Chapter 3: Visiting the Original Owner’s Brother’s House

Everyone present today must have thought she was foolish to agree to such a division of the family property.

But she knew exactly why she did this. She was sure she would have a good life in the future, after all, she had the space, and she wanted to be a self-made millionaire.

Mo Zhixia was, after all, the flesh and blood of the Mo family. Even if Mo Haoyue died, it wouldn’t change that. If she became rich in the future, Mo’s mother wouldn’t be able to ask her for money, because she had made the division so decisive.

It would still take a few years before she could openly conduct business, so for now, she needed a good reputation. It seemed like a loss, but in reality, she was the winner.

The village head sighed inwardly as he watched the mother and daughter leave.

As Mi Xia walked away, she felt the fresh air of this era, something that didn’t exist in the modern world, and her spirits lifted.

Looking at her little daughter, who was wearing patched-up clothes, thin and flimsy, it was already autumn, and she understood why her daughter’s hands were ice-cold. It was a stark contrast to the Mo family; although their clothes were also patched, there were fewer patches, and their complexions were rosy, showing they were well-fed and warmly clothed.

Mi Xia felt heartbroken, but thankfully, she was now free from that family and had the space; her life would surely get better and better.

Gurg…gurg…Mi Xia’s stomach rumbled inopportunely. She realized she hadn’t had breakfast yet. She took Mo Zhixia to a more secluded place, took out two meat buns, and gave one to her daughter.

Zhixia looked at the meat bun questioningly, as if asking her mother where it came from. “Eat it quickly, I hid it here earlier,” Mi Xia said.

The little girl was still young, so she believed her. After eating one meat bun, Mi Xia ate another, and then took out a cup of milk tea from the space and offered it to Mo Zhixia. The little girl had never tasted anything so delicious; her eyes lit up.

“Mama, this is so good,” Mo Zhixia said with innocent eyes.

“If you like it, Mom will buy it for you again, but you have to keep it a secret, or Siwa will come and snatch it.”

The little girl nodded frantically, promising to keep it a secret. When she was in the Mo family, Siwa often snatched her meager portions of food, so the little girl nodded quickly, afraid that if she was slow, the bun would be taken away.

The little girl had never had a full meal since birth, and Mi Xia felt a pang of heartache.

After eating, Mi Xia took a chicken from the space, intending to take it to her brother’s house. On the way, many people saw her carrying her child towards her brother’s house. Some people recognized Mi Xia and asked if she was visiting relatives, and she answered them one by one.

The Mi family lived in the neighboring Li family village, where most people had the surname Li, and every family was related. The Mi family had fled there during a famine.

Because of the delay caused by eating on the road, it was already lunchtime when they arrived at her brother’s house. She knocked on the door, holding Mo Zhixia’s hand.

After a while, the door opened, and Mi Xia saw a woman, who must be her brother’s wife. Her face was sallow and unhealthy-looking.

Her sister-in-law’s name was Zhang Hongxia, and Mi Xia’s brother’s name was Mi Qiu. (Mi Xia was born in summer, and Mi Qiu was born in autumn.)

At this time, Zhang Hongxia didn’t know that Mi Xia had severed ties with the Mo family and was coming to stay at her house. So, when she saw Mi Xia coming with Mo Zhixia, she thought it was a normal visit back to her parents’ home.

Seeing the chicken in Mi Xia’s hand, her eyes lit up, and the corners of her lips curled upward. “Since you’re here, why bring anything? Don’t do this next time.”

Zhang Hongxia had three sons and a daughter. With so many children, the family consumed a lot, so their life was tight.

During the years before her marriage, she had earned work points and could support herself, so Zhang Hongxia had no objections to her. Since she came bearing gifts, she naturally welcomed her with a smile.

“It’s only right. Sister-in-law, I have something to discuss with my brother,” Mi Xia said as she entered the yard, handing the chicken to her sister-in-law. She needed to discuss staying with her brother and sister-in-law to avoid any unhappiness or conflict between the couple.

As soon as she entered the yard, she saw four children and Mi Qiu sitting around a table eating. Her brother’s eldest son was called Mi Aiguo, an 11-year-old boy. The second son was Mi Jianguo, 9 years old; the third son was Mi Weiguo, 6 years old; and the youngest daughter was Mi Xiaohuan, 3 years old.

