He heard his mother mention the money, so he had to figure out how to get it back from his second sister-in-law. He needed the money to go next door and have a wooden wheelchair made. Without it, even moving around would be hard, let alone finding something to do.
The leader helped him by using some connections to give him the easiest job in the village, keeping score.
He had planned to give the job to Freya so she could have it easier, and he'd look for another way. But when he came back, she disliked him and even wanted a divorce.
Brian quietly thought about how he could get the money back. He knew his second sister-in-law well, she was like a mythical beast that only took things in but never gave them back.
You You opened the lid of the water jar and was about to scoop out water when she suddenly froze at what she saw in the reflection.
There wasn't even a mirror in the bedroom, so she didn't know what she looked like. Now she saw it clearly.
Wasn't this exactly what she looked like when she was young?
A fair, oval face, big bright eyes, rosy lips. Her height was also about the same as in her last life.
Only, there were a few light scratch marks on her delicate cheeks. But after drinking spiritual spring water, the scars had faded.
She figured they must have come from the fight yesterday with that so-called second sister-in-law.
She was happy to have her own face back. Freya looked at herself from left to right with joy. This world's way of doing things wasn't so bad, staring at a stranger's face every day would've felt weird.
She quickly washed her hands and face, then walked over to sit beside Brian, eyeing his younger sister, Sister Xiao, with a serious face and ordered:
"Sister Xiao, come and bring water for your brother to wash his hands."
She had never served anyone in her life, so she let others do it. Without thinking, her tone sounded cold and commanding, like how she ordered her subordinates in her past life.
Brian frowned, not liking how she gave orders so naturally, especially to family.
He was about to say it wasn't necessary, that he could wash himself, but then he realized he couldn't move his legs.
His eyes darkened. He needed someone just to help him wash his hands.
"Okay." Sister Xiao got up and quietly went to get water.
Since she was a child, people in the village had called her the child of a fool and a cripple, so she grew up shy. Just a girl around ten years old, always lowering her head, rarely speaking.
Other than with her parents and Brian, she wasn't close to anyone else in the family.
Not surprising. Who would want to get close to people who kept ordering you around like a servant, unless you liked being mistreated?
Freya handed the bowl of water to the little girl, then walked over to sit beside Brian on the stone steps, watching as Sister Xiao carefully held the bowl in front of him.
Brian gave Freya a complicated look but didn't say anything.
He thought it would be better not to bring this up in front of the child. He would talk to Freya privately. Sister Xiao was family, not a servant. It wasn't right to order her around like that.
"I'm done. Thank you, Sister Xiao. Go wash up too, it's almost time to eat."
Brian gently touched the dry, messy hair on her head and spoke softly.
Sister Xiao blushed and ran off with the basin to water the small vegetable patch in the backyard.
They fetched water from the public well at the east end of the village, but their house was on the west side, a bit far. So the used water was always poured into the garden.
Freya glanced at the wet patch on the ground not far away and looked up at the sky, speechless. She honestly didn't remember that was how things were done here.
She gave Brian a quick, awkward glance, but happened to meet his deep, thoughtful eyes. Seeing her own reflection in his gaze made her heart suddenly feel shy.
Brian was also stunned. He looked at her big, lively eyes and was dazed for a moment, a flash of amazement in his eyes, but he quickly pulled himself together.
He calmly turned his head to look at Sister Fang, who was busy cooking in the kitchen, along with her son who was helping tend the fire. It was strange. When did Sister Fang become so diligent? Usually, she just ordered their mother or sister-in-law to do the cooking.
Sister Xiao had already placed the basin in its spot, lowered her head, and quietly sat down next to Brian.
As soon as she sat down, her stomach let out a loud growl.
In this era, many people didn't have enough to eat. The Xiao family had only a few people who could work in the fields, but a lot who needed to eat.
The whole family relied on Brian's allowance to keep from starving, but eating enough and eating well was out of the question.
"Sister Xiao, are you hungry? Just wait a bit, we'll eat soon," Brian said softly to comfort her.
Sister Xiao shyly covered her stomach with both hands and lowered her head even more, quietly responding with a soft "Mm."
At that moment, as if it were contagious, Brian's stomach also began to growl loudly.
Freya felt maybe she should join in too, so she let out two loud burps.
Uh… that wasn't what she meant to do!
Freya quickly fixed her long hair to cover the awkwardness. She met Brian's speechless expression and pretended like nothing had happened.
"My mouth's hungry!" she said with a chuckle.
If she wasn't embarrassed, then others would be.
While speaking, she pulled out a few pieces of White Rabbit milk candy from her pocket and unwrapped one to eat.
She loved snacks. In her previous life, right after turning eighteen, she was taken back by her wealthy father. Just two days after returning, she awakened her space power.
At the time, she thought it was a sign from the heavens, so she started madly swiping her dad's credit card, buying all kinds of supplies—rice, flour, fruits, vegetables, meat—snacks took up a big chunk too.
When there was nothing left to buy, the apocalypse hit. She was able to live freely and boldly in the end times not only because of her strength but also because she had stocked up well.
Freya enjoyed the candy happily, then took another piece and handed it to Brian, eagerly promoting her favorite treat.
"Here, try this. It's really creamy and super tasty."
"I don't like sweets. You eat it," Brian replied quickly.
As soon as she unwrapped the candy, Brian smelled a light creamy scent—it was probably expensive candy. He quickly shook his head and refused.
Freya glanced at him, quickly unwrapped the candy, grabbed his chin with swift fingers, and popped the candy into his mouth before he could react.
Then she grinned mischievously at the stunned Brian and said,
"Hmph! You have to eat it even if you don't like it. From now on, whatever your wife likes, you have to like too!" Then she stuck out her tongue playfully.
With the candy in his mouth, Brian felt a hint of sweetness rising in his heart.
"Thank you! I tasted it, it's really good. Let Sister Xiao try it too!"
He said this while getting ready to take the candy out of his mouth to give it to Sister Xiao.
In this time of scarce supplies, in the village, it wasn't strange for ten kids to share one piece of candy, each taking a lick. No one really minded if someone else had eaten it.