Chapter 1

The ear-splitting sobs came intermittently, and Shaman felt a splitting headache, momentarily unsure of where she was. What had happened? What was wrong with her?

She remembered just finishing her thesis defense and excitedly going to find her boyfriend. But she found him passionately kissing someone else, a girl from their department.

Her usually considerate boyfriend, who always said he loved her, had cheated on her. Shaman was momentarily at a loss.

Then, the girl began her long, emotional narrative. It was then that Shaman learned her boyfriend had been ambiguously involved with this girl while dating her. Now, with graduation approaching, the girl proposed to her boyfriend. The girl’s father was the mayor of a small town. The girl guaranteed that if the boy followed her to her hometown and served as a village official, he could leverage her father’s connections to rise rapidly, becoming a new star, and gain both fame and fortune.

The boyfriend agreed, and they were in the process of bringing their secret affair into the open when Shaman discovered them.

“You always asked me about my dad and brother,” Shaman, who had quickly regained her composure, completely ignored the smug girl and turned to her boyfriend, “I’m an extra child, so I took my mom’s surname and used my dad’s surname as my name. You’re so interested in the city where my family is from; you should know who he is.”

The boyfriend quickly masked his suddenly excited eyes, swiftly let go of the girl’s hand, and walked over to her.

“Man’er, this is a misunderstanding. She has always had a crush on me and just confessed. I felt sorry for her and got soft-hearted. You should know, I only have you in my heart.”

The boyfriend walked over, tall and handsome, with a bright smile, just as she had fallen in love with him.

But that was all in the past; she had broken up with him and seen through him.

“But I don’t want you anymore. You... have been dumped by me.”

Shaman loudly declared and turned away. Her boyfriend, no, her ex-boyfriend, immediately chased after her. At that moment, the girl, who had gone mad, pounced from behind.

“I’d rather you die. I don’t want to be a secret lover anymore.” The girl fiercely pushed, not the scumbag, but her.

Then, she heard a sharp screech of brakes and the surrounding people’s screams. The last thing she saw was the girl’s vicious face and the boyfriend’s dramatically expressive face.

She was pushed by the girl and got into a car accident. The scumbag, the mistress, and the campus speed racers were all to blame. Shaman’s head hurt terribly, but she could feel the pain, which meant she wasn’t dead. So now, she must be in the hospital. Her parents must have come, and her brother must have taken leave to come as well.

“Three days and three nights, she’s long dead. Fourth daughter-in-law, why are you hugging a corpse and crying? Hurry up and make some food; there are over a dozen people in the family who are hungry.” A woman’s loud voice said, “Fourth, go get the cart. Her grandma said that children can’t be buried in the family tomb. Before it gets dark, take the girl to the south mountain and bury her. Our eldest daughter is about to get married, and our second son is also looking for a match. Don’t let this girl ruin our good luck.”

Shaman suddenly felt herself being tightly embraced, and warm liquid dripped onto her face.

“Aunt, my Man’er is still warm, my Man’er isn’t dead.”

“Fourth, control your wife. Why is she so stubborn? She’s dead, so why are you hugging her? We still need to eat the food she made.” The loud voice seemed to slam the door and leave.

The surrounding cries grew louder, from men, women, and children. Did the doctors and nurses in the hospital think she was dead? Shaman thought she needed to open her eyes quickly and tell her parents she was still alive. Otherwise, being taken to the morgue as a corpse would be terrifying.

Shaman’s fingers twitched slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes. What she saw were unfamiliar faces.

The woman hugging her wore a blue coarse cloth jacket with a large lapel, her hair was tied up in a bun at the back of her head, with a silver hairpin and a pair of silver earrings. Her eyes were swollen like peaches.

“Man’er, Man’er can move, Man’er has opened her eyes!”

The woman hugged Shaman even tighter. Shaman felt suffocated and coughed. The woman quickly loosened her grip, and Shaman finally saw her surroundings.

A mud bed, reed mats, wooden beams, and a thatched roof, with paper pasted on the wooden window frames.

This reminded her of the old house in the countryside where she went with her mother to visit her grandmother when she was very young, a house left over from the Republic era.

No way...

Thinking of a possibility, Shaman’s eyes widened.

“Man’er, look at your mother, I’m here.” The woman in the coarse cloth clothes waved her hand in front of Shaman’s eyes.

Shaman’s eyes slowly refocused.

Mother? This woman is her mother, trying to make her believe she has amnesia from the car accident?

“Man’er,” three little faces crowded in front of her. The oldest was a girl, about twelve or thirteen years old, with two braids, yellowish hair, but very clear features. The boy beside her was slightly shorter, with features similar to the girl. The youngest, a small boy, blew on her face.

“Second sister, say something. I won’t fight with you for candy anymore, and I’ll share all the good food with you.” The little boy said.

“I’ll tell Dad and Mom that Man’er has woken up so they won’t worry.” A man with red eyes stood up from beside the woman, his voice hoarse.

“Mom said they were going to bury Man’er.” The woman sobbed.

“Don’t believe what your sister-in-law says. Our parents aren’t like that.” The man turned and left.

Heaven, the accents of the people speaking were exactly like those from her grandmother’s hometown. What was going on? Who was playing a joke on her? It was impossible; she was injured, and her parents and brother wouldn’t not come to see her.

Shaman bit her lower lip hard. It hurt. This wasn’t a dream; it was real.

“No...” If there really was such a thing as reincarnation, then she wanted to go back.

Shaman wobbled and sat up, mustering the courage to bang her head against the pillar. While she was still warm, she wanted to go back. However, she overestimated the strength of this body and underestimated the actions of the adults and children around her. The three children formed a wall in front of her, and she was hugged by the woman again.

