Chapter 36: Exchanging Oneself for a Path to Survival
Lin Sanniang was terrified inside. Although Manager Zhang was also a servant, to someone like her, the woman was still an authority figure she couldn’t afford to offend.
But the moment Lin Sanniang remembered that this was something Taoya had risked her life to bring back, she refused to bow her head, no matter how frightened she was. “It was traded at the risk of a life… If it is less than four catties, I will not trade.”
Manager Zhang was absolutely furious, loudly berating Lin Sanniang for opening her mouth too wide, calling her an ungrateful wretch who bit the hand that fed her, and a black-hearted, dirt-poor beggar…
Lin Sanniang listened in silence.
None of it mattered, so long as she could secure grain. Stale grain was fine; as long as there was food, they could stay alive.
As the saying went, the one who complains about the goods is the one who wants to buy.
Manager Zhang cursed up a storm until her throat practically went dry, yet Lin Sanniang did nothing but stare intently at the manager’s hand, which was still clutching the handful of refined rice.
The manager had squeezed the refined rice so hard her palm was practically sweating, but Lin Sanniang refused to back down.
In the end, Manager Zhang gave in. She tossed the rice back into the cloth pouch with a resentful look—though she did it with a touch of caution, terrified that a single grain of this refined rice might spill.
“Just you wait!”
Manager Zhang spat out the words, shut the door, and went inside.
Lin Sanniang waited by the side entrance, pressing herself tightly against the wooden door and the stone wall, not daring to move an inch away.
The street outside was full of desperately starving people. She couldn’t let anyone know she had food on her.
Manager Zhang returned relatively quickly, and she truly brought four catties of old rice with her. She said disdainfully, “Where would I get unhusked grain right now? Fetching grain requires the chief steward to open the granary doors! I had to search all over the place for a long time just to scrape this together from my own rations for you.”
Just like Manager Zhang had done earlier, Lin Sanniang opened the cloth sack and scooped a handful from the bottom to examine it closely. It was yellowish old rice, mixed with husks, grit, and a few bits of dried grass.
But the weight was correct.
Although Manager Zhang had a sharp tongue, she had given her nearly four catties of old rice, which was far better than unhusked grain.
Lin Sanniang hurriedly offered her thanks. Manager Zhang snatched away the cloth pouch containing the refined rice, her tone still lacking any warmth. “Next time you get your hands on any good stuff, come find me first! I won’t let you lose out!”
Lin Sanniang agreed repeatedly, finally letting a small smile break through. “I know. It’s because you have a kind heart that I came to find you.”
While Manager Zhang was somewhat greedy and had a harsh tongue, she was already a good person compared to the managers of other estates.
At the very least, as a fellow woman, Manager Zhang would not take advantage of her position to inflict another layer of suffering upon a woman who was already struggling.
Hearing these words, Manager Zhang’s expression finally softened a bit. Her tone remained gruff, but it carried a touch of genuine goodwill. “With your family’s situation, the eldest child isn’t capable of handling things yet, so everything relies on you. Take good care of your health. When the estate needs extra hands in a while, I will look for you again.”
Saying this, she added an extra warning, “It’s dangerous out there. Hide the rice securely before you go out. I’ll have the little maidservant leave the door unbolted for you.”
Lin Sanniang thanked her with all her heart. Standing just inside the side entrance, she divided and tucked the rice away, hiding a bit in her sleeves, her trouser legs, around her waist, and inside her basket. Only after thanking the maidservant who held the door did she step out through the side entrance.
The moment she stepped outside, she reverted to her sickly appearance, hunching her back, covering her mouth, and coughing as she scraped along the edge of the walls.
She first paid a visit to the home of her eldest sister, Lin Daniang.
Over the years, since Taoya’s father had passed away, her household lacked a man to anchor it and had faced no shortage of bullying. Fortunately, she lived close to Lin Daniang and frequently received her care.
The words Lin Sanniang had spoken to Manager Zhang weren’t entirely fabrications either. Her eldest sister, Lin Daniang, had indeed just given birth to a baby who was now only two months old.
Lin Daniang hadn’t recovered properly from her postpartum confinement and couldn’t leave the house, so she was completely unaware of Lin Sanniang’s illness.
Seeing Lin Sanniang’s sickly countenance now, Lin Daniang began to weep with anger once more. “Our second sister married thousands of miles away, and we won’t see her for the rest of our lives. If something happens to you now, wouldn’t I be the only one left in this world?”
