TATLC Chapter 1

“Hey, look how weak and sick he is, is he okay?”

“I don’t think Chen Xiao Mi will care about how he looks as long as he’s still breathing.”

“Look at him, how useless, I doubt he can do farm work now, let’s send him to Chen as soon as possible. We can’t get a single penny if he dies before marrying into the Chen family.”

” He brings us bad luck, let’s send him to Chen, he will be a problem if he dies in our house.”

Lu Lin who was lying on the bed let out a dry smile as he heard how his soul’s host’s First Aunt and Third Aunt¹First Aunt and Third Aunt are the host’s father’s brother’s wives talked about this poor host.

Lu Lin is an average Joe in Country C, he quit his job in the big city and returned to his hometown, he inherited Lu’s Convenience Store from his parents.

However, he found himself transmigrating to this dynasty on a stormy night, what’s even stranger is that he has a mole on his forearm connected to Lu’s Convenience Store.

He also found time was nonexistent in Lu’s Department Store, he sneaked back into the store and found the bowl of noodles he put on the counter before he transmigrated was still warm, therefore he didn’t have to worry about the food in the store going bad.

Lu Lin thought it was better for him to keep his story and the shop a secret because he knew how superstitious the villagers were, he didn’t want to light a fire upon himself.

Lu Lin had gained the host’s memories, this was a time and space similar to the ancient times in Country C. What was different was that there were not only men and women in this time and space, but there was also a group of people called Bios. Bios usually have male features with a flower-shaped birthmark on the forehead, they are not as tall as men and are able to give birth to children, however, they will have a harder labor than women.

The host was really a bad star, his grandparents had three sons and one daughter, and his father ranked second, his father was his grandparents’ least favorite, so his grandparents asked his father to do military service.

The problem was that his grandparents could pay some money to exempt his father from military service, but they were so stingy that they preferred to send their second son to the army. What angered Lu Lin was that the host grandparents had sent his cousin to school, which was a luxury in that time and space. How unfair it was!

The host’s father, however, brought was very filial. He listened to the host’s grandparents and went to the army, leaving the host and his mother at home.

The host’s father is the most disliked son in the house, his mother and he will naturally have a hard time after he leaves.

The host’s mother is a humble-born woman, she is quiet and reserved by nature, she is hardworking, but she has never shown her cleverness and she will only endure all the injustice.

The tedious farm work fell on the host mother and the host after the host father joined the army, the host mother’s health continued to decline due to hardship and hard work.

What had been supporting the host mother was the belief that the host father would return in glory one day, but as the saying goes, misfortune comes in succession, soon news came that the host father had given up his life on the battlefield.

The host’s mother who was already overburdening herself succumbed to grief after hearing the news.

The villagers started talking about how the host’s grandparents mistreated the host’s parents. The host’s grandmother went to slander the host, she said the host was the cause of all the tragedies, the host was a bad star, and he would only bring bad luck to her family.

People back then strongly believed in myths about luck and fate, and the villagers began to look down on the host ever since his grandmother made up the story.

The host was not eloquent by nature, he became more reserved and gloomy as people called him a ‘bad star’.

The host was eighteen years old, he had passed the ideal age for marriage, but no one in his family cared about him or his marriage, all they wanted was to keep him at home for farm work.

The government, however, had enacted a law that year that all men and Bios must marry before eighteen, all women must marry before seventeen otherwise three-tael-silver would be imposed due to the war and declining population.

The law had provoked a furor in the host’s family, three taels was no small sum, especially for a cheapskate like the host’s grandmother. She would kill to save that money. Plus, the whole family relied on the host to do the farm work, so they discussed the matter and decided to find a girl for the host.

Unfortunately, none of the villagers wanted to marry off their daughters to the bad-star host even though it was a well-known fact that the host’s family was quite wealthy, and they could even afford to send the boys to school. Plus, the villagers knew that the host was disliked in the family, so they didn’t see him as an ideal son-in-law.

The host’s grandparents were very upset, but they blamed the host instead of themselves for making up ridiculous stories about the host’s destiny.

