Reborn at Five: I Cursed My Family Before My Brother Was Born

In my past life, my younger brother stole money from home and framed me for it.

I was accidentally beaten to death by my father.

When I opened my eyes again, I had been reborn to when I was five years old.

My brother hadn't been born yet.

I rolled out of bed and quickly found an old man to bring to my home, spinning a tale:

"This house has excessive yin energy, and you two have a weak destiny for children. If you give birth to a son, there will be great disaster!"

01

I was awakened by my mother's slap.

She stormed toward me furiously:

"All you do is laze around! Your sister has already carried five buckets of water, while you've slept all morning. You truly are a money-waster!"

I looked at my mother's familiar yet somewhat strange face before me, momentarily dazed.

Seeing me daze, she became even angrier. She took out a pile of ragged clothes from the room and threw them at me:

"Go, wash these clothes now. If you don't finish, don't bother coming back!"

I stumbled from the impact of the clothes, falling to sit on the ground.

In the corner of the wall happened to be a broken mirror.

When I clearly saw the tiny person in the mirror, I suddenly froze.

I've been reborn to when I was five?

I subconsciously looked down at my hands and feet, finally widening my eyes in disbelief.

I actually came back.

That's right, five years old!

At this time, my brother Wang Yaozu hadn't been born yet.

My sister, who was only eight at this moment, was proudly staring at me.

She always loved to bully me.

Like this morning, I ran back and forth dozens of times, finally filling five buckets of water.

But she took advantage of my mother's return, knocked me unconscious, then went to tell my mother that I had been lazy all morning and that she had drawn all the water.

This earned me an indiscriminate beating from my mother.

This little trick of bullying me often gave her an inexplicable excitement.

Just as my mother was about to slap me again.

I rolled up and grabbed the clothes, staggering out the door.

02

But I didn't go to the river.

I casually left that pile of ragged clothes in a corner and ran to the village outskirts, finding any old scavenger.

In my past life, my parents were extremely prejudiced in favor of males.

Whatever my brother Wang Yaozu said, they believed without question.

In their eyes, although my sister was a girl, she could help with household chores.

And my brother was male, able to carry on the Wang family line.

As for me, I became the biggest waste of food at home.

My sister knew exactly what kind of family she lived in, so taking advantage of my young age and ignorance, she often ordered me around.

When my parents returned, she would take all the credit for herself.

And my brother knew my parents disliked me most, so whenever he caused trouble, he毫不犹豫 pushed it onto me.

Over time, he and my sister became partners, bullying me openly and secretly.

This eventually led to me being beaten to death by my parents.

So after being reborn, the first thing I needed to do was prevent my brother's birth.

The old man, hearing I wanted him to come to my home, immediately drove me away:

"Where did this little brat come from? Go away, go play somewhere else, I'm busy."

He didn't want to bother with me, turning back to rummage through the trash bin.

But who would believe a five-year-old child?

I quickly stood on tiptoe, tugging at him and pleading:

"Grandpa, please, as long as you do as I say, I can give you one hundred yuan!"

Wages were already low in that era.

Plus our village had always been poor. One hundred yuan here could feed a large family for a month.

"One hundred yuan!" The old man's eyes lit up, "Little thing, don't trick me, or I'll go complain to your parents."

Without hesitation, I took out five yuan from my pocket—it was something I had unintentionally found in those dirty clothes:

"This is a deposit. I'll give you the rest today. Don't worry, a word is a word."

The old man was amused.

He cheerfully took the money, smiling until his eyes narrowed to slits:

"Deal!"

03

As soon as I got home, I was sent reeling by my mother's slap.

"Where did you run off to again? Where are the clothes? Look how much work your sister did this morning. I must have had terrible luck in my past lives to have given birth to such a money-wasting thing like you."

She kicked me to the corner, making me kneel and reflect, then muttered curses as she walked out.

Just as she reached the door, she bumped into the scavenger old man.

The old man had draped a pure black raincoat—found somewhere—over his body, wore a straw hat, and with a serious expression, he looked quite convincing.

My mother, unexpectedly stepped on by him, immediately flew into a rage, about to curse.

But the old man mysteriously leaned closer, pinched his fingers, and said in a low voice:

"You two should not share a bed tonight, or you will surely lose money."

I had calculated this when I first woke up.

My brother was conceived by her this very month.

My mother froze for a moment, then angrily pointed at the old man's nose and cursed:

"Where did this old bastard come from, running to my door spreading madness? Have you no shame? Get lost, get lost, get far away!"

The old man wasn't angry. He revealed a mysterious smile:

"I've said my piece. You two can decide for yourselves."

Before my mother could curse, he scurried away in a puff of smoke.

My mother was stunned.

For a moment, she could neither stand nor leave. Seeing me, she quickly had me go to the fields to call my father back.

When my father entered the house, the couple closed the door to discuss.

Not long after, the sound of humming and hawing came from the room.

They, of course, wouldn't believe the old man's words.

Fifteen minutes later, my mother came out of the room fastening her buttons. She curled her lips:

"I just don't believe it. Doing this could lose money? I think he has no children himself and can't bear to see others happy."

My father frowned:

"Enough, you hurry up too. We still have no son after all these years. I can't hold my head up in the village."

Hearing my father mention this, my mother resentfully shut her mouth, hanging her head as she went out.

My father followed her out with a hoe.

Seeing they had both left, I immediately ran to the vegetable patch behind the house and dug up a box from the mud pit in the corner.

Inside were more than two hundred yuan—what my parents had saved all last year.

In my past life, Wang Yaozu discovered my parents' money was hidden in the mud, so he secretly took it out to spend and framed me for it.

But at this time, Wang Yaozu hadn't been born yet, and neither my sister nor I knew where the family money was hidden.

Even if the money went missing, my parents wouldn't suspect me.

I took one hundred yuan for the old man, secretly hiding the remaining hundred elsewhere.

There were also some coins and small bills in the box. I casually scattered them on the ground.

Then with the hoe, I made a shallow row of teeth marks on the iron box.

The old man took the money, smiling so wide his mouth wouldn't close.

He readily agreed to come to my house tomorrow, repeatedly urging me not to give such a good job to anyone else.

After dinner, my mother was turning over the soil in the courtyard.

From afar, she immediately saw the open money box on the ground, along with scattered coins around it.

The two hundred-yuan bills inside were nowhere to be found.

My mother was completely stunned.

When she approached and discovered teeth marks on the money box, her eyes darkened, and the hoe fell to the ground with a clang.

After a few seconds, she collapsed to the ground, screaming hoarsely:

"Which god-damned dog turned over our family's money! My money, last year was all for nothing!"

My father heard the commotion and hurried over from the house.

Seeing the money had been stolen, he immediately flew into a rage, cursing:

"Which bastard dared steal my money? Don't let me catch you, or I'll break your legs!"

"Oh no!" My mother slapped her thigh, "Could it be that what that mystical old man said was true?"

Hearing this, my father froze. At this moment, he didn't seem to care about the money anymore. He lowered his voice and asked my mother:

"Do you know where that master lives? Go find him and ask if there's any way to get the money back. Best of all, have him help us have a son."

My mother shook her head:

"I don't know. I'd never seen him before. He's probably not from our village."

My father became anxious:

"Then quickly have Er Ya go look for him. If she can't find him, don't let her come back!"

My mother immediately called me up, described the old man's appearance to me, and told me to find him.

The next day, I played by the river until noon before leisurely bringing the scavenger old man over.

Because he had money, he had bought a new jacket, and he still carried that mystical air about him.

When my mother saw him, she was overjoyed, immediately bringing water, nodding and bowing as she invited him into the house.

Mentioning last night's incident, she said with a pained heart:

"Oh, Master, yesterday my man and I didn't listen to you, and we really did lose money at home. Is there any way to get the money back?"

The old man's expression turned serious.

He pushed away the bowl my mother offered and sighed deeply:

"Spilled water can't be gathered. What happened has happened and cannot be remedied. However..."

At this point, he deliberately paused, his gaze falling on me, a flash of surprise crossing his face.

"What is it, Master? Just say it."

"Rather, it's your daughter here—she is a natural lucky star!"

My mother froze, then widened her eyes in disbelief:

"What? This money-waster? What kind of luck could she have?"

"Only she can lead you to good days!"

"Impossible!" My mother rejected without thinking, "Just a useless girl, what good days could there be?"

Hearing this, the old man sighed heavily.

He deliberately gave my mother a profound look, then shook his head without saying another word.

