Chapter 7: Finally Figured Out How to Unlock the Fridge!

A wave of overwhelming stench swept through the tiny room.

Lin Yue instantly felt as if her eyes, nose, and ears were clogged, and her whole body grew dizzy.

Even Da Ya hurriedly covered her mouth and nose.

Peeing could have been done in the open space—why go to the latrine?

Gou Dan waved a hand and smiled awkwardly. “I think it’s fine.”

Lin Yue opened the window and took several deep breaths of fresh air.

After ventilating, the stench inside lessened considerably.

“Sister-in-law, here’s the money!”

Gou Dan spread out Lin Yue’s bundle, letting the coins fall onto it.

“Where did you get this?”

“The life-saving money my brother left me.”

Lin Yue understood—Gu Cai had also given the original owner 500 wen.

“Why didn’t you keep it?”

Gou Dan scratched his head. “I thought sister-in-law was traveling and would need it.”

“What a good child,” Lin Yue said, patting his head, deeply moved.

For a child, 200 wen was a fortune.

And it was his brother’s repeatedly emphasized life-saving money.

That he trusted her enough to give it to her carried a weight of warmth that immediately drew them closer.

Lin Yue tore a strip of cloth from the bundle to hold the money.

But Gou Dan blocked her hand, saying, “But…”

Lin Yue looked up, and he continued, “Sister-in-law, you can’t buy meat buns anymore—they’re too expensive! We can just eat wild vegetable porridge!”

Lin Yue thought, this wasn’t something she could control.

Free meat buns—why not eat them?

Still, Gou Dan shook his head, hesitant. “Sister-in-law is an adult. If you want, you can buy one each time.”

Lin Yue felt a pang of emotion. “Good boy, adults will take care of this.”

“No,” Gou Dan said seriously, “Did your brother tell you about our relatives?”

Lin Yue hadn’t been told.

The original owner had always been cold toward Gu Cai.

Whenever he got close to the bed, she’d grab a knife and threaten him.

There was no way he would tell her about the family situation.

But if the original owner hadn’t been so ruthless, Lin Yue herself might have been hurt by the traffickers.

Gou Dan sighed like a grown-up, worry etched on his face.

“Even though I was young when I left, I remember some things.

I have four paternal uncles and three aunts.

I’m the fourth child in the family, a hunter, and I was bitten by a tiger.

My mother followed afterward.

That’s why no one liked us; they said we were lucky to survive.

We grew up hungry.

Not just our uncles and aunts, even our grandparents looked down on us.

After Grandpa died, the eldest uncle took over the household.

I don’t know much about the details.

But my brother said they wanted to starve us, so we had to find our own way.

This time returning, I don’t even know if there will be a place for us to stay.

That’s why we have to save money.”

So severe?

Lin Yue felt a chill in her heart.

But thinking of the original owner’s uncles exploiting the children…

Even in modern times, some relatives pretend to care for orphans while actually consuming their inheritance.

These three children, with no support, being treated this way, was probably all too common.

But it was wrong!

If an enemy comes, meet force with force; if water comes, cover with earth.

Lin Yue patted their heads and comforted them. “It’s okay. If they’re too harsh, we’ll ask the village elders to mediate.”

“Sleep now,” Lin Yue smiled. “The ox-cart will be faster—we’ll probably arrive tomorrow night.”

Gou Dan slept in the innermost part, Da Ya in the middle, and Lin Yue on the outermost side.

The journey was exhausting, and the rocking of the cart made it worse.

Lin Yue quickly fell asleep, breathing steadily.

At this moment, Da Ya opened her eyes.

Her eyes flickered as she lifted her hand, secretly reaching under Lin Yue’s nose.

When she felt warm breath, she relaxed.

It certainly wasn’t a ghost.

Da Ya still couldn’t believe she had returned to age five.

And sister-in-law hadn’t gone with Da Huangya.

Instead, she had killed Da Huangya and taken them to Shitai to join their uncle.

This… this… this…

How could it be possible?

In the previous life, after being humiliated by Da Huangya, sister-in-law had nearly given up on life, drifting aimlessly.

After Da Huangya left, she had felt refreshed.

Because of their high-positioned home, Da Huangya realized the flood was coming, immediately rallied the villagers, and led them to escape.

Because of this, Da Huangya formed factions and became a person of authority in the village.

Anyone who disagreed would immediately hear him say, “If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead already.”

No one dared to speak after that.

Da Huangya forced her to marry him, and she and her brother ended up at Da Huangya’s house.

But there was no good food for them.

Life there was worse than death!

Meals consisted of barely any rice in plain water, while she had to wash clothes, cook, feed chickens, cut grass, plow fields, and more.

She was exhausted to the point of collapse, yet they still had to sleep in the ox-shed.

Her brother’s situation was even worse, treated almost like livestock.

They were merely slaves at Da Huangya’s house!

Even so, the Da Huangya family would still bully and beat her!

Not only did she have to pretend not to see it, but after being mistreated herself, she often vented her anger on Lin Yue.

That wasn’t all—when she was eleven, Da Huangya even attempted to assault her.

In her struggle, he slapped her in anger, and she lost consciousness.

When she woke up, she was here!

She felt both panic and immense relief and happiness.

Sister-in-law seemed like a completely different person—carrying her along, helping her clean up, even giving her meat buns to eat.

Most importantly, she felt warmth radiating from her all over.

Could this really be sister-in-law?

Da Ya feared that sister-in-law had turned into a ghost.

But then she thought, if a ghost were like this sister-in-law, there was nothing to fear.

Certainly nothing compared to the terror of Da Huangya’s family!

Still, the fear and pain in her heart were difficult to overcome.

Da Ya often felt emotionally low, lost in thought, sometimes even fearing Lin Yue’s sudden touch.

Summoning courage, she held Lin Yue’s pinky finger, silently praying, “Even if you are a ghost, please don’t leave.”

Morning came.

The first thing Lin Yue did upon waking was check the fridge.

[Please select an item to unlock.]

Before she could grab a meat bun, the sentence suddenly rang in her mind.

Lin Yue’s eyes widened in shock and excitement!

Unlocked!

The system had finally responded again!

What should she choose this time?

Her awareness scanned the fridge: the cold storage, the fresh-keeping area, and the freezer—she couldn’t decide.

Meat?

Fish?

Dumplings?

Ahhh, everything was so tempting!

Especially pepper and rice wine.

In the Tang Dynasty, an ounce of pepper was worth a gold coin.

If she took any of these, she could make a fortune.

But she’d likely be imprisoned soon after.

After all, the sources were unknown, and the items were so valuable—without any backing, she’d be an easy target.

Ultimately, Lin Yue’s gaze fell on a box of eggs.

Eggs were considered hard currency in this era.

They could be sold for money and eaten for nutrition, without attracting attention.

The box contained thirty eggs.

With four refreshes per day, she could get 120 eggs daily!

Equivalent to 60 wen—a small fortune in the countryside.

Lin Yue quickly unlocked the eggs.

She took out the box of eggs and placed it into the virtual space.

She noticed the refresh time under the eggs: 05:59:53.

But how exactly did the system unlock?

Lin Yue examined everything and noticed a clue.

The 200 wen Gou Dan gave her yesterday had disappeared!

A lightbulb went off.

She suddenly recalled the jade pendant that had vanished last time.

It wasn’t a coincidence!

It seemed the system unlocked items using jade pendants or coins.

Knowing this rule, Lin Yue felt even more secure.

Money? She could earn that!