"O-old woman, where did this come from?" Old Man Su was so excited his tongue trembled.
Wasn't food exactly what they lacked right now?
A dozen or so sweet potatoes, if used sparingly, could feed their large family for two meals.
When he went to borrow bran from the Captain's house today, he learned that some villagers had already started boiling tree bark.
The Captain mentioned organizing a hunting trip in the back mountains in the next couple of days.
The dense forests deep in the Daqiong Mountains were a treasure trove, but also fraught with danger.
Three years ago, during a hunting expedition, forty people went in, but only thirty-eight came out.
Five of them were seriously injured.
Who would risk their lives for food unless absolutely desperate?
"Wherever it came from, since it appeared in my room, it belongs to our Old Su Family," Grandma Su excitedly declared ownership.
In these times of hunger and cold, anyone who would give away food that fell into their hands would be a true fool…
"Right, right, it belongs to our Old Su Family!" Old Man Su chimed in cheerfully.
That evening, steamed sweet potatoes made a rare appearance on the Old Su Family's dinner table.
After eating wild vegetable dumplings for so long, the sight of the bright, beautiful steamed sweet potatoes excited everyone.
Su Jinrui: "Grandma, you're my own grandma, the best grandma in the whole world!"
Su Zi'an: "Yay, we get to eat sweet potatoes!"
…
Feng Qiulian, holding Su Jinyu, stared fixedly at the bowl of sweet potatoes cut into pieces. If not for the Old Su Family's rule about portioning out food, she would have lunged for them long ago.
Oldest Brother Su Xiangdong: "Mother, how come we still have sweet potatoes? Didn't we finish them long ago?"
"Why ask? Can't eating keep your mouth shut?" Grandma Su shot Oldest Brother a glare while distributing the food.
She couldn't explain the origin of the sweet potatoes, so she simply said nothing.
"Nowadays, every household is struggling to eat their fill. That you get to eat sweet potatoes today is thanks to Heaven's grace. If anyone can't keep their mouth shut and goes blabbing outside, be careful of going hungry from now on!" Grandma Su warned sternly.
Everyone shook their heads in unison.
Were they fools? After a good meal, they wouldn't dare go out and talk carelessly—that would only invite envy.
The steamed sweet potatoes left everyone wanting more.
Fragrant, sweet, soft, and glutinous—delicious and tasty. Eating them filled their mouths with sweetness that reached their hearts.
They swore they had never tasted such delicious sweet potatoes in their lives.
In the end, the bowl of fish soup went into the mouths of Su Zi'an and the other boys.
Because the goat that ate the sweet potato leaves soon began producing milk.
Although fish soup was good, it couldn't compare to goat's milk. For a three-month-old baby, milk was naturally better.
Late at night, in the quiet.
Su Youtian and his wife lay on the kang, still feeling somewhat unreal about the sweet potatoes they had eaten.
This matter was just too strange.
"I think it must be because Heaven saw how adorable my Guai Nan is, that's why it sent us food."
"You saw that goat too—it didn't produce milk earlier or later, but right when we were about to feed Guai Nan fish soup, it started producing milk. That's because it couldn't bear to see our little Jiu suffer!"
Grandma Su pondered for a long time before reaching a conclusion.
They say after surviving a great disaster, there must be good fortune to follow.
Their Jiu'er had narrowly escaped death, so she was bound to be full of blessings from now on.
Yes, it was her Guai Nan's good fortune that brought blessings to all of them as well.
Lying in bed, Su Jiu blew a bubble with her mouth.
Could it really be explained that way?
But Grandma Su truly loved the original owner from the bottom of her heart.
In her previous life, Su Jiu cultivated immortality. She had been orphaned since childhood, all alone in the world.
In this lifetime, she gained a family who cherished her. (Except for her biological mother)
Over the next few days, Grandma Su's room would receive sweet potatoes and sweet potato vines every day.
This further convinced the elderly couple of Xiao Jiu'er's good fortune.
The sweet potato vines and leaves were fed to the sheep, while the stems and tender shoots were stir-fried as vegetables. Combined with steamed sweet potatoes at every meal, the Old Su Family's life underwent a dramatic improvement.
Being able to eat their fill at every meal, and eat well at that, made everyone feel as if they were living in an unreal dream.
Su Jiu spent these days happily farming.
As the coverage of the Spirit Field in the Immortal Abode Space expanded, the Spiritual Qi within the spatial dimension grew increasingly dense.
Although Spiritual Qi was scarce in the outside world, fortunately, the Spiritual Qi in her Immortal Abode Space was steadily increasing.
Looking at the Spirit Field that had already covered half of the spatial dimension, Su Jiu felt a surge of pride.
Perhaps this was the joy of a farmer!
On the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, the village chief gathered all the able-bodied men of the village. Led by an old hunter, they set off toward the Great Qiong Mountain.
Su Xiangdong was among the group.
Before leaving, Grandma Su held her son's hand, filled with reluctance.
Thanks to Jiu'er's blessings, the Old Su Family had been eating well these past few days and even had some stored food.
She didn't want her eldest son to take such a risk.
Who knew if he would return after venturing deep into the mountains?
However, Su Xiangdong refused.
The children lacked meat in their diet.
They hardly ate even half an ounce of meat all year round, and this trip into the mountains was an opportunity.
So many people from the village were going. For the sake of his wife and children, Su Xiangdong absolutely could not back down.
Besides, the New Year was just a few days away. If he returned before then, perhaps everyone could have meat for the New Year's Eve dinner.
Moreover, every household in the village had sent someone. If the Old Su Family didn't go, it would only arouse suspicion.
Su Xiangdong set off with twenty wild vegetable buns and a small amount of salt prepared by Grandma Su.
After the group entered the mountains, the atmosphere in the village noticeably grew heavy.
Everyone prayed day after day, hoping that nothing would go wrong during this hunting trip.
The days passed slowly as everyone endured the anxious wait.
Su Jiu drank milk, farmed, slept, cultivated…
Her waking hours grew longer, and she had planted sweet potatoes and wheat across the entire Spirit Field in the spatial dimension. The Spiritual Qi there was now denser than before.
Late at night, when all was quiet.
Su Youtian and his wife were both asleep.
With a single thought, Su Jiu's tiny body appeared in the spatial dimension for the first time.
Lying on the grass, Su Jiu only needed to focus her mind, and Spiritual Qi surged wildly into her body.
Two hours later, Su Jiu achieved Qi Induction, successfully entering the first layer of the Qi Refining Stage.
The Spiritual Qi in the spatial dimension continued to pour into her body.
Upon reaching the first layer of the Qi Refining Stage, not even the slightest movement within a five-hundred-meter radius could escape her notice.
Sensing movement outside, Su Jiu dared not linger and decisively withdrew.
"What is that smell?" Grandma Su, who had gotten up out of habit, sniffed the air. As she fumbled to light the kerosene lamp, she couldn't help muttering.
It was too foul—even worse than months-old manure festering in the outhouse.
"Did Jiu'er soil herself?" Su Youtian asked, awakened by the commotion.
The odor in the air was indeed overpowering, making one want to flee instantly.
"Nonsense! My Jiu'er's waste doesn't smell at all!" Grandma Su interrupted.
Su Jiu, wrapped in her small blanket, stiffened.
This body was inherently deficient, compounded by postnatal malnutrition, resulting in an accumulation of too many impurities.
While achieving Qi Induction, her body had also undergone a cleansing and marrow-forging process.
Most of the impurities in her body had already been expelled.
At this moment, she could be said to be even fouler than a cesspit.