Chapter 3 Jealous of Her

After leaving the Gu family, Ji Tangtang followed the original owner’s memories and headed home. As she walked, she sorted through those memories.

The original owner’s family had four members in total. Her mother, Xu Guifen, was not only frail but also suffered from night blindness, while her father, Ji Changming, had broken his leg while working. There was also a younger sister named Ji Xiaohui, now 10 years old. Though she could help with some chores, what she could do was still very limited. Because Xu Guifen had only given birth to two daughters and no son, the Ji family elders disliked her greatly and, by extension, showed Ji Changming no kindness either. The family lived in very poor conditions.

Thinking about how the household didn’t even have coarse grain to eat, Ji Tangtang slipped into a grove of trees and quietly entered her secret realm. The magical tools and rare treasures she had stockpiled in the cultivation world weren’t suitable to take out, but her secret realm never lacked resources. She swiftly caught two rabbits, picked some mushrooms and fruit, and then came out again. The two rabbits were tied up with grass rope, while the mushrooms and fruit she carried in her clothes. Carrying these, she returned home.

The Ji family’s house was a low mud-brick dwelling with three main rooms and a side room. Aside from the main hall and the kitchen, there was only one bedroom in the main house. That bedroom was occupied by Ji Changming and Xu Guifen. The side room was shared by Ji Tangtang and Ji Xiaohui. Because the house was old, and today’s rainstorm had been particularly heavy, water was leaking into the rooms. Her ten-year-old younger sister was busily running around inside trying to manage. Since Xu Guifen and Ji Changming couldn’t help, and their eldest daughter was nowhere to be found, the couple felt both guilty and worried. They kept sighing.

Just then, Ji Xiaohui spotted Ji Tangtang. She had just been about to ask where Ji Tangtang had gone—especially since their cousin had brought people to look for her—when she saw the two fat rabbits in her sister’s hands. At once, she forgot everything else.

“Big sis, where did you get those?” she asked, glancing around before quickly pulling Ji Tangtang inside. “Two big rabbits, and so plump!”

As she spoke, she nearly drooled. Because their mother was weak and unable to earn many work points, and their father had broken his leg some time ago, their family had been surviving on coarse grain porridge mixed with wild greens these days. Even with that, they couldn’t get full. She was starving, and now that she saw two rabbits, she couldn’t help but swallow hard.

But Ji Tangtang’s gaze fell on her little sister’s hands. They were dark, thin, and smaller than those of six- or seven-year-old children in the cultivation world. Though she was ten, she looked no more than six or seven. Seeing the joy in her younger sister’s eyes, Ji Tangtang’s heart felt as though something had tugged at it—sour and aching. She pulled a fruit from her pocket and handed it over.

“Caught this in the back mountain just now. Here, eat it.”

At first, Ji Xiaohui’s attention had been on the rabbits, and she hadn’t noticed what was in her sister’s pocket. Now, looking at the fruit Ji Tangtang handed her, she was stunned. Holding it up in the light of the lightning outside, she examined it.

“What kind of fruit is this? The back mountain has fruits this big?”

“Tangtang, you went to the back mountain?”

At this moment, Xu Guifen felt her way over and spoke reproachfully. “Child, why didn’t you tell us you were going up the mountain? And on a day like this, with thunder and lightning—what were you doing there?”

Before Ji Tangtang could answer, noisy voices came from the road outside. Ji Xiaohui panicked, tugged at her sister’s sleeve, and whispered, “Quick, hide the stuff!”

Ji Tangtang, having accepted the original owner’s memories, knew what kind of special era this was. Her expression sharpened, and she swiftly hid away the rabbits and fruit, leaving only some mushrooms in a basket.

She had just finished hiding everything when she heard Ji Tingting’s tearful voice:

“Uncle, Auntie, I’m really sorry, I couldn’t find cousin. I looked all—”

“Cousin, you’ve troubled yourself. I just came back from the mountain and heard you even searched half the village for me.”

