“You old woman, you’re overthinking. What could possibly have happened to Yaoyao? She was probably just delayed by something.”
“Old man, how about we go over and take a look? I just can’t stop worrying.”
“It’s fine. Let’s see if Yaoyao comes this week. If she doesn’t, then we’ll go.”
“Alright then. Oh, and can you stop smoking so much? If Yaoyao comes, she’ll nag you again.”
“I know, I know. It’s just a habit,” Grandpa Lin replied weakly. His wife had been controlling his smoking since they were young, and he was used to it. He had quit for a while when he was younger, but later picked it up again.
Since she didn’t have to work today, Lin Shiyao slept until eight and woke up feeling refreshed.
“System, sign in.”
“Ding! Sign-in successful. 10 bags of rice, 10 bags of flour, and 10 barrels of cooking oil have been deposited into your space.”
So many supplies today—she was thrilled. A beautiful day had begun.
Her consciousness entered the space. On the ground were 10 bags of rice and 10 bags of flour, each weighing ten jin, and 10 barrels of oil, each five jin.
Since she’d received so many supplies today, she planned to take some out another day for her family to eat. Ever since she had accidentally gone to the black market last time, she hadn’t gone again. She needed to find some time to check it out.
For now, she would deliver her translated manuscript to the bookstore. Editor Zhang was very satisfied—Lin Shiyao’s translations were both accurate and fast.
She collected 15 yuan in稿 fees, and Editor Zhang gave her some more manuscripts.
When she got home, she saw her mother there. Wasn’t Mom supposed to be at work?
“Mom, aren’t you working today?” she asked.
“Yaoyao, you’re back. Mom took the day off. Go get ready—we’re going to visit your grandparents.” They used to visit the elders every week, but last week they had missed it because of Yaoyao’s falling-into-the-water incident. They didn’t know whether the elders had overthought it.
“Huh? We’re going to Grandpa and Grandma’s?” Lin Shiyao had completely forgotten. From her memories, she learned that her grandparents lived with her uncle’s family in the government compound.
Her uncle had three sons. He was a diplomat, and her aunt was the director of the Women’s Federation.
Her eldest cousin, like her brother, was in the army, stationed in the Northwest Military Region, now a regiment commander. He was married; his wife had been his college classmate, and they had a son.
Her second cousin had gone down to the countryside, not far away, just in the neighboring province. Her third cousin was still in high school, only one month older than her.
From her memories, she knew that the one who spoiled her the most was her grandmother. When her grandmother was young, she had been a battlefield doctor. She and Grandpa met and fell in love while marching with the troops, and later built a family together.
After retirement, the government allocated them a small Western-style house with three floors. When she was little, the whole family had lived together. Later, when her father’s factory assigned housing, their family of five moved out to live closer to his workplace.
Because of Grandpa’s military merits and poor peasant background, their family had been able to live steadily during these turbulent times.
Her mother pedaled the bicycle while Lin Shiyao sat in the back, feeling nervous. Her parents hadn’t noticed she wasn’t the original owner of the body—would her grandparents notice?
Although her personality was similar to the original, soldiers had such sharp eyes. What if they saw through her? It wasn’t her intention to take over this body, but she didn’t want to lose such a wonderful family.
Lost in these thoughts, they arrived at the government compound before she knew it. Compared to other places, the buildings here were indeed newer and more spacious.
Security at the gate was strict—they had to register before entering. After registering, they were allowed in. Curious, Lin Shiyao looked around.
Seeing that she hadn’t followed, her mother called out to her. Lin Shiyao snapped back to her senses and hurried after her. After turning a corner, they arrived at the door of a Western-style house.
Her mother stepped forward and knocked. They soon heard footsteps inside.
“Coming, coming. Who could it be at this hour? Could it be Xiuxin?” Grandma muttered as she walked. (Xiuxin was her aunt’s name.)
“Mom, Yaoyao and I came to see you,” Lin’s mother said.
“Oh my, my precious Yaoyao is here!” Grandma exclaimed loudly.
With a creak, the door opened. Lin Shiyao looked at the face before her—it gradually overlapped with the face of her grandmother from her previous life. Tears streamed down instantly.
“Mom,” Lin’s mother called.
“Grandma, I missed you so much,” Lin Shiyao choked out as she hugged her grandmother.
“Oh my dear, what’s wrong? Did someone bully you? Tell Grandma, and I’ll deal with them for you.”
“No, Grandma. I just didn’t come last week, and I missed you.” On the way here, she had agreed with her mother not to tell the elders about the falling-into-the-water incident to avoid worrying them. Besides, the bad people had already received their punishment.
“Don’t cry now, sweetheart. Come in quickly.” Grandma pulled her inside.
“Alright,” she replied, helping her mother take the things off the bicycle and carry them in.
“What did you bring again? We have everything here. Keep it at home and eat it yourselves. Don’t always bring things over,” Grandma scolded.
“Mom, this is Yaoyao’s thoughtfulness. She said since Grandma loves her so much, she must share good things with you,” her mother said with a smile.
Lin Shiyao felt embarrassed. She had indeed said that. It was the flour she had signed in for today from her space. She couldn’t take too much out, so she only brought five jin and had spent a long time coming up with an excuse.
“Grandma, where’s Grandpa?” she asked, not seeing him inside.
“He went next door to play chess with his old comrade. He’ll probably be back by lunch. You’re staying for lunch today—Grandma will cook something delicious for you. Look at you, you’ve gotten thinner. Have you not been eating properly again? Grandma’s telling you, girls should be a little plumper to look good, understand?” Grandma said, half scolding, half caring.
Lin Shiyao rubbed her forehead silently. Thin? She had a well-proportioned figure and standard height, and all the right places had plenty of curves.
But parents always had inexplicable worries about their children.
“Grandma, look—this is fine flour. I’ll make dumplings for you today, okay?” she quickly changed the subject.
“Good, good, good! Our Yaoyao has improved—she can even make dumplings now. Then Grandma will sit back and enjoy my granddaughter’s cooking today,” Grandma said with a hearty laugh.
“Alright, today you can just enjoy yourself,” Lin Shiyao said playfully, leaning on Grandma’s shoulder.
Her mother shook her head as she watched. Yaoyao was the family’s little joy. Every visit, she made the old lady laugh so happily—it was no wonder Grandma adored her.
Carrying the flour, Lin Shiyao went into the kitchen. Grandma and her mother wanted to help, but she drove them both out, saying their presence would affect her performance.
As if—if they stayed, how could she secretly use the ingredients from her space?
She enjoyed the solitude of cooking in the kitchen. In the living room, her mother told Grandma that Lin Shiyao had taken her graduation exam early and had already found a job on her own.