Chapter 13

But now that he asked, Sang Luo thought the boy might have held this question overnight.

Sang Luo knew it was time to test her acting skills.

She appeared startled at Shen An's words, then smiled.

Her smile was somewhat melancholic and sorrowful.

Shen An's question seemed casual, but his gaze was intensely fixed on Sang Luo's reaction, his hand gripping the chopsticks tightening subconsciously. Seeing her reaction, he was momentarily confused.

"Sister-in-law?"

This slightly worried call came from Shen Ning.

Sang Luo forced a smile: "Catching fish in the river and making food from tree leaves, this is actually my first attempt. The former is something I heard from children in my clan discussing catching fish in the creek, which I remembered. The latter, it's a recipe recorded in my mother’s dowry books. My mother once made it for me when I was young, so I recognized it."

"Yes, I recognized it. Why didn't I make it before?"

Shen An kept his gaze fixed on Sang Luo.

Sang Luo pretended not to notice, giving a pained smile with her eyes downcast, taking a few moments before looking up at the siblings.

"I never shared my past with you, did I? I was born in a Shuzu (lesser gentry) family. The upbringing I received never involved going into the mountains or rivers... especially not wading into water barefoot to catch fish. Such thoughts were unthinkable in my past."

"As for the Fairy Tofu, it was something from my childhood. Yesterday, when I was so hungry that I felt I couldn't go on, I thought of my parents and my childhood. That's when I remembered this food."

The siblings were somewhat bewildered.

They had heard of Shuzu, a status completely different from the people in their village. They couldn't articulate what exactly it meant, but they knew that many of the quality fields in their village were rented out, and sixty percent of those were from the Wang family in their county, which was said to be a Shuzu family.

The siblings had seen the Wang family's residence when their older brother took them to the market. It was the largest house in the county. Village elders said the ladies of the Wang family seldom ventured out, with servants and maids attending to their needs. These ladies were accustomed to staying indoors and rarely stepping beyond the threshold.

In fact, if Sang Luo were to explain, there's a simple term for it: landlord.

The so-called Hanmen, Hanzu, and Shuzu evolved from the basis of the Shizu (gentry class), a result of the struggle for resources between the imperial power and the gentry.

In her original time, those who weren't quite of the Shizu class but were somewhat influential among the middle and small landlords were considered Shuzu, and it was similar in this time period.

Shen An and Shen Ning were confused. Was their sister-in-law actually from such a prestigious family?

Although they had relied on Sang Luo for survival in the past, they secretly felt she was somewhat ineffective. She dared not enter the mountains or rivers, her attempts at farming failed, and she initially struggled even with tasks like making fire and washing clothes.

They could only live on the meager food portioned out by their uncle. Frankly, her survival skills were not even as good as theirs.

"But if our sister-in-law was always the pampered daughter of a wealthy family, then all those things we thought were odd about her before make sense now when considering her background."

"The most convincing lies are always seventy percent truth and thirty percent fiction."

"Her original identity, knowledge, and upbringing are true. The only things concealed and blended in are her transmigration and the origins of those skills."

"Having walked the edge of life and death, I've had some realizations. Now that I have lost my parents and relatives, not to mention the family and strictures of etiquette, I understand that just being alive is an achievement. Why should I care about so much else?"

"No matter how vigilant Shen An is, he's still just a nine-year-old child, and that too, an approximate age."

"By now, his wariness has completely dissipated."

"Putting himself in his sister-in-law's shoes, a life that once was privileged, struck by disaster and loss of family, and herself reduced to exchanging half a bag of grain for survival..."

"All he feels now is sympathy and pity."

"He even secretly regrets his earlier suspicions about his sister-in-law."

"The children are suddenly overflowing with care and affection."

"Sister-in-law, eat more fish to regain your strength."

"Don't be sad, sister-in-law, you have me and Anning now."

"The effect is almost too good; not only has it alleviated Shen An's doubts, but the two kids are now incredibly caring towards Sang Luo."

