Traveling Through Those Years Of Farming (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 2

A few days ago, heavy rain fell, and the recent drop in temperature is partly due to it. Today, the weather has completely cleared up. Lu Xiuyu, always diligent, sees the beautiful weather as an opportunity to wake up early and gather a few baskets of the freshest pig grass for the fat pigs at home.

Although the sky has cleared, the soil soaked by the torrential rain from a few days ago hasn’t dried completely. She loses her footing and slips, rolling down the slope. By the time the other girls, who are cutting pigweed on a small hill by the riverbank, hear the scream and turn around, Lu Xiuyu has already rolled to the riverbank and, unfortunately, landed on a sharp-edged rock.

A group of girls is stunned by the sight. Fortunately, there are two women washing clothes by the riverbank at the time. One runs off to fetch a doctor, while the other seeks help to carry Lu Xiuyu back to the Lu household.

As soon as Lu Xiuyu is placed on the kang (a traditional heated platform) in her room, the village doctor, hurriedly brought by the anxious woman, arrives at the Lu family home.

“Why is there so much blood? It’s frightening. This girl really isn’t careful. Even while cutting pig grass, she manages to hurt herself this badly.”

Liu Lanhua, the third daughter-in-law, mutters softly at the door, watching the doctor as he administers acupuncture and applies medicine to the wound, feeling a bit pained by the medical fees being spent.

Lu Xiuyu’s room isn’t large. Although the main house occupies two big eastern rooms, there are many children in the main house. Lu Xiuyu’s room is a small partitioned space in what used to be a single room. Her elder brother and younger brother take up four-fifths of the space, leaving her small room with only a two-meter-long kang bed and a cedar chest.

Now, four people are standing in the room: the doctor, Lu Miao, the eldest wife Jiang Bai’e, and Lu Xiuyu’s older brother Lu Baoyin. Others can’t even find a place to stand.

Lu Baobao, being small, squeezes outside the room. She can hear Liu Lanhua’s muttered comments clearly.

“So much blood… I’ve only seen this much when father slaughters pigs… this big girl…”

The next few sentences are hard to hear, but Lu Baobao feels that ever since being in this body, her mind seems to have been assimilated; all she can think about is eating, and her intelligence is probably even smaller than the size of a fingernail.

Although he doesn’t hear all of those words, the first few phrases seem meant to show concern. They sound a bit strange.

“If you can’t say anything useful, just keep your mouth shut!”

Lu Miao has sharp ears. Even though Lu Baobao is standing beside Liu Lanhua and hasn’t heard all the words, the old lady seems to catch every single one. With a stern face, she shoots a severe look at the third daughter-in-law.

Jiang Bai’e also hears a few muffled words, but her mind is entirely on her daughter, and she has no energy to argue with the third daughter-in-law. Moreover, the old lady has already scolded her, which somewhat relieves her frustration.

“Mother, I was just worried about the girl.”

Liu Lanhua obviously didn’t expect that such a low voice could be overheard. Still, she doesn’t think her words are problematic. Now being sternly reprimanded by the old lady, she realizes that the villagers who brought the girl over probably also heard her being scolded, and unpleasant rumors might spread soon.

Liu Lanhua bites her lip, and now she can only defend herself with an embarrassed expression. She can’t help feeling wronged. The first branch is respected, the second branch is favored, and despite being the youngest, their branch is clearly the least favored by their parents.

Lu Baobao looks up and observes every change in her third aunt’s facial expressions. She now understands what felt off earlier. If the third aunt were genuinely concerned about the eldest cousin, she wouldn’t have complained about her carelessness when the girl had just been carried back. Reflecting on the words she hadn’t fully heard, it seems the third aunt believes that with so much blood lost, the eldest cousin might not survive.

The doctor hasn’t said much, but her own aunt has already resigned herself to the worst. Isn’t this a sign of not hoping for the person to get better?

“The bleeding has stopped; but it depends on her whether she can wake up. I’ll prepare two packets of medicine; you must make sure to give them to her by any means necessary. If she wakes up, send someone to find me. If she doesn’t wake up even after finishing these packets…”

The doctor’s unfinished words convey a clear meaning to everyone present.

“It’s okay. The eldest girl is blessed by heaven and will definitely wake up.” Jiang Bai’e’s legs are trembling with fear. At this moment, Lu Miao remains composed. She pays the doctor’s fee, thanks the villagers who brought the girl, and, seeing Jiang Bai’e standing helplessly at her granddaughter’s bedside, gives her a firm pat on the back.

“Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and make the medicine for the child. The eldest girl is such a good child. How can she bear to let you and the eldest son send her off? She will definitely wake up. Can’t you, her mother, be more hopeful, unlike the third family’s fool, who thinks the child can’t be saved?”

“Yes, yes, I need to go make the medicine for her.”

Even though Jiang Bai’e usually favors her son over her daughter, she would never truly be indifferent to her own child. At this moment, she seems to find hope. Grabbing the medicine bag, she rushes to the kitchen, bumping heavily into Liu Lanhua’s shoulder as she passes by, completely disregarding their usual friendly pretense where they dislike the second branch.

She still remembers the ominous words the sister-in-law just said. If something happens to her daughter, it must be due to the third daughter-in-law’s curses.

Liu Lanhua didn’t expect elder sister-in-law to act this way. Watching the biased mother-in-law who isn’t planning to defend her, she covers her sore elbow and walks away with her head down towards the west wing room where she lives.

What was once a harmonious relationship between the main branch and the third branch seems to be cracking due to this accident.

“Er Ya, stay with your elder sister,” Lu Miao instructs her second granddaughter, looking at her standing at the door. She is also worried about her eldest granddaughter, but there are many things at home needing her attention, and she can’t stay by her granddaughter’s bedside.

“Okay.”

At this moment, Lu Baobao doesn’t dare to say anything to make herself look good. When her grandmother is in a good mood, she calls her “guai bao” or “baby,” but now she is called “Er Ya,” indicating her grandmother is in a very bad mood. This is not the time to play cute.

Lu Baobao goes into the room, moves a chair to the edge of the kang, and sits down to act as a human monitor. No one notices that, during the brief exchange between them, the little girl on the bed has momentarily stopped breathing.

It is at this moment that “Lu Xiuyu” comes into this body. Though she shares the same name as the girl on the bed, she is a soul from the future.

******

Lu Xiuyu has been in a coma for three days. During this time, the family has tried every method to get her to take medicine, and Lu Miao has even killed a chicken, making chicken soup to mix with the medicine to feed the comatose Lu Xiuyu.

Now the last dose of medicine given by the doctor has been used up, but Lu Xiuyu still shows no signs of waking.

The Lu family has been gloomy these days; the children dare not laugh or play, and Jiang Bai’e has cried all her tears. Most have resigned themselves, believing Lu Xiuyu won’t wake up.

Just as Jiang Bai’e is preparing a coffin and shroud for her daughter, Lu Baobao, who is watching over Lu Xiuyu’s bed whenever she can, is surprised to see Lu Xiuyu move. First, her fingers twitch, then her eyelids and the corners of her mouth. Before Lu Baobao can call anyone, Lu Xiuyu slowly opens her eyes.

At this moment, it is the “Lu Xiuyu” from the future who is awake. The original body has indeed died, and “Lu Xiuyu” is a result of a twist of fate, being revived in this corpse. Even she herself doesn’t understand the exact mechanism of this transmigration.

The recent coma was merely to absorb the memories and emotions left by the original body. However, due to the original body’s brain injury, these memories are incomplete, though they are enough for “Lu Xiuyu” to understand her situation and the relatives around her.

The modern “Lu Xiuyu” was born into a family that favored sons over daughters. Her parents, who originally had public jobs, lost their positions while trying to have a son. They blamed their eldest daughter for this, and Lu Xiuyu was forced to bear a lot of pressure from a young age.

After losing their jobs, Lu Xiuyu’s parents set up a small food stall. Her childhood is spent cleaning ingredients, skewering them, serving customers, and handling money. Entertainment has nothing to do with her, and her younger brother’s toys are forbidden for her to touch. If not for her parents still having some pride, Lu Xiuyu might not have even completed the basic nine-year compulsory education.

Despite her difficult childhood, “Lu Xiuyu” does not come to hate life. On the contrary, she turns these hardships into stepping stones and motivation for progress. After graduating from middle school and leaving school, “Lu Xiuyu” leaves home with a stolen ID and savings from selling scrap, moving to a new city to start a new life.

The experiences of being exploited by her parents become her skills for survival. Over ten years, she turned a small food stall into a chain of several food stores. If not for the foundational damage caused by alternating between hunger and fullness in her earlier years, leading to an incurable illness at a young age, “Lu Xiuyu” might still be an inspirational success story.

Now that she can continue her life in another world, Lu Xiuyu considers this perhaps a gift from heaven. 

Even if it’s to repay the original body’s debt of gratitude, she will take good care of her family, which she is unable to let go of even in death.

