In the first year of Tianqi, a drought in the Central Plains region of Qing Kingdom left hundreds of thousands of people in the four prefectures of the Central Plains with no food left.
The following year, Changning Prefecture, located in the middle, experienced heavy rainfall and floods. Timely relief and corpse disposal were not carried out, leading to an outbreak of plague.
The people of Changning Prefecture, affected by the disaster, were forced to embark on a journey of fleeing famine, disaster, and death in June.
After a month of fleeing famine, they were on the western route of the three fleeing routes.
A family of eleven people was being intercepted.
The bandits intercepting this family were not after grain or money.
What they wanted was a plump little boy, clutched tightly in the arms of a girl who looked thirteen or fourteen years old.
Even though the back of the girl's head was bleeding and she was unconscious, she still tightly held the neck of the five or six-year-old boy.
The girl was named Qin Junyao. She was held by her weeping mother, Qin Liushi, while the boy obediently squatted beside them, with one of Qin Junyao's arms around his neck.
Standing in front of them was a middle-aged man with a slightly hunched back. He held a young man's hand and stared with hatred at the bandits confronting his elderly mother.
"Money String, I knew from the moment you were born that you weren't a good sort. Stealing chickens and dogs, and climbing over widows' walls in the village, I can overlook. But now you're bringing people out to rob and eat others?"
"Aren't you afraid of your intestines bursting?"
Qin Junyao's grandmother, Qin Qi Shi, wore a headscarf of an indeterminate color and a patched-up single-layered garment. She stomped her feet and pointed at the red-eyed bandit in front of her.
Her normally invincible tongue seemed to have lost its power in the village today. No matter how much she scolded, this Money String didn't budge an inch. His eyes were fixed on the boy squatting at the back.
He was so fat. He hadn't seen such a plump child in over a year. His body must have had more fat than lean meat. Thinking this, he couldn't help but swallow.
"Old Mrs. Qin, we crows shouldn't criticize the pot for being black. Didn't you pick up this child intending to eat him too? Your reputation in the village isn't any better than mine."
"Considering we're from the same area, I'll leave you with one leg. Otherwise, don't blame me for gnawing on your bony frames that don't even have two ounces of meat."
The more Money String looked at the boy, the more he craved him. But even with his craving, he had no intention of acting now. If they started fighting, not only would they get hurt, but it would also consume energy. It was best to scare the people in front of him.
Qin Qi Shi, accustomed to being overbearing in the village, even in the face of these people, spat a mouthful of phlegm onto Money String's face. "Bah, you beast in human skin! Even if I, an old woman, am not a good person, I don't eat people."
"Little beast, you think you're invincible just because you've brought out a few animals? I have sons and grandsons, and even if we can't kill you, we can skin half your face. Try to rob us by force!"
Passersby, seeing the two groups arguing but not fighting, initially showed interest, but their expressions soon turned numb, and they continued walking forward.
Qin Junyao woke up amidst the shouting. However, the one who woke up was no longer the original Qin Junyao, but a soul from the 21st century who had transmigrated.
She removed her arm from around the boy's neck, feeling dizzy and squinting at the backs of several people in front of her. Listening to the woman holding her weeping and the arguments ahead, she pieced together fragmented memories in her mind.
The original host was also named Qin Junyao, fourteen years old. Her grandmother had found someone to name her for twenty copper coins, meaning "beautiful jade."
When Qin family's grandmother received the name, she felt the money was wasted. Since Junyao meant beautiful jade, why not just call her Qin Meiyu? What a waste of twenty coins.
The Qin Junyao of the 21st century was named by her grandfather, who raised her himself after her parents divorced when she was young.
After her grandfather's death, she went to the Northwest, where her grandfather had always missed during his youth when he worked in the countryside, as a volunteer to protect the sand. A sandstorm caused her to transmigrate.
She was still trying to recall how this young girl had died and the relationships within this family when the argument in front changed.
