death.

The amount of food advanced per person was not much, just enough to keep people alive. They would reclaim wasteland and cultivate the land themselves, and return the money with interest after the harvest next year.

Then there are the bags that each person carries, a few sets of clothes and shoes, and a clay pot and bowls for cooking.

The most valuable and precious items are undoubtedly the bookcases of Su Bucheng’s two sons, students of Taixue Academy, which are filled with classics, writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone.

The sons of Su Laoer and Su Laosan studied law, calligraphy, and mathematics, and learned specialized skills, but the value of their studies was far inferior to that of the Imperial Academy.

Only children of officials of the fifth rank or above are eligible to attend the Imperial Academy.

"Second brother, third brother, let's go cut some branches." Su Bucheng called to his two younger brothers.

"Yeah, it's our turn!" The teenagers wisely grabbed the machetes.

"You have never done any rough work, how can you do it?" Su Laoer said with a smile.

"As Second Uncle said, you can learn even if you haven't done it before! We can't expect you to do everything for us! We should also take responsibility for the household chores!" the teenagers replied.

While they were scrambling, Old Man Yang came back, followed by a few young men, each carrying a large bundle of straw.

"Village chief! Why are you here again? Is there something wrong?" Su Bucheng stepped forward.

"Nothing else. I thought there's nothing here, so I brought you some straw to use as a cushion for one night. We can deal with the rest tomorrow." Village Chief Yang put down the straw on his shoulder.

"Thank you, village chief! It's really timely. We were just thinking of cutting some branches." Su Bucheng hurriedly thanked him.

"I won't keep you any longer. Go to bed early! Don't run around at night. Be careful of wild animals!" After unloading the straw, Village Chief Yang hurried away with the young man.

It was almost dark when the three families spread out the straw and finally made a shelter.

"It's time to eat!" The three sisters-in-law used a temporary stove built with stones to cook a pot of porridge.

Everyone took out their own bowls and chopsticks and set them aside.

Old Mrs. Su’s bowl was placed first, filled to the brim with thick porridge.

The rest were divided equally among all, regardless of gender, age or status, and each person received half a bowl of clear porridge with the bottom visible.

"Ah, who will eat this little porridge?" Su He looked meaningfully at his aunt-in-law, Mrs. Du, who was in charge of the food.

"Which bowl do you think is more? Just take it yourself!" Mrs. Du said indifferently. She didn't work but still had trouble.

Su He stared at it for a long time, then had to take his bowl away in disappointment.

Everyone found a nearby rock to sit down and have their first dinner here.

Su Ying wanted to say something, but she held back. She picked up her porridge and gave some to her sister.

"Sister, that's enough!" Xiaotao pushed back.

"Eat, I'm not hungry!" Su Ying touched her sister's little head.

"Hmph! Don't eat if you're not hungry! Who are you doing this for?" Su He hated Su Ying's pretentious behavior the most.

Everyone is starving, but you are the one who is doing it! It shows how sensible you are.

"Whether I eat it or not is my business. I can give the porridge to whoever I want! You are the only one who talks too much!" Su Ying had never seen such a rude person who was asking for trouble.

"Aying, I can't finish it!" Mrs. Du wanted to share her porridge with her eldest daughter.

"Mom, I've had enough! You eat it yourself!" Su Ying covered her bowl with her hands.

This little bit of old rice will take several months to eat. It is cooked very lightly, and no one can eat enough except Old Lady Su.

"You child!" Mrs. Du looked at her eldest daughter with eyes full of heartache.

Old Mrs. Su ate her bowl of porridge silently, pretending that she heard nothing. In this world, the most important thing is to have enough food!

Su Ying drank the porridge silently. After more than two months of digestion, she finally accepted the reality.

Because I was rushing to finish the project, I worked overtime day and night for half a month. When I finished the task, I was so tired that I fell asleep.

When she woke up again, it was June of the second year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty, and she had become Su Ying, the 13-year-old eldest daughter of the convicted official Su Bucheng.

At this time, the family was on the road to exile. The original person suddenly encountered an accident. He was shocked, angry, ashamed and fell ill on the way.

In the end, she passed away, and Su Ying took over this body, replacing the original one.

In modern society, Lingnan is rich and prosperous, with abundant resources.

But this was during the Zhenguan era, and Lingnan, five thousand miles away from Chang'an, was truly wild and desolate! It was a place of exile for officials convicted of serious crimes.

Without the emperor's pardon, he would never be able to leave. Not only would he spend the rest of his life here, but his descendants would also take root here.

"Oh!" Su Ying sighed.

I graduated from college and worked hard in a big city for many years. I finally got a raise and a promotion, saved enough for a down payment on a house, and just bought a two-bedroom apartment. Before I even moved in,...