She should quickly get a grip on the current situation, so she said, "Right, right, I feel much better, just a little headache. More rest will do." Saying this, she lay back down, seemingly helplessly closing her eyes.
Erya looked worried and tucked in her sister's quilt.
Her little brother Cheng Jia immediately understood that his sister probably didn't want to be surrounded by so many people! So he said, "Dad, I'll stay with Sis first, you haven't paid Grandpa Huang his consultation fee yet, right? You should go take care of that and see off the visiting uncles and aunts."
He then thanked everyone: "Thank you, everyone, for your concern for my sister. She's fine now."
"Alright, alright," Mr. Cheng reacted and quickly waved his hand to beckon to the neighbors.
Everyone, still shocked by Daya's return from the dead, was ushered out of the room.
When the room quieted down, Xiao Cheng learned from his younger brother that the place she had time-traveled to is called Qingshan Village. The village has about eighteen families, roughly 200 people. It's surrounded on three sides by mountains, with only one road leading to the town in front of the village. The mountains on both sides of the village are not high; you can reach other villages by crossing them.
As for the back mountain, the villagers only dare to move around the small hill behind the village. During the lean seasons, they go up the mountain to gather some wild vegetables to add to their meals.
Beyond the hill lies Da Mang Mountain, which has huge insects and is very dangerous. Anyone who goes there doesn't come back.
Cheng Jia, worried that his sister didn't understand the danger, specially recounted several instances where bold villagers went to Da Mang Mountain hoping to bring back some goodies, but none returned.
Cheng Jia didn't foresee that his sister would go missing in Mang Mountain the very next day.
The town nearby is called Qishan Town. It takes two hours to walk there, and when families lack something, they go to town to get it.
The current country is called Tianqi Country, which belongs to Yan State. Yanzhou County is the fief of Prince Qi. Their village is remote, the most backward and impoverished place in King Qi's fief.
However, the harvests in recent years have been poor, and taxes are increasing, making life harder by the year for the common folk.
As for distant places and events, the younger brother doesn't know, and what he knows comes from the master's teachings.
It seems this is a dynasty not recorded in history. Anyway, she hasn't heard of it; it's not confirmed if it's alternate history.
"Sis, have you remembered everything?" The little guy asked worriedly.
"Your sister is unlikely to remember anytime soon. I'm hungry. What do we have to eat at home?" Quietly sitting on one side, Erya immediately got up, "Okay, Sis, I'll go make porridge for you now." Saying this, she got up and went out.
Only the siblings were left in the room. Xiao Cheng continued to ask, "Then Sis, what's my name?" Alas! Being without memory is truly troublesome, not knowing anything, not even her own name.
"Sis, you don't even remember your name?"
"Uh-huh, tell me about our family's situation too!" She needed to quickly understand the current situation to avoid giving herself away in future days.
"Alright then!"
Cheng Jia began to explain.
"Our grandparents had two sons and a daughter. After our grandparents passed away one after the other last year, we split the household with Uncle's family. Uncle's family has eight members. Uncle Cheng Qiang's wife is from the Liu Family, and our eldest cousin Cheng Rong is 19 years old. Oh right, our cousin-in-law is expecting a baby in two or three months, soon they'll have nine people.
The second cousin Cheng Hao is 16 this year and still unmarried, the third cousin Cheng Dahua is 14, the fourth..."
Pff! Xiao Cheng couldn't help but laugh out loud. Such rustic names, who came up with them?
"Go on!"
Well alright! Forgive the ancient rural naming customs, the more down-to-earth, the better for survival.
As long as it's not "Ruhua," I think I can accept it. Otherwise, a classic character from a certain film would automatically jump into my mind, simply unbearable to look at...
When the younger brother mentioned her name was Cheng Daya, she couldn't stay calm!
"What kind of name is that? Is it a nickname? That's fine then. But what's my full name?"
"Sis, you don't have a full name! Girls in our village don't have full names. Only at the coming-of-age ceremony, the elders in the clan will bestow a name, meaning you're ready for marriage."
"Oh, dear me! The wretched feudal society of the past. So if you don't get married, you're not worthy of a name, is that it?"
"What kind of broken custom is this?" Xiao Cheng was utterly depressed. She absolutely didn't want to be called Cheng Daya.
Cheng Jia felt his sister had changed a lot after falling into the water, but he only cared that she was alive and healthy, and didn't want to think much about other things.
"Sis, you can get a full name in just two more years, really soon," Cheng Jia comforted her.
"Heh heh..."
"Alright, let it be then!" What right did she have to object? She was an outsider, oh! Not even a person, just an outsider's soul.
"Go on."
The younger brother finished talking about the family relations, seeing his sister also tired, he went outside to help.
Xiao Cheng sorted out her thoughts: her uncle has four children, and a younger daughter Cheng Xiaohua is 11 this year, the youngest son Cheng Ran is 6. Originally, her family had six members. Their mother passed away in childbirth with younger brother Cheng Jia. Elder brother Cheng Yao was drafted two years ago; word came at the start of this year that he had died in battle. Now, aside from their dad Cheng Yong, it was her as the eldest, named Cheng Daya at 13, the second sister Cheng Erya 10, called Yuanyuan because she shares a name with the third granddaughter in Grandpa's family, and then third brother Cheng Jia who was 8.
They had a good relationship with Uncle's family. After the split, they still used the old terms, calling each other big brother, second brother, or just by name.
As for their little aunt, she married into a neighboring Shangqiao Village and had not been in contact for a long time.
Darn it, did she really look 13? She seemed more like eleven or twelve, and Erya looked like seven or eight.
Sigh! As an accomplished person of the 21st century, she had never seen such poverty. The only benefit was probably that she had become more than a decade younger. That was her sole consolation.
This seemed like a kind family. Since she was occupying this body now, she'd continue to live for her. Who knows if her body still existed in the modern world...
Her dad had passed away, and her mom had a new family elsewhere, presumably unaware of her death. Her only concern might be her best friend, "Xiao Taotao," who might cry for her. It seemed she didn't have much to hold onto in the modern world.
Thinking about it...
Oh! It seemed like she forgot something important.
Where was her time-travel perk? Didn't every time-traveler have a special ability? Like space, superpowers, or great strength? Any random one would do! At this thought, she suddenly became excited.
Xiao Cheng started trying things out in the room.
Half an hour later...
"Why is there nothing at all?"
She just couldn't believe it! Right, right, like jade pendants, bracelets, necklaces! All could be recognized by blood. Look for them, she said as she rummaged through the room...
Another half an hour later... She nearly turned the room upside down, and the original owner had no jewelry whatsoever. Was there a mistake? This was too discouraging!
Oh heavens, do you despise me? Others who time-traveled became concubines or the daughters of ministers, surrounded by gold, silver, pearls, and silks.
Look at where she landed—bare walls, coarse clothes, eating bran and swallowing greens. What kind of life was this? Most importantly, not even an external help was granted to her.