When she starved, she would cut pigweed and dig wild vegetables to consume. In the winter, she would chew on wild vegetables she had secretly dried to satisfy her hunger.
Her seven-month-old stomach was not even as big as a normal five-month-old stomach. She was severely malnourished.
Because of her heavy body, she worked a little slowly. The Tian family scolded her, and her mother-in-law pinched her from time to time. The bruises on her body were all their work.
The reason why she gave birth prematurely was because she was exhausted. She slept a little longer in the firewood room, which made her mother-in-law unhappy.
When her mother-in-law saw that she did not want to get up, she came over and kicked her in the stomach, causing her to give birth prematurely.
The Tian family didn't even hire a midwife. She was the one who had gritted her teeth in the woodshed and gave birth to the child.
Fortunately, there was no significant bleeding, and the child was still alive. She used her teeth to bite off the umbilical cord and tie it up. She removed the inner layer of her blanket and used it as a swaddling cloth for the baby.
No one cared about her. It had been three days, and she hadn't drunk a single drop of water or eaten a single grain of food. They were asking her and her child to die.
She cried while holding the child. She wanted to carry it back to her parent's home secretly, but when she thought of what her parents had said to her, she gave up.
That home was not worth going back.
Her family was too poor, and she was often scolded for being a good-for-nothing. The only reason she could marry into the Tian family was because Tian Sanzhuang had used a hundred catties of wheat in exchange for Qiao Mai, this cheap daughter-in-law.
Ever since she got married, her family had never visited her once. She remembered that when she got married, her parents said she would not be allowed to visit home after three days and that she does not have to return home in the future.
Since they had already said that, why would she still go back? Even if she died, she would die in her in-laws' house.
Qiao Mai died after giving birth, and because of long-term hunger, she didn't survive.
After sorting out all her memories, she took a deep breath. She was a little sad about the original owner's encounter.
Swallowing a mouthful of bread, she lay down on the ground and looked up at the sky.
"From now on, I will be you, Qiao Mai. Take care of yourself on the road to hell. I will work hard to keep your child alive. I will raise her well until she grows up. Although you have resigned to fate and did not leave with hatred, I am not to be trifled with. Take it as my repayment for using your body to be reborn!"
She was full but couldn't sleep even though she wanted to. She used her mind to look at the sky outside. She knew there was a tough battle to fight.
She had to grit her teeth and endure the soreness, weakness, and discomfort in her lower body.
She got up and returned to the house, stood in front of the dressing area, and looked at herself.
Qiao Mai was less than 1.6 meters tall. Her hair was dry and messy like grass. Even though the hardships of life tortured her, her thin and sallow face could not hide her youthfulness.
She even suspected that these ancient people were blind. Those scumbags had the audacity!
Her father actually allowed his daughter to get married just like that? He let another man torture his own daughter.
She glanced at Qiao Mai in the mirror and secretly made up her mind. After settling the Tian family, she would definitely take good care of this body. There was still time.
Then, she looked at her body. Her clothes were not even as good as the ones worn by the beggars outside. Other than not revealing her body, it was patched in various colors. Could this be the legendary Hundred Color Clothes?
In her memory, the cloth was given to her by the original owner's mother-in-law. Her eldest grandson was studying in a private school in town and will take an examination in the future. No matter how she tormented the original owner, she could not let her expose her body, let alone affect her eldest grandson's reputation.
Her mother-in-law had watched her patch up these holes. After she was done, she took away the needle and thread.
Looking down, the area between her legs seemed to...?
She didn't need to guess. She could smell it. It was the blood and amniotic fluid left on her clothes during labor. After a few days, it had been warmed dry.
But why couldn't she feel any remnants coming out of her lower body?
Thinking about it, it made sense. She was as thin as a bamboo pole and gave birth prematurely. She had not drunk a mouthful of water or consumed food for three days. Where would the remnants come from?
When she wanted to shift her gaze to the shoes, she inadvertently glanced at the stains again.
Hmm? Why did she feel that the stain was slowly disappearing?
Could it be that this space had experienced transmigration and could purify? Mutated?
Qiao Mai stared at it for a long time before she confirmed that her space did have a cleaning function. The blood stain on her pants was removed bit by bit.
It seemed like the white spots on her hair were also gradually decreasing. She hurriedly returned to the place where she had eaten just now. She remembered she had thrown the food packets on the ground.
Why did it disappear? As she thought about it, Qiao Mai giggled.
In the past, she was too busy and only used the space to avoid danger and store items. She never had the time to study it.
Now, she didn't have to go to classes or missions. She had all the time in the world to explore it.
With this function, would she not need to wash her clothes?
She raised her hand and looked at it. It seemed that her hand was purified as well.
Oh, she couldn't be too clean now. She had to be like before. That damned old woman was about to wake up.
Qiao Mai returned to the bed and saw the child sleeping soundly. She opened the swaddling cloth to see if she had peed.
"Oh, that's great. It's a little princess. Little Baby, I'll be your mother in the future. Mother will protect you well, but you have to suffer a little now."
She wrapped the child up and carried her out of the space. At this time, the old madam of the Tian family had already walked out of the upper room.
She hadn't called Qiao Mai for a few days, so she started to knock on the doors as soon as she got up.
"Get up, get up! The sun is already up. What a group of lazy women. Hurry up and get to work."
Qiao Mai held the child and brewed her emotions. She imitated the Host and walked out of the woodshed unsteadily. Her eyes were lifeless, and she did not look at Old Madam Tian. She walked straight to the courtyard door.
The old woman's surname was Li, and her household register was Madam Tian Li.
When she saw Qiao Mai come out, she was delighted, but she pulled a long face as if the Host owed her a lot of money.
"If you're up, go back to work. You've already rested for three days. Don't be unsatisfied. Our family doesn't raise people who eat for free." As she spoke, she even rolled her eyes at Qiao Mai.
Qiao Mai turned around and stared at Madam Tian Li. Her gaze looked like she wanted to swallow her alive. Although Madam Tian Li was a little afraid, she had a ferocious look.
"What are you looking at? Don't think you'll be meritorious just because you gave birth to a child. We still don't know if it's Sanzhuang's child. If you dare to cheat with someone outside, I'll beat you to death. Hmph!"
"She's dead. I'll go bury her!"
Qiao Mai's voice was as cold as winter, causing Madam Tian Li to be stunned. She immediately placed her hand next to her nose and fanned it.
"Looking at your unlucky face, I knew you wouldn't recover. If it's dead, then so be it. You should bury it further away. How unlucky. Someone died in my house! If I had known earlier, I would have chased you out yesterday. Hurry up and go so that you can come back to work."
Qiao Mai lowered her eyelids and hid the killing intent in her eyes. She turned around and carried the child out of the Tian family.
She looked up and saw Peach Blossom Village. There were about ten families and hundreds of people in the gray adobe houses. She had the memories of the Host and walked along the village road to the end.
She met many villagers who came out to fetch water in the morning. They looked at Qiao Mai with sympathy in their eyes.
Someone asked when he saw she was holding something in her arms.
"Sanzhuang's wife, what's that in your arms?"
Qiao Mai's eyes reddened. Then, she sniffled and wiped her eyes as she replied with a choked voice.
"It's my daughter, who was born prematurely."
Everyone was stunned. "Premature labor?" Looking at her stomach, it was flat.
"How did you give birth prematurely?"
"Three days ago, I was too tired and slept a little longer in the morning. Mother kicked me in the stomach. Then, it was gone."