Gu Yihan had been having the same dream for several months now. In the dream, there was a sallow and emaciated woman wearing a gray, bloated maternity dress.
It closely resembled the era of food shortages that the grandmother at the orphanage used to talk about. During the day, while at work, Gu Yihan frequently found herself distracted, feeling restless and uneasy. She reached out and touched the Jade Pendant hanging around her neck.
This Jade Pendant had been with her since the orphanage director found her, already hanging around her neck.
For 23 years, it had never left her body. When she was 18, she accidentally cut her finger and touched the Jade Pendant, discovering the Jade Pendant Space inside.
The Jade Pendant Space wasn’t very large, only about 50 square meters. It could only preserve freshness and store items, making it rather useless in modern society.
Having read a few novels, she began to worry—was she about to travel back to that impoverished era?
Over the past few days, Gu Yihan had sorted through her savings. As an orphan, she had taken out student loans for university, which meant she was either working part-time or attending classes throughout her college years. After finally graduating, she had only been working for a year and hadn’t managed to save much—roughly around 80,000 yuan.
Looking at her savings, Gu Yihan decided to grit her teeth and spend it all on supplies. Even if it was just her overthinking, what if she really did travel through time?
In the following days, Gu Yihan took a bus to Fujin City, Jiamusi, Heilongjiang. She first found an agent who could rent her a short-term warehouse and leased one for 15 days. She then asked where she could find a shop specializing in grinding Wheat and Rice Grains.
The agent kindly pointed her in the right direction. Following the directions, she entered the shop and met a middle-aged woman wearing a white apron and a mask.
Gu Yihan asked, “Ma’am, I’d like to ask if you sell Rice Grains and can grind them on the spot?”
The woman replied in a northeastern accent, “Yes, what kind do you want?”
Gu Yihan said, “I’d like 10,000 jin of Rice Grains, 10,000 jin of Wheat, and 10,000 jin of Corn. Can you grind them?”
The woman said, “Of course, young lady. What about the Rice Husks and Wheat Bran? Do you want them?”
Gu Yihan smiled and said, “Ma’am, I’ll take all of it. Could you calculate the total price for me?”
The woman happily said, “Rice Grains are 1.7 yuan per jin, Wheat is 1.53 yuan per jin, and Corn is 1.12 yuan per jin. That comes to 43,500 yuan.”
Watching the woman calculate the price so quickly, Gu Yihan felt a pang of heartache.
“Just give me 43,000 yuan. Forget the 500—come again next time!” the woman said with a beaming smile.
Gu Yihan paid a deposit, left the address, and said she would pay the remaining amount upon delivery.
After leaving the shop, Gu Yihan headed straight to the farmers’ market. With less than 40,000 yuan left, she had to spend carefully. She bought 8 buckets of oil (50 jin each), two boxes of salt, 500 jin of pork, 400 jin of mutton, and 1,000 jin of eggs.
After purchasing these items, only 24,000 yuan remained in her savings, and there were still many things she hadn’t bought.
She felt that the money was far from enough, but there was no other option for now. She had to prioritize the essentials. Thinking of the pregnant woman in her dream, she also needed to buy some milk powder.
Gu Yihan then headed to the supermarket and bought 10 boxes of sanitary pads, 10 sets of skincare products, 10 boxes of infant formula, 2 feeding bottles, 1,000 jin of brown sugar, and two 10-jin cotton quilts. She also pre-ordered 1,000 steamed buns and 1,000 mantou from a breakfast shop until she had nearly exhausted her savings.
The auntie called to say the goods had arrived. Gu Yihan hurried to the warehouse, paid the remaining balance, and after the auntie and her crew left, she stored everything in her Dimension.
A few days passed in the blink of an eye. Gu Yihan hadn’t experienced any dreams or discomfort, leading her to think she might have miscalculated. She fell asleep early that night.
When Gu Yihan regained consciousness, she felt enveloped in a dark space, extremely comfortable.
Every day she tried to open her eyes to see the outside world but found she couldn’t, nor could she resist the onslaught of drowsiness.
As time passed day by day, Gu Yihan’s waking periods grew longer. She knew she had been reincarnated and hadn’t been born yet.
During her waking days, she figured out the family members of this household.
Her mother was Liu Zhaodi, 25 years old, who had given birth to two daughters—the elder being 7 years old and the younger 5.
Her father was Zhou Jianguo, 28 years old. His grandfather had passed away when he was very young, and it was her grandmother who single-handedly raised him.
Thus, the grandmother held significant authority in the family. She said that if this child turned out to be another girl, the father should divorce the mother.
Gu Yihan’s waking time was limited each day. Whenever she was awake, she focused entirely on listening to the sounds outside, wanting to know what year it was now.
Liu Zhaodi: “Jianguo, you think this one’s a son, right?”
Zhou Jianguo turned over and said, “Who knows? I can’t see through your belly.”
“It must be a son. I’ve already given birth to two worthless girls. Even by chance, it should be a son’s turn now,” Liu Zhaodi said resentfully.
Zhou Jianguo, annoyed, angrily replied, “Anyway, Mom said if you don’t have a son, you should go back to your parents’ home.”
Liu Zhaodi, pale-faced, cursed, “Zhou Jianguo, you have no conscience! I’ve borne and raised children for you, and you want to send me back?”
Zhou Jianguo immediately sat up and glared at her fiercely: “When you give me a son, then you can talk about bearing and raising children. All you’ve had are girls—how dare you bring it up?”
“Go to sleep now, don’t make me hit you.” With that, Zhou Jianguo lay down and started snoring.
Liu Zhaodi could only watch him and cry silently, whispering, “This one must be a son.”
Hearing the argument outside cease, Gu Yihan sighed inwardly, fearing they would be disappointed—she knew all too well whether she was a boy or a girl.
And so, Gu Yihan’s time passed quickly between sleeping and waking.
Just as she was about to doze off, she heard Liu Zhaodi speak: “Sister Cuihua, are you taking food to your husband?”
Zhang Cuihua, seeing Liu Zhaodi standing at their doorstep, said, “No, it’s just so hot—I’m bringing some water for my man.”
Liu Zhaodi: “Oh, Sister Cuihua, your belly is so much smaller than mine. I remember we were about the same?”
Zhang Cuihua smiled without answering.
Liu Zhaodi warmly pulled Zhang Cuihua along, saying, “Come inside and rest a bit. It’s really too hot.”
Without waiting for Zhang Cuihua’s response, she dragged her into the courtyard. Helpless, Zhang Cuihua could only follow Liu Zhaodi into the yard.
Gu Yihan felt very puzzled, because she knew that in this lifetime, this mother-in-law was not a warm-hearted person at all. What was she up to?
Zhang Cuihua listened to Liu Zhaodi’s rambling for a while, then stood up and said, “Sister-in-law, I need to go home and cook for my family. Let’s chat again when we have time!”
Liu Zhaodi replied with a smile, “Alright.”
Zhang Cuihua stood up and walked out. When she reached the yard, a small stone suddenly rolled right under her feet. Not seeing it, she stepped directly on it and fell down in an instant.