This was also the doubt lingering in the minds of Song Mingde and Ding Yuzhen. After being struck with a stick, how had this girl suddenly become so sharp-witted?
Ding Yuzhen refused to accept it and retorted, “Song Yuntang, ever since Fu Weicheng abandoned you and your children, the three of you have been eating our food and living in our house. Three mouths to feed the moment you wake up—have you ever paid a single cent? Since your womb is so capable, what’s wrong with lending it to Lame Wang to bear a few sons? Nine hundred yuan—it’s already a bargain for you! Just look at how much those two little bastards eat—we’re practically being eaten into poverty by you!”
“Heh, so you want to settle accounts with me?”
Song Yuntang looked at Ding Yuzhen with a cold, mocking gaze, her words sharp and cutting.
“When I first came to the countryside, I brought one thousand yuan and two gold bars with me—money my parents gave me for security. Where is it now? Hand it over!”
“All these years, I’ve washed your clothes, cooked your meals, cleaned the house, and worked in the fields. I’ve been your unpaid servant. Charging you twenty yuan a month isn’t excessive, is it? Do the math—how much do you owe me by now?”
“And what about the three hundred yuan bride price from Fu Weicheng? Hand that over too! Go on—take it out!”
Song Yuntang extended her hand toward Ding Yuzhen, demanding payment.
Ding Yuzhen had never expected that someone who had always been silent and submissive would suddenly become so sharp-tongued—and even expose all her secrets.
Song Jiaojiao immediately shrieked, “Mom, what’s this about one thousand yuan and two gold bars? Didn’t you say it was only two hundred? Did you secretly give more to my elder brothers again?!”
Song Mingde also questioned angrily, “Two gold bars? Didn’t you say there was only one when you searched her back then? So you’ve been hiding things from me all along? Where are the gold bars?!”
The family, which had just united against a common enemy, immediately turned on each other again.
Ding Yuzhen, flustered, said, “We’ll talk about the gold bars later. Let’s deal with her first! The nine hundred yuan must be on her—take it back first!”
Whoosh!
The bamboo rod in Song Yuntang’s hand sliced through the air again. Whoever dared to make a move would be struck. She was ready to hit anyone indiscriminately.
“Song Mingde, the one having an affair with Widow Li isn’t Lame Wang—it’s you. I also know you’ve been flirting with the village chief’s daughter-in-law. Just the day before yesterday, you two were fooling around in the cornfield and almost got caught.”
“And you—Song Jiaojiao. You’ve been entangled with Captain Zhang from the commune. Does his wife know? Should I go inform her for you? I heard his wife is a butcher—she keeps a cleaver at home!”
“I know every dirty secret your family has. If you dare touch me or my children again, I’ll shout it all out for the whole village to hear!”
After this barrage of words, the faces of Song Mingde’s family turned pale, then green with anger. They were furious, yet had no way to deal with her.
The three who had come aggressively to settle scores were instead forced to retreat in humiliation.
“Bah! Song Yuntang, just you wait—we’ll make you spit out that nine hundred yuan sooner or later!”
After returning to the house, the three did not resume fighting. Instead, they exchanged furtive glances, whispering conspiratorially.
Song Jiaojiao, unable to hold back, said worriedly, “Mom, Song Yuntang suddenly became so clever… do you think she might find out about what we did?”
“Find out my ass!” Ding Yuzhen sneered, a calculating glint flashing in her eyes. “She didn’t notice five years ago—there’s no way she’ll find out now! As long as you keep Captain Zhang happy, we can hide it from her forever. The money will still be ours in the end.”
After scheming together, the greedy trio decided to leave it for today and deal with Song Yuntang tomorrow. No matter how capable she was, as long as she had children, they held her weakness—she wouldn’t dare disobey.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Song Yuntang sneezed.
“Achoo!”
Her nose itched—someone must be cursing her.
“Mom, are you cold? I’ll cover you with the blanket,” Niannian said, tugging a tattered quilt over her.
Song Yuntang shook her head. “Niannian, Mama isn’t cold. You sleep—don’t move.”
