Transmigrated Leftover Woman in Rural Style

The woman was startled by the village head's words, realizing she had displeased him and his companion. So, she obediently took out the notice, not daring to utter a sound. Li Xiaoyang took the bright red, gold-lettered birth certificate from his father and handed it to Wang Tu, who remained silent with his head bowed.

Snatching the crumpled birth certificate from the woman's hand, Li Xiaoyang noticed a corner was missing. He unfolded it and saw that the missing corner contained his sister's name. Angrily, he displayed the certificate to everyone and shouted:

"Whose birth chart is this? Where did you pick it up from? It's tattered and broken, and it doesn't even have a name on it. Are you trying to deceive us, to deceive the clan chief and the village head?"

The onlookers sighed upon seeing the mangled birth chart. They began whispering amongst themselves. One of the more knowledgeable about the law exclaimed, "Emperor Taizu established a law that all birth charts for men and women represent their identities and bear the official seal. Anyone who deliberately damages a birth chart shall be punished with twenty strokes of the cane and three months of hard labor."

Hearing this, Li Xiaonuan suddenly realized. So, this birth charter could be used as an ID card! It seemed that the founding emperor must have been from the same hometown. Since the village head had brought this matter to the forefront, he had no choice but to deal with it as well.

He said to the terrified woman, "Wang Huangshi, you heard what she said. Since you dared to do it, you must bear the consequences. Now, please have both of our elders sign the annulment papers."

Li Xiaoyang handed the tattered marriage contract to the village head, took the annulment document from the village head, and read it aloud. Before his father fell ill, the family was well-off and had sent Li Xiaoyang to school.

The paperwork was done in a standard manner, and neither set of parents had any objections. First, Mr. and Mrs. Li pressed their fingerprints on the document. Then, the mother and son from the Wang family, their hands trembling, also pressed their fingerprints.

The village head took the document, looked at it, and put it away with satisfaction before saying, "The document is signed. After I get it stamped by the government, I will send a copy to each of your households."

Once the village headman saw that the matter of annuling the engagement had been settled, he had Li Xiaonuan help her parents back to their house. He then told Li Xiaoyang to stay behind and said to him and the Wang family mother and son, "You two come with me to the yamen. While it's still early today, let's get everything done."

Upon hearing that she was really going to be taken to the yamen (government office), the woman was so frightened that she immediately knelt on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing and begging the two village heads for forgiveness. However, the law is impartial, and given her previous outburst, the two village heads decided to punish her as a warning to others. Therefore, they ignored her.

Seeing that she couldn't reason with the two men, the woman knelt before Li's parents, begging them not to pursue the matter. Li's mother, known for her straightforward and outspoken nature, bluntly refused: "What's the use of begging us? You've broken the law; we can't control you. Besides, you deserve this punishment; it's retribution."

Hearing Li's mother's words, the woman collapsed to the ground. Wang Tu, who had been silent until now, suddenly stepped forward, his previous timidity gone. He helped the woman up, bowed deeply to Li's parents, and said apologetically:

“Uncle and Aunt, it was all my fault. Please don’t blame my mother. She was just suffering, which is why she did such a wrong thing. I apologize to your family and I am willing to take full responsibility for all the blame.”

Li's parents didn't want to acknowledge Wang Tu at all, so neither of them uttered a sound. Seeing this, Li Xiaonuan and Li Xiaogang helped the two back into the house. Once outside, she said to Wang Tu, who was still standing in front of the house:

“We accept your apology. However, you must understand that your mother's actions were wrong. Even if she is suffering, she shouldn't torment unrelated people. Also, you've studied for so many years, you should be able to distinguish right from wrong. Don't let your mother manipulate you all day long, you need to live for yourself. Don't let your mother's mistakes become irreparable, it will be too late to regret it then.”

After listening to Li Xiaonuan's words, Wang Tu seemed to understand something. He helped the dazed woman up and followed the village chief and his group. Li Xiaonuan pulled Li Xiaoyang aside and instructed him:

“Tell the village chief and the village head that giving that woman a beating will be enough. As for the hard labor, just waive it. We’re all neighbors, we can’t go too far, that would damage our reputation.”

Li Xiaoyang nodded, indicating that he understood, and then jogged to catch up with the village chief and the others. Seeing that there was no more excitement to see, the onlookers gradually dispersed. Aunt Zhou and Aunt Huang also came to say goodbye. Li Xiaonuan wanted them to stay, but she had nothing to offer them, so she could only apologetically see them out.

When she returned, Xiao Gang was carrying a wooden tray out of the kitchen. On the tray were two bowls of porridge and a small dish of mixed wild vegetables. Li Xiaonuan smelled something like meat, so she went over to take a look. Sure enough, the two bowls of porridge were made with minced meat.

Xiao Gang smiled and said to Li Xiaonuan, "Sister, this is porridge that Sister-in-law Erquan cooked for Mom and Dad. It has minced meat in it. Aunt Zhou also brought twenty eggs. I put one in each of Mom and Dad's bowls to help them recover."

Li Xiaonuan smiled and patted Xiaogang's head, saying, "Okay, hurry up and take it to your parents while it's hot. Otherwise, the porridge will get cold and the eggs will taste fishy."

Watching Xiaogang walk briskly into his parents' room, and remembering how greedily he had sniffed the aroma earlier, Li Xiaonuan sighed. They say that prolonged illness tests filial piety. But for Li's father, prolonged illness meant even relatives had left.

Li Xiaonuan went into the kitchen and reheated the pot of porridge she had originally planned to use for breakfast. She glanced at the small basket of eggs on the cutting board, gritted her teeth, and cracked two into the pot. She thought: From now on, she definitely won't let her family go hungry. It's just eggs, after all; she's afraid her family won't even care about them by then.

