Chapter 16: A Blessing in Disguise

When Jing Xi entered the house, she saw that even Pang Ya was helping with the chores.

“Aunties, Pang Ya, you all… I don’t even know what to say!”

The two women quickly pulled her to sit down and warm up for a while. They also asked her about what had happened at the police station.

Jing Xi told them everything, especially about the fight between the Zhang couple.

Aunt Wang wasn’t as outspoken as Aunt Liu or Zhang Rui. She was usually a low-key person, but when she spoke, she hit the nail on the head. “I think they’re just facing retribution for all the bad things they’ve done.”

Zhang Rui nodded. “Exactly! My husband, Old Liu, even said he’s never seen a family bully a young girl this much. And let’s not forget how they became rich—it was just dumb luck! Tell me, how did those plots of land on the mountain suddenly become theirs? Those lands originally belonged to the whole village. So how did they end up as private property? And why are certain people in the village so tight with them?”

Aunt Wang shook her head. “Who knows? Besides, Wang Cuihua wasn’t always like this. She only became arrogant after they got rich. As for Zhang Qiang, he was never a good person to begin with. Now that he has some money, his true colors are showing. Xiao Jing, I think Zhang Qiang will learn his lesson after getting arrested, but you should stay away from Wu Dazhuang. That guy is no good—he’s the type to sell out his own people.”

Jing Xi nodded. “Don’t worry, Aunties.”

As night fell, after sending the two women off, Jing Xi went straight into her space.

She needed a peaceful place where she wouldn’t be disturbed, so she could think things through.

But the moment she entered, she was utterly shocked.

Her mouth fell open in disbelief.

If today had been exhausting, frustrating, and stressful, the surprise her space gave her now instantly wiped all her fatigue away.

Previously, the space had been mostly empty, with only a single spring, a few plants, and the items she had taken from the Zhang family.

But now, a foundation had appeared out of nowhere.

Was the space building her a house?

She paced around, roughly measuring the area with her steps. Though her math skills weren’t great, she estimated that the foundation covered over a hundred square meters. Judging by the depth of the foundation, was the space actually preparing to build her a two-story house?

Was this truly a blessing in disguise?

“The first time I suffered at the hands of the Zhang family, I discovered this limitless space.”

“The second time I was wronged in the village and got scammed out of my money, I found the pickling recipe for dihuan vegetables.”

“And now, after suffering another loss at the hands of the Zhang family, I come back to find a house being built?”

Once or twice could be a coincidence. But three times?

Could it be that every time she suffered outside, the space compensated her for it?

The more she thought about it, the more excited she became.

“Oh my god! My dear space, my divine space, I’m so grateful to you! I swear I’ll be a good person, do good deeds, and make full use of this land to repay your kindness!”

Of course, the space didn’t respond.

But Jing Xi didn’t mind at all.

She walked around, measuring the entire space. The land was now large enough for her to grow vegetables, plant grains, and even build a house.

She could easily achieve a self-sufficient lifestyle. And even more importantly, this would be a perfect hiding place.

Even if the apocalypse came or zombies broke out, she wouldn’t have to be afraid.

She looked at the dihuan she had planted—they had already matured.

Jing Xi dug up one of the plants and found that the root was large, uniform in size, and had a beautiful color. The root tubers were abundant, reminding her of her past life when she had seen someone selling them at the market for thirty yuan per jin.

Holding the fresh dihuan in her hands, she could already envision herself getting rich off this crop.

Her gaze then shifted to the baskets of subpar vegetables she had taken from the Zhang family.

What if she planted these low-quality vegetables in the space? Would they regenerate into high-quality seeds?

She immediately put the idea into action.

Jing Xi stayed up all night, planting vegetables in the space.

When she had first entered, the space didn’t seem that large. But after spending hours planting, it felt endless.

Even after working through the night, she hadn’t finished planting everything. She was exhausted, so she decided to rest and continue later.

Leaving the space, she collapsed onto her kang bed, pulling her cotton-padded coat over herself. She fell into a deep sleep.

Even in her dreams, she was planting vegetables.

She slept until noon when the Liu family couple arrived to deliver the fermentation jars.

