C3 Chapter 3

Wan Qiqi couldn’t help being curious. Lee Chongniang was scared of her—that was one thing—but Chen Yongxing was a strong, healthy young man. Why was he just as afraid of her?

“B-Big Sis… Chongniang didn’t mean it like that… she didn’t…” Chen Yongxing stammered, too flustered to get out a complete sentence.

Wan Qiqi didn’t take it to heart. The woman who’d drowned was gone—she wasn’t that person anymore. Whatever these two were fighting about didn’t really have anything to do with her.

Her gaze swept over them, then she started taking in her surroundings, piecing everything together with the memories she’d inherited.

Even with those memories, it still hit her like a punch. How could anyone be this poor?

Eight people, and only three rooms.

Wan Qiqi and Chen Yongnian shared one room with their two kids. Chen Yongxing and Lee Chongniang had another. The last room was the main room—used for meals during the day, and at night it was where Mrs. Wang and the third son, Chen Yongliang, slept.

In the yard stood an elm tree. Next to it was a rickety lean-to made of straw. Under the shelter sat a cooking pot, patched up in places, but the rim still had a huge chunk missing.

In her entire life, Wan Qiqi had never seen a pot that beat-up still being used—nor had she seen someone not even forty who looked closer to sixty.

Mrs. Wang stood hunched in the bare-bones kitchen, eyes fixed on the pot as if she were waiting for something.

After a while, she picked up a ladle, scooped the contents into a large basin, and started washing out the pot.

The way she moved—quick and practiced—made it obvious she did this every day.

Wan Qiqi’s eyes fell on the wooden basin. Inside was something that looked like rice bran, with a few wild greens floating on top. Maybe it had been boiled too long—the leaves looked dull and wilted.

She watched as Chen Yongnian carried the basin into the main room, the two kids trailing after him, hugging their bowls and practically bouncing with excitement.

A bad feeling crept up on her. Don’t tell me that’s what I’m supposed to eat next.

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than Mrs. Wang came over. “Qiqi, you must be starving. Come on—get inside and eat!”

She tried to act a little welcoming, but Wan Qiqi still caught the fear flickering in her evasive eyes.

Wan Qiqi couldn’t wrap her head around it. There were so many people in this family—how were they all scared of one woman?

She followed Mrs. Wang into the main room. Seeing the now-empty seat of honor, she hesitated, then sat down anyway.

Mrs. Wang sat off to the side, squeezed in next to the third son, Chen Yongliang.

Chen Yongnian was quick to fill the bowls. He even picked the fullest one and set it in front of Wan Qiqi, flashing a wide grin. “Wife, eat up!”

Wan Qiqi stared at what was in the bowl and felt zero appetite.

The people around her started urging her on, and her stomach joined in too, reminding her that if she didn’t eat, she’d just go hungry.

After wrestling with it, Wan Qiqi took a bite—at least enough to keep herself from starving.

But she’d still overestimated how it would taste.

The mouthful of coarse bran was hard enough to swallow, and the wild greens mixed in were bitter and astringent. After that first bite, she didn’t want a second.

The two little ones, though, watched with eager faces. An’an kept smacking his lips, drool practically spilling out.

Wan Qiqi couldn’t help but sigh. This hard-to-swallow food was what kept them alive. Even kids like Pingping and An’an had to eat something this rough and lacking in nutrition...

She set her bowl down, and everyone’s expression changed in an instant.

Wan Qiqi frowned and stood. “You all eat. I’m going out for a bit.”

She needed time and space to steady herself after everything that had happened.

Chen Yongnian rose, watching her walk away. In the end, he didn’t follow. He sat back down and dished out the wild greens and bran for Pingping and An’an.

Mrs. Wang lifted her bowl and said evenly, “Let her go.”

She hoped that after brushing up against death, Wan Qiqi would finally wake up and change.

And so the family sat together and ate breakfast.

Wan Qiqi stepped out of the yard and was stunned by what she saw.

To the east, a chain of mountains stretched on and on. To the south lay a valley that ran for miles. The west and north were mostly ponds and marshland, and a winding river flowed from east to west, passing right by the front door.

By today’s standards, it would’ve been a natural vacation spot—fresh air, clean and untouched.

Too bad last month’s sudden flood had washed the lotus pond bare, leaving nothing to admire.

Before long, Wan Qiqi was hit with a new wave of dread.

She was going to be stuck here from now on.

Last year’s drought left Lotus Village with nothing to harvest. This year’s flood destroyed the lotus pond and the crops, meaning there’d be nothing again. The village had slipped into famine.

Wan Qiqi thought, What did I ever do to deserve this? How did I end up in a place like this?

Her complaints got no answer. She stood alone on the narrow ridge between the fields.

After a long moment, Wan Qiqi finally forced herself to accept it and headed down the riverbank toward the water.

She’d barely taken two steps when a clump of weeds tripped her.

She grabbed the weeds, raised her hand, and snapped, “Even you’re picking on me!”

Just as she was about to fling them away, a sound rang out in her head.

“Ding! Natural wild water fennel detected!”