TSWPF – Chapter 2 Falling into the Water

The next morning, Li Qingling woke up right on time. As soon as she lifted the blanket, her younger brother, Li Qingfeng, also stirred awake. He sat up groggily, rubbed his eyes, and called out, “Sis.”

Her heart softened. Li Qingling reached out to hug him, then took his hand and led him to the kitchen.

“Awake already?” Madam Zhao had just finished washing a basket of mushrooms. Seeing her daughter and son up, she quickly fetched a basin of water. “Come wash your face!”

“Mother, leave it to me, I’ll do it…”

Li Qingling gently pulled Madam Zhao to sit down on a stool. She poured the mushrooms into a pot of boiling water, added some salt, covered it with a lid, and only then went to wash her face.

Madam Zhao stoked the fire, frowning slightly before she said, “Xiaoling, don’t tell anyone about those hairy mushrooms. It wouldn’t be good for our family.”

After putting the cloth aside, Li Qingling replied softly, “I know. I already reminded my little brother yesterday.”

Since she had taken over this body, she had to bear its responsibilities — to make sure this family didn’t go hungry. The mushrooms from the mountain were currently their only food source, so she had no choice but to be a little selfish.

Madam Zhao turned to look at Li Qingling carefully. Her daughter seemed to have changed a lot after waking up from her injury. Li Qingling felt her mother’s probing gaze but didn’t panic. The old Li Qingling had been clumsy with words and only knew how to work hard in silence. But now, after hitting her head and dying once, it was only natural that she’d change.

After a while, Madam Zhao seemed to come to the same realization. Her voice choked as she said, “It’s Mother’s fault… I’ve made you both suffer.” She turned her head away, afraid they would see the tears welling up in her eyes.

When the family split, if she had only been a little more assertive, maybe they could’ve gotten more food. Then her daughter wouldn’t have had to beg just to feed them.

Li Qingling tied her brother’s hair into a small bun again and shook her head gently. “Things will get better.”

The words were meant for her mother, but also for herself. Thinking that way was the only way she could keep moving forward.

Madam Zhao quietly wiped her tears and nodded. Just then, the fragrant smell of mushrooms wafted through the air. She lifted the lid, served three bowls, and handed one to each of them.

After they finished eating, she filled another bowl to the brim, covered it with another bowl, and passed it to Li Qingling. “Take this to Zhimou. He’s been kind to our family — we can’t forget that.”

Li Qingling nodded. Even when the Liu family had barely any rice left, Liu Zhimou still brought some over for them. She couldn’t possibly be ungrateful.

“Mother, I want to go too!”

“Go ahead!” Madam Zhao smiled, patting her son’s head.

Li Qingfeng cheered and ran off first. Now that he was full, a bit of childish liveliness finally returned to him.

When he reached the Liu family’s courtyard gate, he knocked eagerly. “Brother Zhimou, open the door!”

Soon, the door opened, and a head poked out — it was Liu Zhimou’s younger brother, Liu Zhiyan.

“Qingfeng, my brother went to the fields. He’s not home.”

“Zhiyan, my sister brought—”

Li Qingfeng’s excited words were cut off by Li Qingling. “Let’s talk inside.”

Even though their house was on the edge of the village, she didn’t want anyone passing by to overhear.

She entered the courtyard, closed the gate behind her, and took a quick look around. The Liu family’s house was made of mud bricks — sturdier than their own shabby thatched hut.

The Liu family wasn’t originally from the area. Thirteen years ago, Liu Zhimou’s parents had moved to Niutou Village. Over the years, Liu’s father and her own had become close friends. When illness struck and the Liu couple caught the plague, Liu Zhimou’s father had asked her father to have her and Liu Zhimou betrothed, and to help look after his three children.

But fate was cruel — her father also caught the plague and died. Her mother and siblings were then driven out, and instead of helping the Liu family, they ended up being the ones helped by them.

Liu Zhiyan glanced at the bowl in Li Qingling’s hands, sniffing. “Sister Qingling, what… what’s that?”

Before Li Qingling could answer, Li Qingfeng blurted out, “It’s the hairy mushrooms my sister found in the mountains! They smell amazing!” He lifted the bowl cover enthusiastically. “We already ate them — no one’s dead!”

“Really?” Liu Zhiyan swallowed a few times, unable to resist the aroma.

Since their parents had fallen ill and used up all their money, he hadn’t eaten anything tasty — just coarse rice porridge day after day.

Li Qingling nodded, placed the bowl on the table, and said, “These hairy mushrooms are edible. They won’t poison you — don’t worry.”

A soft voice came from the room, “Second brother…”

“I’m coming…” Liu Zhiyan hurried inside and carried his little sister out. Li Qingling reached out to take the child from him and gestured for him to go eat.

He looked up at her, then down at his shoes, where his big toe poked out of a hole, and said hesitantly, “I want to wait until my brother comes home.”

Li Qingling understood. Since their parents’ death, life had been hard for the Liu siblings. Yet even faced with food, the boy still thought of his brother first — that was rare and admirable.

“My family still has more. This is for you. Go ahead and eat.” She smiled and patted his head.

Hearing that, Liu Zhiyan’s eyes lit up. Without hesitation, he lowered his head and started eating earnestly.

Seeing the food, drool dribbled from the corner of Liu Zhirou’s mouth. She pointed at Liu Zhiyan and said, “Eat… eat…”

“Little sister can eat too.” Liu Zhiyan picked up a piece of mushroom, stood up, and handed it to her.

