Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

pain.

It felt like countless tiny needles were pricking her temples, the pain making Tang Susu's vision go black, while her ears were filled with intermittent sobs, filled with heart-wrenching despair.

"Lifu, eldest sister...eldest sister seems to have stopped breathing..."

"Sister! It's my fault for being incompetent! It's my fault for not protecting you!"

Stopped breathing? Who stopped breathing?

Tang Susu suddenly opened her eyes. The blinding sunlight leaked in through the cracks in the thatched roof, making her squint instinctively.

What came into view was a dark mud wall, with large patches of plaster peeling off to reveal yellow soil mixed with wheat straw, and a musty and earthy smell lingered in the air.

This was neither her penthouse apartment overlooking the city skyline nor the banquet hall where she had just received her rich list award.

She moved her fingers, her whole body felt sore and weak, and her throat was so dry it felt like it was about to burst into flames.

Moving the gaze downwards, two people were kneeling beside the bed:

The boy, around seventeen or eighteen years old, wore a coarse cloth jacket covered in patches. His hair was dry, yellow, and tangled. He was so thin that his cheekbones protruded, and his eyes were red and swollen from crying, like a rabbit's.

The girl next to him, about fourteen or fifteen years old, was wearing a faded cloth dress, her belly slightly protruding. She hung her head, her shoulders trembling violently, and tears fell to the ground.

When the two saw her open her eyes, they froze at first, then exploded with joy.

"Sister! You're awake! You're really awake!" The boy rushed over to grab her hand, but was afraid of hurting her, so his hand hovered in mid-air, choked with sobs and unable to speak.

The girl also kowtowed, her voice trembling, "It's good that Big Sister is awake, it's good that she's awake..."

sister?

Tang Susu was stunned.

She is 35 years old and has just topped the list of the world's richest women. She has no younger siblings or even many distant relatives. So how come there are suddenly two people calling her "big sister"?

Before she could even sort out her thoughts, her head suddenly felt like it had been hit by a heavy hammer, and she felt an excruciating pain.

Countless unfamiliar fragments of memory flooded in:

After her parents died early, she lived with her second uncle and aunt. Her second aunt cruelly sold her ten-year-old sister to be a child bride, and she herself was married off to Donggou Village at the age of thirteen. Even her two younger brothers were also forced to come to live with her.

Her husband died in battle, and the imperial court gave her 30 taels of compensation, but her second aunt cheated her out of it, saying she wanted to take her younger brother back to the Tang family. But once she got the money, she turned her back on her.

He went to his aunt's house to demand an explanation, but was beaten so badly that his head bled...

She finally realized—she was wearing it.

She transmigrated from a modern female tycoon with a net worth of hundreds of billions into the body of "Sister Yang," a widowed village woman in Donggou Village in ancient times. The original owner's surname was Tang, but she was called that after marrying into the Yang family.

Kneeling beside the bed were the original owner's younger brother, Tang Lifu, and his newlywed wife, Miao Yulan.

Miao Yulan is still pregnant, and in six months, there will be another mouth to feed in the family.

Besides, the original owner had two sons, and as soon as she transmigrated, she "took over" the whole family.

"Sister? Sister, why aren't you moving? Does your head still hurt?" Tang Lifu was very anxious when he saw that her face was pale and her eyes were blank. He reached out to shake her.

"Don't touch me!"

Tang Susu instinctively rebuked him, her voice hoarse and dry, still carrying the lingering irritability of the original owner.

Tang Lifu's hand froze in mid-air, his elation instantly turning to fear. He lowered his head and whispered in protest, "Sister, I... I was just worried about you..."

Tang Susu's headache worsened, but the sound of villagers talking could be heard clearly from outside the courtyard gate.

"Sister-in-law Yang deserves it! Her in-laws didn't mind that she was raising two younger brothers, but she went and made a scene over 30 taels of compensation!"

"She even swindled money from her second aunt! She's really not smart enough! Lazy and mean-spirited, she treats her in-laws badly, and she's mean to her younger brother and son. Now that she's been beaten like this, she's disgusting to look at!"

