Chapter 3: Start of New Life
The residence of this family wasn’t large, there were only two rooms in total. They were on both sides of the central room, and they wouldn’t go wrong even if they closed their eyes.
Yu Wan sorted through the memories in her head as she walked. Coincidentally, this family also had the surname Yu. The Host was called Ah Wan and had the same name as her.
The Host’s family had a very simple population: a father who was captured to be a soldier, a mother who was bedridden and sick, a yellow-skinned and skinny younger brother, and her with a different soul.
In her impression, this family treated her quite well. They did not treat her unfavorably just because she was a girl. Even her younger brother knew how to be humble. Her food and clothing were always the best in the family. This was almost impossible in the village where they value males and belittle females. Of course, the original owner herself was quite capable. Since her father was no longer around and her mother could not work, she carried the heavy burden of supporting her family at a young age. Compared to Yu Wan who only knew how to be a couch potato in her previous life, they were worlds apart.
These were all the memories Yu Wan inherited from the Host. It could be said that this was the most precious memory the Host wanted to keep before she died.
“Sis, be careful.” Little Bruiser, who was helping Yu Wan to the door, reminded her crisply, interrupting her thoughts.
Yu Wan patted his little head. After assimilating Ah Wan’s memories, she had become even more compatible with this body. Little Bruiser was no longer just a strange little boy. This was her younger brother, and the woman in the room was her mother. From now on, they were a family that she was willing to protect with her life.
She was new to this world. The reason she had such thoughts was most likely because of the Host’s will. Perhaps it was because of this strong will that she could summon a soul from another world after her death and help the Host complete her life.
There were no braziers or lights in the room. It was pitch black, and a gust of cold wind blew over. It was as warm as the outside.
Yu Wan walked to the bed in the dark.
After adapting to the light in the room, Yu Wan could vaguely see the woman’s face. It was a pale, bloodless face. She was so thin that her cheeks were slightly sunken, and her cheekbones were prominent because of this. Even so, her facial features were not inferior at all, especially her eyebrows and nose.
The Host’s mother was fine. She fainted because she was too sad. Moreover, she hadn’t eaten for several days so she was barely breathing.
After looking at Madam Jiang, Yu Wan brought over the brazier in her room. She also carried the quilt over and covered her.
When she was done, Yu Wan carried the oil lamp and went to the kitchen.
Although it was called a kitchen, it was actually just a small kitchen that was built with a straw shed in the backyard. In the middle of the kitchen, there was a large rusty iron pot placed on the rough and cracked stove. Right in front of the stove was a bundle of firewood that had been mostly used up.
Even the firewood was so little… Yu Wan had an ominous feeling. As expected, when Yu Wan opened the rice jar, she saw that it was empty.
Yu Wan poured out the entire rice jar, but only a few dozen grains of rice were poured out. It does not even cover the bottom of the bowl.
Yu Wan rummaged through the cupboard for a while, but found nothing other than half a bowl of spicy sauce. Little Bruiser walked in with a basket. “Sis, radish!” There were a few not-so-fresh radishes in the basket and a big sweet potato that had somehow mixed in.
In her previous life, she would not even take a look at these things. But now, she could not be picky at all. Not only was Little Bruiser and the woman in the house hungry, even she was starting to feel hungry.
Yu Wan washed the radishes and sweet potatoes clean and removed the skin. The sweet potatoes were cut into pieces and boiled in a pot of sweet potato porridge with the pitifully little rice grains. The radishes were chopped and mixed with chili sauce.
It was Yu Wan’s first time using a large stove, so she wasn’t able to control the fire properly. The sweet potato porridge was a little burned, but fortunately, sweet potatoes were a natural crop that came with its own sweetness, so it was still delicious even if it was burned.
Little Bruiser stood at the entrance of the kitchen, occasionally sticking his little head in and looking around. The aroma of piping hot sweet potatoes wafted out of the big pot. It was mixed with the faint fragrance of rice and rice crust, making the little fellow drool.
“Sis, I’m hungry,” Little Bruiser said as he took a deep breath.
“Done,” Yu Wan said.
