TLHRP 🍁 Chapter 1: Transmigration

Qin Li had not expected to die so young, barely twenty-four years old, with his career just beginning to show promise, before he had even had the chance to enjoy life. A car accident had taken everything away.

Qin Li's soul floated in mid-air, watching the scene of the crash. People crowded along both sides of the road, pressing close to stare at the scene. Having seen the many sides of human nature and the world. Qin Li felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, until finally his vision went black and he lost consciousness completely.

Qin Li thought that after death, he would go to the underworld. Instead, a sharp pain throbbed in his head.

Strange. Do ghosts suffer from headaches too? Enduring the pain, Qin Li opened his eyes.

What greeted his eyes was not the endless darkness he had imagined, but a simple, rough wooden hut.

The room was sparsely furnished. Looking around, he saw only a few shabby pieces of furniture: a worn wooden table, an equally broken wooden chair, and on the table, a chipped and broken bowl filled with water that reflected the roof beams overhead...

Beyond that, there was only the small wooden bed he lay on, covered with straw and a thin layer of cotton padding. The quilt covering him was equally thin and covered in patches.

"What is happening? Where am I?" Qin Li's head throbbed terribly. "Am I not dead?"

Holding his head and gathering his strength for a moment, Qin Li forced himself to sit up, only to discover that this body was truly weak, completely without strength. He held out his hand before him; his fingers were long and slender, but pale and weak...

Yet even this small movement used up all his energy, and he could not help but gasp for breath.

With a loud bang, the door was pushed open

"Third Brother, you're awake! Why have you sat up? Lie back down and rest!" Qin Li turned to see a young child, no more than six or seven years old, running in wearing grey patched clothing. The child slowed his steps upon reaching the doorway, as if afraid the wind he stirred might startle the weak figure on the bed.

After helping Qin Li lie back down, the child's face relaxed with relief, then he continued: "Third Brother, rest well. I shall go tell Father and Mother, and have Physician Li come again."

Before Qin Li could say anything, the child had already rushed off in a hurry.

Unsure of his current situation, and with this body truly drained of strength, Qin Li fell asleep once more.

Qin Li had a dream. In it, he saw another person's entire life. Memories flashed through his mind like scenes from a film, and Qin Li finally realized that he had transmigrated.

This was a dynasty that did not exist in any history Qin Li knew. It felt more like another world, somewhat similar to the Song Dynasty.

In this world, there were countless kingdoms and nations. In this dynasty called Dayan, besides men and women, there were also ge'er.

Unlike the physical traits of men and women, ge'er, who had traits of both, looked more like men on the outside. They were smaller than men yet taller than women and were capable of conceiving children.

In the past, the status of ge'er was very low. Positioned between the two sexes, ge'er were not as strong and sturdy as men, not able to climb mountains and cross rivers to support a family.

Nor were they as soft and delicate as women. Though both could bear children, ge'er had an extremely low chance of conceiving.

Unless a family was extremely poor and had no other choice, absolutely no one would marry a ge'er!

Even among men who naturally preferred ge'er, most would not take one as their main wife; they would usually be taken as concubines.

However, since a ge'er had become Empress in the previous dynasty, and as society developed, ge'er, being less bound by the strict rules that constrained women and could move around more freely, they had made important contributions to economic growth.

Thus, in the present dynasty, though they had not yet achieved full equality with men, their status had risen greatly compared to all previous dynasties. More families were now willing to marry ge'er as their main wives, and when born to open-minded parents, ge'er could be doted upon as the apple of their eye.

These were the parents of this body that Qin Li now inhabited

The original owner of the body Qin Li had transmigrated into was also named Qin Li. His family lived in Jinghe Village, in Ting'an Prefecture, south of the Dayan Dynasty. It was said that the south was filled with rivers and lakes, a typical water region of the southern land, home to many wealthy households, and indeed, this was true.

Yet Jinghe Village was an exception. Though backed by mountains and bordering rivers and lakes, it was a village known for its poverty throughout the surrounding area!

This was because Jinghe Village was not a native settlement. Decades ago, the land had been set aside to resettle refugees fleeing from other regions.

The refugees had built their own houses and farmed the land, eventually forming what was now Jinghe Village. People from other villages referred to the villagers of Jinghe as "beggars."

From Qin Li's memories, Jinghe Village leaned against the mountains and stood near the waters, and its villagers relied on the mountains for food and the waters for survival.

Logically, gathering mountain produce and hunting game in the hills, catching fish and shrimp in the rivers, and planting rice and vegetables should not have made life too difficult. In reality, however, the villagers of Jinghe lived in extreme poverty.

