Chapter 117

Chapter 117

The hand, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it had been caught the last time, waved around aimlessly, trying to grab an orange.

Moved by pity, Gu Ran offered an orange to the hand. The small hand hesitated for a moment, then snatched the orange and quickly withdrew, not reaching in again.

Gu Ran leaned closer to the hole and peered inside. It was still shrouded in white mist, but she could clearly hear the sounds of someone eating ravenously from the other side.

After devouring the orange in just a few bites, the hand reached back in. When it grabbed another orange, Gu Ran didn’t let go. “Hey, kid, this is my place, you know?”

The hand holding the orange froze.

“Your place?”

The voice confirmed it was a child, too young to distinguish whether it was a boy or a girl.

“That’s right. You’re stealing from my home.”

“Are you a spirit?”

“Why do you say that?”

“I’m hungry. Can I fill my stomach first?”

“You’re hungry?”

“I haven’t eaten for three days and was… beaten by bad people. I’m badly injured,” the child whimpered and sniffled.

Gu Ran looked at the hand that was dripping blood. Her intuition told her the child wasn’t lying. She let go, and the hand grabbed the orange and pulled back again.

Hearing the sound of ravenous eating, she couldn’t help but become curious. “Kid, who are you?”

The sound of eating paused, then resumed.

“How about you talk properly to me, kid? If you answer my questions, I’ll not only give you oranges but other things to eat!”

“Other things?”

“Yes, other food that can fill your stomach.”

Oranges are usually considered a snack, not a meal to fill one's stomach.

There was a long pause before the child finally replied, “No, oranges are fine. I like oranges. Thank you… sister.”

The word 'sister' came out hesitantly, as if the child was either wary or reluctant to use it.

But, returning to take things even after being caught, and having gone without food for three days, it must have been sheer desperation.

“Is this really your home, sister?”

“Yes, how did you discover this place?” And how did you manage to dig through the space compartment?

“I got into a fight with some villagers, lost, and hid. That's when I found it.”

“Where did you fight?”

“In the mountains.”

“The mountains by your village?”

"That's right."

"Where is your village?"

"Sis, are you going to catch me?"

"No, I'm just asking casually because I find you quite strange."

"Then your home is very strange too." The child's voice, although not the child's own, sounded very puzzled.

"How is it strange?"

"Well, it's a mountain, and yet there are so many oranges inside the mountain. And you, Sister, also live inside the mountain. Sister, are you really not a spirit?"

It turned out that in the child's eyes, the third space compartment was a mountain. No, the storage space within this compartment was inside the mountain?

Inside which mountain?

"No, my home is just built behind this mountain. The mountain wall you see is just my yard's wall." Gu Ran explained. It was unclear whether the child believed her, but the child didn't say anything, seemingly still confused.

"If you don't believe me, just go over the mountain. If you cross it and find my home, you'll see I'm not lying."

"Really?"

"Really!"

"What is your family's name?"

Gu Ran was caught off guard by the question.

Should she tell the truth?

No, she couldn't. Even though the other was just a child, Gulu mentioned that the location code for this third space compartment was in the Great Sheng Dynasty. Even though it was far away, if the child ever let it slip, people might think she, Gu Ran, was the spirit the child spoke of.

No way.

"To be honest, this house belongs to my master."

"Your master?"

"This yard isn't actually mine. But this side room is mine. I do work for my master, and because I'm diligent and capable, they rewarded me with a nice side room to live in. I never expected it to get broken by you."

"I didn't break it..." The child outside protested softly, then asked again, "Then what work do you do for your master to live in such a nice side room?"

Gu Ran: ..., Why is this kid so hard to convince?!

"Well, I plant oranges. The oranges my master grows are really delicious, with thin skin and sweet flesh. You've eaten them, right? Weren't they delicious?"

"Delicious!"

"If you think they're delicious, I'll give you more in the future. But can you promise me one thing?"

"What thing?"

"Don't tell others about this place or how you found the oranges, okay? If my master finds out the side room I live in is damaged, I'll face severe punishment."

