Chapter 1

A light drizzle had been falling over Nanhyang Village since early morning.

For the children of the Gang family, rainy days were always a welcome sight. Whenever it rained, they didn't have to get up early to gather grass for the family's ox. Instead, they could laze around beneath their blankets for a little longer.

There wasn't much work to do on rainy days, so the adults didn't usually rush the children out of bed, either.

Of course, that didn't mean they could sleep until noon.

If they got up too late, Old Madam Gang would certainly give them a good scolding. It would also be embarrassing if one of the neighboring women happened to visit and caught the children still sleeping.

Still, there was a trick to getting away with being lazy.

Although Old Madam Gang's scolding was never pleasant, being reprimanded alone was far more frightening than being scolded alongside several others. When everyone was getting scolded together, her nagging was little more than the gentle sound of flowing water.

It wasn't such a big deal.

That was why, on mornings like this, the children kept a close eye on one another. They would wait until someone else got up before finally dragging themselves out of bed.

Old Madam Gang had given birth to three sons. All three had married and started families of their own, and the three branches of the family had six children altogether.

The eldest branch had two sons and a daughter, the second branch had a son and a daughter, and the third branch had one son.

Gang Gye was the child of the third branch.

However, he wasn't actually related to the Gang family by blood.

Gang Gye knew that his mother had given birth to him with her former husband.

But this was a secret within the Gang family.

Apart from his stepfather, none of the other family members knew the truth.

Today marked the fourth day since Gang Gye had arrived in this world.

He already knew that he had entered the world of a novel and been reincarnated as the short-lived son of a female supporting character.

He was now four and a half years old, approaching his fifth birthday.

Perhaps because his mother hadn't been able to take proper care of herself during her pregnancy, he had been frail since birth and frequently fell ill.

His mother was the female supporting character who served as a foil to the novel's heroine.

In her previous life, the heroine had trusted a scumbag and abandoned a promising marriage prospect. After marrying that worthless man, she had endured countless hardships and spent her days in poverty and misery.

Shortly before her death, the heroine had seen the female supporting character marry the man she had rejected. The couple loved each other and became increasingly successful.

The sight had filled the heroine with bitter regret.

Consequently, as soon as she was reborn, she swore to reclaim that excellent marriage prospect and marry the male protagonist.

However, when she returned to the past, she discovered that she had already become involved with the scumbag.

Naturally, the scumbag had no intention of letting her go.

Left with little choice, her family decided to appease him by offering him the heroine's older cousin, the female supporting character, as a replacement bride.

They also gave him some silver.

The older cousin was a rather beautiful woman who was also hardworking and capable. After receiving the silver, the scumbag agreed to marry her.

The female supporting character had never been particularly loved by her family. Moreover, marriages in those days were entirely arranged by one's parents.

Since the scumbag seemed to have fairly decent circumstances, she didn't put up much resistance and married him.

Unfortunately, that marriage was no different from throwing herself into a blazing pit of fire.

The scumbag was addicted to gambling and drinking. He was also violent.

Every day, the female supporting character was beaten until her face swelled, yet she still had to work to support the household.

It was an unbearably difficult life.

Eventually, she could no longer endure it and divorced the scumbag.

However, she couldn't remain at her parents' home for long after the divorce, leaving her with no choice but to remarry a man with a limp.

Later, the female supporting character discovered that the heroine had known perfectly well what kind of man the scumbag was, yet had deliberately passed him off to her.

She came to hate the heroine with every fiber of her being.

Overwhelmed by anger, she attacked the heroine, only to suffer at the hands of the heroine's husband, who had become a juren, a successful candidate in the provincial imperial examination.

In the end, her sickly son unexpectedly drowned, and her husband with the limp also lost his life.

The female supporting character finally lost her mind.

Meanwhile, the heroine gave birth to a clever son and daughter and lived happily for the rest of her life.

When Gang Gye thought about everything his mother, the female supporting character, was destined to experience...

Her life is far too miserable.

There was simply no other way to describe it.

And judging by where they currently were in the story, his mother would soon discover that the heroine had knowingly married her off to that scumbag.

When the heroine had suddenly changed her mind and broken off her relationship with the scumbag, she had provided a seemingly reasonable explanation.

Moreover, the heroine had always been rather willful.

Because of that, Gang Gye's mother, the female supporting character, hadn't suspected that there was anything wrong with the man at the time.

As Gang Gye lay in bed, lost in thought, he felt someone moving beside him.

He turned his head and asked quietly,

"Brother Munsaeng, are you getting up?"

Munsaeng was the son of the second branch and was six years old this year.

The Gang family had many members but not enough rooms, so the children had to share their sleeping quarters.

Gang Gye slept on the innermost side of the bed, the relatively quiet Munsaeng slept in the middle, and Howa, the son of the eldest branch, occupied the outermost spot.

Howa was seven years old.

Of the Gang family's six children, four were boys and two were girls.

The eldest son of the first branch had his own room because he was studying. The other boys shared a room, while the two girls slept together in another room.

Munsaeng, who was sitting up and putting on his clothes, turned to look at Gang Gye.

"It's time to get up. Otherwise, Grandma will scold us."

Since it was raining outside, Gang Gye couldn't tell exactly what time it was.

However, he had been hearing the adults eating for quite a while now.

If the children were still in bed by the time the adults finished eating and cleaning up, they would undoubtedly get an earful.

It was probably time to get up.

