Reborn with a Space: Building a Fortune Amidst Famine

Chapter 6 - 6 climb the mountain

Su Yuanyuan gathered all the firewood. Thinking she should head back, or should she come again tomorrow?

But if it snows today, what will she do?

She had no choice but to reluctantly get up and continue working. She has no capital to enjoy life now.

Finally, she saw a dead tree as thick as a bowl. She should be able to chop it down.

Excitedly, she took out her trusty axe. Someday, when she has money, sheʼll definitely get a sharp axe and knife.

This tree had probably been dead for many years. Su Yuanyuan easily chopped it into several sections and waved to collect them.

Perhaps ”God” pitied her, she looked up and saw a few more trees like that ahead, although they were thicker.

Su Yuanyuan excitedly ran over. Now she was neither tired nor uneasy and swung her axe to work.

These few trees would be enough for her to burn for a while. The tight feeling in her chest eased a bit.

She stored them all in her space, and the sun was almost setting. No, she had to go back immediately, or it would be dark by the time she got home.

Suddenly, she noticed a section of dead tree with wood ear mushrooms. Su Yuanyuan was no fool; she had no time to pick them and instead stored them directly in her space.

She ran the whole way, and by the time she got home, her back was soaked.

Only when she entered this ramshackle house did she finally feel at ease.

She immediately started a fire to boil water. Although she could bathe in her space, she also had to sleep at night. The bed was too cold. She couldnʼt even use an electric blanket, truly frustrating.

But she could use hot water bottles. For her habit of collecting junk, Su Yuanyuan considered it her virtue.

After boiling the water, she took off her outer clothes to wash them; by the end of the day, they were covered in dirt.

Once her clothes were clean and hung outside to dry, she thought about the firewood, branches, and hay in her space. It was better to put them in the woodshed. The space was quite large, so she put all the dead trees in one corner.

Luckily, the space had a self-cleaning function; otherwise, it would have driven Su Yuanyuan crazy with its messiness.

Wow, there really was a lot; it almost reached the roof.

Looking at all that firewood, Su Yuanyuan laughed, feeling a huge sense of accomplishment.

She went back inside, and the water in the pot was hot again. From her space, she took out a large Winter Melon, cut it up, scooped out the seeds, and set it aside. Then, she placed the Winter Melon on the steamer and left it.

These Winter Melon seeds could yield quite a lot, possibly producing thousands of pounds. She had checked the mountains and there were places suitable for planting. In those few years, she would go up the mountains to plant them.

She couldnʼt openly help the villagers, but she could let them pick for themselves. After all, her responsibility was just to plant them.

Sheʼs not a Holy Mother, but if others starve while she can eat well, itʼs easy to invite trouble.

Just as she was about to enter the space to bathe, she heard shouting outside.

”Aunt.”

”Girl, what were you doing today?”

”Aunt, come in and sit.”

Hu Chunhua had nothing to do today and came over to check on this girl. She hadnʼt expected that after calling for a long time, no one answered. When it was dinner time, she sent her child once more, but there was still no one.

As the womenʼs committee director, she took her work very seriously and responsibly. Now, this girl was like an orphan. No matter what, she couldnʼt let this child have no means to live.

”Aunt, I went to gather firewood. Iʼm afraid there wonʼt be firewood to burn in winter. It hasnʼt snowed yet, but once it does, I really wonʼt be able to gather it anymore.”

”Sigh, those two heartless things. They didnʼt take their own daughter and left no way to live. Theyʼre really not human.

Yuanyuan, did you go up the mountain? Be careful.” Thereʼs nowhere to gather firewood.

”Yes, I went up the mountain. Only mountains have firewood.

My luck was good, I brought back some dead trees.”

Su Yuanyuan originally thought she would be praised, but instead, she was scolded, ”You stupid girl, did you go into the mountain?”

”Aunt, no, I didnʼt. I started by gathering hay and picking branches. Then I found several dead trees, so I brought them back.”

”Nonsense, only above the mountainside are there poplar and locust trees, where you can find dead trees.”

”Aunt, if I donʼt gather firewood, Iʼll freeze to death in winter. Donʼt worry, I didnʼt even see a single rabbit.”

Hu Chunhua sighed, yes, itʼs better than freezing to death.

”Tomorrow, let your Uncle go with you.”

”Aunt, thatʼs not necessary. Iʼll just gather hay tomorrow.” Thereʼs no need to have someone else take the risk. Besides, Iʼm safer alone.

”Iʼll go home and get you a machete. You must be careful.

Next year will be better; the corn stalks from your own land can be used as firewood.”

”Okay, thank you, Aunt.”

Hu Chunhua smelled the sweet scent of the Winter Melon, but she didnʼt ask about it. She hurriedly went home to get the machete.

Su Yuanyuan didnʼt end up steaming the Winter Melon for Hu Chunhua, since every family here grows them anyway.

After sending off this kind-hearted womenʼs committee director, Su Yuanyuan finally went into her space to bathe.

She also dealt with her dinner there. When she came out, the Winter Melon was already cooked.

She took out a basin and some white flour yeast from her space and used the Winter Melon to knead dough. She was planning to steam a pot of buns, which should be very delicious.

Two hours later, she stored the buns in her space, hugging a hot water bottle comfortably as she slept.

The next morning, she had a glass of milk, a bun made from Winter Melon flour, and a hot dog sausage before she shouldered a basket and headed up the mountain with a machete.

Now with tools, Su Yuanyuan thought sheʼd give it a try. It definitely was sharper than the trusty axe, but for her small frame, it was still exhausting. Yet she stubbornly chopped down a tree.

Now she didnʼt have the strength to cut it into sections, so she stored it directly into her space.

Sitting by the side, she drank water and sighed, still thinking about her lack of money. How nice it would be to buy coal to burn, but everyone knew her situation; she didnʼt have a penny, so what could she buy?

Thinking this, she couldnʼt help but sigh again. This is a busy life; she had no leisure to rest now.

She walked towards the second dead tree and finally chopped it down. Su Yuanyuan felt her hands were sticky; it turned out she had gripped the machete so hard that her hands blistered and the blister broke, releasing blood.

It hurt, it really hurt. When she was working, her whole mind was on chopping the tree, so she didnʼt notice. Now that the work was done, she felt the piercing pain.

Su Yuanyuan sat on the ground, put away the dead tree, and began to weep.

In her past life, she rarely cried because she knew that even if she cried, she wouldnʼt get the happy family she wanted, and no one would feel sorry for her or comfort her.

Now she was truly despairing. Life felt so difficult.

The more Su Yuanyuan cried, the more wronged she felt, until eventually, she was sobbing uncontrollably.

She was so tired, and her body was so weak, she cried herself to sleep.

In her dreams, she saw the scene from her past life, kneeling at the gate of the prosecutorʼs office, seeking justice for her grandmother. Each working day, she knelt at their gate.