That night, Lin Ran spent quite a while tossing and turning before finally finishing her wash and getting into bed. Only when the night was deep and everything was silent did she enter her space.
She wanted to go to the storage room to see if she could find any books from the world of her female ancestor. However, as soon as she entered, she saw the bountiful fruit in the space. Comparing this to her home—where it was so poor that a single egg caused a massive argument—she, who originally hadn’t planned to meddle much, felt a rare sense of guilt.
And so, the dignified eldest legal daughter of a Marquis, a young lady who had never lifted a finger for manual labor since childhood, resigned herself to fate and picked up a bamboo basket to harvest fruit.
There were many bamboo baskets in the space, stacked up like a mountain. Following the ancestor’s instructions, Lin Ran thought silently in her mind to collect the fruit into the basket.
Sure enough, a magical scene unfolded. On the peach trees closest to her, the honey peaches detached themselves from the branches one by one and flew automatically into the bamboo basket beside her. This continued until all the peach trees were harvested clean.
Lin Ran then followed the same method to collect most of the chicken, duck, and goose eggs from the pasture. She couldn’t let these animals continue to breed unchecked; the pasture was getting so crowded there was almost no room left.
By the time she finished, the area near the bamboo house was almost entirely filled with stacks of bamboo baskets. Lin Ran was so tired that sweat beaded on her forehead. She instinctively reached for a handkerchief to wipe it away, only then remembering that she didn’t have the habit of carrying a handkerchief in this life.
After all, the family was so poor; where would they get extra fabric to make handkerchiefs? In the end, she used a silk one she had collected from her bedroom in her previous life. Her handkerchiefs were mostly made of precious materials like mulberry silk and light gauze.
It seemed she would have to find time tomorrow to make a few fine cotton handkerchiefs to use outside. Truthfully, she felt a lack of security without a handkerchief in her hand.
Once these trivial chores were finished, Lin Ran walked into the storage room. This storage room was about ten mu in size and was divided into two sections.
More than half of the space was filled with the treasures and supplies she had collected from the Shen family and the Marquis Mansion; there was even quite a bit stacked outside the house. Besides these, there were several thousand sandalwood boxes. These should have been collected by the female ancestor. The mountain-like piles of gold and silver jewelry made Lin Ran’s heart skip a beat for a rare moment.
The items in the other smaller section were things Lin Ran had never seen before. These must be the 21st-century supplies the ancestor had hoarded.
Lin Ran randomly opened a cardboard box, only to see bags of pink, unknown items neatly stacked inside. She looked at the three large characters on them: Hu Shu Bao (Whisper).
What is this? she wondered. Forget it, she would study it when she had time; she still had to find books.
In the process of searching for books, Lin Ran truly learned a lot, seeing all sorts of inconceivable items. Although she didn’t understand how to use a large portion of them, they were indeed practical, novel, and advanced. They truly lived up to being from the 21st century!
Finally, Lin Ran found a dozen or so boxes of books. She randomly flipped through a few and found that the characters inside were the same as the ones in this era, which made her breathe a massive sigh of relief. It seemed the 21st century where the ancestor lived was very likely only a few decades ahead.
Suddenly, a thought struck her. If she could find history books here, would she be able to catch a glimpse of the future’s development? Then she wouldn’t have to worry about taking the wrong path!
At this thought, Lin Ran cast aside her casual attitude and began to search seriously. But there were too many books here, and all types were mixed together in a mess. After searching through two boxes, she was truly exhausted.
Forget it, there was no rush. She would stop here for today; it was time to rest.
Lin Ran used the spiritual spring water to wipe herself down slightly. Taking advantage of the time she spent grooming, she finally saw her appearance in this life clearly.
A standard oval face, curved willow-leaf brows, almond eyes, and cherry lips. Her skin was as white as snow, and her jet-black, lustrous long hair was tied into two neat braided pigtails.
Lin Ran was pleasantly surprised; she looked exactly the same as she did in her previous life, even down to the tiny, pinhead-sized red mole between her brows. However, her skin in this life was slightly coarse because it hadn’t been maintained, making it incomparable to her previous life.
But it didn’t matter. In the future, she could soak in the spiritual spring water every night. Combined with the secret palace skincare formulas from her previous life, she believed she could soon nourish it back.
Next, Lin Ran curiously studied a mirror that could reflect a person’s face so clearly for a while before lying back on the bed to sleep.
It was a night of sweet dreams.
The next day, Lin Ran woke up almost at the same time as everyone else. But someone was even earlier; just as Lin Ran finished washing up, she saw that Liu Ping had already prepared breakfast.
This eldest sister-in-law is truly diligent!
Breakfast was still sweet potato porridge with pickles. Lin Ran found it quite refreshing to eat; of course, that was mainly because she had only eaten two meals of it, so she could still endure it.