There was silence outside for a long time before the child finally said, "Okay, I won't tell anyone."

"You're a really good kid!"

It had been a while since anyone else came to dig here after I first found the oranges. Gu Ran began to trust the kid a little. "Hey, I'm Auntie Liu. What's your name?"

As she spoke, Gu Ran picked out quite a few pastries and candies small enough to fit through the hole and placed them inside.

The kid on the other side quickly grabbed everything.

Noticing the kid had taken everything but stayed quiet, Gu Ran asked again, "I can't just keep calling you 'kid,' can I?"

"I, my name is Lin Ge'er, Lin as in beautiful jade."

"Lin Ge'er?" So, you're a little boy.

"My mom and sister call me that!"

"Then I'll call you that too."

Before Gu Ran could finish, Lin Ge'er suddenly hurriedly said, "I, I have something urgent now, I need to go, I'll come see you again, Auntie Liu!"

"Wait, Lin Ge'er? Lin Ge'er?"

After a long silence, Gu Ran gave up.

"If I patch up this hole in the third space compartment, can it still be used?"

"Of course, as long as no one near the mountain discovers it, it can still be used."

It seemed that for now, only that kid Lin Ge'er knew about this, and because he was young, he had probably temporarily believed her story.

Luckily, it was just a kid.

So, did Gulu mean that as long as they killed Lin Ge'er, the secret of the third space compartment would remain safe?

Should they kill him?

Gu Ran was quite hesitant and glanced at the hole. If they had to kill him, how would they do it?

He came for the food, so poisoning him would work, right?

Gu Ran shook her head vigorously. No, no, what was she thinking, hurting a kid over something so small?

But if they didn't get rid of him, the third space compartment would always be at risk of being exposed.

Would she abandon such a large space compartment for the sake of an unknown child?

Was there no way to have it both ways?

That day, Gu Ran left the cabin with a heavy expression.

"Erniang!"

Seeing Gu Ran's unusual expression, Pei Sixth Lady called out, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, probably just not used to being on a boat yet." Gu Ran forced a smile and explained.

"Feeling stuffy in the cabin?"

Gu Ran nodded.

Pei Sixth Lady hesitated for a moment, "Then, find something to pass the time?"

What kind of entertainment could there be on the ship?

Gu Ran noticed Sixth Madame Pei glancing at her.

Gu Ran also looked at her own cloak, then jumped in surprise.

Because Miss Sixth had grown tall quickly over the years, the winter clothes made for her now were loose-fitting robes and cloaks, making her look like a handsome prince at first glance.

Gu Ran had often envied her tall frame.

But though Miss Sixth was tall and beautiful, she was flat-chested.

Gu Ran had lamented a few times that the nutrients that should have gone to her chest must have gone to her height.

However, now, inside Miss Sixth's cloak, there was a noticeable bump.

Did Miss Sixth suddenly grow a chest?

Gu Ran was shocked, and upon closer inspection, something was wrong—how could a chest move around like that?

Gu Ran's eye twitched. "Miss Sixth, you, what is this?"

Sixth Madame Pei, seeing the little thing moving restlessly inside the cloak, smiled and lifted the edge of the cloak, revealing a cute furry head with bright, round eyes staring at Gu Ran. "Meow~"

This wasn’t Xiaohua. Well, Xiaohua was plumper than this. This was Xiaohua's great-great-grandchild, named Xiaodouhua, because of the patches of orange and white fur.

"Is this Xiaodouhua?" Gu Ran asked in disbelief.

Sixth Madame Pei nodded and reached out to stroke Xiaodouhua's head. Xiaodouhua, in a bid for affection, cooed, "Meow~"

When did her family’s cats sneak aboard?

"You..."

"Xiaodouhua clung to me and wouldn't let go when I was about to leave. I thought, since there's no danger on an official ship, it would be fine to take Xiaodouhua for a little sea voyage." After returning, Xiaodouhua would be a cat that had seen the world in the capital.

