This place was called Lijingxia village. It consists of two surnames Li and Jing. Jing people were refugees from the North around 80 years ago. They came and naturalized with people from Li village, hence the change of the village's name. Lijingxia village located near the mountain, there was a large river flowing from the west. The land was good for planting rice. Most of the villagers had rice fields, if they didn't they could rent the rice field from the government.

Father Jing had 40 mu of lands. Every year, he could get 20 taels from selling the crops. It was twice the annual income of most of the villagers, so the Jing family was considered rich in Lijingxia village. Uncle Jing, Father Jing's younger brother, had 30 mu of lands. He had a good relationship with Father Jing and was respected in the village as well.

Father Jing had six children. The eldest son Jing Shan (26), Second son Jing Chen (24), Third son Jing Chang (24), Fourth son Jing Hao (20), Fifth son Jing Fang (17) and the youngest daughter Jing Jie (14). The similar age between Jing Chen and Jing Chang not because they were twins, but because they had different mothers. Jing Chen's mother who died at childbirth was a concubine. This was also part of the reason why Mother Jing hated Jing Chen so much.

The only person in the Jing Family who didn't show any hate to Jing Chen was Jing Shan. Jing Shan helped Jing Chen several times. But Jing Shan was very busy, he was the main strength in the family beside Father Jing and the original owner; so he was working in the field all day. Jing Hao was working in the field too, but he was lazy and incompetent. Jing Chang worked as a craftsman, he only helped in the field when he didn't have any work. Jing Fang was a scholar and the family's favourite. He never worked at all.

After resting for two weeks, Jing Chen's body began to regain its strength. His head and back injury were healed under the wife's care. He could stay up longer and he finally could speak although his voice was very hoarse. But his movements were sluggish since this body hadn't moved for months. Jing Chen already went through all of the original owner's memories and decided to live his life as Jing Chen of the Jing family. He vowed to wash away the grief and regret of the original owner. He also vowed to make this wicked family regret all the things they did to the original owner!

The first step to do was of course to fully separate from this evil family!

Though Jing Chen already had a plan inside his head, he was still weak. So he needed to regain all of his strength, or he wouldn't be able to support his wife and children!

When his wife, Xue Yu, finished his dinner quietly, instead of letting him sleep on their children's bed like usual; Jing Chen pulled his wrist gently to sit on his bed.

"Xiao Yu, help me bring the thickest book in the cabinet here,"

Xue Yu shocked. Jing Cheng understood why. The original owner never let Xue Yu touch his study materials, that was the only thing that the original owner forbade Xue Yu for. Studying in ancient times was a luxury. Especially for farmers. Books, inks and papers were expensive. Moreover, the original owner didn't have support from his family, like his youngest brother Jing Fang.

There was a purse made of paper inside the book, similar to an envelope in modern times. There were 2 taels inside. 2 taels equivalent to 2000 wen. A chicken was 30 wen, an egg was 3 wen, a catty of pork was 20 wen and a catty of brown rice was 6 wen. It was already a lot of money for Xue Yu. He wanted to say something, but he kept quiet.

Jing Chen gave the money to Xue Yu, "Xiao Yu, use this money to buy food for you and the children. Don't cook at home, we can't let Mother find out! Go to auntie Zhang, give her this money to buy and prepare food for half a month. She can take 30 wen per day as her wage. Take the children to her house every day to eat."

Auntie Zhang was a widow who lived near the mountain. His husband was a hunter, Jing Chen often borrowed bow, arrows, and rope when hunting from her. She was the one who alarmed the villagers when the original Jing Chen fell from a cliff in the mountain.

"Chen-ge, is it okay not to give this money to your parents?"

"It's okay. They don't lack money anyway, don't you worry. You and the children are so thin, they even dare to give us just a bowl of porridge every day when I was sick. They bully us enough."

Xue Yu hesitated. "What, what if they found out?"

"It's okay, I plan to separate from the family." Jing Chen smiled at him.

Separate from the family!

Xue Yu eyes' lit up. Even if they had to live in a mountain cave, it was better than staying here! He didn't need to give all the food he got from the mountain to the Jing family anymore, maybe he could sell some to save money to build a humble house.

"...Chen-ge, can, can Xiao Wen follow us when we separate?"

Xue Wen was Xue Yu's younger brother, he was a ger and only 9 years old. Xue Yu's mother had him late, Xue Yu was 14 years old when Xue Wen was born. Xue Yu was willing to accept 2 taels as bride price as long as Jing's family allowed his little brother to live with him. Naturally, the Jing family didn't refuse. They thought they got another servant.

The usual bride price was 15 taels for a woman and 8 for ger. Since Xue Yu’s bride price was very cheap, the Jing family felt satisfied that they didn't have to spend a lot of money for Jing Chen's wedding!

After coming to Jing family, Xue Wen lived in a hut near a pigsty in the backyard. He was responsible for cleaning up the yards, washing clothes, feeding the pigs and the chicken. Mother Jing, Jing Jie, and all the other in-laws never need to lift a finger. This made Jing Chen angry again. All the housework in the Jing family was done by Xue Yu and Xue Wen, he couldn't accept it.