Wang Zhaodi quickly finished her porridge in a few large gulps, then spoke with a shift in her gaze.
“Dad, Mom, I was thinking that since I’m resting today, I’ll head back to my maiden home for a visit. Don’t wait for me for lunch.”
Thinking of the Wang family, Shen Wenfang felt a bit dissatisfied, but she couldn’t stop someone from returning to their maiden home, so she said nothing.
After breakfast, everyone else went to work, leaving only Lin Ran and Wang Zhaodi in the courtyard. Lin Ran was very curious about the outside world, so she stayed in the courtyard to look around and familiarize herself with the environment.
Her house had seven rooms: three sun-facing old rooms, with Lin Weiguo and his wife living in the east room and her in the west room. The middle was the main hall, a place for eating or receiving guests. The other four rooms were distributed on both sides. Aside from a small and dilapidated kitchen, the other three rooms were newly built this year, serving as the new rooms for the eldest brother and the others. Although the third brother wasn’t married yet, he soon would be, so they simply handled it all at once.
Lin Ran staying in the courtyard made Wang Zhaodi extremely anxious. If this person didn’t leave, how could she secretly go to the kitchen to take things?
“Little Sister, why aren’t you going inside? What does it look like, standing in the courtyard all the time? Go in, so people don’t see and start gossiping.”
Lin Ran was speechless. What could people say about her standing in her own home? Just as she was about to retort, she happened to catch a flash of anxiety on Wang Zhaodi’s face.
What is she in such a hurry for?
Lin Ran nodded impassively. “I’m going in now.”
After saying that, she walked toward the house, but she stopped when she reached the window. She looked out through the window at Wang Zhaodi in the courtyard. She saw Wang Zhaodi glance at the door several times before entering the kitchen with light steps.
After a short while, she came out carrying a small cloth bag.
Stealing?
Before Lin Ran could chase her out to ask, Wang Zhaodi had already left the house with the items. Combining this with the original owner’s memories, Lin Ran strongly suspected that Wang Zhaodi was once again pilfering items from the Lin family to subsidize her maiden home.
It was just some food; she didn’t care much. At most, she would tell Shen Wenfang when she returned.
It was just as well that Wang Zhaodi was gone; now that she was the only one left at home, she could wander around freely.
The eldest and second brothers were twins, and even their marriages had happened one after another. Liu Ping and her sister-in-law had only been married into the family for a few months, so there were no children yet. After Lin Ran figured out the layout of her home, she returned to her room.
Thinking she still had time, she prepared to continue looking for books. Just then, the third brother, Lin Lao San, returned and started shouting in the courtyard:
“Little Sister, come out quickly!”
“Look at the good things I’ve brought you!”
Hearing the shout, Lin Ran quickly walked out. Standing in the courtyard was a handsome young man dressed in a gray shirt and black pants, with patches on his clothes and a buzz cut. He was currently holding a back-basket and looking at her with a wide, toothy grin as if presenting a treasure.
Lin Ran teased with a smile, “Third Brother, you’re back? What good things did you bring me?”
Lin Lao San chuckled and handed over the basket. “See for yourself. I worked hard to get these; you’ll definitely like them!”
Lin Ran leaned over to look; the basket was filled with many fabric scraps. From her memories, she knew the original owner particularly liked these scraps because they could be used to make hair flowers or to patch clothes.
Well, she now had a new understanding of the family’s poverty. However, she looked at the fabric scraps thoughtfully. She had already intended to make handkerchiefs; now she had a perfect excuse.
Over there, Lin Lao San was still taking credit. “How is it? I knew you’d like them. Didn’t you say last time you wanted to make hair flowers? I specifically asked for these scraps this time.”
“By the way, I wasn’t home yesterday. I just came back and heard you fainted in the field. What happened? How are you now?”
“I’m fine, just tired. Plus the sun was too strong. After a night’s sleep, everything is fine.”
“That’s good. By the way, these two eggs were sent by Grandma to nourish your body.”
“Grandma wanted to come see you herself, but it seems our cousin is feeling unwell, so she couldn’t get away.”
Only then did Lin Ran understand. She had wondered how the third brother knew about her fainting as soon as he returned; it turned out Grandma had told him.
Lin Lao San reluctantly handed the eggs to Lin Ran. Suddenly, his eyes shifted.
“Little Sister, look, I worked hard to bring these eggs back for you. Don’t you want to reward me? How about one for each of us?”
Fearing Lin Ran wouldn’t agree, he quickly changed his tune. “Giving me a small half is also fine!”
Seeing his eyes glued to the eggs, Lin Ran burst into laughter. She didn’t care about a single egg, but thinking of her mother, she still said:
“Let’s stir-fry them for everyone to eat tonight.”
Lin Lao San’s expression paused, and then he immediately agreed, not forgetting to flatter Lin Ran. “As expected of my little sister! So filial!”