In the cramped room, there were only a few items. Her gaze swept over the yellowed walls, the damp floor, and the kang (heated brick bed) that took up half the size of the room beneath her.
On the kang (heated brick bed), in the east corner, there was a row of dark and old kang-side cabinets. The south-facing window inside the kang was covered with window lattice paper, making the light that came in appear much dimmer and gloomy.
After scanning the area, Anle's head exploded with a deafening roar—
The few broken items scattered around, the narrow and dark room—this dilapidated environment could practically be described as utterly destitute!
What kind of godforsaken place was she reborn into?
What's worse now is that the thin blanket covering her has a musty smell, which is giving her a headache.
Anle rubbed her head, feeling a headache coming on, and closed her eyes weakly, cursing under her breath.
Damn it, is this some kind of primitive society?
Could another black man come and take her away? Please come and take her away quickly, this awful environment is just too painful for her to look at!
If all else fails, let her be reincarnated. Even a random reincarnation would be better than this!
Just as she was thinking to herself, a woman rushed to her bedside, grabbed her, and began to wail and cry. Her grip was so tight that it hurt her neck and made her feel suffocated, leaving her breathless for a while.
"Lewa, you scared your mother to death! What would I do if you were gone? Are you trying to make me go with you? Why won't you listen to me?"
"I told you not to take them, but you insisted. You're willing to risk your life for those two bird eggs? What did your mother tell you? Why won't you listen?"
The old woman carrying the medicine gently patted the woman's back.
"Alright, Mancang's family, stop nagging her. What child doesn't crave this? Besides, who did Lewa go up the mountain to steal bird eggs for? Wasn't it for your greedy Kangwa?"
It's a miracle this person didn't break an arm or leg after falling from such a tall tree. You can calm down now and quickly give her the rest of her medicine; she'll be lively and energetic again in a couple of days.
The old woman's two sentences rescued Anle from the woman's embrace. Anle took a deep breath, patted his chest, and calmed his heart. He then saw Qiao Qiuniang wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve.
"Hey, Aunt Zhu, you should go and rest too. You've come all this way, and it's been a lot of trouble for you."
"Here are four steamed buns. You've gone through a lot of trouble running errands, and I see it's getting dark. If Zhuzi comes back from town and doesn't see you, he'll definitely be worried. These steamed buns are perfect for Zhuzi to eat with his meal, so I won't keep them any longer."
Aunt Zhu glanced at the vegetable basket that Qiao Qiuniang handed over, her eyes lit up, she politely declined to take it, but her gaze was fixed on the four white steamed buns and she couldn't take it away.
"Hey, this is fresh out of the pot! It's still hot and steaming. How can we accept your things like this? If anyone sees this, shouldn't they lend a hand and drag the person back?"
“It must have been hard work for you to drag people back from those mountains, so you have to bring them some food with you, or I won’t let you leave this house.”
Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhu's face lit up with joy, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deepened. She accepted the four steamed buns without further refusal, and her gaze finally fell from the four white steamed buns to Qiao Qiu Niang's face.
"Hey, even though my old arms and legs are old and frail, I'm still very strong. I go up the mountain every day, and going back and forth is no big deal for me anymore."
If you don't have enough medicine, just let me know and I'll go get some more from Old Cripple. He gathers all of it himself, so there's plenty. If I go to get it, he won't charge me, which will save you a couple of cents!
"This medicine would be very expensive if we went to that town to get it!"
"Yes, thank you so much, Aunt Zhu! I'll thank you in advance. If I need more medicine, I'll come over and get some!"
"Alright, Mancang family, don't be shy, just come and take it."
The two of them went out the door as they talked, and Qiao Qiuniang saw them out of the courtyard.
Anle tilted her head to the side, blinked, and before she could properly process her surroundings, she saw a pair of dirty little hands clinging to the door frame. Then she saw a little head peeking out from the door frame, its face covered in grime, looking timid and guilty, as if it had done something wrong, and it didn't dare to come in.
Seeing the little boy cowering, Anle raised an eyebrow and beckoned to him with a teasing finger.
"come over!"
"Fifth Sister—" An Kang murmured weakly, her two little hands gripping the door frame tightly.
"Come here, I have something to ask you." She had just heard about the original owner of this body from that woman and that old woman.
Although I had no idea what the original owner of this body was all about, I had gotten a general idea from the few words he had just spoken.
Considering the guilty look on the little boy's face, the whole story became clear.
It seems that the original owner of this body fell from the tree and died while trying to climb it to collect bird eggs for that Kangwazi.
And the culprit named Kangwazi is probably the timid, guilty-looking little boy she sees in front of her.
"You want to eat bird eggs?"
An Kang nodded, then shook his head. After a long while, he pouted, looking terrified and on the verge of tears, and said, "I won't eat anymore! Kangwazi will never eat bird eggs again! Kangwazi doesn't want Fifth Sister to die! Kangwazi will be good from now on... Waaah—"
"Uh—" Why is she crying? Shouldn't she be the one crying?
The most wronged ones must be the original owner and her, right?
What's there to be aggrieved about, given that he's the culprit?
Anle's lips twitched, looking like she was about to cry but couldn't, feeling both annoyed and amused.
“Kangwa, come here. I don’t blame you. I hurt my head and can’t remember what happened on the mountain. Come here and tell me.”
Kangwazi then stared at Anle with wide, teary eyes, and ran in with her short little legs.
"Fifth Sister—"
Anle blinked. Fifth Sister?
Is she the fifth child in this family?
"Tell Fifth Sister, how old are you?"
An Kang held up four fingers and gestured to An Le.
"Four years old."
"So, it was me who took you up the mountain to collect bird eggs, and then I fell down the mountain and was saved by that old woman... uh, by that Aunt Pillar, right?"
Ankang corrects the childish voice.
"It's Grandma Zhuzi."
"Uh... Grandma Pillar, was it Grandma Pillar who dragged me back from the mountain?"
Ankang nodded.
"It was Grandma Zhu who carried Fifth Sister back."
"Then... what's my name?"
"Call me Fifth Sister."
Anle rubbed her forehead and sighed.
"I'm asking you, what's my name?"
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