Chapter 18: The Space Can Be Reset

Today, Madam Lin had taken Qiao Jiaojiao back to her maternal home. The two of them had been tormented all night by the tantalizing aroma wafting from the East Room, yet neither of them was willing to spend their own money on meat. So, they decided to mooch a meal at Wang Shi’s family home.

Madam Lin had planned to sweet-talk her mother into slaughtering one of the family chickens for them to eat. Who would’ve thought that not only did they not get any chicken, but her mother also scolded her fiercely and ordered them around all day. In the end, they hadn’t even had dinner before being kicked out and sent back home.

By the time they made it back, both were utterly exhausted and starving. Just as they arrived, they were hit by the rich aroma of meat filling the entire Courtyard. Already fuming, Qiao Jiaojiao’s temper flared even more.

She stormed toward the East Room, and when she reached the kitchen doorway, she saw exactly what she had expected—on the table sat a large basin of glistening red braised pork. The bowls in front of Hua Guixiang and her two grandchildren were filled with none other than white rice. Unable to hold back anymore, she yelled out in anger, “Grandmother, you’re being way too biased! You went through all that trouble to split off our Second Branch, and now the rest of you feast like this every day!”

“What, do you hate our Second Branch that much? Isn’t my Father your own son? Aren’t we your grandchildren? How can you be so heartless and act like we don’t even matter?”

Just then, Madam Lin also walked in. The moment her eyes fell on the bowls of meat and rice, her face twisted with jealousy, and her voice rose, “Mother, you’ve hidden it well, haven’t you? You split our branch off and still demand two taels of filial silver every year from us. Your favoritism knows no bounds! You really want to see our Second Branch die, don’t you?”

Hearing this, Hua Guixiang slammed her bowl down on the table with a thud, her face filled with displeasure. “Lin Erya, don’t spout nonsense here. Every coin that has come into this house over the years has been clearly accounted for. When we split the family, that was the last bit of money we had. Whether I, this old woman, have any private savings—don’t you think Qiao Lao’er would know?”

“The wild pheasant from yesterday was caught by Nian Nian and Ping’an using traps they set on the mountain. I even gave one to the Village Chief. If you don’t believe me, go ask him yourself. The other pheasant and two rabbits—they took them to town today and exchanged them for silver. That’s how we bought the meat—so I could nourish this old body of mine.”

“If you’re so capable, go earn your own silver! We’ve already split households. Stop sniffing around at our door the moment you smell something good. Oh wait—this isn’t even your door anymore. You’ve barged into someone else’s home without permission and still have the nerve to cause trouble here.”

Before Madam Lin or Qiao Jiaojiao could respond, Hua Guixiang continued, “And you, Qiao Jiaojiao—when there’s something good, suddenly I’m your grandmother? A young unmarried girl staying out all night, and when you finally return, you don’t even acknowledge this old woman with a glance. I honestly thought you didn’t recognize me anymore. Now you come running in here yelling at me? If you don’t recognize me, then I won’t recognize you either. From this moment on, I don’t have a granddaughter like you. Get back to your own room—don’t stand here and be an eyesore.”

Qiao Nian and Ping’an looked at Hua Guixiang with sparkling eyes. This old woman, who had never once quarreled with anyone in the village, sure had a sharp tongue when she wanted to. It was a rare and satisfying sight—Wang Shi’s face had gone completely green from anger.

Qiao Jiaojiao had already suffered grievances at her maternal grandmother’s today. Despite knowing she was pregnant, her grandmother still made her wash clothes for her eldest uncle’s family. Her own mother had even forbidden her from showing displeasure and forced her to finish the laundry before returning home. She hadn’t even eaten dinner. Now she’d been scolded again by Hua Guixiang and disowned as a granddaughter. After holding it in all day, she finally snapped and burst into tears with a loud “Waa!”

In an instant, her face was covered with a mix of tears and snot, ruining what had been a somewhat delicate appearance. Still sobbing, she pointed toward Hua Guixiang and the others while speaking to her mother, “Mother, hurry and get Father! Grandma doesn’t acknowledge us anymore—she wants to see our Second Branch dead. They’re bullying me! Wuuu…”

Watching her act like this, Qiao Nian felt even the braised pork had lost its appeal. She put down her chopsticks and said, “Second Aunt, if you’re planning to find Second Uncle, you’d best hurry. It won’t be safe once it gets dark.”

Inwardly, she thought: Just go already. This good meal has been completely ruined.