There wasn’t a lot of porridge, but it could be divided into three bowls.
Yu Wan gave the bowl with the most sweet potatoes to Little Bruiser and the thickest bowl of porridge to Madam Jiang.
Madam Jiang was still unconscious and could not eat on her own. Yu Wan tried to wake her up, and Madam Jiang woke up. However, after taking a look at her daughter, she thought she was dreaming and closed her eyes to sleep.
It was no wonder that tMadam Jiang thought this way. It was really because Ah Wan was on her last breath not long after she was pulled out of the water. She could not believe that Ah Wan had come back to life unscathed.
Yu Wan fed the muddle-headed Madam Jiang some porridge. By the time she returned to the dining table with the empty bowl, Little Bruiser had already finished the sweet potato porridge and put down the spoon.
Then, Yu Wan noticed with her sharp eyes that there were a few large sweet potatoes in her bowl of porridge.
Little Bruiser sat there obediently, blinking at her as if to say, “Eat, Sis!”
Yu Wan’s heart softened. She clearly realized that this feeling did not come from the Host, but from herself.
“Sis.” Seeing that Yu Wan was not moving, Little Bruiser swallowed his saliva and pushed the bowl of porridge forward. “Eat quickly, it’s not hot anymore.”
Yu Wan knew that he was not full yet, but she did not reject his good intentions. She picked up the bowl and finished the porridge without leaving a single drop.
The cold wind outside the room was biting, causing the window lattices to rattle. Yu Wan was lying on the innermost side of the bed. She looked at the sleeping Little Bruiser and then looked at the sleeping Madam Jiang. She secretly swore that she would not let them go hungry again.
…
Yu Wan had difficulties sleeping in a bed other than her own and thought that she would not be able to sleep that night. However, she did not have a single dream. When she woke up, the sky was already bright.
Little Bruiser was sleeping soundly, his cheeks flushed. It was unknown how long it had been since he had such a warm sleep.
Madam Jiang was still unconscious, but her breathing was calmer than last night.
Yu Wan did not wake the two of them up. She quietly got off the bed, tidied herself up, and drank a mouthful of cold water to alleviate her hunger. Then, she went to the kitchen to get a kitchen knife and a basket. She stepped on the frost and walked towards the field in her memories.
This was a vegetable field that the Host had been farming. She had planted some garlic sprouts, radishes, and cabbage. She had collected most of the cabbage. There were only a few sporadic cabbages growing here and there. Some chickens had even pecked at them. There were still some radishes. Yu Wan plucked one from the ground. She didn’t care if she washed it or not. She used a vegetable knife to remove the skin and started eating it.
There was no rice or food at home, so eating radishes alone was definitely not enough. Just as Yu Wan was wondering how to fill the family’s stomach, her sharp eyes caught a claw mark on the radish field.
It was a chicken claw print. Judging from its size, it was already an adult. The cabbages in the ground had been pecked by the chickens, so it was not surprising to see a claw print on the ground. However, what caught Yu Wan’s attention was the sapphire blue chicken feather swaying beside the claw print.
Chickens didn’t have such beautiful feathers.
This was a pheasant!
The pheasant actually came to her vegetable field…
This discovery shook Yu Wan’s heart. When a person was poor, even a chicken would bully her. Coincidentally, she was worried about not having anything to eat. Since the other party delivered itself to her door, it could not blame her for being impolite.
The pheasants lived in packs and had a relatively stable range of activity. They would not easily walk down the mountain, but it was winter and resources were scarce. Even the pheasants found it difficult to find food. Coincidentally, Ah Wan’s land was the most remote, closest to the foot of the mountain, and the land that no one wanted to farm.
Usually, other than Ah Wan, no one would come here. It was because of this that the pheasants dared to barge in.
This was probably not the first time seeing how familiar the pheasant was with her field. However, the Host had to cook for her brother and mother in the morning and would go to the field late. And each time, she missed the pheasants. Today, Yu Wan went out early and bumped into it.
The pheasant pecked at the vegetable leaves without a care in the world, unaware that it was in danger.
Yu Wan tiptoed over and reached out to grab it into the basket!