Reincarnation and Rebirth

"Where have you all gone? It's so late, why aren't you up and working? Do you expect an old woman like me to serve you? If you're not going to work, you won't eat. You bunch of damned bastards, let's see when God will take you down..." An old voice broke the tranquility of dawn, echoing above a half-old courtyard at the entrance of Suhe Village.

"Mother, my husband studied until midnight last night and only just fell asleep..." A middle-aged woman's voice stammered, but was immediately interrupted.

"Pah, your man needs you to sleep with him?"

"Mother, that's not what I meant. I was just worried that my husband would need someone to serve him when he gets up."

Hearing this, the old lady, clearly biased towards the scholar's eldest son, turned her head and shouted to the other side, "Second and fourth sons, get up and do some work! You lazy good-for-nothings!" However, her voice was a little softer than before.

Before she could finish her rant, the door to the west wing opened, and the fourth son's wife, while tying her hair up, said, "Mother, I'm here, I'm here. Little Bao just woke up, and I couldn't leave right away."

The old lady glared at the fourth son's wife, then angrily cursed at the room next door, "Second son's wife, you're the laziest and most gluttonous person in the whole family. I don't know what bad luck our Su family had to marry a wife like you."

With a creak, the door to the second son's house opened, revealing their second daughter, Su Xiang'er. She was holding two-year-old Su Ming in one arm and holding her five-year-old sister Su Zhao'er's hand in the other. She herself was only eleven years old.

"Grandma, Mom got up very early to go up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables. My eldest sister fell off the mountain yesterday and hasn't woken up yet."

Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Su was immediately furious. "What? Is your sister so precious? She only got a little scratch and she's already a young lady? She's not that lucky." With that, she tiptoed toward the door of the second room.

Inside the bed, Su Wan'er was awakened by the cursing. She immediately raised her hand and carefully examined her skinny, bony hand and her fingers, which were barely thicker than chopsticks. Instantly, she was overwhelmed with excitement. Thank goodness, thank goodness, this time it happened ahead of schedule.

However, her joy was short-lived. A dull ache shot through her head again. Looking up, she was horrified to see the original owner's grandmother pulling her by the hair and dragging her off the bed, cursing, "I'll teach you to pretend, you little slut, you good-for-nothing, you spendthrift..."

"Ouch, that hurts, let go." As she spoke, Su Wan'er's withered little hand gripped an acupoint on the old lady's wrist. The old lady felt a sharp pain in her wrist and immediately let go, cursing, "You little beast, you've grown bold, daring to hit your grandma. Let's see how I deal with you today."

Su Wan'er suddenly raised her eyes and stared intently at Old Madam Su. The fierceness in her eyes truly intimidated the old lady.

Her face changed instantly, a flash of panic crossing her eyes. She then rushed out of the room, yelling, "You little beast, you just wait! I'll beat you to death!"

Su Xiang'er walked over timidly, carrying Su Ming in her arms, and asked hesitantly, "Big sister?"

Su Wan'er looked at her second sister, whose hair was dry, her face was sallow, and who was obviously malnourished, as well as her third sister, who was also malnourished, and Su Ming, who was two years old and still couldn't walk, in her arms, and sighed, "Don't be afraid, your eldest sister is here."

"Big sister, are you still feeling unwell?" Su Zhao'er's small face had unusually large eyes that were blinking as she looked at her.

"Good girl, big sister doesn't hurt anymore."

Seeing that Su Xiang'er still looked scared, Su Wan'er smiled and said, "Don't be afraid. You and your younger siblings stay in the room and don't come out no matter what happens."

Now that the wheat in the fields has just been harvested, the farm work at home can be done by a few women, so all the able-bodied men in the family have gone out to find work, except for the eldest uncle who considers himself a scholar and never lifts a finger.

Seeing that Su Wan'er was about to get up, Su Xiang'er tried to stop her, "Big sister, Grandpa Lin said that the injury on your head is very serious. It's best to lie down and not move."

Grandpa Lin is an elderly man living alone in the village. When he was young, he worked as a medicine boy in a clinic and knew some basic pharmacology. Now that he is old, he has returned to the village to live out his retirement. He often goes up the mountain to dig up medicinal herbs to exchange for some money. The villagers are reluctant to spend money at the clinic and usually just endure their illnesses. If they really can't get better, they will ask Grandpa Lin to get some medicinal herbs for them to eat. The fees are not expensive. If the poorest families can't afford to pay, they can give him one or two eggs, a bowl of rice or noodles, or a handful of vegetables, and Grandpa Lin will not refuse.

This time, Su Wan'er fell off the mountain and hit her head. Grandma Su certainly wouldn't want to spend money to go to town for treatment. Luckily, Su Xiang'er was quick-witted and ran to find Grandpa Lin. Grandpa Lin was a kind-hearted man, and while sighing, he applied medicine and bandaged Su Wan'er's injured head. Of course, it was all free; Grandma Su wouldn't spend money on these young girls. Grandpa Lin also knew that these girls didn't have an easy time in the Su family, so amidst Su Xiang'er's profuse thanks, he waved his hand, gave a few words of advice, and left.

Su Wan'er touched the bump on the back of her head, somewhat speechless. Last time she transmigrated, she injured her buttocks, but this time, she injured her head directly. Does that mean she can't transmigrate without getting injured?

"Big sister is all better now, just stay put."

Outside the door, Old Mrs. Su found a thick wooden stick in the yard and was charging aggressively towards the second house. Seeing Su Wan'er daring to swagger out like that, she instantly forgot her earlier fear and raised the stick to strike Su Wan'er. Just as the stick was about to hit Su Wan'er's head, she nimbly dodged to the side, not missing the viciousness in Old Mrs. Su's eyes or the gloating on the faces of her aunt and uncle. Su Wan'er sneered inwardly, then suddenly made an exaggerated expression and shouted, "Ah, Grandma, don't hit me! Don't hit me! I know I was wrong! I'll never dare to break my head again..."

When Grandma Su saw that she actually dodged, she was furious. "You little bitch, stop right there! You actually dared to lay a hand on me just now. I'll beat you to death today!"

As Su Wan'er ran towards her aunt and uncle, she shouted, "Grandma, you grabbed my hair as soon as you came up! It hurt, that's why I grabbed it with my hand. I didn't hit you, I didn't mean to... Aunt, Uncle, save me..." Hmph, she was a skilled person, dealing with a little old lady like her was no problem for her. However, her head was still throbbing slightly as she ran. It seemed she would have to find a chance to go into her space to apply medicine. She just didn't know if the space was still there.

Well, I thought that after transmigrating, I would have to start all over again. But I just discovered that, apart from my appearance being different, all the skills I learned in the space are still there. What a pleasant surprise!

In the small courtyard, Su Wan'er ran ahead while the old lady chased after her. After two laps, the old lady was already out of breath. She stopped, raised her stick, and said to the two onlookers, "Are you all dead? Hurry up and catch her!"

The eldest son's wife immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Great, Mother!" The fourth son's wife pouted and followed behind the eldest son's wife, pretending to be friendly.

Su Wan'er pretended to be caught by her aunt.

"Wan'er, your grandmother is disciplining you for your own good."

Seeing that the person had been caught, the old woman immediately raised her stick and attacked. The speed of her attack surprised Su Wan'er. Could she be the one who killed her father? Did she hate her that much?

The moment the stick came down, Su Wan'er reached out and pressed an acupoint on her aunt's hand. Instantly, the hand that was restraining her lost its strength, and she fell to the ground.

The next second, a pig-like scream was heard, echoing through the sky.