My mother was stunned.

After yesterday's incident, she no longer dared to doubt the old man's words.

Seeing the old man silent, she remembered what my father had told her and quickly asked:

"Then, Master, my husband and I have been together so many years and only given birth to two girls. Do you have a way to let me conceive a son?"

The old man signaled her to be patient.

He stood up, and with an air of importance, hands behind his back, he walked a circle around the room. When he saw my father's photo, a look of shock suddenly crossed his face.

My mother also stood up. Noticing the old man's expression was off, she smiled somewhat nervously:

"What's wrong?"

The old man seemed hesitant to speak.

My mother became anxious:

"Master, if you have something to say, just say it directly."

Hearing this, the old man thought for a moment, then stroked his beard and said:

"This house has excessive yin energy, and you two have a weak destiny for children. If you give birth to a son, there will be great disaster!"

04

When my father returned in the evening, my mother immediately told him about this.

My father's face instantly darkened:

"What? Our family can't have a son?"

"That's right."

My mother rolled her eyes:

"He also said this money-waster is a lucky star. I don't believe it—she washes clothes and even loses them. How could she be a lucky star?"

Yesterday my mother told me to wash clothes, so I threw all their clothes into the river.

For this, my mother beat me again.

Although they were just worthless rags, my mother couldn't bear to throw them away, having mended and patched them for years.

My father nodded in agreement:

"That old man doesn't speak entirely correctly. If she were truly a lucky star, she should have found our clothes first."

Just as he finished speaking, I struggled to drag a large roll of brand new fabric from outside the door, calling to my mother:

"Mommy, fabric, fabric."

My mother had been scolding me along with my father. Hearing my call and seeing the large roll of fabric behind me, she was stunned.

She rushed over, somewhat incredulously:

"Er Ya, where did you get this fabric?"

I smiled and rubbed my nose:

"Er Ya found it."

Fabric was a precious commodity at this time.

Even the village head's family only dared to buy a little fabric during New Year's to make new clothes for the boys at home.

And the fabric I dragged back was enough for our family of four to each have several new outfits from head to toe.

My mother was overjoyed.

She picked up the fabric, examining it carefully again and again, then hurriedly called to my father:

"Child's father, come see what good thing Er Ya brought back."

But my father wasn't so happy.

He walked out from the inner room, and the moment he saw the fabric, his pupils suddenly contracted, and cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.

His face paled somewhat as he stared at me in disbelief:

"Er Ya, tell me the truth, where did you find this fabric?"

This fabric wasn't found by me, of course.

It was fabric my father bought after winning money gambling, planning to take it to the widow at the east end of the village to curry favor.

To avoid my mother discovering it, he wrapped the new fabric with the family's rags and secretly hid it in the chicken coop.

These were things he revealed when he was drunk in my past life.

I proudly lifted my neck and said loudly:

"Er Ya was picking eggs and discovered it in the chicken nest."

My father guiltily averted his gaze.

He naturally wouldn't suspect me.

Because picking eggs was something he had told me to do.

My mother didn't notice my father's strange expression. She was beaming from ear to ear.

She took the fabric, examining it carefully again and again, finally taking it into the room and treasuring it away in the deepest part of the wardrobe.

In the evening, I heard my mother talking to my father.

"I have to say, our Er Ya might really be a lucky star. With this fabric, how many clothes can we make?"

She happily began calculating:

"Look how good this fabric is. We can make several sets of clothes to sell for money. Just that widow at the village head you mentioned—she dresses so beautifully, maybe she hasn't even seen such good fabric."

My father became annoyed the moment my mother mentioned the widow.

He "clicked" his cigarette impatiently and interrupted:

"I don't believe in lucky stars or disasters. This is mostly coincidence. If she really had such great abilities, our family would have been rich long ago."

I bit my fingers, listening outside the door, and immediately had an idea.

05

Early the next morning at dawn, my mother called my sister and me to go fetch water.

I tugged at my mother's hand, whining and refusing to let go.

"What's wrong with you today, Er Ya?"

My mother was somewhat strange.

In her heart, even if I was lazy, I was lazy playing outside.

Where would I dare not work right under her nose?

I didn't speak, just kept pulling her fingers toward the door.

Seeing I didn't answer her, although she found it strange, she followed me out.

Outside the house were all farm fields.

Further ahead were the field ridges, then the reed marshes and river.

Generally, past the field ridges, few people went further.

My mother was unwilling to go further now. She stopped and asked me:

"Er Ya, where exactly are you going?"

I still didn't speak, pointing at the reed marshes ahead, then looked up at my mother.

My mother became curious. She went over and pushed aside the reeds, then peeked in the direction I was pointing, and was instantly stunned.

On the ground lay a tightly wrapped infant.

"Oh my god!" My mother jumped in fright, "Th-this, this—what is this?"

It seemed to have been abandoned here for several hours, and the baby was crying loudly.

Although families in our village also abandoned children, they always did it secretly outside the village.

She had never seen anyone directly abandon a baby in the reed marshes.

Seeing this scene, she nervously rubbed her hands, at a loss whether to stand or leave.

I cheerfully shouted to my mother:

"Baby, mommy, baby."

Even dressed warmly, the baby couldn't withstand being left in the reed marshes during this cold winter.

The baby's little cheeks were frozen like lanterns.

My mother thought for a moment, bent down, and gently pulled back the little blanket to look.

It was actually a boy!

The weather was already cold, and with my mother pulling back the blanket, the baby's crying became even louder.

Now my mother became even more flustered, at a loss for what to do.

After a moment's thought, she wrapped the baby back up and placed it on the ground, then taking advantage of no one around, quickly pulled me along to go home and discuss it with my father.

My father was just about to leave for work and was stopped by my mother at the doorway.

Once inside, they whispered:

"Maybe that old man was right. We have no son in our destiny, so we encountered one today." My mother seemed to have thought about this all the way. She gritted her teeth and said, "Why not raise him? Perhaps it's heaven's will."

My father rejected it without thinking:

"I'm not raising someone else's son. If my brother finds out, they'll laugh at me even more."

My mother fell silent.

My father was right.

He and my mother hadn't had a son all these years and were already being laughed at.

If people found out they were raising someone else's son, and it reached my grandmother, not only would they be scolded, but恐怕 the house and land would be taken by my uncle.

After a moment of silence, my mother slapped her forehead:

"Sister Wang isn't that always wanted a child? Why don't we ask your Sister Wang?"

Sister Wang was different from our family.

Her family was well-off, but her husband had been injured a few years ago and couldn't have children at all.

So Sister Wang had always wanted to adopt one, boy or girl.

My mother soon went to Sister Wang's house and told her about it.

Following my mother's instructions, Sister Wang found the baby in the reed marshes.

The baby was fair and clean, without even a birthmark.

Beside it was a bag of diapers—clearly intentionally abandoned.

Seeing nothing was wrong and it was a boy, Sister Wang was overjoyed.

She said she would take the baby to town for a check-up, and if nothing was wrong, she would definitely thank my parents properly.

06

After returning home, my mother clicked her tongue in excitement:

"It seems our Er Ya is truly a lucky star. Sister Wang's family is well-off, and her husband is an only son. If this baby checks out fine, she won't thank us poorly."

"I wonder how much it will be. If we can get one hundred, we won't have worked for nothing." My father was also happy.

He rare cooked an egg today, eating it with wine.

"There won't be that much!" My mother snorted, "If there really is that much, Er Ya will be our family's great contributor. At year's end, I'll use that fabric to make her new clothes."

The baby was not only fine but also very smart.

In my past life, this child was discovered by Sister Wang when she went fishing by the river.

She immediately found a car and took him to the health center for examination.

After the examination results came out, she kept the child and raised him as her own.

Before I died, that child had just been admitted to the key middle school in town.

"Little sister is quite impressive."

The sinister voice made me subconsciously look up, seeing those eyes staring at me darkly.

My sister's face was expressionless, but revealed an expression unsuited to her age.

Twisted, dark, as if wanting to rush over and tear me apart at any moment.

Seeing me look back, she coldly snorted:

"You'd better not be too happy. If it turns out he has some illness, he'll become a hot potato that you can't get rid of."

"Then Er Ya is our family's contributor." My mother rare gave me a large piece of egg, "Sister Wang's husband earns money in the mines. Even if this doesn't work out, I can use this as an excuse to go to Sister Wang's house and talk, let your father work in the mines too."

Villagers were all saying that Sister Wang's husband earned big money in the mines, seemingly as some kind of small leader.

