Chapter 1 Pagi Malam
Li Shiyi, who was dozing on a hard patch of grass, was suddenly woken up by a sharp female voice. This voice also woke up several villagers from Li Family Village, who had been on the run for over two weeks.
The Li Family Village, with about a hundred people, had been on the move for almost half a month, searching for a place to settle down. Today, they finally found a shallow stream that still had some water, allowing them to rest near it. Even the oxen and donkeys pulling their carts were exhausted, so everyone settled down by the stream after drinking their fill of water.
Li Shiyi's luck wasn't good. The moment she closed her eyes after working too hard on Blue Star, she was immediately woken up by the sound of someone calling out. Starting a life of running away was just her bad luck.
Now, Li Shiyi sat up and rubbed her still drowsy head. She pinched her numb eyelids and took a deep breath, expelling the stale air from her chest. Only then did she feel truly awake.
She looked up to see her mother, and their gazes met. "Shiyi, are you still in pain?"
Li Shiyi touched the large bump on the back of her head and shook her head. "Mother, I'm fine. I woke up because I heard someone calling."
Why was Li Shiyi so unlucky?
The bump on the back of her head was from when her original self fell off the road and hit a stone while running away. Although there was no open wound, she had developed such a large bump.
Her original self had died due to this fall, but Li Shiyi's modern soul managed to escape.
On the first day she woke up, Li Shiyi received what seemed like a golden finger system. She didn't know what to call it yet; all she heard was "System loading." It had stopped working since then, and seven days later, it still hadn't loaded completely.
After confirming that Li Shiyi was okay, Li's mother hurriedly got up to find her eldest son, Shi Tou.
"Shi Tou, Shi Tou, where are you?"
Li Waming, supporting his grandmother, came over and asked his mother with a torch in hand.
Li Shiyi quickly approached her mother. "Mother, I just checked around under the moonlight. Not only is my brother missing, but Father is also gone!"
Hearing that her eldest son was missing as well, Li's grandmother became even more anxious. Her foolish brother might be silly sometimes, but he was obedient.
He wouldn't have run off during such a critical time when the whole family was trying to survive.
"It could be that Shi Tou left when we were all sleeping and went looking for himself," said Grandma Li.
This somewhat calmed everyone's anxious hearts. Li Shiyi picked up the torch from the cart and lit it with the flame from Li Waming's torch. Then she said to her second uncle Li Waming, "Second Uncle, light it up. Let's go look for Brother and Father."
"Grandma and Grandpa can stay here to watch over our things," added Li Waming. "It's too dark; we might lose something."
"Maybe Father and Brother will return before we come back," suggested Li Shiyi.
Li Waming agreed with this plan but added, "If you can't find them at the perimeter, go to Uncle Wu's place in the center and ask the villagers to help look."
"Okay, I understand."
While discussing this with their family members, many other villagers from the Li clan had already woken up and started lighting torches to illuminate their surroundings.
Some impatient villagers shouted outside, "Who's wife is shouting at midnight! Stop making noise!"
Li Shiyi and her mother nodded at Grandma Li and Uncle Li Waming before walking together with their torches towards the outer area.
After walking about a hundred steps, Li Shiyi noticed a group of people gathered near where the Li clan had set up camp.
Li Shiyi and her mother ran towards the crowd. When one of the people recognized Li Shiyi’s face in the torchlight, they shouted excitedly, "Wang Guang’s wife and child have arrived!"
This shout attracted many curious gazes from the crowd. Some looked with pity mixed with glee.
Li Shiyi felt uneasy inside. "Something bad is going to happen!"
The crowd naturally made way for Li Shiyi and her mother. Her mother held onto her hand as they walked through the crowd.
After a short distance, Li Shiyi saw her father standing awkwardly next to a large rock. He wore his shirt open, revealing most of his chest.
Behind him was a woman with messy hair and disheveled clothes whom Li Shiyi couldn’t clearly see from her angle. But given the situation, it was clear what had happened.
As for her brother,
He stood tall next to the rock, looking very upset as he stared at their father.
"Shi Tou!"
Li’s mother called out, which made Shi Tou lift his head sharply. Seeing his mother and sister, he burst into tears like a child.
He cried loudly while calling out to his mother, showing obvious signs of great distress.
Li Shiyi and her mother approached. Her mother hugged Shi Tou tightly as he leaned against her shoulder and cried uncontrollably.
Seeing her brother crying so much, Li Shiyi didn’t interfere. Instead, she raised her torch to look at their father and the woman hiding behind him.
Seeing this behavior from Li Shiyi, their father grew anxious: "Shiyi, what are you doing?"
"I’m just trying to see who this woman is," replied Li Shiyi. "How can I not expose myself if I want to see?"
"Shiyi!"
Li Shiyi wasn’t afraid of her father’s scolding. Just as she was about to approach, the woman suddenly jumped out from behind their father.
"What’s there to hide? Look! Here! Look! For you! Don’t think I’ll be scared of you little girl!"
Li Shiyi stared at Qin Tao despite her messy hair but felt a sense of realization.
After crying enough, Shi Tou was led by his mother to recount what happened.
Since they found this shallow stream today after being thirsty for several days, Shi Tou drank until he was full before heading to the outskirts of their campsite to relieve himself at night.
Although Shi Tou was foolish and simple-minded, he had been taught by his mother never to defecate or urinate anywhere indiscriminately.
Unfortunately, Shi Tou quietly approached the rock intending to relieve himself in a secluded spot downwind from where they had set up camp. It was far enough to ensure his safety without polluting the water source or air quality.
But as soon as he approached, he heard his father and Qin Tao making love sounds.
Though Shi Tou was eighteen years old now, he didn’t understand these sounds. He simply followed the familiar voices until he saw his father forcefully engaging with Qin Tao who was half-leaning against the rock.
Their father said: "You little slut! Did you want this from me?"
This chapter is dedicated to my mother Ms. Chen and another Ms. Chen among my friends who face life's pressures and challenges with courage and resilience.
The theme of this story is: Women should strive for strength and soar high into the sky!
Special note: The main character has no romantic partner in this story.