Chapter 10: Who Says My Home Can’t Have a Divine Chicken?

The hunting hut was just a single room, made of a mix of mud walls and wooden planks, with a thatched roof.

Inside was a single wooden bed, a small table, and under the bed lay hunting gear like iron traps.

It was extremely simple; Lin Yue took one look as she opened the door.

“It’s late, you two sleep first,” Grandma Guo said, leading them inside before leaving.

There was no firewood or candle, so Lin Yue could only leave the door slightly open and use the moonlight to hand over the pancakes and meat buns.

“Eat, then go to sleep.”

The straw on the bed was wet and smelled of mildew.

Although it was summer, the night air was still quite cool.

Lin Yue spread the bedding she had brought, letting the two children lie inside while she slept on the outer side.

At last, the lodging was sorted. Though simple, it was a safe place to stay.

Lin Yue felt relaxed and fell into a deep sleep.

She was awakened by soft sobbing. Opening her eyes, she saw the two children sitting on the bed, crying.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up. “What’s wrong?”

“They don’t want us,” Gou Dan cried. “It’s because I’m unlucky and killed my family—why didn’t I die instead?”

Da Ya, though silent, bit her lip and cried even more bitterly than Gou Dan.

“It’s not your fault they died,” Lin Yue said, unsure how to comfort them, so she went straight to the point. “Did you kill them? Your father was killed by a tiger, the tiger did it.

Your brother died in the war; it was the outsiders’ fault.

If you just pity yourselves instead of thinking about avenging them, it’s a sign of weakness.

Are you going to avenge them? Or just cry like this?”

Gou Dan wiped his tears and shook his head. “No! I will avenge them! I will kill that tiger and drive the outsiders away!”

Da Ya looked up at Lin Yue, forgetting even to shed tears.

In her past life, her sister-in-law always blamed her for being unlucky, causing her brother’s death, and making her life miserable.

But now…

Lin Yue’s words struck a deep chord. Life had been hard, but it wasn’t because she was unlucky or worthless—she could fight back, blame others, and change her fate!

Da Ya’s tears flowed even more intensely.

After comforting the two children, Lin Yue looked outside. “The rain has stopped.”

She smiled at them. “The rain is gone, and our hardships should end too. From today on, every day will be a good day.”

Her optimistic, radiant smile left a deep impression on the children—they would remember it often.

“Sister-in-law!”

Gou Dan seemed to have made a decision. He pulled out some copper coins from his pants. “We still have 800 wen. Take 600 wen and buy seeds.”

He rubbed the remaining 200 wen. “I want to keep this.”

Lin Yue was surprised that Gou Dan entrusted her with so much.

She would not betray that trust—she would ensure they lived better every day.

She didn’t plan to put the money into the space yet.

Looking at the empty hut, Lin Yue knew she needed to buy some household items first!

Ma Yang Village was large. Besides the fairs on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month and joint fairs with other villages, there were small general stores.

There was one in the village, a simple shop with a few items.

It could solve immediate needs.

Lin Yue wanted to buy an iron pot—at least she could cook over a fire.

Otherwise, eating just meat buns without vegetables would lead to malnutrition.

“How much?” Lin Yue asked, wide-eyed.

“The good ones are 5 taels, the mediocre ones 3 taels of silver. Pay first, delivery in three to four days.”

Lin Yue was shocked by the price—3 taels of silver equaled 3,000 wen.

She didn’t have that much.

No wonder there had been no iron pots in previous houses, whether at her old room or the Guo family’s mud house—it was too expensive!

“Buy a clay basin instead. You can cook vegetables and porridge, it’s practical!”

The shopkeeper saw Lin Yue’s dilemma. “The iron pot is too expensive; very few villagers buy them. I also have to get one made at the blacksmith in Shitai County.”

Lin Yue looked at the various clay basins. “How much are these?”

“Much cheaper. Small ones, 100 wen; larger ones, 150 wen.”

She weighed her copper coins in hand, still feeling it wasn’t cheap.

“I’ll take this small clay basin.”

She also picked out a bamboo basket and some vegetable seeds.

Lin Yue looked at the rice—they sold a small amount of paddy as well.

However, it wasn’t processed; the grains were still covered in thick yellow husks.

She would need a mortar and pestle to pound and remove the husks.

But earlier, while walking through Ma Yang Village, she had noticed many people lining up on an open ground.

There was a large stone mill on the ground.

The stone mill could also be used to remove the husks from rice.

“Sister-in-law, Grandma said she’ll give us some rice today,” Gou Dan tugged at Lin Yue’s sleeve. “We don’t have much money left; don’t buy it.”

Lin Yue didn’t fully trust that Grandma Guo would actually bring the rice.

Grandma Guo was now living with Guo Wushun’s family and had little authority.

Giving them a hunting hut was already a stretch—it had taken a lot of pleading!

Rice was an essential survival resource—how could Grandma Guo manage to give it?

“No!”

Lin Yue patted Gou Dan’s head and decided not to buy it.

After all, they had meat buns, and in this critical money situation, it was better to save some.

She then looked at the firewood nearby. “How much for a bundle?”

“5 wen!”

“I’ll take one!”

She also bought a bundle of kindling and had it chopped small.

“50 wen.”

Gou Dan’s face was full of worry. He kept tugging at Lin Yue’s clothes, regretting a little why he had given her all that money—she really could spend!

“Cluck, cluck, cluck,” at that moment, a dog chased a chicken wildly across the yard.

The chicken squawked loudly and… pooped everywhere.

Lin Yue was wearing straw sandals, which couldn’t protect her from the sudden shower of chicken droppings.

She shook off the mess and an idea struck her.

“Hey, shopkeeper, do you buy eggs here?”

The shopkeeper shook his head. “I don’t. Very few people sell eggs.”

Lin Yue’s eyes flashed with disappointment.

The shopkeeper relaxed a bit and added, “But you can sell them at the first and fifteenth of the month fairs!

Many families without chickens, or those who want more, will come to buy.

Some vendors from the county town also come to buy.”

Lin Yue’s heart burned with determination. “Give me a hen!”

“30 to 70 wen each. Pick one yourself, I’ll help you catch it.”

“That one!”

Lin Yue chose a plump hen.

“Okay,” the shopkeeper’s eyes flickered. He thought to himself, this little girl probably doesn’t know how to raise chickens.

This hen, though fat, had passed the most productive egg-laying period of six months.

Villagers usually bought such chickens to make soup for pregnant women or nursing mothers.

“70 wen!”

“Fine!”

Lin Yue looked at the fat hen—this would now explain her source of eggs.

One chicken usually laid one egg per day.

And this fat hen—though her peak egg-laying days were past—Lin Yue decided her “divine potential” could allow for one extraordinary egg a day.

Lin Yue gave the bowls, clay basin, and candle to the two children to carry. She herself carried the firewood and the hen back home.

“Sister-in-law, where’s the chicken going to live?” Gou Dan asked.