Lin Chaonan repeated what Dr. Li had told him to his eldest brother, Lin Chaodong. After eating the bowl of wild vegetable soup his sister-in-law Liu Shi had saved for him, he suddenly remembered he hadn’t yet told his mother about the herbs the medical clinic needed. He quickly called out toward the east room.
Their home originally had only two thatched huts—one served as both a main hall and a bedroom, and the other was just a bedroom. Back then, the four brothers slept in the same room, while the original owner of the body slept in the main hall. Later, as the four brothers grew up, they rebuilt the house with mud bricks, expanding from two rooms to four.
Fortunately, Yue Jiuyue had traveled back in time to when the children were already grown and the house had long been rebuilt, so she had a room of her own—something to be grateful for.
“Sigh! Coming!”
Yue Jiuyue reluctantly closed the interface on her system and went out.
“What is it, Third Son?”
Given the era’s routine of rising at sunrise and resting at sunset, it was already past seven o’clock. Why hadn’t everyone gone back to their rooms to sleep? In the pitch dark, what urgent matter needed to be discussed?
She knew perfectly well that the plants she had them dig up were all medicinal herbs, and even if the clinic wouldn’t take them, she could sell them directly to the 2023 Mall herself. So she didn’t care at all which herbs the clinic would accept, and she couldn’t understand Lin Chaonan’s excitement.
“Mother, it’s dark inside and hard to see. Come out here for a moment.”
Yue Jiuyue went into the yard and, by the bright moonlight, looked at the basket in Lin Chaonan’s hand.
“Mother, eldest brother, little brother—these are the herbs that Dr. Li said his clinic will take. He said the others are medicinal too, but the clinic doesn’t need them—only these few. I’ll set these aside and leave them in the main hall. You can take a look tomorrow.”
Lin Chaonan had gathered everyone specifically to talk about the herbs. After that, they all went back to their rooms to sleep.
Back in her room, Yue Jiuyue didn’t rush to sleep. Instead, she spent 200 wen from the mall to buy a solid wooden bathtub and another eight wen for a hundred liters of water. Quietly but satisfyingly, she took a bath.
To avoid raising suspicion, Yue Jiuyue had mentally prepared herself for a long time before deciding not to wash above her neck. Her hair was so sticky and greasy she didn’t even want to touch it.
After half a bath, when she lay down on the original owner’s bed, Yue Jiuyue felt utterly miserable.
Not wanting to endure it, she bought a new bed and a four-piece bedding set from the mall. Even though the sheets weren’t washed, they were still far better than the bedding the original owner hadn’t cleaned in over a year.
That night, Yue Jiuyue slept very deeply—she was exhausted.
In the morning, Yue Jiuyue was woken by Liu Shi’s pounding on the door. After what happened yesterday morning, she had learned her lesson and had bolted the door from the inside before going to sleep.
“Mother, breakfast is ready. Xiaoman’s father and your two younger brothers went up the mountain at dawn to dig for herbs. Do you want to eat first, or wait for them to come back?”
Liu Shi had been avoiding Yue Jiuyue ever since she got scolded on the mountain yesterday morning. Last night, she hadn’t even dared to sit at the table to eat and had gone back to her room early. Now, with only the three of them in the house, she couldn’t avoid it anymore and had to steel herself.
When Yue Jiuyue first opened her eyes, she felt momentarily disoriented, unsure of what day it even was. But the relentless knocking and Liu Shi’s voice immediately reminded her of her situation.
She was a notoriously cruel mother-in-law known throughout every village and town for miles around.