"Xia Liang, Xia Liang, you good-for-nothing girl who only eats and does no work, you're a waste of money! Don't you even know what time it is and you still haven't cooked? Are you trying to starve us to death?"
Sitting under the eaves, Xia Liang slowly stood up and walked towards the dilapidated thatched house amidst Zhu's curses. She couldn't believe that she, who had just been living a carefree life in the 21st century, had suddenly found herself in 1969. At just 26 years old, Xia Liang had finally saved enough for a down payment on a three-bedroom apartment, but before the house was even delivered, she was in a car accident and transported to the 1960s. Dejected, Xia Liang threw firewood into the stove. Steam rose from the thatched lid of the iron pot. She opened the lid, ladled the sweet potato porridge into a basin, and carried it to the table in the main room. Zhu, seeing only sweet potato porridge, instantly flew into a rage: "You good-for-nothing, freeloading brat! There are so many wild vegetables in the mountains, don't you know how to dig them? Look at Cuihua next door, she digs a whole basket of wild vegetables after work! Look at you, you useless thing, not only do you not work, but you can't even dig wild vegetables!" Zhu started cursing on her own, not caring whether her spittle landed in the basin. She snatched the bowl and chopsticks from Xia Liang's hands, took the spoon handed to her by her younger daughter-in-law, and began to exercise her right to be in charge.
She handed the bowl full of sweet potatoes to Old Man Xia's usual seat, and then filled four more bowls to about eight-tenths full, handing them to her eldest son and daughter-in-law, her youngest son and daughter-in-law, and only half a bowl to her second son and his wife. Why? Because the eldest son had three sons, and Old Woman Xia was happy to see her three grandsons, so she naturally gave her eldest son's wife some face. Her youngest son's wife had relatives working at the supply and marketing cooperative, so she naturally had to fawn over her. Only her second son's wife was nothing; her family was extremely poor, and she herself was sickly. She had wanted her second son to marry her niece, but he insisted on marrying the useless and troublesome Zhao Danxiang. In addition, she had suffered a lot when giving birth to her second son, so in her heart, her second son was naturally not as favored as her other two sons, and even less favored than her youngest daughter. Therefore, Old Woman Xia did not like her second son and his wife, along with their two children. Each of the five grandsons, except for Xia Rong from the second son's family, filled their bowls to about eight-tenths full, taking more than half a bowl for themselves. The two granddaughters from the third son's family, like Xia Liang, had soup so thin it was practically a mirror, with only two or three pieces of sweet potato in it. Zhu's youngest daughter-in-law couldn't help but purse her lips when she saw this, but dared not say anything. She didn't even consider that Xia Liang was seventeen, while the two little ones were only four and two years old. After Xia Liang finished her sweet potato porridge and waited for the whole family to finish eating, she started washing the dishes. Everyone else went about their own business, even her three-year-old cousin had to go to the field to pick peanuts. It wasn't that she was so pampered that she didn't have to work; three days ago, the original owner of this body had accidentally rolled into a ditch while digging for wild vegetables after finishing work, and when she woke up, she had been reborn.
At night, Xia Liang lay in bed, unable to sleep because the straw mat under the patched sheets was uncomfortable. In her previous life, she lost her parents at a very young age and was raised by her grandparents. They struggled to support her until she graduated from vocational school, but her grandparents eventually passed away due to old age and poor health. Whenever she thought of this, Xia Liang couldn't help but cry. They hadn't enjoyed a single day of happiness, and she hadn't had a chance to give them a good life before they were gone. Outside, the chirping of crickets rose and fell, and Xia Liang slowly drifted off to sleep to the sound of their chirping.
While tidying up her clothes, Xia's mother next door said to Xia's father, who was lying down, "Honey, do you think Liang'er has gone mad from the fall? Ever since Arong carried her back from the ditch, she's been listless every day, doesn't recognize anyone, and can't even cook. She's like she's lost her soul. When she woke up that day, she asked me who I was and why she was here." As she said this, Xia's mother seemed to have thought of something and whispered to Xia's father, "Could she be possessed?" Xia's father immediately sat up. "What nonsense are you talking about? If you don't want to live, don't drag our family down with you." Xia's mother mumbled, "It's just the two of us." Xia's father glared at her, lay down, and continued sleeping. Xia's mother didn't dare to say anything more, blew out the lamp, and lay down as well.
