NOSDLH Chapter 1

TL: Hua

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Inside a dilapidated thatched hut.

The walls were plastered with mud, the ground uneven, and half of the window was broken.

A pale-faced young man of seventeen or eighteen lay on the kang[mfn]A traditional Chinese brick bed with a stove underneath.[/mfn]. He had delicate features, a small, vermillion mole between his eyebrows, and his eyes were tightly closed, barely breathing.

Beside the kang, a boy and a girl were sobbing softly.

“Brother Hua, Jiu Jiu was wrong; Jiu Jiu won’t eat candy anymore. Please wake up quickly.”

“Brother Hua, eldest brother will be back in half a month. You must hold on!”

…

Qiu Huanian was awakened by the cries beside his ears. Opening his eyes, he saw this desolate scene of bare walls.

What happened? Didn’t he fall off a cliff while taking photos in the mountains on a rainy day? The last thing he remembered clearly was the spinning scenery and the weightless sensation of falling into death…

Qiu Huanian tried to move his body, and a piercing pain shot through the back of his head. At the same time, a flood of unfamiliar memories poured into his mind, as if billions of pieces of information had suddenly appeared in his brain.

Qiu Huanian endured the pain and tried hard to sort through the memories, finally understanding his current situation.

After falling off the cliff, his soul had arrived in another world, reborn into the body of a seventeen-year-old boy who was also named Qiu Huanian and looked seven or eight parts similar to him.

This world was currently in the Yu Dynasty, a dynasty Qiu Huanian had never heard of. However, from the original owner’s memories, Qiu Huanian judged that the Yu Dynasty’s society and technological development were similar to the late Ming Dynasty, except that the products were more abundant and the social atmosphere was more open.

The original owner lived in a small village in the Northeast. His biological mother died early, and his father didn’t care for him. During a famine in his early years, he was exchanged for two buckets of sorghum rice and became the child bridegroom of a family in Du family Village.

That’s right, a child bridegroom. Receiving this memory, Qiu Huanian almost couldn’t help but grimace.

In this world, besides the two genders of male and female, there was a third gender commonly known as “ge’er.” They looked similar to men but could get pregnant and have children like women. They have a small red pregnancy mole between their eyebrows.

The number of ge’er was not large, but they objectively existed and had long been integrated into society over thousands of years. It was very common in rural areas to marry a ge’er as a husband.

Qiu Huanian had now transmigrated into a ge’er.

The family that exchanged two buckets of sorghum rice for him was also not well-off. They used to have some surplus wealth and sent their eldest son to study, but after the head of the household, Du Baoyan, died in corvée labor, things went downhill completely.

Du Baoyan’s family had three children. The eldest son was Qiu Huanian’s nominal husband. It was said that he had the reputation of a child prodigy and was taken away nine years ago by a renowned scholar from the capital to travel and study. The original owner had never even met him.

The younger daughter was nine years old, and the youngest son, a posthumous child, was six years old. They were both too young to support themselves and were currently crying beside Qiu Huanian’s kang.

Their mother, the widow Li, although capable, had fallen ill with grief after her husband’s death, and her health deteriorated day by day. She passed away more than two months ago.

The original owner had never had enough to eat or wear in his birth family and had never lived a good day. After coming to the Du family, he actually felt the warmth of home. He truly regarded Widow Li as his mother and the two children as his own siblings, never complaining about any hardship or toil. Unfortunately….

Qiu Huanian quickly went through the received memories, focusing on the important parts. He tried to prop himself up, and the two children showed expressions of surprise at seeing him awake.

“Brother Hua! You’re awake!”

“Brother Hua!”

Qiu Huanian wanted to smile at them but accidentally pulled at the wound on the back of his head, resulting in a distorted expression. The commotion in the inner room was loud enough for the people outside to notice, and immediately, discordant voices were heard.

“I said it wasn’t a big deal. Didn’t he wake up? The clan leader made such a fuss, calling so many people. To be honest, such a big person, how could he die from just a fall?”

“Baoquan’s wife, say less!”

“Tch—it’s clearly their Jiu Jiu who snatched my Fubao’s candy. He’s an adult helping to bully Fubao, and he fell when Fubao pushed him. Clan leader, even if you’re biased, you can’t twist black and white!”

“That’s right! We all know that the clan leader is hoping for their eldest son to pass the imperial examinations and become an official, but the person who brought the news earlier said that the eldest son’s teacher was thrown into prison. He can’t stay in the capital and can only come back. He probably won’t even be able to take the examinations, so what future does he have?”

“Hua ge’er doesn’t seem like that kind of person…”

“Who can say for sure when you’re desperate? Their eldest son has never come back. Hua ge’er is young and hasn’t seen a man before. Whether he can stay faithful is another matter…”

…

The people outside were shouting loudly, not afraid of being heard at all. Their words pierced the thatched hut like knives, falling on the three who depended on each other, along with the dim sunlight.

