Only Qiao Yunqing remained seated there, half of his face hidden in the dim light.

Seeing this, Qiao Xin immediately shook off her drowsiness and braced herself for what was to come.

Sure enough!

Qiao Yunqing lifted his head and stared straight at Qiao Xin, giving her no chance to dodge. “Who are you? Where did she go?”

Qiao Xin’s expression remained relaxed, her brows smooth, showing no sign of panic at being seen through.

In fact, she even looked slightly annoyed.

“I’m Qiao Xin, the same age as your foster mother. Now, I am her, and she is me. If you ask me where she went, I have no idea. This body belongs to your foster mother. I was inexplicably dragged into this mess by her. And she just left without even a word, dumping this whole disaster on me.”

【A wandering ghost?】

【Hah, so well-read, he sure knows how to imagine things. But no, I’m not some wandering ghost—at most, I’m just a soul from another world.】

Seeing that he wasn’t fully convinced, Qiao Xin sneered:

“Don’t act like I got such a great deal out of this. At least in my own country, I had food, drink, and freedom—I could go wherever I wanted.

But what do you have here? No food, no water, and on top of that, I suddenly have three adopted sons and a bunch of grandchildren to take care of. I went from having everything to being a lonely old widow. If you were in my place, would you be happy? If you can find someone to send me back, I’d be grateful.”

Qiao Yunqing stared at her intently, as if trying to determine whether she was telling the truth.

“Did he tell you much about our background?”

“He only said that your family is from the capital—wealthy and influential. Nothing more.”

Qiao Xin had expected him to be unable to accept the situation, but his reaction surprised her.

“So, that’s why you wanted to drive us away?”

“Half and half. What I said just now was all true. Your mother and I are completely different people. Living together day and night, you all would have noticed sooner or later. Look, it hasn’t even been a full day, and you already figured it out!”

The options were clear: they could continue pretending to be a loving mother and sons, they could go their separate ways, or they could burn her at the stake as some kind of demon.

Qiao Yunqing pressed his lips together, weighing the pros and cons.

The woman before him looked exactly like his foster mother, but her expression was confident and bold, completely different from before.

His foster mother had long been ground down by life’s hardships.

That’s why she had clung desperately to a lifeline when she found one.

Qiao Yunqing recalled how she had defended San Niang at lunch.

A person capable of doing such a thing couldn’t be all bad. Maybe working together was the best choice.

Having made up his mind, he picked up thirty taels of silver and pushed the rest toward her. “Mother, please keep these. We still need you to hold this family together.”

Qiao Xin’s eyes curved into a smile. “Alright!”

..

At the crack of dawn, Qiao Yunxin and his two brothers set off for town.

After finishing a bowl of thin porridge, Qiao Xin couldn’t sit still.

Her mouth had gone tasteless from all the plain food. No matter what, she had to improve their meals today.

Turning to the mountains behind the house, she grabbed a bow and a bamboo basket before heading out.

The forty-stone wooden bow had been her father’s relic.

After he passed away, it had been locked away.

Though the original owner of this body knew some martial arts, she had only learned the basics of hunting—digging traps and snaring rabbits at most.

Shooting arrows was out of the question.

And since Qiao Yunxin, who had inherited half of their father’s skills, had been forbidden from hunting, the family lost its main source of income, leading to their worsening poverty.

Xu Shi stared in shock as her mother-in-law handled the bow as if it were a toy. “Mother, what are you doing?”

“I’m going to the mountains. I might not be back by noon. Just tell the boys when they return.”

And with that, she disappeared out the door.

…

Xiao Yao Village was built in a small river valley. A stream ran through the village, with flat land in the center and gentle slopes on all sides.

The villagers had carved out scattered plots of farmland from the slopes, while towering forests surrounded them, forming a natural barrier.

Outsiders rarely entered, and villagers seldom left.

Qiao Xin’s father had chosen this location precisely because of its terrain. If anything went wrong, they could hide in the mountains where no one would find them.

But the downside was the scarcity of farmland—every inch was precious.

The soil was poor, yields were low, and the villagers lived in extreme poverty, practically cut off from the outside world.

Even in Jing’an Town, this was considered a remote and desolate place.

Qiao Xin followed the river upstream until she reached a valley entrance.

She took a small path and slipped into the mountains.

Years of survival instincts kicked in. To her, this vast forest was a natural pantry.

Autumn was when wild animals fattened up for winter. Unfortunately, she overestimated her new body.

After just ten minutes of walking, her legs trembled, her vision darkened, and she nearly collapsed.

Alarmed, she quickly found a tree to lean against, closed her eyes, and adjusted her breathing. Her stomach churned with hunger, and her chest burned.

The thin porridge from the morning had long since disappeared.

Her mind grew foggy, and she even had the urge to chew on the dry leaves above her.

Her hand brushed against something hard. Instinctively, she picked it up—a fallen wild chestnut.

She peeled it open and popped a kernel into her mouth, chewing slowly before swallowing.

Not great, but better than nothing.

Just then, a rustling sound reached her ears.

Turning her head, she spotted a fat squirrel collecting nuts nearby.

When it noticed her gaze, it dropped its nut in shock and scurried up a tree to observe her.

Further ahead, a group of plump wild pheasants pecked at the ground.

Qiao Xin swallowed her saliva.

The chestnut in her hand, meant for her mouth, suddenly changed direction.

“Whoosh—”

“Whoosh—”

Chestnuts flew, hitting their mark. Five or six pheasants collapsed before the rest finally realized the looming danger and fled.

Qiao Xin gathered her catch into her basket, covering them with dry pine needles to hide them.

For a first trip—especially while weak—this was already a good harvest.

She also found some wild chestnut trees, their nuts scattered on the ground, untouched.

Normally, these would be winter food for squirrels, but now they were hers.

After filling her basket with wild chestnuts, mushrooms, fruits, and herbs, she finally stopped.

Next time, she decided, she would bring her eldest and youngest sons.

They were strong and had been trained in martial arts by their grandfather.

Their mother’s overprotection had only held them back.

On her way back, she also gathered reeds to weave straw sandals, since most of the family had no shoes.

By the time she hoisted her full basket onto her back, she was nearly buried under it.

Gritting her teeth, she stumbled forward.

Next time—next time she would eat well before heading out!