Chapter 11: Uninvited Visitors

The person outside the courtyard did not speak, but upon hearing someone come out, they continued to knock on the door.

Luo Qiao walked closer and looked through the crack in the door to see who it was, then asked, “Aunt Zhao, do you need something?”

Seeing that Luo Qiao wouldn’t open the door, Gao Suhua said angrily, “You damn girl, open the door.”

Luo Qiao replied, “If you don’t need anything, Aunt Zhao, I’ll head back inside.”

Luo Qiao was not one who wanted to accommodate her. Gao Suhua was not an easy character; she was a rural woman who had swapped her own child, inherently immoral and selfish. If she came knocking, it certainly wasn’t for anything good.

Having finally managed to distance herself from the Zhao family and obtained her own household registration, Luo Qiao had no desire to have any further dealings with them.

Gao Suhua saw that Luo Qiao was quite vigilant, so she said, “Luo Qiao, your Uncle Zhao and I thought about it all night. Although you’re not a daughter of the Zhao family, we did promise the Luo family to take good care of you. Now that you’re not in good health, your Uncle Zhao and I think it would be better to bring you back home. That way, we would feel more at ease.”

Luo Qiao sneered inwardly and said, “No need to trouble yourself, Aunt Zhao. I can take care of myself. Since you are not my biological parents, I don’t want to burden you. I have things to do inside, so I’ll go back now.”

Without waiting for Gao Suhua to say more, Luo Qiao had already returned to the house. She would be a fool to believe Gao Suhua’s nonsense; she was not the original Luo Qiao after all.

After going back inside, Luo Qiao listened to the sounds outside the courtyard. Hearing Gao Suhua leave while cursing, she sneered and thought to herself, who knows what scheme Gao Suhua is plotting this time.

Seeing that it was getting late, Luo Qiao confirmed it was safe and re-entered the space. She first fetched a bucket of water and cleaned up the kitchen. She didn’t waste the leftover water; instead, she used it to water the plot of land she had planted in the morning.

This body, aside from malnutrition, didn’t have any major health issues, so she believed it wouldn’t take long to regain its vitality.

Luo Qiao took some straw from behind the bamboo building, thinking that the straw wouldn’t burn well. She decided to collect some firewood from the mountains later and store it in space.

For now, she could only eat light foods, so she cooked some rice porridge to nourish her stomach. She made a thick pot of porridge, enough for several meals.

Once the porridge was ready, she scooped out a large bowl to cool. Then she poured the rest into a big basin and stored it in the underground warehouse. This way, whenever she wanted to eat, it would still be warm, saving her from reheating it.

After cooking minced garlic eggplant and three-delicacies stir-fry, she had them with the porridge before leaving the space.

In the kitchen, she boiled a large pot of water and cleaned everything again. Luo Qiao had a slight obsession with cleanliness, so she didn’t feel comfortable until everything was spotless.

The houses at the educated youth courtyard were made of mud bricks inside and stone outside, with small black tiles on the roof. They were much better than some of the thatched roofs in the village. These houses had been built in the sixties, making them some of the best in the village.

The courtyard where Luo Qiao lives is the courtyard previously occupied by female educated youths. The courtyard next door, where the male educated youths had stayed, was now empty. Luo Qiao was quite satisfied with this arrangement as living alone gave her more freedom to do as she pleased.

In fact, many families in the village are thinking about buying the educated youth courtyard. However, the village cadres had stated that anyone who wanted to live there had to either buy the house outright or pay a monthly rent.

When the villagers heard they had to spend money, none were willing, so this only made Luo Qiao benefit from the situation.