Chapter 20

Finally unable to hold back, Ding Gui went downstairs and looked around at the door…

Ah, they’re back!

He saw the three of them, two big and one small, walking slowly toward him. He hurried over to greet them: “Bao’er, Bao’er.”

Can’t call out!

They had been out for so long, and the old father feared that if he called out, curious onlookers might appear to watch the commotion.

Ding Xiaodie quickly gestured for him to stop.

Ding Gui immediately understood and stopped cheering, but inside, he was puzzled. Why did they all walk strangely, as if their legs couldn’t bend? Even the thin Xiaodie seemed a little sturdier.

When they reached the corner, Ding Xiaodie waved goodbye to the two young men.

Then, she tilted her head up to look at her father and signaled to talk inside.

Seeing her mysterious demeanor, Ding Gui immediately knew that his daughter had found something to eat. He eagerly shut the door: “What did you find?”

Ding Xiaodie took out a lotus root and waved it in front of him.

“Wow!” Ding Gui gasped, then quickly covered his mouth, his voice trembling with excitement: “Finally some food! If we could drink a bowl of thick lotus root soup right now, I’d die content.”

“Dad, you really have no shame.” Ding Xiaodie rolled her eyes at him.

At this moment, hearing the noise, Zhang Xiu also came downstairs. Seeing her daughter pulling out a pile of lotus roots, she was so excited that she couldn’t say a word.

Since they had crossed over, they hadn’t had a proper meal. The rabbit meat was delicious, but it wasn’t enough for the four of them.

At this point, the earlier feelings of disappointment were all gone. Zhang Xiu immediately assumed the role of the head of the house: “I’ll go light the fire in the kitchen now. Xiaodie, go get some water.”

“Don’t worry, leave it to me.” Ding Xiaodie patted her chest, feeling a surge of energy seeing her mother rejuvenated.

Ding Gui quickly asked: “What about me?”

Without looking back, Zhang Xiu replied, “Help me light the fire, just like other people’s homes with smoke rising, we can do the same.”

“…”

Looking at his wife’s straight back, Ding Gui felt his eyes mist up.

Actually, he knew her best. In their previous life, they started from scratch, working hard to raise their daughter. Their business had also made good progress.

But just when everything seemed to be moving in a good direction, something catastrophic happened.

After that incident, everything they built was taken over by the family of a brother with whom they didn’t get along. Thinking back to those days of living frugally, without day or night, it was painful.

In the end, everything had gone to the family they hated most. Zhang Xiu must have felt deeply resentful.

But she said very little about it. When things started to improve a bit, she immediately became the backbone of the family.

“Come on, what are you waiting for?”

Just as Ding Gui was thinking about all this, Zhang Xiu, walking ahead, turned around and called out.

Ding Gui quickly collected himself and ran to the kitchen to help light the fire.

—-

Ding Xiaodie went upstairs and took out the two bottles of mineral water she had hidden. One wasn’t opened yet, so she took it to the kitchen for her parents to drink. Then, she took the empty bottles and focused on her space, entering Xiaodie’s Billion Material Space.

This time, the items in the space were exactly the same as the last time.

She silently cursed the space, wondering why it was so stingy.

She placed the two empty bottles on the shelf and waited to see what the space would offer in return.

Soon, the two empty bottles sank into the shelf and disappeared.

To her surprise, a bag of millet appeared on the shelf.

There was about five kilograms of it. Even though it was in a plastic bag, the millet gleamed with a warm, inviting shine. The sight of it made Ding Xiaodie freeze.

Could it be a trap?

Compared to the last time when there was only a packet of QQ candy, this five kilograms of millet felt like winning a five-million-dollar lottery.

But doubt aside, Ding Xiaodie was quick to act.

Fearing the space would throw her out again, she hurriedly grabbed the millet and held it to her chest, then rushed to get a few bottles of water as well.

After gathering the items, she saw a red message flashing on the screen: “Today’s good deed completed. Helped two villagers get food.”

“Oh, so it’s because I did a good deed that I was rewarded with this much millet?” Ding Xiaodie finally remembered the daily good deed task. She realized that if she just returned empty bottles, she’d only get a packet of QQ candy.

At this moment, she tightly hugged the millet and water, her eyes sparkling as she asked, “Then, Space Lord, could you give me a little more reward, like salt? Without salt, food is hard to eat. If you could add some oil, that would be perfect. What do you think?”

She looked expectantly at the screen, hoping for a hint, even if the space didn’t give anything this time.

But after a while, the screen suddenly flashed with a string of black text: “Get lost, brat!”

It was over.

Ding Xiaodie immediately realized her mistake. Then, she was ruthlessly ejected from the space.

With a thud, she landed.

Luckily, Ding Gui and Zhang Xiu were nearby. They stared at their daughter’s changing expressions, watching as she alternated between laughing and looking surprised, before her brow furrowed.

Could it be like last time? Ding Gui quickly reached out, but it was too late.

His daughter’s small body was pushed out by some invisible force, and she landed face-first with a loud thud, rolling on the ground.

“Heavens, this darn space.”

Ding Xiaodie slowly recovered and sat up. “Ouch, that hurt. I landed right on my nose.”

“Bao’er!”

Ding Gui and Zhang Xiu rushed over to check. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Seeing their daughter fall like that, Ding Gui didn’t dare to say that he was right next to her. Sigh, he might as well pretend to be confused—he was too slow to act.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiu was distracted by the bag of millet and a few bottles of water rolling on the ground.

She quickly picked up the items. With millet, she could make it work!

Ding Xiaodie, feeling ignored, sighed. “I thought the spaces in those novels always listen to their owners. My space is just like my dad, everything is decided by it.”

After speaking, she saw Ding Gui pointing at himself with a look of grievance.

“Uh, I was just making an example!” Ding Xiaodie stood up and dusted off her pants. “Next time before entering, remind me not to say the wrong things. If it doesn’t give me anything, I shouldn’t complain.”

“Ah, you swear too?” Ding Gui stared at her. “Swearing is definitely…”

Before he could finish, he was met with a glare from his daughter, and immediately changed the subject. “Right, that darn space deserves to be cursed.”

After cursing, he quickly added in a lower voice, “Space Lord, please don’t be angry. Don’t take it out on Xiaodie. She’s still just a child!”