Money String realized he couldn't scare off the old woman in front of him. Moreover, he noticed that more and more people were gathering, so he decided to make a move. If more people saw the child, he might not even get a drop of soup.
He intended to act, and Qin Grandma also gathered Qin Shan, her eldest son, Qin Da Niu, her eldest grandson, her second son, and her second and third grandsons, who were standing nearby, and tightened their belts, ready to fight.
Although she was emaciated from hunger due to lack of food, this old woman was not ordinary. Even the men in the village in the past dared not fight her casually. The old woman's dominance in Baili Village was not just achieved by her sharp tongue.
Seeing the escalating situation, a team of cavalry arrived from the opposite direction of the crowd.
Qin Grandma seized the opportunity and darted in front of the horses. This momentarily stunned Money String, who had already adopted a fighting stance. Seeing that Qin Grandma was blocking soldiers, his legs immediately went weak.
"Officer, officer, save us! These beasts want to eat people, and ordinary folk have no way to survive!"
"Old woman, don't talk nonsense. Who's eating people?" Money String retorted to Qin Grandma while signaling his companions to retreat slowly.
The bearded man at the front of the cavalry, who was riding a horse, heard "eating people" and his already furrowed brow deepened.
He was in a hurry to find someone and didn't want to waste time. He directly gestured to a subordinate behind him and steered his horse around Qin Grandma, continuing forward.
The single-handed great hammer hanging from his saddle gleamed coldly under the sunlight.
The boy hidden behind was gagged by Qin Junyao's second aunt. He struggled to call out to the bearded man, but being small, he couldn't make a sound.
Several of the bearded man's subordinates dismounted to apprehend Money String and his companions. Qin Junyao didn't know what they were looking at or smelling after prying open their mouths.
She only saw Money String and his companions being cut down by the soldiers, their blood seeping into the soil.
Qin Junyao, who had just arrived in this world and hadn't figured out the situation, was terrified by the scene. No interrogation, no evidence, could a person's life be determined simply by prying open their mouths?
Also, Qin Junyao glanced at the boy held by her original host's second aunt. Were the dead people going to eat this child?
"Sister-in-law, don't cry. Junyao is awake."
"Boy, be quiet. Those soldiers are not to be trifled with." The second aunt, Xiao Qi Shi, who shared the same surname as Qin Junyao's grandmother, held the little boy with her back to the corpses and whispered in his ear.
Upon hearing her second aunt say Qin Junyao was awake, Qin's mother rushed to look at her eldest daughter in her arms. Seeing that she was indeed awake, she began to cry again.
Qin Grandma, seeing that the soldiers who had killed Money String had ridden away, quickly got up and called her son and grandsons to pick up their bundles from the ground before they were stolen by passersby.
She walked to the back and saw Qin Junyao awake. She gently pushed her granddaughter's hair aside and secretly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the wound was no longer bleeding.
Then she turned to Qin's mother, her triangular eyes widened, her eyebrows raised, and she scolded, "What are you wailing about? Carry Yao Yao up and hurry! You only know how to wail when something happens, you bring bad luck."
Although Qin Junyao had a headache, she didn't want the frail woman next to her to carry her. Apart from being weak from hunger, she should be able to walk.
But before she could speak, the original host's six-year-old sister, Qin Xiaoyu, stood in front of Qin Grandma and pleaded, "Grandma, my mother is weak. Don't let her carry me. Let my father carry me."
Qin Grandma slapped Qin Xiaoyu. "Didn't you see your father carrying the luggage? None of you are worry-free. Go help your second aunt with the bundle." After speaking, Qin Grandma turned to collect the scattered belongings without looking at the tears welling up in Qin Xiaoyu's eyes.
"I can walk myself, you don't need to carry me," Qin Junyao finally found an opportunity to speak.
Hearing her sister's words, Qin Xiaoyu only looked back at this favored sister with resentment.