As the morning sun shone on Dahe Village, the people of this land rose to begin their day's work. In the Xia family, only Xia Liang remained in bed. Last night, a splitting headache throbbed within her, fragments of memories flooding her mind, making her feel as if her head was about to explode. Upon waking, she sorted through these extra memories, trying to understand the relationships within her family. The original owner of this body was also named Xia Liang, seventeen years old this year. Her family consisted of her grandparents, Old Man Xia Youfu and Old Woman Xia Hongmei. The elderly couple had four children: the eldest son, Xia Dajiang, and his wife, Wang Chunhua, had three sons—Xia Fu, Xia Gui, and Xia Hua. Old Woman Xia was quite proud of her eldest son, having given birth to three sons. The second son's family, Xia Liang's family, consisted of her father, Xia Dahe, and mother, Zhao Danxiang, who had two children, Xia Rong and her younger sister, Xia Liang; and the third son, Xia Dahu, and his wife, Ma Guixiang, who had one son, Xia Xing, and two daughters, Xia Feng and Xia Xue. The youngest daughter, Xia Xiaoxi, married and moved to the city, rarely returning home more than a few times a year, but Old Mrs. Xia was very proud of this.
Lying in bed, Xia Liang suddenly had a flash of inspiration. Since she couldn't do farm work in the village, why not go to the city to find a way to make a living? With this thought, Xia Liang quickly got out of bed, washed up, and prepared breakfast—the usual clear and refreshing sweet potato porridge. When the whole family returned, while everyone was eating, Xia Liang mentioned to Grandma Xia, "Grandma, my aunt hasn't been home for a long time. Should I go see her?" Grandma Xia glanced at her and said indifferently, "You want to go see her? Don't you know the travel expenses are high?" Xia Liang quickly replied, "No..." "Should I walk there? Didn't you mention before that you wanted to take the eggs you left at home to my aunt? If you delay any longer, the eggs will spoil." Old Mrs. Xia thought it made sense; anyway, this lazy girl couldn't do anything at home anyway. So she said, "Alright! Then go and come back early, don't waste time. Hold the eggs tight, or you'll break them!" Xia Liang ignored Old Mrs. Xia's harsh words and quickly replied, "Don't worry, don't worry, I definitely won't break them." After saying that, she hurriedly swallowed the sweet potato porridge in her bowl and went back to her room to find her secret stash of money.
The original owner's aunt was good to her, always giving her a dollar or two whenever she came back. Don't underestimate a dollar or two; in later generations, a bottle of mineral water would cost more than two dollars, but this was the 1960s! A dollar could buy about a pound of pork or a pound of eggs. Opening the box, Xia Liang found her secret stash of money hidden under her clothes. She took it out and counted it: a total of thirty-six dollars and forty-five cents, some in small change and some in larger denominations.
After Xia Liang finished getting ready, she went out to the village chief Xia Youshun's house. As she walked through a patch of reeds, she heard a middle-aged woman say, "Er Gou's mother, how many eggs have you saved up? My niece-in-law is about to give birth, and I'd like to exchange some for her to help with her postpartum recovery." The voice sounded like Cuihua's mother. Another woman said, "We've saved over 120. Keep your voice down so no one can hear us." Cuihua's mother whispered, "Don't worry! I've checked, no one's around." Er Gou's mother then said reassuredly, "How many do you want? I can..." "Let me tell you first, my eggs are big and yolky. Er Gouzi and his sister feed them worms every day; they're different from other people's." Hearing this, Cuihua's mother cursed inwardly: "This stinking woman is trying to raise the price!" She'd already asked all the neighbors, so she couldn't very well say no. She could only grit her teeth and ask, "How much is one?" Er Gouzi's mother held up four fingers and waved them, saying, "Four cents each, no bargaining." Cuihua's mother gritted her teeth and said, "Fine! I'll come pick them up tonight." After reaching an agreement, the two prepared to go home together.
Xia Liang quickly greeted them, "Where are you two aunties from?" The two women looked nervous, afraid that Xia Liang would overhear their earlier transaction, and quickly replied, "Nothing much, just came out to cut some grass to feed the chickens after dinner. Xia Liang, when did you get here?" Xia Liang smiled and said, "Aunties, I just arrived, on my way to my second grandfather's house." Xia Liang chuckled inwardly, thinking she wasn't so bored as to report them, and decided not to scare them. She finished speaking and prepared to leave, but the two aunties said, "We just arrived too, we were just about to go home." They picked up their empty baskets and ran off as if fleeing, completely forgetting that they had come to cut grass. Xia Liang smiled and continued walking.
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