TWWDS - Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Chao Qingxiu felt that the circumstances she found herself in were rather implausible.
Someone with few complaints about her life, Chao Qingxiu had never expected that a chance to transmigrate could land so squarely on her head.
She felt this did more than waste a transmigration slot. It also came with the side effect of forcing her to start working from scratch in an unfamiliar environment.
It was all rather miserable.
Looking back, it had taken nothing more than closing her eyes after overworking and opening them again. Chao Qingxiu bade farewell to modern society and arrived directly in a fictional dynasty called Great Xia. From what she had observed over the past few days, the world around her resembled an ordinary ancient one. Its advantage was its relaxed atmosphere. Men and women alike were free to go out to work, or even to become officials.
Chao Qingxiu had considered drawing upon the exam preparation she had accumulated over the years, taking the imperial examination route and trying to land an iron rice bowl in the bureaucracy, a post that paid the same income come drought or flood.
However, she soon realized there was a very serious problem. To study, she first needed books.
Even if she solved the problem of obtaining books, Chao Qingxiu's present means would still make it impossible for her to find a suitable school to attend.
Silently crossing this plan out in her mind, Chao Qingxiu noted that it required a large initial investment and might not even yield a return, given her present circumstances.
"Gurgle..."
Thinking consumed energy too.
Chao Qingxiu reached down to pat her hollow stomach. She climbed listlessly off her straw bedding and went outside to join the queue for porridge.
The place she had landed was called Gaofang Prefecture. Judging by the climate, it seemed to be a city in the south. Chao Qingxiu had arrived at a convenient moment. Apparently because of the war and the burden of taxation, refugees had recently been streaming into the area. She had blended in with them, accepted the local magistrate's resettlement arrangements, and completed her household registration.
The people of Great Xia spoke with accents different from those in the modern world. During the first few days, Chao Qingxiu could understand them only with difficulty and had relied on gestures to communicate.
She worried that if this continued, people would consider her a strange person who spoke poorly but loved waving her arms about, then single-handedly drag down the impression of every transmigrator in every literary work.
Fortunately, by today she could gradually understand most ordinary conversations. This was also thanks to the refugees around her, who had the same need to exchange information.
Whenever they were idle, they would talk about all sorts of things. They might discuss shanxiao, perhaps some kind of owl, or the intermittent rain that had lately left the straw they slept on continually damp. They worried that, with so many people gathered together, if one person fell ill, the others would catch it too. That last concern was not groundless. Chao Qingxiu had heard that many people in the refugee shelters north of the city had already fallen ill.
Conditions on the south side of the city were better. The authorities had been trying to arrange suitable destinations for the refugees. Those who were healthy and possessed a little money were registered and allotted some uncultivated wasteland. The rest were either taken away by the authorities or taken on by large households short of labor as temporary workers. Those still remaining in the straw shelters were, by and large, in relatively poor health.
Chao Qingxiu's circumstances were different from those of the others. Although her body had shrunk after transmigration into the form it had had when she was fourteen or fifteen, she was healthy enough to be regarded as an adult under ancient conditions. She had not left with the earlier arrivals because she wanted to gather more information about the area and use the opportunity to become familiar with the patterns of speech in Great Xia.
After five or six days of careful consideration, Chao Qingxiu realized she need not worry too much about her employment prospects. There were so few jobs she could take that she had little room to deliberate.
The petty clerk overseeing the shelter came to announce that a household surnamed Liu on the outskirts of Gaofang Prefecture needed people to help clear and prepare its fields for the spring planting. Room and board were provided, and wages could be collected each day.
After finishing the thin porridge she had been given, Chao Qingxiu washed her bowl clean and waited for the employer to interview the applicants. Perhaps because of the wider situation, the woman who introduced herself as a steward of the Liu household had barely looked her over before readily agreeing to hire her.
Under supervision, the employer and employees drew up a labor contract. Chao Qingxiu and four others then followed the Liu family steward, who was mounted on a mule. The steward was a woman approaching fifty, dressed like an ordinary farmwife, with a slightly plump, round face. She kept turning around to chat with the people behind her and remained enthusiastic even though the workers could only offer halting replies.
Thanks to her talkativeness, the workers soon learned that the middle-aged steward was Wang He. Around ten years earlier, she had moved to Gaofang Prefecture in Shizhou with the two Liu brothers, making her a longtime servant of the household. The elder Liu brother would travel elsewhere to sell goods whenever the season was favorable. He had gone away as usual recently and was said to be returning home later that day. The younger brother stayed home more often, responsible for the fields and the family's properties in the city.
Wang He glanced down at Chao Qingxiu from the mule and said, "You don't look much like a farmer."
All the other workers wore short, close-fitting clothes, while Chao Qingxiu wore a long-sleeved top and trousers that were cut differently from everyone else's.
Chao Qingxiu answered honestly, "Not much, in the past."
The last time she had planted a crop, she had still been an elementary school student taking part in an extracurricular practical activity.
Had she known what the future held, Chao Qingxiu felt she should have studied agriculture back then.
