Ye Qingyun asked, “Big Brother, what job has the village assigned me?”
Wu Younian replied, “You just got here, so for now you’ll be gathering pig fodder with the other two new educated youths. It’s lighter work, worth six work points a day. Once you’ve gotten used to things, we’ll transfer you to a different job next quarter. How does that sound?”
Ye Qingyun answered readily, “Sounds good. I’ll do as you say, Big Brother.”
She had helped her Third Senior Brother feed spirit beasts before. Feeding pigs couldn’t be all that different.
Wu Younian couldn’t help sighing again. This second younger sister from the city really did have a good temper.
Ye Qingyun merely smiled without saying anything.
The will of Heaven could not be defied. Since the heavens had compensated her with several extra decades of life, she intended to experience this new life properly.
Besides, she had prepared thoroughly before coming to the countryside. She had brought all of the original owner’s money and ration coupons with her, storing them safely inside her personal space.
Yes, Ye Qingyun had a small storage space.
It was only one cubic meter in size and could only be used for storage.
When she discovered it on the second day after her rebirth, she had laughed in exasperation.
She had once possessed an enormous blessed realm, painstakingly cultivated over three hundred years, filled with all her possessions and countless heavenly treasures.
Yet after the heavenly tribulation struck, all that remained was a measly one-cubic-meter storage space!
Still, after realizing she could use the tiny space to hide her money and ration coupons, she immediately found it far more appealing.
As long as she had money, coupons, and worked diligently, life in the countryside shouldn’t be too bad.
Then, the very next moment—
They arrived at the Qiling Village Production Brigade.
Ignoring the terraced fields climbing the mountainside…
Ignoring the rows of weathered wooden houses covered in moss…
Ye Qingyun stared only at the earthen house in front of her…
This… was supposed to be a house, right? Not some historical ruin?
Wu Younian introduced it proudly.
“Second Sister, this is the old house Father and Mother left behind. From now on, it’ll be your home.”
Ye Qingyun and the four children all looked at him with identical expressions of disbelief.
“This… is a house?”
Wu Younian nodded.
“Of course!”
It was a small earthen hut built halfway up the mountainside, a little over two meters tall, roughly six meters long and four meters wide, with a roof made of mud-covered straw.
An old wooden door stood in the middle, flanked by two tiny lattice windows.
Inside was a single room.
Against the western wall stood a stove built from packed yellow clay.
On top of it sat nothing but a rusty iron pot and a clay jar.
Beside the stove was a soot-blackened low cabinet containing a few bowls.
Against the eastern wall was a wooden bed frame covered with straw and topped with a woven sleeping mat.
On the mat lay two folded quilts that looked stiff and yellowed with age.
The floor was hard-packed earth. Whoever had cleaned the place had apparently missed a spot—two brightly colored little mushrooms swayed gently atop the wooden threshold.
Behind the house was a small bamboo grove.
In front, weeds grew everywhere.
Well… not entirely everywhere.
The path leading to the road had clearly been turned over with a hoe, burying most of the weeds beneath the soil.
But their vitality was remarkable. After only two days, fresh shoots had already poked back through.
Wu Younian carried their luggage inside and placed it on the bed.
“I’ve got some things to take care of first. I’ll come back later.”
After giving her a brief rundown of the village, he hurried off.
Ye Qingyun looked around the empty mud house, its air carrying the earthy smell of damp soil.
Then she looked back at the four children standing behind her with vacant expressions.
She took a deep breath, rolled up her sleeves, and got to work.
Living came down to five basic needs: food, water, using the toilet, and sleep.
Wu Younian had already said she could borrow grain from the production team for now. Someone would bring it over shortly, and later she only needed to sign an IOU with the accountant.
There was an old well at the foot of the mountain for water.
As for the toilet…
That was even simpler.
There was a natural latrine behind the house, along with a large open area.
The only urgent problem was sleeping tonight.
The one-point-two-meter-wide wooden bed clearly couldn’t fit all five of them.
Ye Qingyun unpacked their luggage and took out the two sets of sheets and quilt covers she had brought, preparing to replace the old bedding.
