Chapter 55 The Changes in Xiaosong Village
"Passing by, I thought I'd take a break and maybe get a drink of water."
“Young lady, you can easily get water all by yourself. My home is right at the village entrance, come with me.” The old woman tossed her small steps back into the basket and slowly got up, supporting herself on her knees.
"The young girl has fair skin and delicate features, like a fairy. How could she appear alone in our village? We should be careful," another younger woman advised Old Lady Zhao.
Song Yin strode forward and helped the old woman who was giving her water, saying, "Please be careful."
Grandma Zhao carefully observed Song Yin as she approached, then stared intently at the red mole between her eyebrows.
"Old man?"
"What is the young lady's surname and given name?"
"My surname is Song."
"Are you called Song Yin?"
Song Yin paused, staring at the old man's face, "You recognize me?"
Others whispered among themselves under the tree.
"What's going on? Does Old Lady Zhao know that girl?"
"Surname Song, could you be related to some people in the village?"
"Grandma, that lady is so pretty, how come I've never seen her before?"
"Daya, don't talk, let me take another look."
Hearing the title "Old Lady Zhao" evoked memories of Song Yin's life in Xiaosong Village.
The Song family did not take good care of her. Sometimes she didn't even have enough to eat. Whenever she was about to starve to death, Song Yin would go to other people's homes in the village to beg for food. Children don't eat much and look pitiful, so some kind-hearted people would give her some food to keep her alive.
Song Yin gradually compared the deeply lined, sun-darkened face with the face in her memory: "You are...Grandma Zhao?"
Grandma Zhao grabbed Song Yin's hand and said incredulously, "You really are Song Yin, Yin'er?"
The Song family didn't name the child, but the girl gave herself a name and told everyone that her name was Song Yin. Some people in the village gradually got used to calling her Yin Yatou.
"When the accident happened that year, some villagers said you were still alive and had even spoken to you. But when they did a headcount, they couldn't find you. I never imagined you'd grown up so much!" Grandma Zhao was overjoyed. Many people died back then, and many familiar faces were already buried. She never expected Yin'er to be alive. This old woman was able to run into acquaintances from back then before she died. Heaven had been kind to her!
"Come on, let's go home with Grandma Zhao. Just drinking water isn't enough. Grandma will cook you something delicious."
Under the big locust tree, someone called out, "Grandma Zhao, do you know this girl? Is she a relative of someone in our village?"
Old Mrs. Zhao immediately rebuked: "She is from our village. What does it matter if we're relatives or not? She survived the man-made disaster twelve years ago. Compared to you, she is a true native of Xiaosong Village."
The woman, having been humiliated, changed her expression repeatedly. She wanted to say something else, but since her family had moved to Xiaosong Village later, she didn't want to clash with the elderly people there. Unable to reason with Old Lady Zhao, she started gossiping with the others around her.
"So what if we're new here? My sons and grandsons will pass it down from generation to generation, and we'll still be true Xiaosong Village people."
"Aunt Qian, don't be angry. Aren't you curious about what kind of adventure that girl had? Look at her demeanor; she's even more impressive than the daughters of officials I've ever met."
“That makes sense.” Aunt Qian’s eyes darted around. She put down the cloth shoes she was working on halfway through and said to the children, “You all go home first. Your Aunt Lu and I have something to do.”
The child obediently ran back to his own home.
Aunt Qian and Aunt Lu walked together toward Old Lady Zhao's house.
The two stood at the door of Grandma Zhao's house, craning their necks and straining to see inside.
Old Mrs. Zhao's son, daughter-in-law, granddaughter, and grandson all went to work in the fields, while her husband died twelve years ago.
As soon as Grandma Zhao returned, she ran to the kitchen, saying she was really going to cook. Song Yin quickly stopped her, telling her that she wasn't hungry and that she had only come to Xiaosong Village to visit, and that she would leave again eventually.
Grandma Zhao tried to break free from Song Yin's grasp to cook, but found that Song Yin was incredibly strong. She could only be pulled along by Song Yin and brought to the main room.
Song Yin: "I see that the village has changed a lot. All the houses that burned down back then have been rebuilt, and there are many more than before."
