Since this benefactor had no intention of showing their face, Ye Qisheng didn’t dwell on it either. She withdrew her gaze and followed Liu Shiting toward the end of the village.
After inspecting and comparing several dilapidated vacant houses, Ye Qisheng finally settled on one with a courtyard.
The main house was a fifty-square-meter dirt-and-thatch hut. Though the doors and windows were terribly worn, creaking with the gentlest nudge as if they might collapse at any second, it was still far better than the other properties that had already caved in completely.
Furthermore, no weeds grew inside. Though the floor was made of dirt, it had been tamped down smoothly. Apart from a thick layer of dust and a heavy clutter of cobwebs in every corner, there were no major issues.
Adjacent to the main house was a side room serving as a kitchen. Its door had rotted due to years of disrepair and now lay broken on the side. The space inside was small, visually estimated to be around ten square meters.
Inside were two stoves, one large and one small, built from earthen bricks. Though old and worn, they were still usable. The more headache-inducing problem was that the roof was completely open to the sky and needed a fresh layer of thatch.
Besides the stoves, the kitchen had a table constructed from stones against the wall. Stacked with fairly even bricks underneath and topped with a large stone slab for a tabletop, it was covered in dead leaves, dry grass, and dust.
The two rooms were encircled by a perimeter of fence walls that were similarly ruined by time. Though leaning haphazardly with plenty of gaps, it was better than nothing, offering at least a tiny sliver of security for whoever lived inside.
Ye Qisheng surveyed the inner and outer grounds for several rounds before decisively resolving to make her nest here. “This is the spot! I’ll hustle and clean up today, and I should be able to move in by nightfall.”
Liu Shiting stepped back into the middle of the courtyard. Frowning as he scrutinized the roofs of the two rooms, he murmured in thought, “The roofs of both rooms need to be re-thatched. I’ll go gather some straw for you to put up there, otherwise you won’t be able to stay here if it rains tonight.”
Ye Qisheng did not refuse his help, saying sincerely, “Thank you, Brother Liu.”
She didn’t want to trouble Liu Shiting too much either, but right now her golden finger was unusable and she knew no one else in the village. Aside from Liu Shiting, she truly had no one to rely on.
She could only wait for a future opportunity to properly repay his kindness.
Detecting the gratitude in her voice, Liu Shiting felt a subtle stir in his heart. He casually sized her up; seeing that she held nothing but appreciation for him and bore no grudge over his mother and sister’s actions, he felt a strange, uncomfortable sensation inside.
Without saying much, he gave a few instructions and left to fetch tools and thatch for repairing the roof.
Watching him walk off into the distance, Ye Qisheng turned and entered the bedroom. Looking up at the roof covered in cobwebs, her brow furrowed into tight knots.
She was most terrified of eight-legged insects.
Especially those long, thin, hairy spiders—every time she saw one, her skin would crawl with goosebumps and her scalp would go numb.
What should she do?
She was empty-handed right now with no tools whatsoever. What could she use to sweep away the cobwebs?
In her frustration, she summoned her shopping system. Staring at the glittering array of goods displayed on the interface, she couldn’t help letting out a heavy sigh.
This useless golden finger—it clearly had so many items, yet she could only look and not buy, nor did it tell her how to top up funds. Wasn’t this deliberately tormenting her?
Just as she was about to exit, a sudden spark struck her mind. Remembering the clothes and jewelry she had previously stored in her spatial storage, she hurriedly pulled out the jewelry. With immense anticipation, she cautiously raised it toward the top-up slot.
A minute passed…
Two minutes passed…
Ten minutes passed…
The system remained completely dead with zero response.
Though it was the expected outcome, Ye Qisheng still felt deeply discouraged. Stashing the jewelry back into her spatial storage, she obediently went outside to fetch a long, thin wooden stick. Pulling up a handful of grass nearby, she tied it to the top of the stick to fashion a makeshift broom. Enduring her fear and disgust, she swung her arms and swept down all the cobwebs on the roof.