Just then, the eldest, Fu Min, shouted from the doorway,
“Mom! Third Sister and Fourth Brother need to pee!”
Setting her work aside, Ye Qingyun walked out, taking one child in each hand as she led them behind the house to a patch of grass.
Third Sister, Fu Xinyang, already knew how to use the toilet by herself.
But when she saw the muddy ground, scattered rocks, and tall grass beneath her feet, the little girl stubbornly refused to pull down her pants.
Fourth Brother, Fu Xiangdong, was no different.
The two children each clung to one of Ye Qingyun’s pant legs, their faces filled with fear of the grass.
Standing nearby, Fu Min anxiously called out,
“Don’t wet yourselves!”
She often went to the fields with the neighborhood girls and had long since squatted outdoors herself. She thought she was very brave.
Third Sister feared her eldest sister the most.
Even though she worried bugs might bite her bottom, she simply couldn’t hold it anymore.
The little girl looked pitifully at her mother.
Ye Qingyun reassured her.
“Don’t worry. There won’t be any bugs. Mom’s watching.”
Immediately, the little girl let go, quickly pulled down her pants, and relieved herself.
“Yaozu, hurry up.”
Giving the brave Third Sister a thumbs-up, Ye Qingyun looked down at Fu Xiangdong, who was squeezing his legs together.
The little boy had no idea why his mother was suddenly calling him “Yaozu,” but instinctively felt it wasn’t a flattering nickname.
Combined with the discomfort of holding it in, his lips trembled as he prepared to cry.
Ye Qingyun had been the youngest disciple in her sect herself.
She had never taken care of younger junior brothers or sisters.
All she knew was that when her master took her out to train, he simply threw her into the deep mountains.
Comforting people? Coddling them?
That would only slow down the speed of drawing her sword.
Besides, this little rascal had been spoiled rotten by his grandmother.
He needed to be disciplined.
So, under Yaozu’s horrified gaze, Ye Qingyun simply yanked down his pants and carried him into the grass.
She had only one word for him.
“Pee.”
After crying all the way through it, Fu Xiangdong pointed at Ye Qingyun and declared,
“I hate you!”
Then he ran behind his eldest sister, preferring to endure her teasing faces than go anywhere near his mother again.
Ye Qingyun didn’t mind in the slightest and returned to the house to continue working.
Who knew the little fellow, seeing that his words hadn’t affected her at all, would suddenly burst into loud sobs. At an age when he could barely speak clearly, he wailed,
“I don’t want Mommy! I want Grandma! I want Grandma!”
Ye Qingyun spun around.
“Cry again, and I’ll have the wolves carry you away!”
The little fellow’s eyes widened instantly as he looked around in panic.
Mountains surrounded them on all sides, and strange cries occasionally echoed from the forest.
Fu Xiangdong shuddered, hurriedly raising his chubby little hands to cover his mouth.
Ye Qingyun snorted.
Little brat. See if I can’t handle you.
Fu Min stuck out her tongue at her little brother before running into the house.
“Mom, I’ll help you!”
Second Sister Fu Xinyu and Third Sister Fu Xinyang followed her inside.
“Mom, we’ll help too.”
Looking at the three girls, Ye Qingyun felt a surge of comfort.
Without ceremony, she assigned them tasks.
“Eldest, see if there’s a broom or a rag anywhere in the house.”
“Second and Third, go look behind the house and see what’s there. Come back and tell me.”
The three girls nodded together and immediately got busy.
A short while later, Fu Min found a wooden basin and a wooden bucket.
“Mom, I couldn’t find a broom, but I found these. We can use them to fetch water.”
As she spoke, she pointed outside.
“Mom, there’s lots of bamboo over there!”
She was pointing at a pile of cut bamboo branches lying on the open ground beside the house, probably leftovers from the production team’s bamboo cutting.
Ye Qingyun’s eyes lit up.
“We can bundle those together and use them as a broom.”
Fu Min immediately raised her hand.
“Mom, I’ll go get them!”
Without even waiting for Ye Qingyun to answer, she dashed outside like a gust of wind.
That eldest girl… she’s as bold as a little tiger.
Ye Qingyun shook her head with an amused smile.