Why was her sister favored while she was arbitrarily scolded and beaten by Grandma, even though they were both Qin family girls?
"Stop your fake kindness. Mother, I'll go find my brother and ask him to carry her." Qin Xiaoyu left the words behind and went to find Qin Da Niu.
Qin Junyao watched Qin Xiaoyu's retreating back, the ancient-clad pedestrians walking silently on the road, the bloodstains on the ground, the child fussing in her second aunt's arms, the Qin family members packing their belongings, and the memories in her mind that did not belong to her.
She sighed heavily and stood up with the help of Qin's mother. The modern Qin Junyao, who never swore, let out a curse in her heart.
Transmigrated to a path of famine?
What the hell was this!
The Qin family shouldered their bundles, slung them over their arms, and Qin Junyao insisted on not being carried. Qin's mother supported her as she followed her family forward.
Her actions made her third uncle, Qin Sen, who was the same age as the original host's elder brother, keep looking back at his niece. Qin Grandma said nothing and picked up her basket, walking forward.
After less than fifteen minutes, someone called Qin Grandma from behind. It was the Hou family, their neighbors from the original village.
A family of over twenty people, driving a donkey cart, caught up. Qin Junyao was placed on the cart to sit, and the two families quickened their pace forward.
Sitting on the donkey cart, Qin Junyao couldn't understand how the Qin family, most of whom were difficult characters, had such friendly neighbors. It was truly strange.
That's right. Through the fragmented memories in her mind, Qin Junyao believed that the original host, whose body she had borrowed, and this family were somewhat problematic.
For example, the original host wasn't beaten for protecting the little boy. She saw a red string on the boy's neck and wanted to pull it out. The bandits mistakenly thought she was protecting the child and beat her.
Heh.
On the donkey cart, Qin Junyao not only processed the memories but also observed her surroundings.
It was July, a season when plants should be flourishing, but all she saw was bare, cracked land. The few scattered trees had their bark stripped and leaves removed.
The pedestrians on the road walked in a line, carrying burdens, pushing carts, and driving carts, all silently with their heads down. Occasionally, Qin Junyao would see people lying on the roadside, some of whom were already swarmed by buzzing flies.
Looking at the scene before her, Qin Junyao could only sigh repeatedly, not knowing what else she could do.
She didn't have the courage to die, sigh!
The little boy sitting next to her, whom Qin Grandma had picked up, kept looking back, also sighing inwardly.
His brother had ridden past him like that, and now he couldn't say he was the brother of the Northwest Salt Army General.
His brother had told him that if he was abducted, he shouldn't reveal his identity. That way, the abductors might not demand a ransom out of fear of his brother's reputation as a "god of slaughter" and might kill him directly. This family didn't know where they were going, so what should he do?
If the little boy named Zhao Youcai's thoughts were known to Qin Grandma, she would rush over and throw him back onto the road. If it weren't for the child's good looks, she wouldn't have picked him up.
As the donkey cart moved, Qin Junyao considered asking Qin Grandma or her younger sister Qin Xiaoyu to take turns sitting, but the former scolded her, and the latter ignored her.
Sigh, it was extremely difficult for her to integrate into this family without any awkwardness.
She didn't know that her innate respect for elders and love for the young made Qin Grandma suspicious.
After an unknown amount of time, the people in front gradually stopped, and the Qin and Hou families also stopped to rest.
The two families were clearly divided in their tasks: some gathered firewood and dry grass, while others searched the surroundings for roots and bark to supplement their food. Qin Junyao, feeling dizzy, was helped by Qin's mother to lean against a small dirt slope.
Qin Grandma took out a jar from the basket she was carrying and carefully poured half a bowl of murky water into it, letting each member of her family take a sip.
Qin Junyao looked at the water at the bottom of the bowl, which was like the water of the Ganges, and had no courage to drink it, even though her throat was parched.
"Grandma, you drink it. You've worked hard all the way here," Qin Junyao forced a smile at Qin Grandma.