Shen Yu tenderly patted her little brother’s head and comforted him softly: “Eat. I promise, I won’t let you go hungry ever again.”
Silently, she vowed in her heart that she would make sure her family would live a life that everyone would envy.
Zhang Yuanshan and the other men who were helping couldn’t help but feel a pang of emotion as they watched.
Their own children hadn’t had meat buns in ages. If not for so many people around, they would have sneaked one home for their kids.
The men devoured their meals greedily, wiped the grease off their mouths, and didn’t even go home afterward. They simply turned and continued working. The tasks weren’t complicated, and by the afternoon they’d be nearly finished.
After finishing their meal and tidying up, Shen Yu calculated the day’s expenses with her mother:
“Mother, millet and black flour are six wen per jin, salt is fifty wen per jin. The knives, chopping boards, machetes, scissors, hoes, and sickles together cost 2 taels and 1 qian. The clay pots were fifteen wen total, and I also pre-ordered two sizes of cooking pots for three taels. Clothes and shoes came to 930 wen, carriage fare three wen. All together, today we spent six taels and 128 wen.”
Lin Shuyuan’s face paled slightly, and she said uneasily, “Daughter, let’s skip the pots for now. We’ll still need to get cotton clothes and bedding for winter.”
Shen Yu hugged her mother’s shoulders and smiled reassuringly: “Don’t worry, Mother, I have it all planned. Tonight, let’s have a family meeting.”
Lin Shuyuan blinked in confusion: “A meeting? What’s that?”
“Oh, a meeting just means we sit together as a family to discuss things. You go try on the clothes first. I’ll go to the hillside and gather some wild vegetables.” Shen Yu rubbed her nose and slipped out.
She wanted to see if she could catch some wild game. She couldn’t justify taking meat from her space just yet, but she was craving some meat.
..
To the east of Shenjia Village were several large mountains. According to the elders, these deep mountains were home to large man-eating beasts. In the past, a few skilled hunters, thinking themselves brave, ventured into the deep forest with several village elders—and never returned. Hence, it was an unspoken rule that villagers only cut wood or gather wild vegetables near the mountain base, and no one was allowed to go deeper.
The elders also said that beyond the mountains lived barbarians, mostly herders who didn’t farm. Occasionally, small bands of these barbarian soldiers would cross into the Da Sheng Kingdom during the autumn harvest to steal grain or women. Shenjia Village had never experienced this, so it was merely local lore.
Shen Yu knew the deep mountains were dangerous, but with her martial arts foundation from her previous life—and the personal space to escape into in danger—she had nothing to fear. The space made her virtually untouchable.
She didn’t venture too far into the mountains. Behind a large rock, she peeked westward. The forest was quiet except for the chirping birds. Shen Yu used her mind to summon a few buns from her space and bit into one. The fragrance made her close her eyes in bliss.
After finishing her meal, she took a red apple and, chewing on it, tapped the grass with a stick. Even though she had tucked her pants and sprinkled snake-repelling powder, she remained cautious.
Suddenly, a gray rabbit leapt out beside her, hopping a few times before disappearing.
Shen Yu tossed the apple core aside, took a small iron shovel from her space, and followed the trail. Under a large rock, she found a rabbit nest.
Rabbits always have multiple exits.
Shen Yu circled the nest, found the other entrances, and blocked them tightly with stones.
Returning, she looked at the large rock above the nest with a frown. Using fire to smoke out the rabbits could start a wildfire, and smoke could draw unwanted attention. Digging under it would require moving the rock—but her small frame… she looked down.
Thin and frail, like a twig.
She was a bit disappointed.
She decided she’d need to eat well from now on to build up strength. Even if she couldn’t achieve a perfect figure, she at least wanted to look graceful like in her past life. She clenched her fists and angrily struck the rock—and to her surprise, it cracked!
Shen Yu examined her hand, which didn’t hurt.
Her palms were calloused and toughened from hard work, dark and rough. She tried lifting the cracked rock and easily moved it aside.
The original body’s hidden strength surprised her.
Testing with an even bigger rock, she could also lift it with ease. With the original body’s power and her martial arts, she felt confident.
She moved the rocks aside and began digging the rabbit nest. Her strength easily destroyed the rabbit’s three-chamber den, capturing five adult rabbits and two babies. Using wild grass and vines, she made a simple rope, tied the rabbits, and sent them into her space, then headed back down the mountain. The sun was already slanting west; her parents would worry.
Along the way, she also used stones to kill two wild chickens and sent them into her space. The mountains were rarely visited, so wild chickens were abundant. If not for worrying her family, she would have hunted more.
Suddenly, she remembered that since crossing over, she hadn’t seen her own reflection.
Shen Yu focused, entering her private space’s wardrobe mirror. In the reflection appeared a small, emaciated girl: dark-skinned, scraggly yellow hair, a tiny face with bright eyes, a delicate nose, and plump little lips—a young beauty yet to bloom.
Shen Yu felt satisfied with her current appearance. In her past life, she had also been a great beauty, though her days were spent almost entirely in training and missions, leaving little chance to show it off. Her teammates used to joke that she was a beautiful “tomboy.” Thinking of her past life, Shen Yu felt a pang of nostalgia: Dear teammates, I wonder if you’re doing well in that world…
She walked around her room.
This private space had always been her favorite place in the old world — no outside disturbances, a place to completely relax.
The wardrobe contained mostly neutral-toned outfits: task suits, smart bulletproof vests, night ops gear — neatly folded and stored in separate compartments, seemingly ready to be summoned at any moment. Most of the shoes were special forces training shoes or lightweight, comfortable sneakers.
In the bedroom stood a large, soft mattress with a full set of silk bedding. The vanity was stocked with all kinds of cosmetics, and a thick carpet covered the floor.
Shen Yu glanced down at her own clothes and decided not to lie on the bed — she didn’t want to soil it.
She then turned toward the kitchen.
The modern appliances felt both familiar and strange. She rarely cooked and hadn’t used a kitchen like this in a long time, but it didn’t matter — all the seasonings she had bought were neatly stored in the cabinets, ready for use.