The three sons went to collect pigweed every day, and their elder sister-in-law stayed home to look after their youngest daughter. Each person had a bowl of sweet potato rice, with a small amount of rice, mostly sweet potatoes, and a cornbread in their hands.

This was the staple food for most families at the time. “Little sister, you haven’t eaten yet, have you? Come and sit down and eat something,” Mi Qiu said happily when he saw his younger sister.

“Yes, yes, little sister, sit down with Xia Xia. I’ll go get you two bowls and chopsticks,” Zhang Hongxia said as she went to the kitchen to get things.

“Thank you, sister-in-law,” Mi Xia said, pulling Mo Zhixia to sit down.

Soon, the children finished eating, and Mi Aiguo and his two brothers took Mo Zhixia out to play.

In this era, every household had many children, so adults didn’t worry about children going out to play. They could barely feed their own children, and no one would abduct them.

Mi Xia finally found an opportunity to say, “Brother, sister-in-law, my mother-in-law wants to sell Xia Xia, so I’ve severed ties with them. I want to stay with you for a while. Once I’ve earned some money, I’ll rent a house.”

Although Mi Xia had grown up here, her parents had passed away, and Zhang Hongxia was now the mistress of the house. Staying with her sister-in-law for a long time would surely cause problems. It was unusual for a married daughter to stay at her parents’ home for an extended period, but this was only a temporary arrangement; she would move out as soon as she earned money. She said a few more words to reassure her sister-in-law.

Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, she saw her sister-in-law’s tense body relax instantly.

Mi Qiu was unhappy when he heard this. “What are you saying? Why rent a house? Stay here. I’ll beat that old witch up when I get off work. Does she think your parents’ family is powerless?”

“Brother, don’t. Don’t mind them. We’re done with them anyway. And I’ll definitely move out once I earn money, to avoid gossip in the village.”

Mi Qiu didn’t object. A divorced younger sister staying at home would definitely cause gossip in the village, and their house wasn’t spacious. Zhang Hongxia got up to clear the dishes, but Mi Xia quickly took over. “Sister-in-law, I’ll do it. I can’t just eat and not work.”

Zhang Hongxia was pleased and smiled as she went to tidy up a room for them. She took a quilt to air it, and then put some straw on the bed, and then a sheet.

After clearing the dishes, Mi Xia greeted her brother and sister-in-law and took Mo Zhixia back to the room for a nap. Xia Xia was only one year and two months old and still needed a lot of sleep. After a while, she heard even breathing next to her. Seeing her daughter asleep, Mi Xia went to the toilet.

Following her previous memory, she walked towards the toilet. As soon as she opened the door, Mi Xia was stunned. The stench was overwhelming, and there were things crawling inside. She had never seen such a toilet before and almost fainted from the smell. She thought that once she had money, she would definitely build a toilet like the ones in her previous life. She turned back to the room to use the space instead.

She endured the discomfort, returned to the room, locked the door, and entered the space. She first took care of her physiological needs, and then saw the original owner’s face.

Her complexion wasn’t good, but she was beautiful, with bright almond-shaped eyes, long and curled eyelashes, and a teardrop mole under her eyes, making her look both pure and alluring. She was just a little thin; if she were a little whiter and plumper, she would be even more beautiful.

She checked that the supplies she had bought in the modern world were all there and breathed a sigh of relief. She took off her clothes and Mo Zhixia’s clothes and put them in the washing machine. Looking at the calluses on her hands, Mi Xia felt both heartache and distress.

Her hands used to be soft and smooth, but now they were rough. Her face was also dark and thin. Thankfully, she had the spiritual spring water; otherwise, she would have been sick.

Using her mind, she filled the bathtub with spiritual spring water and took a bath. When she took off her clothes, she saw her fair but rough arms and legs, her slender waist, and her well-developed chest. Although her skin was not good, she had the space.

As soon as she lay down, her spirits lifted, and her whole body felt relaxed and comfortable. As she bathed, she saw black substances coming out of the bathtub.

Mi Xia knew that these were impurities being washed out of her body. When she first got the ring, she knew that bathing in the spiritual spring water had this effect, so she wasn’t surprised. She bathed several more times until no more impurities came out.