Before, my mother had wanted to get my father into the mines too.

But my father usually spent all day drinking and gambling, and his reputation in the village wasn't good. This matter had been interrupted by Sister Wang's husband and had been left vague.

Seeing my mother give me an egg, my sister also shouted loudly:

"Mom, I want to eat eggs too."

My mother rapped her bowl, frowning:

"This egg is only this big. It's not even enough for your father. Go on, go eat your steamed bun and wash the dishes."

My sister's face turned white, then her features instantly twisted.

She stared at my mother, her hands clenched tight, then without a word, jumped down from the stool and went to wash the dishes with her bowl.

My sister had always loved to bully me, and before, my mother had always unhesitatingly stood on her side.

But because of recent events, my mother's balance had begun to tilt toward me.

Jealousy, like a poisonous vine, took root and sprouted in my sister's heart.

The ways an eight-year-old takes revenge are actually quite simple.

Nothing more than, when my mother wasn't home, breaking bowls, tearing curtain fabric, cutting clothes.

Or when I had done work, she would warn me not to speak carelessly when my mother returned, or I would have a bad time later.

07

The next afternoon, when my mother returned from farm work.

My sister rushed forward in two steps, grabbing my mother and complaining:

"Mom, Er Ya caused big trouble today. Many things at home were broken by her. I told her to work, but she wouldn't, and she cooked and ate all the eggs at home."

My mother seemed not to hear her speak.

She came in excitedly, her eyes scanning the room, and when they fell on me, they suddenly lit up.

She strode over, so excited she immediately picked me up, smiling with teeth showing:

"Er Ya, lucky star! You're truly our family's lucky star!"

My mother was beaming, her face flushed with excitement:

"Sister Wang brought the child back from town. The child is perfectly healthy, not a single problem."

"The doctor said all the child's indicators are excellent. He must be from some unmarried girl who gave birth but dared not raise the child."

"Your sister-in-law is very happy. She gave us two hundred yuan and said she would come to our house to thank us properly."

Hearing this, my sister glared at me fiercely, then tugged at my mother's sleeve, loudly complaining:

"Mom, my sister is a troublemaker. She cut up the fabric you saved away. She said from now on she would be in charge of this family."

My sister knew my mother treasured that fabric.

Thinking this way, my mother would definitely beat me severely.

Only then did my mother notice my sister.

She froze for a moment, then put me down, still smiling:

"It should be Er Ya who's in charge. It should be Er Ya who's in charge."

She wiped her hands on her clothes, then took out a few coins from her pocket:

"Here, take this to buy candy. If it's not enough, come ask Mom for more."

We had always favored males over females. Letting girls eat eggs was already an incredible thing.

If villagers found out we were giving girls pocket money, it would be more fantastical than a fable.

If my grandmother found out, she would definitely scold my father to death.

"Mom, I want to eat candy too. I want to buy candy too." My sister loudly shouted when she saw my mother give me money.

"Go away, go away. What candy are you eating? Hurry up and work."

My sister's face instantly turned red with anger.

She gritted her teeth, staring at me, her eyes seemingly able to poison.

My father also heard about this matter. He didn't even finish his work today and came home early.

When he entered the house, his smile was crooked. He even killed the family chicken.

He picked up the remaining bit of wine from the corner and drank it all in one go, his face glowing as he said:

"That old man was really right. Er Ya is truly no ordinary person. We just lost two hundred yuan, and it hasn't even been a month, and we've earned it back."

In the evening, Sister Wang and her husband came to the house together.

Sister Wang took out five hundred yuan from her pocket, saying her mother-in-law liked the little treasure so much that she felt the two hundred yuan she gave us was too little.

She also took out several pieces of clothing from her bag and held them up against me.

They were clothes she had bought for the little treasure after the examination, buying him several new outfits from head to toe in town. Thinking it was I who led my mother to discover the little treasure, she also bought two for me.

Sister Wang also said:

"I know Brother has always wanted to work in the mines. I told my husband, and next month, he'll arrange for Brother to come in too."

One piece of good news after another crashed down on my mother's head. My mother was smiling so widely she could barely close her mouth. She quickly stuffed the clothes into my arms, telling me to go inside and change.

I carefully stroked the clothes in my hands.

The fabric was soft, the patterns exquisite.

Even if I had lived to my teens in my past life, I had never seen such beautiful clothes.

Even if my mother took our fabric to the best tailor in town, they might not be able to make such fashionable styles.

My sister stared straight at the clothes.

When my mother pushed me, telling me to go to the room and change, she rushed forward like an arrow, fiercely pushed me to the ground, and immediately tried to put the clothes on herself.

Unfortunately, these clothes were bought by Sister Wang according to my five-year-old stature.

My sister could only get one arm in.

When she tried to squeeze further in.

There was a slight ripping sound, and the seams on the clothes instantly tore open, with cotton stuffing exposed.

My mother was chatting with Sister Wang. Hearing the noise, she immediately flew into a rage, cursing at my sister:

"Dead girl, you have to fight your sister even for this? You're embarrassing yourself! Get out, now!"

My father, afraid of being laughed at by Sister Wang, also raised a broom, trying to drive her out.

Having lost face, and being cursed at by my parents like this, my sister covered her face and ran out crying.

Sister Wang, seeing this scene, said awkwardly:

"You should go find your older girl. It's my fault—I forgot you have an older girl at home. Next time I go to town, I'll buy her a few pieces too. Don't let clothes make the two sisters unhappy."

Sister Wang said a few more polite words, then left with her husband.

My father had no intention of finding my sister.

He was smiling so much his face was about to freeze.

In one evening, the family had earned seven hundred yuan, and his job was also settled.

My sister hadn't run far. She was hiding in the chicken coop, watching our movements.

When Sister Wang was far away, my sister ran back from the chicken coop, tugging at my mother's sleeve and shouting:

"Mom, Er Ya is a disaster star. I saw Sister Wang spend seven hundred yuan to buy that baby. Why don't we sell Er Ya too? Er Ya is lazy and greedy. We can sell Er Ya to someone as a child bride. How about that? It should be worth at least two hundred yuan."

My mother frowned and pushed her aside:

"Go away, what's two hundred yuan? When you two girls grow up, you can at least exchange for several thousand or tens of thousands in bride prices."

The words reached her lips but suddenly stopped.

As if suddenly realizing that without even a son, what use was having so much bride price?

08

Before long, something major happened in our family.

My mother became pregnant.

She didn't believe it and specially went to the village health center for examination.

When the examination results came out, she was both happy and anxious.

Happy because after nearly ten years of marriage, she had only given birth to two girls.

Villagers were all saying my mother had something wrong with her body, that she surely couldn't conceive a third.

Now, she could finally hold her head high.

But when she thought of what that mystical old man had said, she became anxious again.

She had me find the old man again.

I played in the mud for half a day, then told her I couldn't find him.

My mother didn't dare hit or scold me, afraid of ruining our family's luck, so she could only discuss this with my father.

My father, annoyed at her failure, slapped her:

"Of course, we must give birth! That master said Er Ya is a lucky star. With a lucky star here, how could our family have bad luck?"

"That's right." My mother slapped her forehead, "It might not be a son anyway. We'll see after giving birth."

After Sister Wang adopted that baby, she arranged for my father to work in the mines.

Although my father was still like before—slacking off at work, going to gamble and drink after shifts—our family's life was somewhat better than before.

Because my mother was pregnant, my father was somewhat better to me.

Sometimes when he came back from the mines, he would bring candy back for me to eat.

He always felt that without my protection, my mother wouldn't have conceived a third child either.

The whole family was happy for my mother, except my sister.

After my mother was found to be pregnant, she had raised the idea of selling me.

"Er Ya can't work and is reckless. What if she bumps into Mother's belly and something bad happens? Better to sell Er Ya early. Anyway, now we have a brother at home, Er Ya is useless. I heard Old Jia's fool is looking for a wife. His family is quite rich."

My father kicked her on the butt:

"Er Ya is very useful. I would sell you there before selling Er Ya."

My sister clenched her hands, her eyes toward me suppressing deep hatred.

My mother was considered an older mother, and they thought the baby in her belly was a son, so my father was very cautious.

Every month, he would take my mother to town for check-ups.

When my father took my mother to town for another prenatal check-up, my sister contacted several men from outside the village.

"It's her."

My sister, biting the lollipop she stole from me, pointed at me and said to several men:

"You come pick her up this afternoon. Pay whatever you think is appropriate. Just take her far away, preferably where she can never be found again."

