White rice, stir-fried vegetables, and some soybean paste.
Such a simple meal was placed on the table.
“Mother, it smells so good! It’s been so long since we’ve had rice.”
Lingdan took a deep breath, as if just smelling the rice could fill her stomach.
Yadan carefully picked up a bite of rice, her eyes half-closing in pure happiness.
“So delicious… we actually get to eat rice.”
Lu Meiyu felt a pang of sadness. She now somewhat understood the system’s anger when she had thought of abandoning the children.
If she really left them behind, they truly wouldn’t survive.
She picked some vegetables for the two girls. Stir-fried with oil and salt, it was light but still tasty.
She also added a bit of soybean paste to their rice. Even without many dishes, rice mixed with soybean paste was fragrant.
Sure enough, Yadan was very satisfied. “Mother, what is this? It’s so delicious.”
Lingdan also beamed. “It really is! But I accidentally finished my rice already.”
After finishing one bowl, the two girls obediently put their bowls down.
“Why did you stop eating? There’s still more in the pot,” Lu Meiyu gestured for them to serve themselves again.
“Mother, you should eat the rest. I’m full.”
Lu Meiyu realized that this body of hers was also starving. Only after eating a bowl of rice did she feel a bit satisfied.
Without another word, she filled three bowls again.
“Eat! We need to eat until we’re full.”
Yadan looked worried. “Mother, if we finish it all in one meal, what will we eat next?”
“Don’t worry. There will be food next time too. Didn’t I say the fairy gave me many things? I have plenty of rice.”
Only then did Yadan happily continue eating, but after a bite, she paused again. “Mother, why don’t we trade this white rice for coarse rice? We could get more.”
Lu Meiyu responded casually just to reassure them.
“What are your full names?”
“Mother, we don’t have full names.”
Lu Meiyu sighed softly. “Yadan and Lingdan sound too unpleasant. I’ll give you names now. The older sister will be Xiaoxuan, and the younger sister Xiaowei. We’ll call you that from now on.”
Both sisters’ eyes lit up. “Mother, those names sound so nice.”
Only then did Lu Meiyu feel somewhat satisfied.
“By the way, where is your father?”
She had heard that Zhangshi mention he went to earn military merit.
But she didn’t believe it—how could an ordinary rural man become a general or something like that?
“There’s fighting at the border. Father was conscripted.”
Xiaoxuan’s mood dimmed. She knew that being taken to the army wasn’t a good thing.
So that’s how it was.
“I wondered…”
“Why did your father go and not someone else?”
“Each household had to send one person. Not long after Father left, Grandfather and Grandmother split us off.”
Lu Meiyu got the information she needed.
This family was truly heartless. After sending the original husband away, they drove the mother and her daughters out.
“Grandmother said the three of us are girls… worthless, not worth wasting her food.”
“And when the household was divided, we only got thirty coins and a few jin of coarse rice?”
Lu Meiyu frowned, recalling what Xiaoxuan had said earlier.
“Yes. This old house was rented to us by Granny Zhao out of pity. The rent is thirty coins a month, and we haven’t paid yet.”
Xiaoxuan was sensible and clear about everything.
“Were there any witnesses when the household was divided?”
“Yes, Second Granduncle from the clan, and the village head.”
Lu Meiyu was speechless. “Didn’t they think such a division was extremely unfair?”
Xiaoxuan shook her head. As a child, she didn’t understand such matters.
Lu Meiyu stretched her body. The spiritual spring water was incredibly effective—she felt completely refreshed, her limbs agile, and her strength restored.
Checking the space with her mind, she saw that not a single additional drop of the spring water had appeared.
It seemed this water was precious and had to be used wisely.
“Let’s go to your grandparents’ house. We need to get back those coins and grain.”
Lu Meiyu spoke calmly, but Xiaoxuan and Xiaowei looked terrified.
“Mother, forget it… Grandfather and Grandmother are very scary. Even Second Uncle, Third Uncle, and Aunt scold us.”
“Good! Very good! Then we’ll go right to their door. Don’t be afraid. Did you see how I dealt with them just now?”
The two sisters nodded repeatedly.
As long as she used that black stick and poked them, they would collapse in pain!
“In a moment, don’t go inside. Just stay at the gate.”
Lu Meiyu touched her hair—it was already dry. She casually tied it into a bun, looking neat and sharp.
Taking the two girls with her, she headed toward the Liu family’s old house.
Along the way, she met villagers from time to time. She smiled and treated it as a greeting.
This surprised many villagers. This young wife usually kept her head lowered, timid and submissive.
After jumping into the pond once, how had she suddenly become so bold?
A curious auntie asked where she was going. Lu Meiyu replied, “To the children’s grandmother’s house. While I wasn’t home, they took dozens of our copper coins and several jin of rice. They’re leaving the three of us no way to live, so I’m going to take them back.”
This made everyone even more astonished.
This young wife actually dared to go demand her things back?
Zhangshi was not someone easy to deal with.
Aunt Wu kindly advised, “Meiyu, just forget it. How can you, a young woman, go confront them? You’ll only suffer.”
“If we can’t live anyway, then I have to go demand it.”
Lu Meiyu declined their kindness and continued toward the Liu family home with her children.
The villagers shook their heads in pity. This young wife had already jumped into a pond—now she was just acting recklessly.
They could already foresee she would suffer, but some still followed, planning to help her if necessary.
After less than half a mile, Xiaoxuan pointed at a small courtyard. “Mother, it’s here.”
The rest of the family hadn’t split, so the Liu household still had quite a few rooms, though all were low and shabby mud houses.
Clanging sounds came from inside—they were cooking.
Having already eaten her fill, Lu Meiyu felt quite satisfied. Perfect timing!
“You two wait at the door. Don’t come in. Don’t worry—Mother won’t suffer.”
After reminding the girls again, she stepped inside.
The moment she entered the courtyard, a boy shouted, “Father, Mother, that shameless aunt has come!”
Damn it!
Lu Meiyu couldn’t suppress her anger. That boy was so young yet dared to insult her—clearly showing how he had been raised.
Zhangshi hurried out of the kitchen. “What are you doing here, you shameless woman?”
She looked a bit flustered, but remembering she was in her own home with so many people, she regained her confidence.
“Get out of here, or we’ll beat you to death!”
She shouted, and several sons and daughters-in-law came rushing out.
Liu Er and Wang Shi also panicked, grabbing a broom and a wooden stick, ready to confront her.