"Zhenzhu Zhenzhu! My dear Zhu’er Zhu’er, mother’s beloved child, sob sob sob... It’s all mother’s fault for not taking good care of you," the heart-wrenching cries of a woman pierced the air, overwhelming the senses. What’s this noise about? Who’s making all this racket? I’m trying to sleep. Ever since returning from the factory, I’ve been so exhausted I could barely crawl into bed. Who’s crying and wailing so annoyingly nearby? Li Jing frowned in displeasure. "Ah, Zhu’er! My Zhu’er, you’re not dead! Doctor, please summon Doctor Liu for me at once," the woman continued to lament while shaking her little daughter’s body, causing Li Jing to reluctantly open her eyes. Who’s shaking me ? And why is it so cold? Isn’t it supposed to be summer in Beijing right now? Just yesterday, it was so hot outside the factory where I ate noodles. Why is it so cold suddenly? Could I be sick? "Zhu’er, can you hear mother? Oh, my poor Zhenzhu, what are we going to do, husband?" "The doctor is here! Make way!" The commotion continued, preventing Li Jing from falling back asleep. A rough skin gently pressed against her left wrist, then moved around her body, leaving her newly awakened mind utterly confused. "The body is too weak, malnourished, and the spirit energy is depleted. The cold weather is too much for her body to withstand. I’ll prescribe some medicine, but she needs to take better care of herself. Eat more spirit-nourishing food to warm the body. She should recover within seven days," Doctor Liu, the village physician, advised after examining the frail eight-year-old girl. He sighed deeply, hiding his sympathetic gaze. Not just spirit-nourishing food, even ordinary food sufficient to sustain life was hard to come by for the He family. The He family, consisting of five members, one disabled, three young children, and a single weak woman, struggled to survive each day without sickness or death from cold, a testament to heaven’s mercy. "Thank you very much, Doctor Liu. As for the medicine cost..." "For the medicine, let’s settle on 5 brass coins. I know your family is struggling," he said, charging less than the cost of the herbs, but as he too had a family to feed, he couldn’t waive the fee entirely. Doctor Liu wrote the prescription for his assistant and left with his medical bag. "Such a pitiful little girl." "Indeed, this winter is colder than usual. With such heavy snowfall, falling ill is inevitable." "If you feel sorry for her, why not pay for her medicine?" "How could I? My own family barely has enough to eat. How can we possibly help the He family? Let’s go, we should head back home before we end up paying for the medicine." The onlooking villagers quickly dispersed, as if staying any longer would bring them misfortune. Li Jing blinked in confusion. She looked around in alarm at her surroundings: a dilapidated hut with a roof that seemed ready to collapse on her head if she breathed too hard. There were only a few old items around and a tattered blanket covering her. What’s going on? Where am I? And who are these people talking over my head? Are they filming a drama or something? Why am I so cold? Could I have a fever, causing me to hallucinate ? With these thoughts, she succumbed to her overwhelming drowsiness once more, deciding to ponder her situation after some more sleep. Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock-a-doodle-doo! The lone rooster’s call woke Li Jing from her blissful slumber. No, she is now Zhenzhu, arrived here five days ago. Accepting this reality was difficult, but she had to acknowledge that she had transcended into an unknown place and into the body of Zhenzhu, a village girl with a frail body, who had died of cold five days ago, allowing her spirit to inhabit this body instead. In her delicate hand, she still held a shiny golden fish scale, about the size of a thumbnail, which she turned over absently. It was the only thing she had brought from Beijing, amidst all the confusion and bewilderment. She couldn’t understand how her spirit ended up here, originally a leatherworker in a Beijing factory, a recent fashion design graduate looking for suitable employment, working on leather goods like bags and shoes, and taking on sewing jobs for extra income. That day, as she cleaned a piece of crocodile leather, a small golden fish scale fell next to it, presumably from another fish’s or from a fish the crocodile had eaten. Dismissing the improbability, she pocketed the beautiful scale, and after a tiring day’s work, she fell asleep in her dorm, only to awaken in another dimension with the fish scale as her sole companion. She discarded all scientific reasons. It must be because of this fish scale that she had ended up here! This place was unknown to her, unrecorded in history. She found herself in Dongshan Village, a small and desolate village, surrounded by eight other villages scattered across the valleys. The land was mostly sandy and not suitable for cultivation, only able to grow a few types of small plants and some herbs. The villagers survived by hunting and collecting herbs in the forest, selling