She thought I was a five-year-old who understood nothing, or perhaps thought I could never find my way back, so when contacting human traffickers, she didn't hide it from me at all.

Those men saw me and their eyes lit up.

Hearing my sister say they could take me away for just a little money, they immediately agreed.

After arranging a time with the human traffickers, my sister brought me back.

She poured a bowl of water.

Then she climbed on the table, took down a jar of white sugar from the top of the cabinet, poured some into the water.

Then from her pocket, she took out a packet of something, poured it into the bowl, stirred it with her finger, and handed it to me:

"Here, go drink it. This is for helping me work lately. Your reward."

"Sister, you're so good to me." I said with wide, innocent eyes.

"You know it." She impatiently shoved the bowl into my hand, then poured herself a bowl of sugar water, "Hurry up and drink. Don't let Mom and Dad find out."

"Sister, I want to eat eggs too." I acted coquettishly toward her.

"Dead girl, so demanding."

She cursed, then turned around, cracked an egg, beat it into boiling water, and handed it to me, "Eat, eat, eat. Eat yourself to death. Eat your fill and then get lost."

In the afternoon, those men came to our house as scheduled.

They went to my room following my sister's directions.

They tied up my sister, who was sleeping soundly on my bed, then drove away with her.

When my sister was poaching the egg for me, I secretly swapped our bowls when she wasn't looking.

Then when my sister fell unconscious, I dragged her to the bed.

Those men had only seen my sister and me once. They came in a hurry and didn't clearly see her face before tying her up and leaving hastily.

Actually, it's quite strange. My sister and I were both victims of favoritism toward males.

Yet she always found opportunities to suppress me.

I sadly watched the direction the van left, thinking silently.

Sister, don't blame me. You struck first.

09

When my mother entered the door, she sensed something was wrong:

"Where's Da Ya? Why isn't dinner made? Where did you go to be lazy again?"

I bit my fingers:

"Sister was tied up and taken away."

"What!" My mother was startled, "Taken away by whom?"

I shook my head, saying I didn't know.

Just then Sister Wang happened to come by. Seeing my mother at home, she opened her mouth to scold:

"Sister-in-law, I saw your older daughter being carried away. What are you doing? Your family doesn't lack food or drink. I also gave you a sum of money. Why are you selling your daughter?"

In our area, selling daughters wasn't uncommon.

So even though Sister Wang saw my sister being carried away, she thought my mother had sent them and didn't think to stop and ask.

My mother's eyes darkened. She quickly grabbed Sister Wang and asked:

"What? Carried away? Do you remember what that person looked like? What was the license plate number?"

Sister Wang disdainfully snorted:

"Ask your man then. Why ask me?"

She thought it was my father who had sent them, so she mocked a few sentences before turning to leave.

Although our village was poor, there had never been anyone tied up and taken away in broad daylight for no reason.

When my father heard my sister had been tied up and taken away, he cursed and said he would call the police.

But when he went to the bedside table to get money to leave, he suddenly saw five hundred yuan placed at the doorway.

So he decided not to go.

He held the money, sighing lightly:

"Forget it, consider her sold. Anyway, Da Ya was useless at home. Five hundred yuan—we didn't raise her for nothing."

My mother had been sitting on the bed crying, but seeing the money, she also stopped crying.

She touched her belly, echoing softly:

"Calling the police might not get her back anyway. Besides, Er Ya is growing up soon and can do quite a bit of work. Da Ya is useless anyway. Let's consider this money as Da Ya saving up for her unborn brother."

When winter came, my mother gave birth to a boy.

I went to see—it was my brother from my past life.

My father was overjoyed, hugging and kissing the baby, saying he could finally hold his head high in the village.

My mother also smilingly named my brother Wang Yaozu.

During this time, my father had been collecting his wages from the mines.

When he got money, he would go out to drink and gamble.

Actually, my father's gambling skills were quite good, and he mostly won money.

The mine wages weren't low, plus my father could win money gambling, our family's life was much better than before, with meat at every meal.

After Wang Yaozu was born, my father grinned from ear to ear, holding him and smiling, then picked me up and kissed me again and again.

He thought the family's recent good life was all thanks to me.

My father hadn't been happy for many days when the old man appeared again, wearing a gray Taoist robe, holding a black umbrella.

The moment he entered the door and saw Wang Yaozu, his face instantly changed.

He sighed to my father:

"This place is filled with yin energy, and you've given birth to a boy. This is a great ominous sign. I'm afraid in the coming days, disaster will befall you continuously."

My father was stunned. It took him a long time to recover, then he stepped forward timidly and asked:

"But you said before that our Er Ya is a lucky star. She should be able to protect her brother, right?"

"Nonsense!" The old man scanned the room and immediately said coldly:

"What lucky star! If you hadn't given birth to a boy, it wouldn't be so serious. Now that you've given birth to a boy, I'm afraid the lucky star will become a disaster star!"

"Master, what should we do now!" My father became flustered at this moment.

His reputation in the village had been extremely poor.

Now that he was earning more money, my father had bought a bicycle, and our house smelled of meat every day.

Many relatives who had treated him like air before now had to nod and bow when they saw him, exchanging pleasantries.

My father had grown accustomed to this life, walking through the village with his head held high every day. How could he go back to the poor, destitute days of before?

The old man replied irritably:

"If you had given birth to a girl, it wouldn't be this serious. Now I have no solution. You two just wait for disaster to strike!"

10

At first, my father still clung to hopeful thinking, believing that with me, a lucky star, and his monthly income, even if there were small disasters, at least we wouldn't live like before.

But after Wang Yaozu was born, disasters truly did befall our family one after another.

First, the rice my mother had stored behind the house was burned by someone, costing us a sum of money.

Later, a roof beam collapsed, nearly injuring Wang Yaozu.

Then, when my mother was carrying my brother out to work, she encountered masked robbers on the road.

The robbers didn't get money and almost killed my brother.

Fortunately, my mother desperately protected Wang Yaozu under her body and shouted loudly, scaring the robbers away.

Although I was the one who set fire to the rice.

The roof beam collapsing was something I had the old man move the beam's position, and after a night of heavy rain, it collapsed.

The robbers were also people I had the old man find to scare my mother.

But my mother was truly terrified. She discussed with my father:

"This can't go on. Think of something, at least let Yaozu grow up safely."

My father thought for a night and decided to place my brother at my aunt's place to be raised.

My aunt had no children, and her husband had died a few years ago. She had suffered some shock and spent all day lying in bed, drunk out of her mind.

But besides placing Yaozu under her name to raise, there was no other suitable method.

My mother gritted her teeth and could only nod in agreement, saying:

"Anyway, it's nearby. We can visit Yaozu every week. We're not afraid she'll lead him astray."

...

After Yaozu was sent away, our family indeed had a period of peaceful days.

My father gambled more and more, but mostly won.

Although my mother missed my brother, thinking of the recent incidents, she could only comfort herself that sending Yaozu away was also good—they could earn money for him in peace.

When Wang Yaozu lived well in the future, it would still bring glory to the Wang family.

Winter passed and spring came. Wang Yaozu had grown somewhat.

My mother went to my aunt's place to see Yaozu every week, but each time she returned, she would cry and curse.

She said my aunt was alcoholic, and all the money she gave Yaozu for food and drink was taken by my aunt to buy alcohol.

Sometimes when my aunt found Yaozu's crying annoying, she would even feed Yaozu some alcohol.

At the end of the month, when my aunt had used up all the money my mother gave and couldn't afford food, she would feed Yaozu chicken feed.

My mother wanted to bring Yaozu back.

But the first day she brought him back, the next day our house suddenly had many rats appear.

The largest were as big as shoes.

They weren't afraid of people, just squatting by the bedside staring at my mother. My mother was so frightened she fainted.

Several of my uncles also wanted to adopt Yaozu.

But my parents knew in their hearts that they coveted our family's money and couldn't bear to see our family doing well.

Sending Yaozu to them would only make his life worse than it was now.

Just as my mother was worrying desperately, someone suddenly came to our house.

11

The broken door of our house was kicked open from outside, and my sister's extremely angry face suddenly appeared before me.

She was covered in a fishy stench, clothes disheveled, hair disheveled as she ran back.

The moment she saw me, she pounced on me, pinning me down, and screamed like a madwoman:

"I'll kill you, I'll kill you!"

I was greatly alarmed. Before I could dodge, I was pinned to the ground by her.