“Brother Hua…” Jiu Jiu’s lips moved, and her eyes filled with tears.

Qiu Huanian touched the little girl’s head and said softly, “Don’t be afraid.”

After speaking, he moved his body again. Perhaps because he had a completely new soul, as he gradually gained control of his body, the pain actually lessened a lot. At least he wouldn’t get such a headache and blurred vision that he couldn’t walk.

Good, Qiu Huanian thought.

He picked up a one-and-a-half-foot-long machete from the corner of the room, kicked open the door, and rushed out.

Holding the machete with both hands, with a thud, he chopped it into the wooden stake in the yard.

His palms stung from the impact. Qiu Huanian suppressed the urge to shake his hands and coldly scanned the people in the yard who had been startled by him.

“Hua ge’er, what are you doing?” Qiu Huanian had always been silent and docile. No one had ever seen him acting this aggressive.

The Qiu Huanian who had a new soul, chuckled and said in a calm and cold voice, “Some people bully orphans and try to harm them for their wealth. If I don’t let them know I’m not to be trifled with, I’m afraid I’ll die silently without anyone noticing.”

The woman who spoke earlier exclaimed urgently, “What nonsense are you talking about? You—”

Qiu Huanian looked at the woman in her late forties. She was the wife of Du Baoquan from the same village, her maiden name Zhao, and she had always been at odds with the original owner’s mother-in-law, Widow Li.

“Aunt Zhao, your Fubao blocked my Jiu Jiu at the village entrance and bullied her. While I was braiding Jiu Jiu’s hair, he pushed me into the ditch from behind. You didn’t apologize but instead came here to twist black and white. Isn’t that inappropriate?”

Qiu Huanian immediately returned the exact same words.

The villagers in the yard had different expressions. Compared to the always honest and introverted Qiu Huanian and Jiu Jiu, Baoquan’s Fubao, who was spoiled and unruly, was more likely to do such a thing.

Earlier, when Qiu Huanian fainted, Jiu Jiu cried uncontrollably beside her brother. Everyone only heard Fubao’s side of the story, so they believed it somewhat.

Zhao-shi[mfn]hi氏 is the address used after a married woman’s maiden name back in the old days.[/mfn] was a little flustered. At that time, she was sleeping on the kang at home when Fubao ran back crying to her. She immediately believed her youngest son’s words and came to Widow Li’s house, whom she usually didn’t get along with, to aggressively question them.

Now that she calmed down and thought about it, there were indeed inconsistencies in Fubao’s words.

But so what? Widow Li was already dead. What could these three half-grown children do?

Thinking this way, Zhao-shi became even more fearless. “Hua ge’er, you’re young and immature. You can even say such nonsense. Just lower your head and admit your mistake, and then cook a few eggs for Fubao to calm his nerves. Your aunt will consider you repentant.”

Qiu Huanian sneered, “Just because I call you aunt, you really think you’re someone important?”

“You—”

“Hua ge’er, you shouldn’t speak to elders like that.” The clan leader, leaning on his crutches, frowned and spoke.

Qiu Huanian turned his gaze to the clan leader, his expression softening slightly. He said sincerely, “Clan leader, it’s not that I’m disrespectful to elders, but if the said elders are not upright or respectable, it will only lead to bigger problems if I blindly give in to them.”

Seeing the clan leader’s expression slightly change, he added meaningfully, “Our Du family Village has dozens of households. If everyone acts like this, falsely accusing others to gain benefits, I’m afraid that before long, the village will be in complete chaos.”

The clan leader took a deep look at Qiu Huanian. He had always taken care of this family because of the eldest son, who was studying outside, but he only valued the eldest son.

Now it seemed that he had misjudged. This little husband, who had been raised in the family since childhood, was also not a simple character.

“Go and bring Fubao over.”

“Clan leader—” Zhao-shi was anxious. Fubao was the apple of her eye, her only son born in old age, spoiled to heaven. He had already gone to sleep on the kang after being frightened.

The clan leader tapped his crutches and ignored her. Two villagers obediently went to Baoquan’s house to call Fubao over. In rural clan society, the clan leader’s authority was the greatest.

Compared to the sallow and thin Jiu Jiu, Fubao, who was about the same age, was a whole size bigger. His arms were like lotus root sections, and drool stained his chubby face.

Zhao-shi cried out, “My sweetheart” and went over to hug Fubao in her arms.

Qiu Huanian looked at the child who had killed the original owner, a faint smile donning his face. “Fubao, why did you sneak up on me and push me into the ditch?”