Sixth Madame Pei, dotingly looking at Xiaodouhua, then at Gu Ran, lifted Xiaodouhua by the scruff of its neck and held it out to Gu Ran. "Hold it in your arms. It's warm and can be a source of entertainment."

Gu Ran's mouth twitched, and just as she was about to say something, a cough came from behind her. Turning around, she saw, "General Qiao!"

General Qiao, with a gentle smile, also pulled out a furry ball from inside his cloak.

It was also her family’s cat.

Named Xiaojinhua because of the large patches of yellow fur resembling flowers on its black and yellow body.

Gu Ran facepalmed. "Not again, how are both of you taking my cats?"

"I was about to leave, and the little one clung to me. My heart softened, so I brought it along!" General Qiao, holding the furry ball in both hands, gently stroked its head.

Truth be told, in all these years, he had never found such a convenient little warmth, and once held, he couldn’t bear to let go.

"Second Miss?" Sixth Madame Pei was still trying to get Gu Ran to play with the cat, but Gu Ran waved her hand. "It's fine. You two need to take good care of the cats you've brought out and ensure they're safe. If anything happens, I'll hold you accountable."

She was already worried about the issues with the space compartment, and at this critical moment, it wasn’t a good time to play with kittens.

Returning to the third space compartment, Gu Ran decided to first investigate Lin Gonger's background.

This time, Lin Ger appeared much faster than before, coming back after just one day to look for food. However, he had become much more polite: "Auntie Liu, are you there?"

"I'm here, Lin Ger," Gu Ran sweetly tried to be friendly, "Are you here again to ask for food? You're so young, how come you're always hungry? What's going on with your family?"

There was a moment of silence before he replied, "My mother treats me and my sister badly. She always prevents us from eating, which is why I found this gap where I could get food. I didn't know it was your bedroom, Auntie Liu. I wasn't thoughtful enough, please forgive me!"

Wow, Lin Ger is pretty articulate!

"You've really been through hardship, Lin Ger."

Gu Ran wasn't sure if what Lin Ger said was true, but given the frequent wounds on his hands, old scars yet to heal and new ones appearing, he probably wasn't living well.

"How can your mother treat her own son like this? She's really unworthy of being a mother! If she's unkind to you and your sister, why don't you tell your father?"

"My mother, my current mother, is my stepmother. It's useless to tell my father, and..." there was a pause before he continued, "and my father has already passed away."

Gu Ran was startled.

Poor kid, surviving under a stepmother. No wonder he's in such a miserable state.

"Auntie Liu?"

"Yes?"

"Why don't you patch up that hole?"

Gu Ran was startled again.

Well, I can't seal it until I’m sure you won’t tell anyone. What if you bring someone else to break in after I seal it?

"I... I don't dare tell the master about the damage in my room, so I can only secretly find materials to fix it. I haven't gathered all the materials yet, so I'm just getting by for now." Gu Ran quickly explained in character as Auntie Liu.

Hearing no response from the other side, Gu Ran continued, "Lin Ger, please don't tell anyone about my room here, okay?"

"I've already said I wouldn't tell anyone. A gentleman's word is his bond. Auntie Liu should trust me..." Lin Ger paused for a moment, "If Auntie Liu is worried, why not poison the food you gave me?"

Poison him, and no one would know the secret anymore.

Gu Ran was shocked!

Wow, you're pretty sharp for a kid, aren't you?

"Lin Ger, do you think I put poison in the food I gave you?" Gu Ran patted her chest, feigning shock, "You're so young, how can you have such bad thoughts?"

"It's because my mother, my current mother, always scolds me and my sister, calling us useless. She says one day she'll poison us to death! Without us, her life would be better!"

So, you picked that up from your stepmom?

"I know my secret, so you think I would want to poison you too?"

"But I didn't poison it!" Gu Ran weakly defended herself, "The food I gave you was not poisoned."

I thought about it, but I didn't go through with it.

"I know!" Lin Ger's tone became urgent, "I gave the food to someone else, and they're fine. I know you didn't poison it!"

You gave the food to someone else?

Gu Ran was shocked.

