Every bowl on the table held the same wild vegetable porridge—thin, bland, without even a trace of oil, let alone meat.
Ye Mengyi looked at the bowls of watery greens, then thought about the chicken soup and brown sugar eggs she had just eaten. Suddenly, her nose stung with emotion.
This family was truly poor.
So poor that they brought out the only good things they had for her, an outsider, while they themselves ate rough wild vegetables that were hard to swallow.
She silently retreated back into the room and sat once more on the edge of the bed, her thoughts churning.
The world in the original owner’s memories was barren and backward. Women mostly depended on men to survive.
But she wasn’t the original Ye Mengyi.
Since fate had allowed her to survive in this fictional era, and since she had encountered a family that was poor yet kind-hearted, she couldn’t simply become a useless “wife” who enjoyed everything without contributing.
Lu Qingshan could hunt. His uncles could chop wood and take odd jobs.
But that kind of income was too unstable.
She had to find a way to improve this family’s life.
Ye Mengyi’s gaze drifted toward the wooden stump in the corner piled high with books.
The original owner had been Scholar Ye’s daughter and knew how to read. Perhaps there was something useful in those books.
She shuffled over and flipped through them.
Most were beginner reading books, but there were also a few worn books about farming.
Farming…
Her eyes brightened.
This era relied heavily on agriculture, but the Lu family had already sold all their farmland. Were they supposed to rent land from others? But even renting required capital.
Then she remembered the wild vegetables on the mountain.
The vegetables Xu Ru had sorted earlier looked familiar. According to the original owner’s memories, there was a type of wild vegetable that could be blanched and dried for long-term storage while still tasting good.
Perhaps they could sell it in town?
And the game Lu Qingshan hunted—
Instead of merely selling raw meat, couldn’t they process it more carefully?
For example, tanning the pelts before selling them. Wouldn’t that fetch a higher price?
One idea after another surfaced in her mind.
The more Ye Mengyi thought about it, the more energized she became. Even the wound on her head seemed less painful.
She knew these ideas wouldn’t be easy to accomplish.
But it was still better than sitting around waiting to starve.
Creak—
The door opened.
Lu Qingshan walked in carrying a small bowl.
Inside was warm porridge, and resting on top was an egg—clearly saved from his own portion.
“Why are you up?”
He handed her the bowl. Seeing her sitting beside the books, his brows furrowed slightly.
“Does your wound still hurt?”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Ye Mengyi accepted the bowl, her fingertips brushing the warm ceramic.
“Brother Qingshan, I saw everyone eating wild vegetable porridge just now…”
Lu Qingshan remained silent, merely looking at her with faint awkwardness in his eyes.
He knew the family’s meals were humble and feared she might dislike them.
“The wild vegetables smell nice,” Ye Mengyi said with a smile.
She scooped up a spoonful and tasted it. The faint bitterness of the greens was unexpectedly refreshing.
“Brother Qingshan, I have an idea…”
She briefly explained the plans she had been considering.
At first, Lu Qingshan merely listened quietly.
But when she mentioned processing animal pelts and drying wild vegetables, his eyes gradually lit up.
“Could that really work?”
He sounded uncertain.
Anyone could gather wild vegetables in the mountains. Why would people spend money to buy them?
“We won’t know unless we try.”
Ye Mengyi blinked at him, her eyes sparkling.
“It’s better than staying like this forever, right?”
Lu Qingshan looked at the light in her eyes.
That light seemed brighter than the oil lamp in the kitchen, illuminating even his own heart.
He nodded heavily.
“Alright. We’ll try.”
Suddenly, hurried banging echoed from the courtyard gate.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Then Old Madam Ye’s shrill voice pierced through the night like a broken gong.
“Lu Qingshan! Lu Qingshan! Get out here!”
Lu Qingshan had just set down his bowl when his brows tightened sharply and his face darkened.
What was Old Madam Ye doing here this late?
The warmth inside the house instantly vanished.
Xu Ru hurriedly pulled Lu Qingyu into her arms, while Sun Yanfen shielded the trembling Lu Qingshuang behind her.
Lu Dahe spread his arms protectively around Lu Qingsong and Lu Qinglian. The two little ones shrank back in fear, eyes wide.
Grandma Lu rose with her cane, her expression grave. Lu Erhe and Lu Sanhe also set down their bowls, faces wary.
Old Madam Ye was Ye Mengyi’s biological grandmother.
She had always favored boys over girls and treated Ye Mengyi especially harshly.
“I’ll go see.”
Lu Qingshan spoke in a low voice before heading toward the courtyard gate.
Lu Erhe and Lu Sanhe exchanged glances and immediately followed.
Creak—
The courtyard gate opened.
Standing outside were Old Madam Ye and her two daughters-in-law, Feng Yan and Yang Yun.
All three wore malicious smiles, their eyes gleaming with calculation beneath the dim moonlight.
“Qingshan,” Old Madam Ye began with a fake smile, her sharp voice grating. “We came to check on that dead girl. After all, we’re her elders. We should show some concern, shouldn’t we? We’re still her maternal family.”
As she spoke, she tried to force her way inside.
“Stop.”
Lu Qingshan extended an arm to block her, his tone cold.
“It’s late. Whatever it is can wait until tomorrow.”
“Qingshan’s right,” Lu Erhe added as he stepped forward to block her path. “Mengyi’s already asleep. It’s not convenient.”
Lu Sanhe frowned.
“It’s late. You should all go back.”
“So what if she’s asleep?”
Feng Yan shrieked and reached out to shove Lu Qingshan.
“We’re elders visiting a junior, and you dare stop us? Lu Qingshan, don’t be ungrateful!”
Yang Yun also jumped in, using the advantage of numbers to shove Lu Erhe and Lu Sanhe aside.
“Move! We’ll just take a look and leave. We won’t delay you!”
The three women barged into the courtyard aggressively.
Though Lu Qingshan and the others tried to stop them, the women clawed and shoved wildly, making it impossible to block them properly.
Old Madam Ye led her daughters-in-law straight into the main room.
Her gaze swept over the empty dishes on the table before she looked around. Not seeing Ye Mengyi, she immediately headed toward the side room.
“What are you doing?!”
Xu Ru and Sun Yanfen rushed out to stop them but were shoved aside by Feng Yan.
Bang!
Yang Yun kicked open the shabby wooden door to the side room.
The scene inside instantly appeared before everyone.
It was an extremely crude thatched room with bare walls and almost no furniture.
There was only a wooden plank bed covered with straw, two wooden stumps serving as stools, and bundles of dry straw piled in the corner.
Normally, to save oil, they never lit lamps here.
But tonight a small oil lamp glowed dimly, its weak yellow light barely illuminating the cramped room, making it seem even poorer and more rundown.
“Tsk tsk tsk, the Lu family really is dirt poor.”
Yang Yun curled her lips in disdain.
“Mengyi truly has a miserable fate, falling into a nest of poverty like this.”
Feng Yan immediately chimed in:
“Exactly! Those five taels for medical treatment will probably empty out the Lu family completely!”