Chapter 4 Night Talk
Erniu said with tears in her eyes, "I wanted to save them, but my arms weren't long enough, and they were swept too far away..." Actually, no, when her mother-in-law and father-in-law were swept away by the water and passed by her, their eyes lit up with surprise, and they reached out their hands for her to help them hold on. As long as she reached out, she was able to pull them back.
But for some inexplicable reason, she didn't reach out, and watched helplessly as they were swept away and disappeared in a short time.
At that moment, she thought back to what had just happened. If she had reached out and saved them, and the four of them had clung to the tree again, would she have suffered the same fate if the floodwaters rose again?
She dared not gamble on whether another tree would block her way; she could only seize this chance to live.
Her in-laws will definitely make her let go first again, so don't blame her.
But when her husband was swept downstream, she actually reached out to grab him, but unfortunately he was too far away this time. Their hands missed each other by less than an inch. Erniu cried bitterly and has not been able to forgive herself to this day.
Her husband's entire family home was flooded, leaving her all alone. She fled with the rest of the villagers to Biyang City. As a single woman, she lived in constant fear, terrified of being abducted. Despite the refugees' pitiful and miserable appearances, their gazes towards the single woman were filled with ill intent. Terrified, she was willing to sell herself into slavery, hoping at least she could find a place to shelter from the storm.
Da Hua also sobbed, "I was already engaged. If it weren't for this flood, I would have gotten married this year. I'm a little luckier than Er Niu. My parents, brother and sister-in-law all escaped together. Only my six-year-old sister died on the way... But what good is escaping? We have nothing to eat or drink. My whole family was willing to sell ourselves, but they only chose me. I don't know if my family can settle down here with this little money."
Vejev deducted half of their money from their indenture, and said that if no one bought them, he would deduct fifteen coins a day for food and lodging. She originally wanted to give the remaining money to her parents after signing the indenture so that they could have some money to spare, but now it seems that it is not even certain that half will be left.
Qiaoniang also said sadly, "I'm in a similar situation to Sister Dahua. I was still looking for a husband, and we were almost engaged when the flood came. My parents took my siblings and me and we escaped. We're luckier than you because my family members are all in relatively good health. We didn't get sick on the way, and we survived by digging for wild vegetables and begging along the way..."
But what good would it do to make it to Biyang County? The money they received for selling themselves was so little, and they didn't know if the magistrate would accept them and let them settle down there. If not, like in the other prefectures and counties they passed through, they would be whipped and driven away by the yamen runners. They had no idea where they could go...
On the contrary, at least she who sold herself had a place to stay.
After the three tearfully recounted their respective life stories, they all turned to look at Li Xiaoxiao, who had remained silent.
Li Xiaoxiao lay down early. It was hot, so she didn't even need a blanket. She hugged herself and closed her eyes, and it was hard to tell if she was asleep.
But Qiaoniang thought no, it wasn't even dark yet, how could she have fallen asleep?
She mustered her courage and asked, "Sister Xiaoxiao, are you asleep?"
Li Xiaoxiao kept her eyes closed: "No."
Qiaoniang asked, "Sister Xiaoxiao, did your family also get washed away, just like Sister Erniu's?"
Li Xiaoxiao opened her eyes. Whether it was her imagination or not, the three of them felt that her eyes seemed to be shining in the dim night. She said softly, "They are gone."
Li Xiaoxiao is not a person of this era.
While chasing a space wolf, she accidentally entered a time tunnel. Somehow, instead of being shattered by the time turbulence, she traveled to what seemed to be ancient China more than 30,000 years ago, and the name of the dynasty was one she had never heard of before—the Great Wu Dynasty.
She knew nothing about this world.
She had very few memories left from her history teacher; she couldn't even recognize many words here.
When she first transmigrated, she emerged from the flood. Someone pulled her back; it was a fifteen-year-old girl named Yan Niang.
The temporal turbulence robbed her of her strength, and even the little she had left made it extremely difficult to hold onto a tree in the flood.
Yan Niang was terrified. Seeing that she kept her eyes closed, she kept talking to her, telling her many things about her and the world, but she didn't remember much. She couldn't hold on any longer, so she took off the necklace around her neck, tied the tree to her hand, and fainted.
When she woke up, she was still soaking in the water, her hands tightly bound by the necklace, but Yan Niang was no longer there.
She didn't even know when she was swept away.
This little girl from Niutou'ao, whose savior vanished the moment she opened and closed her eyes.
Once the floodwaters receded, she climbed down from the tree and used her remaining memories to fabricate an identity for Yan Niang.
She was much weaker; her supernatural abilities had almost disappeared, leaving her with only brute strength.
Fortunately, she has not yet encountered anything that threatens her life.
She was a very easygoing person. Although she had been fleeing with refugees these past few days, the biggest threats to survival in this world were hunger and disease. There were no star beasts, no insect monsters, no pollutants, no need to sleep with one eye open for fear of being attacked, and no need to hand over valuable crystal cores as taxes every month to prevent being kicked out of the base...
