Chapter 3 Famine Years
Wan Qiqi was a little curious. It was not surprising that Li Chongniang was afraid of her, but why was Chen Yongxing, a strong and healthy young man, also so afraid of her?
"Big...Sister-in-law, that's not what Chongniang meant...she didn't..." Chen Yongxing stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence.
Wan Qiqi didn't care, because the original owner of this body had drowned, and she was no longer the original owner! Their quarrel had nothing to do with her.
Her gaze swept over the two of them, and she began to examine her surroundings, combining her memories.
Even with the help of her memories, she was still shocked. How could they be so poor?
A family of eight has only three rooms!
Wan Qiqi and Chen Yongnian shared a room with their two children, Chen Yongxing and Li Chongniang shared another room, and the remaining room was the main room, used for meals during the day and for sleeping at night by the mother-in-law Wang and the third son Chen Yongliang.
There was an elm tree in the yard, and next to it was a dilapidated thatched shed. Under the shed was a pot, which showed signs of repair, but there was still a large chip on the rim.
Wan Qiqi had never seen such a bad pot still in use in her life, nor had she ever seen someone under forty look like they were in their fifties or sixties.
Wang stood hunched over in the simple kitchen, her eyes fixed on the pot, as if waiting for something.
After a while, she picked up a ladle, scooped the contents of the pot into a large basin, and began to wash the pot.
Wan Qiqi could tell from her skillful movements that she did this every day.
Her gaze fell on the wooden basin, which contained something that looked like rice bran, with some wild vegetable leaves floating on top.
The leaves probably looked a bit stale because they were cooked for too long.
Wan Qiqi watched as Chen Yongnian carried the basin into the main room, and the two children followed behind him excitedly, each holding a bowl.
Suddenly, she had a bad feeling. Could this be what she was going to eat next?
Just as this thought crossed her mind, Madam Wang came over. "Qiqi, are you hungry? Come in and eat!"
She was slightly enthusiastic, but Wan Qiqi still noticed the fear in her evasive expression.
Wan Qiqi couldn't understand why, with so many people in the family, they were afraid of just one woman like her.
She followed Wang into the main room, looked at the empty seat of honor, hesitated for a moment, and then sat down.
Wang sat to the side, squeezed together with her third son, Chen Yongliang.
Chen Yongnian eagerly filled the bowls, then picked out the largest one and placed it in front of Wan Qiqi, grinning, "Wife, eat up!"
Wan Qiqi looked at the food in the bowl, but had no appetite whatsoever.
The people around her started urging her, and her stomach started growling, reminding her that if she didn't eat, she would go hungry!
After much deliberation, Wan Qiqi took a bite, just to keep herself from starving.
But she still overestimated the taste.
Not only was the mouthful of bran unpalatable, but the wild vegetables inside were also bitter and astringent.
After taking the first bite, she never wanted to take a second one!
The two little ones looked on expectantly, and An'an kept smacking her lips, drooling.
Wan Qiqi couldn't help but sigh inwardly. This unpalatable food was what these people ate to survive. Even children like Pingping and An'an had to eat such coarse and malnourished food...
As soon as she put the bowl down, everyone's expression changed drastically.
Wan Qiqi frowned, stood up, and said, "You guys eat! I'm going out for a bit."
She needs time and space to process what she's going through.
Chen Yongnian stood up and watched her leave. In the end, he did not follow her. Instead, he sat down and served Pingping and An'an wild vegetables and rice bran.
Wang picked up the bowl and calmly said, "Let her be!"
She hoped that Wan Qiqi's brush with death would give her an epiphany and lead to some change.
So the family sat down together to enjoy breakfast.
Wan Qiqi stepped out of the courtyard and was stunned by the scene before her.
To the east are continuous mountain peaks, to the south are valleys stretching for dozens of miles, to the west and north are mostly ponds and marshes, and there is a winding river flowing from east to west, passing right by the door.
In modern times, this is undoubtedly a natural resort destination, with fresh air and no pollution.
Unfortunately, a sudden flood last month washed away all the lotus flowers in the pond, preventing us from seeing the beautiful scenery.
Soon, Wan Qiqi had a new mood.
She will be staying in this place from now on.
Last year's drought left Lianhua Village with no harvest, and this year's floods have destroyed the lotus ponds and crops, resulting in another crop failure and plunging the village into famine.
Wan Qiqi wondered what sins she had committed in her past life to be brought to such a horrible place.
Her accusations went unanswered, and she stood alone on the desolate ridge of the field.
After a long while, Wan Qiqi finally accepted the fact and walked along the riverbank into the river.
He had only taken two steps when he tripped over some weeds.
She grabbed a blade of grass, raised her hand, and yelled, "Even you're bullying me!"
Just as I was about to throw it, a sound rang in my mind.
[Ding! Wild water celery discovered!]
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