Ye Xiaojin wasn’t sure why her appearance was identical to the original owner’s.
She didn’t dwell on it for long. She was someone who focused on the present—wherever Grandpa was, that was her home, the place that put her heart at ease.
What mattered most now was to clean up the house first, then find a way to increase Grandpa’s HP.
Although the Ye family’s house was a rare blue-brick tiled home in the village, it was somewhat run-down. Apart from the main room and the central hall, there were three rooms on both the east and west sides. Only the original owner’s room had complete furnishings; the other rooms were sparsely decorated. Still, none were as dirty and messy as the kitchen.
In front of the house was a sizable courtyard, enclosed by walls made of adobe bricks. There was a well in the yard, and beside it was a patch of cultivated vegetable garden, where a few scattered greens and beans grew. Probably due to the prolonged drought, they weren’t thriving.
Behind the house was another yard, which contained a chicken coop and a cattle shed, all empty now. There was also a cellar in the back yard, completely bare as well.
Ye Xiaojin walked outside the courtyard and stood at the front door, where she could take in the entire view of Shuiwan Village. To the east, north, and west stretched the rolling Cloud Mist Mountain Range, and to the south lay a valley spanning dozens of li. A river once wound through the foothills, but its waters had long since dried up, exposing the cracked, parched riverbed.
Last year brought a locust plague, and this year a drought. Few families in the village still had surplus grain. If the rains didn’t come soon, the drought in the first half of the year would likely trigger another locust plague—a vicious cycle. Life for the villagers was growing increasingly difficult. Were it not for the wild vegetables and tree bark from the Cloud Mist Mountains, and the river that had only dried up last month, Shuiwan Village would likely have already followed the fate of other villages—unable to survive, forced to flee as refugees…
Ye Xiaojin sighed.
In her past life, before the assassin organization took her in, Grandpa had raised her for five years by collecting trash. Their life had been poor, and he had never enjoyed a single day of comfort.
Here, her grandfather had endured poverty in his youth, then joined the army and earned the rank of general by risking his life. He’d enjoyed a few good years, but now that he was old and living in the countryside, things had grown increasingly hard.
She still remembered when she had bid farewell to Grandpa back then. She had knelt before him and promised to grow up quickly, to learn skills diligently, and one day give him the biggest house and the finest food.
But by the time she had the ability to leave the assassin organization, all she faced was a house burned to ruins.
The neighbors told her that on the night she left, a fire had broken out at Grandpa’s house. By the time everyone rushed over to put it out, it was already too late…
She had spent two years relentlessly strengthening herself, and finally killed the woman who had adopted her, avenging Grandpa. But the promise she had made to him could never be fulfilled.
Ye Xiaojin took a deep breath and walked back inside. Ye Hong, perhaps low on energy, had already dozed off on the bed.
She moved quietly, washing what needed washing, throwing away what needed throwing away, and tidying up what needed tidying.
By the time she had finished cleaning the entire house, the old man still hadn’t woken. She went to the kitchen and cooked some thin porridge, then found some wilted greens in the yard.
This pot of porridge was all the food left in the house.
From her memories, the family had been fairly well-off in the first few years, with rice and meat every day. It was only in the past two or three years that they had grown increasingly poor. Corn buns, pickled vegetables, and thin porridge—with the occasional trace of meat—had always been given to her by the two elders.
Their savings from returning to the countryside must have run out. With one sick and one blind, the two elders couldn’t hunt in the mountains and could only rely on the few acres of good farmland they had rented out to get by.
Besides regularly helping the villagers, they also had to carefully raise the original owner. The two elderly people wore patched coarse cloth clothes, while for the original owner, they made clothes from either fine cotton or silk satin. The original owner was used to this and didn’t think anything was wrong.
But now it was her, Ye Xiaojin. She couldn’t bear to watch the two elderly people suffer anymore.
She needed to find a way to get food and a way to earn money.
In her previous life, Ye Xiaojin had been an assassin, so naturally she couldn’t do that now.
Although she had grown up in Country M, out of longing for her grandfather, she had always been interested in things from her homeland. Coupled with her exceptional memory, many things she had seen and learned before were stored in her mind. However, they weren’t applicable in this time of famine—even a skilled woman can’t cook without rice.
With this in mind, Ye Xiaojin quickened her movements, hoping to go check the mountains in the afternoon.
Just as the porridge finished cooking, Ye Xiaojin heard her grandfather coughing inside the house and hurried over.
Seeing his granddaughter come in, Ye Hong got up from the bed, somewhat breathless, and said, “That boy from the Xiao family—I told him he doesn’t need to come over for these three days. According to ancestral rules, the couple can’t see each other for three days before the wedding. I also want to give him some time to calm down. This matter wasn’t handled properly on our end. Once you’re married, treat him well.”
“I’ll listen to Grandpa,” Ye Xiaojin replied obediently.
But her heart sank. Judging from the disgusted expression on Xiao Moye’s face when he left, it would probably be difficult for the two of them to get along well in the future.