Moreover, the food in this world was a delicacy she had never tasted before. It was all-natural and pollution-free, with the natural fragrance of the plants. It was non-toxic and harmless to eat, and there was no need to worry about mutation.
Li Xiaoxiao was tired. She had fought for survival for so many years and came into this world by a twist of fate. She wanted to take a good rest.
So be it, she'll be a servant. As long as she has a bed to sleep in and food to eat, she won't have to risk her life. She can survive.
They slept peacefully through the night. The next morning, Qiaoniang, Erniu, and Dahua were the first to wake up, while Li Xiaoxiao remained fast asleep.
Qiao Niang whispered, "Granny Qin said we need to assemble at dawn. Should we wake her up?"
Everyone hadn't had a proper rest during their escape, and they went to sleep around 7 PM last night. They slept until late 3 AM, which was about five hours. Because they kept Qin Mama's words in mind, they didn't dare to be late, so all three of them got up. Only Li Xiaoxiao seemed to have fainted, and she remained in the same position all night, not moving at all, still fast asleep.
They were all teenage girls, so it was normal for them to be sleepy. Just as Qiaoniang was about to go over and wake Li Xiaoxiao up, Erniu stopped her: "Let her sleep, let's not worry about it."
Qiaoniang said, "But..."
Erniu lowered her eyelashes: "From now on, you'll all be servants. You're still so lazy and don't know how to control yourself. Didn't you hear what Granny Qin said yesterday? When you become a servant, you must always remember what you should and shouldn't do. She can't even wake up early. How can she be selected for a wealthy family?"
Qiao Niang and Da Hua hesitated. They weren't stupid. Because Li Xiaoxiao could read, Granny Qin gave her extra clothes and even marked her indenture in red. She was planning to send her to a good family. They were all refugees who came out together. Why should she go to a good family just because she knew a few words? If she really angered Granny Qin because of her laziness, wouldn't they have a chance?
So, when it was time to gather, Granny Qin frowned: "Why is one person missing?" She might not remember the others, but Li Xiaoxiao, who was marked in red, was someone she had been paying close attention to yesterday, and she immediately realized that it was her who was missing: "Where is Li Xiaoxiao?"
The three girls exchanged glances, then lowered their heads and remained silent.
Granny Qin said, "Erniu, you share a room with her, why didn't she come?"
Erniu stammered, "She hasn't gotten up yet..."
Granny Qin's gaze was deep: "Oh, she overslept. Did you wake her up?"
Erniu glanced at Qiaojie and Dahua beside her, and mustered up her courage to say, "We called her, but we couldn't wake her up."
Qiao Jie and Da Hua exchanged a glance, then lowered their heads without refuting.
Qin Mama had seen these little tricks many times, but she didn't expose them. She was going to be a servant soon, and now was the time to fight for her future. Why should anyone else call her up?
She said calmly, "Is that so? Then let her sleep. I want to see how long she can sleep."
Erniu was overjoyed and studied even harder. She even dared to ask Granny Qin if there was anything wrong with her bowing posture. Granny Qin actually gave her some pointers, which made her even more eager to learn.
Qin Mama was willing to guide ambitious maids. After all, the higher the quality of a maid, the greater the chance of being chosen and the higher the price she could fetch. She and Wei Yingjie were both managers in the brokerage firm. If they did their jobs well and were appreciated by their masters, their power would increase.
Qiao Jie and Da Hua were younger, and by the time they realized what was happening, Er Niu had already gotten there first. So, they had no choice but to shamelessly follow Er Niu's example and ask Granny Qin for guidance, only to be met with a glare from Er Niu: "Can't you stop copying everything I do? Are you just tagging along?"
This made Qiaojie and Dahua blush with embarrassment, and they dared not do anything presumptuous, so they could only practice silently on the side.
Qin Mama was originally keeping a high and mighty attitude, waiting for Li Xiaoxiao to run out in a panic to apologize so she could severely punish her and teach her a lesson, also as a warning to others. But she ended up waiting until the sun was high in the sky and it was already past 11 am, and Li Xiaoxiao still hadn't woken up.
At this hour, even a pig should be up.
Granny Qin could no longer sit still. She said coldly, "Someone, bring me my teaching whip."
A maidservant in a green vest beside him bowed and said, "Yes."
A moment later, she brought out a jet-black leather whip. The handle of the whip was shiny, as if it had been polished by frequent use. The whip itself was heavy. When Granny Qin flicked it, it made a dull whistling sound in the air.
Qiao Jie and Da Hua trembled involuntarily. If they were to be lashed by that leather whip, their skin would probably be torn and their flesh ripped open.
Being a simple-minded girl, Qiaojie quickly said, "Granny, why don't I go back to my room and check on Sister Xiaoxiao? She might be sick..."
Granny Qin said coldly, "I gave her a chance. Even if she's sick, she should crawl out and explain the reason to the master! Get out of the way, don't block the way."
A note from the author:
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This is so disappointing, please add it to your favorites [pity]
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