Chapter 2: The Family is Poor and Only Has Four Walls Left

  "Xing Er, slow down your drinking, there's still some in the pot." The next day, as soon as he woke up, Zhao Xing's mother brought over the porridge and dishes she had cooked earlier and placed them in front of Zhao Xing's bed.

  Looking at the young woman in front of him with eyes still slightly swollen and a pale complexion, but still unable to conceal her beautiful face, Yang Zhi-jun felt somewhat conflicted.

  "This is the relative after rebirth, my mother Yang Zhijun? She's really young! Looks like she's only thirty-two or three years old......" Yang Zhijun thought to himself.

  In his previous life, Yang Zhi had already passed the age of thirty. In this life, he didn't know how old the body he now occupied was either. He turned his head to look around and saw that the entire simple home was poor to the point where only four walls were left standing, so where would there be a mirror for him to take a look?

  He let out a sigh, and Yang Zhi Jun continued to drink the somewhat unripe and hard-to-swallow vegetable porridge, unintentionally furrowing his brow. Although this stuff was said to be all-natural with no additives, the taste really was quite hard to swallow. I reckon at home, there's probably only these kinds of things left that can be eaten; as for big fish and meat, it's not even worth thinking about.

  "Xing Er, you just have some congee for now. Tomorrow, I'll sell the long spear and golden eagle bow your father left behind and buy some meat and vegetables to nourish your body." Zhao Xing Niang said with a concerned expression on her face.

  "Mother, how long have I been ill?" Yang Zhi-Jun steeled himself and called out to his mother in a soft voice, starting to ask about his own identity.

  "You've had a fever for five days, and by the third day at noon, you started talking nonsense and fell into a coma. The doctor came to see you and told your family to prepare for the worst. Yesterday, my mother sold our old yellow cow and exchanged it for a coffin, and last night she asked the neighbors to help her dress you in preparation for burial today..." Zhao Xingniang said softly with her head bowed down, perhaps feeling guilty for hastily preparing her son's funeral.

  "What's this mat doing here in the house?" Zhao Xing asked curiously, looking at the mat beside the coffin in the main room.

  "This was prepared by your mother for herself, originally to be used as a shroud after I die. Now that you're gone, and your father is also gone, living in this world has no meaning for me either. It's better to throw myself into the Yellow Springs Road, hurry up and go, so I can take care of you..."

  "Mother...", Zhao Xing couldn't say a word, tears gushing out like a spring. Never in his past life or this one had he ever felt such deep sorrow. From the woman before him, Yang Zhi Jun could feel an intense love, the most selfless maternal love, the greatest affection in the world - even in death, she would leave her coffin for her son!

  From this moment on, Yang Zhi-jun began to accept his new and unfamiliar identity, and he also tried to accept the kind-hearted woman in front of him from the bottom of his heart.

  …………

  "Mother, after the child woke up this time, he couldn't remember anything from before, probably because his memories were erased." In order to prevent being asked about "Zhao Xing's" past in the future, Zhao Xing gave his mother a preemptive warning, afraid that if Madam Zhao asked, it would be exposed.

  "As long as you still recognize your mother, it's all good. You being awake is already a blessing from heaven," Zhao Xingniang said with a smile, "As long as you're here, Mother has someone to rely on, and Mother won't be lonely."

  Actually, Zhao's heart had already bloomed with joy. Before his rebirth, Zhao Xing had contracted a strange illness a few years ago and after being rescued, he became an idiot. Except for calling out "mother" and saying that he was hungry, he didn't know anything else. Now, Zhao Xing's speech is clear and logical. Perhaps it's really the heavens opening their eyes, this time when his son woke up from his illness, he seemed to be much smarter.

  Yang Zhi-jun would have cried his eyes out if he knew that Zhao Xing, who had been reborn, was a fool in his previous life - not to mention that he himself had come over penniless and white, but also a fool before he died!

  "Mother, who were those two people who came to coerce you last night?"

  "He is the steward and servant of Huang's family in the village, this year's rent has not been paid yet, they have come three or five times already."

  "Don't we have our own land at home?"

  "Your grandfather's generation still had several acres of land, but during your father's generation, there were several droughts. In order to raise you, your father sold the several acres of land and now our family is a tenant farmer for the Huang family."

  "How did my father die?" Zhao Xing asked.

  "This child didn't know before that his father was beaten to death by the servants of the Huang family while protecting him. Now that he's awake, I also can't mention it, lest he goes to find someone to fight with." Zhao thought to herself, but said out loud: "Your father went into the mountains to hunt and was injured by a big insect, he came back home not long after and passed away, leaving only us mother and child relying on each other for survival".

  Looking up at the sunlight faintly visible through the roof, glancing around the two thatched cottages with bare walls, Zhao Xing felt a sense of confusion in his heart. This life can't go on like this!

  "Mother, last night the prison officer and his family thought that their son had come back to life and were scared away. I reckon they'll be back again today. Their demand for rent is just a pretext; what they really want is to force you into marrying into the Huang family!" Zhao Xing said with a scowl on his face.

  "I thought I'd just drag on for a few more days, and after you're buried, I'll hang myself with a hemp rope, so as not to be bullied by others..." Zhao Xingniang said sorrowfully.

  "Mother, I'm here, and from now on, no one can bully you!" Zhao Xing clenched his fist and made a silent vow in his heart: "From today on, whoever dares to bully my mother will be taught a lesson, and if anyone violates this vow, they will be abandoned by heaven and man!"

  Under Zhao Xingniang's guidance, Zhao Xing dug open the ground under his bed and pulled out a carefully wrapped long gun and a large bow made of hemp cloth. Although in his previous life Zhao Xing had played with firearms, he could also sense that these two weapons were extraordinary from the materials used to make them.

  Zhao Xing carefully put away the two weapons and a set of secret manuals describing martial arts. From now on, without the guns from his previous life, Zhao Xing could only rely on the weapons in his hands to defend himself and his mother's safety and dignity.

  Having waited for a whole day without seeing any of the Huang family members coming to bully them, Zhao's tightly knotted heart finally relaxed.

  In the evening, Zhao Xing spoke out his own thoughts: "Mother, we can't stay here any longer! The Huang family won't let us off."

  "There is a place that can be reached, but the journey is quite far, I'm just afraid your body won't be able to withstand it..." Zhao Xingniang said hesitantly.

  "My body is fine, it's much better now. Where did Mother say we could move to?" Zhao Xing perked up at the mention of a possible transfer.

  "My daughter's hometown is in Pingzhou Shangdang, and there are also some fields at home that you can go to rely on."

  "Alright! Let's go! We can't afford to waste any more time. Mother, let's set off tonight, otherwise tomorrow the Huang family's evil men will come again to demand rent, and I'll have no choice but to fight them to the death!" Zhao Xing said with a furrowed brow.

  "Everything depends on you." Zhao Xingniang promised softly.