I struggled with all my might, but I couldn't match my sister's strength.

Her eyes were blood-red as she choked my neck, madness surging in her eyes:

"Wang Er Ya, you ruined me. You killed me!"

I struggled desperately, but her hands were strong and powerful. I used all my strength but couldn't pry her fingers loose.

The breath in my throat grew weaker, and my consciousness began to blur.

Dazedly, I saw my mother rush in.

"Wang Da Ya, what are you doing! Get away from me!"

My mother suddenly rushed forward and heavily slapped her across the face:

"Money-waster! You know how to come back!"

My sister turned her head, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

She covered her face, staring at me deadly, the hatred in her eyes frighteningly thick.

"Wang Er Ya, you bitch! It was you who ruined me. I'll kill you!"

Deep hatred filled her eyes. She was about to pounce again, but my mother kicked her to the corner.

My mother shielded me behind her, angrily saying:

"You were trafficked. What does that have to do with Er Ya? She's just a five or six-year-old child. What could she do to you?"

I shrank behind my mother, saying fearfully:

"Sister, what did I do to upset you? You must tell me."

My sister covered her face, tears streaming down, but her tone carried madness:

"Mom, don't be deceived by her. It was she who drugged me and sold me to traffickers."

My mother was somewhat shocked. She asked me:

"Is what your sister said true? Did you contact traffickers to sell your sister?"

I widened my eyes, innocently asking her back:

"Mom, what are traffickers?"

"I'll kill you, I'll kill you!" My sister pounced again, trying to choke me.

My mother had been somewhat hesitant, but seeing my sister acting like a madman, not appearing mentally normal, she knocked her unconscious with a backhand and locked her in the basement.

That night, my father surprisingly didn't come home.

My mother was already anxious about my sister's situation. Seeing my father hadn't returned either, she had someone go to Sister Wang's house to inquire.

What she discovered was terrible.

It turned out my father had hit someone with his bicycle.

Although my father was riding a bicycle, because he had been drinking and was riding very fast, he directly knocked the person flying.

When taken to the hospital, they were already unconscious.

The other person's family, learning of this, immediately took my father to the police station to demand justice.

My mother's face turned ashen, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, unable to even walk.

She didn't know which police station my father was at, nor which hospital the other person was in. She was anxious like an ant on a hot pan.

But she could do nothing but wait helplessly at home.

This wait lasted a sleepless night.

At dawn, my father returned.

Having not seen him for a night, he looked much more haggard, his clothes torn in a large piece, and his face bruised.

Seeing my mother, he hurriedly had my mother take out all the family's money.

He said the other party wanted my father to pay twenty thousand yuan to settle privately, or they would send him to jail.

My father didn't have that much money with him, so they confiscated his ID card and bicycle, making him come home for the money.

Twenty thousand yuan was truly not a small amount at this time—enough to buy a house in town.

Hearing it would be twenty thousand, my mother's eyes darkened, nearly fainting.

But my father was the family's pillar, and now with Yaozu at home, she absolutely couldn't just watch my father go to jail.

After I brought her sweetened water to drink and she lay on the bed to recover for a while, she went to the vegetable patch and dug up a box, taking out all the money inside.

But scraping together, at most there was only five thousand yuan.

My mother gritted her teeth:

"I'll go ask Sister Wang for more. At worst, I'll serve her family like an ox or horse, serving her son."

But Sister Wang refused.

Her family had just bought a new house in town and had no extra cash on hand.

My father squatted at the door, clicking his cigarette for half a day, then gritted his teeth and said:

"If worst comes to worst, borrow from Brother Hei. The money comes fast, though the interest is a bit high."

Brother Hei was involved in the underworld, usually earning money by lending and collecting interest.

My father's gambling friends, whenever they lost money, would borrow from Brother Hei.

Over time, my father and Brother Hei had become acquainted.

My mother cried, snot and tears streaming down her face, having lost her reason. She quickly nodded:

"Then hurry up and go."

Brother Hei's side was indeed fast.

My father had just signed the IOU and pressed his fingerprint when the other side handed two stacks of cash to my father.

My mother saw the money and finally relaxed a bit.

Although our family was in debt because of this, in her mind, the matter was temporarily resolved. After all, my father could earn money.

But when my father returned, his face was as dark as a pot bottom.

12

The moment he entered, he kicked my mother.

My mother was stunned. Before she could speak, my father spat at her, his face ferocious:

"Wang Da Ya is back. Why didn't you tell me!"

My mother slapped her forehead.

She had been anxious about my father's matter and had truly forgotten about my sister.

Now the person was still locked in the basement—probably having not eaten for nearly a day.

My father snorted:

"Do you know what people in the village are saying? They say when Da Ya returned, she was covered in bruises and her clothes were torn. She must have done some shameful things outside. I was laughed at all the way back."

He spat a mouthful of phlegm on the ground, saying viciously:

"Such bad luck! This unlucky thing must have ruined our family's luck, making me hit someone with my bicycle."

Village rumors spread terribly.

First, someone saw my sister running back in the village, saying her clothes were disheveled and she was covered in bruises—she must have been violated.

Later someone said she specialized in such business outside.

Our family had been doing well recently because she had sent dirty money back.

By the time the rumors spread, it became that my sister had returned this time to gather all the village girls to engage in the flesh trade.

The rumors became increasingly absurd. My father returned home every day with his face black as could be.

Either being laughed at at the mines or being asked how much our family charged for such business.

My sister was locked in the basement, sometimes clear-headed, sometimes somewhat insane.

But every time my mother brought food in, she would shout that she wanted to kill me.

Seeing my sister like this, my father silently squatted at the door smoking for half a day, finally gritting his teeth and saying:

"Da Ya is already like this. Why don't we just open the door for business? Everyone outside is saying so about us anyway. We won't lose out by doing it."

My mother was unwilling at first.

Although my sister was a worthless girl, she was still someone she had watched grow up.

Later, my father calculated for her.

For each person who went to the basement, charge fifty yuan.

Two people a day would be one hundred yuan.

Doing nothing for a year could earn over thirty thousand yuan.

Meanwhile, the bride price for girls in our village at most could reach twenty thousand.

After calculating to the end, my mother wiped her face, gritted her teeth, and still agreed.

My mother specially made new clothes for my sister and cooked several bowls of meat dishes for her.

She placed the braised pork by my sister's feet. Looking at my sister, she said somewhat choked up:

"Don't blame our family. If you hadn't brought back bad luck when you returned, your father wouldn't have hit someone. Now our family is in debt and still has to raise your brother. This is the only way."

My sister's hair was disheveled as she knelt miserably in the basement, kowtowing repeatedly.

She screamed hoarsely, her forehead hitting the ground heavily again and again.

But my mother just sighed, then turned her face away, stood up, and locked the basement door.

The news had just been put out when several men with lecherous smiles arrived.

My sister cried heartbreakingly, desperately clutching the threshold, the veins on the back of her hand bulging as she screamed hysterically:

"Wang Guifu, I'll kill you. You wait for me. You'll get your retribution sooner or later!"

She hadn't shouted for long when my sister's ghost-like screams came from the basement.

13

Our family returned to its former way of life.

My father combed his hair until it shone every day, riding his bicycle and singing. His days were especially comfortable.

On the morning of my birthday, I saw my father about to leave and tugged at him, asking in a childish voice:

"Daddy, can you not go to work today?"

My father was somewhat puzzled:

"What's wrong, Er Ya? If Daddy doesn't go to work, how will he feed your brother?"

I blinked my big eyes and said seriously:

"The mine will collapse today."

My father was taken aback, then said dismissively:

"I know it's your birthday today. Daddy will come home early. How can a child lie?"

"The mine will collapse. Many people will die." I said with wide, serious eyes.

My father was completely stunned. He didn't know whether to believe me.

After struggling for a moment, he cursed and went out to make a phone call.

Not long after, several people came to our house.

There was Sister Wang's husband, Sister Wang, and a middle-aged bald man my father called Manager Chen.

The one called Manager Chen pointed at me, saying with some amusement and some contempt:

"Old Wang, what's wrong with you? Do you believe a six-year-old child's words?"

Sister Wang also laughed while smoking:

"Brother, are you itching for action? Tomorrow I'll find a few brothers to come to your house to play cards. Remember to have Sister-in-law cook something delicious."

My father said nothing, staring at me and said:

"Er Ya, tell the uncles. Is what you said true?"

I nodded and said:

"The mine collapsed. Many people died. Many rescue vehicles will come."

