Su Yun thought about all this, and her head began to throb with pain.
There was also a faint heaviness in her heart.
This was caused by a lingering trace of emotion left behind by the original owner of the body.
She rubbed her chest and muttered to herself, “With a family like that, is it really worth missing and feeling sad over?”
In her eyes, such family members—who only drained and consumed others—were nothing but trash and burdens that should be discarded immediately.
Su Yun didn’t have time to deal with them right now. She needed to find something to eat first.
“I’m so hungry. What do you want to eat? I’ll make it.”
She turned and spoke to Xiao Yuan.
Xiao Yuan leaned on his crutch and slowly stood up. His thin, gaunt face was full of embarrassment.
“At home… at home… there’s only some coarse rice and sweet potatoes left. I’ll… I’ll cook you… coarse rice and sweet potato porridge.”
Su Yun recalled what she had read in the book.
Xiao Yuan had injured his leg two years ago, and he should have received a considerable compensation payment for his injury.
By all logic, living alone with compensation money, he shouldn’t have been so impoverished.
The book also never mentioned where his compensation money had gone.
However…
Su Yun glanced at the brick house next door, thinking that this definitely had something to do with the Qin family next door.
For now, she would eat first and take things step by step.
“No need. I’ll cook.”
With that, she walked into the low, cramped kitchen.
The kitchen, like the straw hut she had woken up in, had earthen walls and a thatched roof. There was an iron pot missing a corner, two similarly chipped bowls, and an old rice jar of unknown age containing a layer of coarse rice about the thickness of a palm.
In one corner were more than a dozen sweet potatoes piled up.
Su Yun…
It was truly a home so poor that even mice wouldn’t bother visiting.
Her starting situation really was miserable.
She shook her head helplessly, rolled up her sleeves, fetched water with a ladle, and poured it into the iron pot.
She washed two handfuls of coarse rice, poured them into the pot, and covered it with a lid. Then she picked two sweet potatoes, peeled and diced them, and placed them in a bowl for later use.
Fortunately, although Xiao Yuan was poor, he was quite attentive to hygiene.
The bowls were clean.
While Su Yun was busy in the kitchen, Xiao Yuan stood in the courtyard watching her back, a trace of seriousness flashing in his eyes.
Su Yun’s appearance had completely been outside his expectations.
These past few days, Old Wu just happened to be away, so last night he hadn’t been able to send Su Yun away in time.
If he drove her away now, it would easily arouse suspicion.
For a moment, Xiao Yuan was troubled and didn’t know what to do.
Su Yun simmered the porridge for half an hour before a thick bowl of sweet potato porridge was finally ready.
She served two bowls and called Xiao Yuan to eat.
Leaning on his crutches, Xiao Yuan slowly walked from the room to the kitchen.
Su Yun was looking for chopsticks.
“There’s only one pair of chopsticks? No spoon?”
She asked.
Xiao Yuan looked a little uncomfortable, but still gave a soft “mm” and turned his face away.
“You first—”
Before he could finish saying “eat,” Su Yun was already holding the bowl and gulping down the coarse rice and sweet potato porridge.
A flash of surprise appeared in Xiao Yuan’s eyes.
“Su… Su… comrade…”
“What is it?”
Su Yun lowered the bowl in confusion and looked at the man across from her who was leaning on crutches. “Aren’t you sitting down? Doesn’t it make you tired?”
“Not… not tired.”
Xiao Yuan seemed a bit slow to react. “I… I’m… used to it…”
Su Yun responded with an “oh.” “Then hurry and eat.”
With that, she lifted her bowl again and continued gulping it down.
The coarse rice was hard and scratched her throat.
She had simmered it for half an hour, so it had softened a little, and with the sweetness of the sweet potatoes, it wasn’t too bad.
Xiao Yuan tried to give her the only pair of chopsticks in the house, but Su Yun waved him off.
She could drink porridge without chopsticks just fine.
She drank two bowls.
Only then did she put the bowl down in satisfaction.
“You’re full now. Let’s talk.”
Talk about their future direction in life.
She currently had nowhere to go and could only stay temporarily at Xiao Yuan’s place.
To the outside world, they would be considered husband and wife.
“Don’t worry, as payment, I’ll try my best to cure your legs.”
Upon hearing this, the unusually silent Xiao Yuan showed shock in his eyes.
Then, as if thinking of something, he looked up and gave a bitter smile. “Su… comrade, no need… don’t joke about me.”
“You haven’t tried. How do you know I’m joking or not?”
Su Yun asked in return.
Xiao Yuan froze. “You…”
Su Yun stood up. “Just assume the previous Su Yun is dead. The one standing here now is a completely new Su Yun.”
As she spoke, she walked outside. After a few steps, she turned back again. “Also, in my professional field, I never joke.”
With that, she added one more sentence before heading into the mountains, leaving Xiao Yuan’s dilapidated courtyard.
Reborn into a destitute body, the situation was not optimistic.
But fortunately, she had read the book before and memorized the entire plot.
She knew where Qin Aiguo had hidden the stolen goods.
In the story, years later, Qin Aiguo was arrested. After the male and female leads entered university, they went to pay respects to their father and discovered ten small gold bars in the graveyard!
Su Yun had not yet met the male or female lead from the story, but she was about to see the gold bars.
Following her memory, she entered the mountains and arrived at the grave of Qin Aiguo’s parents.
Two small earthen mounds stood quietly among the bamboo forest.
Su Yun walked over, circled the mounds once, and saw freshly covered soil.
This was it.
Her eyes brightened slightly as she picked up a wooden stick and began digging.
She hadn’t dug far before she saw a cloth bundle. Setting down the stick, she opened it—six gleaming gold bars.
Su Yun curled her lips slightly and put the gold bars into her pocket.
As for the cloth that wrapped them, she casually threw it into the stream and let the water carry it away.
After tidying the grave site and restoring it to look untouched, she left.
The book mentioned that this mountainous area was rich in vegetation and medicinal herbs.
She planned to gather some herbs to treat the injuries on her head and neck.
And Xiao Yuan’s legs also needed treatment.
That evening, in the village.
In Xiao Yuan’s dilapidated courtyard, a man with a slight limp walked into the kitchen carrying a small half-bag of coarse rice.
“Old Wu…”
Xiao Yuan called out to him. “Something happened.”
“What is it?” Old Wu turned back and lowered his voice.
Xiao Yuan briefly explained what had happened last night.
“At that time, she was on the brink of death, and my legs were also inconvenient, so I couldn’t send her away immediately…”
At this moment, Xiao Yuan was completely different from the daytime.
His eyes were deep, calm, and full of wisdom.
After listening, Wu Jiangtao slapped his thigh, his eyes lighting up with excitement. “Perfect! With her here, it makes hiding your identity even easier.”
“But she’s not like ordinary village girls…”
Xiao Yuan thought of Su Yun earlier that day and felt she was someone not to be provoked.
Wu Jiangtao didn’t care at all. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Let her stay here first. Give me a few days to investigate her background.”
After speaking, he added, “Besides, if you drive her away now, aren’t you pushing her to her death?”
“Let’s settle it like this for now.”
Wu Jiangtao happily patted Xiao Yuan’s shoulder. Just as he was about to say something else, the courtyard door was suddenly pushed open from outside.