“Home?”
In both of her lifetimes, this was the first time Meng Ping’an had ever felt anticipation toward the idea of having a home.
In her previous life, she had been an orphan since childhood and grew up eating meals wherever she could in the village. Later, when the apocalypse came, she met several like-minded companions, and they struggled to survive together.
And then, somehow, she ended up here…
It had already been four or five years since she arrived in this world. Aside from the abandoned temple, she had never known that she could have a new home of her own.
Now, looking at the small courtyard before her, she saw vegetables growing throughout the yard. There were chickens and ducks in the backyard, along with a little yellow dog. She wasn’t sure whether the half-person-high mud enclosure against the wall was a pigsty.
From a distance, it was such a warm and peaceful scene.
Nestled against the mountains and beside the water, it looked like a secluded paradise.
“A Ye, A Yuan, I’m back!”
As Jin Ze called out, he reached through the wooden gate and unlatched it.
“Big Brother is back!”
“Big Brother!”
Two boys ran out of the house.
When they saw Meng Ping’an, they clearly froze in surprise.
“A Ye, A Yuan, this is Ping’an. From now on, he’s part of our family. He’s a little younger than A Ye, so he’ll be our third brother. A Yuan, come and meet your third brother.”
Jin Ze pulled over the boy who was half a head taller than Meng Ping’an and told him to call her Third Brother.
“…”
Meng Ping’an felt a little awkward and called out unnaturally, “A Yuan!”
Then she turned toward the boy who was a head and a half taller than her.
“Second Brother!”
The boy clearly wasn’t pleased. He answered with an unhappy “Mm!” before turning around and going back inside.
Jin Ze hurriedly explained, “Ping’an, don’t take it personally. Your second brother is just like that. He’s a little quiet and withdrawn. He doesn’t dislike you.”
Meng Ping’an smiled.
“It’s fine, Big Brother. I understand.”
“Good boy! Come, let’s go inside. In a moment, I’ll have your second brother help you tidy up the eastern room. You can stay in that room, all right?”
Jin Ze pointed toward a room on the eastern side and asked.
“Anywhere is fine for me.”
Meng Ping’an looked at the clean little courtyard and the bright, spacious earthen house.
Compared to the abandoned temple, this place was already a hundred times better.
“A Ye, now that the enemy has taken the city, how much food do we still have at home?”
Jin Ze looked at his second younger brother, who was sitting beside the window reading.
Jin Ye looked up at his elder brother, then glanced at the little boy beside him. He hesitated as if he wanted to say something.
“It’s fine. Ping’an is one of us now. You don’t have to hide anything from him.”
“We still have two jars of rice, one jar of flour, half a cellar of sweet potatoes, some dried vegetables and cured meat, and not much pickled vegetables left. Calculating conservatively, it should be enough for the four of us to eat for a little over half a year.”
Jin Ye had calculated everything based on the minimum amount they would need.
“Good. In the next few days, I’ll find a way to go to another town and see what the situation is like. Then I’ll buy some more supplies.”
Jin Ze sat down beside the table and poured two cups of water, handing one to Meng Ping’an.
Hearing their conversation, Meng Ping’an quickly accepted the cup his elder brother handed her.
The cup was made of bamboo, with its edges polished smooth. It looked almost like a work of art.
She couldn’t help admiring it.
What wonderful craftsmanship!
“Things are too chaotic outside. Big Brother, you’d better not go out for the time being.”
Jin Ye looked worried.
“Big Brother, you should wait until your injuries are completely healed before going anywhere.”
Meng Ping’an was also worried.
Although the wounds on his body had already scabbed over, he still shouldn’t exert himself too much.
“Big Brother is injured?”
After hearing Meng Ping’an, Jin Ye stood up and quickly walked over to Jin Ze.
He grabbed his wrist and checked his pulse. After frowning, he stood up and pulled open Jin Ze’s clothes to examine his wounds.
Feeling a little embarrassed, Meng Ping’an turned her head toward the doorway.
At that moment, the little boy sitting there was also watching Jin Ze and Jin Ye with a worried expression.
