Traveling Through Those Years Of Farming (Quick Transmigration) - Volume 4 Chapter 7

Ge Shiyan only wanted to disgust Fu Shichun and his wife, yet unexpectedly ended up receiving a wave of praise. If she had a system, it would probably be detecting everyone’s favorability skyrocketing right now.

Fu Dayan favorability: +1 +1 +1 +1 +1…

Lin clan favorability: +1 +1 +1 +1 +1…

Lin Yu favorability: +10 +10 +10…

Of course…

Fu Shichun and Ma Meifang favorability: –1 –1 –1 –1 –1 … –∞

Ma Meifang, the contrast example, nearly ground her teeth to powder. 

How could Ge Shiyan be such a “kind-hearted” person? In her eyes, that generous, noble demeanor was pure pretense. If that selfish and calculating woman truly had such a compassionate heart, Ma Meifang’s name could be written backward from now on.

Unfortunately, she had already lost the upper hand. Just like when their private stash was exposed and part of it secretly withheld, no matter how she tried to patch things up now, she could never outdo Ge Shiyan.

Ma Meifang was furious. In her eyes, Ge Shiyan wasn’t “considering the bigger picture” at all. The two branches competed for resources; whoever grabbed more, grabbed more—pure ability. 

But now Ge Shiyan brought home another burden, using up shared resources. Had she never considered that raising another child also harmed their side’s interests?

Heh, in truth, Ge Shiyan had considered it. She already decided—the cooking amount would stay the same, and the eldest branch’s members could each eat a little less.

Regardless of what the eldest branch thought, Fu Dayan had long made up his mind that no matter who objected, he would keep this pitiful niece. Now that his wife had generously proposed it before he did, he had even less hesitation.

And so, when the Lin clan members left, Lin Yu remained in the Fu household.

She didn’t even have a bundle with her. Everything that belonged to her had been confiscated by her adoptive brother and sister-in-law. Even the clothes on her back were patched all over.

Since they had decided to raise this child, the Fu family naturally examined their newly arrived relative.

According to the Lin clan, Lin Yu was a little over six, nearly seven. But standing next to five-year-old Baobao, she looked about the same size.

And that was only because Baobao had recently fallen into the water and been gravely ill—her originally plump little body had lost weight. Otherwise, with Lin Yu’s thin frame, she would look even smaller next to her.

Still, this solved a clothing problem. Baobao had several old outfits; they only needed the sleeves and pant legs extended a bit, and Lin Yu could wear them.

Food could be solved. Housing, however, was troublesome.

The Fu house had limited rooms. Every room had its use. The eldest branch occupied two rooms in the east wing—one for Fu Shichun and his wife, the other for the twins. The twins were old enough that they should have separate rooms, but after Baobao was brought home years ago, the west room they intended to snatch had been taken instead.

For two years now, Fu Shichun had wanted to expand the house with two more rooms. He intended to use the excuse of splitting the twins’ rooms to seize one or two new ones. But building a house was a major affair. 

Fu Dayan thought the ancestral home was spacious enough and insisted the twins’ room could simply be divided with a wall, so he never agreed.

Lin Yu was a girl. Letting her live with the elderly couple was inappropriate; living with Fu Shinian was also improper. 

In the end, she could only share Baobao’s room for now.

Ge Shiyan wasn’t thrilled. Baobao’s room was the smallest in the east and west rooms. Adding another person meant Baobao wouldn’t sleep as comfortably. The child rolled around in her sleep—she would have no room to roll now.

But she had been the one insisting on keeping the girl; she couldn’t neglect arranging a place for her to stay.

“Mother, let Older Sister sleep with me.” Baobao raised her hand. “I’m scared sleeping alone. Especially after the lights are out—it’s so dark, I feel like water ghosts will come grab me. If I have an Older Sister to hold, I definitely won’t be scared.” She clung to Lin Yu’s arm, playing the pitiful little one.

Perhaps some people truly gave off an inexplicable aura—Baobao had liked Lin Yu from the very first glance.

“You should’ve told me earlier. You must’ve been frightened when you fell into the water.” Ge Shiyan glared at the eldest branch. “If you’re scared, Mother will hold you at night.”

She remembered how, when Baobao first came to this home, she cried day and night for her parents. But she could not conjure up Baobao’s dead mother; all she could do was wear Baobao’s mother’s old clothing and hold the child to sleep.

Over a long period, Baobao gradually accepted her as her new guardian and stopped crying for her parents.

Their bond was built largely through those nights—Ge Shiyan pretending to be Baobao’s mother until she genuinely became one in her heart.

“I think the two girls sharing a room is good.” Fu Dayan quickly coughed twice—if his wife slept with Baobao, would he, an old man, sleep on a cold bed alone? “When the farming slack begins, I’ll ask the village chief about land prices in the area. If it’s affordable, we’ll build a few more rooms along the west side. When the children grow, there’ll be enough space.”

Hearing this, Ge Shiyan hesitated.

The Fu house was solid, repaired every few years, but still an old house. A new house would be grander. Once the new rooms were built, she could give one to Baobao; Baobao’s current small room could go to Lin Yu. Children growing up naturally needed separate rooms—perfect justification for securing rooms in advance.

“Fine, let’s do that.” She agreed to let Lin Yu temporarily share Baobao’s room.

Fu Shichun and Ma Meifang, however, overthought things again. 

The father had ignored all their suggestions to build new rooms over the years; yet now, because of a niece from the married-out branch, he suddenly declared the house too cramped. Clearly, the saying was true—once a stepmother appears, a stepfather follows. In the old man’s heart, they weren’t even as important as a niece he had just met.

But Fu Dayan wasn’t biased. Things had simply piled up at once. He also remembered how many times the eldest branch had wanted to build. Now, sending the youngest to study would surely upset them. Building rooms just might soothe them.