Lin Sanniang quickly comforted her. “I’m already much better, already much better. Don’t cry. If you ruin your eyes from crying, what will happen to the baby?”
At the mention of the baby, Lin Daniang grew even more despairing. She looked at the monkey-like infant wrapped in swaddling clothes beside her, her heart aching terribly.
“I hate this body of mine. In times like these, even adults can barely survive, yet this little boy just had to be reincarnated into my womb.”
At the same time, she wept over the child’s poor fate, being born into such a destitute family that couldn’t even keep him fed.
Lin Sanniang looked around. Lin Daniang’s older children had all gone out to forage for food, so the house was empty. The doors and windows were firmly shut because Lin Daniang couldn’t be exposed to the wind. Only then did she feel safe enough to pull out the small cloth pouch from her basket.
“There is one catty of rice here. Simmer it into porridge for the baby to drink, and have some yourself.”
Lin Daniang’s household was also desperately short on food. Although her husband had a job with the security convoy, the convoy business was difficult to manage during a famine year like this. The starving refugees and migrants along the roads would raid the cargo the moment they grew desperate enough.
They had just lost a shipment at the beginning of the year. He had been away for a whole month, didn’t see a single copper coin in wages, and even took a knife wound.
Meanwhile, Lin Daniang’s older children were growing fast and ate even more, yet they hadn’t reached the age where they could work to support the family.
Lin Daniang’s family was not having an easy time either, yet they still secretly helped her out from time to time. Lin Sanniang kept all of this in her heart.
Right now, she still had three and a half catties of refined rice at home, which she could slowly trade for old grain. The two catties of white flour were far too eye-catching, so she didn’t dare take them out. She planned to trade them for some gray flour later, mix them together, and consume it themselves.
Now that her illness was cured and she could go out to work for others, she wanted to come visit her sister.
Weighing the grain in her hands, Lin Daniang felt a surge of joy. Although she had helped Lin Sanniang out of her own free will, Lin Sanniang had never taken her kindness for granted. Knowing how to return a favor, she had brought food to visit her during such a difficult time, causing all the grievances in Lin Daniang’s heart to vanish instantly.
Yet, as she thought of their deep sisterly bond while her own health remained poor, Lin Daniang’s eyes reddened once more.
“Dear sister, I won’t hide it from you. Ever since I gave birth to this little monkey, my body has grown weaker by the day. It’s not that I didn’t want to visit you and Taoya, but I truly cannot leave the house.”
Lin Daniang found it difficult to speak of. To this day, her lower body hadn’t seen a single day of cleanliness. The continuous trickling of blood left her feeling utterly terrified.
Hearing this, Lin Sanniang grew even more distressed. “Eldest Sister, why haven’t you called for a doctor to examine you?”
Lin Daniang shook her head. “Your brother-in-law took such a deep knife wound to his back and we still couldn’t afford a doctor, let alone for me…”
Lin Daniang gently patted the weeping Lin Sanniang. The index and middle fingers of her left hand were each missing a section, presenting a jarring sight.
“Fortunately, your illness has cured. For poor families like ours, we fear nothing else but falling ill. A mild sickness can drag the whole family down for several years, leaving everyone unable to catch a single breath or eat a full meal. A severe sickness ends with both the person and the money gone, forcing the children to sell themselves into slavery…”
Lin Daniang wasn’t afraid of death. The weather had been terrible during these years of the Daliang Dynasty, and taxes were heavy. For the poor, living was hardly any better than being dead.
Her only concern was her several children—especially this newly born little monkey, who was still in swaddling clothes!
Lin Daniang gave a tragic smile. “Sanniang, if I can’t hold out anymore, don’t blame me. I only hope that when your days aren’t so difficult in the future, you can keep an eye on the children for me…”
Lin Sanniang threw herself over her sister, weeping uncontrollably.
At this moment, she could no longer hold back. Whatever those immortals or monsters deep in the mountains demanded, she was willing to do it. She only prayed that her family could have a path to survival.
Gripping Lin Daniang’s hand, she didn’t dare say too much, only repeating over and over, “Eldest Sister, don’t speak such nonsense. You must live on. My nephew is still so small; there are still many days ahead!”
Lin Sanniang pleaded bitterly, “Eldest Sister, you must stay alive. If I can earn a path to survival, I will hire a doctor to treat your illness and get medicine for you!”
However, ever since Taoya had brought back the refined rice and white flour that day, they had never received another “recruitment” notice.
