Wei Mu was stung by that remark and immediately put down her chopsticks, ready to scold.
Wei Changzhi also felt Wei Mu had gone too far, so he scooped a few pieces of meat into Zuo Caiyun’s bowl.
“Xiao Cao, are you full? Here, have some more.”
Zuo Cao glanced at the table with a faint, ambiguous smile. “Better not.”
She went to sleep.
Her room was a storage space partitioned off with shelves, just large enough for a bed, covered with a faded, worn-out quilt.
The filling inside was unknown, emitting a stale, musty smell.
Under the bed were various household odds and ends. The room was crowded but neatly organized.
Zuo Cao could feel that this body was severely exhausted, but being young was an advantage.
With proper meals and rest, it would gradually recover.
She slept until midnight, awakened by a child’s crying.
Such a young child needed nighttime feedings, diaper changes, and when they cried, they had to be played with until tired enough to be coaxed back to sleep.
Then, the soiled diapers had to be washed, and the dirty floor cleaned.
Two such episodes in one night meant the adults got little to no real sleep.
Zuo Caiyun and Wei Changzhi shared a room, and both had daytime responsibilities, so Wei Mu had to get up at night to care for the child.
Every night before, Wei Mu would call Zuo Cao to help.
This was also the main reason Zuo Cao felt so physically drained.
Wei Mu came knocking again.
Zuo Cao turned over in bed, ignoring her.
With Zuo Cao’s help, Wei Mu hadn’t noticed the strain, but now that Zuo Cao had stopped, Wei Mu felt the familiar, flustered helplessness of being overwhelmed.
She had to prepare formula, soothe the child, and wash diapers.
Finally calming the child, Wei Mu looked at the newly soiled diapers and the dirty clothes Wei Changzhi and Zuo Caiyun had changed out of yesterday, still hanging on the rack.
Anger simmered inside her.
Afraid of waking her son, she didn’t dare make too much noise.
With nowhere to vent her frustration, she glared at Zuo Cao’s door and silently spat.
Useless freeloader with no sense of awareness.
She’ll be despised by her in-laws when she gets married.
As the child’s cries gradually subsided, Zuo Cao drifted back to sleep.
System: “When you’re under someone else’s roof and eating their food, it’s only right to help out. The Original Owner did it well—you should learn from her.”
Zuo Cao: “You’re so annoying. Can you shut down?”
…
Early the next morning.
Wei Mu couldn’t get up. Older and exhausted from the sleepless night, she felt even more worn out.
Usually, Zuo Cao would make breakfast.
Zuo Cao’s cooking wasn’t exceptional—after all, she was just a child.
But taking over the task had made life much easier for the Wei family.
Wei Mu didn’t get up early, and neither did Zuo Cao.
Wei Changzhi and Zuo Caiyun stared at the empty dining table, exchanging puzzled looks.
The dirty clothes still hung in their place.
As the weather grew warmer, clothes left too long would easily develop an odor.
Wei Changzhi said, “Mom must be tired from taking care of the baby. Why didn’t Zuo Cao make breakfast today?”
Zuo Caiyun replied, “That child… I’ll talk to her when I get back from work tonight.”
“We’ll have to eat out for breakfast then. Leave some money for Mom,” Wei Changzhi said.
Zuo Cao was actually awake. Despite her young age, the Original Owner’s body had developed an early-rising biological clock.
She was awake but not fully rested.
A five-year-old child should get around twelve hours of sleep a day.
Wei Mu was in her fifties; if she didn’t need to get up at night, sleeping six or seven hours a day was enough for her.
In the Wei household, Zuo Cao’s sleep duration was even shorter than Wei Mu’s.
The System told E6 to learn from Zuo Cao.
Not a chance.
She lay in bed, hearing the conversation between Wei Changzhi and Zuo Caiyun outside, but didn’t move.
Trying to fall back asleep.
The System chattered incessantly: “Considering this is the Host’s first world, the difficulty isn’t high. You’ve taken over the Original Owner’s body and memories. It’s just making breakfast. The Host must learn to appreciate the happiness that comes from contributing to the family through labor.”
“You’re abusing a child. I’m filing a complaint,” E6 said.
The System shut up.
Zuo Cao forced herself to sleep a full twelve hours, until the sun was high in the sky and Wei Mu banged on the door.
“You thing born of a mother but raised without one, what time is it? A grown person sleeping like a dead pig in the room. If you want to sleep, get out and sleep back in your village. This house bears the surname Wei; it’s not the turn of someone surnamed Zuo to throw their weight around.”
After waking up, Wei Mu saw the dining table and kitchen completely empty.
Since yesterday afternoon, Zuo Cao hadn’t done any work. Old grievances and new grudges piled together, and Wei Mu exploded.
An ordinary person would feel angry upon hearing such insults.
Especially insults directed at one’s mother.
But Zuo Cao felt it was fine. She recalled the Original Owner’s mother and didn’t feel offended, just annoyed by Wei Mu’s noise.
Zuo Cao opened the door: “You’re right to scold. I wasn’t taught how to serve good-for-nothings. Since you’re so capable, why not teach your Wei family treasure more?”
If it weren’t for Wei Changzhi working sporadically, spending all his time at the gambling table.
If he could shoulder even a little responsibility, how could the position of fitter at the tractor factory possibly fall to Zuo Caiyun, a daughter-in-law, to do?
Neighbors craned their necks to peek at the Wei household.
Zuo Cao raised her voice: “Teach him to strive for some dignity! Don’t let his own father’s burial money fill the holes at the gambling table!”
These words practically stabbed Wei Mu right in the heart.