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As the sky grew darker, a hint of fiery red from the sunset still lingered in the western sky. Song Anning, with reddened eyes, adjusted the cloth bag and led the little ones home.
Morning rainbow rain, evening rainbow clear; tomorrow would surely be a good day.
As soon as they got home, the three siblings got busy. Song Anning mixed the dough, Song Zeyuan lit the fire, and little Song Anyue squatted at the door, washing the wild vegetables.
As soon as the egg mixture hit the pan, the aroma wafted straight into their noses. The original owner hadn’t been kind to the two children, often killing chickens for meat, and the little ones didn’t even get a sip of the broth.
But now, Big Sis was making this for them, right? They should get to drink some of the broth, right?
Song Zeyuan instinctively swallowed and quickly diverted his attention: “Big Sis, I’ll go find Mom…”
The original owner’s mother was named Wang Ying’er, with the character “son” in her name.
From her name, it was clear that Song Anning’s maternal family wasn’t great. Wang Ying’er had been taught from a young age that men were the heavens, and women were born to serve their husbands and children, and support their brothers.
Before the Song family’s accident, Song Anning’s maternal grandmother would come over to cry about being poor every few days, and she often took things away.
The existence of the maternal family made their already tight household even more strained.
Since her husband Song Feng and her eldest son Song Zeyu disappeared in the mountains, Wang Ying’er had been weeping all day, searching for them on the mountain. Many villagers helped her. Her maternal family lived in the neighboring village and, upon hearing about this, spread a message:
A married daughter is like spilled water; the Song family’s troubles have nothing to do with the Wang family.
A letter severing ties was sent over, and Wang Ying’er’s world collapsed.
Unable to bear the blow, she became mentally unstable. She spent her days cutting willow branches on the mountain, just like Song Anning’s father used to, and then hid in the backyard vegetable garden to weave baskets.
She was trying to fill the void in her heart in her own way. The physician said it was a heart disease, which might get better tomorrow or might never be cured.
Fortunately, she still recognized these children. When Song Zeyuan went to the backyard to bring her back, she didn’t say anything but followed him happily.
While the two little ones were out, Song Anning poured the soup into four rough ceramic bowls and sliced the cornmeal cakes that were stuck to the iron pot.
Compared to the advanced technology and rich flavors of her previous life, this oil-free, low-salt meal wasn’t particularly delicious. But for the villagers, the fine cornmeal without any impurities and the egg soup were something only wealthy families could afford to eat, even if it wasn’t a festival.
There was still fire in the stove, so Song Anning washed the pot clean and filled it with a full pot of water. She had sweated a lot while digging wild vegetables in the afternoon, and a quick rub revealed long rolls of dirt. The whole family was filthy, and they would wash up after dinner before going to bed.
“Big Sis, can we eat now?”
Song Zeyuan saw four bowls of soup on the table, and his stomach growled several times. He and his sister hadn’t had a hot meal in days and were really hungry. They would drink water to ease their hunger pains.
“First, wash your hands and then clean your face.”
“Okay!”
The two little ones were quite obedient, squatting by the wooden basin and scrubbing their little hands vigorously. However, Wang Ying’er was not so cooperative. When Song Anning placed her hands in the water, she splashed water everywhere. When Song Anning tried to wipe her face, she ran around the house, almost overturning the table.
After changing the water three times, they barely managed to clean Wang Ying’er’s hands. She rolled around in the vegetable garden and lay in the mud when she wasn’t weaving baskets, so cleaning her was a major task.
“Alright, let’s eat.”
While there was still some daylight, Song Anning led her mother by the hand to sit at the table. Wang Ying’er didn’t need any help with eating; she ate whatever was given to her.
Song Anyue held her bowl and carefully took a sip. The fresh sweetness of the wild vegetables and the aroma of the eggs lingered in her mouth, and she was reluctant to swallow.
“Big Sis, this soup is really delicious, so sweet.”
“Of course, Big Sis makes the best soup.”
Song Zeyuan, being the clever one, didn’t forget to flatter her. He took a bite of the cornmeal cake and a sip of the soup. This taste… he was the happiest child in the village right now!
“There’s more in the basin, help yourself if you finish. Do you believe me? From now on, Big Sis will make delicious food for you every day.”
“Can we eat eggs every day?”
That seemed unlikely, but Song Zeyuan and Song Anyue nodded eagerly like little chicks pecking at rice. The main room had grown dark, but they saw the look in Big Sis’s eyes—a look of unwavering determination and confidence that they had never seen before.
“We believe you! We all believe in you, Big Sis!”
Song Anning smiled brightly. It felt good to have someone believe in her.
This good mood lasted until it was time to bathe their mother. She realized she had smiled too soon.
This family, including herself, had clothes so dirty they shone black. Their bodies were covered in thick grime, as if they were wearing armor.
Especially Wang Ying’er, whose skin color was unrecognizable. Her hair was a tangled mess, and she wouldn’t let anyone undress her.
This one pot of water wasn’t enough to clean even one person.
There were no spare clothes at home, nor any soap or cleaning supplies. When she peeked into the inner room, the bedding was black and stiff enough to stand up on its own.
The rickety bed and the drafty walls made it clear that their living conditions were dire. Yet, they had still been sending money to the maternal family. Song Anning thought: It’s probably a good thing that Wang Ying’er is like this now. At least she won’t be able to use the money I earn to support those blood-sucking relatives.
She rubbed her head in frustration. Changing the current situation was going to be a long and arduous journey.
The early spring night was still a bit chilly, especially since their house was at the foot of the mountain. Song Anning quickly washed herself and cleaned the two little ones before getting into bed and studying the system.
The system could currently only detect the lowest-level plants. So, did that mean that all the vegetation not marked with red dots was high-level?
Hmm, there seemed to be a loophole in the system!
“No way! The system is quite sophisticated to prevent the host from being clever. At level zero, it only collects red-level plants.”
“The 100 types of plants and animals needed for upgrading must also be red-level.”
Song Anning listened quietly to the system’s chatter and smiled mischievously. “Then I can find high-level ones and sell them in town, right? Hehe.”
“…”
“The system is angry and leaving! Hmph!”
Just because she said that didn’t mean she would do it right away. Banyue Village was more than ten miles from Ping’an Town. Walking would take too long, and even taking an ox cart would take nearly an hour. In that time, she could dig several catties of dandelions.
“Hey? System, is there a minimum weight for the plants you collect?”
“No limit, no limit. The system collects infinitely, but it only collects what the host digs. It doesn’t collect from others.”
“Alright. Let’s do this! Let’s go!”
The two children were sleeping soundly beside her. The first night in Banyue Village, Song Anning didn’t sleep well.
In her dream, her mother had made sesame sugar cakes, and a fresh egg and spinach soup with small shrimp floating on top… She was smiling and calling her to wake up…
Until she heard a rustling sound by her ear…