Chapter 9

The heroine of this book is Wen Yan, a reborn woman.
In the original storyline, in her previous life, she ended up with a male educated youth who had been sent down to the countryside. But that man turned out to be a scumbag—he not only cheated women out of their money but also drained her dry before abandoning her.

After being reborn, Wen Yan decided to cling to the male lead and change her fate. Coincidentally, in this life, she never got together with that educated youth. Instead, that man seduced and ran off with Gu Yueqian.

Later, after Gu Yueqian abandoned her husband and child, Wen Yan—who was staying with the Lu family while doing rural labor—slowly developed feelings with Lu Cheng. When the college entrance exams were reinstated, the two of them both got into a military academy. They even married and had a child during university. That child later became the stark contrast to Gu Yueqian’s abandoned, disabled child.

From what Gu Yueqian knew, Lu Cheng was indifferent toward everyone—except Wen Yan, toward whom he was endlessly tender and affectionate.

That very afternoon, Wen Yan was supposed to temporarily lodge at the Lu household with another educated youth. True to her name, Wen Yan was gentle, gracious, and poised. Unlike the original “Gu Yueqian,” who had a sultry, wanton look, a bad reputation, and was known for flirting around. The contrast couldn’t have been sharper.

“Sister-in-law, breakfast’s ready.”

Fresh from washing up, Lu Yao came in carrying a bowl of coarse corn gruel, along with a boiled egg and some pickled mustard root.

Gu Yueqian really hadn’t realized the Lu family’s conditions were this good—they could eat eggs every morning. Then why was Lu Yao still so malnourished?

“Yao Yao, doesn’t your family not raise chickens? Where did this egg come from?” Gu Yueqian asked, sipping two mouthfuls of the coarse porridge. Hm, couldn’t compare to thin rice congee.

“My brother traded for it.” Lu Yao set the food down and slipped away quickly, afraid Gu Yueqian might call her to eat together. “Sister-in-law, I’m heading out. If you get bored, just walk around nearby. I’ll be back soon, won’t be gone too long.”

“Where are you going?”

“To collect some firewood.”

“I’ll come too.” Gu Yueqian quickly finished the porridge, peeled the egg, ate half, and shoved the other half into Lu Yao’s mouth. “Wait for me, I’ll just change clothes.”

“Mmph—sister-in-law, I don’t want it…” Lu Yao tried to resist, but in vain.

By the time Gu Yueqian came back changed, Lu Yao still refused. “Sister-in-law, the mountain’s damp, full of thorny bushes that’ll tear your clothes. And snakes, bugs, they’ll bite. You’d better not go.”

Gu Yueqian chuckled. “Who are you trying to scare? You think I’m some pampered doll afraid to even set foot on a mountain? Since I’ve married your brother, I’m part of this family. I’m perfectly capable of helping gather some firewood. Let’s go.”

As she spoke, she unwrapped a piece of candy and popped it into Lu Yao’s mouth.

Lu Yao wanted to refuse, but her sister-in-law insisted.

“Sister-in-law…” Sweetness filled Lu Yao’s mouth, mixed with the egg’s savor and her sister-in-law’s honeyed words. Tears nearly came to her eyes. So—sister-in-law had already fully accepted her brother? Tonight, she must tell him word for word!

“Then you walk behind me.”

Lu Yao tied a strip of cloth for carrying firewood and led the way. As they followed the field ridges, Gu Yueqian noticed farmers in the distance sneaking glances. Seeing her fair face and arms, they turned and whispered among themselves.

Well, in the countryside there was nothing new all year. So she became the new spectacle.

“Lu Yao, hurry!” a little girl up ahead waved.

That was Lu Yao’s good friend, Lu Xiuyun. About the same age as Lu Yao, but even thinner—so thin her face was all skin and bones, smiling produced little wrinkles. She looked perpetually worn and haggard, though now she ran up with a shy smile, sneaking peeks at Gu Yueqian.

“This is my sister-in-law. Sister-in-law, this is Xiuyun, my good friend.”

“Hello, sister-in-law.” Xiuyun quickly ducked behind Lu Yao, but peeked out again, her big black eyes shining. She whispered, “Your sister-in-law is so pretty.”

