Walking into the kitchen, Su Yi began to cook. She prepared to make dry-pot chicken wings, poached sliced pork in hot chili oil, and lettuce in oyster sauce. These three dishes were easily her absolute favorites.
“I can start cooking right away. The pocket dimension really saves me a lot of trouble!” Su Yi used her mind to prep the ingredients directly inside her space. Then, she rolled up her sleeves and began marinating the chicken wings and pork slices. Heating up the wok, frying the chicken wings, and pouring the sizzling hot oil over the dishes—she completed everything in one smooth, continuous motion.
Su Yi was incredibly fast, and before long, three dishes appeared on the dining table. Every dish looked beautifully appetizing, and Su Yi ate to her heart’s content.
“This is so comfortable! This is what life is supposed to be!” Su Yi sighed happily, sitting on her stool after finishing her meal.
“That’s right~ Happy as an immortal~ You’re carrying a massive fortune now, with no worries about food or drink~” Mimi chimed in from the side in a sweet, milky voice.
“Exactly! But I’m still a long way from becoming the richest person in the region. I still need to make good money. I just don’t know what to start selling yet. Well, I’ll take it one step at a time!” Su Yi said very optimistically.
“Besides, I’m still an undocumented resident right now. I’ll head over to the village chief’s house tomorrow to check. Maybe the paperwork is already done.”
After talking to herself for quite a while, she got up, quickly tidied the kitchen until it was spotless, and went into her space to clean herself up.
Su Yi took a bath in the spiritual spring water, washing away the dust left over from cleaning the house and the greasy smoke she had picked up while cooking. Her clothes didn’t need hand-washing either; she just tossed them straight into the washing machine she had scavenged inside her space, which saved her a lot of effort.
Grabbing the skincare products she used regularly, she stood in front of the dressing table in her space’s bedroom, leisurely applying them to her face one by one. Even though her skin had improved, she still needed to maintain it. After all, loving beauty is a woman’s nature, so how could she not use such good products when she had them?
Finally, Su Yi finished getting herself ready. With a flash, she exited the space and lay down on her large kang bed. “Sleeping on a kang is actually quite comfortable! It’s huge! I can even roll around on it! Mimi, Da Huang, you two get up here on the kang too!” Su Yi said excitedly to the two little critters on the floor.
Hearing this, Mimi and Da Huang quickly and agilely leaped up onto the large kang, curling up right next to Su Yi.
Su Yi stroked the soft fur of the two little creatures a couple of times. “They feel so good to touch! Let’s get to sleep!” Su Yi muttered as she coaxed herself into a sleepy state. Before long, her soft snoring echoed through the room.
Mimi and Da Huang also snuggled next to Su Yi and began to purr. For a while, the sounds of snoring and purring rose and fell in tandem, but fortunately, none of the three disturbed the others.
In the morning, sunbeams streamed into Su Yi’s bedroom, and the bright light woke her up.
Su Yi opened her eyes groggily and said with a sleepy, half-open gaze, “I forgot to hang the curtains. I have to put them up today!” Having said that, she got up and climbed off the kang.
Su Yi was anxious about her land deed and household registration. Moreover, because she had eaten dinner late the previous night, she wasn’t hungry at all. She washed up in a hurry, drank a cup of spiritual spring water, and headed out.
“It’s just past nine o’clock now, which isn’t a mealtime. The timing is perfect! I just don’t know if the village chief is home. I’ll go check it out.” Muttering to herself, Su Yi headed straight for the village chief’s house.
Su Yi walked very fast and arrived in just over twenty minutes. “Uncle Village Chief, are you home?” Su Yi called out as she stood at the entrance of the village chief’s house.
“I’m here, Girl Su. Come on in!” The village chief, Zhou Dewang, leaned his head out from the house.
“Ah, alright!” Hearing this, Su Yi hurriedly followed him inside.
“Girl Su, you’re here?” Cao Guihua heard her voice and came over as well, speaking with pleasant surprise.
