The old lady panicked and shouted anxiously, “Old man, you’ve gone senile! It was clearly one hundred and forty, and now there are only two hundred and thirty left. Village Chief, please bear witness! All this money was spent on Heqing and his father, and we didn’t touch a single penny ourselves!”
Two hundred and thirty? Liu Yu was so angry that he laughed. According to his memories from the original owner, even a senior technician in this era only earned an annual salary of three hundred yuan. That one hundred plus yuan was enough to cover a family’s living expenses for over a year, even in town. This family of the original owner’s was truly greedy enough.
Liu Weibao was so ashamed by the incredulous expressions of the village chief and his eldest grandson that he felt utterly humiliated. He felt extremely guilty uttering such words, but he truly had no other choice.
After receiving the money back then, he and the old woman had calculated to pay off the debts incurred when they renovated the west wing. Then, Li Cuihong coaxed him into buying a golden bracelet for their precious youngest grandson, and just now, forty yuan had been pocketed on the spot by the old woman. With one thing and another, the money was simply gone.
As for spending money to host guests and repair the graves of his deceased youngest son, that was complete nonsense. The gift money from relatives and friends alone was completely sufficient.
Liu Weibao naturally knew what the village chief and Liu Yu were thinking. However, even though the lie was clumsy, he had to find an excuse to swallow this money, or else where would he find the means to make it up to Liu Yu?
Liu Yu now understood that his grandfather valued his face above everything else. Since he dared to tell such a ridiculous lie in front of outsiders, it seemed he genuinely could not produce the money.
Prolonging this entanglement was pointless. It was better to win some sympathy from the village chief so that things would be much easier when doing anything in the village later.
After a moment of contemplation, he said, “Grandfather, I understand. I only want the two hundred and thirty. As for the rest, just give me the pots, pans, clothes, and bedding that I brought back.”
Things having reached this point, what more could Liu Weibao say? It was he who owed the boy, and he could only bite the bullet and agree to the request.
The family had long since regarded this money as their own. When handing the money over to Liu Yu, the old lady’s heart felt like it was bleeding.
With the money in hand, there was no time like the present. Taking advantage of the village chief still being there to back him up, Liu Yu hurriedly packed up the daily necessities the original owner had brought back and piled them outside the courtyard. This attracted passing villagers who stopped to ask what was happening. The elderly couple cast resentful glances at Liu Yu, as if accusing him of being in such impatient haste.
“Uncles and aunts, there is nothing much to say. The house doesn’t have enough rooms for everyone, and I figured I’m old enough now, so I might as well move out and live on my own early. I will have to rely on everyone’s care from now on.”
What a joke. If he didn’t move out in a grand manner right now, who knew how many items he would actually be able to take with him in the end?
In the end, Liu Yu sneaked into his good cousin’s room and, ignoring Li Cuihong’s obstruction, pulled out the bedding and tied it into a bundle.
“You child! You don’t take the decent bedding from your own room, why on earth are you taking your brother’s bedding? What is your brother going to sleep on tonight once you take it?” Li Cuihong twitched the corner of her mouth slightly. She truly never expected that one day her nephew could act so ruthlessly.
Liu Yu blinked mischievously and said, “The bedding in my room is thicker. Cousin is afraid of the cold, so I’ll leave it for him to use!”
Li Cuihong felt like her teeth were about to shatter from grinding them. Of course she knew Liu Yu was intentionally mocking her. The bedding previously given to him was ragged and riddled with mold spots, having lost any warming effect long ago. Saying this now was merely taking advantage of the presence of outsiders so she dared not expose the truth.
Liu Yu couldn’t be bothered to care what others were thinking. He borrowed a flatbed cart from the neighbor, preparing to haul all his belongings away in one go.
The village chief had just told him about a residence located in the northern part of the village. It was built by northerners who had fled there as refugees to settle down years ago. Later, when things stabilized in their hometown, they took their whole family and returned. The house was relatively close to the village chief’s house, making it convenient to look after one another usually. Moreover, the Liu family lived in the southern part of the village, so as long as they didn’t leave the village, they would likely not run into each other. Liu Yu was very satisfied with this point.
Along the way, the village chief pulled the flatbed cart in front, while Liu Yu pushed from behind. Soon having a home of his own to belong to, he felt completely relaxed and cheerful. Even the wild weeds growing along both sides of the road looked vibrant and exceptionally cute.
After walking for about ten or so minutes, Liu Yu saw the house. It consisted of two adobe rooms with thatched roofs. Because this family had only left for a couple of years, it still looked quite new, and the walls had no obvious cracks, requiring no extra time for repairs.
The village chief found the key and opened the lock. As the door was pushed open, a wave of dust rushed toward them, causing Liu Yu to cough repeatedly.
“Mud houses are just like this. If they aren’t cleaned for a period of time, the dust gets very thick,” the village chief explained.
Liu Yu quickly waved his hand and said, “It’s fine. I’ll fetch a bucket of water later and clean it thoroughly inside and out. I also have to thank you, Village Chief. This house is really nice and very sturdy!”
The village chief smiled and said, “We are all villagers, no need for thanks. For now, let’s lock the things inside and come to my house to eat lunch.”
“No, no, I need to clean up the house first so I can settle in earlier tonight,” Liu Yu declined.
“No need to rush for a moment. You’ll only have strength to work after eating. Your aunt has already made your share,” the village chief said.
Liu Yu had no choice but to compromise, realizing further refusal would be meaningless. When others treated one another with kindness, one should keep it in mind and return the favor one by one later.
The village chief’s house was only a three-to-four-minute walk away. Liu Yu ate a simple meal, expressed his gratitude, and hurried back to dive into cleaning the house.
