Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Annoyed, she rushed over, bent down, and grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck. She dragged it out and tossed it a good distance away, muttering, "Lazy cat! All you know how to do is sleep. You never catch any mice, just a waste of food to keep you around. Look, you’ve gotten my shoe inserts all dirty."

The stove-side alcove was a small, foot-square space left in the wall directly in front of the stove. It was perfect for using the residual heat from the pots to dry things like shoe inserts, and this cat loved sleeping in it during the winter—it was warm, after all.

Seeing Juhua resentfully rubbing the dust off the shoe insert, He couldn’t help but laugh. "That cat’s not so bad. Some cats love to crawl into bed during the winter, and that’s even more annoying. When I was little, we had a cat that loved getting on the bed. In the middle of the night, you’d reach out and feel a furry ball next to your pillow. Anyone who didn’t know would be scared out of their wits. I got used to it, though. I’d just grab it with my eyes still closed and toss it far away. A little while later, once you were asleep, it would climb right back up."

Juhua imagined the feeling of touching a furry, unidentified object in the middle of the night and shivered. She laughed and said, "In that case, we’d better let it sleep in the alcove. It would be awful if it started climbing into bed. With all that fur, why is it so afraid of the cold?"

He laughed. "They’re afraid of the cold even with all that fur. You know how cats love to find a warm spot to snuggle into."

When Huai Zi returned with the milk, he wanted to boil it for Juhua himself. Having laughed and joked with He for a bit, Juhua’s mood had already recovered. She quickly moved to his side and said in a low voice, "Let me do it. You go wash up, and then help Dad shovel the snow."

After feeding the ox, Zhang Dashuan was in the courtyard shoveling the accumulated snow.

Seeing she was much better, Huai Zi nodded and went to wash up.

From then on, Huai Zi made a deliberate effort to keep Juhua company. Sometimes they would visit her family, laughing with her brother and sister-in-law and playing with little Hulu. When the sun was out, they would go to the fields to dig up carrots or harvest the potherb mustard. Other times, he would stay home and read to her.

Juhua, for her part, did her best to control her emotions. She tried to focus on her happy life and not think about random, trivial things that might set her off. But even so, she often found herself in tears. She was easily saddened and had become a very weepy mom-to-be.

After some time, she started showing signs of morning sickness one morning. Once it began, there was no stopping it. She threw up everything she ate. It made He so anxious she got a stress sore on her lip, while Zhang Huai grew even more gentle in his care for Juhua, his tenderness like a tranquil pool of spring water.

Juhua, however, actually grew calmer. Her emotional instability became much less frequent. A sudden fighting spirit welled up inside her. If she threw up, she would just eat again. She ate constantly, day after day. She even started cooking for herself, telling He not to worry about her, that she needed to move around more. She also specifically asked Zhao Qing to come over and play—this time, she truly wanted her company.

"Sister Juhua, just hang in there. It’ll get better after a while. My mom says it’s always like this with the first baby," Zhao Qing said, her heart aching for Juhua after watching her throw up countless times. She had told her mother how Juhua was always sick, and this was what her mother had told her in response.

After she finished vomiting into the earthenware basin next to the foot warmer, Juhua picked up a cup of water from a stool to rinse her mouth. She caught her breath, then looked at Zhao Qing’s rosy little face—which had grown a bit fairer again over the winter—and smiled. "It’s alright. I’ll be fine once I eat some more. Qing’er, your mother is due soon, isn’t she? Will your maternal grandmother be coming to help take care of her?"

Zhao Qing nodded. "Yes, my grandma is coming for the New Year and will stay until my little brother is born. Sister Juhua, when will your baby be born?"

Juhua stroked her belly and smiled. "Not until September of next year."

The door opened and He came in carrying a clay pot. Smelling the odor in the room, she frowned with worry and asked, "You threw up again? What are we going to do if you keep getting sick like this? Here, I’ve pan-fried some dumplings. They smell delicious. Qing’er, you eat with Sister Juhua. Maybe seeing you enjoy them will help her appetite." With that, she placed the clay pot on a stool beside them and handed them two pairs of chopsticks. Then she picked up the earthenware basin and took it outside to empty and clean.

Juhua gave He an apologetic smile. Once she was gone, Juhua lifted the lid of the clay pot, and the fresh aroma of cilantro wafted out. She had made the filling herself with cilantro and cured meat, then had He pan-fry the dumplings until they were fragrant, intending to eat them as a snack.

She said to Zhao Qing, "Come on, let’s eat while they’re hot. Hmm, there are eight. Four for each of us."

Zhao Qing had been keeping Juhua company for days now, and she ate until her little belly was round every single day. Juhua was always making all sorts of new dishes. She was delighted by the food and couldn’t help but think with a pang of regret, ’Why does Sister Juhua throw up such delicious food?’

The two of them held the clay pot and began to eat happily.

The cilantro was fresh and fragrant, the cured meat was savory, and the dumpling skins were pan-fried to a toasty crisp. Not much oil had been used, so the flavor wasn’t greasy at all. As Juhua ate, her stomach felt wonderfully settled. She finished all four in one go, let out a long breath, and thought to herself, ’This time, I probably won’t throw up, right?’

She turned to look at Zhao Qing and saw the little girl’s cheeks puffing out as she chewed, her big eyes curved into crescents. Juhua smiled and asked, "How is it? Is it good?"

Zhao Qing swallowed the dumpling in her mouth with effort and bobbed her head up and down like a chick pecking at grain. "It’s delicious! So yummy! Sister Juhua, you didn’t throw up after eating this? Then you should eat more! Eat the rest of them. I already ate a bunch of stuff earlier, I’m not hungry at all. You threw up everything you ate, so you should eat more."

Juhua was touched by how considerate she was and couldn’t resist patting her head lovingly. "You eat them. I’d better just eat a little for now. If I want more later, I can heat some up—I made plenty, there are more in the kitchen."

Zhao Qing’s big eyes sparkled. She nodded, but still picked up a little dumpling with her chopsticks and held it out to Juhua. "Then, Sister, just have one more bite."

Seeing her expectant expression, which was even more eager than He’s for her to eat, Juhua quickly bent down and took a large bite. Only then did Zhao Qing happily pop the rest into her own mouth.

Outside, Zhang Huai returned, carrying a large, dripping-wet load of carrots on his shoulder pole—he had just finished washing them by the river. He set the pole down under the eaves of the corridor, selected a few of the most well-formed carrots, broke off their green tops, and gave them another rinse at the well before taking them into the kitchen.

A while later, he came into the main hall carrying a bamboo tube filled with carrot juice and a bowl. He smiled at Juhua and asked, "I heard from Mom that you just ate some dumplings and didn’t throw up?" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)