firewood they collected. The nearest forest was four li away from Dongshan Village. The He family relied solely on Zhenzhu’s mother, Miss Wang, who collected herbs for sale, earning just enough to buy two jin of wheat daily, barely sustaining the five of them. He Lei, Zhenzhu’s father, had been bedridden for over three years and could no longer work. Her elder brother, He Ming, was ten, and her younger brother, He Yu, was three—neither of them were old enough to earn a living, leaving Miss Wang as the sole breadwinner. "Zhu’er, are you awake, child? Come, have some hot porridge, and you’ll recover quickly," Miss Wang placed a steaming bowl of porridge before Zhenzhu, who looked disheartened at the watery meal. Life, oh life, why must the transcending lead me to poverty? How many days left to live, or when the starvation might claim me, remains unknown. "Mother, have father and He Ming, He Yu eaten yet?" "Sister, you eat first. I’m not hungry," a small voice replied, accompanied by a cute yet emaciated boy, He Yu, gazing sadly at the bowl of porridge, willing to endure hunger so his sick sibling could eat more. "Come eat with us, He Yu," she said, pitying the young face. "No, I want you to eat," he insisted, shaking his head vigorously. "I can’t finish it all. Come share with me." "No, I must check on elder brother first. He’s feeding father," the young boy said, then ran off to another room where their father lay ill. He Lei, originally from the Zhang family, was a low-ranking soldier in Chenyuan City. Elder Zhang was a peddler who eventually opened a small shop in a not-so-favorable location, later expanding it into a profitable grain store. He had three sons; the eldest, Zhang Lei, was born to his first wife who had passed away, while the two younger sons were from his current wife. The younger sons helped manage the grain store but lacked business acumen, barely keeping the store afloat. Zhang Lei, however, had a knack for business but chose a military career instead. Old Master Zhang, seeing his eldest son’s disinterest in commerce, did not press the issue, allowing him to pursue his own path. As long as he sent his salary home, he and his family lived off a monthly allowance from the main household, leading a simple and content life with enough food and money for necessities. After Elder Zhang passed away, the stepmother’s treatment towards him changed, the stepmother reduced their monthly allowance and food supplies for his family, often leaving them hungry. When Zhang Lei protested, she accused him of being ungrateful, so he eventually stopped sending money to the main household. However, this led to a worsening relationship when the stepmother complained to the city officials, accusing him of neglecting them. Forced to resume payments to avoid conflict, Zhang Lei’s family was treated worse over time, eventually leading to an accident that left him bedridden. Zhang Lei’s compensation of sickness from the official was seized by the main household, and soon Zhang Lei’s family was expelled with only a small sum of money. Pregnant and with two children and a sick husband, Miss Wang hoped to rely on her parents’ goodwill in their rural hometown, only to find them deceased, leaving behind only a dilapidated house and a plot of land 2 mu in size. "Look! Elder brother and sister, mother found spirit herbs today! We’ll have delicious egg porridge," He Yu exclaimed excitedly, holding an herb that shimmered with a faint blue glow, its refreshing scent filling the air. "Great! With a bit more money, we can buy eggs for tasty porridge for father and you," He Ming replied joyfully. Spirit herbs were exceedingly rare, unlike ordinary herbs with no spirit energy, used for basic medicine. Spirit herbs, however, could be made into spirit-enhancing pills sold at high prices to cultivators. In this dimension, there were two types of power: spirit energy and power of the character. Spirit energy existed in all living beings, varying only in quantity from birth. One can train for their spirit energy, or spirit energy cultivation, requiring considerable resources, including consuming spirit-enriched food and pills, affordable mainly by nobles or those of high statuses. Common folks considered even a single meal of spirit food a great fortune. Those who cultivate spiritual energy are respected by everyone. Most of those who cultivate spiritual energy enter government service as high-ranking officials in the royal court or serve as warriors for the realm. On the other hand, the power of rubes involves drawing spirit-infused symbols on objects to enhance their effectiveness. For example, drawing runes on a sword can imbue it with spiritual energy and increase its attack power, or drawing runes on armor can enhance its defensive capabilities. Rune artists must deeply study rune patterns. To become a rune artist, one must first be a cultivator of spiritual energy, as spiritual energy is required to draw the runes. Therefore, rune artists are the highest class in society, with higher-level rune artists receiving greater honor and