Wang He suddenly sighed and comforted her, "Don't worry. Once you've settled down, life will get better little by little. Eldest Son Liu even partitioned off a section of the courtyard and rented it to a student. Go and ask her. Perhaps she will know what you should do."
Chao Qingxiu guessed that Wang He thought she was a scholar from a family that had fallen on hard times, so she smiled and said, "Thank you for the reminder."
She went to the Liu residence with the other workers. The Liu home was a fine house, rustic and pastoral in style, but exceptionally clean and tidy. A tall apricot tree stood in the center of the courtyard, about half its blossoms open. A gentle breeze sent a few petals drifting down.
Wang He looked around, a puzzled expression crossing her face. Then she called loudly to an old man who was squatting facing the gate and peeling garlic. "Lao Zhou, Lao Zhou, where has everyone gone?"
The old man raised his head and said slowly, "Who is calling me?" He set down his work, took a couple of long strides toward them, then smiled and made a respectful greeting. "So Sister Wang is back." He shook his head and explained, "We couldn't borrow enough oxen today, so the men went home first. They will come back tomorrow."
The Liu family owned fields and tenant farmers. During the busy farming season, the tenants had to provide labor to help their landlord. Since no oxen had arrived, the Liu family had not kept the tenant farmers waiting but had sent them home for the time being.
Wang He frowned and said, "I have brought workers. First, I will let Second Son Liu take a look at them."
The old man replied, "Second Son Liu is in the yard. Go ahead, Sister."
The person called Second Son was Liu Youcai, the younger of the Liu brothers. When Chao Qingxiu saw him, he was wearing a long robe and looked quite scholarly.
Liu Youcai said with a smile, "Mistress Wang is diligent. No wonder I have not seen you all morning."
Wang He clapped her hands and said, "I went to all that effort for nothing. If I had known the oxen would not arrive today, I could have waited until tomorrow to hire workers."
Liu Youcai said, "A day earlier or later makes no difference."
The workers had already arrived, and their wages were settled by the day. It would not do to send them away and hire others now. After considering briefly, Wang He sent them all to clear the field ridges.
To make cultivation easier, the Liu family had built a thatched shed at the edge of the field. Its floor was paved with stone, and walking on it made one's feet ache. Inside were many racks, each holding an orderly assortment of farming implements and tools. There was also a brand-new sickle leaning beside one of the racks.
That sickle was rather delicate in design. Wang He did not hand it out, but fetched coarse iron shovels instead.
The tools of the age were extremely crude, and the wooden handles still bore splinters. Chao Qingxiu wrapped her palm in straw before gripping the shovel's handle.
A worker named Yu Tianji glanced at Chao Qingxiu, nodded, and said casually, "You really aren't used to farm work."
The refugees came from varied backgrounds and different places, including a number of people from well-off families. For that reason, no one paid much attention to Chao Qingxiu's stiff accent or somewhat different clothes.
Wang He gave Chao Qingxiu an easy task, turning the soil beside the field ridges and clearing away the weeds.
The moment she drove the tip of the shovel into the earth and saw broken grass stalks mixed through the soil, Chao Qingxiu felt with absolute clarity that she truly had come to a world completely unlike the one she had known before.
After the workers had labored for a little over two hours, Wang He came over and called away a worker named Luo Sining.
Luo Sining had experience helping in a kitchen, so she was now going to assist Granny Sun, the Liu family's cook.
Before going to the kitchen, Luo Sining returned the iron shovel to the tool shed. On her way out, she bumped into Lao Zhou, who had arrived to deliver a winnowing basket, and apologized.
Luo Sining said, "I bumped into you. Are you all right?"
Lao Zhou replied, "That is my fault for not looking carefully."
Luo Sining crouched and helped him gather the items that had been knocked over.
Standing on the field ridge, Chao Qingxiu glanced at the commotion once before looking away again.
Her immediate priority was to work hard, save a little money, and learn as much as possible about the local customs. If an opportunity came, she could then find more suitable work for herself.
The plan was beautiful, but putting it into practice always brought difficulties of every kind.
Chao Qingxiu had expected that someone raised in a modern city might be poor at farm work. She had not expected her endurance to decline so quickly.
Even though she had been assigned lighter work and taken precautions, her palms were still rubbed raw with blisters. Her hands and forearms were also covered in red bumps from the bites of unidentified flying insects.
As she worked in the Liu family's fields, every physical measure was steadily declining, and she was not in good spirits either. Before the meal, Chao Qingxiu and the other workers were called to the door of the tool shed.
A dark-skinned man of about thirty-five or thirty-six was arguing with the workers. He spoke quickly and in a heavy local accent. Chao Qingxiu struggled to understand for a while before she could make out what the argument was about.
The servant was named Shen Lao. He had left some new farming tools in the storeroom earlier, but when he returned, they had vanished. After learning that some workers had just visited, he assumed they had dishonest hands.
Yu Tianji, one of the workers Wang He had brought, felt greatly aggrieved and began arguing with Shen Lao.
