Chapter 9: Reborn

Not knowing how much time had passed, the pain finally subsided, replaced by a warm current flowing throughout Ming Leyao’s body. However, she was now emitting a terrible stench, as if she were covered in black mud.

“What the heck!!! It smells this bad??” Ming Leyao couldn’t stand it any longer and immediately jumped into the bath tub, scrubbing herself hard. After changing the water three times, she finally managed to wash herself clean. She put on her clothes and stood in front of the dressing mirror in her bedroom.

The reflection showed bright eyes, perfect white teeth, smooth and tender skin, naturally rosy lips, and sparkling eyes like stars. She couldn’t help but touch her exposed skin and cheeks.

“Tsk tsk tsk, so smooth…”

But… how was she going to explain this drastic change to everyone? After thinking it over, she couldn’t come up with a good excuse and decided to use makeup to tone down her complexion a bit.

By the time she left the space, it was already close to afternoon. She hurried to prepare for the housewarming event. This time, she invited Aunt Wu and her husband, Uncle Si and Aunt Si with their four children, as well as the team leader Pang Jianyuan and his wife Li Fang.

Originally, she wanted to invite her eldest aunt, who cared a lot for the original owner, but since the eldest aunt lived quite far away, it would be inconvenient for her to come back and forth, so Ming Leyao gave up and planned to visit her another time when she had the chance.

Just as she lit the fire on the stove, Li Fang came in carrying a basket.

“Leyao.”
“Ah, Auntie.”

“This is some homemade pickled radish strips and potatoes and cabbage stored in the cellar — not much of value, just something to add to your meal.”

“Thank you, Auntie. Please come in and sit down.”

“Let’s go to the kitchen, I’ll help you.”

Ming Leyao was the chef, and Li Fang helped with small tasks. Watching Ming Leyao scoop out a large spoonful of pork lard, Li Fang couldn’t help twitching the corner of her mouth.

“Leyao, we’re family. You don’t have to be so extravagant. One spoonful of that lard is enough to feed our family for half a month.”

“Auntie, I made plenty of it. I eat alone and can’t finish it all. Don’t worry, there’s more.”

“You’re a sincere child.”

Before long, the others began arriving one by one. Ming Leyao’s dishes were almost done. In the end, she even luxuriously steamed a large pot of egg custard with more than a dozen eggs.

“Oh my, Leyao, are you rich now? You steamed such a huge pot of eggs?”

“Heh, I think she’s just sincere. She added pork lard spoon by spoon when cooking; it almost made my heart twitch.”

“……” Are you trying to bluff us?

“Uncle, Auntie, please sit down.”

The dishes were ready, and everyone was definitely going to eat, so no one said anything else. After sitting, Ming Leyao hurried to get everyone to start eating.

Because Ming Leyao used a lot of oil, the food naturally smelled delicious. Originally, Pang Jianyuan planned to drink well with Wang Wu and Ming Zhong, but in the end, everyone was so absorbed in eating that they couldn’t stop.

Only after the entire meal was finished did everyone realize something was off, and they all looked embarrassed and blushed.

Ming Leyao was the first to bring up the topic, but it was one she cared about the most.

“Uncle Si, is the old family house so quiet now? Do you have any news?”

“I was just about to mention that. The other day I overheard the old lady and others planning to arrange a marriage for you. They’re talking about the youngest son of your second aunt’s uncle.”

“What? That idiot?”

“Exactly.”

Aunt Si couldn’t help rolling her eyes and agreed with Li Fang.

“Your grandma really is a good grandma. This is the first time I’ve seen this.”

Team leader Pang Jianyuan thought for a while but couldn’t find the right words. Since Ming Zhong didn’t say it so bluntly, he held back.

“Captain, your words are quite subtle.”

“…….”

Is that what he really meant?

“Grandma always looks out for the eldest brother’s interests. Although Red Bean and Yuehe seem well-off in the Ming family now, when the time comes, their fate might be the same.”

“That’s… true.”

Even though Ming Zhong didn’t want to admit it, it was a fact.

“Leyao, you did the right thing by leaving the Ming family.”

“Leaving doesn’t mean much. Leyao is alone, and her grandma still has influence upstairs. As a senior, she has many ways to harm Leyao.”

“Then… what can we do?”

The aunts began to worry about Ming Leyao and turned their pleading eyes toward their husbands.

Uncle Wang Wu, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke, “We need to find a way to bring Leyao out into the open. That way, if the Ming family wants to do anything, they’ll have to consider whether the production team agrees or not.”

“That’s a good idea, but what’s a good way?”

“I remember the production team wants to start a literacy class. Leyao has a high school education and can easily take on the role. Besides the literacy class, she can also set up a primary school, providing a place for the children in the team who want to study. That way, Leyao would be the team’s teacher, naturally protected by everyone.”

“Yes, that really is a good plan.”

Pang Jianyuan nodded. This was feasible. Plus, there was someone who seemed to care about Ming Leyao. If anything happened right under his nose, he wouldn’t come out clean either.

“Leyao, don’t worry. In the next couple of days, uncle will get this arranged. Wait for my news.”

At the meal, Ming Leyao not only got news about the old family house but also a job offer. She hoped good things like this would happen more often.

That night, Ming Leyao made some food for her dog. Watching the dog eat happily, her mind began to wander… She remembered there were various snacks her grandfather had prepared in the space and wondered if her dog would eat them…

Thinking of stinky tofu and snail noodles, Ming Leyao’s mouth watered, but she quickly brought her thoughts back.

No more thinking about it. Even if she wanted to eat, the smell would be overwhelming and might spread too far if she took it out.

The dog didn’t know it had almost been tricked by its owner but happily wagged its tail as it ate. It looked especially cute.

“You little foodie.”

“Woof… woof woof…”

The dog looked up with innocent big eyes and tilted its head at Ming Leyao. It didn’t know why its owner suddenly petted its head, but since the owner was petting it, that meant it was liked.

Instantly, the dog got excited and started wriggling all over Ming Leyao.

After playing for a while, she cleaned up the dog’s bowl and carried it back to its bed. Ming Leyao went back inside, took out some medical books from the study in her space, and began reading.

Traditional Chinese medicine was profound and vast. Even though she had skills from her past life, there were still many problems she couldn’t solve yet. She needed to accumulate more experience, which would be her foundation for making a living.

The next morning, after breakfast, Ming Leyao took a hand-woven basket with twenty eggs and two bundles of thin white noodles, preparing to visit her eldest aunt’s home.

According to the gift-giving standards of this era, the items were indeed a bit much, but since this was her first visit on behalf of the original owner, it was better to be more formal.