As soon as I finished speaking, Manager Chen and Sister Wang exchanged glances.

Sister Wang was the first to laugh loudly, saying:

"Little brat, you can eat recklessly, but you can't speak recklessly, do you understand?"

Manager Chen also laughed:

"Old Wang, is there something wrong with your daughter's mind? Or should I recommend a good doctor for you?"

My father said awkwardly:

"Manager Chen, better to believe it exists than not. How about we give everyone a day off today?"

"Nonsense!" Manager Chen jumped up and hit my father on the head, "A day off work—how much money would I lose? Do you know?"

I looked at him and smiled:

"Uncle, if people die, you'll lose even more money."

He had been cursing my father, but hearing this, he suddenly froze.

After a moment of silence, he crushed his cigarette and suddenly became serious:

"Child, do you know the consequences of saying this?"

I nodded and said I knew.

"Good!" He thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth at my father, "Today I'll give everyone a day off. If nothing happens, I'll come deal with you tomorrow."

This news spread quickly.

Villagers were all laughing, saying several adults actually believed a little kid's words.

Others were cursing Manager Chen for being reckless—one less day of work meant losing dozens of yuan in wages.

Most were waiting to see us make fools of ourselves. After all, our mine had truly never had an accident all these years, which was why everyone wanted to work there.

Until afternoon, there was still no movement from the mine.

Someone brought melon seeds and cracked them at our doorstep.

While cracking them, they said my parents must have committed sins in their past lives, now raising two mentally ill daughters.

Just as these words were spoken, a car suddenly drove into the village from outside.

Manager Chen got out of the car, trembling all over as he shouted toward my house:

"Brother Wang! The mine really collapsed! It completely collapsed!"

14

The cigarette in my father's hand "clicked" as it fell to the ground.

When he came to his senses, he was so excited he almost knelt before me.

Manager Chen also trembled as he flicked his lighter several times, failing to light it.

If the mine had crushed people to death, not only would he have to pay a huge sum, but he would probably spend the rest of his life in prison.

That afternoon, many people came to our house.

They were all families whose men worked in the mine and had survived, coming to thank me.

Some said I was a deity reincarnated, able to predict the future, asking me to calculate when they could have a son.

It wasn't that I could predict the future, but in my past life, the mine had truly collapsed on this day, and Sister Wang's husband had been buried beneath it.

Because of this, Manager Chen was overjoyed.

He booked the best hotel in the village and treated all the miners to a meal.

He specially arranged a driver for my father,专门接送 him there.

My father was the center of attention for a while. He took a bath, cleaned himself up, and left whistling.

When the village returned to quiet, I went to the basement.

My sister was shrinking in the corner, her face as pale as paper, looking pitiful like a broken rag doll.

Hearing movement, she subconsciously flinched.

Looking up and seeing me, she hurriedly scrambled over, her voice trembling:

"Good sister, let me out, let me out, won't you? I promise I won't hurt you."

She was clear-headed at this moment, and those beautiful eyes were filled with painful, hopeless tears.

"Sister, I'm sorry. Father said he must save money to raise my brother, otherwise my brother won't be able to marry." I said to her, "To save up for my brother's wife, he placed Yaozu at Aunt's place to be raised while he went off to earn money."

"Wang Guifu, you bastard!" She spat, then pleaded softly with me, "Sister, let me out. I promise to hide far away and won't touch a single hair on your head."

"Alright, sister, I'll let you out." I nodded and pried open the lock.

In the darkness, a complex expression flashed through her eyes.

The moment I opened the door, she fiercely pushed me to the ground and staggered away to escape.

Seeing her heading toward Aunt's place, I grabbed some mud from the ground and smeared it on my face, messed up my hair, then ran to the restaurant, called my father out, and told him my sister had escaped and was heading toward Aunt's place.

"What!"

My father froze, sobering up considerably. He immediately pulled me and hurried toward Aunt's place.

But we were still too late.

From afar, we could see Aunt's house was already engulfed in flames, with screams coming from inside.

The flames shot to the sky, my sister's face twisted terrifyingly as she laughed maniacally beside it:

"Dead, all dead. The family line is cut off, hahaha."

My father's eyes darkened, nearly unable to stand.

He braced himself, anxiously grabbed me, and pushed me inside:

"Your brother is still in there. Quick, save your brother."

"Daddy, I'm scared." I clung to his pants, wailing loudly, then my head tilted as I fainted from fright.

My father had no choice. His precious son was still inside.

He untied his outer shirt and tied it around his waist, gritted his teeth, and finally rushed headfirst into the flames.

My final consciousness remained on the sight of my father completely engulfed in flames.

Then, perhaps because lying on the ground was somewhat comfortable, and it was quite warm beside me, I actually fell asleep.

15

When I woke up again, I saw my mother holding my brother's hand, crying her eyes out.

Seeing me awake, she cried even harder.

It turned out that when my father rushed in, Yaozu was hiding in a corner, scared and wailing.

My father entered quickly, so Yaozu only suffered some minor injuries.

But when my father came out, a beam had crushed his leg, and he was still being rescued in the hospital.

As for my aunt, she had been dead drunk that night.

When the fire broke out, she had no awareness and was directly burned to death.

My mother held my hand, kissing it again and again:

"Er Ya is truly our family's lucky star. You saved your brother's life again! Our Wang family's lineage is preserved!"

A few days later, my father was discharged from the hospital.

Although there was no danger to his life, he had lost a leg and would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

Manager Chen, hearing about our family's situation, considering that my father had saved all the miners' lives, gave my father a large sum of money, telling him to recover well and that he didn't need to come to the mine for work anymore.

My father clutched that bank card, crying and laughing.

He knew that this respectable job in the village was gone.

What made him happy was that not only could he repay the money borrowed from Brother Hei, but there was plenty left over for him to squander for a while.

Because someone had been burned to death, villagers reported it to the police, and my sister was arrested and identified as mentally ill.

My father still wanted to use her for business, so he joined my grandmother in issuing a letter of understanding, wanting to keep her in the village.

But the entire village feared my sister might go mad again, afraid she would burn their houses too, so they jointly submitted a letter to the village head's house. In the end, my sister was still sent to a mental hospital.

My aunt was dead, and my brother had nowhere to go temporarily.

My mother was so anxious she didn't sleep for several nights, when suddenly one midnight she had a flash of inspiration:

"That master before said that if we had given birth to a girl, there wouldn't have been disaster. Why don't we just dress Yaozu as a girl and raise him as our daughter?"

My brother had only been at home for a few days, and our family had been experiencing one disaster after another.

My father couldn't think of any better solution, so he nodded:

"Alright, better than raising him at your sister's place. He was becoming a little devil."

Wang Yaozu had long been spoiled by my aunt.

At only two or three years old, he would either burn people's crops or stuff firecrackers in people's pants.

Villagers all told their children to stay away from him, fearing his bad influence.

My mother dressed Yaozu from head to toe in pink clothes and bought hairpins for him to wear in his hair.

My brother had always been unpleasant.

Dressed like this and running outside, village children all laughed in unison, making faces at him:

"Shameless, pervert."

"Wang Yaozu, shameless. You'll get beaten up sooner or later."

After going out like this several times, Yaozu always returned crying.

My mother knew it was useless to explain feng shui to a child who wouldn't understand, so she simply had me comfort Wang Yaozu.

My brother cried and asked me:

"Sister, why does everyone say I'm a pervert?"

I stroked his head, comforting him:

"What pervert? Our Yaozu is clearly a girl."

He scratched his head, somewhat confused:

"But Auntie said I'm a man who can carry on the Wang family line."

I shook my head in disagreement:

"But our parents like girls. Don't you know? Only by becoming a girl can you win our parents' favor."

"Look at me, my sister. Which of my food and clothes isn't considered the best among my peers? So Yaozu must be a good girl, understand?"

Wang Yaozu bit his fingers, nodding somewhat understandingly.

16

My father had lost a leg and was quite bored at home, so he bought a television to pass the time.

This was still our village's first television.

To show off, my father called villagers to our home to watch television every day.

Those friends came with their families, and all sorts of people gathered at our home to watch.

On television, the stock market was flourishing, and many people had become overnight millionaires through stock trading.

My father lay in his chair, clicking his tongue with a toothpick:

"I don't understand this stuff, otherwise I'd go to the city and buy some stocks to play with."

"Brother, you have so much money. Even if you pick randomly, you can surely earn."

