Chapter 6: I Am the Female Lead

After entering the space, Xia Qingfeng carefully took the little white fox to the treatment room. She cleaned off the old herbs and began tending to the fox’s wounds, suturing the injury, applying anti-inflammatory and antiseptic ointments, and finally using a cast and bandages to stabilize the fracture.

Once everything was taken care of, her stomach suddenly growled loudly.

“Oops, I forgot…” Xia Qingfeng slapped her forehead, realizing she had forgotten about the meal. She quickly exited the space, ran to the kitchen, and—of course—found that the congee had turned into a burnt crust. She turned off the stove and headed back to the space.

Back inside, she saw the little white fox lying comfortably on the bed and Xiaoxiao sitting nearby, absentmindedly grooming the fox’s fur. Xia Qingfeng sighed. “Looks like no congee tonight.”

Xiaoxiao, however, remained unfazed. “Mom, don’t forget—there’s a supermarket downstairs at the hospital. We can go take a look.”

The hospital’s downstairs supermarket wasn’t large, but it had plenty of daily necessities and a reasonable amount of food options.

As the two were getting ready to take the elevator downstairs, Xiaoxiao suddenly had an idea. She turned to Xia Qingfeng. “Mom, try using your mind to picture the supermarket and see if we can teleport directly there.”

Xia Qingfeng gave it a try. She focused her thoughts, but after several attempts, both mother and daughter remained still in the same place. Xiaoxiao sighed. “Looks like we’ll have to walk there after all.”

Xia Qingfeng rolled her eyes. “With an elevator available, and you’re complaining? Why don’t you just fly there?”

Xiaoxiao responded with a dramatic sigh. “Mom, I have short legs! It’s hard for me to walk, okay? How unlucky can I be—finally made it through elementary school, high school, college, and even grad school, only to be turned back into a three-year-old child! Everything has to start from scratch… it’s too tragic!”

Xia Qingfeng couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for her daughter. After all the years of hard work, Xiaoxiao was back to square one, and that thought was oddly pitiful.

Soon, they reached the supermarket. The food selection was decent but rather limited, mostly consisting of instant noodles, self-heating pots, ham sausages, and canned porridge. Xia Qingfeng picked up two boxes of instant noodles, two boxes of eight-treasure porridge, and some ham sausages before heading back to the office.

In the office, they found a kettle and a microwave available for use. Xia Qingfeng eagerly checked and realized that there was electricity—this was a blessing. She quickly filled the kettle, turned it on, and started boiling water for the noodles. Meanwhile, Xiaoxiao went to the treatment room to bring the little white fox.

The powerful scent of instant noodles quickly filled the office. The little white fox, who had been peacefully lying in Xiaoxiao’s arms, suddenly perked up, nose twitching. Even the fox couldn’t resist the overpowering aroma.

They all sat down to enjoy their “luxurious meal.” Xia Qingfeng couldn’t help but sigh in awe. “I can’t believe it. I’m back at the hospital, and we’re eating modern food like instant noodles and sausages. It’s like a dream. Wait… didn’t novels always say that only the female lead gets the space? Then that means your mom is *definitely* the main heroine. Hahaha, this rebirth is really too profitable!”

Xiaoxiao, munching on her noodles, suddenly stopped and looked up. “Mom, how did you even suddenly get a space? Why didn’t we notice it before?”

Xia Qingfeng thought for a moment, then recalled, “It was when I was tending to the little white fox. It looked up and made eye contact with me, and then… suddenly, I was back at the hospital.”

Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened. She immediately put down her chopsticks and picked up the little white fox. She stared at it intently, trying to mimic what her mom had done.

The little fox, who had been peacefully eating its meal, let out a distressed “yo yo!” and began struggling, trying to escape. But of course, the delicious scent of noodles and sausages was far more tempting, and the fox didn’t fight too hard.

Xiaoxiao sighed, her voice tinged with a touch of longing. “Sigh… If only we had a spirit spring or a shopping mall, then we could eat all the good stuff and live like royalty.”

Just as she spoke, the little white fox, who had been happily munching on its food, suddenly paused and stared at Xiaoxiao for a long moment. After a while, it sighed, clearly giving up, and went back to eating. Neither of them noticed the fox’s gesture.

“Mom, if we have this space, can we go directly to Youzhou?” Xiaoxiao asked. “The sooner, the better. Ancient Youzhou is a harsh place, I’m not sure if that elderly couple is still alive, and even if they are, their lives must be tough.”

Xia Qingfeng felt a pang of pain in her heart, a sharp tug of emotion that might have been left behind from the original owner of this body. “I know, I feel the same way,” she said. “But traveling in ancient times requires real gold and silver. Right now, we have no money, and no means of protecting ourselves. As a mother and daughter on our own, it’ll be hard to get to Youzhou. We need to gather more herbs first. By the way, can you play with the little fox for a bit? I’m going to grab a change of clothes. The shower in the breakroom is working, so it’s a great time to clean up.”