"I heard she went begging for money because her family was starving and they were eating only bran and wild vegetables every day..."

These words pierced Tang Susu's heart like needles, and she finally understood that the original owner's reputation was completely ruined.

Tang Lifu heard it too, his face flushed red, he clenched his fists but dared not refute, he could only say with red eyes, "Sister, don't listen to their nonsense..."

Tang Susu closed her eyes, suppressing her surging emotions. Now was not the time to worry about her reputation.

She opened her eyes, her voice hoarse but firm: "Close the door."

Miao Yulan quickly responded, got up and ran to the courtyard gate, closed the creaking wooden gate, and said to the villagers peeking out, "My eldest sister needs to rest," before running back.

The courtyard was quiet, and Tang Susu was finally able to take a good look at her home:

Mud walls, mud floor, thatched roof; the walls were full of holes, and cold wind blew straight in.

The windows had wooden frames and were covered with dry thatch; their simplicity was heartbreaking.

Looking at Tang Lifu and Miao Yulan, they were both skin and bones, their clothes patched upon patched, their straw sandals worn so worn that their toes were showing. Miao Yulan was pregnant, and her face was sallow, clearly indicating that she hadn't been eating enough for a long time.

Tang Susu herself was so hungry that her stomach was growling and her throat was parched. She knew without a doubt that the original owner of this body hadn't eaten for many days.

"Big sister, are you hungry?" Miao Yulan asked cautiously, her eyes filled with fear. "I... I'll make you a bowl of wild vegetable rice?"

She was afraid of Tang Susu, who would scold her at the slightest provocation, and she wanted to use cooking as an excuse to stay away from her.

Tang Susu nodded, and Miao Yulan immediately ran to the kitchen.

She supported herself and followed, only to see that the kitchen stove was made of mud, cracked, with a half-broken iron pot on it, cooking something black inside.

Miao Yulan took out some yellowing wild vegetables from her basket, rinsed them in the murky water, chopped them up, and threw them into the pot.

This is what the family eats. Years of drought have left them with no crops, so they can only eat porridge made from bran and wild vegetables every day, and they only eat one meal a day.

Soon, Miao Yulan filled a rough porcelain bowl with a chipped rim with porridge and placed it in front of Tang Susu, saying nervously, "Big sister, you eat it."

The paste had a bitter taste and looked unappetizing.

But Tang Susu noticed Tang Lifu and Miao Yulan staring at the bowl and swallowing their saliva, and realized that this was the family's life-saving food.

She suppressed her discomfort and handed the bowl back, saying, "I'm not hungry, you guys eat."

Miao Yulan was stunned, thinking that Tang Susu was about to lose her temper, and she was so frightened that she trembled and almost knelt down.

Tang Lifu quickly helped her up and said in a low voice, "If my sister tells us to eat, then we'll eat."

He found five small bowls, divided the paste into five portions, one for himself and one for Miao Yulan, and left the rest for his second younger brother and two nephews—they even had to be careful with this little bit of food.

Tang Susu didn't look again, got up and walked out of the yard.

To the east of Donggou Village are mountains, and to the west are valleys. The small river at the foot of the mountains has long since dried up, and the riverbed is cracked with large gaps.

The villagers were all pale and thin, with anxious expressions. The locust plague two years ago and the drought last year and this year had wiped out their stored grain. Everyone was as anxious as ants on a hot pan. If it didn't rain soon, there would be no harvest this year, and they would have no choice but to beg.

She grumbled, "You're dressed so poorly," but quickly cheered herself up.

She was able to go from having nothing to becoming the richest woman, and even in years of famine, she was able to keep her family alive.

Tang Susu decided to explore the surrounding environment and walked into the rice paddies.

The rice stalks, which should have been heading, are now shriveled and drooping, with empty husks that crumble at the slightest touch.

Just as she was about to turn around, a cute, innocent voice suddenly rang in her mind: [Ding-dong! Wild shepherd's purse found!]