Someone said this first, and immediately everyone began chattering:

"That's right, there are now cars from our village to the city. Brother, charter a car to go."

"Besides, doesn't your family still have Er Ya the lucky star? When Brother earns money, don't forget us."

Amid this flattery, my father became somewhat smug.

He enjoyed closing his eyes, seemingly already fantasizing about the days after becoming wealthy.

When the television watchers had left, my father packed up and left early the next morning, taking me to the city.

He asked around along the way, but after asking just a few people, he deflated.

The person my father was chatting with, hearing my father only had two thousand yuan, shook his head repeatedly.

"Two thousand yuan isn't enough to play with. Now it starts at fifty thousand yuan investment, otherwise brokers won't even take you."

"Fifty thousand yuan? So much money?" My father frowned in surprise.

The two thousand yuan he brought was still money my mother had hesitated for a long time before giving him—it was all our family had.

"The bold get rich, the timid starve. If you only invest this much, you'll miss the best opportunity!"

That person continued to entice:

"I invested one hundred thousand yuan yesterday, and in just a few days, it has quintupled!"

"Quintupled!" My father was instantly tempted.

Quintupled meant five hundred thousand.

This number was astronomical to my father.

Even if the entire village pooled their money, they couldn't come up with that much.

My father couldn't come up with one hundred thousand, but fifty thousand was something he could grit his teeth and scrape together.

He pondered with a dark face for a few minutes, then gritted his teeth and decided:

"I'll go back and raise the money."

When we returned home, he took the house and land deeds to Brother Hei, borrowing thirty thousand yuan.

My mother cried out, tugging at my father:

"Guifu, you've gone mad! You're ruining our family. If we lose the house, I won't live either!"

My father, annoyed at her cries, slapped her, and my mother fell silent.

My father had me pick a few stocks, investing all fifty thousand yuan.

At closing time, those stocks had risen to one hundred fifty thousand.

After various fees, there was still over one hundred thousand.

After repaying the money borrowed from Brother Hei, in just a few days, we had netted fifty thousand!

My father excitedly slapped his thigh, shouting:

"We're rich! We're truly rich now! Er Ya, you're truly my lucky star!"

In the afternoon, my mother also came by car.

Seeing my father's bag stuffed with thick stacks of cash, she was so shocked her mouth wouldn't close.

"My god, Guifu, how much money is this?"

My father had earned money and was in a good mood.

He rarely showed a smile to my mother:

"Look at you, so unworldly. Come on, I'll take you to buy clothes!"

17

My father earned money but didn't repay Brother Hei. Instead, he invested all the money in the stock market.

He always had deep faith in the stocks I picked.

A month later, he earned another large sum.

This time, after much persuasion from my mother, my father spent a small portion of the money to buy a house in the city, investing the rest back into the stock market.

My mother was busy looking at houses and decorating, so the task of caring for Wang Yaozu fell to me.

Every day after school, I had to hurry back to cook for Wang Yaozu. When my father went to trade stocks, I would take a car to the city.

On weekends, Wang Yaozu looked up at me and asked:

"Sister, why haven't Mom and Dad come back recently?"

I explained: "Because they're earning money."

"Why do they only take you and not me?"

I stroked his head and said earnestly:

"I've told you before. Mom and Dad dislike you because you're a boy. In the future, this family will be handed over to girls like me."

Wang Yaozu, hands on hips, disagreed: "But Yaozu can also dress as a girl."

I shook my head: "That's not a real girl."

My father had been trading stocks for five years when the market closing price reached a historic high.

My father was so excited he sang and danced:

"We're rich! I'm rich! At this rate, I'll soon be the richest man in this city! Hahahaha!"

My mother also laughed along.

In these years, our family had bought three houses in the city, and my father had bought a car.

Having lost a leg, he hired a driver to take him to the stock market every day.

Returning to the village, when people saw him, their expressions changed, calling him "brother" this and "brother" that, asking him to let them earn money too.

He agreed verbally but then forgot about it.

For those people, he now looked down on them—feeling that saying an extra word would lower his status.

After this close, my mother took part of the money earned and bought a villa next to the best private school in the city.

She said to my father:

"Yaozu always dressing as a girl isn't good either. We might as well bring him up here to study. Leaving him in the village isn't proper either."

My father was in the midst of earning money and would never agree:

"No. Bringing him here will ruin my luck."

My mother persuaded again:

"We'll put him in a boarding school. Before, we raised him at your sister's, and we did quite well then. So as long as he's not by our side, nothing bad should happen."

After much persuasion, my father finally agreed.

My father was busy with stocks, so arranging my brother's enrollment naturally fell to me.

Wang Yaozu had never been to the city before. He looked left and right, finding everything very novel.

After arranging everything for him, he tugged at me, his face full of expectation:

"Are Mom and Dad bringing me here so the four of us can live together from now on?"

My father, blinded by enormous wealth, feared Wang Yaozu would ruin his luck and hadn't seen him for a long time.

A ten-year-old child wouldn't understand this, only thinking that his father didn't want him.

Even if my mother missed Yaozu, she would only peek at him from a corner of the wall, not daring to show herself.

Because if my father found out, he would surely scold her to death.

I shook my head and smiled:

"Silly child, Mom and Dad dislike you, that's why they sent you to boarding school. In this family, only I truly care about you, understand?"

My brother went to boarding school, and my mother instead worried he wouldn't be accustomed to the food or sleep.

I patted my chest and guaranteed to my parents:

"Dad, you focus on your stocks. I'll handle my brother's side."

"I'll bring him food at least twice a week, ensuring he's raised strong and healthy."

My father's face was full of relief:

"Er Ya, it's good we have you in this family. You're truly our family's lucky star."

A few more years passed, and my father earned more and more money. The days he spent at home became few and far between.

In these years, our family bought villas and luxury cars everywhere. The property deeds stacked together were nearly a meter high.

My father became somewhat famous in the city, often appearing on television programs and accepting various interviews.

On the day Wang Yaozu graduated from elementary school, my father had promised to attend his graduation ceremony.

But until the ceremony ended, and Wang Yaozu's eyes were sore from waiting, my father never appeared.

The next morning when my father woke up, he had me bring a casual message to Yaozu:

"I was drunk. Forgot."

Such scenes happened many times, and Wang Yaozu's feelings for our parents gradually faded.

18

In spring, my father received inside information that a certain stock would surge.

It was said that even economic experts unanimously predicted a major rise.

The person who gave my father the tip said that if he could seize this opportunity, my father could earn at least tens of millions, and if he invested heavily, it might reach hundreds of millions!

At this time, millionaires were few and far between, and tens of millions were even rarer.

Having assets over a hundred million would instantly land him on the province's rich list.

My father was blinded by this news. After the person left, he red-eyed and asked me:

"Er Ya, do you think this information is reliable?"

I pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Reliable."

He gritted his teeth: "Good, I'll go raise money."

After so many years of stock trading, my father was getting older. He wanted to earn one big sum and then quit.

This was the best opportunity.

He mortgaged all the houses and cars, and also contacted Brother Hei to borrow a large sum.

My mother was older now. Seeing my father's excited expression, she trembled and said:

"Guifu, isn't this too risky? We've earned enough money these years. Do we need to do this?"

My father spat at her:

"Do I care about this money? I care about reputation! About being the richest man! What do you know, you old woman!"

At eight in the morning, my father invested all the raised money in the stock market.

My mother was anxious at home, so she turned to plead with me:

"Er Ya, my heart is pounding. Why don't you follow your father to watch? Don't let your brother's wife money be lost."

At four in the afternoon, stock prices soared.

My father was so excited his face turned red, slapping his thigh and "oohing" and "aahing":

"I'm rich! I'm really going to be rich this time!"

He excitedly called my mother.

In his excitement, he cursed my mother a few more times, saying she had no vision. If she had borrowed more from Brother Hei, he could have earned even more.

Halfway through the call, someone suddenly shouted in the stock market:

"It's falling! It's crashing!"

My father didn't hear clearly and muttered: "What are you shouting for? Haven't you seen it rise before?"

"It's falling! Brother, it's really falling!"

The voice was so loud my mother could hear it even from her end.

My father instantly froze, his whole body seemingly凝固.

He quickly hung up the phone and rushed to the computer. Seeing the trend, the phone in his hand "slapped" to the ground, and he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

When he came to his senses, he tremblingly tugged at me:

"Er Ya, quick, look. Is this temporary? It will rise again soon, right?"

I smiled and pulled his hand away:

"You'd better sell quickly, my dear billionaire father."