After washing, her skin became whiter and smoother. She dried and put on her clothes, then used her mind to move the vegetables and rice from the space into the warehouse, planted a new batch, and then left the space, holding her daughter to sleep.

She slept until Mo Zhixia woke her up. She had just experienced a quarrel and a division of the family property, and her body had been malnourished for a long time. It was no wonder she was tired after walking so far.

After dressing Mo Zhixia, she took her to the yard. When she opened the door, she saw Mi Xiaohuan playing in the yard. Mi Xia let her daughter play with her sister and then went to talk to her sister-in-law before going out.

Mi Xia planned to go to the mountains to have a look. She could bring things out of the space openly, and maybe she could find something good in the mountains. Even if she encountered danger, she wasn’t afraid. She was a black belt in taekwondo in the modern world, and she had a stun gun in the space. If necessary, she could hide in the space. After saying hello, she took a backpack and went towards the mountains.

Mi Xia looked at the endless mountains in front of her, majestic and verdant. The villagers only foraged on the outskirts because many people had starved and entered the deep mountains, and those who went in never returned.

There was nothing they could do. Only those who were starving would enter the deep mountains, because if they didn’t go in, they might still survive, but if they went in, they would never return.

But Mi Xia wasn’t afraid. The deep mountains were her treasure trove. Since no one dared to go in, there must be a lot of good things. It was convenient for her to go there.

It took her half an hour to reach the edge of the deep mountains. Thankfully, she had the spiritual spring water; otherwise, her weak body might not have been able to climb up. The deep mountains were different from the outskirts. Here, the greenery was lush, and wild chickens and rabbits were everywhere. Mi Xia had a great time catching these small animals.

She walked and caught animals, throwing them into the space in the mountains. She also collected a lot of wild eggs and bird eggs. When she was tired, she drank some spiritual spring water to rest. Unexpectedly, she heard the sounds of wild boars not long after she sat down.

Mi Xia took her knife and walked towards the direction of the wild boar’s cries. There was a large wild boar and two piglets. The large wild boar weighed about three to four hundred pounds. She would take them back to feed Mo Zhixia and her brother’s family.

After all, she could get anything she wanted from the space, but it wasn’t convenient for her to take things out. She didn’t have a good explanation, and she didn’t want the space to be exposed, not even to her brother.

She lightened her footsteps and slowly approached the tree next to the wild boars. The closer she got, the more careful she became. The large wild boar was playing with the piglets, and Mi Xia, with lightning speed, plunged her knife into the large wild boar’s head. The wild boar fell to the ground.

The piglets heard the noise and tried to run, but Mi Xia kicked them both to the ground and then killed them with a knife. After putting the three wild boars into the space, she rested for a while because she had used too much energy.

This was truly a treasure mountain. She hadn’t had time to collect many mushrooms along the way, but she was still very satisfied with her harvest in the afternoon.

She looked up at the sky and saw that it was getting late, so she hurried back. When she reached the foot of the mountain, it was already dark. She dug a hole, threw the wild boars in, covered them with leaves, and hurried home.

As soon as she arrived, she saw Mi Qiu standing at the door looking around. “Where did you go? Why did you only come back now? Dinner is ready, but you didn’t come back, and I was worried sick. I almost went to the Mo family to look for you.”

“Brother, I’m fine. I went to the mountains this afternoon. Ask sister-in-law to get the cart, and let’s go. I found a big wild boar in the mountains and hid it at the foot of the mountain because I was afraid someone would find it. Let’s go get it quickly,” Mi Xia said anxiously to Mi Qiu.

“What? You found a wild boar in the mountains?” Mi Qiu’s eyes widened in surprise, and his voice unconsciously grew louder.

“Brother, keep your voice down. Someone might hear you.” Luckily, there weren’t many people outside, and it was dinner time, so no one heard.

Mi Qiu reacted after his sister’s reminder. He turned around and went into the yard to call his wife, who came out with the cart. Mi Xia went inside and asked Mi Aiguo to watch his younger siblings before coming out. Seeing that her sister-in-law seemed to know nothing, Mi Xia briefly explained, and Zhang Hongxia was also incredulous, but she was much better than Mi Qiu. She didn’t shout; she just urged Mi Qiu to hurry, while she pushed the cart from behind.

Mi Xia couldn’t help but laugh at her sister-in-law’s reaction. Her sister-in-law was even more anxious than she was.