Chao Qingxiu straightened up. Her head spun from the lack of blood in her body, but she slowly walked over to Yu Tianji and Shen Lao and looked inside the tool shed.
She actually remembered the tool Shen Lao had described. It was a sickle leaning against a cabinet. Even when all the workers had left the storeroom, the sickle was still lying properly on the floor.
After that, only two people entered the storeroom. They were Luo Sining, who had been summoned to the kitchen, and Lao Zhou, who had brought the winnowing basket.
Like Shen Lao, Lao Zhou had served the Liu family for many years, so the two men had a basic trust in each other. With new workers arriving that day, Shen Lao had fixed his suspicion on the outsiders, including Chao Qingxiu.
Shen Lao said, "Apart from you, who else was here? If something is missing and I do not look to you, who should I ask?"
Yu Tianji shouted, "Do not spout nonsense!"
His face had turned purple, and he was heaving through his nostrils. Yu Tianji was not articulate, and goaded by Shen Lao's words, he clenched his fists tightly.
The dispute grew worse, and it looked as though a fight was about to begin. Everyone else stood nearby with dark, disapproving looks.
A young worker named Xia Jiaxin pulled at Chao Qingxiu and whispered, "Do not go over. You might get dragged into it."
Chao Qingxiu said, "It is all right. I am only taking a look."
Even as she spoke, she did not stop walking. She went all the way into the tool shed and, while the two men were occupied with their argument, carefully observed the surroundings.
The storeroom was kept in excellent order, with every kind of implement in its proper place. After looking around for some time, Chao Qingxiu indeed found no sign of the sickle.
She looked up at the roof, checked the corners, and confirmed that nothing had been left there. Then she reached out and lifted the upturned winnowing basket.
Underneath lay the brand-new sickle.
Shen Lao and the others who saw what was inside: "..."
Every argument ceased at once. Even as Shen Lao picked up the sickle, his expression remained bewildered.
The dispute in the field had already alerted Wang He. She had watched for a while and had intended to intervene, but when they stopped by themselves, she smiled, stood aside with her arms folded, and waited. Now she walked over and said, "It was thanks to you that the sickle was found. How did you know it was under the basket?"
Lao Zhou had brought the basket, and Chao Qingxiu had not returned to the storeroom since leaving it. It was therefore impossible that she had deliberately hidden the sickle beneath it.
Chao Qingxiu explained casually, "I remember that when I left, the sickle was still beside the rack. Everyone doing the work wore short clothes. Even if Luo Sining took a tool, it would have been difficult to conceal on her way out, so that sickle could not possibly have been deliberately carried away."
"Since it was not taken out, the sickle had to still be in this room. I remember that Lao Zhou has poor eyesight, and the storeroom floor is mostly paved with stone. He takes long strides, so when he came in, he probably failed to notice. He may have brushed against it by accident, mistaken it for a stone, and paid it no attention. Then, when he set down the basket, he happened to cover the sickle."
"The storeroom is very tidy, and every kind of tool is sorted into its proper place. Anyone who comes here often can know what belongs where without looking closely. Given Lao Zhou's poor eyesight, it is not strange that he overlooked what was underfoot and failed to notice what he had done."
After hearing Chao Qingxiu's explanation, Wang He became even more surprised. She studied her and said, "Could it be that... that you knew Lao Zhou before?"
Chao Qingxiu answered openly, "This is the first time I have met him today."
Wang He asked, "If so, how did you know that his eyesight was poor?"
This was no secret among the older people of the Liu estate, but Chao Qingxiu had only just arrived. She had not exchanged a single word with Lao Zhou throughout the entire visit.
Chao Qingxiu said briefly, "When you came through the gate, you saw Lao Zhou in the distance and greeted him. He only recognized who you were after drawing closer."
At the same distance, Wang He could see him clearly, but he could not make out the identity of the person approaching.
Of course, the explanation for the sickle appearing beneath the basket was not the only one available to Chao Qingxiu. Since she had only just arrived and did not want to invite trouble, she had chosen an account that harmed no one.
Wang He paused, then clapped her hands in admiration. "You have remarkably sharp eyes."
Finding the sickle had merely made Wang He think Chao Qingxiu was a careful person. After hearing the reasoning behind it, Wang He was merely struck by the speaker's quick mind and became even more convinced that she was a scholar from a family that had fallen on hard times.
Chao Qingxiu said, "I do not deserve such praise."
As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly paused.
After she had explained her reasoning to everyone, a line of text slowly appeared in the air, visible only to Chao Qingxiu.
[System: Congratulations, user 'Chao Qingxiu' has completed the random beginner task [Find Lost Item]. The Detective System has been activated. Welcome, user. Please explore diligently.]
Chao Qingxiu: "..."
For Chao Qingxiu, who had suddenly acquired a mysterious part-time position, her first thought was not that she was about to embark on the grand path of solving cases and unraveling mysteries. Instead, she felt that Liu Family Manor must be particularly ill fated, since works of literature had already taught readers that anyone who dragged a detective onto their own territory had a much higher chance of encountering an accident...
Comments
Post a Comment