Though backed by mountains, ancient times were unlike the modern world. The mountains were filled with fierce beasts: tigers, bears, snakes...

Except for the hunters, most villagers only dared to go to the outer edges to gather wild vegetables and mountain produce, occasionally setting traps on the lower slopes to catch a pheasant or rabbit.

Because they lived by the water, there was plenty of water for farming, and farming in Jinghe was actually quite easy. Yet being so close to the mountains meant they were far from the town, making travel difficult. The fruits and vegetables they grew usually sold for very little money.

And though the fish, shrimp, and crabs in the lake were large, the cooking methods of this dynasty were far less advanced than those of later generations. People disliked fish and crabs because they had many bones and little meat.

Unless it was a year of famine or disaster, they would rarely go fishing, and no one would catch fish to sell... For these various reasons, Jinghe Village remained very poor.

But in Qin Li's view, the main reason of all was the rough land and the difficulty of travel!

Consider this: when selling vegetables, a family could travel from home to town in a short time, pick the vegetables, and sell them on the same day while they were still fresh.

Another family might have to travel for several hours, si they would pick the vegetables the day before and sell them the next day. After being stored overnight, the leaves would turn yellow and wilt. If you were buying vegetables, which would you choose?

Because the locals kept excluding them, it was no wonder they had remained poor for years.

But Qin Li did not need to worry about these things right now. His head was still spinning, and he had no idea how to face the parents of the body he now inhabited.

The parents of this body had four children: the eldest, Qin Feng, nineteen years old and already married; the second, a daughter named Qin Fu, seventeen; the fourth, Qin Luo, the young boy Qin Li had just seen, only seven years old this year; and the third, the original owner, a fifteen-year-old ge'er.

The original owner's parents were good people, not favoring one child over another, nor valuing sons above daughters. They treated all four children equally, trying to give them the best they could. Still, even their best efforts had limits.

The situation in Jinghe Village was what it was. Every household was poor, and every family struggled. Simply keeping the old and young fed was an achievement. As for learning to read and write, that was unthinkable. Where would they find the silver to support a scholar?

"My son, you are finally awake." A woman's voice carried through the air, filled with both sorrow and joy.

Qin Li opened his eyes and saw a woman dressed in short grey patched clothing.

This must be the original body's mother, Qin Yushi—Ye Qiuyue, Qin Li thought. Mother Qin had worked hard all her life, and though her face showed the marks of hardship and weather, traces of her youthful beauty could still be seen.

"Mother." Qin Li called out, only to find his voice hoarse.

"My dear Li ge'er, next time you must not run to the river alone. If you wish to eat fish or catch shrimp, tell your mother. I shall have your eldest brother catch them for you. Do not frighten your mother like this again." Mother Qin wiped away her tears, her voice choked with sobs.

Qin Li recalled that the original owner had been passing by when he saw child playing in the water and had fallen in. To save the child, he had jumped into the river, only to have the child cling tightly to him, making it difficult to swim. The child's frantic kicking had caused the original owner's leg to cramp. With great difficulty, they had reached the shore, but the rescued child had simply run off, leaving the original owner alone by the riverbank.

As the original owner had turned to head home, he had slipped on a wet stone and fallen back into the river. Already exhausted and suffering from leg cramps, he had nearly drowned. Fortunately, a passing villager had spotted him, pulled him out, and rushed him back to the Qin family.

"Mother, I was saving someone, not playing or craving food." Qin Li could not help but defend the original owner.

Mother Qin, in the middle of her sobs, froze. "What do you mean? Tell your mother everything. Second Uncle Li, who brought you back, said you had slipped into the water because you were greedy and trying to catch fish. You say you were saving someone? Who?"

Qin Li searched his memories carefully and finally remembered the child's face. "That day, after I had given the half-cut of pork as tuition to Master Zhang, I saw on my way back that the grandson of Aunt Wang from the village head had fallen into the water. I jumped in to save him. Once the child reached the shore, he ran off. I slipped and fell back into the water because I wasn't careful.

It seemed the original owner had indeed died after falling into the river, which had allowed this Qin Li, who shared his name, to take his place.

"How dare that child return home and not say a word! You've been lying here for days, nearly losing your life, yet not a single person from the Wang family has come to see you!" Mother Qin said angrily. "I shall go right now to demand justice for you!"

"Mother, do not rush. First send for Physician Li to examine Li ge'er. We must make sure he is not left with any lasting illness." The speaker was the eldest sister-in-law, Qin Lishi—Li Yan. "The Wang family cannot run away. Li ge'er's well-being is what matters most."