As Xia Qingfeng entered the space with her clothes, she saw Xiaoxiao rummaging through something in the office while the little white fox lay beside her, watching. The fox looked almost like a child being indulged by a doting parent, as it did whatever it wanted, and Xiaoxiao let it be.

“What are you looking for?” Xia Qingfeng asked.

Xiaoxiao, without looking up, answered, “I’m just checking to see if anyone left behind a phone. There’s electricity here, so maybe we could use the phone to go online.”

Xia Qingfeng shook her head, amused. “Don’t bother, there won’t be any. People nowadays are glued to their phones, and no one would forget them.”

Xiaoxiao considered this for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Later that evening, Xia Qingfeng, Xiaoxiao, and the little white fox all stayed in the rest area of the space. Before bed, Xia Qingfeng remembered that she had forgotten to plant the mandrake seedlings. However, it was too risky to leave them outside—what if some child accidentally touched them? She decided to make some large wooden tubs to plant the mandrakes in. That way, she could bring the tubs into the space when they traveled, making it safer.

The next morning, Xia Qingfeng took Xiaoxiao out for a run around the yard, doing a set of exercises and preparing to make breakfast. As they were finishing up, Li Shanshi, a neighbor, walked by and curiously asked, “Xiaoxiao’s mother, what are you doing so early in the morning, all sweaty?”

Xia Qingfeng wiped the sweat from her brow and replied, “Thank you, Aunt Li, and the others, for saving my daughter and me yesterday. I almost died, but now I’ve let go of the past and want to live a good life. We’re just two lonely women with no one to rely on, so I thought I should work on my health. That way, if bad people come, at least I can defend us for a while.”

Li Shanshi, though not familiar with the concept of exercise, understood the hardships Xia Qingfeng and her daughter had been through. She nodded sympathetically.

Xia Qingfeng suddenly had an idea and called out to her, “Aunt Li, would you like to dig up some herbs?”

Li Shanshi looked surprised. “Dig up herbs? I don’t know how. Only doctors and herbalists know that.”

Xia Qingfeng smiled. “I know a little. I was thinking of gathering some herbs these days, preparing them to sell at the town’s pharmacy. Would you like to join me?”

Li Shanshi was thrilled. “Really? That’s wonderful! I heard herbs are worth a lot of money.” She hesitated for a moment before adding, “But… this is a way to make money, isn’t it? Are you really willing to teach me?”

Xia Qingfeng waved her hand, reassuring her. “It’s nothing. When I was starving near the village entrance, it was you who helped us. You and the others took us in and gave us so much. We owe you our lives. Teaching you this is the least I can do.”

Li Shanshi quickly shook her head. “Anyone would’ve helped, how could I call it a favor?”

Xia Qingfeng’s expression was sincere. “Everyone has their struggles, and I genuinely want to give back to the village. Aunt Li, don’t refuse. Please go tell the others. Anyone who wants to join us can come after breakfast, and I’ll take you all up the mountain.”

Li Shanshi was deeply moved. She grabbed Xia Qingfeng’s hands and said, “Thank you, thank you so much. I’ll go door to door and let everyone know.”

Before they had finished their breakfast, there was a commotion outside the door. Xia Qingfeng quickly opened it and saw a group of more than ten women and children standing outside, with the village chief among them.

When the village chief saw the door open, he walked up and said, “Xia, I heard you know about herbs and are planning to take the village people to the mountain to dig them up. Is that true?”

“Yes, Uncle Village Chief,” Xia Qingfeng replied with a smile. “My father was a doctor, and I learned some herb identification and preparation techniques from him.”

“Great, great!” The village chief said happily. “On behalf of the village, I thank you!” He turned to the women around him. “Listen up, you all better learn from Xia, this is a rare opportunity!”

The villagers nodded eagerly, promising to follow Xia Qingfeng’s lead without question.

Xia Qingfeng couldn’t help but feel touched by the villagers’ response. Despite their simple lives, they had shown such kindness to her and her daughter. Now, this small act of returning the favor felt like it could make a real difference.

As the group dispersed to go home and prepare, Xia Qingfeng felt a sense of gratitude. Her heart, which had been filled with uncertainty and worry, now had a direction. She wasn’t just surviving in this new world; she was beginning to make a life for herself and her daughter, building a future from the ground up.

Tomorrow, they would go up the mountain together. The herbs they gathered would not only provide for their daily needs but might also give them a chance to carve out a place in the village’s economy. And who knew? With the space, the sky was the limit.

Xia Qingfeng smiled to herself, looking down at her daughter and the little white fox, both of whom were now happily occupied with their own little worlds. The future seemed full of possibilities.