Time travel
Hungry.
I'm so hungry I could scream.
Zheng Nanle clutched her stomach, thinking to herself that those beasts should at least feed her something, even if she was unconscious.
However, she quickly realized something was wrong. She had already perished together with the zombie king, so how could she still be hungry?
Do ghosts get hungry?
Opening my eyes, I saw a low ceiling, a narrow and cramped room, and old, yellowed newspapers pasted on the walls. Looking closer, I saw that one of the newspapers was dated March 26, 1974.
Zheng Nanle: "..."
Good grief, I've been transported to the 1970s. Where are the original owner's memories?
She subconsciously used her psychic abilities.
"What the hell?"
Zheng Nanle was startled. She pressed herself against the wall and looked warily at the little girl who was now timidly staring at her from beside the bed.
The little girl looked to be about eleven or twelve years old, thin and small, with hardly any flesh on her body.
Because of his skeletal frame, his eyes appeared exceptionally large, giving off a chilling aura even when he looked at people timidly.
She's so thin, I'm afraid she'll break her neck if she moves even slightly.
Even in the apocalypse, she had never seen such a thin girl.
Although the apocalypse was short-lived, people had taken care of their health beforehand, ensuring they had enough to eat and wear. Later, the government responded promptly, and as long as ordinary people were willing to work, they had no problem filling their stomachs.
The children even attend school for free and are guaranteed a full lunch.
The strangest thing is that the girl's figure is ethereal and she has no shadow.
Is this a ghost?
I didn't see any ghosts during the apocalypse, but I did see some in the 1970s.
Even though Zheng Nanle was well-informed, he couldn't help but swear.
"Sister," the little girl said timidly, "I am Zheng Erya."
She pointed to Zheng Nanle, "My body."
Zheng Nanle looked down at herself. The burlap was patched, with small holes. The fabric was thin and translucent. Most importantly, it was exactly the same as what Zheng Erya was wearing.
Good heavens, no wonder she didn't receive the memories; the original owner's soul is still there.
She said, "You should return to your body quickly."
She has no desire to possess other people's bodies; since the master is there, the body will naturally return to the master.
"Sister, I don't want to," the little girl said sadly, "living is too tiring."
When Zheng Erya fell into the water, she felt a sense of relief.
That's all for now, Mom and Dad, I'm here to see you.
I never expected that I wouldn't die, but would instead become a ghost.
Becoming a ghost is better than being a human. You don't have to work, you won't be beaten or scolded, and you won't have stomach aches from hunger all the time.
Zheng Nanle: "???"
Through their conversation, Zheng Nanle learned about Zheng Erya's experiences.
Although I knew she was a pitiful little thing, this is just too pitiful.
Zheng Erya's father was the second son. He joined the army when he was a teenager. After joining the army, he sent most of his allowance home. After he got married, the allowance was split in two. From then on, Zheng Erya's mother was not liked by her grandmother, who always found excuses to take the money away from her.
Zheng Erya's mother was weak and dared not resist. Although she had half of her husband's allowance and could have lived a good life, she made herself look pale and thin. After giving birth to a daughter, she dared not raise her voice, feeling ashamed of her husband's family.
After her husband died in battle, she and her daughter became slaves to the whole family, their outlets for anger, subservient and miserable like old oxen.
Five years ago, she fell ill, but her husband's family refused to pay for her treatment, and she died of exhaustion. After her death, all the household chores fell on Zheng Erya's shoulders.
Previously, it was said that her mother was a jinx to her husband, but now it's said that she's a jinx to her relatives—her father, mother, and maternal grandfather. She's said to be full of bad luck, and that she's the one who brings misfortune to the family. Beatings and scoldings are commonplace.
In the past, her mother would protect her when she was beaten, but now she has to suffer the consequences. The worst time was when she didn't take good care of her fourth uncle's younger brother, and he fell off the bed and was kicked against the wall by her grandmother. It took her three days to recover.
But she was cooking when her brother fell to the ground, and she left after he fell asleep.
But she knew her family wouldn't listen to her explanation.
This time, it was because she didn't pour the water for her grandparents to wash their feet on time the day before yesterday, and was punished by her grandmother by not being allowed to eat breakfast. That's why yesterday morning when she went to the river to wash clothes, she suddenly went black and fell into the river, and accidentally bumped into the sharp part of a big rock on the riverbank.
Zheng Nanle immediately knew what had happened: fainting due to low blood sugar caused by not eating breakfast.
He reached out and touched it; his forehead was burning hot, and his hand was covered in black ash.
A vein throbbed on her forehead.
The old hag really didn't care about Er Ya's life. She was burning up like this, and she didn't even give her any medicine. She was left to suffer through the ordeal, and her blood-soaked brain was just treated with a handful of ashes.
"Sister, living is so tiring."
Endless work, suffocating scolding, bone-deep beatings—countless times she wished she could just fall asleep and never wake up again, but she always managed to wake up, leaving her only able to live numbly and try her best to survive.
Zheng Erya's tone was full of exhaustion and heaviness, her eyes brimming with tears, as if they would fall at any moment.
She didn't shed tears not because she didn't want to cry, but because ghosts don't have tears.
Zheng Nanle reached out to touch her, but found nothing. She withdrew her hand and said, "I'm too tired, so I'll stop living for now. I'll set an example for you, so you can learn from me. Once you've mastered my methods, you won't be bullied anymore."
She was determined to return her body to Zheng Erya. Once she had arranged Zheng Erya's future, and Zheng Erya had learned some of her methods, her life would be pretty good.