Fortunately, there was news that a Bio named Chen Xiao Mi was looking for a husband when the host’s grandparents were at a loss for what to do. This Chen Xiao Mi was a famous figure in Big Stone Village, he was a Bio, but he was gifted with extraordinary strength.

Chen Xiao Mi and Lu Lin shared a similar life story, his grandmother also disliked his father, and the Chen family was quite wealthy in the village.

In Big Stone Village, some villagers would go hunting in the mountains in lean years, it was dangerous, but the rewards could be good. A group of villagers hunted a bear and sold it to the landlord for twenty taels of silver, all the other villagers wanted to follow suit.

Chen Xiao Mi’s grandmother encouraged Chen Xiao Mi’s father Chen Shou Ren to go hunting, but Chen Shou Ren rejected the idea because he was well aware of the risks involved, there were so many villagers who never returned alive. Usually, the struggling villagers were willing to take risks and try their luck in the mountains, but they were fine.

Chen Xiao Mi’s mother was about to give birth, so Chen Shou Ren wanted to stay with his wife instead of venturing into the mountains. But Chen Xiao Mi’s grandmother made such a fuss and scolded Chen Shou Ren harshly until Chen Shou Ren gave up. Unfortunately, Chen Shou Ren and his friends were attacked by wolves, and only one of them survived.

Chen Xiao Mi’s mother went into premature labor after hearing the sad news, and just like that Chen Xiao Mi had a second younger brother named Chen Xiao Mai who was also a Bio, Chen Xiao Mi’s first younger brother’s name was Chen Xiao Cai.

What was very similar was Chen Xiao Mi’s grandmother’s reaction after hearing of her son’s death, she blamed Chen Xiao Mi’s mother for it, she kept saying her son died because of Chen Xiao Mi’s mother’s bad luck. Chen Xiao Mi’s mother died of grief two years ago.

Chen Xiao Mi’s First Uncle intended to sell Chen Xiao Cai to a rich family as a servant so that he could earn a few cents per month.

In that time and space, the servants were completely at the mercy of their masters, the masters could beat the servants as they wished once they signed the agreement letter.

Chen Xiao Mi’s grandmother thought it was a very good idea, Chen Xiao Cai was a boy who could not help much in farm work.

Chen Xiao Mi kidnapped Chen Jing, First Uncle’s son, after he heard that, and he threatened First Uncle that he would castrate Chen Jing if Chen Xiao Cai became a servant.

Chen Jing was the old lady’s favorite grandson, her heart would ache for days seeing the slightest injury to Chen Jing.

Chen Xiao Mi had pretended to know nothing about the fact that it was his grandmother who forced his father to go hunting, however, he completely lost control when he heard that they were planning to sell one of his younger brothers.

Chen Xiao Mi fought back against the people who were trying to force him to let Chen Jing go, he was very determined to protect his younger siblings. He had asked about the family watching over Chen Xiao Cai, it turned out that the Young Master tended to bully the servants at home, he had already beaten two young girls to death, so he wanted to buy a tough boy to beat up.

Chen Xiao Mi became very angry hearing that, he did not expect his First Uncle and grandmother could be this cruel, his father actually died because of his grandmother, and now his grandmother was helping his First Uncle to sell Chen Xiao Cai. Chen Xiao Mi wanted to strangle the old lady!

Chen Xiao Mi’s grandmother was very afraid of Chen Xiao Mi, she shivered at the thought that Chen Xiao Mi said he would not listen to her like his father.

Chen Xiao Mi urged his grandfather to allow him and his two younger brothers to live independently, his grandfather had to agree to that.

It was rare for a child to argue with the elders and fight for himself or those he cared about, people tended to smile and endure all the injustices. Hence, Chen Xiao Mi was cursed by the villagers.

T/N: Hey it’s Sable the translator for this novel! My release schedule is one chapter every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. But you can get 3 more chapters for every Coffee you donate on Ko-Fi so please support me!! Also plz leave some comments I love reading and responding to them!!

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  First Aunt and Third Aunt are the host’s father’s brother’s wives