Chapter 1

Tingting Village.

It was spring, and the drizzle persisted without end.

The village lived up to its name; the front and back of every household, as well as the surrounding mountains, were covered with pink peach blossoms. In the early morning, the petals on the peach trees were still damp with rain, and the chill of spring remained.

"The pond is full of water, the rain has stopped, and the muddy fields are teeming with loaches..."

In the fields, a boy of six or seven, with his pants rolled up, was searching through the muddy fields in the drizzle, humming a tune.

Next to him was a bamboo basket, containing over a dozen loaches wriggling around. Clearly, the child had come to the fields early in the morning to dig for loaches.

After a while, the child scooped up a handful of soft mud and carefully dropped it into the bamboo basket, then continued to search.

"Little Sheng from the Shen family, why are you out in the fields so early looking for loaches? It's still raining; you should go back, or your mother will scold you again..."

On the path beside the fields, a sturdy man wearing a bamboo hat and a raincoat, with a hoe on his shoulder, smiled and called out to Shen Xi in the field.

Shen Xi straightened up, glanced at the man, lifted the bamboo basket in front of him, and showed a row of white, even teeth, smiling, "Uncle Liu, it's better to catch loaches on rainy days... look, I've already caught quite a few..."

After showing off, Shen Xi ignored Uncle Liu and continued to search through the mud.

Shen Xi was not from this place. To be precise, Shen Xi was not from this world. Perhaps describing his situation as a past life and present life would be more fitting.

In his past life, Shen Xi was an orphan who knew the hardships of life from a young age. He studied extremely hard, skipping grades from elementary to high school. With the help of society, he was admitted to the prestigious Luda University at the age of sixteen. After completing his Ph.D., he became a lecturer and then an associate professor within two years due to his outstanding performance, and eventually became a professor of archaeology in the Chinese department in less than five years.

During his work, Shen Xi had dated a few girlfriends, but due to his wide range of interests and spending most of his salary on ancient books, paintings, and the Four Treasures of the Study, he had no house or savings, and his relationships ended without any results. Later, while guiding the excavation of a newly discovered ancient tomb in the suburbs of Quanzhou at the invitation of the provincial cultural relics institute, the tomb, built in the mid-Ming Dynasty, suddenly collapsed, and he lost consciousness. When he woke up, he had become a child in Tingting Village.

As Shen Xi was searching for holes in the field again, the man behind him burst into hearty laughter. Curious, Shen Xi looked up and saw a woman in her mid-twenties, wearing a patched green flowered shirt, running angrily toward the field with a bamboo branch in her hand, shouting:

"You little brat, I just told you yesterday not to go to the fields in the spring chill, and here you are out so early. Do you think your mother's words are just wind in your ears?"

By the time she spoke, the woman was already at the edge of the field, holding the bamboo branch and pointing at Shen Xi, "You get up here, or I'll beat you, you silly child..."

"Ah, Sister Shen, the child is still young; it's normal for him to be playful. You shouldn't scare him like that," the man said.

The woman coldly snorted, ignoring him, and placed her hands on her hips, shouting at Shen Xi in the field, "You little brat, if you don't come up, I'll beat you... Last year, when you were bitten by a snake, I kindly applied medicine for you. Do you know how expensive that medicine was? If you get bitten again, I won't take care of you, you silly child!"

Seeing her fierce tone, Shen Xi quickly smiled and said, "Mother, don't be angry, don't be angry. Last time, I mistook the snake for a loach and got bitten. Look, I'm fine now. Don't be angry. If you keep beating me, I'll be beaten silly!"

The woman, seeing Shen Xi's playful smile, was momentarily speechless, waving the bamboo branch and saying fiercely, "You little brat, are you not afraid of being beaten..."

Before she finished speaking, Shen Xi, holding the bamboo basket, walked to the edge of the field, one foot deep and one foot shallow, and said flatteringly, "Mother, look, if we keep the loaches at home, we'll have a midnight snack tonight. We eat wild vegetables every day, and our mouths are so bland..."

Before Shen Xi finished speaking, the woman pulled him out of the field, seeing him covered in mud, and raised the bamboo branch high, ready to strike.

How could Shen Xi just stand there? He immediately hugged her, ignoring the mud on his body, and shouted tearfully:

"Ah... it hurts, Mother, it hurts, I'm about to die, don't beat me, I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong, I won't do it again."

The woman's fierce expression softened slightly, but she still struck Shen Xi's small buttocks, though with much less force.

Shen Xi laughed foolishly, lifted the bamboo basket, and handed it to his mother, "Mother, look, so many loaches, fat and big. I... I didn't mean to disobey you. I just saw that you eat simple meals every day, so I came to dig loaches to improve our life."

Seeing Shen Xi's sincerity, the woman coldly snorted, took the basket, and said, "You just want to eat, don't you? You just changed your clothes yesterday, and now they're so dirty. Go change them, and if you dare to go to the fields again, I'll deal with you."

Shen Xi, smiling, picked up his shoes and followed her barefoot, wincing in pain when he stepped on sharp stones.

