The rain outside continued, light but persistent. The temperature in the cave dropped steadily. Across from them, some people were already discussing taking advantage of the light rain to gather dry branches in the forest.
Su Niyue thought, Time to cook. I’ll go out for a bit—there’s plenty of dry firewood in the space, perfect for use.
Nangong Yunteng wondered: “Space”? She can store things in it?
If Su Niyue knew that her secret identity had already been accidentally exposed by herself, she would probably have gone berserk!
“Mother, I’ll go check outside. I’ll be back quickly!”
“It’s raining! The path outside is steep and slippery—dangerous!”
“No worries. I’m skilled! Yunqi, guard the place—you know what to do!”
Yunqi nodded solemnly: “Don’t worry, sister-in-law!”
Su Niyue put on her raincoat and stepped outside.
Yunteng felt a twinge of sadness. This should have been his responsibility as the man of the house. No matter what Su Niyue could do, these were his duties.
Su Niyue passed by the exiles collecting firewood and headed deeper into the forest.
Sanhu saw her leaving, set down his pot, and followed, but only caught a glimpse of her back before she disappeared. He wanted to go after her, worried about her safety, but Liu Quan called him back.
Su Niyue activated her earth-element ability, quickly moving out of the exiles’ sight. Just as she prepared to take some dry firewood and a wild chicken from her space, she felt an unusual fluctuation in her ability: Hmm? Could it be a mineral? Following the sensation, the feeling of minerals grew stronger.
Excited, she rubbed her hands and pressed them to the ground, probing carefully. “Rock salt?” In her past life, she had seen those pink bottled rock salts. In ancient times, most salt came from lakes and was strictly controlled by the government.
Su Niyue roughly estimated the location and quantity of the rock salt—about two tons. This amount could last them decades. But she couldn’t collect it yet; doing so now would risk collapsing half the mountain and destabilizing the cave. She would wait until the rain stopped and the exiles left.
She pulled two wild chickens and a bundle of dry branches from her space. One chicken’s leg she broke, the other she knocked out. She untied the rope around the dry wood, let some get wet from the rain, then re-tied it haphazardly, making it look like ordinary, scattered branches rather than neat bundles from the market.
Humming a little tune, she used her ability to quickly return to the cave.
“Sanhu, here!” she threw the chicken with the broken leg to him.
“Su jie, we still have food! Keep it for yourself!” Sanhu admired her; she always returned with something.
Su Niyue held up the other chicken. “I still have this. Yours is just what I picked up!” Without waiting for him to respond, she ran off.
Ruan Mingyu saw her daughter-in-law returning, holding a bundle of firewood, and hurried to receive it.
Yunqi, with his long legs, got there first and took the bundle from her hands.
“Yunqi, light the fire and stew the chicken!”
“Got it!”
Su Niyue could feel everyone’s desire to contribute. It warmed her heart—thankfully, this family was not like the cruel second household in her past life. Otherwise, she would have disappeared long ago.
“Su jie!” Sanhu came over with three eggs. “Bought these at Xujiacun yesterday. Make some egg soup to warm up.”
Su Niyue accepted them, heart touched. Three eggs were precious to an ordinary family. Sanhu must have given up his own portion for her. “Sanhu, wonderful! I was craving eggs! Thank you!”
“Su jie, don’t be polite. You’ve already given us so much. These three eggs are nothing!”
“Alright, no need for politeness!”
“Su jie, there’s a pool inside the cave for bathing. Tonight, I’ll arrange for everyone to bathe separately. You can have your family go first!”
“Really? That’s amazing!”
“Yes, it’s flowing water, and warm!”
“Wow, a hot spring! Sanhu, I won’t be polite with you!”
“Good! Eat first. This rain won’t stop soon, so we’ll definitely spend the night here!”
“Alright!”
After Sanhu left, Yunteng sensed Su Niyue’s joy. Though he wanted her to be happy, he couldn’t shake a strange pang in his heart.
“Grandmother, mother, we can bathe in the hot spring tonight!”
“Yes, thanks to you, we can go first!” The matriarch beamed with joy.
“Sister-in-law, are you a fairy? Bringing so much fortune to our family!” Yunran’s big eyes sparkled as she looked at Su Niyue.
“Yes! Sister-in-law is a fairy! Isn’t that wonderful?”
“Mm! We’re so happy! Having a fairy in our family is fantastic!”
Su Niyue took out a few strawberries from her space, handing one to each person.
“Wow, what kind of fruit is this? So sweet!” Yunran devoured hers in a single bite, regretting not saving some.
Su Niyue had no idea this world had no strawberries, and the original’s memories didn’t contain them either. “Picked these in the forest just now. If you like them, I’ll go get more later!” She chided herself: Next time, grab more when going out. The strawberries in the space are ripe. They haven’t had fruit all this way, and I didn’t even think to buy some at the market!
Nangong Yunteng wondered: “Again with the space… what’s this strawberry? Fruit too? What is her space?”
Su Niyue had one strawberry left. She hadn’t given it to Yunran, knowing they’d have more soon. She sneaked behind them and quietly placed it in Yunteng’s mouth.
Ruan Mingyu, realizing what she was doing, shifted slightly to shield Su Niyue.
Yunteng, confused but pleased, bit gently. The sweet, fragrant juice filled his mouth—a taste he had never experienced. So sweet, so fragrant, and so joyful!
Seeing his delight, Su Niyue returned to her place, satisfied. Ruan Mingyu patted her small hands, eyes full of affection.
Yunqi hadn’t eaten his strawberry. Seeing his sister-in-law give her strawberry to his brother, he offered his own to Su Niyue.
“Yunqi, eat. Sister-in-law has eaten several outside already; I’ll go get more later!” Su Niyue put it directly into his mouth, then quickly withdrew, embarrassed by her own boldness.
The matriarch watched the children interact happily and was even more delighted.