Chapter 10: Moving House

Now that the house was fully repaired, Liu Yinyin began planning her move.

She was already four months pregnant, and since the weather was hot, she was wearing lighter clothes, making her belly slightly noticeable.

Seeing her daughter pregnant, Jiang Cuihua was naturally worried about her living alone and hesitated. “Why don’t you wait until after the baby is born to move? You’re all by yourself with a big belly—what if something happens?”

But Liu Yinyin didn’t want to stay in the Liu family home any longer. For some reason, her second sister-in-law had been giving her attitude lately.

Liu Yinyin didn’t bother being polite in return, but she really didn’t want to live under the same roof with someone she couldn’t get along with.

So she insisted, “It’s better to move sooner. I have two plots of land there, and it’ll be more convenient for me to take care of them if I’m living nearby.”

Strangely enough, Liu Yinyin remembered that the famine wasn’t supposed to start until next year.

But this year, the weather was already acting unusual. After spring planting, it had only rained two or three times, and the ground barely got wet before the rain stopped.

Now, the temperature was rising, yet there was still no rain. The fields were so dry that the soil was starting to crack.

Recently, the villagers had to fetch water every day to irrigate their fields. Otherwise, this year’s harvest would definitely suffer.

It seemed… the signs of famine were already beginning this year.

The land at the edge of the village also needed watering. Every day after work, her third brother would help carry water for her crops, which was quite a hassle.

Liu Yinyin felt bad about troubling him for too long. If she moved in herself, it would save them all the extra effort.

That afternoon, Liu Yinyin packed up her belongings, ready to move.

She didn’t have much—just one large trunk and two bundles. A single trip with the family’s cart was enough to transport everything.

However, aside from her personal belongings, she still hadn’t figured out where her food supply would come from.

Jiang Cuihua packed up 40 pounds of cornmeal, 20 pounds of corn grits, 10 pounds of black flour, and 10 pounds of millet for her.

With only three months left until the autumn harvest, this amount of food should be enough to last Liu Yinyin through that period.

That evening, after dinner, Liu Laifu and his third son, Liu Mingyuan, loaded her things onto the cart and took her to her new home.

One of them pulled the cart while the other pushed from behind.

Liu Yinyin, with her belly sticking out, followed along.

“You’re already showing—why are you making such a fuss about moving now?” Liu Mingyuan complained. “In your condition, there’s not much work you can do over there anyway. You might as well stay at home.”

A pregnant woman living alone—she’d have to cook and do laundry all by herself. Wasn’t that worrisome?

Liu Yinyin knew he had a soft heart despite his tough words. Teasing him, she said, “Third Brother, that’s not fair. Which pregnant woman in our village gets to stop working?”

At this time, pregnant women didn’t get any special treatment. They still had to do housework and even go to the fields when needed.

For the past two months, Liu Yinyin had it relatively easy—she only worked half-days, spending the rest of her time foraging for wild vegetables in the mountains.

It wasn’t exhausting, but it wasn’t exactly easy either.

She had no choice—her circumstances didn’t allow her to just sit back and enjoy life.

However, once she reached the later stages of pregnancy, she planned to take it easy. She wouldn’t dare overwork herself when she got heavier.

When they reached the village outskirts, Liu Laifu and his son carried her belongings inside, filled both of the large water jars in the kitchen, and then took the cart back home.

Liu Yinyin locked the main gate and went into the kitchen to boil water for a bath.

Even though she had just moved in today, she had already spent the past few weeks gradually furnishing the house.

The kitchen was stocked with pots, bowls, and seasonings like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar—all things she had secretly acquired from the system under the pretense of buying them in town.

Besides the stove, the kitchen now had a newly built table, a small cabinet, and a few stools.

The only other additions were two large water jars—everything else was kept simple.

The bedroom was also minimally furnished. Aside from a newly made wooden bed, there was just a small wardrobe and the large trunk she had brought from home.

She had already set up her bed—since it was summer, she only laid out a bamboo mat and a thin blanket.

Because adobe houses were prone to dust, Liu Yinyin had secretly bought a stack of white paper from the system and pasted it onto the walls, making the place look much better.

That night, despite being in a new place, Liu Yinyin slept soundly.

The next morning, she woke up naturally.

Right now, the main task in the fields was carrying water, but as a pregnant woman, there was no way she could haul buckets of water with her big belly.

So, she hadn’t gone to work for the past few days.

After getting up and washing up, Liu Yinyin started making breakfast.

She prepared a bowl of millet porridge, two wild vegetable steamed buns, and picked some water spinach from the field to stir-fry.

Just as she finished cooking, Jiang Cuihua arrived with a basket and a chicken cage in hand.

Previously, Jiang Cuihua had raised six young hens for Liu Yinyin at the Liu family home for the past two months.

Now that Liu Yinyin had moved, Jiang Cuihua brought the hens over to her.

After settling the six young hens in the pigsty, Jiang Cuihua carried her basket into the kitchen.

There was still some millet porridge left in the pot, so Liu Yinyin scooped a bowl for her.

“Mom, have some to fill your stomach.”

“No need to fuss, I already ate before coming over. Just pour me a bowl of water, this heat is unbearable.”

It was only morning, yet she was already drenched in sweat from walking over.

Liu Yinyin obediently poured her a bowl of water and handed her a towel to wipe her sweat.

Noticing the new bowl and towel in her daughter’s hands, Jiang Cuihua couldn’t help but click her tongue. “You don’t have much money left, do you? You need to be more frugal—giving birth will cost money, too.”

The fifty yuan she had secretly saved for her daughter had already been spent on house repairs. Now, her daughter barely had any personal savings left—how could she afford to spend freely?

Liu Yinyin grinned. “It’s not as bad as you think. Before Gu Cheng returned to the army, he left me… a hundred yuan. If I spend it carefully, it’ll last quite a while.”

She deliberately mentioned an extra fifty yuan to ease Jiang Cuihua’s worries about her financial situation.

“Really?” Jiang Cuihua was surprised. She hadn’t known about this.

“Yes, he gave it to me privately. Even his mother doesn’t know—I just hid it away,” Liu Yinyin explained. It wasn’t exactly a lie; Gu Cheng had indeed given money to the original owner.

Thinking about her deceased son-in-law, Jiang Cuihua sighed. “Gu Cheng… he was really good to you. If only he were still alive.”

If Gu Cheng were still around, her daughter wouldn’t have to struggle alone like this.

“Mom, that’s all in the past. Things will only get better from here,” Liu Yinyin comforted her.

What was done was done—dwelling on it would only add to their worries.

Jiang Cuihua smiled faintly. “Alright, I should head back. There’s still work to do at home. The vegetables in the basket are for you—eat them first. If you run out, just come to the house and get more.”

Since Liu Yinyin had planted her vegetables late, only the water spinach was ready to eat.

So, Jiang Cuihua brought her some fresh greens from home.