“A dog’s mouth can’t spit out ivory. If you don’t like it, feel free to leave. Whether my home is a pigsty or a doghouse, you’re not welcome here.” Lin Shiqi snapped back at him.
Zhou Lang was truly insufferable.
Sure, she hadn’t tidied up before leaving, but it wasn’t that bad—hardly a pigsty.
“Hmph! Fine, I won’t stay where I’m not welcome.”
Zhou Lang turned to leave.
They were both back in the modern world now—why would he stick around here, standing guard like a door god?
When the two of them had entered the house, the two halves of the Tongxin Lock were still pressed together.
Now that Zhou Lang was turning to leave, the lock was separated.
The scene around them began to waver.
Lin Shiqi sensed something was wrong. She only had time to grab a banana from the fruit plate on the table.
The next moment—
They were back in the shabby earthen house.
Back at the Zhou family home!
Lin Shiqi clutched a banana in her hand.
Zhou Lang had swiped a big apple.
“You thieving bastard, Zhou Lang! Can you get anything right?”
Having made a mistake, Zhou Lang was uncharacteristically sheepish. “Let’s try joining them again. This one doesn’t count.”
“The lock must not be separated—once it splits, it disperses.” Lin Shiqi wolfed down the banana in seconds.
The apple in Zhou Lang’s hand had also turned into just a core.
…
After that, the two of them kept trying to join the lock.
But no matter how many times they pressed the halves together, the Tongxin Lock showed no reaction at all.
“Looks like there’s a condition to trigger it—it doesn’t work anytime.”
“Since holding the Tongxin Lock makes it easy to separate, let’s tie them together with rope and try. If the lock doesn’t separate, we won’t have to stay glued to each other…”
“Alright.”
All the details were settled.
They just had to wait for the next time the lock joined and hope for another miracle.
Suddenly, Granny Zhou’s scolding voice came from the courtyard. “Fourth daughter-in-law! Are you going to die before coming out to wash the dishes? Feeding takes this long, and you dawdle with everything—what use are you?! Even a dog is more obedient than you…”
This was the most vicious Granny Zhou in the book!
The male lead’s childhood nightmare.
The one who held life-and-death power over the Zhou household.
Lin Shiqi didn’t dare offend her. She answered with practiced ease, “Coming! Mother.”
Then she shoveled the bowl of coarse grain rice into her mouth in a few quick bites.
Like a whirlwind sweeping through fallen leaves—she deliberately left not a single bite for Zhou Lang.
Let him be shameless and fight her for food! Ha! Let him starve to death…
Zhou Lang…
He’d eaten an apple—he was immune to hunger!
Lin Shiqi cheerfully gathered the dishes and headed out.
In the first two days after crossing over, learning of her situation, she’d felt utterly miserable.
Now she’d discovered there was hope of going home.
Especially since that unlucky bastard Zhou Lang had crossed over with her too.
This was great—if she was going to die, she’d have company.
As for the tragic fate of their fourth branch in the book?
No need to panic. Zhou Lang was right—no matter how formidable Zhou Qinan was now, he was just a little brat. Maybe she could even win him over with a soft approach…
For now, the main thing was to eat properly and openly.
Lin Shiqi carried the empty bowl to the kitchen. Sure enough, only scraps and leftovers remained on the table.
Everyone else had dispersed, leaving only Granny Zhou, who was glaring sideways at Lin Shiqi with utter disdain.
And Liu Shi, the wife of Zhou Third, who was clearing the table.
After Granny Zhou finished berating Lin Shiqi, she said to Liu Shi, “Let her do it. You go back to the room and tend to the two little ones…”
Liu Shi was a young wife—slim and petite, with delicate, pretty features.
She was dressed neatly and briskly, with a stubborn glint in her eyes.
Liu Shi smiled. “Then I’ll do as Mother says and go tend to the little ones. Fourth sister-in-law, I’ll trouble you to wash the dishes.”
