Chapter 2 of 100

Chapter 2

14 min read3,386 wordsMature

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The autumn rain ceased before dawn, and outside, the sky was bright with the rooster's crow. He slowly opened his eyes.

Over the past few days, he had been immersed in a great shock—discovering that he had somehow become another person, not only in appearance but also with a set of unfamiliar memories in his mind. Gradually, the shock turned into numbness, and he finally accepted the absurd reality that his soul had returned to six hundred years ago, merging with the body of a young man named Wang Xian.

‘Being alive is a blessing…’ He sighed lightly, grateful to have survived the ordeal, and even more so because he was an orphan with no wife or children to worry about, making no difference where he lived…

Thinking of this, he felt no resentment about his once muscular body now being reduced to a frail, emaciated frame, unable to even move his fingers.

He was pondering how to face his family when he suddenly heard the door creak open, followed by an angry voice:

“This cursed rooster, it’s already broad daylight and you’re not crowing! I’ll stew you sooner or later!”

The voice belonged to a fiery woman, Wang Xian’s mother. After scolding the rooster, she turned her attention to the people, “You lazy bums, get up! If you sleep any longer, it’ll be dark again!”

At her shout, Wang Xian’s elder brother, Wang Gui, quickly got dressed and washed his face, ready to cook.

“Where’s your wife?” The mother was holding a basket to feed the chickens. Seeing her son cooking, she immediately frowned.

“Cui Lian…” Wang Gui had thick eyelids and lips, looking very honest. In front of his mother, he was like a mouse before a cat, shrinking his neck and saying, “She’s not feeling well today…”

“Unwell for fifteen days out of a month…” The mother snorted, “Trying to fool me!”

“Mother, I’m going to fetch water.” Wang Gui smiled foolishly and picked up the pole leaning against the wall.

“Ugh, that sounds terrible, who taught you to talk like that!” The mother snorted again, finished feeding the chickens, and wiped her hands on her apron. She carried a wooden basin under one arm and a bucket in the other hand, heading towards the west wing room. She didn’t forget to instruct her eldest son, “Sweep the courtyard before eating!”

“Okay.” Wang Gui obediently replied.

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Wang Xian lived in the west wing room. Although he was already awake, he hadn’t figured out how to face this family, especially the angry mother, so he decided to close his eyes and pretend to be unconscious.

The door was pushed open forcefully, and the mother, wrapped in a blue headscarf, carrying a bucket and a basin, stomped in. In fact, she was quite delicate, with clear, bright eyes that were very spirited. When she wasn’t angry, she didn’t look like a tigress. But when she was angry, her eyes would flash with a cold, sharp light.

Her sharp tongue could make a living person faint and then come back to life in anger.

After entering the room, she first looked at her son, who was still closed-eyed and motionless. She cursed out of habit, “Brat, still not awake? You’re going to drag me to my death!” She then walked to the bed, lifted the quilt, and began to turn him over, wash him, massage him, and change his clothes.

Despite being bedridden for so long, Wang Xian’s body remained clean and free of bedsores, which was a miracle in the humid and hot Jiangnan region.

Although it was already autumn, it was still difficult for a small, thin woman to move a sixteen-year-old boy. By the time she was halfway through, the mother was already drenched in sweat. She wiped her sweat and grumbled, “They say a woman marries a man for clothes and food, and a man raises a son to prevent illness and old age. I must have owed you Wang men in my past life, serving you like a slave!”

As she continued to wipe his armpits, Wang Xian, who was ticklish, couldn’t help but shiver.

The mother immediately became excited and rushed to the head of the bed. Wang Xian tried to pretend to be unconscious, but the mother’s slaps were real, and he couldn’t help but grimace in pain.

“Wang Gui, Wang Gui!” The mother, seeing his expressive face, shouted with joy, “Come quickly!”

Wang Gui was sweeping outside. Hearing his mother’s call, he dropped the broom and rushed in, asking confusedly, “Mother, what’s wrong?”

“Look at your brother, he’s awake!” The mother said, lifting Wang Xian’s eyelids to see his eyes darting around. There was no way to pretend anymore. “What did Doctor Wu say?”

“Doctor Wu said…” Wang Gui scratched his head and thought, “I forgot!”

“Go get the doctor quickly!” The mother, who couldn’t stand his cowardice, kicked her eldest son out.

Soon, Doctor Wu from the county medical school hurried over to examine Wang Xian. Since Wang Xian had already accepted his current identity, he decided to ‘wake up’ at this moment.

Actually, there was no need for an examination; anyone who wasn’t blind could see Wang Xian slowly opening his eyes.

The whole family breathed a sigh of relief. The little sister, Yinyin, jumped three feet high, laughing and dancing around the bed. Wang Gui was wiping away tears, and even Wang Gui’s wife was happy, asking Doctor Wu, “Do we need to spend more money on medicine?”

Doctor Wu, who was drinking tea to quench his thirst, sprayed Wang Gui in the face.

The mother glared at Wang Gui’s wife and said to Doctor Wu, “She’s asking when he’ll be fully recovered.”

“This can’t be rushed,” Doctor Wu said slowly, “His body is too weak. I’ll prescribe a nourishing formula. Let’s see how he does after a month.”

“Oh, he still needs to take medicine!” Wang Gui’s wife’s joy vanished, and she complained loudly, “He’s already drained our savings, and he still needs to eat!”