After fussing around for nearly an hour, both rooms were finally made somewhat cleaner. Though far below her living standards, without proper cleaning tools, she could only leave it at that for now.
Just as she was frowning while inspecting her less-than-sparkling shelter, the sound of wheels rolling over the ground suddenly echoed from outside, as if someone were driving an ox cart over.
Startled, Ye Qisheng walked out of the house to take a look. Sure enough, it was Liu Shiting bringing a cartload of straw, accompanied by his younger brother, Liu Chengzhi.
Arriving at the spot, the two brothers hopped off the cart. Working together, they unloaded the straw, borrowed a ladder from a nearby villager to prop against the eaves, and began repairing the roof.
Watching the brothers busily working up and down, Ye Qisheng felt bad standing idly by. She proactively chimed in to help carry and hand up the thatch bundles.
Both brothers were skilled laborers. Combined with the modest size of the two rooms, the roofs were completely thatched in just over an hour.
Securing the final large stone on top, Liu Shiting climbed down from the ladder and reminded her offhandedly, “Miss Ye, the folks of Liuye Village are honest and simple. No thefts or sneaky deeds have happened for years, but one can never be too careful with human nature. You’re a young woman living alone in a relatively remote part at the end of the village—you must be cautious in everything. Try not to go out after dark. If you need anything during the day, look for me in the fields. You know where my family’s land is.”
In his view, it would certainly be safer for Ye Qisheng to stay at his house. But with his mother and sister causing such a scene, he was utterly helpless.
He couldn’t even let Ye Qisheng come to his house to look for him, lest she run into the mother-daughter pair and spark another conflict.
He was a man, after all, and it was truly inappropriate for him to meddle in quarrels between women.
Even without his warning, Ye Qisheng understood the safety precautions a woman living alone needed to take. She nodded, “I know. Thank you.”
Liu Chengzhi was still rushing off to work in the fields. Seeing that the work here was mostly finished, he greeted them and took his leave first.
Liu Shiting offered a few more words of advice to Ye Qisheng before driving the ox cart around the village. By the time he returned, the cart was loaded with a variety of items—all unused odds and ends discarded by the villagers.
There were seven or eight chipped cups, bowls, dishes, and plates; two pickle jars; a half-worn set of bedding; a backpack basket; two wooden buckets; two wooden basins; a small bag of sweet potatoes; a small bag of coarse grains; and two additional bundles of straw.
The straw brought earlier had been used to repair the roof; this extra portion was for padding Ye Qisheng’s bed.
Ye Qisheng unloaded the goods alongside him, sorting and hauling the cart’s contents into the two rooms.
After all that effort, her new home finally looked somewhat presentable. As a final gesture, Liu Shiting gifted her a flint set, left after teaching her how to use it.
Having worked for an entire morning, Ye Qisheng rubbed her long-deflated stomach, beginning to fret over her empty belly again.
Woken early in the morning by that lunatic Liu Yuexia splashing water on her, she hadn’t eaten a thing. Having performed so much hard labor, she was so hungry her stomach was practically stuck to her spine.
Sitting on the straw bed to rest for a moment, she sighed, stood up resignedly, and headed to the kitchen to rustle up something to fill her belly.
Among the items Liu Shiting had brought were sweet potatoes. She remembered that these could be eaten raw, so munching on a few first should tide her over fine.
Just as she stepped out of the main house, a rustling sound echoed from the front. Stunned, she instinctively raised her head—only to see a tightly bound wild pheasant suddenly appearing in the previously empty courtyard!
Ye Qisheng was nearly faint with hunger. Upon spotting the pheasant, her eyes instantly gleamed with brilliant light. Endless ways to prepare chicken flashed through her mind in a split second, and her mouth practically watered!
She couldn’t be blamed for being so wretched; it was simply that she was far too hungry right now!
Let alone a single chicken—even if given a whole ox, she could swallow it whole!