Feiyan Village, Daliang Kingdom.
A baby’s cry echoed from a simple farmhouse courtyard.
“Wah, wah!~”
“She’s here, she’s here! It’s a girl!”
“Oh, the heavens have finally opened their eyes! Our old Yun family has a daughter!”
Old Man Yun was so excited that tears streamed down his face, his withered body trembling slightly.
Yun Daman smiled, rubbing his large hands together. “Dad, I finally have a sister.”
Yun Erman also beamed with joy, peeking through the crack in the door. “Dad, sister is so small, like a little meatball.”
After all, in the Yun family, the boys were born one after another.
The entire Yun family was almost a nest of boys.
Who would have thought that in these lean years, Granny Gu would give birth to a daughter.
Old Man Yun suppressed his inner ecstasy and glanced at his two sons. “What are you two standing around for? Hurry and get some game for your mother to supplement her strength?”
Yun Daman, with his straightforward personality, spoke quickly. “Dad, you know the situation in Feiyan Village right now.
The land outside is so dry it’s cracked, the river has dried up, and the mountains are bare. Where can we find any game!”
Yun Erman also looked troubled. “Yes, Dad, haven’t you seen? People in the village have either fled or run away. Even Old Man Zhang’s family left this morning. We can’t find any food!”
Old Man Yun clicked his tongue.
The joy he felt moments ago was severely impacted by the current reality, leaving him somewhat dazed.
In recent years, the village had been repeatedly hit by disasters, with crops failing and widespread starvation.
The government levied grain year after year, with exorbitant taxes and levies, making life unbearable for the common people.
It was simply cutting off the livelihood of the populace.
Coupled with the neighboring country raising an army and causing rebellion, they would raid the village every few days, looting cattle, sheep, mules, and horses.
All the villagers of Feiyan Village had fled to escape the famine.
Only the old Yun family stubbornly held onto their homeland, refusing to move.
“You two, don’t just stand there. You have to look even if you can’t find it. Hurry!” Old Man Yun commanded.
Yun Daman smiled and said, “Dad, can I see my sister first, please?”
“No, you look like a black gorilla. Don’t scare your sister when you go in. Get out, get out!”
Old Man Yun began to shoo them away.
Although the two brothers were disappointed, they didn’t want their mother and sister to go hungry, so they left dejectedly.
As soon as the two left, Old Man Yun called out to the kitchen again, “Guihua, Cuirong, come here for a moment!”
A moment later, Zhao Guihua, Yun Daman’s wife, and Liu Cuirong, Yun Erman’s wife, walked in.
“Daman’s wife, is there still a handful of millet left in the house? Go cook it into porridge and bring it to your mother!”
“Okay!” Zhao Guihua responded cheerfully and turned into the kitchen.
Her mother-in-law had given birth to a big, healthy daughter, which was good news for the whole family.
She, as the eldest sister-in-law, was also happy from the bottom of her heart.
“Erman’s wife.”
“What is it, Dad!” Liu Cuirong smoothed her braided pigtail, her eyes darting towards the inner room.
Old Man Yun sighed. “See if there’s anyone still in the village and go borrow a few eggs.”
“Oh, Dad, didn’t you see it yourself? There’s no one left in the village!” Liu Cuirong rolled her eyes.
Old Man Yun was choked, and his heart felt a bit heavy.
He didn’t bother with Liu Cuirong anymore and pushed the door open to go inside.
“Hmph, what kind of times are these to still have children? Don’t they think about us juniors.”
Liu Cuirong muttered as she returned to the kitchen.
In the inner room, Madam Gu held the baby in her arms, her sallow face filled with affection and doting.
“Old woman.”
“Shh, she’s asleep.”
Old Man Yun tiptoed to the edge of the kang and looked down quietly.
He saw that his little daughter in the swaddling clothes was fair and clean, like an exquisite porcelain doll.
Her plump little face was like a freshly peeled egg, flawless and as delicate as if it could be broken by a puff of air.
Old Man Yun couldn’t help but pinch her with his finger. The baby girl shook her head and slowly opened her eyes.
“Oh, she’s looking at me! Old woman, our daughter is looking at me!”
Old Man Yun was so excited that he gesticulated wildly, his heart almost melting.
Madam Gu glanced at him with amusement, unable to suppress a smile. “Keep your voice down, don’t disturb our daughter.”
The little girl opened her amber-like big eyes, looking a bit bewildered.
She was, after all, an agricultural博士 from the 21st century. How could she have become a swaddled infant after just one sleep?
“Old man, let’s give our daughter a name! A nice-sounding, meaningful name.”
Their Yun family had a total of four sons, and their names were all very casual.
Daman, Erman, Sanman, Siman.
In order.
When it came to their daughter, Madam Gu absolutely would not let the old man be perfunctory.
Old Man Yun scratched his head, thinking hard. After a long period of contemplation, he suddenly said, “How about calling her Tianhua!”
Adding splendor to splendor, making things even better.
It already had a good meaning.
Madam Gu looked disgusted and shot him a glare.
Tianhua?
Why not call her Eczema?
“No, change it!” Madam Gu refused.
Old Man Yun was stunned. “Then what should we call her?”
Madam Gu lowered her head and kissed her little daughter. Her soft body exuded a milky fragrance.
She sat cross-legged at the head of the kang and murmured, “Our daughter was born at dawn, symbolizing the rising sun and the arrival of sweetness after bitterness. Why not call her Xitian!”
“Good, haha, that’s a good name!”
Old Man Yun’s face lit up with joy. “Her full name will be Yun Xitian, and her nickname will be Little Sweet Treasure!”
It was the first time he felt his wife was so learned.
The dawn rippled across the sky, and thus Sweet Treasure was born.
Curled up in Madam Gu’s arms, the certain Sweet Treasure pursed her little lips and made two babbling sounds.
“Old woman, Sweet Treasure likes this name, haha!”
Yun Xitian smiled inwardly. This was the name I had in my previous life, okay?
She surveyed the simple and dilapidated furnishings in the room. The house was bare.
Poverty could no longer describe this family.
Yun Xitian sighed inwardly. Baby was so hungry.
“Gurgle, gurgle!”
Her little stomach protested with a series of noises. Sweet Treasure’s little mouth pouted, and she started crying with a ‘wah.’
“Oh dear, Sweet Treasure is hungry! Old woman, hurry and nurse her!” Old Man Yun was anxious.
Madam Gu sighed softly.
The family was so poor that even rats disdained to visit. She had been malnourished for years, so where would she get any milk!
At this moment, Zhao Guihua walked in with a bowl of thin porridge.
This was the last bit of food in the house. After eating it, there would be nothing left.
Liu Cuirong lifted the curtain and stood at the doorway, the rich aroma of rice making her drool.
Yun Daman walked with his hands behind his back along the dry, cracked fields, looking at the withered crops and letting out a long sigh.
“Alas, Dad is really something. With these clods of earth all over the mountains, where am I supposed to find game!”
Yun Erman nodded and looked ahead. “Digging up some wild vegetables would be good. If not, there are still grass roots and tree bark.”
Just then, two half-grown boys ran from a distance, shouting as they ran, “Dad, Second Uncle, Grandpa sent us to help you.”
Yun Daman looked closely and saw that they were his own son Jinhe and the second son’s son Jinshan.
The two children were covered in dirt, their faces sallow and thin.
With their small arms and legs, they ran over, already panting from exhaustion.