recognition. "These three spirit herbs must be worth at least one tael!" He Yu said excitedly. It was rare for her mother to be fortunate enough to find spirit herbs, as they were exceedingly rare. "Don’t damage them; they’ll lose value, and we won’t be able to buy egg porridge," Miss Wang teased, elated that these herbs could sustain them for at least another month. Normally, earning ten brass coins was good enough, but finding spirit herbs today brought her to tears, knowing her children would eat well for a while. "Let’s go, mother. Let’s sell them to Old Man You so we can buy three eggs," He Yu urged, eager for the small luxury. "Alright, alright, you little imp," Miss Wang smiled fondly, grabbing the basket to visit Old Man You, a middleman who bought herbs to sell in Fengfu City market, which is the nearest city to Dongshan Village. He bought herbs daily, dried them, and sold them weekly in the city, also trading for eggs, meats, and necessary items for villagers, since he had a cart capable of hauling goods. "Grandpa You! Today, my mother got some spirit herbs too!" He Yu called out from the front of the house, even before entering Grandpa You’s courtyard. "Oh Really? Little Yu? Ah, congratulations!" Grandpa You came out of his house and affectionately ruffled He Yu’s hair. "Oh, congratulations, Miss Wang. You must earn quite a lot today. Truly lucky." "That’s right. Why can’t I ever find spirit herbs?" "Do you think finding spirit herbs is as easy as picking mushrooms?" a villager who had brought herbs to sell to Grandpa You said enviously. "Just a few spirit herbs and they’re celebrating as if they’ve found a thousand-year ginseng. Look, my husband caught a whole deer today. But as they say, for a poor family like yours, three spirit herbs might just prolong your difficult lives a bit more. Ha ha. Oh dear! Just blue spirit herbs, and I thought you found golden ones, heh," a sharp voice rang out, grating to the ears. Miss Wang quickly covered He Yu’s ears. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦·𝘯𝘦𝘵 That sharp voice belonged to Miss Yu, whose husband was the best hunter in the village, often bringing back large game from deep in the mountains. Once, he even hunted a silver spirit deer, highly valuable and able to sustain an ordinary family for three years. Thus, Miss Yu’s family was the wealthiest in the village, making her quite haughty and envied by the other women for having such a capable husband. Seeing Miss Wang successfully gathering spirit herbs, Miss Yu couldn’t resist sneering. "Miss Yu, that’s not right. Blue spirit herbs are already quite good. Who would be lucky enough to find golden spirit herbs?" "Exactly, I’ve never even managed to gather blue spirit herbs myself. Have you ever, Miss Yu?" villagers who’s not fond of Miss Yu’s arrogance, chimed in. Spiritual energy comes in various levels, ranging from blue, indigo, navy, silver, gold, to white. The blue level has the lowest spiritual energy, while the white level has the most concentrated spiritual energy. "Pfft, someone like me doesn’t need to bother collecting herbs. Just my husband going hunting brings in at least 200-300 brass coins a day. No need for me to strain myself collecting herbs," Miss Yu bragged, confidently in her husband’s abilities. Thinking that they must be jealous of her. The other women, envious of Miss Yu, didn’t say anything further, some too tired to argue. Miss Wang didn’t want to waste time arguing with Miss Yu. She quickly sold the herbs for ten eggs and four jin of rice, then hurried home with her son. Today, she made one tael and ten brass coins. After exchanging for eggs and rice, she still had 960 brass coins left, a substantial amount that Miss Wang was very satisfied with. While the weather’s getting colder, she planned to buy thick fabric for her husband and children to keep warm and, if there’s some money left, she would use it to repair the roof of the house. This sum would help the family get through the winter more comfortably. "Father, have another spoonful of porridge, please. It’s almost finished. Mother made egg porridge with spinach today, and it smells so good," Zhenzhu spooned the sweet-smelling porridge to her father’s mouth. Though this man was not her biological father but the father of the body she inhabited, she decided to repay the body’s owner by taking care of him. After Miss Wang went to collect herbs on the mountain again today, especially after finding spirit herbs a few days ago and earning a good amount of money, she asked Grandpa You to buy three pieces of thick fabric and hire someone to repair the roof slightly, making the nights less cold for them. When Miss Wang went out to collect herbs. He Ming, the elder brother, went out to collect firewood at the foothills not far from home, the duty of taking care of their sick father fell to her. "Father has eaten enough, child," He Lei told his daughter with a dim gaze, feeling sorry for his little daughter and wife. Beyond being unable to help, he felt like a burden to his family, wishing for heaven’s mercy to end his suffering, thinking