Taoya comforted herself, saying, “The Fairy Sister said so herself. She doesn’t have any work suitable for me for the time being. Once there is, she will definitely call for me.”
Lin Sanniang could only smile bitterly.
These past few days, she had searched everywhere for work. However, under the current circumstances, even ordinary families found it difficult to feed themselves. Grand celebrations and large-scale events had drastically decreased, so very few people hired extra hands.
Unable to find standard day labor, Lin Sanniang took up the job of washing clothes for the laborers at the docks. The clothes of those men were filthy beyond belief, making them incredibly exhausting to wash, yet they couldn’t command a high price.
Enduring the immense pressure, Lin Sanniang haggled with the laborers before finally securing a rate of one copper coin for every three pieces of clothing washed.
After collecting the clothes, she had to go to the riverbank to repeatedly scrub and beat them. Each garment required a handful of soap pods just to get seventy or eighty percent clean. Then she had to dry them before delivering them back to the docks.
Fortunately, linen and kudzu cloth didn’t need to be starched; otherwise, Lin Sanniang would have worked herself to death over this laundry duty.
Every day when Lin Sanniang went to the docks to deliver the clothes, she would take a detour to the Goddess shrine on her way back, offering a prayer in the temple.
Yet, she never heard the Mountain Goddess speak a single word, let alone find the cave tunnel that Taoya claimed was right behind the shrine.
After several consecutive days like this, the hope in Lin Sanniang’s heart gradually faded. Fortunately, Taoya was bursting with energy and showed no signs of being possessed by demons or monsters.
Until today.
Lin Sanniang woke up very early. When she was sick, the children had taken care of her. Now that she was recovered, she wanted to do more herself.
She lit the fire at the mouth of the stove, planning to use the ground-up old rice to simmer some thin porridge. Paired with wild vegetable dumplings, the family could manage a watery meal to trick their stomachs.
As the fire flared up, she actually saw a mountain within the dancing flames in her dazed state. It looked exactly like the mountain of the Goddess shrine. Within the flames, she could actually see the silhouette of the Goddess shrine, as well as the entrance of a cave right behind the temple.
Lin Sanniang rubbed her eyes, thinking she was seeing things.
But when she opened her eyes again, the shape remained within the flames.
Lin Sanniang suddenly stood up, stumbling as she rushed into the bedroom. “Taoya! Taoya! I saw the cave! And the Goddess shrine!”
Taoya was pulled awake from her sleep, still a bit dazed. “Saw the cave? Is the Fairy Sister looking for you to do work?”
Lin Sanniang didn’t know if that was the case, but she knew this was her family’s only path to survival.
She quickly shook Taoya, Xing, and Brother Shu awake. “Mother is going to do work. If I can return, our family will have a path to survival. If… if Mother doesn’t return, Xing, Brother Shu, you must listen to your big sister from now on. Taoya, take good care of your younger siblings. If you face difficulties, remember—only when you are so starved you truly cannot survive anymore—go find your maternal aunt.”
While the three children were still completely bewildered, Lin Sanniang had already gathered the tools she usually used for hired labor and hurriedly left the house.
She ran all the way toward the mountain on the outskirts of the city.
Her heart was filled with anxiety.
It wasn’t until she saw the cave tunnel behind the Goddess shrine that she became absolutely certain—just a day ago, there had been no cave here.
Not daring to delay, she turned toward the Goddess shrine, kowtowed three times, and resolutely stepped into the cave.
Just as Taoya had described, the cave didn’t show a single sliver of light, yet it didn’t feel dark either. Even though she couldn’t see, with every step she took forward, she knew exactly where her foot would land.
She didn’t know how long she walked. It seemed like a very long time, yet it also felt like just a brief moment.
Lin Sanniang emerged from the other end of the cave.
The light of day was brilliant.
What was even more brilliant than the daylight was the boundless greenery filling her vision.
Lin Sanniang’s legs turned weak. She knew this was no longer the Daliang Dynasty. The mountains in the Daliang Dynasty had been practically stripped bare by the people. If there had been this many trees on the mountain, they would have been chopped down long ago.
She stumbled forward, making her way through the deep wild grass until she saw a large patch of cleared, leveled arable land. Beyond the fields lay another stretch of wild grass, shielded by massive trees.
It wasn’t until she passed beneath the massive trees that Lin Sanniang finally saw the place where the immortals lived, exactly as Taoya had described.
