Mountain Village was rumoured to be a Feng Shui Treasure Land, sitting at the foot of a magnificent mountain, just somewhat secluded.
Wang Shugen, the village head of Mountain Village, didn't know if the Feng Shui was as good as the legend claimed. He only knew that most of the folks in the village were honest and there were hardly any disturbances or problems. However, an inexplicable ruckus seemed to kick off that day.
In the western part of the village was a vast field, and on the way to the field, a flamboyantly dressed woman was arguing with a visibly pregnant girl.
"Oh, who do we have here? Isn't this the Bai Family's sweet girl? How come your belly's swollen without being wed?" The speaker was the third daughter-in-law of the Liu Family, a well-known gossipmonger in the village. Although her chitter-chatter was usually harmless and didn't cause any major trouble.
The other women around her started mocking and pointing at the pregnant girl as well, laughing at her for being unwed and pregnant.
Bai Ruozhu unconsciously touched her large bump, which couldn't even be hidden by her oversized clothes, and her eyes welled up. Biting her lower lip firmly, she strained to hold back her tears.
Today was a busy summer day, and the entire Bai Family was working in the fields. Seeing the sun blazing harshly overhead, Bai Ruozhu didn't want to step out but was concerned that her parents and brothers in the fields might suffer from heatstroke. Thus, she reluctantly went out to take them green bean soup, only to run into these gossips the moment she stepped out of the house.
There were too many grievances associated with the child in her belly, Bai Ruozhu didn't want to argue with these women and tried to bypass the third daughter-in-law of the Liu family to make a quick escape.
"Oh, you can't speak now? Where's your face when you're pregnant?" Seeing that Bai Ruozhu did not dare to retort, the third daughter-in-law of the Liu family got even more boisterous.
Bai Ruozhu's lip was almost bleeding from her biting, as she held back the tears welling up in her eyes. The third daughter-in-law of the Liu family felt a sudden surge of displeasure, Bai Ruozhu was widely known for her beauty in the village. Now that she was pregnant, her sharp face appeared a little plump, the sight of her looking so pitiful aroused jealousy and made the third daughter-in-law even more upset.
"Are you deaf or mute? Can't you respond when talked to?" The third daughter-in-law of Liu family got angry, and roughly grabbed Bai Ruozhu's cloak, saying, "Where've you been? Say something to us, why are you avoiding us?"
"I have nothing to say to you all, please don't delay me in delivering the green bean soup," Bai Ruozhu shook her arm off, but the third daughter-in-law of Liu Family had pulled her so hard that the pot of green bean soup she was carrying spilled a significant amount — some splashed onto the Liu Family daughter-in-law's newly made floral skirt. She shrieked instantly.
"What do you mean by this? You pay for my skirt!" The third daughter-in-law loves to dress up, but being a peasant, she couldn't afford to make new clothes often — she cherished this new skirt especially.
Seeing her rush over, Bai Ruozhu hastily stepped back, using the pot in her hands to shield her protruding belly.
"You little wretch, such a black heart. The Bai Family prides itself on being scholarly but they bred such a shameless daughter like you!" Now furious, the third daughter-in-law of Liu Family swore and shoved Bai Ruozhu a couple of times. Suddenly, someone screamed. Everyone turned to see Bai Ruozhu pushed down on the ground by the third daughter-in-law.
The pot of green bean soup tipped over on the ground, scattering all over. But it was not as glaring as the blood seeping from Bai Ruozhu's head, and she laid there motionless, as though lifeless.
"My goodness! Didn't she just kill someone? Third daughter-in-law, you were too rough!" Someone frightened, cried out.
The third daughter-in-law too was startled with her speech stuttering, "I—I didn't use much strength... it was—it was her who fell down herself, don't make things up!"
After saying that, she cautiously prodded Bai Ruozhu's leg with her foot, and hesitated to say, "Hey, Bai Ruozhu, I know you're fine. Stop faking it!"
Sadly, Bai Ruozhu still didn't respond.
"It's over, someone could lose their life, we must hurry to tell the Bai family and the village chief!" Someone yelled and took off running. Liu San's wife wanted to call after them, but ultimately didn't dare to stop them.
Just when Liu San's wife was so scared her legs were trembling, Bai Ruozhu, who was lying on the ground, suddenly moaned. Liu San's wife immediately perked up, excitedly saying, "Look quickly, she's not dead, she can still make sound, right?"
The crowd turned their gaze to Bai Ruozhu, only to see Bai Ruozhu slowly sit up, holding her head wound, her eyes somewhat vacant, probably from the blow.
But no one knew that this Bai Ruozhu was no longer the Bai Ruozhu they knew.
Bai Ruozhu held her head. She had worked hard for many years in the United States, finally earning a Master's Degree in Dentistry. After returning she opened a dental clinic. Just as the business was starting to improve, someone deliberately caused a hassle. As a result of an accidental shove, she hit her head on a machine. When she woke up again, everything had changed. She was sitting on the ground, surrounded by village women dressed in ancient attire, and found herself wearing a floral dress with a bit of heaviness in her belly...
The wound on her head was in the same spot as before. When she reached up to touch it, her hand came away bloodied. Before she could even scream, she felt a wave of pain in her head as if a flood of information had just poured in. When she regained her senses, her vision cleared up, but she was filled with frustration.
Bai Ruozhu wanted to scream. She had toiled hard for over twenty years. How could she just time-travel, and to some remote, desolate village at that? It was like going back to primitive conditions!
Of course, that wasn't the worst of it. The unfortunate thing was that her new identity was that of an abandoned pregnant woman, almost six months along!
If it weren't for the liberal attitudes of her new era which was akin to the Tang Dynasty, her predicament of pregnancy before marriage could have led to her being thrown into a pigsty.
Before Bai Ruozhu could think any further, she heard Liu San's wife say, "See, I told you it's nothing. She's just too heavy and tripped herself, what does it have to do with me?"
The current Bai Ruozhu was not one to be bullied. Coupled with her bad mood, she immediately turned and glared at Liu San's wife, "What do you mean, you didn't push me? Everyone saw you pushing me, and I couldn't even dodge in time. If you didn't push me, then why am I bleeding?"
Bai Ruozhu's hand was covered in blood from holding her head. After speaking, she shook it out, splattering blood onto Liu San's wife. "See? Blood is visible, are you trying to murder me?"
Liu San's wife was a delicate woman, pampered by her parents and married into a decent family with conservative attitudes. She hardly had any housework to do, and never even killed a chicken. So when Bai Ruozhu splashed her with blood, she was immediately scared into screaming, "What are you doing? What are you doing?"
Bai Ruozhu slowly got up, clutching her stomach. She moved behind the others and loudly said, "You all saw her just push me. Please stop her if she goes crazy again. Our village is full of good people; we don't behave like this, endangering lives!"
When Bai Ruozhu fell down, the spectators who had come to observe the commotion got scared. Now hearing Bai Ruozhu's words, they hurriedly pulled Liu San's wife aside, advising her not to cause a catastrophe.
At that moment, a woman's shout could be heard from afar: "Liu San's family, I'll fight you!"
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