Old Cheng was also angry, but it wasn't Xiaocui who pushed the girl; she fell into the water by herself due to carelessness, at most it was just a verbal confrontation. It's not as if Xiaocui should pay with her life. He's an honest and upright farmer and couldn't do such a thing, so he stood there for a long time without moving.
Until Erya called him, his mind was still in a mess, not knowing what to do. Just as he was about to speak, the village chief interrupted him.
"Now that it has come to this, after all, Xiaocui only provoked Daya with words. The real reason Daya fell into the water is her own carelessness. Their family is willing to pay five taels for the burial expenses; I think this is acceptable. Cheng the Second, let's settle the matter like this!" the village chief announced the verdict with authority.
"Dad, we can't just let this go. If Xiaocui hadn't made a bet with sister, sister wouldn't have gone into the water." Cheng Jia said with a resentful face.
Knowing the little guy was upset, the village chief didn't blame him for contradicting him, and asked Cheng Jia, "Otherwise, are you suggesting that Cheng Xiaocui should pay with her life for your sister?"
The question left the little guy speechless. Although he felt this way, could he really say it out loud? Would saying it make it come true? Clearly not.
Cheng Jia, with nothing left to say, begrudgingly stepped back two steps, turned, and ran into the house to see his sister.
At this moment, the sun was setting, its glow shining into the dimly lit room. The person on the bed had her eyes tightly shut, her eyelashes gently trembling, and the indistinct voices from outside echoed in her mind, making her head throb with pain, unbearably annoying. She wanted to wake up, but found it impossible.
After struggling for a long time, she finally gained some awareness.
What's happened to me...
Gradually regaining consciousness, oh! She remembered she was on vacation, a weekend getaway, driving halfway with her best friend when they encountered a little kid who had fallen into the water.
She heroically sacrificed herself to save the child.
Then...and then her leg cramped. At that moment, she struggled with all her might, seeing she was getting closer to the surface. She still had a chance to save herself, but suddenly her head throbbed with a severe pain, causing a momentary blankness in her mind, forgetting to breathe, forgetting to struggle.
By the time she came to her senses, all she could do was watch the light on the water's surface diminish, getting smaller and smaller...
Damn! Am I actually dead?
No, no, I did die! How do I remember dying?
Suddenly, she opened her eyes, taking in the dim space, barely seeing the cobwebs under the thatched roof above. Where is this place, the Underworld? It seems the Underworld shouldn't be this poor!
Hiss! My head hurts, my whole body hurts, how is this possible! Dying and still having a sense of pain?
Before Xiao Cheng could figure anything out, a seven to eight-year-old boy came running to the doorway, standing about a meter away from the bed, staring in a daze at the sister on the bed, who was looking around with wide, round eyes, myriad thoughts in his mind. As he said, there's no way his sister could be in trouble; it's all nonsense.
Cautiously, he walked forward, held his sister's hand, and softly said, "Sister, how are you? Is there anything you're uncomfortable with?"
Looking at this little guy whose tears were on the verge of falling, Xiao Cheng felt a pang of softness in her heart. Is this the child she saved from drowning? Quite a handsome child, but dressed too poorly!
"Little friend, is this your home? Where are your parents? Why didn't they take me to the hospital?" She thought to herself that this family might be poor, and probably can't afford it. Then she decided, I'll just cover the medical expenses as part of my good deed!
But where on earth is this mountain hamlet? Why is there still such a poor village here? Didn't the government say they were eradicating poverty?
Sitting up, intending to get out of bed and move around, she reached to pull the covers off. Wait, these are my skinny little hands? Looking down, wait, this emaciated body is mine?
Looking towards the boy, these aren't modern rural long shirts and pants, but ancient clothing instead. Most notably, the boy had long hair tied up. At first glance, she hadn't paid attention, but now observing carefully, everything about it seemed out of place.
"Sister, what hospital are you talking about?" the boy asked, puzzled.
Xiao Cheng took a deep breath, had she died and reincarnated again? Damn, did she just catch up with the trend and meet some time-travel god!
This wasn't her body, rubbing her throbbing temples, there was no inheritance of the original's memories at all. Damn! What kind of plot is this? Could she have crossed into some impoverished farming story?
"This is so unlucky!"
Thinking of her as a 21st-century elite white-collar woman, she actually ended up in antiquity as a farming village girl.
"Sister, sister, what are you saying?" The boy's voice pulled Xiao Cheng back from her wandering thoughts. Holding her head, she applied the first rule of time-travel clichés: when confused about the situation, feign amnesia! Ancient times were quite superstitious, she didn't want to be seen as a 'monster'."
"Ahem!" Looking at the little friend who was genuinely concerned, she softly said, "Little brother, I am your sister, right? I don't remember anything from before." Without knowing the original's character, she couldn't follow the plot, so improvisation was her only option.
Glancing sideways at the little brother, who wore a face of disbelief, "Sister might have amnesia!"
"Ah! My head hurts, the more I think, the worse it gets. I truly can't remember anything."
The boy was full of anxiety, "Sister, you shouldn't think about anything for now." He didn't dare leave, afraid that if he turned away, he would lose sight of his living sister, and shouted loudly, "Dad, come quickly! Sister woke up, said her head hurts, quickly call Grandpa Huang to take a look."
This shout startled the villagers outside, who were discussing the arrangements for Daya's funeral.
Mr. Cheng was the first to react, what did his son say? His daughter was still alive! He rushed inside anxiously, followed by a crowd of wary yet curious people, what? Daya died and came back to life? Nobody could believe what they heard!
As a few managed to squeeze into the house, most stretched their necks over the door and windows to peer inside, making Xiao Cheng even more depressed. Why are there so many nosy ancient people, curious about the original's situation! Could someone please enlighten her, urgently awaiting answers!
Mr. Cheng seeing his breathing daughter, was overjoyed, pulling Doctor Huang, who managed to squeeze inside, "Brother Huang, please check on my daughter."
Huang Zhongyi was also puzzled, he definitely didn't notice any breathing earlier, how did she suddenly recover? Was the previous diagnosis wrong? Frowning, he checked Daya's pulse again.
Xiao Cheng looked at this tall, dark, rough-clothed man around forty; this must be her original father.
Eh! How could it be, Daya's pulse is floating, weak in strength, lacking energy and blood, likely caused by long-term manual labor and insufficient nutrition, albeit a bit frail, there weren't any major issues otherwise.
He looked at Cheng the Second and said, "Daya's body is somewhat frail, so have her rest well and supplement her energy and blood. As for the headache, it might be a lingering symptom from being underwater too long, I'll check again in a few days."
Hearing the doctor's words, Xiao Cheng felt relieved, the original body didn't have any real ailments, just nutritional deficiencies.