Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
While they were talking, the second son of the Great-granduncle, Yan Qixun’s Second Granduncle, also arrived with a wicker basket. The children were busy greeting him.
The Second Granduncle, Yan Hongshan, was the younger brother of Granduncle Yan Hongyun. Although they stayed separately, their father was still around, so the two brothers were very close. They were also worried when they heard that their eldest nephew’s house was on fire, so they came over to check on it. They brought along some rice and some silver.
“Big Brother, I heard that Fengchi’s house was on fire, so I came over to take a look.” Fengchi was the nickname of Yan Qixun’s father, Yan Yongwu.
“I only found out this morning. Yan Lingsu and Yan Lingyu came to notify me. Did you bring rice over as well? I only just mentioned that I wanted the children to move into my place, but they were unwilling. When my niece-in-law comes back, I shall ask her again. If she is still unwilling, I shall ask some people to help clean up the house. We cannot let the children suffer, after all.”
Yan Hongshan nodded. “Alright, I still have some savings at home. My wife asked me to bring ten taels of silver over. We have to prepare the sheets and some clothes for the winter. Food should not be an issue. The rest of the family will send some food over when we return. I guess they won’t go hungry after all.”
Yan Hongshan only had one son, and his son had two children. Both Yan Hongshan and his wife were in good health, and they were good at their jobs. Their lives were better compared to his elder brother, Yan Hongyun.
Yan Hongyun did not argue. His family consisted of eight grandchildren, and six of them were old enough to be studying. Fortunately, they studied with Yan Yongwu, so they did not pay any school fees. He had saved up a lot of money, as the study materials were not cheap.
In addition, his family only had thirty to forty acres of land with seventeen mouths to feed. Although the eldest son worked as an accountant in town, the second and third sons worked part-time in town when they had time. Their lives weren’t easy at all.
Yan Hongshan was different from his brother. His son was an elementary scholar, and he taught in a private school in the county. His two grandchildren were still young, and the eldest grandson had only studied for two years. He had no reason to spend money carelessly, so he had some savings.
The two brothers walked around the three rooms, discussing living arrangements so that the children could live here. Yan Lingyu was teasing and playing with the other children.
Yan Hongshan had a strange feeling. There seemed to be something wrong with the three sisters. Yan Qixun was the better one. Although she was sick, it made sense that she was a bit distracted. However, Yan Lingsu and Yan Lingyu had sad eyes, and they seemed to be a little absent-minded. On the other hand, it was understandable, seeing as their home had just been burned down. Even Yan Qixun could see that her sisters weren’t themselves.
A disaster had just hit their house, so it made sense that they would be unhappy. But it seemed that the catastrophe that happened wasn’t the cause of the absent-minded looks on their faces. Whatever the case, something was not right. However, Yan Qixun had awakened the memories of her previous life, and she should be the one feeling under the weather.
The two Granduncles helped tidy up the house. Seeing that it was almost noon, they called it a day and took Yan Lingzhou home. These days, people only have two meals a day. The food at home was not even enough for their own family, so they could hardly afford to have any guests to stay for lunch.
Yan Lingsu put the food and other supplies aside but rejected the ten taels of silver that their granduncle offered them. In that era, ten taels of silver were enough to feed an average family for a year. Since their mother was not around, the sisters were apprehensive about taking the silver.
After seeing their uncles off, they went back to the house to check on Yan Qixun’s fever. Her fever had gone away, so they checked her pulse to make sure. Seeing as Yan Qixun was alright, they collected some firewood. Yan Qixun even joked around and asked, “Sister, can you recheck my pulse?”
Yan Lingsu paused and ignored her. She then set the firewood and warmed up some porridge and pancakes that Grandmother Zuo had sent over earlier in the morning— that was lunch for the three sisters.
As Yan Qixun was chewing on the pancakes, she thought about the pocket dimension of her past life. She wouldn’t have to worry about anything if the pocket dimension still existed.
She has been in this life for eight years, and she understood that this was the life that she had to live. The current Imperial Court of this era was called the Great Xia Empire, which was the counterpart to the magnificent Tang Dynasty in her past life. However, this era was completely different from her past life.
The Great Xia Empire had been established for more than three hundred years now. The empire was strong and prosperous, but the people below were having a hard time. The two granduncles’ families were considered excellent in the village, but they wore clothes with patches on them.
However, the location of the Yan family village, Qingze Prefecture, was not in the backwater part of the central plains. It was, in fact, a prominent and prosperous mansion. The Yan family village was under the jurisdiction of Qingze Prefecture, which was Linjiang county’s Anping town. Transportation was convenient because it was close to the waterway that led to the capital.
Although mountains on three sides surrounded it, it was not isolated. A few hundred people lived in the village, and they were mainly from the same clan, so they were always helping each other. Although they were poor, their lives would be manageable if the weather were good.
The Empire was strong, and the governance of the officials was relatively transparent. Yan Qixun felt that if she worked hard, her family’s future would be bright. But living in such a feudal dynasty, social status was critical. If her father could get into the scholar examination and get an official position, she would live a wealthy life with her genius mind.
But that was not what she was worried about. She was more concerned about land. If there were no land, they would not be able to grow potatoes, chilies, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and all kinds of other foods. It would not matter how rich she became. The quality of life would still be significantly affected.
She was born into a wealthy family in her past life and focused solely on research. She did not care much for other things, but everything had to be perfect for food.
When she thought about how restricted she was in terms of the availability of land and could no longer enjoy the delicacies available in her past life, Yan Qixun felt that she had nothing else to live for.
Yan Qixun was not the only one lost in her thoughts. Her sisters were eating porridge and pancakes, seemingly lost in their thoughts as well. When Yan Qixun came to, she noticed that the fifth sister’s forehead was all wrinkled up, as though she was having trouble swallowing her food. Yan Qixun could not help but laugh.
She had always been a delicate little girl. But now, she was eating porridge and pancakes without a side dish. Compared to the food at home, this was not too bad.
After eating, the three sisters began to pack up their things. The two Granduncles helped put away some heavy items while the three little girls went to fetch some water to help clean the doors, windows, tables, and chairs. There were also some bottles and jars in the house that had been burned. They weren’t damaged, but it would be wise to find them and clean them as they could still use them.
There were three rooms on this side of the house. The west room was initially the bridal chamber before their mother married into the family. After that, they used it as a storage room, and it was rather large. After getting the room sorted out, there was enough space there for Second Brother to live for the time being. However, it might get cold during the winter, so they could light a brazier to keep themselves warm.
The east room was originally their grandfather’s room. In it, there was a heated brick bed. It was connected through the outside to warm the bed, which ran through the kitchen, with a door that opened from the inside.
Yan Qixun did not own a coat. Yan Lingsu was afraid that Yan Qixun would catch a cold, so she told her sister to sit on the bed and play. Together, Yan Lingsu and Yan Lingyu went outside to look for things that survived the fire. They salvaged some undamaged pots, bowls, and a few porcelain bottles.
They cleaned up all the items that they had collected. They moved the pots and bowls to the kitchen while moving the other things into the house. They then cleaned the kitchen and the rest of the house initially. Four hours had passed since then.
One of the other clan leaders had sent someone over to check on the sisters. He said he would ask the other clan members to gather some rice and send it over tomorrow.