Inside the small cabinet by the bedside, she unexpectedly found a worn swaddling blanket and a piece of entirely black jade.
Looking at the blanket—though old, still faintly luxurious—Wu Yulan knew clearly that this was not something belonging to a farming household.
Which meant that among the four sons, it was highly possible that one was not her biological child?
Yet according to the memories in her mind, all four sons were her own.
Then again, the old woman had harshly mistreated the eldest, second, and third sons. And indeed, the three of them didn’t quite look like her biological children.
Perhaps the memories concerning this swaddling blanket and jade pendant were too distant, long since faded away.
Staring at the aged blanket, Wu Yulan shook her head and put the matter aside for now.
After putting away the blanket and jade pendant, she turned the entire house upside down before finally finding twelve taels of silver, two hundred and fifty-two copper coins, and two silver hairpins.
Yes—any bit of silver this household had ever seen had been taken away by Song Zhishu under the pretext of studying. Of these twelve taels, quite a portion came from selling the two granddaughters.
Thinking of that, Wu Yulan felt the silver in her hands burn.
Looking at the money in her palm, she silently made a decision.
Once she had more financial freedom, she would definitely redeem the two granddaughters.
After putting the silver away, Wu Yulan rubbed her brow. She had just intended to rest her eyes for a moment when she suddenly heard a “ding-dong~.”
Just as she wondered whether she had imagined it, a mechanical voice sounded in her mind.
“Detected that the host’s special-effect medicine developed in her previous life has saved many lives. The activation conditions for the Medical Mall have been met.”
“Host, would you like to activate the Medical Mall?”
Wu Yulan raised an eyebrow, narrowing her eyes in confusion, when a glowing screen suddenly appeared before her.
On it were four large characters: “Medical Mall.”
“Medical Mall? What is that?”
The mechanical voice sounded again. “The Medical Mall integrates purchasing and trading. The host may earn Mall Coins by treating illnesses and saving lives. Mall Coins can be used to purchase medicines, medical equipment, food, and daily necessities.”
Wu Yulan’s eyes brightened. “Can modern medical equipment and items also be purchased?”
“Yes.”
“The Medical Mall also includes storage space. The current storage area is ten square meters and can be expanded later using Mall Coins.”
Wu Yulan’s eyes lit up again.
Though her heart was surging with excitement, she did not lower her guard.
“Binding with this Medical Mall seems beneficial to me. Are there any drawbacks?”
“Host, the activation conditions for this system are extremely strict. In your previous life, you devoted your entire life to medicine, and the special-effect medicine you developed saved many lives. Only then were the activation conditions met. This is a reward and will not pose any threat to the host.”
Only then did Wu Yulan relax.
“In that case, please activate the Medical Mall for me.”
“Yes, Host.”
With a “ding,” Wu Yulan felt an invisible connection form between herself and the Medical Mall.
“Ding. Detected that the host just delivered her daughter-in-law’s baby and saved both daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Reward: 2,000 Mall Coins. Please check.”
Wu Yulan looked toward the panel and indeed saw an additional 2,000 Mall Coins at the bottom.
After browsing briefly through the mall, she discovered that 2,000 Mall Coins had roughly the same purchasing power as 2,000 yuan in modern times.
Just as Wu Yulan was about to further explore the Medical Mall, a loud infant’s cry rang out from the neighboring room.
Thinking of the newborn granddaughter, Wu Yulan searched within the mall and spent 200 Mall Coins on a can of milk powder. She then spent another 50 Mall Coins on two spoons.
The milk powder tin was too conspicuous, so she found a ceramic jar, washed it clean, and poured the milk powder into it.
Then she went to get hot water to prepare the formula.
In the neighboring room, Li Xiuyun was feeding her daughter rice soup. Seeing that the baby refused to swallow a single mouthful and spat it all out, she immediately became anxious.
“Be good~ Mother will have milk in a few days. Drink some rice soup first.”
Her first child had gotten through those early days like this. But this baby was clearly much weaker and refused to drink rice soup…
If this continued, the child would starve to death.
At that thought, Li Xiuyun grew so anxious that tears streamed down her face as she held the baby and sobbed softly.
Suddenly, a familiar stream of curses rang out by her ear.
“Crying, crying, all you ever do is cry! You’ll cry away all the family’s fortune!”