After cracking the eggs evenly, Li Xiaonuan sprinkled the chopped wild vegetables from the cutting board into the pot. She turned off the heat after the porridge had boiled two or three times. While it was still hot, she added a little salt and stirred it well before ladling the porridge into a clean wooden bowl.

Although the Cold Food Festival had passed, even in the southern regions, it was still quite chilly in the mornings and evenings. Li Xiaonuan stepped out of the kitchen, looking at the somewhat gloomy sky, and felt that it would rain today. She tightened her thin cotton coat, grateful that cotton had been introduced to China long ago.

Just as they reached their parents' bedroom door, Xiaogang came out carrying empty bowls and chopsticks. He showed them to Li Xiaonuan. Li Xiaonuan felt comforted to see that both large bowls of porridge had been completely devoured. At least her parents weren't so fussy, making them easier to get along with.

She took the tray from Xiaogang and said to him, "I've made breakfast. After you finish eating, take some to Xiaoyang. Oh, I still have some savings. Give them to Xiaoyang so he can buy some food for the village head and the others on the street."

Xiao Gang nodded in agreement and quickly ate his porridge, not at all feeling that Li Xiaonuan's cooking was a waste of the eggs meant to nourish his parents. He was only eleven years old, usually quiet, and seemed rather simple-minded. Only his family knew that beneath that gentle exterior lay a remarkably perceptive mind.

While Xiaogang was eating porridge, Li Xiaonuan returned to her room and pulled a small cloth bag from under the bed. Inside was her previous life's savings accumulated over ten years, amounting to one tael, three mace, and twenty-two coins. Li Xiaonuan immediately took out the largest string of one thousand coins, then, after a moment's thought, took the three mace silver coins as well. She casually picked up a tattered purse from beside her pillow and put it in the purse.

Handing the purse to Xiaogang, Li Xiaonuan carefully instructed him: "Have Xiaoyang buy some meat and pastries for the village head and the other man as a thank-you gift. Also, invite them to a noodle shop for noodles and cut a pound of braised meat. Use the remaining money to pay the doctor's fees first. If there's any left over, get some medicine to bring back for Dad."

Xiao Gang took the money bag, listening intently, afraid of missing anything. After Li Xiaonuan finished speaking, he repeated it to make sure it was correct before grinning. Li Xiaonuan was melted by his smile, patted his head and said, "Buy two pieces of tofu, we'll make crucian carp and tofu soup tonight."

Xiao Gang laughed even harder, carefully putting the money bag away. He jumped a few times to make sure the bag wouldn't fall, then ran off like the wind. Li Xiaonuan watched his retreating figure with amusement and a touch of helplessness. She looked up at the sky, secretly blaming herself for forgetting to tell him to bring a raincoat.

Fortunately, it wasn't far from the government office, right next to the city gate. A quarter of an hour's walk would get you onto the main road, and another three hundred meters or so would lead you into the city. Li Xiaonuan went into the kitchen, filled a bowl with porridge, and drank it. She covered the rest under a large bamboo cover and then started tidying up the kitchen.

After putting the washed dishes and chopsticks in the cupboard, Li Xiaonuan put the dozen or so eggs into a jar under the counter. These were given to her by Aunt Zhou. There was also a pound of brown sugar and a large bag of red dates on the cutting board. The village chief had asked Fangfang to bring them. Li Xiaonuan put them all into the jar on top of the cupboard.

Besides these, there were two large crucian carp brought by Li Shuhua, two jin of millet given by Granny Zhou next door, and dried vegetables and sweet potatoes given by kind villagers. Li Xiaonuan carefully sorted and put them away. She vowed in her heart that she would repay those who helped her in her time of need a hundredfold.

After tidying up the kitchen, Li Xiaonuan boiled a large pot of water, thinking that if the two brothers unfortunately got caught in the rain, they could take a hot bath as soon as they got back. Seeing that she was done in the kitchen, she planned to tidy up the rest of the house. Unfortunately, the house was so poor that there was no need to tidy it up at all. So she went to the storage room behind the main room to check the grain.

These days, my family has been drinking rice porridge, and it's still very thin. I guess we don't have enough rice. The rice seedlings aren't ready to be planted yet, and there are still three or four months until harvest. If we run out of food, the family will have to eat wild vegetables and go hungry.

Sure enough, only about 100 jin of millet remained in the storeroom. There were five people in the family, and Xiao Yang and his brother were at the age when they ate the most. If the family ate dry rice and were well-fed every meal, the 100 jin of millet would be finished in a little over half a month. As for the 30-odd jin of soybeans, Li Xiaonuan completely ignored them.

Emerging from the storage room, Li Xiaonuan quietly peeked into her parents' room and found them fast asleep. They seemed to have finally let go of a heavy burden and were finally able to relax. In the past ten days or so, first, Li Xiaonuan had fallen into the water and become seriously ill. Then, all sorts of unpleasant rumors spread like wildfire. As parents, they must have been extremely anxious.

Li Xiaonuan gently closed the door to her parents' room, moved a stool to sit under the eaves, and pondered her future. How could she continue living like this, to help her parents recover their health, and to plan for her two younger brothers' future? In Li Xiaonuan's view, it all depended on money.

But how do I make money?

The family is currently heavily in debt and simply doesn't have the capital to start a business. As for buying cookbooks, as mentioned in the novel, that's highly impractical for Li Xiaonuan. Her cooking skills are mediocre, and she only knows how to cook a limited variety of dishes. Besides, the family is about to run out of food, which is the crucial point.