Old Mrs. Zhao gazed outside, as if she were seeing the scene from years past again: "Alas, back then, only a small portion of our village survived. Not long after everyone finished their funerals, the government officials came. Later, a group of refugees were settled in our village. They rebuilt their houses, and the unclaimed land was redistributed to them. Gradually, the village began to liven up again, and there were many more people than before. Fortunately, the village chief was still from the old Xiao Song Village, so the outsiders couldn't bully us old folks."
Speaking of the redistribution of land, Old Lady Zhao said, "Your family's fertile fields and hillside fields have all been taken away, but you are still alive. We should go to the village chief and ask if we can get those fields back that should have been yours."
Song Yin pressed down on Zhao Laotai's hand, "There's no need to find the village chief. I'm really just here to take a look and leave. Let them farm those fields. Besides, if I go back to those fields, how will they make a living?"
Outside, Aunt Qian said to Aunt Lu, "This girl has a really good heart. Whoever got her family's land is really lucky."
Aunt Lu: "Look at her clothes and appearance now, she's definitely not someone who's short of money. But the fact that she thinks this way shows she's a good person. I wonder if she's married yet; my nephew is about the same age as her."
Aunt Qian rolled her eyes at her idea. "Your nephew? Come on, I know him very well. Is he good enough for her?"
Aunt Lu tugged at Aunt Qian, "I was just saying it casually, why are you taking it so seriously? Let's just keep listening to them chat."
Inside the house, Old Mrs. Zhao continued, "I haven't asked you where you've lived all these years, or if you've been doing well?"
Song Yin: "I originally wanted to go to the county town to find a job. On the way, I met the immortal in Qingshi Village who was recruiting disciples. I squeezed in and was selected to enter the immortal sect. Later, I became a disciple of a master. My master and the others treated me very well."
"What!" Old Lady Zhao exclaimed in surprise. "You...you actually have such good fortune! Excellent! Truly wonderful!"
"What? Immortals!" Two voices rang out from outside the house.
Realizing they were speaking too loudly, Aunt Qian and Aunt Lu covered their mouths in embarrassment and slowly walked to the door, no longer hiding to listen.
Aunt Qian was the boldest; she asked, "You...you're really an immortal?"
Song Yin could sense that they meant no harm, so she replied, "They can't be considered true immortals."
Seeing that Song Yin was willing to respond, the two went directly into the house and sat down to the side.
Aunt Qian smiled broadly: "We, we'll come in and listen too, haha."
Song Yin smiled lightly and ignored the two of them.
Grandma Zhao: "How long are you staying this time? Why don't you stay at my house?"
Song Yin: "That's hard to say, but I have a place to stay, so you don't need to worry."
Meeting with old acquaintances, Song Yin felt a strong urge to reminisce.
Song Yin chatted with Grandma Zhao for a long time, and as it was almost dinnertime, Song Yin said that she had to leave.
Grandma Zhao continued to try to persuade her to stay, but Song Yin grabbed Grandma Zhao's wrist.
She gave Grandma Zhao a physical examination and found that Grandma Zhao's health problems were actually caused by doing too much work when she was young.
Since mortals cannot consume high-grade pills, Song Yin took out a first-grade pill.
The object appeared out of thin air, startling the three of them so much that their eyes widened in astonishment.
Song Yin poured out a pill, "Grandma Zhao, quickly eat this, it will cure all your minor ailments."
Grandma Zhao was startled and repeatedly declined, saying, "It looks very valuable. You should keep it yourself. You're all alone now, and you can never have too many things."
Aunt Qian and Aunt Lu were envious; they wished they could have one of these good things.
Song Yin: "Please eat. If it weren't for you giving me food every now and then to keep me alive back then, I wouldn't be where I am today."
After saying this, Song Yin had a strange feeling and looked up at the sky.
Suddenly, a phrase came to her mind: to sever ties with the world.
Thinking of this, Song Yin had a thought: she must send out the pills today, and she also had to repay all the debts of gratitude.