Gang Gye followed Munsaeng's example and sat up. He picked up the clothes he had placed beside him and got dressed.

Together, they woke Howa.

"Brother, hurry up and get up."

Howa mumbled a few sleepy responses.

After a while, he rubbed his eyes, stretched, and reluctantly began putting on his clothes.

The three boys left the room to brush their teeth and wash their faces.

The girls were already outside.

When Old Madam Gang noticed the children, she looked at Gang Gye with concern.

"Little Six, how are you feeling today? Is anything bothering you?"

Gang Gye was the youngest of the six children, and his given name wasn't particularly easy to pronounce.

For that reason, the family had gradually started calling him Little Six, since he was the sixth child.

"Grandma."

Gang Gye greeted her politely with a smile.

"Nothing hurts. I'm feeling much better today."

"That's good, then. Make sure you wear enough clothes. Don't catch a cold."

Old Madam Gang reminded him.

"Okay!"

Gang Gye answered sweetly.

Ever since he was born, Gang Gye had frequently fallen ill. He was also the youngest child in the family and knew how to act affectionately.

On top of that, his face was exceptionally adorable.

As a result, Old Madam Gang was especially fond of him compared to her other grandchildren.

Yet according to the original novel, when the heroine eventually exposed the secret of Gang Gye's birth, Old Madam Gang would fall seriously ill from the shock and die from grief and anger.

That incident would push the female supporting character into an even more miserable situation.

After washing their faces, the children gathered around the dining table.

Because Gang Gye was still young, his stepfather personally brought his food from the kitchen.

At first glance, his stepfather was a handsome man with a rather cold expression. He was tall and sturdily built.

Even beneath his clothes, the outlines of his well-developed muscles were visible.

His muscles weren't excessively bulky, but they gave him a powerful, strong appearance.

Gang Gye had even caught a glimpse of his stepfather's abdominal muscles two days ago.

What an enviable physique.

Holding his bowl in both hands, Gang Gye spoke softly to his stepfather.

"Thank you, Father."

Gang Jo-hang reached out with his large hand and gently stroked Gang Gye's head, his eyes filled with affection.

"Enjoy your meal."

Gang Jo-hang was the third son of the Gang family.

He had previously worked as an armed escort, protecting people and transporting goods.

However, several years ago, he had encountered bandits and injured his leg. Since then, he had walked with a limp and had been forced to return home.

Before his injury, he had been considered a rather desirable marriage prospect in the village.

But after he injured his leg, all the young women who had once been willing to marry him suddenly disappeared.

Jang Un-chu, the female supporting character, had returned to her parents' home after enduring countless hardships and finally divorcing her former husband.

Not long afterward, however, she overheard her family discussing plans to marry her off to a widower who was several decades older than her, or perhaps to an aging bachelor who had never managed to find a wife.

At the time, Jang Un-chu was already one month pregnant with Gang Gye.

With nowhere else to turn, she approached Gang Jo-hang and begged him to take her as his wife.

She promised that if he married her, she would treat him well and take meticulous care of him.

Although her future husband's face appeared cold, he was actually a warmhearted man.

In the end, he agreed, and the two hurriedly got married.

Of course, Jang Un-chu had been honest with Gang Jo-hang about Gang Gye's existence.

However, the two of them had kept the matter secret from the rest of the Gang family.

If they had revealed the truth, Old Madam Gang would never have permitted the marriage, even if Gang Jo-hang's leg was injured.

After finishing his meal, Gang Gye began playing with his older brothers and sisters.

The children had plenty of ways to entertain themselves without leaving the house.

Recently, their favorite pastime was a game played with small stones.

They would scatter a handful of stones across the ground, pick up one, and toss it into the air.

Before the tossed stone fell, they had to pick up another stone from the ground.

Of course, they also had to catch the stone they had thrown. Only then would the attempt count as a success.

They also had to be careful not to touch any of the other stones while picking one up.

If another stone moved, the attempt was considered a failure.

Since the game didn't require running around, even Gang Gye could play it despite his frail body.

Howa, the oldest among the children playing together, waved him over.

"Little Six, hurry up! Come play with us."

The drowsiness Howa had displayed when getting out of bed was completely gone. He was now a lively, energetic child.

"You guys go ahead. I'll come play with you in a little while."

Gang Gye declined.

He had something very important to do right now.

After arriving in this world, Gang Gye had obtained a cheat ability.

It was an Attendance System.

However, compared to the systems other people received, which could easily grant them enormous wealth or elixirs of immortality, the rewards from his system were rather unimpressive.

Today was his fourth day in this world.

On the first day, he had checked in and received two eggs.

On the second day, he had received a bag of candy containing a little over twenty pieces.

On the third day, he had obtained a container of cooking oil.

As for what he would receive today, he still had no idea.

He also needed to figure out whether there were any hidden rules governing the system.

His Attendance System didn't specify a particular location where he had to check in.

For the first two days, Gang Gye had stood in the courtyard and checked in, receiving eggs and candy.

On the third day, he had checked in from the kitchen and received cooking oil.

There was a chicken coop in the Gang family's courtyard.

Although receiving candy had been somewhat unexpected, there seemed to be a general pattern to the rewards.

In other words, checking in at different locations appeared to give him a certain chance of obtaining items associated with those places.

Of course, the rule probably wasn't absolute.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have received candy when he checked in from the courtyard on the second day.

After all, there hadn't been anything or anyone related to candy in the courtyard at the time.

Today, he intended to conduct another experiment.