In the small cabinet by the head of the bed, she unexpectedly found a worn swaddling blanket and a pitch-black jade pendant.
Looking at the swaddling blanket that, despite being tattered, still showed traces of former elegance, Wu Yulan knew clearly that this was not something from a farming household.
In other words, among her four sons, was it highly possible that one of them was not her biological child?
But according to the memories in her mind, all four sons were born to her!
Then again, thinking it over, the eldest son, second son, and third son—the old woman had tormented all three of them harshly, and indeed, none of the three looked like they could be her biological children.
The memories regarding this swaddling blanket and jade pendant were perhaps too distant, and no longer existed.
Looking at the swaddling blanket that had seen many years, Wu Yulan shook her head and set the matter aside.
After putting away the swaddling blanket and jade pendant, Wu Yulan turned the entire house upside down before finally finding twelve taels of silver, two hundred and fifty-two copper coins, and two silver hairpins.
Yes, whenever this family saw any silver, Song Zhishu would take it away on the pretext of studying. Of these twelve taels, a good portion was from selling those two granddaughters.
Thinking that this silver was from selling her granddaughters, Wu Yulan felt it was especially hot in her hands.
Looking at the silver in her palm, Wu Yulan made a silent resolution in her heart.
Once she had a bit more money on hand, she would definitely redeem her two granddaughters.
Putting away the silver, Wu Yulan rubbed her brow. She had just been about to take a short nap when she suddenly heard a “ding-dong~” sound.
Just as she was wondering whether she was hearing things, a mechanical voice sounded in her mind.
“Detected that the host’s previous life’s research on a miracle drug saved many lives, meeting the activation conditions for the Medical Mall.”
“Host, would you like to activate the Medical Mall?”
Wu Yulan raised an eyebrow, squinting her eyes in confusion, and suddenly saw a screen appear before her.
On the screen were written four large characters: “Medical Mall.”
“Medical Mall? What is that?”
The mechanical voice sounded again. “The Medical Mall is a medical marketplace that integrates shopping and trading. The host can earn Mall Coins by treating illnesses and saving people, and use them to purchase medicines, equipment, as well as food, daily necessities, and other items.”
Wu Yulan’s eyes brightened a few degrees. “Modern medical equipment and items can also be purchased?”
“Yes.”
“The Medical Mall not only allows the purchase of items, but also has a spatial storage function. Currently, the storage area is ten square meters, which can later be expanded using Mall Coins.”
Hearing this, Wu Yulan’s eyes brightened once more.
Although her heart was racing with excitement, she still did not let down her guard.
“Binding to this Medical Mall brings benefits to me, but are there any drawbacks?”
“Host, this system’s activation conditions are extremely stringent. In your previous life, you devoted yourself to medicine, and the miracle drug you researched saved many lives, which is how you met the activation conditions. This is a reward and will not pose any threat to the host.”
Hearing this, Wu Yulan finally felt at ease.
“In that case, please help me activate the Medical Mall.”
“Very well, host.”
With a “ding” sound, Wu Yulan felt a faint, invisible connection form between herself and the “Medical Mall.”
“Ding, detected that the host just delivered a child for your daughter-in-law, saving both the daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Reward: two thousand Mall Coins. Please check and confirm.”
Wu Yulan looked at the panel and indeed saw two thousand Mall Coins added at the bottom.
She roughly browsed the mall and found that the purchasing power of these Mall Coins was about the same as two thousand yuan in modern times.
Just as Wu Yulan was about to further explore the Medical Mall, the crisp cry of a baby sounded from the next room.
Thinking of her newborn granddaughter, Wu Yulan searched the mall and spent two hundred Mall Coins on a can of milk powder, then another fifty on two spoons. The milk powder can was too conspicuous, so Wu Yulan found a clay jar, washed it clean, and poured the powder inside.
She then went to find hot water to mix the formula.
In the next room, Li Xiuyun was feeding her daughter rice water, but the baby wouldn’t take a single sip and spat it all out, leaving her frantic with worry.
“Shh, sweetie, Mama will have milk in a few days. Just drink a little rice water for now.”
She had gotten through her first child the same way, but this baby was noticeably thinner and weaker, and refused the rice water…
If things went on like this, the child would starve to death.
At that thought, Li Xiuyun’s tears fell in a rush, and she hugged her baby close, sobbing softly.
Suddenly, a familiar scolding voice rang out by her ear.
“Stop crying, all you do is cry! You’re going to cry all the family’s fortune away!”