After the earlier confrontation, Niannian and An’an looked at Song Yuntang with bright, admiring eyes. This time, they truly believed that their mother had become brave and would protect them from harm.
Having eaten their fill and feeling content, the two children soon grew sleepy. They curled up beside Song Yuntang, sharing the only worn-out blanket.
Song Yuntang watched as Niannian closed his eyes, his breathing steady. Though his face was still dirty, his sleeping expression was peaceful and adorable.
Looking at the children, then at the cowshed, she sighed inwardly. Even though she now had some money, it wasn’t enough to raise two children.
Others who transmigrated always had cheat abilities—why was she so unlucky? Not only did she have a family of terrible relatives, she was also stuck living in a drafty cowshed.
Just as she was thinking this, a streak of seven-colored white light flashed before her eyes, accompanied by a sound like electromagnetic waves.
【Ding—】
【Lingbao Space has received the call. Initializing—】
【System activated. Welcome, host, to your first entry into the Lingbao Space System. You have received a beginner’s gift pack.】
When Song Yuntang opened her eyes again, she was no longer in the dilapidated cowshed. Instead, she stood in a vast, boundless expanse—endless grasslands, farmland, fruit trees heavy with red, ripe produce, and a small stream flowing gently through it all. Under the sunlight, the water shimmered, and the soft sound of the flowing stream was soothing.
She was briefly stunned, but quickly regained her composure.
So this was the space.
It seemed her luck wasn’t so bad—her golden finger had finally arrived.
Such a pastoral paradise—even a stream… could this be the legendary spiritual spring water?
Song Yuntang reached out and dipped her hand into the stream. The water was cool and gentle. As it flowed over her fingers, the scarred hands of the original host began to heal bit by bit.
When she lifted her hand out again, it had become slender and smooth.
This was incredible!
She immediately washed her face with the spiritual spring water. The wound on her forehead healed rapidly, her sallow complexion brightened, and her skin became soft, supple, and full of vitality.
“What a treasure. If I used this to bathe, then—”
Lowering her gaze, she looked at her chest and noticed it was unexpectedly full.
Although the original host had been thin, her body had a good foundation from her earlier upbringing, and having given birth, her figure had developed further. She didn’t need the nourishment of the spiritual spring for that.
Later, she would let Niannian and An’an wash with the spring water—they would surely become fair and plump little bundles.
The moment she thought of the children, her consciousness drifted, and with a flash of white light, she returned to the real world.
“So that’s how you enter and exit the space.”
Having grasped the basics of using it, she tested its storage function and opened the beginner’s gift pack.
Inside were one hundred acres of fertile land, ten hectares of orchard, one strengthening pill, and one packet of sleeping powder.
It seemed the system functioned like a farming game—the more she used it, the more rewards she would gain. Perhaps she might even obtain rare medical texts.
Holding the sleeping powder she had taken from the space, a cunning smile appeared on her lips.
She gently removed Niannian’s hand from where he had been holding her, stood up, and walked to Song Mingde’s main house. Using the sleeping powder, she easily knocked out the three people inside—no matter how loud the noise, they wouldn’t wake.
She pushed open the door and walked in boldly.
Inside were electric fans, a sewing machine, cabinets, a radio, a clock—this standard of living rivaled wealthy city households.
Every single item had been bought with the original host’s money.
With a sweep of her arm, Song Yuntang stored everything—good or bad—into the Lingbao Space. Not even a table leg was left behind.
In the blink of an eye, the living room was empty.
She then entered Song Mingde and Ding Yuzhen’s bedroom and repeated the process.
Thud!
The two who had been sleeping soundly fell to the ground. Like dead pigs, they clung to each other, snoring loudly. Their clothes were gone, leaving only a pair of underpants each—her small mercy, as she had no desire to see anything inappropriate.
Even the two gold bars Ding Yuzhen had hidden flashed briefly before disappearing into the space.
Clatter.
Something suddenly fell to the ground.
Song Yuntang picked it up and saw that it was her household register—and her marriage certificate.