Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 1

Low earthen walls, three dilapidated mud-brick houses. In the southwest corner of the courtyard, under the large pear tree that has been planted for over seventy years, is the entrance to an even lower and more dilapidated warehouse.

A short, thin girl with slightly frizzy hair had a fair, chubby face with two bright, watery eyes looking around. Her little hands, red from the cold, were wiping the frost off her eyebrows.

"It's past six o'clock, why aren't you out collecting cow dung? What are you going to cook at night? Are you going to chop me up and burn me? You good-for-nothing, all you do is slack off all day..."

A middle-aged woman with a fleshy face, short stature, and somewhat bloated figure, wearing a fresh floral cotton-padded jacket, was cursing at the little girl, constantly calling her a "money-loser" and a "jinx," using vulgar language.

Zhang had long disliked Zhao Da'e. This little girl, who spent her days collecting cow dung, firewood, or rakeing leaves for firewood, was being provided with three meals a day—it was far too easy for her. Today, taking advantage of Zhao Lao Er's wife, Cheng Jinxiang, being away, Zhang, as Zhao Da'e's aunt, decided to teach her a lesson. Zhang Cuilan, Zhao Da'e's third aunt, was known for her arrogance and domineering nature; she was an extremely wicked woman who, relying on the protection of Zhao Da'e's grandparents, had always bullied Zhao Da'e.

Zhao Da'e was still a little dazed. She had just finished paying off all the debts she had incurred due to her mother's serious illness years ago, and after taking a short nap, she woke up to find herself reborn on October 29, 1989, when she was six years old. Before Zhao Da'e could even savor the joy of her rebirth, she was scolded by her third aunt. She gave a perfunctory reply, "I'll be there in a bit," and then walked into the low, dilapidated storage room.

Zhang Cuilan kicked the door, leaving behind a vicious remark: "If you don't collect enough cow dung for firewood today, you're not coming home for dinner. When I was six, I could go out and collect two baskets of cow dung a day. You're just a glutton, all you do is eat..."

Zhao Da'e slammed the door shut. After a quick tidy-up, she grabbed her manure basket and went out to collect cow dung. Although the reform and opening-up policy had already begun, Dongtaizi Village, where Zhao Da'e lived, remained impoverished due to its remote location in the northern mountains. Most of the firewood the villagers used for heating in winter was cow dung. Therefore, many people went to collect cow dung, and Zhao Da'e worked for a long time before she barely managed to collect a basketful. Then she carried the basket home.

Zhao Da'e's grandparents are still alive. His grandfather, Zhao Tingxu, had three sons. Zhao Da'e's father, Zhao Tiesheng, was the second son. The other two were his eldest uncle, Zhao Tiebao, and his third uncle, Zhao Tiegang. Since his eldest uncle, Zhao Tiebao, had moved out, only his grandparents, his third uncle's family, and Zhao Da'e's family lived in the courtyard.

The Zhao family was notoriously poor in the village. While other families had already built new houses, Zhao Da'e's grandparents and third uncle were still living in those three mud-brick houses. As for Zhao Da'e's parents, they were even worse off, forced to live in the storage room under the pear tree.

Zhao Da'e carried cow dung into the yard, went to the west room, peered out the window, and saw his third aunt, Zhang Cuilan, sleeping on the kang (a heated brick bed).

After composing himself, Zhao Da'e carried the cow dung basket into his third aunt Zhang Cuilan's house. He then placed the basket over the headboard, filling it with cow dung, and nudged his aunt, saying, "Third aunt, count it. See if the cow dung I collected today is enough for you to use for firewood?"

Zhang Cuilan opened her eyes and felt a chill on her face. She then sat up abruptly and discovered that her bedding, clothes, and even the bed were covered in clumps of cow dung...

On the ground, Zhao Da'e was looking at him with a smile.

"Zhao the Goose!!!" Aunt Zhang Cuilan was furious and shouted, "You jinx, are you tired of living? You dare to mess with me. I'll tear you apart."

Aunt Zhang Cuilan got down from the ground while cursing. Zhao Da'e smiled slyly, picked up Zhang Cuilan's shoes from the ground, turned and ran, saying as he ran, "Aunt Zhang, this is wrong of you. You made me pick up cow dung, and you said that if I didn't pick it up enough, you would punish me. I finally picked it up enough, and I brought it here for you to see, why are you cursing me?"

"You good-for-nothing, if you're so capable, then don't run away!" Zhang Cuilan chased after him barefoot.

Zhao Da'e ran even faster, reaching the edge of the yard. With a powerful throw, he tossed his aunt Zhang Cuilan's shoe directly to the top of a tree, where it got caught on a branch. Then, Zhao Da'e dashed out of the village. Behind him came the incessant, scathing curses of his aunt Zhang Cuilan, as foul as could be.

“My third aunt is really healthy. In the dead of winter, she can chase me for two miles without wearing shoes. Even Wang Junxia has to call my third aunt a senior.”

Zhao Da'e strolled around outside the village for a while when he suddenly bumped into his aunt, Cheng Jinxi, who was hurrying towards Dongtaizi Village where he lived.

Zhao Da'e's aunt, Cheng Jinxi, lived in the Jurenzhangzi area above Dongtaizi. It was named after a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations) who had once lived there. Because they lived so close, the two families visited each other frequently. Zhao Da'e used to be very close to his aunt, Cheng Jinxi, and often went to her house for meals. Seeing his aunt approaching, Zhao Da'e quickly asked, "Auntie, Auntie! Where are you going? It's so cold, why are you crying?"

With tears welling up in her eyes, Cheng Jinxi said, "Big Goose, what are you doing here? Don't you know? It seems your mother went to the city to have a second child. I heard from your mother that your damned grandmother said that if the second child is a girl, she should just give her away. Otherwise, if she has a son later, it will be considered an over-birth and she will be fined."

Zhao Da'e was completely stunned. Only then did she realize that today was the birthday of her younger sister—whom she had never met. In her past life, Zhao Da'e knew she had a sister, but she was given away at birth, causing her mother, Cheng Jinxiang, to harbor resentment and suffer a heart attack, ultimately leading to her death. In this life, reborn, she was fortunate that her sister hadn't been given away yet. As long as she saved her sister, her mother wouldn't die.

"Auntie, don't cry. I'm here for you," Zhao Da'e comforted his aunt, Cheng Jinxi. Then, after thinking for a moment, he said, "Auntie, wait for me. I'll take you to the hospital to find them."

Zhao Da'e then ran back to the village and arrived at the home of the village chief, Zhao Tingming.

"Grandpa, something terrible has happened! My grandparents are going to throw away my newborn sister! It's a matter of life and death, please do something about it!"

Village chief Zhao Tingming was chopping firewood in the yard when he heard Zhao Da'e run in and say this. His face turned ashen instantly. After hearing Zhao Da'e's explanation, he was even more furious: "You bastard, how can you give away your own granddaughter? Don't you have any humanity? You've given them a human skin, but you've really blinded them."

Zhao Tingming and Zhao Da'e's grandfather, Zhao Tingxu, were brothers. The old man was over sixty years old and still in good health. His face was ashen, but he told his wife to fetch Xing Shuling, the women's director of Dongtaizi Village. Then Zhao Tingming took out some hot water, started the village's only tricycle, and hurriedly set off with Zhao Da'e, Cheng Jinxi, and Xing Shuling in tow.

“My aunt lives in the county town. I guess they’re thinking that if my mom has a daughter, they’ll abandon the baby and have her stay at my aunt’s house. Then they’ll go back to the village and say she didn’t give birth. Let’s go directly to the county town to find them,” Zhao Da’e analyzed.