Chapter 3

In the original story, trouble had struck Lu Cheng’s family seven years ago. His parents both died, and only by surrendering all of their property had the siblings’ lives been spared. They fled back to the countryside to survive.

Returning with the Lu siblings was also Lu Cheng’s cousin’s family.

Back then, the Lu brothers’ father and uncle had both gone to war. The younger brother deserted and hid in the village, marrying and having children to escape the fighting. The elder brother, however, distinguished himself on the battlefield, returned victorious, and settled in the city. Later, seeing how poorly the younger branch lived in the countryside, he even arranged jobs for them in town. But the younger branch wasn’t satisfied—they wanted to move to a big city, which caused friction.

When disaster later struck the elder branch, all the Lus were implicated and lost their jobs. The younger brother, unable to adapt to country life again, eventually died of resentment and frustration.

Lu Cheng’s cousin was called Lu Zhuang. Having lost his father, his job, and now forced to till the fields, he had little affection for Lu Cheng and his sister. In fact, he harbored resentment and over the years allowed his wife to bully them freely.

The cousin’s wife, Lin Yufen, had married Lu Zhuang because of his family’s connections, hoping for an easy job. But within a few years everything collapsed. She not only lost her job and was forced back to the village, but also had to look after Lu Cheng and Lu Yao. She often skimped on their food and treated them harshly behind their backs, though she dared not show it openly, for fear of village gossip.

Because of all this, Lu Cheng grew into a man of cold, hard, brooding temperament.

Lu Yao, once a lively, cheerful girl, had become cautious and timid after such upheaval, learning to read people’s moods. In the story, her premature maturity was heart-wrenching.

But the “Gu Yueqian” of the original book never pitied the little girl—on the contrary, she bullied her often, making her life miserable. That was why, when the reborn heroine later came to the countryside and showed Lu Yao just a little kindness, the girl clung to her completely.

“Thank you, Sister-in-law, but you should eat the candy yourself. I don’t want any.”

Little Lu Yao quickly shook her head, refusing. Yet her round eyes stole glance after glance at the sweets, her throat working as she swallowed her saliva again and again.

Her brother had warned her: once the sister-in-law came, everything in the house must be reserved for her.

She mustn’t anger her sister-in-law.
She mustn’t let her do chores.
And she must never steal her things.

Obedient and submissive, Lu Yao always listened to her brother, so she dared not accept anything from the new sister-in-law.

Gu Yueqian smiled, unwrapped one piece, and slipped it into her mouth. She whispered, “I brought a whole bag, plenty more. Go on, eat it.”

It had already been a month since she’d crossed over. In that month, she had used the “spirit-gathering” function of the spring water in her spatial space to buy up large quantities of sour, unpalatable fruit, then resell them for money. With those earnings she had purchased all the supplies needed for life in the countryside.

A few pieces of candy were nothing—she had ten or twenty sacks of them hidden in her space.

The sugary tang melted in Lu Yao’s mouth, sweet all the way to her heart. It was like drinking the first mouthful of water in a parched desert. She had nearly forgotten what candy tasted like. At home, whenever there was something good to eat, it always went to Lu Dabao and Lu Xiaobao. Never to her.

“Thank you, Sister-in-law. You… you should keep it for yourself.”

The candy was so delicious, but Lu Yao didn’t dare finish it. She feared her brother’s anger if he found out. Yet she couldn’t spit it back out either, so she could only savor it quietly in her mouth.

The other candies she refused. “Sister-in-law, let me put away your luggage.”

She hurried over, lifted Gu Yueqian’s bundle in one hand. Gu Yueqian’s eyes widened—well now, this thin little girl was stronger than she looked.

“Don’t, Sister-in-law, I’ll do it.” Seeing Gu Yueqian try to help, Lu Yao quickly shouldered the bundle into the bedroom.

Then, like a child showing off a treasure, she pointed at the bed: “Look, Sister-in-law! The quilt and mat are all new. Brother made them himself. They’re clean, not dirty at all. He hasn’t even slept on them yet.”

“And the table and stools—I scrubbed them over and over. Brother said if you don’t like them, once we get the year-end rations, he’ll make you a dressing table.”

“And this wardrobe—it’s secondhand, but almost new. Do you like it?”

On the old, worn-out bed was a freshly laid thin quilt. It was obvious Lu Cheng had put thought into it.

The Lu family’s home was almost bare—aside from a battered table and stool polished bright by cleaning, the only new thing was the wardrobe, though even that wasn’t all that new.

So the Lus had treated the original wife this well? Was that how it was in the book?

She couldn’t quite remember—she had skimmed those parts at the time.

“I like it very much. Thank you,” Gu Yueqian said with a smile.

Lu Yao stared, dazed.

Most village girls were tanned and rough-skinned, with plain features.

But this sister-in-law was fair and beautiful, and when she smiled, it was like a flower blooming. Lu Yao stood dumbstruck for several seconds.

“Sister-in-law, you’re so pretty.”

Ha.

Of course she was.

After drinking the spring water for a whole month, she had nourished the original body’s coarse skin into smooth, delicate flesh. Even in this era, not even other compound girls like Xu Xia could maintain such skin and glossy hair—it was only thanks to the spring.

“You’re pretty too.” Gu Yueqian pinched the girl’s thin cheeks. So skinny—not even an ounce of flesh.

“I’m not pretty. Sister-in-law is.” Lu Yao ducked her head shyly, her bashfulness adorable.

“Come help me unpack then.”

“Okay!”

Her eyes lit up at once. Her sister-in-law had given her a task—did that mean she was accepted?

And if Sister-in-law accepted her, didn’t that mean she also accepted her brother?

Wonderful.

Finally, her brother would have someone by his side.

The little girl was thrilled, scurrying about, eager to do everything. Whenever Gu Yueqian so much as moved, she rushed to help. Gu Yueqian could only laugh and in the end let her handle everything.

Gu Yueqian had brought plenty with her.

Besides clothes, there was fine flour, dried goods, candy, even eggs.

The book had said that Lu Cheng wasn’t truly poor. Aside from earning work points in the fields, he had other ways to make money.

But his cousin’s wife, Lin Yufen, couldn’t stand to see the siblings doing well. In the early years, when Lu Cheng fixed things for people to earn a little extra, she grew jealous and even wanted to report him. So he had to give it up and make money in secret instead, never daring to spend openly.

To avoid hardship in the countryside, Gu Yueqian had deliberately packed some of her supplies to bring down with her, so they could be used openly.

“Sister-in-law, let’s hide all these in the wardrobe, or Lu Dabao and Lu Xiaobao will come to snatch them.”

Lu Dabao and Lu Xiaobao were Lin Yufen’s sons—one ten, one six—spoiled rotten.

“Do they often steal your things?”

Lu Yao didn’t dare answer. She feared her sister-in-law would learn the truth and quarrel with her cousin’s wife. That woman was hateful, and she didn’t want her sister-in-law to suffer.

So she quickly changed the subject: “Sister-in-law, you like to bathe every day, right? I’ll go heat water for you. From now on, whenever you want a bath, just call me—I’ll heat the water every day.”