Gu Jiu glanced at the thatched hut in front of her. The walls and roof were full of holes; a single gust of wind would blow straight through from all sides, and if it rained, the house would leak like a sieve. It was simply unlivable.
This place had originally been where the Gu family, once poor, lived. Later, after Gu Laosan began hunting and earning money, they had managed to build a mud-brick tiled house and moved out.
“Go inside first and tidy up. Just leave the things outside.”
The younger children looked at her helplessly, only to see Gu Jiu’s thin figure walk in without hesitation.
Their parents were gone now—no one would protect them anymore. But their elder sister had given them hope. The third branch still had a home of its own.
The original Gu Jiu had also protected her younger siblings like this, so after the division of the family, Gu Rong and Gu Xiaoman didn’t feel anything strange about her.
The only change was that they trusted her even more than before.
“Sis, I’ll help you!” Gu Rong also went in to help clean.
Gu Xiaoman carried her little brother, taking a couple of steps forward—then quickly retreated a couple of steps back.
She wanted to help too, but the inside was too dirty. If her little brother went in, he would get sick.
Gu Jiu glanced at the little girl pacing back and forth outside and found her adorably silly.
“You just stay outside and watch our things. Don’t let anyone take them.”
“Okay! Sis!” Gu Xiaoman answered obediently.
She sat down on a stone with her brother in her arms.
Having something to do made her feel like she wasn’t useless anymore.
Cooking smoke rose from the village—every household was preparing lunch.
“So fragrant… I wish I could taste some meat…” Gu Xiaoman leaned against the stone, drowsy. Before long, she slipped down onto the ground, drooling even in her sleep.
Gu Jiu threw the broken junk from inside the house out and stepped outside just in time to hear the little girl talking in her sleep.
She silently remembered Gu Xiaoman’s wish.
Just wait. Big sister will get you meat to eat.
“Jiu girl!”
Granny Zhou leaned on her cane and slowly walked over with a bamboo basket in her hand.
“Granny Zhou, why are you here?” Gu Jiu hurried forward to greet her.
Granny Zhou’s house was quite far from the old Gu residence, and her legs and feet were already inconvenient.
“You kids haven’t eaten yet, right? Granny just made some wild vegetable pancakes—they’re still warm. Take them and eat before you starve.”
“There’s also half a jin of rice here. Use it to make rice porridge for your little brother.”
Gu Jiu was about to refuse, but Granny Zhou shoved the basket directly into her arms.
“Granny Zhou, you barely have any food yourself… how could I accept this…”
Granny Zhou raised her thin, bony hand and gently patted Gu Jiu’s face.
“Don’t worry, I still have food. I’ve watched you children grow up. No matter what, I’ll always have a bite for you. Don’t be afraid—now that you’ve split from the family, you’ve got your own footing. If anything happens, come find Granny Zhou, alright?”
Gu Jiu nodded heavily. She would never forget this kindness shown in a time of need.
She might be able to endure hunger, but not her two younger sisters and her infant brother.
Compared to the Gu grandparents, who only thought about selling them for money, Granny Zhou felt more like their real family than anyone else.
After Granny Zhou left, Gu Jiu placed the basket on the ground and began cooking rice porridge in a clay pot.
“Rong’er, Xiaoman, come eat.”
The two girls had been staring at the basket the whole time—they were clearly starving.
There were only three palm-sized wild vegetable pancakes.
“Sis, you’ve been working all day. You eat first. I’m not hungry…” Gu Rong said, avoiding her gaze.
Though she was sensible and careful, she was still only an eight-year-old child—her lie was obvious, her face turning red like a cooked shrimp.
Gu Xiaoman said nothing, but her eyes were glued to the pancakes, and she was practically drooling.
“Eat. If we starve to death, the Gu family will only laugh at us.”
Gu Jiu said flatly and calmly, then took one pancake and started eating.
It was dry and hard, stuck in her throat, tasteless, not even a trace of oil or salt.
The two sisters didn’t want to be laughed at by the Gu family either, so they each took one.
But unlike Gu Jiu, they ate as if it were a feast.
“This wild vegetable pancake is so delicious,” Gu Xiaoman said seriously—even though hers was slightly burnt.
Gu Jiu silently thought that she would definitely make sure they ate well in the future.
The water in the clay pot soon boiled. After swallowing the last bite of pancake, she went to tend the fire.
The old kitchen had already collapsed, so she had to cook rice porridge outside the doorway.
They had managed to clean up only one room that could barely be used for sleeping, and even that needed straw to patch the holes in the roof before it could withstand rain.
The porridge started sticking to the pot. As Gu Jiu searched for a ladle among the broken containers, the baby suddenly began crying.
Gu Rong quickly swallowed the last bits of pancake and hurried to soothe him.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry, big sister is making porridge for you. It’ll be ready soon…”
Gu Jiu felt a bit worried. Rice porridge wasn’t as nutritious as milk—if only she could get goat milk right now.
Suddenly—
A miraculous scene appeared before her eyes.
A three-meter-high warehouse shelf appeared, filled with countless brands of milk powder.
Gu Jiu cautiously reached out—and actually touched a tin of formula.
The entire shelf looked like a transparent screen, and strangely, only she could see it.
She made an excuse to go inside to spread out bedding and began carefully studying it.
As long as she thought of something, the corresponding shelf would appear instantly.
“I want chicken drumsticks!”
The shelves instantly refreshed into a braised food section.
She grabbed a drumstick and ate it greedily—it was incredibly delicious.
“I want meat buns!”
The shelves switched again to a breakfast section: steamed buns, meat buns, soy milk, fried dough sticks, tea eggs—all steaming hot and fragrant.
She ate like someone who hadn’t eaten in eight lifetimes.
After finishing, she even refreshed vegetables, fruits, fresh meat, seafood, dairy products, and more.
It was like she had a limitless personal supermarket storage space—items would replenish instantly after use.
From now on, she would never worry about feeding her siblings again.
She even took vitamins and supplements to improve her weak body.
After finishing her bedding, she stepped out.
Carrying a bucket and basket, she told her sisters she was going fishing.
At the river, she also gathered wild vegetables along the way.
If she suddenly brought out cultivated vegetables, people might suspect theft. Wild vegetables were safer.
As she thought about raising fish, the “shelf” suddenly refreshed again.
But this time, it wasn’t goods—it was a piece of land.
A one-acre field, a 50-square-meter pond, two mud houses, and a flowing spring.
A hidden paradise.
This must be her spatial realm.
Gu Jiu appeared in front of the spring and scooped some water to drink.
Sweet. Refreshing.
Her fatigue vanished instantly, her strength returned, and even her head wound began healing.
This water could restore energy and heal injuries!
Overjoyed, she planted rice, vegetables, fish, chickens, and ducks inside the space.
The ecosystem practically ran itself.
After finishing, she returned home quickly, afraid of being discovered.
The moment she entered, Gu Xiaoman ran up excitedly.
“Sis! You really caught fish!”
Gu Rong also noticed the heavy basket and frowned slightly.
“Sis… you also picked wild vegetables?”
Something felt off. Even a full basket of wild vegetables shouldn’t be this heavy.
“I picked some wild vegetables, caught two fish, and got lucky hunting a big one.”
Gu Jiu didn’t explain further and carried everything inside.