Zhuo Ling grinned from ear to ear, and another sparkling string of drool slipped uncontrollably from the corner of her mouth, landing on Zhuo Chang’an’s neck.
For some reason, her brain short-circuited, and she actually lowered her head, intending to suck the drool back up.
Smack!
A loud kiss landed squarely on his prominent collarbone.
Caught off guard, Zhuo Chang’an was unexpectedly kissed. The corners of his lips lifted slightly as he reached up and rubbed Zhuo Ling’s little head.
“No being naughty.”
Zhuo Ling wished she could dig a hole and bury herself on the spot.
It was her first time kissing a boy!
“Mother, we’re back.”
Pushing open the crude fence gate, Zhuo Ling finally saw the Zhuo family’s home.
A dilapidated mud-brick house stood before her.
The roof was thatched with straw, and the weathered wooden door was mottled with age, creaking loudly whenever it moved.
The window frames were covered with yellowing paper. Inside the dim room stood only a low wooden table and several small stools.
Other than that, there was a heated brick kang bed covered with woven mats, neatly arranged with bedding that had been patched so many times the patches themselves had patches.
Zhuo Ling quietly drew in a breath.
Four words slowly appeared in her mind:
Utterly destitute.
Did they really have to be this poor?
“Ling’er is back?”
A woman around twenty years old hurried out of the house, wiping her hands on her apron. Wearing a patched coarse-cloth dress, she smiled warmly and scolded affectionately,
“Where have you been playing? Look at this little face—it’s as dirty as a kitten’s! Come here and let Mother clean it.”
Behind her, the low earthen stove had been scrubbed spotless. A pot of dark green porridge mixed with wild vegetables bubbled away on top.
The woman was quite pretty, though her thin face couldn’t hide her exhaustion.
She gently took Zhuo Ling’s little hand and wiped it clean.
“Is your tummy hungry?”
The gentle concern in her voice struck Zhuo Ling straight in the heart.
Looking up at the woman with her large black-and-white eyes, she blankly called out,
“Mother…”
The villagers called her Fenniang. She was the wife of Zhuo Dawu, the head of the household.
“Mother, today’s porridge seems thicker than usual.”
A small, skinny boy with a sturdy appearance picked up a spoon, unable to hide his excitement.
“I’ll bring some to Father. If Father eats more, his leg will heal faster.”
The corner of Zhuo Ling’s mouth twitched.
This watery gruel was thin enough to use as a mirror, and he called it thick?
The sturdy little boy was the Zhuo family’s second son, Zhuo Changfu. He was three or four years younger than Zhuo Chang’an.
“Wait.”
Fenniang quickly stopped him.
She picked up a small bowl from the counter and carefully drizzled a spoonful of shimmering oil into the pot before smiling.
“Your Eldest Brother spent an entire year gathering wild perilla seeds and finally managed to collect half a jar. Today, I roasted and pressed them into half a bowl of oil. The leftover seed cake can still be boiled into porridge for several more meals.
“It smells wonderful.”
A single spoonful of perilla oil instantly filled the room with a faint but unmistakable fragrance.
Zhuo Ling blinked.
For some reason, her heart suddenly felt warm.
Even under such difficult circumstances, this family was still doing everything they could to make life enjoyable.
No matter how hard things were in the underground city, at least people could eat their fill.
Meanwhile, she’d spent her life muddling through day by day.
Thinking about it made her chest tighten.
“Mother! Mother!”
A five- or six-year-old child came running inside, clapping excitedly.
“It smells so good! Today’s porridge smells amazing!”
This was the Zhuo family’s third son, Zhuo Changgui.
He was about the same age as Zhuo Ling. Though thin, he strongly resembled his father, with an honest and somewhat simple-looking face.
Zhuo Ling blinked again.
Out of the entire family, Zhuo Chang’an was definitely the best-looking.
He took after their mother.
“Changgui, eat more. Then you’ll grow tall.”
Fenniang smiled and glanced toward the kang.