Back at their ancient, three-courtyard house in the village, in their room in the front courtyard, Zhou Shi cleaned Shen Xi's dirty clothes. Seeing his slightly blushing, shy face, she scolded, "Silly child, what are you blushing for? You were born from me!"

Shen Xi nodded repeatedly, not daring to speak.

"Mother, you're so good!"

Shen Xi flattered his mother with a smile.

Zhou Shi was taken aback, then looked at Shen Xi and laughed, "Silly child, you're already so smooth-talking at such a young age?"

Shen Xi, seeing his mother's disdain, shook his head and said firmly, "Mother, I'm not being smooth-talking. I really think you're good."

"What's good about me? I'm so fierce and mean."

Zhou Shi glared at Shen Xi, though her face showed no expression, her heart was filled with joy.

Shen Xi laughed slyly, took Zhou Shi's hand, and said in a pleading tone, "Mother, don't hide it anymore. I can smell it, it's so fragrant."

Zhou Shi looked at Shen Xi, couldn't help but laugh, and then said sternly, "You're not a dog, why is your nose so sensitive?"

With that, Zhou Shi took a warm egg from a small bag hanging by the bed and handed it to Shen Xi.

Shen Xi, seeing the egg, greedily swallowed his saliva, took it, and said with a smile, "Mother, even though you like to beat me, you're good to me at heart. I'm magnanimous and won't hold a grudge... when you and Father are old, I'll take care of you, give you the best food and drink, and find a good wife to serve you."

Zhou Shi laughed lightly, "Silly child, you'll forget your mother once you get married. With your deceitful nature, I hope you don't become a Chen Shimei."

Feeling the warmth of the egg in his hand, Shen Xi smiled inwardly.

In his past life, he had been abandoned and never experienced family affection. In this world, though the family was poor, he had parents and relatives. Some things had a price, but others were priceless, and Shen Xi understood this clearly.

The only thing that frustrated him was that his body was that of a child under seven, forcing him to act like a seven-year-old every day.

Shen Xi did not dare to be careless about this.

He had been in this world for less than a year and was not yet familiar with the local customs. If he showed any extraordinary talent, he might be mistaken for being possessed and thrown into a pig cage.

Just as Shen Xi was about to go out, Zhou Shi grabbed his arm and said sternly, "Eat inside before you go out, don't let anyone see."

"Ah... Mother, did you steal the egg?" Shen Xi looked at the closed door and asked softly.

Zhou Shi was taken aback, then scolded fiercely, "Little brat, are you unhappy that I found you something to eat? If you don't eat it, give it back to me..."

Shen Xi quickly knocked the egg on the bed and peeled it rapidly.

Seeing Shen Xi casually throw the eggshell on the ground, Zhou Shi slapped his head hard, "I've told you many times, collect the eggshells to feed the pigs... you silly child, I won't get you any more food if you waste it."

Shen Xi, seeing Zhou Shi bend down to pick up the eggshells, was moved and grabbed her hand, "Mother, the eggshells can't be eaten."

"I'm not eating them. Are your ears bad? I'm feeding them to the pigs, which helps them grow faster..."

Shen Xi shook his head, squatted down, and held the half-peeled egg to Zhou Shi's mouth, smiling, "Mother, have a bite."

Zhou Shi was taken aback, looked at Shen Xi's innocent eyes, and was about to scold him but heard him continue, "Mother, you always lie. I saw you eat the eggshells last time... come, have a bite..."

Zhou Shi touched her slightly sore nose, took a small bite of the egg, and said with a lump in her throat, "Alright, eat quickly."

Shen Xi, seeing his mother take a tiny bite like a mosquito, sighed inwardly, opened his mouth, and took a big bite, chewing hard as if to vent something.

"Mother... don't worry, I will definitely make a name for myself and give you the best house and the best food," Shen Xi said with a muffled voice while eating the egg.

Zhou Shi stroked Shen Xi's head, sighed deeply, and said with a laugh, "Little boy, you just know how to provoke your mother. See if I don't beat you one day."

Shen Xi laughed and was about to speak when he heard a knock on the door. A woman outside said, "Sister, can I come in?"

Zhou Shi quickly kicked the eggshells under the bed and saw the door creak open, revealing a woman a few years older than her.

"Ah, it smells so good... Little Sheng is eating an egg. Is it good?"

Shen Xi licked his lips and said with a smile, "It's good. Aunt, are you looking for my mother?"

"Seeing the egg, I remembered. Our old hen has been laying fewer eggs recently... where did you get this egg, sister?" The woman ignored Shen Xi and smiled at Zhou Shi.

Zhou Shi glanced coldly at her sister-in-law, Wang Shi, and said, "Our family has a fixed number of eggs every day. If there were any missing, Mother would have informed us... this egg was sent by my husband from the county."

Wang Shi laughed, her tone slightly reproachful, "Sister, we haven't separated yet. If Uncle sent eggs, why haven't I seen them? Did you hide them?"

Zhou Shi, though usually fiery-tempered, restrained herself, stood up, took a deep breath, and said firmly, "Sister, you come from a scholarly family. I'm sure you wouldn't quarrel over such trivial matters, right?"