Parents often leaned toward children who struggled, trying to take from the well-off to help the ones less fortunate—this was their idea of “fairness.”

Fu Dayan might be angry now, insisting Fu Shinian be the one to study. But if Fu Shichun and Ma Meifang were smart, they would lie low, then show pitiful faces after his anger cooled. Let Fu Guangyuan linger before him more. Perhaps the old man would feel sympathy and favor them again.

They could then regain momentum against Ge Shiyan.

But once one’s thinking twisted, black became white, good became bad, and father and son drifted further apart.

Dinner was still cooked by Ge Shiyan. Ma Meifang was assigned to boil water to wash Lin Yu thoroughly afterward.

Dinner was “scooped rice”—rice boiled with water until six or seven parts cooked, then scooped out, drained, and steamed. The grains came out separable and delicious. The rice broth wasn’t wasted—add a little brown sugar, and it became a fragrant, sweet drink. In the countryside, this sweet rice broth was a rare treat.

“Ah, I didn’t add enough water.”

After scooping out the rice, very little broth remained—only enough for two small bowls.

She added a tiny bit of sugar and naturally handed the bowls to Baobao and Lin Yu.

“Baobao just recovered from a serious illness. Rice broth is nourishing. Xiao Yu is thin—she needs to be nourished too.”

She would rather give Lin Yu the broth than give it to the eldest branch’s children. With hearts so vicious even at a young age, she could never treat them as innocent.

Her goal was simple—anger the eldest branch to death.

Ma Meifang fumed. There wasn’t much broth, but divided, every child could have two or three sips. Why only the two freeloaders?

Fu Dayan, however, felt his wife’s reasoning was sound. It was only rice broth—nothing precious. That she remembered the niece on her first day already proved how thoughtful and kind she was.

Lin Yu, meanwhile, froze as she stared at her steaming bowl.

In her past life, she had rarely tasted rice broth. Her uncle was kind but not meticulous, and Ma Meifang was a calculating actress. During her years in the Fu household, Lin Yu’s life had been bitter.

Not that life had been better in the Lin family. She was used to misery.

When her uncle could no longer protect her and she grew into a “valuable commodity,” she was sold—high price—to an abusive man, just like her mother.

She never resisted—not knowing how—and because Fu Shichun held her uncle’s wellbeing over her. To give her uncle a good final few years, she went obediently.

But she fared even worse than her mother. In her first pregnancy, she was beaten into miscarriage and died with the child.

Only then did she realize that submission earned no mercy. Humility invited contempt. Her and her mother’s lives had been wasted through blind obedience.

Reborn, Lin Yu understood. Her mother must have realized this right before dying—hence begging to send her back to the Fu family. But it was too late for her mother.

Lin Yu’s eyes reddened from the fragrant steam. It was the first time an elder said she was “thin” and should “eat something nourishing.”

She treasured the sweet broth, sipping it slowly, her heart warming.

Baobao shared her bowl with Fu Shinian. Each child held a small spoon—three or four sips and the bowl was empty.

Though she didn’t give any to her own son, in truth her side still got the advantage. 

Fu Guangyuan and Fu Lianqiao swallowed hard and glared, their eyes red with frustration.

After dinner, Ge Shiyan poured the hot water Ma Meifang boiled into a wooden basin and diluted it with well water until warm. She took Lin Yu to the women’s small bathing room.

The Lin family’s village had no underground water veins, thus no wells. Every household had to walk several li to fetch water from the nearest river. Bathing was a luxury—women might only bathe once a year before the New Year.

Men fared better; they could scrub themselves in the river while fetching water.

With Lin Yu’s parents bedridden for years, her adoptive brother and sister-in-law only waited for the elders to die. They would never bother caring for her. She hadn’t bathed in nearly two years. Only before being sent to the Fu family did the clan elders demand she be washed.

Though she no longer smelled bad, dirt clung thick on her neck and elbows. No one had bothered to wash her clean.

Thinking of it, Lin Yu’s face burned with shame. As a seven-year-old raised in harsh conditions, she had never felt embarrassed before. But reborn, she understood well how humiliating a filthy girl appeared.

Especially contrasted with Baobao’s plump, fair, sweet-smelling little body.

When stripped, Lin Yu instinctively hugged herself, head lowered, wanting to disappear.

“Mother, I brought the things.” Baobao slipped through the door’s crack, carrying lard soap and a loofah sponge.

“Come, help Mother wet the soap.”

The lard soap was homemade. In this era, soap was not rare—many families could make basic soap from lard and wood ash. Wealthier households made scented soaps with plant oils.

Simple lard soap was easy to make and far more effective than soap pods or ash. But because it used valuable lard, most families saved it for bathing before ancestor worship.

After wetting the soap and sponge, Ge Shiyan rubbed them together vigorously, creating a thick layer of pale bubbles.

Lin Yu’s attempt at modesty meant nothing to her. Like lifting a chick, she grabbed the girl’s arm and scrubbed fiercely.

Only those who had experienced this understood. Every time she used lard soap with a loofah on her own children, they screamed as if exercising vocal ranges.

Lin Yu forgot her shame immediately—eyes squinted, teeth gritted. Painful, yet refreshing.

She wanted to cry again—surely this was what a real mother felt like. Her aunt used precious lard soap and personally scrubbed her clean—surely not despising her filth.

She couldn’t remember whether her own mother had ever washed her like this before.

Waiting on the side, Baobao rested her chin on her hands, ready to pass anything her mother needed.

Seeing the “violent” washing, Baobao instinctively trembled. The original body clearly had trauma from such scrubbing. Just watching made her feel pain.

Wait—why was Older Cousin smiling? Baobao sucked in a sharp breath. Older Cousin was a fierce one!