Perhaps because the original owners found it inconvenient due to the long distance between the north and the south, they hadn’t taken any furniture when they left. Upon entering the main room, it furnished a wooden bed, a double-door carved wardrobe, and a square table. The middle was separated by a cloth curtain, partitioning a little less than half the space inside, which contained a bed and a desk, presumably where the family’s children used to sleep.
A washstand also stood in the corner of the room, standing a good deal taller than Liu Yu himself. A mirror was embedded in the top. He wiped the mirror clean with a damp cloth, tiptoed, and pressed his face close to it.
Liu Yu was shocked once again. The original owner’s face looked remarkably similar to his own. Even though he had already reached adulthood in his original world while this vessel was under fourteen years of age, he could tell at a glance that they looked identical.
An oval face, fair skin, round eyes, double eyelids, a petite nose with a rounded tip, and lips that were neither too thin nor too thick, even when not smiling, the corners of his mouth turned slightly upward, giving people the illusion of a very pleasant personality.
Even the faint mole just below the corner of his lips, which nobody would notice unless looking closely, was present on the original owner’s face.
Liu Yu was dumbfounded. Why would there be someone in another spacetime who looked exactly like him? Did he and the original owner die at the same time and seamlessly take over the body, or was it truly a coincidence?
Since he could be resurrected after dying, perhaps the original owner hadn’t completely died either, but had transmigrated to another spacetime just like him, Liu Yu thought, and it was quite likely that he transmigrated into his original body.
The cluttered footsteps outside the window interrupted his train of thought. Liu Yu forced himself to stop staring at the mirror and walked quickly toward the door.
It turned out to be Second Grandma and Aunt Guifang, followed by two boys. The older one was about his age, while the younger one looked to be around ten years old, presumably Aunt Guifang’s two sons.
Second Grandma grinned widely from afar and said, “Heqing, the work in the fields isn’t busy this afternoon, so we came to help you clean the house! How is it? This house is pretty good, right!”
Liu Yu greeted them and hurriedly shooed the pile of rubbish at the entrance to the side to make it convenient for the guests to enter.
Then he smiled and replied, “I think it’s wonderful! It doesn’t leak wind or rain, and the space is large too. Speaking of which, I must thank the village chief for finding me such a good house.”
“We are all family, don’t talk about thanking or not thanking,” Aunt Guifang waved her hand. “These are my two sons. The older one is Liu Wenyu, a year older than you, so he counts as your older brother. The younger one is Liu Wensheng, turning eleven this year. He acts just like a wild monkey at home, so I simply dragged him over to help you clean the house and grind away some of his energy. You are all around the same age, so you should play together often from now on!”
Liu Yu nodded, smiled shyly at the two boys, and said, “Hello to you both!”
Upon seeing this, Liu Wenyu smiled back at him and said hello. Beside him, Liu Wensheng, who likely spent too much time dealing with monkey-like friends and had never seen such a polite way of greeting, felt a bit shy, staring blankly at him without even knowing how to speak.
As soon as Second Grandma and Aunt Guifang arrived, they efficiently divided the tasks. The two of them took charge of the kitchen, clearing out the inside and outside of the stove before piling it up with firewood. Liu Yu and the two boys were chased into the main room to clean.
In the neighboring room, the two elders were chatting animatedly, and Second Grandma’s voice raised by a full two octaves whenever she reached a certain point. Yet in the main room, not a single person made a sound; everyone buried their heads in work, so quiet that the air was filled with awkwardness.
Liu Yu thought to himself that if no one spoke up soon, he wouldn’t be able to bear it anymore.
So he took the initiative and asked, “Brother, what grade are you in this year?”
Liu Wensheng had been holding back silence for so long that he was bursting, and he snatched the answer, “He is in the second year of junior high in town, at Qinghewan Middle School. I am in the fourth grade this year, right here at the village elementary school. What about you?”
“I stopped after the first year of junior high. I probably won’t study anymore in the future,” Liu Yu replied.
Regarding studying, Liu Yu actually didn’t care much. After all, the most valuable knowledge to him had already been learned in his original world, and asking him to study it all over again was something he was privately unwilling to do.
Liu Wenyu likely thought this touched upon a sore spot, so he glared at his talkative younger brother, and Liu Wensheng instantly clamped his mouth shut.
“It’s fine, I don’t mind these things,” Liu Yu said, finding the brothers’ interaction rather amusing. In the past, his parents were away from home three days out of five and couldn’t be bothered to manage him, leaving him deeply envious of classmates who had older brothers and sisters. From his perspective, having someone to look after you was a very happy thing.
Seeing that Liu Yu was not sensitive or difficult to get along with, Liu Wensheng immediately opened up. “Actually, studying isn’t that great either. I’m planning to quit after graduating from elementary school. My buddies and I have already discussed it; as soon as we graduate, we’re going to town to find odd jobs and earn money!”
Liu Wenyu grabbed a broom with a stern face and gave his brother’s backside two swats, scolding in a low voice, “You don’t study properly at school, and instead you make a bunch of bad friends and call each other brothers. Is the family short of food or short of drink for you, making you put all your mind into how to make money!”
Liu Wensheng hugged his backside, wincing and grimacing as he said, “Brother! I won’t do it anymore, don’t hit me in front of others! How embarrassing!”
Liu Yu couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. “Brother Wenyu, stop hitting him. At this age, he’s just lively and active, and many children have a reluctance to study. Once he matures, naturally he’ll be fine.”
Liu Wenyu looked at the sensible and thoughtful Liu Yu, then glanced back at his own younger brother, feeling thoroughly exasperated. If his own brother had even a tenth of this obedience, both he and his parents would have been spared countless worries.