……

"The dinner is consumed in a heartwarming atmosphere."

"After dinner, we were left with dozens of fish and a half bowl of shrimp to deal with."

"Indeed, being able to eat three meals a day and having fairy tofu, mixed Portulaca, and two of the biggest fish caught today for dinner was like a feast for the two children who had once struggled with uncertain meals."

"The remaining fish were wisely decided by the kids to be saved for later consumption."

"Sang Luo agreed, considering both daily nutrition and gradual health improvement. Compared to their earlier refugee-like existence, today's nutrition was substantial."

"Though the household lacked many things, the fish and shrimp were valuable. Drying them into fish and shrimp jerky could preserve them for a long time, providing winter reserves and daily nutrition, especially calcium, when there's no meat."

"By the time they returned home with the fish, it was already late, making sun-drying impossible. So after dinner, they boiled the prepared fish and shrimp and went outside to find a thin stone slab for drying them."

"Living far from the village had its benefits. The enticing aroma of roasting fish and shrimp wafted out for over an hour. If they lived in the village, the neighbors' kids would have been crying with envy."

"The few crabs became snacks for the children, and the dried fish and shrimp, once done, amounted to almost a pound."

"Shen An found an old, worn grain bag and stuffed all the fish and shrimp jerky into it."

"After half a month, the kids finally experienced the joy of having surplus food at home, and they were ecstatic."

"Shen An, like a responsible steward, circled the house with the bags of rice and dried fish, looking for a place to hide them, not just to keep them safe from mice but because the dried fish smelled so good."

"Eventually, he cleverly hid the food in the two large pottery basins borrowed from the Chen family, one upright and the other inverted, perfectly sealed to keep even a bug out."

"Pleased with his makeshift granary, Shen An and Shen Ning spent quite a while fiddling and admiring their work, reluctant to leave."

"Shen An, envisioning a future with more possessions, said, 'Sister-in-law, once we have money, we should get a big jar specifically for storing food. We can ask Uncle Youtian to make a lid for it, and then our food storage will be completely secure!'"

"Chen Youtian was skilled in basic carpentry, and the bamboo knife Shen An used was crafted by him."

"Though their home currently had little more than the borrowed grain and the newly acquired fish and shrimp jerky, young Shen An was already dreaming of days with a full pantry."

……

Unlike her fear of mice, Sang Luo was afraid of snakes.

Despite living in the mountains for several years and bravely fetching her fish basket, the thought of snakes crawling into her house while she slept soundly at night terrified her.

In her previous house, she had spared no expense in ensuring the windows were well-secured against such threats.

Now, looking at her current dilapidated grass hut... all Sang Luo could do was to tightly close the doors and windows before bed and thoroughly check the interior, especially around the corners where firewood was stored.

The first day in the ancient times ended amidst busyness, with Sang Luo, Shen An, and Shen Ning squeezing onto a makeshift bed fashioned from stools and planks, lulled to sleep by the chorus of frogs and crickets.

As she drifted off, Sang Luo thought about the priority of renovating the house and building a proper toilet once she had enough money.

Yes, a toilet.

Apart from the difficulty of bathing, the biggest challenge was indeed this aspect.

There used to be a toilet built on the mountain near the original Shen house, a short distance from the grass hut. As for its condition, Sang Luo preferred not to comment, but due to the severe deficiencies in her body, she hadn’t needed to use the toilet all day.

"It was only in the evening before bed that she had to make the inevitable trip to the latrine, holding her nose as she entered and left, moving at the fastest speed she had ever mustered in both her lives."

"Sang Luo could only console herself with the thought that compared to picking up a second chance at life, all hardships were surmountable, and all discomforts were bearable for the time being."

"Consequently, her thoughts before falling asleep were consumed with one thing – making money, making money, making money!"

"Throughout the night, Sang Luo dreamed of a bustling first day selling Immortal Tofu at the market, coins clinking into her pocket one after another. Clutching a pocket full of coins, she even laughed joyously in her sleep."