Carrying the prepared milk, Wu Yulan pushed the door open and walked in.
At that moment, she felt that this vicious mother-in-law persona wasn’t so bad after all. She didn’t know how to comfort people, yet she didn’t want Li Xiuyun to cry her eyes out either—so she simply scolded her instead.
Sure enough, upon hearing her mother-in-law’s scolding, Li Xiuyun quickly wiped away her tears.
“Mother…”
Wu Yulan took the baby and spooned a mouthful of the prepared milk into the wrinkled little infant’s mouth.
The moment the baby tasted the milk, she immediately began sucking greedily.
Catching the scent of milk, Li Xiulan asked in confusion, “Mother, this is… milk?”
“Yes. Made from goat milk powder.”
Although Li Xiuyun had never heard of goat milk powder, she knew from the sound of it that it must be expensive. She hurried to take the child back. “Mother, this goat milk powder must be precious.”
Looking at her daughter’s satisfied expression, Li Xiuyun bit her lip and steeled her heart. “This worthless girl isn’t fit to eat something so good. She can just drink rice water. You… you should keep it and drink it yourself.”
After seeing the baby finish the spoonful of milk, Li Xiuyun handed the child to Wang Guiqin beside her.
Wu Yulan shot her a look. “Always dithering. Are you trying to starve this little girl to death?”
As she spoke, she went out and brought in the tin of milk powder.
“Use hot water fit for drinking to mix this goat milk powder. Prepare it once every two hours. Each time, just one spoonful, and only this much water.”
Seeing Wang Guiqin standing there blankly, Wu Yulan raised her voice. “Did you hear me, eldest daughter-in-law? If this child goes hungry, you won’t be eating either!”
Only then did Wang Guiqin realize Wu Yulan was speaking to her and quickly agreed.
“Yes, yes, Mother! I understand!”
Worried that others might see the milk powder, Wu Yulan warned them, “Hide these things well. If they’re exposed in front of others, it could cost us our heads. Do you understand?”
The two women nodded repeatedly, already convinced in their hearts that the milk powder was exceedingly precious.
They watched Wu Yulan leave, then exchanged a glance, both filled with confusion and astonishment.
Li Xiulan felt uneasy. “Sister-in-law, what’s wrong with Mother? She gave me porridge and eggs, and now goat milk powder for the baby…”
Wang Guiqin recalled how, before her eldest daughter had been sold, her mother-in-law had also suddenly treated her well for a few days. Lowering her voice, she said, “These days, keep a close eye on Chun Ni.”
Li Xiulan bit her lip and nodded.
The two shared an unspoken understanding and did not mention the milk powder again.
Soon it was time for dinner. When Wu Yulan went to the main hall, the whole family was already waiting.
However, only the eldest son Song Zhiyong and his two sons, Song Dalang and Song Erlang, were seated at the main table. The sulking fourth son, Song Zhishu, had not come.
In other words, in this household, aside from herself, only the men were allowed to sit at the main table to eat. The other women had to hold their bowls and sit at a low wooden table.
Wu Yulan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Move this small table away.”
Wang Guiqin hesitated. “Mother, this small table… it’s where we sit.”
“From now on, everyone will sit at the main table.”
Wang Guiqin fidgeted with her hands. “This… this goes against the rules.”
After being oppressed for so many years, Wang Guiqin had clearly been tamed and did not dare to defy the rules Wu Yulan had set.
“Rules? I am the rule in this family!”
Seeing a trace of anger on Wu Yulan’s face, Wang Guiqin hurriedly called her two sons to move the small table away, then cautiously sat at the main table.
She barely dared to rest her weight on the chair, ready to get up at any moment.
The others were the same.
Wu Yulan took the seat of honor. When she saw the food on the table, she suddenly felt full already.
A pot of thin porridge mixed with rice bran, a pot of wild vegetable soup boiled in plain water, and two coarse-grain flatbreads.
Those coarse-grain flatbreads were the best food in the household. In the past, only she and her youngest son, Song Zhishu, were allowed to eat them.
Once everyone was seated, Wang Guiqin followed the usual practice and served out the porridge. Each person received only half a bowl.
Looking at the rice-bran porridge as thin as water, Wu Yulan suddenly slammed her chopsticks onto the table with a sharp smack.
“What a bunch of fools!”