The Zhou family had many mouths to feed, with four daughters-in-law. So every day, household chores were divided—one day the first and second branches cooked, the next day it was the third and fourth branches’ turn, rotating in order.
Each branch washed its own clothes, but cooking, sweeping, feeding the chickens and pigs—all the miscellaneous chores were shared.
Here, one thing had to be said: the book described Granny Zhou as domineering, vicious, and cruel, always bullying the first branch. But that wasn’t actually the case.
From Lin Shiqi’s two days of observation, Granny Zhou distributed tasks fairly enough.
…
Today was the third and fourth branches’ turn to cook.
So the first and second branches ate and left, leaving Liu Shi and Lin Shiqi to cook and clean up.
Whenever it was the third and fourth branches’ turn, Liu Shi did the stir-frying and rice-cooking. She was a quick, capable woman with decent cooking skills, so she took the lead.
Lin Shiqi helped on the side—tending the fire, washing vegetables, cleaning up the dishes and such.
“Third sister-in-law cooks, I wash the dishes—that’s only fair. Third sister-in-law, go ahead and attend to your business!”
This remark made both Granny Zhou and Liu Shi somewhat suspicious.
The fourth daughter-in-law had always been a wooden block—quiet, rarely smiling. Was the sun rising from the west today?
She was even speaking pleasantries now?
Lin Shiqi didn’t care what others thought.
Humming a little tune, she gathered up all the dishes and utensils.
The Zhou family kitchen was shabby and run-down. The front held the stove where they cooked, and the back was where dry firewood and straw were piled.
Lin Shiqi planned to wash the dishes, then head to the back of the kitchen to find some dry straw and braid it into sturdy rope to bind the Tongxin Lock.
At first, she had been about to go looking for some hemp rope, but then she thought better of it.
In this godforsaken, barren place, even a scrap of hemp rope would surely be treasured like a precious gem by someone. It wouldn’t be easy to find any.
Better to make do with some dried straw rope for now.
Suddenly, a woman dressed in sky-blue floral cotton clothes walked in with a beaming smile.
“Fourth Sister-in-law, have you eaten yet?”
Her tone was warm and amiable as she greeted Lin Shiqi.
This was Wang Shi, the wife of Zhou Eldest, and also the mother of Zhou Qinan, the male lead in the book!
This woman appeared extremely delicate and frail. She always wore a cloth headscarf, claiming she suffered from headaches and couldn’t withstand the wind, nor could she do any heavy labor.
She greeted everyone with a smile. The book portrayed her very positively, describing how she doted on Zhou Qinan and would do anything for her son.
“Eldest Sister-in-law,” Lin Shiqi quickly replied. “I’ve already eaten.”
Wang Shi, dressed in her floral cotton clothes, gave a gentle smile. “What good is it for you to just eat leftover scraps and soup every day? Mother doesn’t even save any food for you. It breaks my heart to see it. Here, take this.”
With that, she pulled out a small ball of rice from inside her clothes.
It was still warm.
This must have been half of what she’d hidden away during the meal just now.
Lin Shiqi looked flattered and overwhelmed. “Eldest Sister-in-law, this…”
“Go on, eat it. Look how thin you are—your chin’s gone all pointy. It’s pitiful to see.” Wang Shi said with affection.
When it came to food, Lin Shiqi had no principles.
She accepted whatever came her way.
“Then I’ll thank Eldest Sister-in-law.”
Wang Shi continued, “Fourth Sister-in-law, all these years, you’ve never had enough to eat or wear, and you’ve been stuck watching over a fool of a husband. It’s been hard on you.”
Lin Shiqi replied modestly, “It’s what I ought to do.”
But alarms were going off in her head.
When someone suddenly acts overly kind for no reason, they’re either up to no good or after something.
She had the original owner’s memories, after all. Eldest Sister-in-law Wang Shi rarely even gave her a proper look, looking down on her as the fool’s wife.
The book described Wang Shi as a devoted mother, always thinking of her son Zhou Qinan’s best interests.