Wu Yulan walked in through the door, carrying a bottle of freshly prepared milk.
At that moment, she felt that the old woman’s vicious mother-in-law persona was actually quite useful. She didn’t know how to comfort people, but she also didn’t want Li Xiuyun to cry her eyes out, so she simply scolded her a couple of times.
Sure enough, upon hearing her mother-in-law’s scolding, Li Xiuyun quickly wiped away her tears.
“Mother…”
Wu Yulan took the child and scooped up a spoonful of the prepared milk, feeding it into the wrinkled little baby’s mouth.
The baby sucked at the milk and immediately began gulping it down eagerly.
Li Xiuyun caught the milky scent and asked, somewhat puzzled, “Mother, this is… milk?”
“Mhm, it’s goat milk powder.”
Though Li Xiuyun had never heard of goat milk powder, she could tell just by the name that it wasn’t cheap. She hurriedly tried to take the child back. “Mother, this goat milk powder is too precious.”
Glancing at her daughter, who looked completely content, Li Xiuyun gritted her teeth and said resolutely, “This little girl doesn’t deserve something this good. She can just drink some rice water. You… you should put it away and drink it yourself!”
Seeing that the baby had finished the milk in the spoon, Li Xiuyun handed the child over to Wang Guiqin, who was standing nearby.
“Stop dawdling all day! Do you want to starve this little girl to death or not?!”
With that, she went out and came back carrying the can of milk powder.
“Use hot water that’s safe to drink to mix this goat milk powder. Give it to her once every two hours, one spoonful each time, with just this much water.”
Seeing Wang Guiqin standing there in a daze without saying a word, Wu Yulan raised her voice. “Did you hear me, eldest daughter-in-law! If you let this child go hungry, you can forget about eating too!”
Only then did Wang Guiqin realize that Wu Yulan was talking to her, and she quickly agreed.
“Yes, yes, I understand, Mother!”
Afraid that someone might see the milk powder, Wu Yulan cautioned, “Hide these things well. If they’re revealed in front of others, we’ll lose our heads. Do you all hear me?”
The two women quickly nodded in response, both silently acknowledging just how precious this milk powder was.
The two watched Wu Yulan leave, then exchanged a glance, both pairs of eyes filled with confusion and astonishment.
Li Xiuyun felt uneasy. “Sister-in-law, what do you think is going on with Mother? First she gives me porridge and eggs, and now she’s giving the little girl goat milk powder.”
Wang Guiqin recalled that when her eldest daughter had been sold off, her mother-in-law had also suddenly been kind to her for a few days. She lowered her voice and said, “These days, keep a close eye on Chunni.”
Li Xiuyun bit her lip and nodded.
Both women tacitly agreed not to mention the milk powder.
Soon it was time for dinner. When Wu Yulan arrived at the main hall, the whole family was already waiting there.
However, the only people at the main table were her eldest son Song Zhiyong and his two sons, Song Dalang and Song Erlang. Her fourth son, Song Zhishu, who was throwing a tantrum, hadn’t come.
In other words, aside from herself, only the men of the family could eat at the main table. All the other women had to eat with their bowls at the low, small wooden table.
Wu Yulan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Move that small table away for me!”
Wang Guiqin hesitated. “Mother, this small table… we need it to sit at.”
“From now on, everyone sits at the main table.”
Wang Guiqin wrung her hands. “But… but this goes against the rules.”
After being ground down all these years, Wang Guiqin had clearly been tamed and didn’t dare to defy the rules Wu Yulan had set.
“Rules? I am the rule in this household!”
Wang Guiqin, seeing the anger rising on Wu Yulan’s face, quickly urged her two sons to move the small table away, then cautiously took her seat at the main table.
She didn’t even dare to sit firmly, ready at any moment to leave the main table.
Everyone else was the same.
Wu Yulan took the seat of honor at the head of the table. The moment she saw the food laid out, she felt full already.
A pot of watery porridge mixed with rice bran, a pot of wild vegetable soup in clear water, and two pieces of coarse grain dry steamed buns.
The coarse grain buns were the best thing the household had to offer—normally, only she and her youngest son, Song Zhishu, got to eat them.
Once everyone was seated, Wang Guiqin ladled out the porridge as usual, giving each person only half a bowl.
Wu Yulan stared at the rice bran porridge that was as thin as water, then suddenly slammed the chopsticks in her hand down on the table with a sharp crack.
“Utterly degrading people!”