She had transmigrated here too, hadn’t she?
So why didn’t she get the standard perks every transmigrated heroine was supposed to have?
Even if she couldn’t get a spatial dimension, surely she could at least be assigned a system.
And if not that, then some elemental power—metal, wood, water, fire, earth.
Or the ability to travel between two worlds.
Or maybe a point-accumulation shop where she could exchange credits for items.
Any one of those would do.
She didn’t care which.
Even getting just one of them would’ve been some consolation.
But why did she get absolutely nothing?
If nothing was going to be given to her, then what was the point of transmigrating her here at all?
Was it just so she could stand by and watch the heroine rise to greatness with her own eyes?
That was simply too insulting.
No one cared about Zhao Shiying’s resentment.
No one even noticed it.
After lunch, some people rested briefly before heading back out, while others stayed home.
Thinking about how she’d spent the entire morning searching fruitlessly through the mountain, Zhao Shiying felt exhausted down to her bones.
To hell with digging wild vegetables.
There were so many younger members in this household.
Why should she be the one expected to gather vegetables?
Besides, she couldn’t even find the heroine.
The space might already be in Zhao Shiyu’s possession.
And for all she knew, that century-old ginseng might have already been discovered and dug up by her.
Otherwise, why wouldn’t she come home for lunch?
If she was destined to gain nothing anyway, then why bother trying so hard?
Wouldn’t lying flat and giving up be far more comfortable?
Zhao Shiying flopped onto her bed, yanked the blanket over her head, and drifted off to sleep in simmering frustration.
Meanwhile, unlike Zhao Shiying, Zhao Shiyu was so busy she barely had time to breathe.
Now that she had obtained Paris polyphylla, she would need to go to that official road every morning to “accidentally” encounter the noble lady who would be bitten by a venomous snake.
That meant she’d no longer have time to dig wild vegetables in the morning as cover.
So she had to stockpile enough now to deal with the family later.
She also needed to gather more medicinal herbs.
That was specifically to keep her mother, Madam Jiang, satisfied.
Thankfully, her space had upgraded.
Anything she gathered—whether herbs or vegetables—could simply be stored in the warehouse to remain fresh.
When she took them out later, they’d look exactly as though they’d just been harvested.
There was no risk of exposing herself.
As for wild game…
Although it wasn’t suitable for raising inside the space, now that she had the warehouse, she no longer had to worry about meat rotting after death.
She could simply kill anything she caught and store it directly.
And honestly, now that the warehouse preserved freshness, wasn’t keeping the meat for herself far better than selling it?
She had sold game before because raising live animals in the space caused unpleasant odors, and dead ones couldn’t be preserved.
Now, with the warehouse solving that problem, there was no reason not to keep it for herself.
Still, she needed to make another trip to Qingshui Town.
At the very least, she needed salt, flint, and clay pots.
An iron wok, however, was probably out of reach.
This era already had iron cookware, but iron goods were extremely expensive.
Yesterday, after splitting the rabbit sale profits with her mother, she’d received 118 copper coins.
But after buying white flour flatbreads and pastries, she was left with only 21 coins.
Adding that to her original private stash of three qian of silver and 112 copper coins—
Plus the one qian of silver she’d extracted from Zhao Shiying using her ability—
She currently possessed only four qian of silver and 133 copper coins.
With that little money, how could she possibly afford ironware?
Even the other supplies she needed would have to be purchased carefully, prioritizing only the essentials.
Flint and salt came first.
Knives too.
The wok could wait.
Any food she obtained could simply be roasted or cooked over an open flame for now.
Of course, if she successfully received silver as thanks from that noble lady, then buying everything else would become much easier.
As for the ginseng in her space, she had no intention of selling it for the time being.
It wasn’t that she was reluctant.
The timing simply wasn’t right.
First, she was too young.
If she suddenly appeared with a ginseng to sell, she’d likely either be deliberately underpriced or attract dangerous attention afterward.
Right now, she only had the body and strength of an ordinary eight-year-old child.
If real danger found her, she’d have no means of resisting.
At best, she could hide in the space.
And hiding was all it could do.
Using it to counter-kill an attacker would be far from easy.
Especially if there was more than one enemy.
If that happened, her chances of failing would skyrocket.
Second, though Qingshui Town looked fairly large, it was still only a town.
The people here were connected through an intricate web of relationships.
Grab any two random people on the street, trace their family lines, and they might well turn out to be relatives.
She could sell the ginseng one moment—
And the next, news of a century-old ginseng appearing in Qingshui Town would spread throughout the entire place.
So until she possessed absolute means of self-protection, she’d rather lie low than take risks.
Or perhaps…
She could wait until she had the means to disguise herself before selling it.
After all, she wasn’t alone.
There was the entire Zhao family.
Though relations between the different branches were tense behind the scenes, there were still people here who genuinely cared for her.
And those people had quietly become her weakness.
Their existence meant she had to consider consequences more carefully.
By the end of the day, Zhao Shiyu had practically worked herself to the bone.
When she finally returned at dusk carrying half a basket of wild vegetables, Zhao Shiying was waiting for her at the mountain’s base.
The girl immediately stepped forward to block her path.
“Seventh Sister, where did you go? I was looking everywhere for you because I wanted to dig wild vegetables together. Why didn’t you wait for me?”
Zhao Shiyu looked at her seriously.
“Do wild vegetables bite people?”
The question came so suddenly and absurdly that Zhao Shiying froze in place for three full seconds before finally processing it.
“Seventh Sister… what do you mean by that? How could wild vegetables bite anyone?”
[Has the heroine lost her mind? Is she crazy? This is an ancient world! Aside from the heroine’s ridiculously overpowered cheat, there’s nothing remotely fantasy-like here. How did she ask that question with such a straight face?]
[Wait, no… is she mocking me?]
Heh.
Zhao Shiyu sneered inwardly.
This transmigrated girl really wasn’t very bright.
She actually had to think for a while before realizing the meaning behind it.
“Zhao Shiying, why don’t you just tell me the truth?
Why exactly are you doing this?
Since wild vegetables don’t bite, and plenty of people dig them around this mountain foot without any danger, why do you insist on following me?
As far as I remember, our relationship isn’t exactly good.
And I’ve already refused you many times.
Yet you still cling to me like a sticky plaster.
There’s an old saying—if someone suddenly shows unearned kindness, they’re either plotting or stealing.
You were never this enthusiastic toward me before.
Now you want to stick to me every moment of every day.
So what exactly are you after?
What scheme are you plotting?”
Since Zhao Shiyu could hear Zhao Shiying’s thoughts, the question was obviously one she already knew the answer to.
But Zhao Shiying had no idea.
She genuinely thought her suspicious behavior had finally made Zhao Shiyu wary.
And that realization filled her with unease.
“Ah…”
Caught off guard by the barrage of direct questioning, Zhao Shiying was left completely speechless.
The questions were simply too blunt.
No matter how she answered, it felt wrong.
What was she supposed to say?
I’m following you because I’m trying to steal your opportunities?