they might live better without him. "Then, Father, drink some water. I’ll go fetch some more from the stream," Zhenzhu offered water before heading out with a large bucket, nearly as big as herself. Her home was not far from the stream behind the house. Zhenzhu only filled the bucket halfway due to her small and frail body, fearing that a full bucket might cause her to trip and fall before reaching home. "Ah, there’s freshwater algae too," Zhenzhu was surprised, not having heard anyone mention that the stream behind the house had algae. Algae could be used to make soup, saving another meal for her family. Zhenzhu reached for the algae under the clear water to fill her bucket instead of the water she had poured out earlier. Suddenly, a school of small and large fish surrounded her small hand. Besides fish, she saw a large crab slowly emerging from under a rock as if something was attracting them. "Ah, these fish aren’t afraid of people at all?" Zhenzhu exclaimed in surprise, scooping up a large fish quickly with her right hand. "Wow, these fish in the stream are so foolish!" Zhenzhu exclaimed in shock. In her hand, she held a large fish the size of two adult hands. It wriggled as she lifted it from the water, almost slipping from her grasp. She quickly placed the large fish into the bucket. "Gotcha, you silly fish!" With a big fish caught, who would care about algae? Zhenzhu felt excited. She reached into the water again with her left hand, but this time, the fish quickly swam away. "Aw, why did that happen?" Zhenzhu was puzzled, but then she felt warmth on her right wrist, where she wore a bracelet adorned with a golden fish scale. Why did the fish scale warm up? The golden fish scale that had transcended with her from Beijing, aside from being useless and bringing her to poverty, always returned to her whenever she tried to throw it away. Once, after tossing it into a bush, she found it under her pillow the next morning. Zhenzhu tried to find a purpose for it, but it seemed to be nothing more than a pretty, useless fish scale. Out of desperation, since it was at least visually appealing, she had drilled a hole in it and wore it as a bracelet, never imagining that she’d accidentally discover a way to use it. Without delay, Zhenzhu dipped her wrist with the golden scale back into the water. This time, she closely observed the golden scale, which emitted a faint blue glow, turning the surrounding water into spiritual energized water. It could release spirit energy! What a treasure! This is a valuable treasure! Zhenzhu’s heart raced with excitement, her heartbeat audible in her chest, almost bursting out. Finally, heaven’s emperor had soothed her aching heart with this precious golden fish scale. The fish and other aquatic creatures, attracted by the fragrant aura of spirit energy, foolishly swam towards her again. Zhenzhu scooped up two more large fish before happily carrying the bucket full of fish back home. If the golden scale could turn ordinary water into spiritual energized water, she could use it to attract schools of fish and other aquatic creatures. She could catch fish to sell and exchange for money, providing another source of income. Then, if she used this spiritual energized water to water vegetables or herbs, would they become spiritually energized plants? Growing spiritual plants was something only those who had reached the dark blue tier of spirit energy cultivation could do, as spiritual plants needed to be nourished with spiritual energy from a cultivator. Silver-tier cultivators could only grow blue-tier spiritual plants, so higher-tier spiritual plants required even higher-tier cultivators. Thus, spiritual plants were expensive, and ordinary people couldn’t afford them. If Zhenzhu used the golden scale to make spiritual energized water, that water could nourish plants just as a cultivator’s spiritual energy would, turning them into spiritual plants. She could then make money from this too. Excited by the idea, Zhenzhu hurried home to do some experiments with growing plants. "Sister, where have you been? Why did it take you so long to fetch some water?" Her little brother ran from the front of the house to meet her. "It’s not that long! Who’s been running around playing until he’s tired and then coming home?" "No way, I was helping Aunt Zhou plant some vegetables. Look, Aunt Zhou gave me a turnip," the little boy proudly showed off a turnip the size of a fist, smiling broadly. "Hmm, why did you take Aunt Zhou’s turnip? Now her family might not have enough to eat," Zhenzhu teased, knowing their neighbor wasn’t well-off, and a single turnip could make a meal. Taking something from someone else means one less meal for them. "I said no, but Aunt Zhou insisted and stuffed it into my cloth," the little boy said, looking a bit guilty for not refusing firmly. "Let it be. Look, what I’ve got," Zhenzhu beckoned He Yu over. "Wow, sister! You caught three big fish! How did you do it? You’re amazing. I want to eat fish. I want to eat fish!" They had been frugal with their spending and hadn’t eaten meat for many