Zhulan touched her chin; the original body was truly fertile. Despite the chaos of war for ten years, she didn't miss out on bearing children, having a total of six. Just one more and she could summon a squad of Super Calabash Brothers.
In this family, the eldest was twenty-one, with a mind somewhat like the original body, not cut out for academics. His strength, however, was considerable, and though he had been beaten with sticks, he still knew the "Three Character Classic," the "Hundred Family Surnames," and the "Thousand Character Classic."
The eldest had married at fifteen, taking Lady Li from a neighboring village as his wife. In six years of marriage, they had three children: a five-year-old grandson, a three-year-old grandson, and a one-year-old granddaughter.
Carrying on the family lineage was important, which was also why Lady Li held herself so firmly.
The second eldest was twenty years old, a tragic child sandwiched between an older brother by one year and a younger sister by one. He received less attention and was reticent by nature, taking after his deceased father, silent and uncomplaining. Even if he was more intelligent than the eldest, he didn't get much attention. Set in his ways, he too married early, taking Zhao as his wife, a bride exchanged for grain, which he had bartered for himself. They had a three-year-old granddaughter, and currently, Zhao was pregnant, expecting another child.
Zhulan squinted her eyes; the second eldest was quiet, but his will was the strongest in the family.
The third child was nineteen years old, the eldest daughter, who had already married off and had two children.
Zhulan was silent; not only was she a grandmother, but also a grandmother-in-law.
The fourth child was fourteen, quite clever, said to have taken after the deceased grandmother, and was currently studying at the village school.
The fifth child was eleven, born in the newly established dynasty, another son, and with a penchant for academics. He was treasured and coddled, feared to be dropped when held, feared to melt when kept in the mouth, and he appeared indifferent, as if nothing mattered to him.
The sixth child was a young daughter, seven years old, inheriting the best traits of both parents and spoiled with their doting affection. She was the darling of her parents.
Zhulan's head ached as she thought; in modern times, one could live well on their own, without a whole family to feed. Now, she counted and, excluding the eldest daughter who had married out, there were thirteen members in the household, a large family. Already struggling with poor harvests, the last few years had been disaster years, and meals had to be carefully rationed.
Zhulan stood up; she hadn't washed up yet. She performed her ablutions according to memory, and as she looked at her blurred reflection in the basin, she saw the original body was tall, nearly one meter sixty, but very thin. Constant childbearing had depleted her vitality, and if the births of the last three children hadn't been spaced out, the original owner of the body would have died young.
Now that she had taken over, she wanted to live a long, long life and recover the lifespan of the modern era.
After washing up, Zhulan encountered Zhao, the timid second daughter-in-law. Regardless of how the original body felt about her, she had never actually mistreated her.
On the contrary, Zhao acted as if she dared not breathe too loudly around her, always looking as if she were about to cry. Every encounter with Zhao in the village led to rumors about the original body being a terrible mother-in-law, a cycle that only increased the original body's dislike for Zhao.
But truly, the original body had done nothing more to Zhao than turn a cold shoulder and ignore her.
Zhulan watched as Zhao clutched her belly as if she were about to collapse, and her stomach ached in empathy. This one must be a Black Lotus, skilled in the art of deception, not someone to provoke. Perhaps she could just avoid her!
After avoiding the second daughter-in-law, Zhulan surveyed the courtyard. The courtyard was newly built after demolishing the old house, a decade old now, with the large number of children in mind during construction, providing additional rooms.
The main house had two rooms, with three rooms on each side, plus the storerooms beside the main house. From a distance, it looked enviable, not a blue brick house, but it could be considered a landmark building of the village.
Zhulan looked at the courtyard with narrowed eyes. Right now, she especially wanted to go back to the main house and rummage through the Money Box. As she pieced together her memories, she realized she had underestimated the original body!