“Man’er, my poor Man’er, it’s all my fault. Don’t try to kill yourself; I won’t sell you again, even if I have to sell myself.”

Shaman, amidst the cries of the woman and children, drifted off again.

Although this family’s situation wasn’t too good, they were dressed neatly. Why would they sell their daughter? Was this girl trying to end her life because she didn’t want to be sold?

She didn’t want such parents.

Shaman didn’t get her wish. She opened her eyes again and found herself still on the mud bed. Several people came to see her but quickly left. Her mind was now completely clear, and she no longer had the courage to try to die and go back. Some of the memories of this body slowly surfaced.

This little girl’s name is Man’er, the “Man” in her name means “vine” (wan, fourth tone), and she is only ten years old. This family is surnamed Lian, and the head of the family is Lian Fang, the old grandfather. Lian Fang and his wife, Zhou, had many children, and in the end, they had four sons and two daughters.

Her father is Lian Fang’s fourth son, named Lian Shouxin, about thirty years old, and her mother, Zhang, is the same age. She is the third child, with an older sister named Lian Zhi, who is fourteen years old, an older brother, who is the fifth in the Lian family, thirteen years old, and a younger brother, who is only seven years old.

Because she has an uncle who is a scholar, this little girl from the countryside vaguely knows that this dynasty is called Ming, and it is currently the 21st year of Xihe. The era name is so unfamiliar that it probably isn’t the Ming Dynasty she read about in history books.

Most importantly, Lian Man’er’s death is closely related to her eldest cousin.

Her eldest cousin is sixteen years old, named Lian Hua. As her name suggests, she is very beautiful and has lived in town with her parents, so her manners are very different from those of the girls in the countryside. Once, Lian Hua went to visit her aunt in the county town and somehow met the son of a wealthy merchant surnamed Song. They fell in love at first sight and secretly met and made a pact.

The Song family didn’t like this match, but the Song young master insisted on marrying Lian Hua. The old lady of the Song family, out of love for her son, finally agreed to the match. The Song family sent a dowry, and Lian Hua’s family moved back from town to the old house to complete the engagement.

To show their seriousness, the Song family sent a jade pendant as part of the dowry, which is said to be worth a fortune. Lian Hua was to wear this jade pendant when she married into the Song family.

The problem was with the jade pendant.

In the village, Lian Hua was already a standout, and with this engagement, she became even more popular. Lian Hua invited several young girls to her house to show them the dowry and, in particular, the jade pendant.

“This jade pendant could buy the entire county of Jinyang.” Lian Hua told the girls.

The girls were already impressed. One of them, to show her knowledge, said the jade pendant was meant to be worn on a gold necklace. The Song family’s dowry didn’t include a gold necklace. Lian Hua said the jade pendant was meant to be used to press the hem of her dress and demonstrated. She tripped and hit the bed, and the jade pendant broke into two pieces.

Just after the engagement, breaking the Song family’s heirloom jade pendant made it impossible for Lian Hua to marry into the Song family. Lian Hua was shocked, but her mother, Gu, was more experienced. She immediately warned the girls not to tell anyone, or they would have to pay for the jade pendant.

Then, Gu and Lian Shouren went to the city and found a similar jade in a pawnshop, which could pass for the original. However, the jade cost at least 500 taels of silver. The Lian family couldn’t afford that much even if they sold their house and land.

So, they decided to sell their ten-year-old daughter, Lian Man’er.

Shaman slowly gathered Lian Man’er’s memories. She couldn’t go back to her original world, so she had to live well in this one.

From now on, she would be Lian Man’er. (From here on, the protagonist will be referred to as Lian Man’er.)

At that moment, Zhang came in with a large bowl.

“Man’er, eat something. I specially asked your grandmother for white flour.”

Lian Man’er glanced at the bowl. It was a simple bowl of flour lumps, with more broth than flour, and a few specks of scallions and oil on top. She was very hungry, and this ordinary food, which she would never have eaten as Shaman, now appealed to Lian Man’er’s appetite.

But Lian Man’er still turned away, giving Zhang her back. Her uncle and aunt were going to sell her, and her parents had agreed.

Zhang, of course, noticed Lian Man’er’s resistance and her eyes welled up.

“Man’er, you haven’t eaten for three days. Eat something. I added a little more oil to the broth, and your grandmother didn’t see. You always loved this, and you always asked me to make it for you.” Zhang sat down beside Lian Man’er, turned her to face her, and said, “Man’er, let me feed you.”

What was the point of this fake concern? To sell their own daughter for someone else’s daughter, she didn’t want such parents.

Lian Man’er raised her hand to knock over the bowl of flour lumps. But when she looked down, she saw her little brother, Xiao Qi, leaning against the edge of the bed, staring at the bowl with big eyes. Lian Man’er’s hand lowered, and she turned away again, not looking at Zhang.

Zhang coaxed for a while, but the flour lumps cooled, and the oil on top solidified. Lian Man’er clenched her teeth and refused to eat. Lian Shouxin and the children also came to persuade her, but Lian Man’er didn’t budge.

“I won’t eat. I’d rather starve to death. If I eat, you’ll just sell me, right?” Lian Man’er finally said.

Zhang’s tears fell.

“There’s no way out. It’s all my fault. Why was I so foolish?”

“Take her to the main house and let her grandparents see her.” Lian Shouxin said after a long silence.

To live well, she first had to avoid being sold. Lian Man’er thought that in this family, the old grandfather and grandmother were in charge. To ensure she wouldn’t be sold again, she needed their approval.

Her parents couldn’t be relied on; she could only rely on herself. Lian Man’er clenched her fists.

******

New, tender book, seeking support. (No need for PK votes, just recommendation votes are fine.)