The mention of Qiao Lao’er jolted Madam Lin back to her senses. Before leaving, her husband had warned them not to stir up trouble with the main branch or the old woman for now. Everything would be handled after Jiaojiao was married.

She tugged on Qiao Jiaojiao’s arm, trying to stop her crying. This is all she knows how to do—cry. Completely useless, she thought bitterly. Still, she tried to save face and muttered, “Mother, since you no longer recognize Jiaojiao as your granddaughter, then we won’t press the matter. Once the head of the household returns in a couple of days, I’ll tell him everything.”

As she finished speaking, she couldn’t help but steal another glance at the brightly-colored plate of braised pork on the table. Swallowing hard, she yanked Qiao Jiaojiao and left.

Realizing that Hua Guixiang and the others truly had no intention of letting her eat any of the braised pork, Qiao Jiaojiao cried even harder. She even had the urge to lunge forward and grab a bite—just one bite would do—but her mother held her too tightly for her to break free.

Only after the two of them had walked far off and the door of the West Courtyard had been heard opening and closing again, could Qiao Nian and the others still faintly hear Qiao Jiaojiao’s sobbing full of grievance.

After such a disturbance, the three of them quickly finished their rice in silence, and no one went back for seconds.

“Nian Nian, Grandma’s a bit tired. You take care of the dishes today—Grandma’s heading back to rest,” said Hua Guixiang before turning and leaving the kitchen.

Qiao Nian and Ping’an both saw the old woman wiping away tears as she turned away. Blood ties could never be so easily severed, but that Second Branch family were nothing but thankless wolves. They weren’t worth Hua Guixiang’s heartbreak.

Still, there wasn’t much they could do for now. Qiao Nian realized she needed to accelerate her money-making plans—build a Courtyard of their own as soon as possible, far away from that family.

After tidying up the kitchen, Qiao Nian walked lightly to the window outside the old woman’s room. She was debating whether to go in and comfort her and perhaps sleep with her tonight. But just as she stopped outside the window, Hua Guixiang’s voice came from within, “Nian Nian, I’m fine. Go to sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow to head into the mountains.”

“Oh, alright, Grandma. I’ll go to sleep now,” Qiao Nian replied, feeling a little embarrassed at being caught. She playfully stuck out her tongue, waved at Ping’an standing not far away, and the two of them tiptoed back to their rooms like guilty little thieves.

Before bed, Qiao Nian did her usual round inside the space. She hadn’t expected that in just one day and one night, the wheat and corn had already grown as tall as her calves. The vines and leaves of the sweet potatoes and potatoes had also reached her ankles.

The vines of cucumbers and string beans had already grown more than a meter long—if she didn’t set up trellises soon, they’d be sprawling wildly across the ground. The stalks of tomatoes and chili peppers looked thick and strong, and the leafy greens were already edible—fresh, tender, and vibrant. Not a single leaf had even the tiniest bug bite.

Qiao Nian suddenly realized she might’ve been too excited. Of course crops grown in her space wouldn’t suffer from pests or disease.

After checking on all the plants, she went to the storage room and brought out a small bundle of bamboo poles. These were originally left by her grandmother in her past life for propping up vegetable trellises. Qiao Nian decided to start by building supports for the cucumbers and string beans, to keep their vines from overtaking other crops.

Once the work in the field was done, she took a refreshing shower and went to rummage through the fridge for something to eat. “Strawberries, cherries, watermelon, bananas, cake… huh? Why is my only slice of strawberry shortcake still here? Didn’t I already eat it last night?”

The thought that popped into her mind made her voice rise with excitement.

Her slice of cake was back! Even the box of cherries—she distinctly remembered only half was left, but now it was full again. She checked the five cartons of milk, and sure enough, they were all intact.

Did this mean… her refrigerator had a reset function? If so, would the other supplies in the space also refresh after being consumed?

Too excited to even eat, Qiao Nian grabbed a small case of mini Sprite bottles from the living room and a packet of salt from the kitchen, then swiftly exited the space. Outside, she couldn’t resist opening a bottle and taking a sip. “Ah, that’s the taste! Hehe…”

Her mood had lifted to the point of indescribable joy.

She hid the remaining Sprites and the salt under her bed, planning to see if the space would regenerate them tomorrow. The empty bottle had no place to discard, so she returned it to the space, carefully remembering where she placed it.

After all this was done, she finally lay down in bed. The moment she closed her eyes, she drifted off to meet the god of dreams.