Did Lin Ger really think the food I gave him was poisonous, so he deliberately gave it to the bullies?

The bullies?

No, Lin Ger, you're really ruthless!

Gu Ran took a deep breath. "Lin Ger, who did you give my food to?"

There was a moment of silence from Lin Ger, and then he replied in a low, somber tone, "The villagers who have been bullying me and my sister."

Gu Ran fell silent.

"They take advantage of the fact that my father is dead and my mother doesn't like me and my sister, so they bully us. I fight back, but they are many, and I can only find a place to hide in the end."

Lin Ger's voice trembled slightly, but there were no sobs or tears, making him seem unnervingly calm.

So, the wounds on his hands were from these villagers?

"If your mother doesn't care for you, why don't you go to the village head or the local official to seek justice?"

"It's useless!"

"How could it be useless?"

"My sister, I, and our mother were exiled to this place because of my father's wrongdoing."

"No matter where we are exiled, once we are registered in the village, we fall under the jurisdiction of the local village head and official. If that doesn't work, we could go to the county magistrate."

"But we are in Min Prefecture, and Min Prefecture is a rough, uncivilized place..." Lin Ger's voice hesitated, and then a suspicious tone came through, "Auntie Liu, where do you grow your oranges?"

Turns out, it's in Min Prefecture too!

Gu Ran felt a surge of joy. "Of course, it's also in Min Prefecture!"

Once we return to the capital and go back to Min Prefecture, I'll need to find Lin Ger's village.

Lin Ger said it was a mountain. She could just buy the entire mountain.

"Have you eaten the oranges from my room? They were produced in Min Prefecture."

Worried he might not believe her, Gu Ran quickly slid a few oranges toward the hole. "Look, Lin Ger, you like oranges, right? These are freshly picked from the master's orange orchard."

A hand emerged from the hole and took all the oranges.

"Would you like me to get you some other food?" Would he be afraid I might poison it this time?

"Yes," Lin Ger nodded and sighed softly, "I wish I had known those snacks weren't poisonous. I wouldn't have given them away."

Gu Ran forced a smile and handed over the small jujube cakes and rice cakes beside her.

"Could you give me more, Auntie Liu?" Lin Ger said frankly, "My sister is also hungry."

"Ah, sure. Is your sister at home with your mom right now?" Gu Ran moved the food over as she asked.

"Yes," Lin Ger replied as he accepted the food.

"Which village are you from?"

Lin Ger paused. "What's up with the questions, Auntie Liu?"

"Your mother is bullying you and your sister, so I'm planning to go to the village to find you guys in a few days." Gu Ran said indignantly, "You're too young and don't have the strength to stand up for yourselves. I'll go and fight your corner!"

Lin Ger fell silent.

"Don't worry about bothering you, Auntie Liu!"

"Why?"

"It's a family matter, it's not appropriate to involve outsiders. But don't worry, Auntie Liu, I won't tell anyone else about what goes on here in your quarters."

"Not even your sister?"

After another moment of silence, Lin Ger said, "Not even her."

"Alright, I'll seal this hole later. Before that, Lin Ger, you can come and talk to me anytime you want."

"Okay."

After that, Lin Ger started visiting Auntie Liu every few days.

Of course, his visits were mostly for food.

Although Lin Ger was clearly cautious and didn't say much, and Gu Ran wasn't exactly open either, she still managed to gradually extract more information from him and learned the general outline of his background, even his full name.

Lin Ger's surname was Lu, full name Lu Yilin.

His father was a minor official in the capital's prefecture. His biological mother passed away when he was two, so his father remarried.

A few years later, his father committed a crime, was executed, and their family was exiled to Min Prefecture.

His stepmother treated them poorly, making them work all the time and often beating or scolding them, so they lived a hard life. Going into the woods to dig for wild vegetables and pick mushrooms was a necessity, which was how they discovered the gap in Auntie Liu's room and started sneaking food, leading to their acquaintance.

Naturally, she asked about Lin Ger's background through conversation, and Lin Ger also inquired about Auntie Liu's situation.

