Cultivation: Starting with Sterilizing My Own Father

Wei Zhiying's current home is a thatched hut nestled at the foot of the mountain. Being upwind and halfway up the mountain, the sound didn't carry. This village is located on the border, meaning the border would be the first to be hit by war. However, this also makes the land fertile and its location near the mountains, providing literal support during times of war. Yet, in times of peace, they manage to live a life of impoverished poverty, earning praise from everyone in the village for the Wei family's resourcefulness.

With the addition of the twins, there are only five people in the family.

The breadwinner of the family was named Wei Youcai, a rural man who was addicted to alcohol.

The old lady in the family didn't have a name, but because she was adopted by this family when she was young, she shared the same surname as the deceased old man. The name she was initially reported to the government was Wei Nu.

Wei Zhiying's mother's name was the most beautiful in the village; it was Cui Lanyin.

When Wei Zhiying was born, her father knelt in the courtyard to thank their ancestors and even took the only bundle of firewood they had left to ask the village scholar to name her. Those lowly names had prevented any of their children from growing up; this time, they had to give her a good name.

But why would a scholar be interested in such a small thing? It might not even be cooked properly for one meal.

Without even wanting to think about it, the scholar heard Wei Youcai's wish for his son to bring wealth and honor to the family, to become a hero and bring glory to the ancestors. However, he couldn't use the names "Guangzong" and "Yaozu," since the twins had just passed away last year, which was considered unlucky. So, the scholar wrote the three characters "Wei Zhiying."

The girl was given the name "Wei Lanyin" by chance when the village chief came to record the information.

……

People in the village get married early. Wei Zhiying's parents are now 48 and 33 years old, and even her grandmother is 63.

Despite their age, they only have two children, Wei Zhiying and her older sister.

This is also why Wei Zhiying was not afraid even as she kept lowering her guard.

In ancient villages, the poor had few forms of entertainment, and there were only so many things to do in the evenings. There were bound to be many children, and they were generally less worldly-wise.

In the 21st century, some mothers-in-law in villages often complain that their daughters-in-law are spoiled, saying that people in the past didn't have these things, and they were still fine. But actually, they weren't fine; people were just leftovers after they died.

Wei Zhiying's older brothers and sisters had all died while being raised by them, which greatly increased her chances of survival. After all, as the saying goes, "people can't teach you everything, but you can learn something after just one lesson." Now that they were all over fifty years old, they finally had their only son. No matter how stubborn they were, they had to change their past practices of raising children to death.

……

The landlord family where Wei Youcai worked was a great philanthropist within a hundred miles. They hired people who were capable, and wages were linked to the amount of work done. The men did the labor, while the women were responsible for the fabric.

Because the landlords only hired people from the village, in order to save money on building houses, they only provided lunch, not lodging, and their wages were not settled at the end of the year like others, but monthly.

Knowing about Wei Zhiying's family situation, part of her monthly wages would be converted into enough firewood, rice, oil, and salt for Cui Lanyin to take home, while the rest of the money would be given to Wei's daughter.

When they learned that Cui Lanyin had given birth, they would give her some small crucian carp as part of her monthly allowance, though the amount of money would be relatively less.

When Wei Youcai saw that the number of copper coins had obviously decreased, he would start nagging again, and if he got impatient, he would even start cursing.

The taxes here are similar to those in the Qin Dynasty, with taxes paid twice a year, plus a "mouth tax" for minors and a "calculation tax" for adults.

Wei Youcai earned three taels of silver a year, his grandmother earned one hundred coins a month, and Cui Lanyin, who was literate, earned the most money in the family, three hundred and fifty coins a month.

Even though a family can earn more than eight taels, after paying taxes, they are fortunate that the host family has replaced the firewood, rice, oil and salt in advance. If they eat sparingly, they can barely make ends meet each month and save up four or five copper coins.

……

After drinking the crucian carp soup, her mother had milk. Wei Zhiying would only drink from one side of the breast, no matter how much she was fed, and refused to drink the rest. But if she didn't drink, Cui Lanyin would become very swollen.

Fearing that Cui Lanyin's milk would become blocked and her grandson would not be able to eat his next meal, Wei Lanyin had no choice but to drink breast milk with him.

Wei Zhiying would cry loudly every time she made sure her sister had finished drinking, if it wasn't enough. But the next time, she would still drink one side completely and then keep her mouth tightly shut.

"That's why they say you're twins," Cui Lanyin said with satisfaction, seeing her son like this. "He even knows how to take care of your sister. Don't forget your mother when you grow up."

Grandma would poke her grandson's head and scold him for being stupid: "This silly boy, he must be like his mother, always siding with outsiders." Every time this happened, you, who couldn't speak, would scream loudly, disturbing everyone's peace.

