Rebirth in Famine: She Thrives by Lucky Space

”Hmm, we’ll talk about it later. I’m leaving now. The construction team will come this afternoon. You can trust these people.”

Wei Kaiyun nodded knowingly, saw off Han Xiangjun, and went to the living room to find the three children to ask for their opinion on what they wanted for lunch.

In the end, they decided to have Eight Great Bowls. The two adults took the three children to the restaurant at eleven o’clock. It was run by Man people and had a strong minority ethnic feel.

After the meal, the three children had eaten too much again. Under the scorching midday sun, the group of five strolled back.

Yu Xiaoli, after entering the side room, put down her bag and then went to the dining room to bring out four chairs, placing them together.

Lying on the hard chairs, Yu Xiaoli felt full of grievances.

But thinking that she would soon be with Brother Xuesong, it didn’t seem to matter anymore.

She was so excited that she didn’t sleep a wink all night.

As dawn broke, she saw the time was already five-thirty. She got up and looked at the umbrella and raincoat in the side room. She packed the noodles, millet, and white flour from the room into two bags, slung them over her shoulder, and put on her raincoat. She didn’t even close the door of the side room, leaving without looking back.

It was still raining outside, but it had lessened a lot. There were puddles on the road, but nothing could stop her from leaving.

Waiting at the stop for the bus, Brother Xuesong must be waiting at home for her.

With a smile on her face, Yu Xiaoli was filled with hope for a beautiful life ahead.

Gao Xuesong and Yu Xiaoli were neighbors. He was the second son of the family and wasn’t valued at home, but he was good-looking, among the top handsome guys in the village.

Yu Xiaoli wasn’t valued at home either, so the two had played together since childhood. Both of them were very good-looking, which made their siblings dislike them, thus they existed invisibly.

At the age of fifteen, they developed romantic feelings for each other. The Gao Family didn’t object, as it saved them the trouble of finding a bride for him.

However, the Yu Family wasn’t willing; after all, their beautiful daughter was expected to marry into a good family and fetch a handsome dowry.

But the young couple had agreed they wanted to be together.

Then disaster struck. They survived the first year, but the second year the family was at their wits’ end.

So, the Yu family decided to marry off Yu Xiaoli in exchange for grain, as the younger girls were still little. Plus, she was of age and also the most beautiful.

When Yu Xiaoli heard this news, it was like a bolt from the blue. She thought about eloping, but her mother saw through her idea and advised, ”Xiao Li, if you two run away now, there will be no way to survive. How do you plan to live afterwards without resources?”

Yu Xiaoli was truly scared of starving. Her mother didn’t scold or abuse her as before, but spoke gently.

She hadn’t eaten in two days and was dizzy and lightheaded from hunger. She was terrified of this feeling.

Exactly, where could she run to? Just surviving was a luxury now.

So she listened to her family’s arrangement. That morning, she uncharacteristically drank a bowl of porridge, noting her siblings’ envious eyes and their swallowing actions, feeling a tiny sense of superiority.

Dad took her directly to the city. She rode a bus for the first time, feeling dizzy and following Dad, meeting many people, feeling like livestock being sold, inspected from all angles.

It was evening when she finally met Han Xiangjun.

This young man exchanged 500 catties of grain for her.

Following him home later, she was overjoyed to see such a nice, big house and a table of rice porridge, realizing she wouldn’t starve to death.

After ten days, she had completely recovered, at which point she missed Gao Xuesong even more.

A month later, when this man wanted her, she refused without thinking. But when she heard about the 500 catties of grain, she yielded.

The bus arrived, and Yu Xiaoli boarded with all her hopes. She didn’t know someone had followed her all along.

In Beijing, Mr. Han had never suffered such indignity, and Han Xiangjun couldn’t possibly accept this.

Once she was on the bus, Yu Xiaoli suddenly thought that her money couldn’t be shown this openly. Just after the bus started, she got off again.

She went straight to the bank, having heard Han Xiangjun mention that money is safest in the bank.

But upon reaching the bank, without a household registration booklet, and not knowing where her household register was, she had no options. She returned to the Han Family’s entrance but lacked the courage to knock, thinking about the grain she carried and Han Xiangjun’s tactics, feeling an urge to flee immediately.

But what about her household registration? Helplessly, she gathered the courage to knock on the door.

Han Xiangjun was packing things in the cellar, needing to leave because staying was unsafe.

Hearing the knock, he opened the door with a frown.

”Yu Xiaoli, are you sick of living?”

”I just want to ask about my household registration.”

”It’s still at your home. From now on, even if something big happens, even if you’re about to die, never appear before me again. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you don’t see tomorrow’s sun.”

Yu Xiaoli was frightened pale, turning and running away.

A person behind her walked to Han Xiangjun and spoke of her going to the bank.

Han Xiangjun sneered, ”Ignore her. Just watch what happens and report back to me later.”

Terrified, Yu Xiaoli ran far before catching her breath but was still unwilling to give up. She went back to the bank.

”Comrade, I don’t have a household registration book, can I deposit money?”

”No.”

No other choice, Yu Xiaoli returned to the stop to wait, thinking the money had to be hidden; if her family knew, they wouldn’t leave her a cent.

She sat by waiting for the bus, estimating it would take another hour, looking at her watch, thinking it too needed hiding.

Also, the nice clothes in her bag and leather shoes couldn’t go back with her.

But where could she hide them? Yu Xiaoli was truly troubled.

Suddenly standing up, she went to a public restroom, wrapping the money and watch around her waist, planning to figure it out later. This was her future survival asset, even her family and Brother Xuesong couldn’t know.

When the bus came again, she finally got on.

After almost two hours of swaying, she finally arrived at the township.

Her heart leaped with joy, she was finally about to see her beloved Brother Xuesong.

Even though her stomach was empty, her steps felt light.

This last road required another hour of walking. Coincidentally, it started raining, and the road was particularly muddy. After living in the city for so many years, she was really not used to this. As she walked, she felt blisters forming on her soles.