But it was too late to sell now. No fool would take over at this moment.

My father watched helplessly as stock prices fell all the way to the bottom, then hit the limit down.

His legs went soft, and he collapsed to the ground.

19

Our family's villas and luxury cars were soon seized.

My father, receiving a shock, was taken to the hospital after fainting.

After two days of rescue, he was finally out of danger, but he had become a vegetable, never to wake up again.

My mother was hounded by people Brother Hei sent, hiding like a street rat.

To avoid the debt collectors, my mother and I lived in a half-demolished unfinished building.

The building didn't even have windows, and at night my mother shivered from the cold.

These past few days, she had cried all her tears.

The house was gone, and we dared not return to the old village home.

The quiet space amplified her sorrow.

She covered her chest, murmuring:

"Er Ya, I only have you now."

"No." I shook my head.

"You still have your brother Wang Yaozu."

"That's right, I still have Yaozu." My mother's eyes brightened, "The house your father bought for Yaozu wasn't mortgaged. He has a house, can find a wife, and can carry on our Wang family line."

She stuffed the phone she had hidden on her into my hand, telling me to call Wang Yaozu back.

In her heart, he was now the only man in the family, and when the family was in trouble, he had to come back to support it.

Wang Yaozu didn't know what had happened to our family. When he answered the phone, he said happily:

"Sister, how has our family business been recently? I'm bringing my partner back this weekend to show you."

Wang Yaozu was in high school now, and boys his age were just starting to date.

"Yaozu has a girlfriend!"

Hearing Wang Yaozu's voice, my mother immediately put her hands together, relieved:

"Heaven blesses, Yaozu has a girlfriend. Our family hasn't collapsed. Our Wang family has an heir."

After hanging up, my mother didn't forget to instruct me:

"Don't tell your brother about our family situation yet. It would scare away that young woman."

Wang Yaozu took leave and returned the next day. When he came to the address we gave him, he was somewhat puzzled:

"Mom, Sister, why did you ask me to come here? Our family isn't in the city center, is it?"

"Yaozu!" The moment my mother saw Yaozu, her eyes lit up, and she waved excitedly.

At this moment, she didn't care about luck or not.

In her eyes, the man who could stand tall and support a family had returned!

Yaozu walked over. He hadn't seen my mother much these years and was both nervous and somewhat awkward.

He wiped his hands on his clothes, introducing to my mother:

"Mom, this is my partner."

As soon as he finished speaking, a dark, fat, strong man emerged from behind Wang Yaozu.

The man looked seven or eight years older than Wang Yaozu, with glasses as thick as bottle bottoms. His two sausage lips opened and closed as he introduced himself to my mother:

"Auntie, hello. My name is Li Da. I'm Yaozu's partner."

My mother was instantly stunned. She opened her mouth and asked Yaozu:

"What does this mean?"

Wang Yaozu scratched his head, somewhat shyly:

"Mom, I know you might not accept this for a while, but you should respect me, right?"

My mother was stunned for a few seconds, then screamed "ah," picked up a broom from beside her, and began beating Li Da, cursing as she did:

"Get lost! You beast, god-damned, corrupting Yaozu. I'll fight you!"

Wang Yaozu, seeing his partner being beaten, no longer cared that it was his own mother hitting him. He rushed forward and punched my mother, knocking her unconscious.

20

When my mother woke up, it was already dark.

She started up, looked around, and seeing that Li Da was gone, she breathed a small sigh of relief.

Then glancing at Wang Yaozu beside her, my mother became angry again, reaching out her hand:

"Where's the property deed? The house your father bought for you a few years ago, your sister said you took the deed. Now that our family is in trouble, give me the deed first. Keeping it with you, if some wild man cheats you, it will be ruined."

Wang Yaozu stood by the window, twisting a finger. After a moment of silence, he said somewhat guiltily to my mother:

"Mom, I'm sorry. I sold the house and had gender reassignment surgery."

"What the hell!" My mother's eyes darkened, nearly unable to stand.

"What do you mean? What surgery?"

"I'm sorry, Mom. I always felt I should be a girl. I also knew you and Dad like girls like my sister. So I sold the house and had the surgery. Mom, I know you might not accept this kind of surgery right away, but you'll understand me, right!"

My mother was horrified, covering her chest for a long while, then asked in disbelief a few times:

"Are you lying to Mom? Ah? Yaozu, you're joking with Mom, right?"

Wang Yaozu didn't speak, covering his mouth and shyly giggling at my mother.

My mother stared for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed wildly toward the sky:

"Retribution! It's all retribution! You used to lift girls' skirts, and now others are lifting yours!"

Before she could finish, Brother Hei suddenly rushed in with a group of people.

He had been inquiring for several days but couldn't find where my mother was, so he planned to make a move on Wang Yaozu.

But Wang Yaozu was in a boarding school and usually didn't come out.

Unwilling to give up, he had people stake out near Wang Yaozu's school.

Heaven helps those who help themselves—on the first day of staking out, Wang Yaozu appeared in his sight.

My mother, seeing Brother Hei about to take Wang Yaozu away, couldn't bear it and immediately cried and shouted:

"Er Ya, save your brother! He is the root of our Wang family. He cannot be taken away!"

After crying for a while, seeing Brother Hei unmoved, she panicked and pushed me forward:

"Brother Hei, take her away. She's beautiful and can earn money. You take her in. You won't lose out at all."

Brother Hei didn't listen to her. He waved his hand, pointing at Yaozu:

"Take him away!"

My mother's mind reeled, as if struck by lightning. Her whole body softened as she collapsed to the ground.

She staggered to her knees, crying out loud:

"Save your brother, Er Ya. Save your brother."

I stood expressionless at the doorway, watching Brother Hei drag Wang Yaozu away, not even bothering to lift my eyelids:

"Serves you right."

"How can you say that?" She turned back in disbelief, "Er Ya, aren't you our family's lucky star?"

"What if I'm not?"

Seeing her look somewhat confused, I carefully explained to her:

"That master you spoke of—I hired him with your money. His real identity is just a scavenging old man."

"Every disaster that befell our family was deliberately created by me."

"The stocks my father bought—I already knew which would rise and which would fall."

"Brother Hei and I have long been acquainted. After all, I introduced your father to him as a big client."

"As for why you lost so miserably—well, that can only be blamed on your father's excessive greed."

"And as for Wang Yaozu." I clicked my tongue in satisfaction, "He is my creation."

"What do you mean?"

My mother's face was vigilant as she stared at me.

I smiled:

"It was I who hinted to my aunt to feed Yaozu chicken feed. Otherwise, with her drunken mind, even if she couldn't afford food, why would she think of that?"

"The chicken feed was the cheapest kind, full of hormones. If you eat it once or twice, it's fine, but over years, it's quite damaging."

"And the food I later made for Yaozu—every meal contained large doses of hormones. The medicine isn't fatal, but if eaten for a long time, not only will the skin improve, but it will also give a feminine charm."

"Plus my brainwashing, he always felt he was a girl at heart."

I covered my mouth and laughed:

"Mom, haven't you noticed? Our Yaozu has become more and more beautiful recently?"

My mother's eyes widened, her pupils bloodshot.

She used all her strength to try to pounce on me and strangle me.

But the successive blows had weakened her body too much. She had just stood up when she collapsed again.

She lay weakly on the ground, panting heavily, two lines of murky tears streaming down her face as she kept murmuring:

"I'll kill you. Even if I can't, I must have Yaozu kill you."

Her eyes were all red, matching her expression—she appeared quite insane.

"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you, Yaozu was dragged by Brother Hei to that kind of place. For the rest of his life, he'll have to sell his skills and his body to repay your father's debts."

I sneered:

"What to do? The son you were so proud of has also become a worthless girl."

"You beast! I'll kill you!" she roared loudly, seemingly insane.

I had people drag her to the mental hospital, locking her up with my sister, then turned and left without looking back.

Let those two love and kill each other.

How long they can live depends on their fate.

I walked lightly out of the mental hospital.

Outside, the wind was gentle and the sun was bright.

Several leaves, blown by the wind, swirled and landed at my feet, so comfortable I subconsciously wanted to stretch.

Across from the mental hospital was the stock market.

There, people were still cheering and crying, while others wailed and beat their chests.

I narrowed my eyes, watching the excitement for a while, then pulled out my SIM card, canceling all my social media accounts.

Let this day be my rebirth, I said to myself.

Goodbye, Wang Er Ya.