“Husband, Chang’an gathered especially good firewood today. He exchanged it for three extra copper coins in town.
“You should eat more. Stop saving it for everyone else.”
“Our Chang’an is becoming more capable every day.”
Lying on the kang, Zhuo Dawu struggled to sit up and gave a helpless smile.
“I’m not saving it. I’m full enough.
“It’s just that the whole family depends on you and the children now.
“My leg is probably ruined for good. No matter how much I eat, it’ll just be wasted.”
He had originally been a hunter, honest and straightforward by nature.
When farming season was busy, he worked the fields. When it was not, he hunted in the mountains.
Ever since injuring his leg, he’d been bedridden for more than a month.
“There you go talking nonsense again.”
Fenniang gently scolded him before softly comforting him.
“When you’re better, this family will still depend on you.”
Zhuo Dawu sighed quietly, suppressing his emotions.
He waved at Zhuo Ling.
“Ling’er, come eat with Father.”
“No, you eat it yourself.”
Fenniang immediately held onto Zhuo Ling’s hand.
“Ling’er, be good. Eat with Mother.”
Though she said they would eat together, she poured all the porridge from her own bowl into Zhuo Ling’s earthenware bowl and then carefully licked the remaining broth from the edge of the bowl.
“Mother worked all day. How can you not eat something?”
Zhuo Chang’an poured the porridge from his bowl back into hers.
Then he pulled Zhuo Ling over.
“Ling’er can eat with Eldest Brother. I already ate in town. I’m not hungry.”
“T-Then… then Second Brother’s porridge can go to Ling’er too.”
Though clearly reluctant, Zhuo Changfu still tipped some of his porridge into her bowl and grinned while licking the edge of his own bowl.
Suddenly, Zhuo Ling’s nose stung.
Back in the underground city, she had been an orphan too.
She’d grown up in an orphanage run by the United Administration and had never once experienced the warmth of a family.
This family couldn’t even afford enough porridge to fill their stomachs, yet they still gave most of their food to her.
The bowl of porridge tasted rough and unpleasant, carrying a beany smell mixed with the bitterness of wild vegetables.
It was difficult to swallow.
Yet as Zhuo Ling ate, her heart grew warmer and warmer.
Tears began streaming down her cheeks.
So this was what it felt like to be loved by family.
She was now living in a remote mountain village in the Great Yan Kingdom.
A drought had lasted for more than a year.
Forget rain—even the village wells were nearly dry.
Cracks split the fields open. The millet crops were barely alive, and more than half the grains were shriveled and empty.
Last year’s harvest had already been cut in half.
This year, the villagers had nearly stripped the mountains bare of edible wild vegetables, yet they still struggled just to survive.
From the original owner’s vague memories, hunger had been a constant companion.
Most of the time, she had cried and begged for food.
A father with a crippled leg.
An impoverished mother.
Parched farmland.
And three growing sons to feed.
Zhuo Ling’s lips twitched violently.
To transmigrate into a situation like this…
Her luck was truly something else.
Then again…
This family was even more remarkable.
“Ling’er, why are you crying?”
Thinking she was starving, Zhuo Chang’an used his sleeve to wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
“Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Eldest Brother will give all his porridge to Ling’er.”
Zhuo Ling took a deep breath and looked tearfully at her new family.
Father. Mother. Eldest Brother. Second Brother. Third Brother.
I’m not the Ling’er you once knew.
But the Ling’er of today truly likes all of you.
We have the Marketplace System now.
From this day forward, our family will never go hungry again!
Sniffling, Zhuo Ling quickly opened the Marketplace System with her thoughts and immediately pressed the Withdraw button.
Clink!
Something heavy suddenly appeared in her hands.
The weight nearly made her little arms ache.
“Mother… Brothers… look…”
Using all her strength, Zhuo Ling dragged the money pouch onto the table and said in her childish voice,
“Money! Money!”
Sixty bright yellow copper coins spilled from the pouch, scattering across the tabletop with a loud clatter.
The visual impact was overwhelming.
The room instantly fell silent.