However, this also has its drawbacks. If it's not enough, you need to cook some rice water to feed the baby. It's fine for half a month, but after half a month, the water will become thinner and thinner, and eventually you can only feed the baby water.

As time passed, Wei Zhiying's eyesight gradually improved, and she and her sister looked up curiously at their home.

I heard that this family originally didn't have a house. When the father got married, he spent all his money and the whole family lived in a cave. The villagers couldn't bear to see them like this, so they raised money to build them two thatched huts.

The cooking area was set up in a shed outside.

My mother gave birth in the small house next door, and she still lives there alone with her child.

Villagers typically leave their children at home for a day, returning only to feed them. This results in some children being two years old and still having difficulty walking. There have even been cases of children being bitten by rats or choking on small objects falling from the roof.

Wei Zhiying absolutely could not allow such a thing to happen. After all, a newborn child is like a blank sheet of paper. Without drawing on it, no picture can be formed, and over time the paper will turn yellow and become brittle.

To ensure her and her sister's good health, Wei Zhiying started practicing rolling over on her own when she was four months old. Once she could roll over on her own, she taught her sister.

At seven months, they held each other's hands tightly and managed to sit up.

When children are learning to speak, there's a saying in the village that whoever's name a child calls first will bring them misfortune. Men are usually the pillars of the family, but they don't respect the elders, so the child can only learn to call their mother first. This gradually became a habit.

Wei Zhiying said no, since they would only come back when they were breastfeeding after they went out, and they didn't teach them to speak much otherwise, Wei Zhiying taught her older sister herself.

"fall!"

Wei Lanyin: "Yay~"

Wei Zhiying thought it was because she couldn't pronounce it clearly, so she took a moment to prepare herself and said, "Father!"

Wei Lanyin: "Fall!"

Wei Zhiying didn't understand this custom at first, but he found out that evening.

Children cry at night when they are hungry or wet, and once they learn to speak, they will definitely call out the first word they have learned.

Wei Zhiying was disturbed by her sister calling for her father. Afraid that her sister would be beaten, she also started calling out for her father.

"Damn it, who taught these two kids to call me 'Dad' first? Are they deliberately trying to make my life miserable?" The thatched hut was poorly soundproofed, and the children's crying could wake up the people across the street, let alone calling him 'Dad' directly.

Wei Nu was also surprised: "Oh, right, I went with your wife when she came back. Come to think of it, we haven't even taught the kids to talk yet, how come they can call me 'Dad'?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Youcai's resentment at being woken up turned into pride: "My son, Wei Youcai's son, is definitely the prodigy everyone's talking about! Son! If you become successful in the future, don't forget your father!"

In the days that followed, Grandma began teaching the two of them to call her "Mother".

Wei Zhiying and her sister had a good conversation. At night, the two children never called for their mother; they would call for their father or grandmother instead.

When Wei Youcai got annoyed by the noise, he would kick his mother to make her come over and help change his diapers.

When the two were not around, Cui Lanyin would hug and kiss her two children, saying, "Good children, you know how to care for your mother even at such a young age. When you grow up, go out and see the capital of Xiliang. Although Xiliang has many sand dunes, civilization is buried beneath those dunes."

The mother's brown eyes seemed to be recalling something: "Lan Yin Lan Yin, as deep as waves, as lively as a clear sound. In 'Seven Admonitions: Self-Pity,' it says, 'How the blue clouds flow like waves, and the frost falls like mist.'" But then her gaze changed, like the way the grandmother looked at her older sister: "Since ancient times, there has been a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. No matter when, legitimate is legitimate, and illegitimate is illegitimate."

Wei Zhiying and her older sister grew up slowly until they were three years old, listening to their mother's poems and rules. During this time, Wei Zhiying would often interrupt her father at crucial moments by crying and making a fuss at night. Once she was finally able to run, jump, and go out in the street, Wei Zhiying's first act was to prevent any more children from being born into the family. This infuriated her father, who grabbed a shoe sole to hit her. Undeterred, Wei Zhiying grabbed a pair of scissors and pointed them at her younger brother: "Go ahead and hit him! If you hit him once, I'll make sure you have no descendants!"

If he couldn't touch his son, Wei Youcai would turn around and beat his wife and daughter. "If you dare to hit me, I'll make sure you have no descendants. If you have so much energy you don't know what to do with, go do some work. The master's family needs someone to patrol at night, and that can earn some money for the family."

Wei Youcai often cursed and complained, saying that he had given birth to a Heavenly King.

Now that's settled, without her manhood, Wei Zhiying has truly become the king of the house.