Chapter 7: Grandma Thinks You Haven’t Eaten Enough

Chapter 7: Grandma Thinks You're Still Hungry

The next afternoon, the sun hung high in the sky, its scorching rays evenly baking the earth, the air thick with the heat of high summer.

"Phew~" Jiang Yingxue pulled her suitcase out of J City's airport, stepping onto her hometown soil. She looked up at the sky, a clear, spotless azure blue. Seeing such a pristine sky cheered her up.

She hailed a taxi home.

"Taoxi Town, Gaobe Village, please."

"Hop in, miss."

J City was divided into four main districts: North River District, South River District, East River District, and West River District. Gaobe Village was located in the south of Taoxi Town within South River District. It was a picturesque place of green hills and clear water, where the villagers led simple, plain, yet happy lives.

Gaobe Village was very close to Taoxi Town, only 3 kilometers away.

Because of this proximity, Gaobe Village didn't have its own elementary or middle school. Children from the village had to attend schools in the town. Jiang Yingxue had attended elementary and middle school there.

Also due to the closeness, Gaobe Village lacked its own market or commercial street. The village only had one or two small shops selling daily necessities and snacks popular with children. For larger items or a greater variety of goods, one had to go to the town. Villagers also liked to sell their own farm produce there. Jiang Yingxue's grandmother would often take her tricycle loaded with fresh vegetables to sell in the town.

Jiang Yingxue's childhood was spent between Gaobe Village and Taoxi Town.

An hour later, the taxi slowly entered Gaobe Village. Looking at the familiar country lanes, her heart was flooded with a mix of emotions. In many ways, this place couldn't compare to the world of cultivation, yet in others, it was far better. This was the hometown she had missed so dearly.

"Driver, you can stop here." Home was just a short distance ahead.

"Alright."

"Thank you, driver. Take care." Taking her luggage from the trunk, Jiang Yingxue waved goodbye to the driver.

"You're welcome, miss. Take care."

Pulling her suitcase towards home, the constant drone of cicadas filled her ears. Suddenly, her face lit up. Her grandmother and grandfather were already waiting for her at the doorstep.

Seeing the kindly faces of the elderly couple, Jiang Yingxue's eyes instantly welled up. The people she had missed for so long were finally before her, visible and touchable. Her heart was too overwhelmed for words.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" She ran, suitcase in tow, stopping in front of them. She opened her arms and hugged each of them tightly in turn. Unseen by the others, she shed a few quiet tears.

Only upon touching her real, flesh-and-blood family did Jiang Yingxue truly feel she had returned. Her heart, adrift for a thousand years, had finally found its harbor.

"Aiyo, you've gotten thinner," Grandma Lu Caiyun said, taking her granddaughter's hand and leading her into the yard. "You must be starving after such a long journey. Grandma made your favorite spicy chicken gizzards and taro pork belly. Go try them quickly." She hadn't considered that there would be meals on the plane.

"Yes, food is the staff of life. Ying Xue, go eat quickly," Grandpa Jiang Xianzheng said, taking the suitcase from his granddaughter's hand to carry it himself.

The Jiang family home was a three-story house they built themselves. The yard within the wall was spacious, with two small rooms in the front yard: one for a wood-burning stove and another for storing farming tools. The three-story building had three bedrooms, one living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom on each floor, with each bedroom having its own ensuite bathroom. The Jiangs used to live in a single-story house; this larger one was rebuilt when Jiang Mingzhu was pregnant with Jiang Yingxue.

With ample land in the countryside, the house was large and more comfortable to live in than city apartments.

After washing her hands, Jiang Yingxue sat down in the dining room on the first floor to enjoy the meal.

The table was set with spicy chicken gizzards, taro pork belly, blanched choy sum, pork rib soup, and more. These home-style dishes were all her favorites from before. Because this food was made by her family, she ate happily even though it contained no spiritual energy.

She had just finished one bowl when Lu Caiyun came over, took her rice bowl, and turned towards the kitchen to refill it, saying as she walked, "Eat more. Grandma will get you another bowl."

"Grandma, I'm full. I don't want more." The first bowl Jiang Yingxue ate had also been served by Lu Caiyun, packed down firmly. She was truly full.

Hearing this, Lu Caiyun put down the rice scoop and gave her a skeptical look. "Really full? That's all?"

Jiang Yingxue nodded. "Really."

Lu Caiyun turned and ladled her a bowl of soup instead. "If you won't eat more rice, then drink some soup. Eating so little won't do."

Today, Jiang Yingxue couldn't refuse her grandmother's culinary affection. She had no choice but to finish the bowl of soup.

Full and satisfied, it was time to rest.

Jiang Yingxue's room was on the second floor. She returned to her room, opened the window, and looked down at the house's backyard. Only half of the backyard was cultivated, planted with choy sum and cucumbers.

Her gaze fell on the other half of the land, still uncultivated. Land shouldn't be wasted. What should she plant?

Her grandparents had already planted the fruits and vegetables they liked. She released her Spiritual Sense, extending it to the family's fields in the village. She could clearly see one field planted with rice and another with corn.

To make crops from the fields more delicious, she could work on improving the soil. She had spiritual soil and spiritual spring water in her space; enhancing the soil's fertility wouldn't be difficult.

With rice, corn, cucumbers, and more grown at home, Jiang Yingxue thought of rice balls. Her grandmother often went to sell vegetables at the town market. Following her to sell rice balls seemed like a feasible idea.

That evening, Jiang Yingxue shared this idea with her grandparents.

They were quite surprised. After all, Jiang Yingxue's last job had been an office job. Now she wanted to set up a street stall—it was quite a leap.

Jiang Xianzheng stroked his beard, neither explicitly approving nor opposing. Instead, he suggested his granddaughter rest well at home for a while before considering other things.

"Ying Xue, think about this carefully. Selling rice balls isn't easier than office work. Of course, it's good for young people to have ideas. But look at yourself, thin as a rake. Forget setting up a stall, I wouldn't dare let you go out on a windy day."

Lu Caiyun looked at her granddaughter's slender frame, her eyes flashing with heartache. The moment she saw her granddaughter yesterday, she felt a pang. Those thin arms and legs clearly showed she had suffered a lot outside. It pained her to see.

Learning that her granddaughter wanted to stay and develop her career in their hometown made her happy. Work had no hierarchy; she would support whatever her granddaughter liked. However, she had a condition. "Ying Xue, listen to your grandpa. If you want to sell rice balls, then we'll sell rice balls. Grandma supports you. But the prerequisite is that you must have a healthy body. Look how thin you are now; a gust of wind could blow you away. First, focus on recuperating at home. The rice ball business isn't urgent. The most important thing right now is your health. We don't want a situation where you can't even lift the rice balls."