After arranging a detailed discussion with the village head for tomorrow, Xue Ning returned to the cowshed.
Ning-shi was making dinner. Seeing Xue Ning return, she asked how the foundation site visit went.
Xue Ning told Ning-shi the location of the foundation she had her eye on.
Ning-shi was a bit surprised. “Although that area is spacious, it’s quite remote. Why did you choose that spot?”
Xue Ning: “It’s quiet there.”
Ning-shi: “…Alright then.”
It seemed her biological daughter liked peace and quiet.
While they were talking, dinner was ready.
Tonight’s dinner was vegetable noodles.
Ning-shi scooped out a bowl of noodles and handed it to Xue Ning first:
“The food at home is rather simple; I hope you don’t mind.”
Xue Ning: “Not at all. I’m not a picky eater. I can eat delicacies, but I can also eat simple fare.”
Watching Xue Ning eat with such gusto, Ning-shi wondered if she had been mistreated at the Marquis’s manor.
She had clearly been happy to stay at the manor back then; why did she take the initiative to leave after only a month?
She must have suffered some grievances there.
At this thought, Ning-shi couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache.
If she had known this would happen, she should have just brought her back then~
While Ning-shi was feeling sentimental, she heard Xue Ning say she was finished.
Looking closely, the bowl of noodles had been licked clean.
Ning-shi was so shocked her eyes nearly popped out. “How did you eat so fast?”
She hadn’t even finished scooping the second bowl yet~
Xue Ning gave a reserved smile. “I was hungry, so I ate quickly.”
This natural food of ancient times had a unique flavor. She hadn’t been able to stop herself and failed to control her eating speed.
This was the eating speed she had developed during the Post-apocalypse.
Ordinary people couldn’t compare.
Hearing Xue Ning say she was hungry, Ning-shi hurriedly tried to scoop her another bowl.
Xue Ning declined Ning-shi’s kindness. “I’m already full, I won’t have any more.”
Only after confirming that Xue Ning really wouldn’t eat a second bowl did Ning-shi take the prepared noodles over to feed her husband.
Xue Zishan was currently paralyzed from the neck down; he required care for everything from clothing and food to basic movement.
Seeing her mother about to feed her father, Xue Ning took the initiative to go over and help her father sit up, letting him lean against her.
Although Xue Zishan had lost a lot of weight after becoming paralyzed, he had a large frame.
Usually, it took a lot of effort for Ning-shi to turn her husband over.
Seeing Xue Ning lift her husband so effortlessly, Ning-shi expressed her immense surprise:
“Ning-er, you’re quite strong~”
Xue Ning: “I’ve been strong since I was a child. However, since I was a young lady of a wealthy house before, I never showed it to anyone.”
Hearing this, Ning-shi sighed. “Your father and brother have also been strong since they were young. I used to regret that my daughter hadn’t inherited her father’s great strength. Now it seems it wasn’t a lack of inheritance, but a case of the wrong person.”
“You really are our biological child.”
Xue Ning: “…”
So the Xue family had such a tradition?
Great.
In the future, no one would find it strange that she was so strong.
Xue Zishan cherished his biological daughter in his heart, but he wasn’t good at chatting.
Hearing the conversation between his wife and daughter, Xue Zishan felt happy, and his speed of eating noodles was much faster than usual.
Ning-shi had been married to Xue Zishan for many years; seeing him like this, she knew he was happy and teased him purposefully:
“It’s a good thing you came to your senses two days ago. Otherwise, if I really had followed you to see the King of Hell, what would have become of our biological daughter?”
Xue Zishan’s face turned beet red. “From now on, I’ll just lie at home honestly. As long as you don’t dislike me for being a burden, I’ll live on properly.”
Xue Ning: “Don’t worry, Dad. We won’t think of you as a nuisance.”
“When our circumstances improve in the future, I’ll buy two servants to take turns looking after you twenty-four hours a day.”