Gu Ran wasn't afraid of this and boasted about how her master had seized an opportunity, reclaimed wasteland, and invested heavily in orange tree saplings to become wealthy. She was the one the master picked to help run the household.

"Yellow Shoot Disease?"

"Oh, it's Yellow Shoot Disease, not Yellow Dragon Disease. You know, the kind of disease where the leaves at the branch tips turn completely yellow, an incurable disease that no one can fix." Gu Ran boasted, "With so many orange orchards getting hit, the market's going to be short on oranges, right? So the master immediately saw the gap and started planting orange trees in our orchard. Pretty smart, huh?"

"Impressive!" Lin Ger said admiringly.

Gu Ran secretly gloated: Of course, she's impressive!

Lin Ger asked again, "Is Yellow Shoot Disease very common?" If it's common, wouldn't orange farmers lose a lot each time it hits?

"Could your master's orange trees catch this disease?"

"No, they won't."

"Why not?"

"Yellow Shoot Disease is very rare. I've never heard of any cases in Jian Prefecture before. As long as we properly handle the diseased trees and soil this time, everything will be fine for the next ten or eight years. The master's orange orchard has preventive measures in place, so we're not afraid of infection." Gu Ran explained.

"Got it, thanks!"

"If you ever visit our master's orange orchard, you'll see countless lush orange trees. When they bloom each spring, the orange blossoms are so fragrant that it looks as if a light snow has dusted the branches. It's refreshing just to look at them. By autumn, the trees are heavy with golden fruit, shining like treasure."

Lin Ger couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Are you laughing at me?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Mm."

The sound of chewing came through the hole.

This kid, despite my enthusiasm in telling him about our orange orchard, seems completely distracted.

A moment later, Lin Ger’s voice floated through the hole, "Auntie Liu, Sister!"

"Mm?"

"Sister, when I grow up, I’ll come to Min Prefecture to find you."

Gu Ran blinked in surprise.

"Thank you for giving me so much food, but... I won’t come again."

"Wait, wait?"

"My mother isn’t good to us, so I’ve decided to leave the village. Once I’ve learned some skills, I might come back, or I might not." Lin Ger’s voice carried a mix of excitement and sadness.

"If you leave the village, where will you go to learn these skills? Don’t get tricked by others!" Gu Ran had always thought Lin Ger was determined, but not this determined. "Also, if you leave, won’t you just leave your sister behind? What will happen to her?"

Lin Ger’s response was to push an object through the hole.

Gu Ran saw a small jade pendant appear on the cabinet, delicately crafted with a bat pattern on the edge.

"Thank you for being so good to me, Sister. But after I leave, you should repair this hole soon. If someone finds out, they could dig their way into your room through this hole."

"You should be careful, Miss. Not everyone who comes into this forest follows the same rules."

"You... Lin Ger, you haven’t told me which village you’re from."

"You didn’t tell me which village you’re from either."

Gu Ran was left speechless.

"Alright, it’s time for me to leave the forest. Sister, you should work hard, live well, and earn more money. When I come to find you, make sure you can afford to give me lots of delicious oranges!"

"Wait, Lin Ger!"

Gu Ran rushed to the hole and saw only white fog, but heard the sound of footsteps growing fainter.

It was clear that Lin Ger had truly left.

After confirming, Gu Ran felt a sense of emptiness.

At first, she had feared the space compartment would be destroyed. But after meeting Lin Ger, she realized he meant no harm and hadn’t told anyone about it or tried to damage it further. Given that he was only seven, he likely couldn’t have done much more anyway. Otherwise, he would have tried to enlarge the hole to get more things.

After getting familiar with each other, they found themselves chatting easily. This journey at sea didn’t feel boring at all, thanks to the events involving the space compartment and Lin Ger. The days flew by.

Gu Ran spotted the small jade amulet left in the cabinet and picked it up.

This jade amulet is meant to cover the cost of the meals I’ve provided over the past few days, right?

For someone so young, he sure knows a lot!

Gu Ran paused, then asked, "Host, do you want to repair the third space compartment?"