Zheng Erya's life was too hard, so she was willing to give her this piece of candy.
"Thank you, sister." Zheng Erya was a little disappointed.
Well, it's normal that my sister doesn't like me because my health is too poor.
Zheng Nanle got up and went out.
Outside the gate was a quiet courtyard; no one was home.
Go into the kitchen and you'll see it's so clean that even mice don't bother with it.
Did they not even leave any food for Er Ya?
Zheng Nanle sighed again, "Er Ya is such a pitiful little thing."
"Er Ya, where is your family's grain?" Zheng Nanle asked.
“In Grandma’s room,” Er Ya replied.
All the food in the house was locked in the room where the grandparents lived, with the grandmother in charge of the food supply.
"The food for lunch is here," Zheng Erya said, pointing to the upper cabinet.
Zheng Nanle opened it, and inside there was only a small amount of rice and a large amount of sweet potatoes, but no vegetables. She had to pick the vegetables herself from the garden.
Zheng Nanle went to the vegetable garden, picked some greens, and cooked them with rice, oil, and salt.
Starting a fire is no challenge for her. She lived in the countryside when she was a child, and after the apocalypse, she survived in the wild on missions.
Zheng Erya hesitated for a moment, then timidly said, "Sister, you cooked the rice and put in so much oil. Grandma will beat you when she gets back."
"Don't worry, your grandma can't hit me. Since I dared to do it, I won't let myself suffer. You can learn from me."
If it weren't for the fact that her body was so weak, even that little bit of exercise made her feel dizzy, and she would definitely need to kill a chicken to replenish her energy.
While cooking rice, Zheng Nanle roasted a few sweet potatoes. Before they were fully cooked, he ate a few to fill his stomach.
I have to say, the sweet potatoes are really sweet, especially the charred skin, which is particularly delicious.
This body has been starving for years, so its stomach is very small. It is full after eating just one meal. Zheng Nanle used his supernatural power to convert the food into energy and then continued to eat without changing his expression.
Her ability was originally at level eight, but now it's just an empty core, similar to when she first awakened it, and she can only extend her range twenty meters.
This world has no crystal cores; through cultivation and consuming energy from food, one can at most advance to the second tier.
Compared to Zheng Nanle, he was very satisfied. He could retain his superpowers and even advance them. What more could he want than a BMW?
After finishing the sweet potato and then the white rice, Zheng Nanle let out a satisfied burp.
That's right, how can you live without going hungry?
Zheng Erya stared at her, her eyes sparkling, "Sister, I feel like I'm full, and a little stuffed."
Zheng Nanle asked, "Is it the body that's holding on, or the mind?"
"Sister, what does 'physical fullness' mean, and what does 'psychological fullness' mean?" Zheng Erya touched her stomach. "I feel full here, and my whole body feels warm. Which part is fuller?"
As he spoke, he let out a burp.
Zheng Nan laughed, "Your body can handle it? Okay, I'll make sure you eat and drink well from now on."
She guessed that Zheng Erya had a strong connection with this body, so the physical sensations were also transmitted to her soul.
"Thank you, sister." Zheng Erya felt that today was a happy day.
Zheng Nanle tucked the remaining sweet potatoes into his pocket, went back to his room, found a cloth bag, tied it around his body, and then lay down on the bed.
She has several tough battles to fight ahead, so she needs to conserve her energy.
*
Ring ring
As the work bell rang, Zheng Erya's grandparents led their sons and daughters-in-law home.
Around nine or ten o'clock, Grandma Zheng saw smoke coming from her house and knew that her unlucky granddaughter had woken up.
Given their lack of courage, they probably wouldn't dare to steal any food; they likely just boiled water to fill their stomachs.
She said that her unlucky granddaughter was actually very lucky; look, she burned for a whole day and night and nothing happened to her.
After waking up, can't you still get up and go back to work?
But when she got home and saw the empty table, she immediately flew into a rage. She went to the kitchen and saw the unwashed, greasy pots and bowls. Her heart sank. She quickly opened the cupboard and found that the food she had taken out for the family's lunch was gone, and the already meager amount of oil was almost gone. She grabbed a stick from behind the kitchen door and rushed towards Zheng Erya's room, yelling angrily, "You brat, how dare you?!"
Zheng Nanle had already woken up when the Zheng family returned, but he remained lying in bed without moving.
Hearing Grandma Zheng's cursing, he rolled his eyes.
You can't stand this? There's more to come that you can't stand.
When Zheng Erya heard Grandma Zheng's voice, she shrank back, covered her ears, and curled up on the ground, clearly indicating that it had become a conditioned reflex.
Zheng Nanle felt sorry for this girl.
Grandma Zheng rushed into the room and saw Zheng Nanle still lying on the bed. She raised her stick high and struck the person lying on the bed, yelling, "Are you a reincarnated starving ghost? You ate the whole family's lunch, how come you didn't die from it?"
Zheng Nanle rolled over, and the stick struck the wooden bed, making a loud noise.
This is going all out without holding back.
If Er Ya, who was originally running a high fever, weak and feeble, were hit by this stick, wouldn't she lose half her life?
Zheng Nanle's eyes turned cold.
"You little brat, Zheng Erya, you've really grown bold, daring to hide! I'll beat you to death, beat you to death!"
Zheng Nanle communicated with Zheng Erya using his mental power, "Erya, watch carefully."
Zheng Erya looked up and saw her sister, like a ferocious beast, crashing headfirst into her grandmother's stomach.
Grandma lay on the ground like a fallen dung beetle, her four legs in the air, groaning "Ouch, ouch."
Zheng Erya smiled.
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