Gu Yueqian smiled and pulled two candies from her pocket. “You’re very pretty too. Here, some candy.”

Xiuyun blushed and dared not take it. Lu Yao grabbed her hand and pressed the candy into it. “My sister-in-law has lots. Just eat it.”

Xiuyun finally accepted, clutching the candy like treasure before running to her grandmother to give her one. “Grandma, Lu Yao’s sister-in-law gave me this candy.”

“Silly child.” The old woman, bent and wrinkled with nearly no teeth, tried to refuse.

But when Gu Yueqian came over, she pressed two more candies into the old woman’s hand. “Thank you for always looking after Lu Yao. Otherwise, who knows how much she would’ve suffered. Please don’t be polite with me.”

Hearing that, the grandmother accepted, smiling. “Xiao Cheng marrying you is truly his blessing.”

Lu Yao blinked in surprise. How did sister-in-law know Xiuyun and her grandmother often looked after her? She had never told her. Her heart ached sourly. Then she found more candy shoved into her hand.

“What are you spacing out for? Go gather firewood.”

“Oh!” Lu Yao grinned foolishly, stuffed the candy into her pocket, and ran off.

In the countryside, the able-bodied went to the fields to earn work points. The old and the young couldn’t just sit idle. They gathered firewood, tended pigs and chickens, cooked, washed—everything.

Xiuyun had lost her mother, leaving only her father to earn points. Her life had been bitter since childhood.

Lu Yao’s situation wasn’t much better. She only had a not-much-older brother, and for years had been bullied by her cousins’ family. The only slight advantage was that their two families raised pigs together, taking turns feeding them—so she only had half the work of collecting pig grass compared to Xiuyun.

The girls were used to the mountains. Soon, they had big bundles of wood tied up with cloth strips. Each carried loads far larger than themselves, bent low, trudging down the mountain path.

“Lu Cheng’s wife, don’t carry so much. The road is steep—you might fall.” Xiuyun’s grandmother took some of the wood from Gu Yueqian’s bundle and added it to her own. “If you slip, Xiao Cheng will blame me.”

“That’s right, sister-in-law. You just walk behind and play. It’s too hard to carry.” Lu Yao also lightened her sister-in-law’s load.

A few other women and children came along then, chuckling. “Exactly. What kind of new bride carries firewood?”

“That’s right. With Xiao Cheng working like two men, supporting both of you is no problem. You’ve such delicate skin—if you got hurt, he’d be heartbroken.”

The older women teased, their jokes blunt and bawdy. Even Gu Yueqian couldn’t fend them off, and blurted, “Him, heartbroken?”

“Why not? Tell us! We’ll put in a good word for you later.” They laughed all the harder.

Gu Yueqian could only smile awkwardly.

On the way back, there was a steep slope, almost eighty degrees. Hard to descend while carrying firewood. Afraid she’d slip, Lu Yao suggested Gu Yueqian sit on the firewood bundle and slide down like a sled.

“Sit on mine. Lu Yao’s too small to hold you steady.” a sturdier old woman said.

“I think I can manage on my own.” Gu Yueqian protested. She hadn’t even carried wood, so she’d feel pretentious to fuss.

“Don’t worry, just sit. Lu Yao used to ride behind me like this when she was small.”

So Gu Yueqian sat, and sure enough, it was like sliding down a chute.

On the shortcut home, Gu Yueqian suddenly sensed the presence of wild fruits nearby. She had a special ability—item sense—something that had helped her survive in the apocalypse, along with her spatial spring. As long as there were wild fruits nearby, she could feel them.

She had come up the mountain partly for this reason.

In many period novels, the protagonists earned money by gathering mountain goods. Though she had made a little already in the city selling oranges, it wasn’t nearly enough. She had thought of collecting wild fruits and ginseng to sell on the black market.

But now, she reconsidered.

Yes, she could earn more on the black market. But selling to the commune had its benefits too. A portion of the profit would go to the production team’s collective funds, which were used to give extra rations to the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled at year’s end.

Since she was here, helping them a little with her ability cost her nothing—and besides, she had her own reasons.

“Auntie, I think there are some wild fruits over there.” Gu Yueqian spoke up.