Now that the jade pendant had been retrieved, it meant the engagement between the two families was completely canceled.
Lin Yuzhen looked at Su Luowan and Su Luonian and said:
“Wanwan, Xiao Nian, let’s go home!”
As she spoke, she turned to Zhang Xiulan beside her and added:
“Sister Xiulan, I pickled some vegetables a couple of days ago. I’ll bring you some to taste later!”
“Oh, that would be great! Yuzhen, your pickles taste wonderful—my kids love them!”
Zhang Xiulan had originally come along intending to help, but seeing how decisively the mother and her two children resolved the matter, she hadn’t been of any help at all.
Still, since Lin Yuzhen offered something, she couldn’t refuse. She figured she would bring something over to the Su family later in return.
With that, Zhang Xiulan walked home together with the three of them.
The Su family lived at the edge of the village, near the foot of the mountain.
Zhang Xiulan’s house was slightly closer to the center of the village, but still the nearest neighbor to the Su family.
Back when Lin Yuzhen returned to Linjiawan with her children and struggled through the hardest years, Zhang Xiulan’s family had helped them more than once.
As they walked, Su Luowan sorted through the original owner’s memories, gathering useful information.
When they reached Zhang Xiulan’s house, they said their goodbyes. Su Luowan then looked at the jade pendant in her hand and couldn’t help asking:
“Mom, where did this jade pendant come from?”
Hearing the question, Lin Yuzhen’s gaze fell on the pendant. She sighed softly.
“Your father bought it. He thought the soft pink color was pretty, so he bought it especially for you.”
As she spoke, her eyes lingered on the pendant, as if recalling those happy times through it.
This pendant had been bought by her husband when their daughter was born.
When their eldest son was born, her husband had given him the jade he always wore. To be fair, when their daughter was born, he bought this pendant for her.
Before he disappeared, he had even said that when their third child was born, he would prepare a suitable gift as well.
But in the end…
Thinking of this, bitterness welled up in Lin Yuzhen’s heart, and deep sorrow filled her eyes.
Seeing this, Su Luowan wrapped her arm around her mother’s:
“Mom, in a few years, when things settle down, we’ll go find Dad. Then our family can be reunited.”
Lin Yuzhen gently patted her daughter’s hand. She knew this was meant to comfort her.
Her youngest son was already fourteen. Her husband had been gone for fourteen years. If he could have come back, he would have done so long ago.
So deep down, she believed that in these turbulent times, he was most likely never coming back.
Every time she thought of it, her heart ached so badly she could hardly breathe.
She didn’t dare dwell on it. She would rather believe he had changed his heart and abandoned them, thinking they were a burden.
She would rather believe he was paralyzed or seriously injured and unable to return.
She would rather bear the pain herself than imagine that the man who loved her had met with any misfortune.
What tormented her most wasn’t just his disappearance, but not knowing anything about his current condition.
Afraid of spiraling further into such thoughts, Lin Yuzhen looked at her daughter and said:
“Wanwan, from now on, you should wear this jade pendant. It’s your father’s gift.”
Su Luowan nodded. She truly wanted this pendant now.
When she was little, she had accidentally gotten her blood on a jade pendant just like this one, activating the space inside it.
This pendant looked exactly the same—she just didn’t know whether it also contained a space.
By the time the three of them returned home, it was already close to evening. In those days, electricity wasn’t widespread. Most households still used kerosene lamps or candles at night.
To save fuel, many families finished dinner before dark and went to bed early.
The Su family was no exception.
Seeing that it was getting late, Lin Yuzhen went straight into the kitchen as soon as they got home.
Su Luowan followed her in, but the moment she entered, Lin Yuzhen said:
“Wanwan, go rest. I’ll handle the cooking.”
She thought that after breaking off the engagement with the Qin family, her daughter must feel terrible. It was her own inadequacy that made the Qin boy treat the engagement so lightly.
“Mom, it’s okay. I’ll help you start the fire.”
During her years on the mountain, although there had been electricity and gas, her master had a picky palate and always insisted that food cooked over a traditional stove tasted better.
So she and her senior brothers would often cook meals over a wood-fired stove for him.
Thinking of that, Su Luowan skillfully lit the fire and helped prepare her first meal since arriving in this world.
Dinner was simple: steamed buns made from a mix of white flour and cornmeal, along with a cold cucumber dish from their yard. The three of them ate with great appetite.
As Su Luowan bit into the slightly hard bun, she didn’t find it difficult to swallow. She knew that in this era, having food like this was already quite good.
From the original owner’s memories, she knew their life had only improved after her elder brother, Su Luochen, joined the army.
After dinner, Lin Yuzhen boiled some water, and the three of them washed up briefly before returning to their rooms.
Back in her room, Su Luowan eagerly took out the jade pendant.
She found a needle, then without hesitation pricked her finger.
Unable to wait, she let her blood drip onto the pendant and watched closely for any reaction.
At the same time, in a different time and space—in the modern era—inside an antique-style study, a voice sounded:
“Senior Brother, is there any news from Wanwan?”
The speaker was an elderly man in training clothes, around sixty years old.
Across from him sat an even older man with completely white hair.
Frowning slightly, the old man looked at the jade pendant on the table and said:
“Not yet. This pendant hasn’t reacted. Wanwan has only just returned there—she probably hasn’t seen it yet.”
The elder nodded.
“Mm. As long as Wanwan gets the pendant, she’ll definitely find a way to activate the space.”