Sister, wake up!

A pair of small hands patted on the quilt.

"Sister, eat it while it's hot. Mother and little sister will be back soon."

Seeing her elder sister open her eyes, four-year-old Tie Dou placed the half bowl of congee on the bare wooden bedboard.

Zhao Huan looked at her younger brother, who was pale and thin with a head barely bigger than a child's. He held a small bowl of dark, charred-smelling porridge, but he didn’t say anything in response.

"Sister, I'll guard outside, you finish eating it!"

After finishing his words, he dashed out.

That thing just looks unappetizing, even though my stomach is growling now.

Zhao Huanyü flipped over, and continued to close her eyes and rest.

I've been here for two whole days, and I still can't believe it. A medical prodigy who was invincible in his youth, graduated from the top hospital in the capital straight out of school, with a bright future ahead of him, but now after just one sleep, he woke up as a girl not even fifteen years old from a village.

She was still a country girl who had stolen money from home, planning to elope with her boyfriend, when she was caught by her stepmother and beaten to death!

Ahhh!!!

Frowning, Mu Xi tugged at her hair. This was a nightmare.

"You lazy good-for-nothing ingrate! I told you to go up the mountain to gather firewood, didn't I? What are you doing standing here like a door god? Did you sneak off to eat with that deadbeat again?"

Suddenly, a string of ugly curses came from the courtyard outside. Zhao Huanyü knew it was her stepmother, Liu Shi, and her biological daughter, Li Xiaohua, back.

Then, with a bang, the door was kicked open from outside. Li Xiaohua saw the half bowl of gruel on the bed and cried out in exaggeration, "Mother, you were right! That white-eyed wolf is feeding the good-for-nothing! It was full to the brim just now, and now there's only half a bowl left!"

Before the words even left her mouth, Liu rushed in from outside, wielding a wooden stick in her hand. It was clear she intended to beat them again.

Little Tie Dou rushed in, nervously holding onto Liu Shi's leg and cried out, "Mother, mother, don't hit my elder sister! My elder sister is hurt. She hasn't eaten anything for two days. I only brought this small half bowl, it was the burnt bits from the bottom of the pot that you didn't want. My elder sister hasn't even had a taste! Mother, if you must punish someone, punish me! Please don't hit my elder sister, please!"

"Get lost, you little brat! You ungrateful wretch! I'll teach this deadbeat a lesson before I deal with you!"

Liu, with one kick, sent the small iron bean flying. She raised her child in hand and was about to strike Zhao Huanying who was lying motionless on the bed.

The result did not land on Zhao Huanyu as expected. It was intercepted by a small black hand that came out from under the bed in mid-air.

Zhao Huanyun endured the pain of her injuries and the dizziness that came with it, forcing herself to stand up. A pair of eyes blazing with anger met Liu Shi's gaze.

Liu was startled by this smooth set of moves, but quickly recovered. This cheapskate dared to resist? Just wait until I teach you a lesson!

"Shouting, shouting, what are you yelling about? You're always swearing! Is your mouth a toilet? All you do is crap all day!"

Zhao Huanyù was already annoyed at herself for inexplicably being dressed in a dark and small village girl's outfit, and now Liu shi was frowning again. Wasn't this like walking straight into a firing squad?

“You cursed at me? You little slut, you have no shame! How dare you elope with a man and blame me?! If this gets out, they’ll drag you to the pigsty! Let me tell you, even if your father isn't here, I’ll beat you to death myself…”

"Bang!"

A crisp applause rang out, and Liu was slapped like that.

Zhao Huan hammered Liu's hair with all her might, completely disheveling it.

The child in his hand was also snatched away, and Zhao Huanyue used it as a walking stick.

"Mother!"

Li Xiaohua hurriedly stepped forward to help Liu shi, looking at Zhao Huanyu with some trepidation: "Zhao Huanyu, you did something wrong. Your mother beating you is justified. You even dared to hit your mother! Don't you want to live? I swear, when your father comes back, I will tell him! If your father knew what you did, he would definitely beat you too."

Zhao Huanyu looked as if he was unfazed, nonchalantly raised his chin and said, "Go ahead and report me!"

Now it's the slack season for farming, there isn't much work in the fields. The original owner's biological father, Zhao Dafu, went to the town to work for wealthy families and won't be back until next month.

It was only at this point that Liu dared to treat her siblings-in-law like this.

After Liu's initial disbelief, she reacted instantaneously, like a rabid dog baring her teeth and lunging to attack. However, Zhao Huanyu blocked her with the wooden staff in her hand.

"If you don't want Li Xiaohua to marry the scholar in town, just shout it from the rooftops and make a big scene out of it. Oh, and by the way, spread the word about my elopement too. Then, believe me, not even Wang Ermazi from our village will dare to ask for Li Xiaohua!"

Zhao Huanyù smiled, looking as if she had nothing left to lose.

In this era, a woman's reputation is of paramount importance. If one daughter in a family ruins her reputation, it becomes difficult for the other daughters to find husbands.

Li Xiaohua's ultimate dream is to marry into a scholar's family in town and live a life of comfort and luxury with her husband.

The mother and daughter both seemed to have never seen someone so shameless. Li Xiaohua stared at him in disbelief: "For the sake of harming me, you don't even care about your own reputation?"

"They should all be killed, who cares about reputation?"

Zhao Huanyu let out a cold snort and ordered the still-sitting Xia Tie Dou, "Take that bowl of pig slop outside and pour it out. My sister doesn't eat leftovers from others."

Xia Tie Dou thought he had heard wrong. Ever since his stepmother moved in, the two siblings had always eaten this. How... how did it become pig food?

The two people being called pigs had their faces flushed red. They wondered if Zhao Huany玉 was taking her medicine wrong today?

Even though he felt bad about falling, Xiao Tie Dou had been his older sister's little fanboy since he was young. He did whatever his older sister said. He quickly got up from the ground, with his butt sticking out, holding the bowl of noodle soup and stumbled out.

"Are you all daydreaming? Liu, do you want Li Xiaohua to marry the talented scholar in town or stay at home as an old spinster who doesn't even want a simple guy like Wang Ermazi?"

Zhao Huanyu used the wood as a cane again, tapping it on the ground rhythmically, seemingly at random. He would lift it up and down, looking listlessly at his mother and younger sister.

Mother and daughter exchanged glances. Li Xiaohua was truly worried that Zhao Huanyue, that shameless wretch, had ruined her chance at love. She quietly tugged at Liu's sleeve.

Liu bit her teeth and decided to take a gamble for her son's happiness: "What do you want?"

Zhao Huany玉 had already thought out what to say: "First, return all of my mother's dowry. I remember correctly that my mother still has three taels of silver and two silver hairpins. Whether you spent it or not, return it to me within three days! Second, I am not your maid. From now on, if you dare to make me do chores like washing dishes and cooking, I will beat you!"

Since becoming a village girl is a fact, let's first get back what belongs to me!