days. Today, they would finally have fish. He Yu swallowed hard, craving the smell of grilled fish. "Yes, today our little Yu’er will have fish." "Yay, I want to eat fish. Come on, sister, let’s go inside. Mother will be back soon," He Yu eagerly pulled his sister towards the house, both are in high spirits. When Miss Wang and He Ming returned home in the evening, they were surprised and intrigued to see the fish Zhenzhu had caught. "How did you manage to catch three big fish, sister? Look, if we sold these, we could easily get 10-15 brass coins each," He Ming looked at the big fish excitedly, wondering how his little sister managed to catch such a big fish. Were the fish blind or nearly dead for his sister to catch them so easily? "Big brother, can’t we just keep one for me to eat?" He Yu puffed out his cheeks, not wanting them to sell the fish. He had been craving meat for days. "Ha ha, I was just joking. How could I sell it if little Yu’er wanted to eat it? Our family will enjoy these fish together tonight." "Let’s not argue now. But child, how did you catch these fish?" Miss Wang inquired. "Mother, let’s prepare dinner first. Let’s cook all three of them. No need to sell. If you want to sell, I’ll catch more later. As for how I caught these fish, I’ll tell everyone later," Zhenzhu said, handing the bucket to her mother. She needed to discuss this with her family first and ask her mother to help her examine growing herbs and watering them with spiritually energized water. After the delicious fish dinner, the He family gathered in the father’s room that evening. He Lei was half-sitting, half-lying on the bed, waiting for the family meeting called by his second daughter. Everyone was puzzled about what was going to happen, as the He family had never sat down to seriously discuss matters before. "What is it, sister? Do you have something to tell your father and me?" He Lei broke the silence, everyone eager to hear what Zhenzhu had to say. Zhenzhu stepped out of the small bedroom for a moment before returning with a bowl filled with plain water. "Alright, everyone must be wondering how I managed to catch fish without any fishing equipment," she said, lifting her right wrist for everyone to see. "Do you see this fish scale? I found it by chance a few days ago while fetching water from the stream. It floated towards me. Noticing its shimmering golden color, I kept it as an ornament. But today, I discovered its secret; it’s a magical object." "How is it magical, sister?" He Yu couldn’t contain his curiosity. Zhenzhu removed the bracelet and dipped it into the bowl of plain water. The golden scale emitted a faint blue glow, barely visible. Suddenly, the plain water in the bowl radiated blue spirit energy, filling the room with a refreshing fragrance. "How is this possible?" "Can something really happen?" Everyone in the house exclaimed in shock and amazement. What kind of treasure was this that could transform ordinary water into spiritually energized water? Spirit energy was something out of reach for many, something they could only dream of. Even though the water in the bowl only possessed blue-tier spirit energy, it was more than enough. Zhenzhu took three sips of the water, feeling the spirit energy spread throughout her body, rejuvenating her as if a parched desert had been drenched in rain. Fatigue and soreness gradually faded away, and she felt her body slowly recovering. "Try some, He Yu," she offered the bowl to the little boy, who looked at it with wide eyes and puffed cheeks. He took a few sips, as if he had been thirsty for days. "It’s good, really good, sister!" he exclaimed, then rushed out to refill the empty bowl with water from the jar. "More, sister, dip the magical object in again!" Zhenzhu obliged, and once more, the ordinary water turned into blue spiritually energized water. He Yu carefully held the bowl for their father to drink. "Father, try this. It will make you stronger. If you drink this every day, you will surely recover," he said eagerly. He Lei, still in disbelief, blinked slowly before taking a sip of the spiritually energized water his son offered. The energy spread through his body, easing his weakness bit by bit. He felt refreshed and was so moved that tears dropped. All a sick person desires is to recover. After lying ill for over three years, he had resigned himself to waiting for death, never imagining that today, a glimmer of hope would be reignited. Now he had hope. If he could drink this spiritually energized water daily, he would no longer be a burden to his family. "Zhu’er, my child, heaven must have mercy on our family to give us such a treasure," Miss Wang said, tears streaming down her face. "Indeed, our sister is a good person. Heaven has seen her kindness," He Ming supported. "This spiritually energized water attracted many aquatic animals, making it easy for me to catch them," Zhenzhu explained. "So that’s how it is." That night, they were too excited to sleep. Read ‘Rebirth: This Farmgirl Has Spirit Fish Scales’ before anyone else with more Chapters at https://www.jinovel.com/en