“I’m almost completely healed. Thanks to Ping’an saving me back then, finding a doctor and medicine for me, and taking care of me for more than ten days, I was able to survive.”
As Jin Ze spoke, he looked at Meng Ping’an with eyes full of gratitude.
“Big Brother saved me too. Taking care of you was only right.”
“So you two knew each other before?”
Jin Ye looked at Meng Ping’an and spoke.
Meng Ping’an told them in detail about how Jin Ze had saved her when she was younger, as well as the times they had encountered each other at the academy.
“You’ve studied before?”
Jin Ye looked surprised.
“Mm! Not for very long. Only three years.”
Meng Ping’an felt a little embarrassed.
“I have some books in my cabinet. If you have nothing to do, you can take them and read them.”
Jin Ye rarely showed such a good expression, so both Jin Ze and Jin Yuan couldn’t help being surprised by his attitude toward Meng Ping’an.
“Thank you, Second Brother!”
Meng Ping’an looked at Jin Ye with a bright smile, making his face turn slightly red.
“We’re family now. There’s no need to be so polite.”
Meng Ping’an’s heart warmed.
Family now?
That was wonderful.
In this strange world, she finally had family too.
Three of them, at that.
“Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, what do you want to eat tonight? I’ll make dinner!”
Jin Yuan spoke somewhat stiffly from the doorway.
Jin Ze looked up at Meng Ping’an.
“What does Ping’an want to eat?”
Meng Ping’an immediately stood up.
“Anything is fine. How about I help you, A Yuan? I can cook too.”
“Mm!”
Jin Yuan nodded.
He walked toward a thatched shed on the western side. That was where the family’s kitchen was located.
The two of them left the main room one after another and headed toward the kitchen.
“A Ye, let’s go help Ping’an tidy up the eastern room. He’ll stay there from now on.”
Jin Ye looked at his elder brother.
“I’ll do as you say, Big Brother.”
“I’ll dry Ping’an’s bedding first. You go clean the eastern room.”
“Okay!”
Jin Ye picked up the broom from behind the house, fetched a basin of water, and headed to the eastern room.
After Jin Ze finished drying the bedding, he went to the woodshed and carried two bundles of dry grass to the eastern room to prepare the bed.
After thinking about it, he returned to the woodshed and brought back a straw mat to place on top of the bed.
By the time it was nearly dark, he brought the bedding in from the courtyard and made the bed for her.
“Big Brother, Second Brother! Dinner’s ready!”
Meng Ping’an called toward the eastern room.
“Okay!”
Jin Ze and Jin Ye poked their heads out.
They looked at the two younger brothers busy in the courtyard, patted the dust off their clothes, then went to the well to draw water and wash themselves before heading to the main room.
“Such a feast!”
There were three dishes and one soup on the table.
“Wild onion scrambled eggs, stir-fried cabbage with cured meat, cold mixed dried eggplant, and white rice porridge.”
“Third Brother made all of it. I just helped out.”
Jin Yuan had accepted Meng Ping’an much more quickly than his second brother.
At this point, he was already calling her Third Brother even more naturally than Jin Ye did.
“Ping’an, you’re amazing!”
Jin Ze couldn’t help praising her.
He had already eaten the food Meng Ping’an cooked at the abandoned temple. The flavor had been very special, something he had never tasted before.
“It looks delicious!”
Jin Ye was practically drooling as he looked at the dishes.
The four of them sat down and began eating.
“Mm, this is really good! Ping’an, you’re incredible. Your cooking is good enough to open a restaurant!”
Jin Ye sincerely praised her.
He had never eaten such delicious food before.
In the past, when the three brothers were at home, they would simply boil vegetables in water. None of them knew how to cook properly.
“Big Brother, Second Brother, A Yuan, if you like it, eat as much as you want. I’ll cook for you every day from now on.”
“Haha, we’ll help you too. We can’t let you do all the cooking every day. That would be too tiring!”
The family sat beneath the oil lamp, happily eating dinner together.
Every now and then, their hearty laughter could be heard throughout the courtyard.