“Can’t we just let him recover slowly?” The mother, who was also reluctant to spend more money, asked. She had no money left.

“Of course, but he’s been bedridden for too long, and his body is severely depleted. If we don’t nourish him quickly, he might end up a weakling even if he recovers,” Doctor Wu said, stroking his beard. “Sister-in-law, Wang Xian is so young; we can’t let him have a lifelong illness!”

“Okay.” The mother’s face changed, and she finally nodded firmly, “Doctor, please write the prescription!”

Wang Gui ground the ink, and Doctor Wu unfolded the paper, writing the prescription with a flourish. He dried the ink and handed it to Wang Gui, saying, “Go get the medicine. The sooner you take it, the sooner you’ll recover!”

“Okay, okay.” Wang Gui responded, carefully taking the prescription and glancing at his mother.

“Send the doctor back, and on the way, get the medicine. Tell Mr. Lu to put it on credit and settle at the end of the month,” the mother sighed.

“Mother, the pharmacy said they won’t give us credit anymore…” Wang Gui whispered, seeing his sister packing Doctor Wu’s medical bag, “They say you’re not trustworthy. They’ve been saying this for three months, and we haven’t paid a single coin…”

“Do you think they’ll refuse if you keep pestering them?” The mother angrily took off a gold bracelet from her wrist and slapped it into his hand, “Use this as collateral and get the medicine!”

“Okay, okay.” Wang Gui breathed a sigh of relief.

Doctor Wu had already packed up and was leisurely drinking tea. After the mother and son finished talking, he got up to leave.

“Wang Gui, go see the doctor off.” The mother took out a string of coins, about twenty, and handed them to her son.

Doctor Wu saw this and laughed, “Today’s the first time I’ve seen money from your family.”

“After all the trouble you’ve gone through, I finally have the money to pay you,” the mother said without a hint of shame. “I’ll settle all the fees this time.”

Doctor Wu, about to step out, almost tripped and turned back with a bitter smile, “So, one visit is worth one coin?” He waved his hand, “Forget it, I’ll do it for free!”

“Thank you, Doctor.” The mother didn’t argue and took the money back from her son, saying, “When our family gets rich, I’ll give you two bags of silver.”

“You’d dare to give it, but I wouldn’t dare to take it.” Doctor Wu shook his head and laughed, leaving. Wang Gui quickly followed.

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After Wang Gui sent Doctor Wu away, the mother glanced at her daughter-in-law, “Are you feeling better?”

Wang Gui’s wife blushed and said awkwardly, “Not yet. I came to check and will go back to bed.” She then slunk back to her room.

The mother snorted, her gaze turning to her son, feeling both happy and angry. She was happy that he was awake, but angry because he had been injured in a gambling dispute. The county had not solved the case and had to label it as a “revenge for a gambling dispute.” In the mother’s mind, her son had been beaten because of gambling!

She had long given up on her son, who was idle and fond of gambling. Thinking about how he might revert to his old ways and further ruin the family, the mother felt a surge of anger. If not for Wang Xian’s recent awakening, she would have given him a good scolding.

“I’ll settle accounts with you later!” The mother looked at her son again and finally gave him a fierce glare, leaving Yinyin to take care of him while she went back to work. Perhaps from the excitement, her steps were a bit unsteady, and she stumbled at the threshold. She kicked the threshold and angrily said, “I’ll saw it off and use it for firewood sooner or later!”

After the mother left, the little sister, Yinyin, mixed some hot water into the millet porridge she had cooked in the morning and fed it to Wang Xian. Yinyin’s personality was similar to her mother’s, but being young, she was not as fiery, just lively. As she fed him, she chattered about what had happened while Wang Xian was unconscious, inevitably scolding him for his faults.

From her words, Wang Xian learned that although the family’s situation was already bad, it wouldn’t have been as dire without his collapse, owing a mountain of debt and barely having enough to eat. Thinking of this, Wang Xian realized that the mother’s unsteady steps might have been due to hunger.

In the future, there was still the concept of “falling into poverty due to illness,” and Wang Xian remembered that Lu Xun’s family had also declined this way. Therefore, he believed his sister’s words and felt a deep sense of guilt.

“The neighbors told Mother that you wouldn’t wake up, and that it would be better to let you go. Only Mother, with her stubbornness, refused to give up. If it were any other family, you would have died long ago!”

“Brother, I’m begging you. The family has gone into debt to treat you. When you recover, please cut ties with those people. Find a steady job, okay?” The little sister said, then lost hope, “Forget it, it’s hard to change one’s nature. How can I expect you to change?”

Being belittled by a ten-year-old sister, Wang Xian wished he could find a hole to hide in and couldn’t bring himself to speak.

“Open your mouth!” Seeing him refuse to eat, Yinyin’s eyes widened, “Are you going to starve yourself because I scolded you? If you have the courage, show us by changing. Then I’ll bow to you and apologize!”

Wang Xian’s face turned bright red with embarrassment.

Seeing he still wouldn’t eat, the little sister pouted, “Brother, don’t be unreasonable. Our family isn’t what it used to be. We don’t grow millet in Fuyang. Mother traded a laying hen for these ten pounds, and we haven’t tasted a single grain!”

Wang Xian sighed deeply and finished the porridge, not wasting a single grain.

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