As for the matter of continuing to stay in Shuiwan Village after the marriage, she planned to wait until the wedding was done and she received the System’s reward of three hundred days of HP before telling her grandfather.
From the moment she saw her grandfather, she had decided to live well in this era. That meant she couldn’t challenge the rules of this time. The man she was to marry was the Heir Apparent of a prince’s mansion, and returning to the mansion with him was inevitable.
But how to return and when—she still needed to learn more about this era and the situation at the prince’s mansion before making a decision.
As long as she could stay by her grandfather’s side and accompany him, she was willing to compromise on other unimportant matters.
“I’ve made some vegetable porridge. Will Grandpa eat in the room or in the main hall?”
“Let’s go to the main hall. Staying in the room too long makes me feel stifled.”
With the old man saying this, he took Ye Xiaojin’s hand and walked out. His gaze swept across the room—the windows were clear and everything was spotless. His eyes widened suddenly as he looked at his granddaughter. It was a long while before he asked, “Did you tidy this up?”
“Mm,” Ye Xiaojin nodded with a smile.
Ye Hong suddenly felt both gratified and heartbroken. His granddaughter had truly changed.
“Grandpa, have some vegetable porridge.” Ye Xiaojin placed a bowl of porridge in front of Ye Hong, then picked up another bowl and sat down across from him. “Grandpa, when will Grandpa Zhuang be back?”
“He should be back today. Do you need him for something?”
Ye Xiaojin thought for a moment, then decided to voice her plan. “I want to go check the mountains this afternoon. There’s no surplus food left at home, and I’m worried about leaving you alone.”
As expected, Ye Hong objected, and Ye Xiaojin could understand why. From what she remembered, the original owner rarely even walked around the village, let alone went into the mountains. Naturally, he wouldn’t feel at ease letting his delicate granddaughter go into the mountains alone.
Ye Xiaojin looked at the old man before her and said gently, “Grandpa, do you trust me?”
Trust her? The old man nodded. “You are the apple of Grandpa’s eye. The mountains are too dangerous. Lao Zhuang will bring back food.”
You are the apple of Grandpa’s eye. Grandpa doesn’t not trust you—Grandpa just can’t bear to worry about you.
“Grandfather, you’ve just seen a bit of what I can do—that was only a fraction of it. Trust me, I’m more than capable of protecting myself.”
Ye Hong quietly studied her for a moment, and found nothing but determination in her eyes—not a trace of fear or fragility. This child had truly changed. It was as if he was seeing that little girl from years ago, round as a glutinous rice dumpling, cracking a soft whip in her hand, chin raised, eyes fixed and unwavering as she declared to him, “Grandfather, wait for me a little longer. When I grow up, I will surpass you.”
“Alright, Grandfather agrees. But you must also promise me—never put yourself in harm’s way.”
Ye Xiaojin nodded obediently. “I’ll listen to you, Grandfather.”
“Xiaobao, you…” Ye Hong hesitated, then asked, “Have you… remembered something?”
“What?”
Seeing his granddaughter’s puzzled expression, Ye Hong secretly let out a sigh of relief. He took a sip of the porridge, his eyes lighting up as he nodded repeatedly. “Xiaobao’s porridge is truly excellent.”
“Grandfather, this was also taught by the Daoist master. It just suddenly came to me. Once our days get better, I’ll cook you a grand feast.” Ye Xiaojin brought up the Daoist master again, reinforcing the impression—first, to cement this flimsy excuse of inherited skills into her grandfather’s mind, and second, to ease the old man’s worries, so he wouldn’t fret every time she went into the mountains or out on her own.
Before he knew it, the bowl of porridge before Ye Hong was empty. “Grandfather believes in you. My Xiaobao is truly remarkable—your first time cooking, and your skill is already this good.”
Ye Xiaojin couldn’t help but smile. The old man never stinted on praise for his granddaughter. Basking in his compliments, she finished the porridge in her own bowl as well.
Just as she was about to clear the dishes, a shout rang out from outside the courtyard.
“Master! Master!” Lao Zhuang rushed in from outside the yard, calling out, “Master, Li Zhuzi’s wife—she’s not going to make it.”
“What happened?” Ye Hong asked.
“They say it’s starvation.” Lao Zhuang wiped the sweat from his brow, set down the bundle he was carrying, and let out a sigh. “The food we sent over—the old sister-in-law couldn’t bear to eat it herself. She gave it all to the two children. Now she’s breathing more out than in. I’m afraid she doesn’t have much time left.”
“Help me over to see her.” He then turned to his granddaughter. “Xiaobao, do we have anything to eat left at home?”
“I’ll bring the leftover porridge from lunch.” Ye Xiaojin said, heading toward the kitchen.
Lao Zhuang watched Ye Xiaojin’s retreating figure and felt that the young miss seemed a little different somehow. What exactly was different, he didn’t have time to ponder—right now, his mind was on Li Zhuzi’s wife.