Thinking of this, Lu Xiuyu, who has just regained consciousness, can’t help but frown. The original body’s second uncle and aunt seem to be a huge trouble. During her entrepreneurial days, Lu Xiuyu read many novels to relieve stress, many of which are similar to her current situation.

The innocent parents, the biased grandparents, and the exploitative uncles and aunts—she seems to have become the standard protagonist of a farming novel.

“Grandma! Auntie! The eldest cousin is awake!”

Just as Lu Xiuyu is recalling the usual tropes of a farming novel protagonist dealing with troublesome relatives, her eardrum is painfully pierced by the elevated voice beside her. She instinctively covers her ears and turns to look at the source of the sound.

It is a little girl, around five or six years old, with a fair and tender face, still retaining some baby fat on her cheeks. Lu Xiuyu can’t help but feel a bit tempted to pinch that chubby little face. If she could, a little pinch would surely have the cartoonish “duangduangduang~” effect.

No one knows that Lu Xiuyu, who appears robust and is known among her employees as the “Iron Lady,” secretly has a soft spot for cute things and a girlish heart. After her finances become more comfortable, she fills a room with stuffed animals and stocks her phone with countless photos of adorable children and pets, often indulging in them when she has free time.

She doesn’t know how she manages to restrain her eager, guilty hands.

This is the daughter of that troublesome couple. According to the memories left by the original body, she is also known for being lazy and slippery. As Lu Xiuyu inherits those memories, she has no good feelings towards the three members of the second branch. Thinking about it, Lu Xiuyu can’t help but feel it is a pity that such a cute child is born to those troublesome parents.

The look in her cousin’s eyes makes Lu Baobao’s heart tremble. She can’t understand how a ten-year-old can have such a profound gaze. Although she isn’t familiar with her, she remembers that the older cousin hasn’t been like this before.

The adults have already been called over by her cries. Lu Baobao is quickly pulled away by her rushing aunt, and the members of the main household, both crying and laughing, surround the daughter/sister who has narrowly escaped death.

Clearly, there is no need for her to stay. Lu Baobao leaves decisively, and her earlier doubts are forgotten.

******

“Mother, could you bring me a basin of water? I’d like to wash my face.”

As night falls, Lu Xiuyu makes a small request to her mother, who, feeling distressed for her daughter, naturally agrees.

In fact, Lu Xiuyu’s purpose of asking for a basin of water is not to wash her face, but to see her own appearance.

The Lu family does not have a mirror. Even the most basic bronze mirrors are rare in the countryside. While they might be able to afford one if they really tried, it isn’t worth spending that much money on something used just for looking at one’s face.

The water is quickly brought to her. Lu Xiuyu holds her breath and looks at the water’s surface by candlelight.

She hasn’t seen the appearance of this body in the original memories. After waking up and seeing her new family, her expectations for the original appearance have decreased significantly. The Lu family’s looks are not bad, but they are too rugged. What Lu Xiuyu truly likes is a sweeter, more delicate appearance.

The Lu Baobao she first sees after waking up perfectly matches her aesthetic.

Lu Xiuyu harbors a small hope in her heart that perhaps the original owner and her cousin look similar.

The shimmering surface of the water reflects a shadowy figure: a slightly gaunt face with well-defined jawlines, almond-shaped eyes that seem to have a second layer of eyelids, and a nose with a standard high bridge common to the Lu family. Below that is a pair of overly full lips. Lu Xiuyu pulls at the corner of her mouth and sees two prominent front teeth that don’t quite align with each other. The gap between them, about one or two millimeters wide, is just like her own in the modern world.

Lu Xiuyu can find hundreds of faults with this face. In the modern world, it might be praised as a “high-end face” or a “supermodel face,” but it is completely at odds with Lu Xiuyu’s aesthetic preferences. By the standards of this era, the face can only be described as neat and clean, with no relation to beauty.

After a quick wash, Lu Xiuyu lies back down in bed, hiding under the covers from her mother’s worried gaze.

Sigh, has Lady Nuwa gone to sleep? She can’t sleep because she is so ugly.

It seems she no longer has hope of becoming the kind of farming novel heroine who conquers a fallen prince or amnesiac general with her beauty. Whether in her past life or this one, she is not destined to rely on her looks. It’s probably for the best; things earned through hard work are the ones that bring real satisfaction.

Before falling into a deep sleep, Lu Xiuyu’s mind begins to devise ways to make her fortune in this era. Of course, she will not indulge those who want to reap the fruits of their labor without effort.

The memories of the original owner might not be completely reliable, and different attitudes could lead to different perceptions. Lu Xiuyu decides to spend some time carefully observing her new family in this life.