As for why she had transmigrated into a book, she could not figure it out either. If it was simply because they shared a name, it felt a bit far-fetched.
Besides, if the original owner's situation was meant to be compensation from the heavens, then what about herself? What connection did she have to the original owner?
With her head buzzing with a mess of thoughts, Su Qianli walked back to the mountain village.
"Li is back! How are you holding up?" a kindly old woman chatting at the entrance of the village asked with concern.
"Could the girl have ended up even more simple-minded?" asked another malicious older woman, waiting to make a joke out of her.
Brigade Leader glared straight at Wang Fengqiu, who was talking idly. "Shut your mouth if you don't know how to speak properly. Nobody is begging you to flap your gums."
Wang Fengqiu was unconvinced, but she didn't dare say anything more.
She was a widow from the neighboring village who had married a widower in Wansheng Village, bringing her son along with her. To her surprise, in less than a year, the healthy Wang Hui had drowned.
From then on, rumors spread all over the village that she was a husband-killer, to the point where no one dared to marry her again.
During the height of the tumultuous political period, many people in the village even wanted to drive her out, hurling the most vicious curses imaginable.
Yet in those years, how could she dare to leave easily? Every household was short on grain, and plenty of people starved to death.
As for her maiden family, the moment her first husband passed away, her mother had come to the house to pillage whatever money and food she had, leaving her and her fatherless child with no way to survive. That was why she had ultimately chosen to remarry into Wansheng Village.
Although Wang Hui had died, he had left her and her son a house and some land, guaranteeing them a roof over their heads and food to eat. Thus, she had endured it all, weathering the endless insults.
Similarly, she held not an ounce of goodwill toward the people of this village; she had engaged in verbal sparring matches with nearly every single household.
Back when Old Man Su was still alive, she had gone to their doorstep, pretending to have the kind intention of betrothing her son to Su Qianli, but Old Man Su had chased her away without a second word.
Afterwards, Old Mrs. Su had even tracked her down to her home, cursing her son: "A toad lusting after a swan's meat!"
That had infuriated her, and the two of them had started screaming at each other on the spot.
"I haven't even minded that Su Qianli is a simpleton, yet you have the nerve to run down my son! My son is at least of sound mind—don't you have any self-awareness about who the toad is?"
"Sound mind, my foot! Ever since he was a kid he's been stealing Old Madam Li's bloomers from next door, and now that he's grown up he's good for nothing except dog-stealing and chicken-thieving. And you want him to be a white swan? He's not even fit to be a big fat goose!"
"My goodness! Your Su Qianli is nothing more than an unwanted burden. My son has a kind heart and is willing to take her in, sparing her from being a plague to anyone else—you should be grateful! Otherwise, once the two of you are gone, I'd like to see who's going to raise her!"
"Kind heart? Ha! Your heart is so black it's practically turned to cinders, yet you still have the cheek to gild your own lily. Back then, you threw yourself at a man and crawled into his bed just because you had your eyes on the money Wang Hui made from hunting, and the moment you crossed the threshold you seized control of all his cash. Later on, when Wang Hui was severely injured from drowning, you wouldn't part with a single penny, dragging him out until he literally died. Anyone with eyes can see how vicious you are. Don't come acting like a living Buddha in front of me, piss off!"
The two of them had gotten into a massive brawl that day. Nobody had expected that Grandma Su, usually so gentle and mild-mannered, would actually pin Wang Fengqiu to the ground and beat her.
From then on, the entire village gained an even deeper understanding of how fiercely the old couple cherished Li.
Therefore, no one dared to harbor any scheming thoughts toward Li openly—it seemed to have become an unwritten rule in Wansheng Village.
Over here, Su Qianli was escorted back home. Auntie Zhao said to her, "Auntie will bring you meals for a while. Just focus on recovering, and you'll be right as rain soon."
As she spoke, she even patted the top of Su Qianli's head, just like soothing a child.
Su Qianli's heart melted instantly. Aside from her grandpa and grandma, there were still many people who cared about her; how wonderful!
However, there were also those who wanted to take advantage of Su Qianli's weakness to launch a sneak attack. Once successful, they would not only get a pretty young bride for free, but this house as well...
After eating dinner that evening, Su Qianli went to bed early. Suddenly, that question popped back into her mind.
Where was her cheat? Why hadn't it appeared yet?
