The Whole Family Prepares for a Great Famine Two Years Early

[Ongoing: Have You Come Again, Peddler Yan? Follow the link to read!] [War and chaos + floods + drought + earthquakes + plague + extreme cold + [a massive golden finger space]] Old Zhao's wife had a late-in-life baby, giving birth to a little girl at her age. The whole village was stunned. From the moment Zhao Xiaobao was born, her three burly older brothers and five tigerish, adorable nephews crowded around her. The whole family wept with joy. Old Zhao stayed up all night burning incense to his ancestors, tears streaming down his face. “At long last, our family has a girl!” But before they had even enjoyed a full day of happiness, newborn Zhao Xiaobao vanished into thin air! After the Zhao family descended into chaos, Zhao Xiaobao suddenly reappeared out of nowhere! The whole family was terrified. - Ever since Zhao Xiaobao was born, the ancestors of the Zhao family, all eighteen generations of them, seemed to manifest underground. On the way to the market in town, Zhao Xiaobao got a stomachache and had to poop. Wherever they dug a hole for her to do her business, there was always silver buried in the dirt. When she plucked a random blade of grass in the mountains, a fat ginseng root turned up beneath it. And whenever she idly dug a hole in the fields, there was sure to be an eel as thick as a baby's arm inside. Zhao Xiaobao = silver! Good fortune kept coming, and the Zhao family became convinced that Zhao Xiaobao was a fairy descended to earth... Until Five-year-old Zhao Xiaobao rode on her eldest brother's shoulders as he pretended to be a horse. The little girl's laughter rang like bells as she blurted out childish nonsense: “Hahaha, Big Brother, run! Hurry! There's going to be a war! The officials with big swords are coming to catch men for the army...” “...” “The dike's collapsed! Everyone's going to drown!” “...” “The land's all dry, there's no rain and no food! We're starving to death! There's a plague, a plague!” “???” “Our house has collapsed! Xiaobao's going to get crushed! Father, Mother, Big Brothers, Sisters-in-law, Nephews, run!!!” “!!!” - With a golden finger, the whole family flees a famine Reader's guide: A slice-of-life story with a slow build. The flight from famine comes much later. The setting gradually descends into troubled times in the later part of the story. 1. This is a fictional setting. 2. This is a fictional setting. 3. This is a fictional setting. 4. Please don't give me writing advice. If you don't like it, just click away using the upper-right corner. 5. This story is entirely fictional. Any scenes involving the hunting of wild animals are made up. Protecting wildlife is everyone's responsibility. We are law-abiding citizens. Coming soon: Have You Come Again, Peddler Yan? Please add it to your collection~ Blurb: Peddler Yan came by with his pack again, and all the women and children of Qili Village came sprinting to the entrance. “I want a stick of candied hawthorn!” “Give me a bag of maltose candy!” “A sewing needle, the thick-headed kind!” The tall, strapping Peddler Yan kept a stern face as he did business, never smiling. After serving the children, it was the women's turn, and his manner grew even more brusque. “The thick-headed needle costs five coins. You owe me two more.” “What? Five coins?! You sold Wu Chunhua one for three coins the other day, and even gave her two scraps of cloth. Why are you charging me five?!” “Her family comes from the same village as mine, so naturally I gave her a better price.” Wu Chunhua hurried to the village entrance. Looking at the man surrounded by a crowd, she pressed her lips together as she listened. He had actually given Daya a stick of candied hawthorn too. Wu Chunhua returned to her parents' home with her daughter after divorcing her husband. Rumors spread through the village that she'd nearly hacked Sun Dalang to death with a cleaver, and that the Sun family couldn't stand her. They'd even rejected the daughter she'd borne and driven both mother and child out of the house. The village chief worried that she'd tarnish the village's reputation and hurt the marriage prospects of eligible young men and women. He came by every few days to urge the Wu family to find Wu Chunhua a second husband. “Living at your parents' home forever isn't a solution. Find Chunhua a good family to marry into, and do it soon!” Just as Granny Wu was fretting, Yan Dalang from the village came to ask for Wu Chunhua's hand. The father and son were loaded with gifts: meat, wine, cloth, rice and flour, pastries, silver... Who brings his son along to propose? Wait, he wasn't marrying a divorced woman. Plenty of unmarried young women wouldn't even get a betrothal gift this generous! The man was so taciturn that he couldn't manage a complete sentence for a long while. At last, he promised solemnly, “I'll treat you and your daughter well. Chunhua, will you... will you marry me?” Wu Chunhua liked that his house had plenty of rooms and could accommodate her Daya, so she nodded and married him. After they wed, Yan Dalang put down his peddler's pole and followed in his father's footsteps as a caravan guard. He traveled north and south, making money by trading goods, and came home from every trip with a bulging purse. He bought fields and a house, and every year there was money left in the cash box. They raised Daya with great care. As she grew up, she shot up and became more and more lovely. Their young son buried himself in his books, first passing the county-level child scholar exam, then the xiucai exam. Good news kept pouring in. Their family moved from the village to the town, then from the town to the county seat. Their life grew better and better, making the villagers green with envy and pound their chests in regret. “If Yan Dalang was so capable, why did he become a peddler back then? What a waste of time!” “What do you think? Just look at which village he used to visit most often.” Wu Chunhua hadn't even divorced yet, and Yan Dalang already had his eye on her! Who says a second marriage can't be good? Just look at how well they're doing. A second marriage can be wonderful! Theme: A family pulling together