Su Yi nodded, “Yes, Auntie! I came to see if my household registration and land deed are ready. I couldn’t just wait for you to deliver them to me. Here, take this wild rabbit to add a dish to the family dinner!”
“Girl Su, the registration and land deed are already done. I went to town yesterday and brought them back for you on my way. Keep them safe. But take this wild rabbit back with you. It’s not easy for a young girl like you on her own, why are you bringing this?” The village chief said as he handed her two sheets of paper.
“Uncle! Thank you so much! You’ve helped me out immensely. I caught this wild rabbit in a pit trap I dug near my house. I still have another rabbit and a pheasant at home! You absolutely must accept this.” Su Yi took the land deed and household registration papers, then set the rabbit down on the floor.
“Auntie, please put it away quickly. The wild rabbit is already dead, and it won’t keep long in this hot weather. I can’t finish so much meat by myself anyway!”
Hearing this, Cao Guihua glanced at the village chief. Seeing him nod, she said, “Then thank you, Girl Su. I won’t stand on ceremony then!”
“Why be polite? You and Uncle Village Chief have helped me so much, this is nothing!”
Seeing that they had finally accepted it, Su Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness they took it; otherwise, she wouldn’t even know how to repay their kindness.
Seeing that the matter was settled, the village chief turned and walked outside to sit under the tree to enjoy the cool shade, leaving the indoor space to Su Yi and Cao Guihua.
“Girl Su, stay for lunch!”
“No thank you, Auntie. I still have to go back and process the pheasant and the other rabbit. The weather is so hot today; if I don’t handle them soon, they’ll spoil!”
“Alright then, I won’t force you to stay. Next time you must try my cooking!” Hearing Su Yi’s reasoning, Cao Guihua agreed that it was indeed the case and relented.
“Alright, Auntie. I’ll be going now!” Su Yi said as she turned to head out the door. Cao Guihua followed behind to see her out.
“Uncle Village Chief, I’m leaving!” Hearing her, the village chief gave a kind nod.
“Auntie, don’t trouble yourself to see me further, go on back to your business!” Seeing Cao Guihua give a soft acknowledgment, Su Yi turned and walked away.
With the land deed and household registration firmly in her hands, Su Yi was overjoyed. While she was still on the village path, she tried her best to suppress her urge to sprint and skip around, deeply afraid of startling the passersby.
With great effort, she finally made it past the village road. “Woohoo—I am finally no longer an undocumented resident!” Su Yi cheered happily as she bounded and skipped all the way back home.
The empty, wooded mountains were filled with her cheerful voice. Before long, Su Yi arrived home. The moment she entered the courtyard gate, she let the two little critters out to share her good news. It couldn’t be helped; these two were the only living companions she had by her side right now.
“Congratulations~ Sister~” Mimi said happily.
Da Huang: “Roar~ Roar~” Its expression looked as if it were uttering words of blessing, though unfortunately, Su Yi couldn’t understand it.
Su Yi felt incredibly happy just seeing the reactions of the two little guys. She now had a home in this world, an official identity, and two adorable cubs—she was deeply satisfied. The more she thought about it, the happier she smiled.
Before she knew it, it was lunchtime again. Su Yi didn’t want to cook because the weather was just too hot. She wanted to cook in the evening instead, intending to whip up a massive feast to celebrate properly.
“It feels like I’m celebrating every single day. But what of it? When good things happen, you’re supposed to celebrate!” Su Yi said with absolute conviction.
Su Yi directly pulled a ready-made meal out of the shopping mall restaurant within her space. After quickly finishing her lunch, she prepared to take a rest. She planned to wait until the afternoon to turn the soil, plant vegetables, and plant broken glass shards along the walls.
“Da Huang, come here! Play with me for a bit!” Su Yi called out to Da Huang out of boredom.
Hearing her, Mimi and Da Huang came over to Su Yi’s side together, and the three of them began to play. In reality, it was just Su Yi playfully teasing them, petting one moment and stroking the other the next. These two little guys were simply too adorable; she genuinely couldn’t bring herself to put them down.