Chapter 4: 4. Chapter 4: Hungry (2)

Chapter 4: Hungry (2)

If only she had known…

If only she had known, she would have kept it. Even if it tasted bad, it could have filled her stomach, and she wouldn't have ended up starving to death!

Shuyue shook her head; she couldn't think about that anymore. She had to find food!

Under the eaves of the kitchen and on the stone slabs in the courtyard, strings of corn cobs were hanging to dry.

The corn kernels on the cobs were dried until they were rock-hard. Shuyue took a bite, but couldn't even leave a tooth mark.

With a blank expression on her small face, she tossed the corn cob aside. Her gaze swept across the three doors of the main house before finally landing on the vegetable garden in the southeast corner of the courtyard, where several rows of Chinese cabbage were tied up with hemp rope.

Dry-pot cabbage, vinegar-stir-fried cabbage, hot and sour cabbage, soybean paste cabbage—she certainly couldn't make those under the current conditions. But even raw cabbage, boiled cabbage, or roasted cabbage leaves would be delicious!

Ah, cabbage, delicious cabbage, praise be to cabbage.

Compared to the porridge that was sour, astringent, and tasted like dirt and dishwater, or the rock-hard cornmeal buns that could break a tooth, this cabbage was practically a little fairy!

Her body moved faster than her consciousness. Shuyue’s short legs had already scurried several steps toward the cabbage. When she realized what she was doing, she forced herself to stop. A look of embarrassment appeared on her otherwise stoic little face, and she forcibly turned her head away, refusing to look.

This family was stingy even with porridge and wild vegetable buns; would they let her ruin their Chinese cabbage?

The answer didn't even need to be considered.

Under normal circumstances, what family would feel comfortable letting a four or five-year-old child live in a room all by herself? Even if she did live alone, wouldn't an adult be worried enough to check if she had kicked off her quilt or needed to use the chamber pot at night?

But this family didn't.

Shuyue didn't have many memories, but in the two days since she had transmigrated here, apart from calling her to eat three meals a day, they had basically forgotten she existed.

Yesterday morning, little Shuyue had a high fever and passed away, allowing her to take over the body. To this day, the family hadn't even realized she had been sick.

Under these circumstances, she didn't feel she had the capital to ruin the family's cabbage.

Shuyue felt incredibly bitter. She pursed her lips and, dragging her weak body, shuffled toward the room she had been staying in.

The place where she lived was directly across from the kitchen. In ancient times, that position would be called the east wing, but in reality, it was just an adobe house with a thatched roof.

Everything in the room was clear at a glance.

There was a kang, two kang cabinets on the kang, a long wooden table with drawers under the window paired with a large wooden chair, a bow hanging on the wall, and a basket by the door containing rope, a machete, and straw sandals. Against the innermost wall was a large double-door wardrobe, and in the corner, there was a large wooden chest.

Shuyue stepped on the footstool and headed straight for the cabinets on the kang. The one closer to the inside held children's clothes and other items, while the one closer to the outside held men's clothing and miscellaneous objects.

She fumbled to open the outer cabinet. Inside, she saw neatly folded adult male clothing, washed very clean and carrying a faint, fresh scent of soap locust.

She rummaged through it and pulled out a cloth bag. Opening it, two golden-yellow persimmons came into view.

Not caring whether they were washed or not, Shuyue grabbed one and took an eager bite. She chewed it carelessly and swallowed it whole. It wasn't until the second bite that she could really taste it—the persimmon was crisp and sweet with a tiny bit of astringency, but compared to the porridge and cornmeal buns, it was already supreme deliciousness.

As she ate, Shuyue’s eyes grew sore, and she couldn't help but let the tears fall drop by drop.

Thinking of how she used to have no appetite when faced with a table full of delicacies, Shuyue wished she could slap her past self.