Reborn in Each Other’s Bodies: A Mother and Daughter’s Deadly Revenge - Chapter 18

In a prestigious household like the Sheng residence, it was entirely possible to have the broker bring servants to the estate for Sheng Minmin to choose from—provided she gave prior notice. However, since Sheng Minmin needed them urgently this time, she decided to visit the broker in person.

The broker was a man in his early thirties, appearing honest and simple, which naturally put people at ease.

After tea was served, Sheng Minmin got straight to the point and stated her requirements.

“I want to purchase a group of servants willing to sign lifelong indentures. I don’t care about looks, age, or marital status—only two conditions: First, they must know martial arts. If not, being exceptionally strong will suffice. Second, they must have clean backgrounds.”

The broker frowned slightly. “Madam Huang, we don’t currently have servants skilled in martial arts, but we do have some with great strength.”

Having worked in the capital for many years, the broker recognized “Huang Yaning.”

Sheng Minmin nodded slightly. Servants with martial arts skills were hard to come by, and she hadn’t expected to find them in one go.

“No matter. Notify me if any become available later. For now, bring out the strong ones for me to see.”

The broker quickly agreed and left with a smile, soon returning with about twenty people standing in the courtyard.

There were men and women, old and young.

The broker had them step forward one by one to introduce themselves and lift a large water bucket—at least two feet tall and filled to the brim—with one hand.

After looking them over, Sheng Minmin was surprised to spot a promising candidate.

A girl around twelve years old effortlessly lifted the heavy bucket with one hand.

The broker explained that this girl was a special case—if she was to be bought, her entire family had to be purchased as well.

It turned out that the girl’s parents and younger sister were also at the brokerage. Their original household had been headed by a grandmother with no blood relation to them, and after the grandfather passed away, the family of four was kicked out with nothing. Their backgrounds were clean.

The girl’s father, having no land, had no choice but to take odd jobs to support his wife and daughters. However, the meager earnings weren’t enough, especially when the mother fell seriously ill.

The father had initially planned to sell his two daughters to pay for his wife’s treatment, but the mother couldn’t bear it.

This father was also a bit reckless—he decided the whole family should sell themselves into servitude instead. Their asking price was low, with the only condition that all four be bought together.

Seeing Sheng Minmin’s interest, the broker had the remaining three family members brought out.

The family looked ordinary, not particularly sharp, but Sheng Minmin bought them all solely for the older girl’s strength.

She also selected a few “exceptionally strong” women, paid the brokerage, and had someone immediately register the purchases with the authorities. Soon, Sheng Minmin received the indentures for all of them.

Once the matter was settled, the group returned directly to the Sheng residence.

“From now on, your name will be Qingchi. You’ll stay by my side,” Sheng Minmin said to the newly purchased strong girl, Zhao Daya.

Qingchi accepted joyfully. As for her younger sister, Zhao Xiaoya, who was only eight, she was handed over to the residence’s governess for training.

Meanwhile, Qingchi’s parents—Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao—were summoned privately by Sheng Minmin. No one knew what was discussed, but the two left the estate shortly after.

…

Peach Blossom Village – The Feng Household

Recently, the Feng family had undergone major changes. The youngest daughter, Sixth Ya, had shed her former meekness and now acted outrageously, even demanding a seat at the family table…

Life in Peach Blossom Village was decent—most families ate three meals a day. Breakfast usually consisted of coarse grain porridge with pickled vegetables.

Lunch and dinner were mostly coarse grain vegetable pancakes, a bit of rice, and thin porridge with melon or fruit.

In the Feng household, the best food went to the two grandsons of the eldest branch—each got a boiled egg every morning.

The second tier was Old Man Feng and the two elder Feng brothers, who did heavy labor. Aside from the eggs, these three got the thickest portions of porridge.

The third tier was Old Madam Li and Young Madam Li. While their meals didn’t seem the best or the most plentiful, they secretly bought extra food with their private savings—otherwise, they wouldn’t have grown so plump.

The remaining members were the second branch’s daughters—Third Ya, Fourth Ya, and Fifth Ya. These three didn’t get the best food, but at least they ate their fill.

Only Sixth Ya had previously been given half a bowl of thin porridge per day while being forced to do endless chores.

After Old Man Feng allowed Sixth Ya to eat at the table, one might assume her life would improve—but the opposite happened.

Because Old Madam Li changed the family’s meal arrangements.

She had always despised the youngest daughter, and after the recent incident where the whole family was beaten and humiliated, Old Madam Li had grown to hate Sixth Ya—so much so that she wished the girl dead.

But Old Man Feng cared about reputation and wouldn’t allow the family to become a laughingstock again.

Knowing her husband’s limits, Old Madam Li spent a night thinking of a way to torment Sixth Ya without drawing criticism.

She moved all the family’s food and seasonings into her room, even locking the cellar.

Every day, she took out one large old pumpkin and made the second branch’s daughters cut half of it in the morning to boil a pot of pumpkin soup. The other half was boiled in the evening—without a drop of oil, a grain of salt, or a single grain of rice…

Even during famine years, the Feng family had never eaten so poorly.

After two days of this, Old Madam Li saw the wretched girl turn sallow, her eyes dull, her voice weak as if on the verge of death…

The sight filled Old Madam Li with vicious satisfaction.

Hmph. You think you can outsmart me? Not a chance!

As for the rest of the Feng family, Old Madam Li secretly gave them extra food, so they still looked healthy.

…

Huang Yaning was suffering terribly.

She had deliberately caused a scene in front of the villagers to fight for her rights, expecting life to improve—but instead, it had gotten worse.

From childhood, she had been accustomed to the finest things—bird’s nest soup, shark fin, ginseng-stewed pigeon… delicacies others could only dream of, she had grown tired of.

Her clothes were made of the finest silk, as rougher fabrics would irritate her delicate skin…

Yet now, she wore patch-covered rags and straw sandals, sleeping on a pile of hay in the woodshed.

She survived on watery pumpkin soup, her limbs weak from hunger, her head constantly dizzy.

If this continued, she feared she might starve to death…

On top of the hunger, she had endless chores—boiling water, cooking, washing clothes, sweeping, feeding chickens and pigs, gathering two baskets of firewood in the morning and two more in the afternoon.

Third Ya and her sisters no longer slacked off, doing just as much work, leaving Huang Yaning no room to complain.

She could have used money to secretly buy food, but the three sisters watched her like hawks, leaving her no opportunity…

Starving, freezing, laboring in the cold wind, enduring the agony of chilblains on her hands, ears, and feet…

In her past life, Huang Yaning had never suffered from frostbite—she hadn’t known how unbearable it could be.

During the day, the distraction of work lessened the discomfort, but at night, the itching made sleep impossible.

For two days, she hadn’t slept well, plagued by nightmares of her past life. In just two days, she had grown even thinner, her spirit utterly broken.