Jing Xi had almost forgotten about it. She was surprised to see that Liu Jianchang and Zhang Rui had already cleaned all the dihuan vegetables and prepared two spotless fermentation jars for her.

Once again, she didn’t know how to thank them enough.

No matter what, she insisted on inviting them to dinner.

Zhang Rui tried to refuse, but Jing Xi grabbed her arm. “Auntie, don’t worry! I have money to treat you and Uncle! Just come over tonight and eat. You don’t have to do anything else!”

Only then did Zhang Rui agree and left with Liu Jianchang.

Jing Xi immediately went into the space, drew some spring water, and mixed it with the salt and soy sauce she had bought.

After stirring the mixture thoroughly, she sealed the jars.

Normally, pickling vegetables required a lot of care and attention.

But with the spring water from her space, she didn’t have to worry at all.

Her first experiment was already a success.

Now, she just had to wait.

After preparing everything, Jing Xi went to wash her dirty bedding. Once that was done, she started preparing the ingredients for tonight’s dinner.

She still had some pork from the Zhang family, which she hadn’t eaten yet. Tonight, she planned to cook two pieces.

She would simply clean them thoroughly, roast them until fully cooked, and sprinkle a bit of salt for flavor.

She also planned to steam rice using the grains she had taken from the Zhang family, making a hearty rice dish with warm, flavorful rice soup.

Since she still had some radishes at home, she decided to use the white flour she got from the Zhang family to make radish and meat-filled steamed buns.

Steaming the rice alongside the buns would be efficient, while the pork roasted on the stove. The rendered pork fat could be saved for future cooking—just the thought of it made her mouth water.

Once everything was set up, she went to the convenience store to buy a bottle of white liquor.

By the time the Liu couple arrived, the room was filled with warmth and the rich aroma of roasted meat.

“Oh my, child! How did you manage to prepare so much meat? This must have cost a fortune!”

“Uncle, Aunt, I haven’t had meat in a long time either, and it really wasn’t that expensive! Besides, what’s the point of making money if not to spend it? Please, don’t be polite with me. If you insist on being reserved, that’ll make me feel even more awkward.”

Jing Xi gestured toward the two large vats. Liu Jianchang and Zhang Rui got up to take a look and were surprised at how efficient she was—she had already marinated everything.

Once the three of them sat down, Liu Jianchang shared some good news.

“If the preserved meat turns out well, I might have a way to sell it.”

“Uncle, you have a way?”

Liu Jianchang, usually a reserved man, blushed slightly. “Well, I work in the canteen at the town’s power plant, and there are a lot of workers there. I can ask my supervisor if we can supply the canteen with it.”

Jing Xi was overjoyed. “Uncle, that would be amazing! I’d really appreciate it!”

“It’s no trouble, but you have to ensure the food quality.”

Jing Xi patted her chest confidently. “Don’t worry, Uncle! Trust me—once these two vats are ready, I’ll have you inspect them first. If they meet the standard, we’ll proceed to the next step!”

Liu Jianchang’s face was still slightly flushed. “Alright, I trust you. You’ve always been a reliable child. Even though you’re still young, I believe in you.”

Jing Xi felt warmth in her heart.

Thinking back on the first ten-plus years of this body’s life, she recalled some details.

Indeed, Aunt Wang and the Liu couple had looked after her quite a bit. Back then, she was withdrawn and didn’t get close to anyone, deliberately ignoring their kindness.

She hadn’t expected everything to change so drastically after that one incident.

Jing Xi poured glasses of white liquor for Liu Jianchang and Zhang Rui and then poured some for herself.

“Uncle, Aunt, I’m not a big drinker, but I want to toast to you both. You’ve helped me a lot over the years. There’s no need for excessive words of gratitude—my thanks are in the drink!”

Zhang Rui’s eyes lit up. “Ah, it’s nothing! Come on, let’s have a toast!”

The three clinked their glasses together.

As they ate, they finalized the plan for selling the preserved meat, even deciding on how to split the profits.

The final agreement was a 70-30 split—70% for the Liu family and 30% for Jing Xi.

Originally, Jing Xi had only asked for 10%, since the vats and the preserved meat were theirs, and all she had contributed was some spring water and seasoning.

But she couldn’t win against the Liu couple’s insistence, so she finally agreed to take 30%.