If she had a Space, she wouldn't have been driven to such desperate straits this time!
Wuwuwu, her must-have artifact for transmigration!
A Space, a Spirit Spring, a plot of black soil, or a trading system—any single one of them would do! She wasn't picky!
Filled with lingering resentment, Su Qianli stripped herself completely bare, frantically checking her body for any special moles or birthmarks.
The result: absolutely nothing!
She was forced to recall the plot of the novel, but unfortunately, there was no mention of any cheats whatsoever. However, Su Mengcheng's luck was exceptionally good; she constantly ran into noble benefactors who helped her.
Su Qianli began to doubt herself. Could her transmigration be a special exception?
Yet she had a lingering feeling that she had definitely forgotten something, and it was related to a cheat.
Su Qianli began searching frantically around the house. Naturally, since the original owner had been a foundling, there should have been some sort of identifying token on her; otherwise, how could her biological parents have recognized her later on? After all, it wasn't as though people couldn't look alike.
Suddenly, Su Qianli remembered the scenes that had flashed through her mind while she was drugged unconscious in the hospital room. One of them showed Grandma Su holding her, with a Jade Cicada in her hand.
Grandma Su had said, "Although Li and Grandma share no blood relation, when we found you, you had this Jade Cicada hanging around your neck, and it has the character 'Su' carved on it."
The old woman had pointed it out earnestly to Su Qianli, and sure enough, right there on the belly of the Jade Cicada, there was a character.
"Your Grandpa Su and I felt at the time that this must be fate—we share the same surname, after all. So we decided to raise you as our own child. If one day your biological parents come looking for you, this Jade Cicada will be proof of your identity. Grandma will keep it safe for you, and when you're older, I'll hand it over to you. All right?"
A five-year-old Su Qianli had bared her little canine teeth and answered sweetly, "All right!"
At this thought, Su Qianli snapped back to reality. Grandpa and Grandma Su had passed away when she was fifteen, and they had never told her where the Jade Cicada was hidden.
This made things rather difficult.
Yet her desire for a cheat was far too urgent. Su Qianli began turning the house upside down once again.
Climbing high and dropping low, missing no corner whatsoever, she even took a shovel to some of the hidden crevices.
Until the village roosters began to crow and the sky turned a pale fish-belly white, Su Qianli still hadn't caught sight of the Jade Cicada.
Dejected, Su Qianli collapsed onto the bed. A whole night of frantic searching left her completely unwilling to move now.
In her drowsy state, the scene of Grandma Su's final moments reappeared in her mind.
Grandma had held her hand; although she could no longer speak, the affection in her eyes was something Su Qianli could clearly feel.
And Grandma's tears kept falling, every single one of them striking heavily upon her heart.
Finally, the old woman had cast a hard look at the area behind and to her left, and then simply passed away.
To her dying day, her eyes had never closed, brimming with complex emotions.
Thinking back carefully now, one could realize that it had been guilt, and regret.
Why would there be such emotions?
And what was so special about the area behind and to her left?
Su Qianli immediately hurried over to Grandma Su's room and looked in the direction the old woman had been gazing. There was only a wall; there were no traces of anything being hidden there.
Suddenly, something seemed to flash across Su Qianli's mind.
The direction Grandma Su had been looking toward was the Eldest Uncle. At that time, he had been standing behind her to her left.
Therefore, the Jade Cicada had been taken away by the Eldest Uncle! That was why Grandma Su had felt so guilty!
Yes, only this explanation made any sense; otherwise, it was hard to understand why Grandpa and Grandma had never mentioned the Jade Cicada to her before they died.
Because their son had greedily pocketed it, they were too ashamed to speak of it, and felt even more that they had wronged Su Qianli. That was the source of those complex emotions with which she had died staring open-eyed.
If so, the last person to handle the Jade Cicada was the Eldest Uncle.
Recalling how the Eldest Uncle in the book had gone to the county town to scrape together money for the eldest cousin's wedding, thereby making connections with people from Beijing...
Was it possible that he had used the Jade Cicada to exchange for money, only to be recognized, which subsequently led to her returning to her biological parents?
If that was the case, then the Jade Cicada must still be hidden somewhere by the Eldest Uncle, and she still had a chance to get it back.
Su Qianli's heart began to burn with fierce anticipation...