Ji Tangtang stepped out in a few quick strides, cutting off the rest of Ji Tingting’s words. Seeing her, Ji Tingting was shocked, momentarily at a loss for what to say.

She had originally conspired with Madam Gu to use this opportunity to send Ji Tangtang off as a wife to that cripple. She had even brought people along to catch her in a compromising situation, but failed. This made her very displeased. Even though she hadn’t caught Ji Tangtang’s weakness, she still intended to ruin her reputation. But she hadn’t expected Ji Tangtang to suddenly appear from the house and claim she had gone up the mountain. Ji Tingting didn’t believe her story.

Quickly adjusting her expression, she said, “Really? You went to the mountain on a stormy day like this? You’ve really changed—become so diligent. Did you manage to pick up anything on the mountain?”

Ji Tangtang deliberately revealed the basket of mushrooms so that everyone behind her could see. “I had some luck, found some mushrooms.”

The spiritual energy in the secret realm was abundant, so even ordinary plants grew better than outside. The mushrooms in Ji Tangtang’s basket were big and plump, a sight that delighted the eye. Several villagers behind her praised them with admiration.

Those who had believed Ji Tingting’s words earlier and suspected Ji Tangtang’s reputation now smiled and said, “Tangtang, next time you go to the mountain, make sure to let your family know. Look how much fuss this caused.”

Ji Tangtang readily agreed, then held out the basket toward them. “Aunties, you’ve troubled yourselves today. Our family doesn’t have much else to offer, but please take some mushrooms home to make soup.”

The crowd quickly waved their hands.

“How could we take these? These mushrooms are huge, not easy to find.”

“What’s the problem? It’s just a handful of effort. Go on, take them, don’t be polite.”

Ji Tangtang picked out a few of the biggest mushrooms and stuffed them into their hands. In her space, mushrooms like these were the most common thing—she could gather handfuls anytime she went in—so she didn’t feel the slightest reluctance. But the women were overjoyed. In these times, every family was hungry, and anything that could fill the stomach was precious. These mushrooms, once brought home, would taste much better than ordinary wild greens.

Seeing Ji Tangtang win over the village women with just a few mushrooms, Ji Tingting grew restless with irritation. This cousin of hers might be foolish, but her face was undeniably beautiful. For some reason, today that face looked even better than before—so pretty that Ji Tingting almost wanted to scratch it to pieces. But for the sake of her own reputation, she always pretended to be caring toward her cousin. Naturally, she couldn’t do something damaging to her image in front of others.

She deliberately tilted her head, feigning a thoughtful look as she studied the mushrooms Ji Tangtang was handing out. Then she said, “Cousin, these mushrooms are big, yes, but they don’t look quite right. At first glance they look like parasol mushrooms, but on closer inspection, not really. Besides, I’ve never in my life seen parasol mushrooms this big and shiny! I know you mean well, but some mushrooms are poisonous. Eating the wrong kind could be dangerous.”

At her words, the women who had been so delighted just a moment ago suddenly began to hesitate.

Ji Tangtang thought to herself: Of course you haven’t seen them before—these came from the secret realm. How could they be the same as the ones outside? Still, seeing the women hesitate, she didn’t bother to explain further. Though these mushrooms weren’t spiritual herbs, they did contain some spiritual energy. Eating them would actually benefit the body somewhat. But if they didn’t trust her, she wasn’t about to force them to accept the gift.

Noticing that Ji Tangtang wasn’t explaining, Ji Tingting grew even more pleased with herself. Turning to the woman beside her, she said, “Aunt Zhang, mushroom poisoning is no small matter. Just a few days ago, in my grandmother’s village, several people nearly lost their lives after eating poisonous ones by mistake.”

Frightened by Ji Tingting’s words, Zhang Chunhua hurriedly returned the mushrooms. The other women, seeing her do so, smiled awkwardly at Ji Tangtang and also handed theirs back.