"Mother, why are you all standing in the yard? Aunt Qian and Aunt Lu are here too. And who is this girl?" Old Mrs. Zhao's son came back carrying a basket and a hoe, followed by the rest of the family.
Daughter-in-law: "Mom, we have guests? I'll go cook right away."
Grandma Zhao excitedly told her son, "Son, it's Yin Yatou, she's still alive."
Grandma Zhao's son was first confused, then shocked, "Yin Yatou? Yin Yatou?!"
Song Yin: "Uncle Changcai, Aunt Xiu, it's me, Song Yin."
I didn't expect that Uncle Changcai and the others have aged quite a bit, almost the same as the old man of the Song family in my memory.
Grandma Zhao pulled Song Yin back, "Changcai and the others are back. Listen to me this time, you have to have a meal before you leave."
Uncle Changcai: "Why are you leaving so soon after you just got back? Stay and stay the night."
Aunt Xiu finally came to her senses. Years ago, someone said Song Yin was alive but couldn't be found, and she thought they were talking nonsense. She never expected that Song Yin was really still alive. It's just that she has changed a lot over the years and is completely unrecognizable as the dark and thin girl she used to be.
"Yin'er, stay here. The harvests last year and this year have been very good, there's no shortage of food." Aunt Xiu wiped her hands casually on her clothes and greeted her warmly, just like back then.
For a moment, Song Yin felt dazed, as if she had returned to the past when Aunt Xiu secretly slipped her half a steamed bun.
Grandma Zhao's granddaughter was a few years older than her and now wore her hair in a traditional Chinese updo. Her grandson was younger than her; she remembered him as only one or two years old, but now he was taller than Grandma Zhao.
Song Chunlan, the granddaughter, had an impression of Song Yin, but Song Dawang, the grandson, had no impression of her at all.
Song Yin: "You've come at the perfect time. One for each of you."
She used her spiritual energy to lift up the pill that Old Lady Zhao was holding and put it directly into her mouth.
Grandma Zhao wanted to vomit, but the pills melted instantly in her mouth, and her body underwent obvious changes. She felt her strength gradually returning to its previous state, and she could easily harvest two or three acres of wheat by herself.
To avoid another round of refusals, she used her spiritual energy to stuff the remaining four people into their mouths as well.
"What...what!"
Everyone exclaimed in surprise at the changes that had occurred in their bodies.
Song Yin then looked at Aunt Qian and Aunt Lu, whose expectant gazes were hard to conceal, but she did not give them any pills, since there was no karmic connection between them.
Who were the survivors back then?
Grandma Zhao: "I know, Tiezhu, Erniu..." She read out the names of the living people.
Song Yin nodded. Some of these names had helped her, while others had not.
"Grandma Zhao, can you take me to find them now?" Song Yin read out the names of those who had helped her.
Grandma Zhao seemed to understand what she meant, and was both excited and at a loss: "Okay, it's just in time for cooking, and many people are coming back from the fields. What do you want to see them for, Yin'er?"
Song Yin: "They were the ones who gave me food back then, and I have to repay their kindness. The pills I gave you can make you strong and healthy and free from illness. As long as you pay attention to your daily life, you will not have headaches, fevers, or other ailments."
"That's amazing! I'll take you there right now."
Grandma Zhao said to her daughter-in-law, "Xiuniang, you cook first, I'll be back in a bit."
Although they didn't know much about Song Yin's situation, they still followed Old Lady Zhao's instructions.
Song Yin then went to someone else's house with Old Lady Zhao.
Meanwhile, in Shijia Village, Shi Heming learned about the mountain forest where the bandits had lived in the past, and also discovered that the bandits had long since dispersed and disappeared after life improved.
Shi Heming had no choice but to raise his hand and calculate the location of the bandits.
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Author's Note: This journey to the mortal realm has settled all worldly ties and karma, making Yin Yin and the others' future cultivation path much smoother. [Keep it up!]
In the next chapter, Xiaohe will personally avenge her enemy [with upright ears and a rabbit head].
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Yay! The number of favorites is about to break three digits, hurry up and rise! [Sprinkling flowers]
Hehehe, here's my little bowl [empty bowl]
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