Fubao was nine years old this year, no longer at an age where he understood nothing. His eyes darted around, and he said, “It was you and Jiu Jiu who snatched my candy, so I just pushed you a little. You didn’t stand steady and fell in yourself!”

“Yes, yes, Fubao is right.” Zhao-shi wiped the corner of her son’s mouth.

“Oh? Then where is the candy?”

“It got dirty and was lost on the way.”

Qiu Huanian said half-truthfully, “That’s a pity. Candy can only be bought in town, right? Your mother told me to compensate you, but even if I wanted to, I can’t buy any now.”

Hearing this, Fubao immediately exposed Qiu Huanian’s lie. “Your family clearly still has some, more than ten pieces!”

The smile on Qiu Huanian’s face deepened. “Fubao, you said Jiu Jiu snatched your candy, so why do you know how much candy my family has? Also, the candy sold in town is all malt candy wrapped around small wooden sticks. Where did these ‘several pieces of candy’ come from?”

Fubao originally wanted to show off his cleverness by specifically refuting the mistakes in Qiu Huanian’s words, but he didn’t expect to fall into a language trap and suddenly stammered, unable to speak.

At this time, Jiu Jiu, who was inside the house, also came out. Qiu Huanian gave her a gentle look that reassured her, and Jiu Jiu mustered her courage to walk to the middle of the yard.

“It… it was the candy given by the person who helped my eldest brother deliver the letter, a piece of candy wrapped in paper. Fubao snatched my candy by the small river and pulled my braids. Brother Hua chased him away and squatted down to comb my hair. Fubao suddenly… suddenly pushed Brother Hua down from behind!”

Jiu Jiu was shy and introverted. The crowd watching her made her face flush red. She almost couldn’t continue several times, but Qiu Huanian’s calm and composed smile gave her great courage. Finally, she clearly recounted what had happened.

The youngest brother, Chunsheng, took out a few pieces of candy from a basket on top of the cabinet in the house, ran to the yard, opened his palm, and glared fiercely at Fubao.

“It’s candy wrapped in this kind of oily paper with peanuts inside. We haven’t even finished our good candy. Why would my sister snatch your malt candy with your saliva on it?”

Seeing the candy in Chunsheng’s hand, combined with the accounts of Jiu Jiu, Qiu Huanian, and Fubao, everyone finally understood what had happened earlier.

Zhao-shi still wanted to argue, but Qiu Huanian directly asked her, “I’m a seventeen-year-old adult. If I were really on guard, could Fubao push me into the ditch?”

While speaking, he pulled the machete out of the wooden stake and waved it in front of Zhao-shi and Fubao, scaring them into not daring to move.

A ge’er’s physical strength was weaker than that of a normal man but still much stronger than that of a child and an elderly woman.

“This matter is clear.” The clan leader heavily tapped the ground with his crutches. “Baoquan’s wife, you send nine eggs to Hua ge’er family later to make up for it. In the future, discipline Fubao properly. An uneducated child will eventually become a disaster!”

Zhao-shi looked unwilling but didn’t dare to object out of respect for the clan leader.

But Qiu Huanian didn’t plan to end it here. This matter had killed the original owner, and there had to be another explanation.

“Fubao, we have no grudges against each other normally. Why did you sneak attack me and push me into the ditch? How could a child like you be so cruel and vicious?”

Fubao struggled in Zhao-shi’s arms. “Stop pretending, you deserve it, you vixen! If it weren’t for you, second brother…”

“Pa!” Zhao-shi suddenly slapped her youngest son and covered his mouth. “Fubao was frightened silly and is talking nonsense. I’ll take him back to sleep first.”

Qiu Huanian kept the clues he had elicited in his mind, knowing that now was not the time to get to the bottom of it, but he wouldn’t let them leave so easily either.

He placed the machete horizontally in front of the anxious Zhao-shi, who wanted to leave, and said slowly and deliberately, “Nine eggs will be considered an apology to Jiu Jiu, but I fell so heavily that I couldn’t recover in ten days or half a month. Aunt, you should at least kill a chicken to help me recover, right?”

Zhao-shi wanted to scold Qiu Huanian, saying that he was clearly alive and kicking, and where did he get the nerve to ask for a chicken, but Fubao kept making a fuss in her arms. She was anxious to go back, and the clan leader wasn’t helping her, so she could only agree through gritted teeth. “I’ll send it to you when I get back.”

Qiu Huanian smiled, not leaving any room for negotiation. “Clan leader, could you please trouble someone to go back with Aunt to get the things? I’m afraid Aunt’s family is busy, and she’ll forget to send them to me when she gets back.”

The clan leader looked at the chaotic scene in the yard and sighed. “Baoshan’s wife, go with Baoquan’s wife.”

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