Li Qingling hurriedly stopped him. Liu Zhirou was only a little over two years old—such a big piece of mushroom could choke her. She turned and told Li Qingfeng to fetch a knife so they could chop it into smaller bits before feeding her.

Liu Zhirou kept reaching toward the bowls on the table, anxiously babbling, “Eat… eat…”

“Wait a bit, it’ll be ready soon.” Li Qingling scooped some with a spoon, blew on it to cool it down, and fed it to Liu Zhirou’s small, open mouth.

After gulping down several hurried bites, Liu Zhirou finally slowed. She clapped her little hands and smiled with curved brows and eyes. “Yummy… good…” Then she nudged the spoon toward Li Qingling, signaling for her to eat too.

Li Qingling pretended to take a bite, then fed the mushroom back into Liu Zhirou’s mouth. The little girl giggled even more happily.

At the side, Li Qingfeng kept swallowing his saliva as he watched. He asked Liu Zhiyan, “Is it good? Does it smell nice?”

Liu Zhiyan nodded hard, looked up at him, and picked up a piece for him. But Li Qingfeng shook his head and said he’d already eaten—he couldn’t have any more.

Seeing this, Li Qingling felt both sour and proud in her heart. With such a sensible younger brother, no matter how hard things got, she was determined to carve out a way for them to survive.

After Liu Zhiyan and his sister finished eating, she reminded them not to tell anyone about this. Once they nodded, she finally felt at ease and took Li Qingfeng home.

Seeing Madam Zhao hoisting a hoe, ready to head to the fields again, Li Qingling nudged Li Qingfeng and told him to go along and help.

Without a father, he was now the only man in the family. There were things he had to learn—only then could he hold their home together in the future.

Li Qingfeng patted his small chest. “Don’t worry, sis. I won’t let Mother get too tired.”

“Good boy…” She patted his head gently, then turned to Madam Zhao. “Mother, I’ll go up the mountain to gather some mushrooms, and then I’ll come to the fields to help you.”

“No, no—you just rest when you get back. Don’t tire yourself out. Field work doesn’t scare me,” Madam Zhao waved her hands hastily. She was afraid her daughter, still not fully recovered, might wear herself down again.

Li Qingling smiled but didn’t take her words to heart. She bent down to remind Li Qingfeng of a few things before carrying her basket up the mountain.

This time, she focused only on collecting mushrooms and quickly filled her basket. When she got home, she didn’t even rest before heading straight for the fields. She wanted to ease Madam Zhao’s burden a little, let her rest more.

Following her memory, she reached their family plot and spotted Madam Zhao. She had just called out “Mother” when—

A village boy named Ergouzi came running, shouting as he ran, “Bad news! Auntie Zhao, Qingfeng fell into the river!”

Madam Zhao stumbled at the words, nearly falling over. Li Qingling’s heart lurched in terror. “Mother, don’t panic—I’ll go check first!” She quickly turned to the panting Ergouzi. “Ergouzi, please help hold my mother. She’s pregnant—she can’t get too anxious.”

Seeing him nod, Li Qingling dashed off. If something happened to Qingfeng, her poor mother might not survive it. She couldn’t let that happen.

When she reached the riverbank, a crowd had already gathered, murmuring among themselves—

“It’s too late. He’s not breathing.”

Her heart sank. She shoved through the crowd and saw Li Qingfeng lying on the ground, drenched from head to toe, his face pale-blue. Her eyes instantly reddened.

“Ah, Qingling’s here!” someone called.

Li Qingling pinched her palm hard, forcing herself to stay calm. Ignoring the pitying looks, she knelt beside Li Qingfeng and began performing artificial respiration—the method she’d learned in her previous life.

Please, let there still be time.

“What’s that girl doing? Has she gone mad from shock?” Villagers whispered as they watched her press down on his chest and breathe into his mouth.

Madam Zhao, clutching her belly, hurried as fast as she could. Seeing the circle of people, her panic grew. Ergouzi jogged beside her, urging, “Auntie Zhao, slow down!”

The villagers made way when she arrived, telling her to mind her body and not grieve too much.

Madam Zhao’s heart sank. When she saw her lifeless son on the ground, she let out a heart-wrenching cry—

“My son!”

She collapsed, and if not for the villagers catching her, she would have hit the ground.

Li Qingling had no time to care about her fainted mother. She kept working on Li Qingfeng—pressing, breathing, pressing, breathing—until she felt her own breath running out, yet he still didn’t move.

“Girl, stop now. Bring the boy home and prepare for the funeral,” said Old Granny Wu, the eldest in the village, her eyes red. Even the village head treated her with respect.

Was it really over?

Li Qingling pinched Li Qingfeng’s nose and once again breathed into his mouth, unwilling to give up. Tears streamed down her chin and fell into his mouth.

Then—

Cough!

Li Qingfeng suddenly twitched.

Overjoyed, Li Qingling flipped him over and pressed her knee to his stomach.

With a loud splutter, he vomited out a great deal of water. After a while, he clutched her sleeve weakly and croaked, “Sis…”

“He’s alive! He’s alive! She saved him!” The villagers gasped in awe.

But Li Qingling’s face remained cold as she smacked Li Qingfeng’s back sharply. “How many times have I told you not to play by the river? You just wouldn’t listen!” She turned his head toward the unconscious Madam Zhao. “Were you waiting for Mother to die before you’d finally listen?”