The next day, Gu Jiu got up very early.
Last night, she had dealt with several members of the Gu family. Her two younger sisters had helped and were utterly exhausted, but Gu Jiu had spiritual spring water, so she gave the two little girls some to drink before bed. After sleeping through the night, they didn’t even complain of soreness the next morning.
Gu Jiu locked the door in the morning and went to the river to fetch water. The bucket naturally contained water from her space’s spiritual spring.
However, to avoid arousing suspicion, she still made a show of going to the river before returning home to cook breakfast.
She lit the fire and began thinking about what to cook. Remembering that Grandma Zhou had given them some white rice, she took out a pumpkin from her storage shelf and cooked pumpkin porridge with the rice.
Just porridge alone wasn’t enough, so she also took out two cucumbers and made a cold cucumber salad.
There was still more than half a pot of roasted lamb left from yesterday, so she reheated it a bit before calling the younger siblings to eat.
Gu Rong and Gu Xiaoman were still lying on the wooden bed, the two sisters curled up together in deep sleep, while Gu Changle lay on the far side.
They had been in a hurry last night and hadn’t had time to make proper beds. The siblings had slept side by side on a wooden board covered with dry straw, wrapped in the ragged quilts from their split household—like sleeping in a dormitory.
“Rong’er, Xiaoman, wake up and eat breakfast!” Gu Jiu walked over and first woke her two younger sisters, then leaned toward the youngest brother.
Gu Changle’s mouth was open, drooling slightly. The little one had eaten so much fragrant meat the night before that he even slept with a smile.
“Little Changle, stop sleeping. Time for breakfast,” Gu Jiu said, lightly patting his chubby little cheek.
Although the child hadn’t been properly breastfed for many days and was a bit thin, he had inherited his mother Li’s fair skin and still carried baby fat. His cheeks felt soft and pleasant to the touch.
Gu Rong had already gotten up and dressed herself, and was helping Gu Xiaoman dress.
“Elder sister, I was too greedy and slept in. I should have made breakfast,” Gu Rong said apologetically.
“I intentionally didn’t wake you. You were both exhausted from moving yesterday—you should sleep more,” Gu Jiu said casually, then picked up Gu Changle and carried him into the main room.
Gu Changle still couldn’t walk steadily; he would stumble after just a few steps and needed a few days of practice before he could walk on his own.
She first washed his face with a cloth and wiped his little hands clean.
The pumpkin porridge in the pot was still warm.
Gu Rong lifted the lid, and the sweet aroma of pumpkin filled the air.
“Elder sister, where did you get this pumpkin?”
“I went to fetch water this morning and passed by the back hill. I thought I’d try my luck for wild vegetables, and unexpectedly found a wild pumpkin after walking a bit further. I also came across two wild cucumbers, so I picked them and brought them back.”
Gu Jiu lied without changing her expression.
Gu Xiaoman stood by the pot, unable to move her eyes away, staring straight at the porridge.
In the village, most people ate sweet potatoes. In recent years, famine had made vegetables like pumpkin and cucumber rare treats, hardly seen except in cities.
“Elder sister, next time you go to the back hill, take me with you. What if you run into wild beasts alone?” Gu Rong said worriedly while serving porridge.
Gu Xiaoman quickly agreed, “Yes! Father said there are wild beasts in the back hill—it’s dangerous!”
“I won’t go deep into the mountains,” Gu Jiu said as she placed the cold cucumber salad and reheated lamb on the small dining table.
The table was something she had made herself from a wooden board and four sticks nailed underneath.
“Elder sister, don’t be careless. Last year, the son of Uncle Feng in the village went hunting in the back hill and was taken by a beast. He’s still missing…” Gu Rong nagged anxiously.
“Alright, I remember,” Gu Jiu quickly nodded, afraid she would continue lecturing her.
The four siblings sat on the ground around the small table and ate breakfast together.
The fresh cucumbers were smashed and mixed with minced garlic, soy sauce, and vinegar—simple but delicious.
Gu Xiaoman took a bite and her eyes lit up.
“It’s so good!”
She then drank a mouthful of pumpkin porridge—sweet, soft, and fragrant, the pumpkin blended perfectly with the rice.
“The pumpkin porridge is delicious too… I wonder when I’ll get to eat pumpkin again…” she said sadly, hugging her bowl reluctantly.
Gu Jiu fed Gu Changle porridge with a spoon and said, “Eat well. I’ll think of a way. I’ll make sure you all live a better life in the future.”
“Mm!”
Gu Rong and Gu Xiaoman nodded firmly.
To them, their elder sister was their sky—the only person in the world who would protect them.
Her words gave them hope for the future.
In this era, children who lost both parents had no support for the rest of their lives. Surviving alone was already difficult enough, let alone carving out a future.
Gu Changle, held in Gu Jiu’s arms, seemed to understand as well and mumbled, “Live… a good life!”
After finishing breakfast, Gu Jiu suddenly said, “After we eat, I need to go to the city. We’re out of grain.”
Gu Rong immediately said, “Elder sister, I’ll go too. I can help carry things.”
“No need. I can carry it myself.”
Gu Xiaoman also chimed in, “I can help too! Look, I’m strong!”
She rolled up her sleeve to show her thin little arm.
Gu Jiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and refused again, but after a second refusal, she noticed both sisters looking at her with expectant eyes.
They had never been to the city before and were clearly curious.
So Gu Jiu decided to take all of them along.
After all, she could just take out a little extra silver from the money they had gotten from the family split.
Every morning, a donkey cart would stop at the village entrance. Villagers going to town would pay the driver one copper coin.
Gu Jiu locked the door and told the sisters the lock was something she had picked up outside. The girls didn’t know much and believed her easily.
She carried a basket with clothes at the bottom and a thick layer of straw on top, where little Gu Changle sat obediently inside.
When they arrived at the village entrance, they met the donkey cart of the village head’s son, Feng Daquan.
Seeing the little boy in the basket, Feng Daquan agreed to treat him as cargo and didn’t charge a fare.
The villagers already knew that Gu Jiu had split from her grandparents and was raising three children alone under difficult conditions.
Gu Jiu and the others were very happy to save a coin.
After paying three coins, they got onto the cart. Once it was full, Feng Daquan drove the donkey toward the county town.
On the cart were two village women; one of them was Liu Guihua, who kept sneaking glances at Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu noticed and shot her a cold look. Liu Guihua immediately looked away. As long as she didn’t cause trouble, Gu Jiu couldn’t be bothered with her.
The ride was bumpy, and Gu Jiu felt like her butt was about to fall apart.
Gu Rong and Gu Xiaoman, however, kept looking around curiously the entire way.
Liu Guihua still had the wound from being stabbed the night before and kept wincing in pain. When others asked, she only dared to say she had twisted her foot.
She secretly glared at Gu Jiu, already understanding from experience that this girl was ruthless, vengeful, and not someone to provoke lightly.