As long as she could afford servants, she wouldn’t be afraid even if her biological mother became paralyzed alongside her father.
Xue Zishan hadn’t wanted to live before precisely because he was afraid of becoming a burden to his family.
If the family had the means to hire someone to wait on him, he would actually be quite happy.
The happy Xue Zishan didn’t know how to express his joy, so he accelerated his eating speed once again.
Only after Xue Zishan finished his noodles did Ning-shi have time to eat her own.
By this time, her noodles had long since clumped together.
Despite that, Ning-shi still ate with relish.
One reason was hunger, and the other was happiness.
After finishing dinner, it was time to prepare for bed.
Although there was still room in the cowshed to lay out another bed, Ning-shi couldn’t bear to let Xue Ning sleep there:
“Your cousin from your second uncle’s family just got married recently, and her room is still empty. I’ll take you to stay at your second uncle’s house~”
Xue Ning: “Why don’t you guys go and stay at Second Uncle’s house?”
The house had only burned down two days ago; by then, there should have already been an empty room at the second uncle’s house.
A flicker of embarrassment crossed Ning-shi’s face. “Your father was hit by a tree that was struck down by lightning. Your second aunt is quite superstitious and thinks it’s an ill omen. Besides, our house was set on fire, and it will take at least a month to rebuild…”
“Your second aunt is someone who dislikes trouble. If we were to move in, we would cause her some trouble regardless. It’s more convenient and comfortable to stay in the cowshed.”
Xue Ning: “If you’ve known each other for so many years and still fear causing trouble and feeling uncomfortable, wouldn’t it be even more uncomfortable for me meeting them for the first time?”
“If it were just for a night or two, it wouldn’t matter much. But since we need to stay for at least a month, I’ll just sleep in the cowshed with you.”
“You are my parents. If you can live here, so can I.”
Ning-shi: “But…”
Xue Ning: “I am no longer a young mistress of a wealthy house. I am your daughter; don’t treat me like a high-born lady.”
“If Xue Xiao-mei were here, would you still make her stay at Second Uncle’s house?”
Ning-shi: “…”
She wouldn’t.
Since her daughter insisted, she wouldn’t trouble her brother-in-law’s family.
There was straw readily available in the cowshed. Ning-shi laid out several thick layers of straw in a corner for her daughter, then put a sheet on top, followed by a quilt.
In this weather, one only needed a light coverlet at night. Sleeping in the cowshed, there was no need to worry about freezing.
Seeing that her parents had quite a few personal belongings despite living in a cowshed, Xue Ning couldn’t help but wonder where these things had come from.
Ning-shi chuckled. “Before I set the fire the day before yesterday, I moved everything I could carry into the courtyard first. Although I was mad with rage at the time, I still maintained a shred of reason. I thought that if your father regretted it and didn’t want to die anymore, we’d still have to live, so I couldn’t burn everything.”
“If your father really was willing to drag me to death with him… well, if I were dead, I wouldn’t care whose hands those things ended up in anyway.”
Xue Ning: “…”
It was hard to put into words.
Ning-shi: “Our house had been built many years ago. It had to be repaired several times a year, and it would leak whenever the rain got a bit heavy. I’ve wanted to rebuild it for a long time, but your father refused. First, because the family didn’t have much money, and second, because your grandfather built that house with his own hands; your father couldn’t bear to let it go. He… sometimes his brain just can’t make the turn. You have to give him a harsh wake-up call, and then he’ll come around.”
Xue Ning: “…You’re incredible!”
She hadn’t expected such a story behind her mother setting the house on fire. It seemed she had underestimated her.
Thinking about the reason her father had refused to rebuild, Xue Ning looked at Xue Zishan, only to see a silly grin on his face, showing no signs of anger.
Taking advantage of the remaining light in the sky, Xue Ning handed over the two bolts of cloth and some candies she had brought back to Ning-shi for safekeeping. At the same time, she inquired about how much silver she still had on hand.