"I'm here on Gu Jun's orders! If you don't sell, how are you gonna explain it to him?!"
The woman's tone was half-threatening, half-warning. Everyone in Dajiang Village knew that Xu Wanning listened to Gu Jun like a dog obeying its master.
She crossed her arms and waited for Xu Wanning to give in.
The moment Gu Jun's name was mentioned, the little boy jerked his hand away, and the girl's smile disappeared, her lips trembling with sadness.
Xu Wanning noticed their reaction and sighed inwardly.
So… the kids already knew about that scumbag and the original Xu Wanning's messed-up relationship.
Selling her own kids had been his idea. Gu Jun and Li Qianqian were running shady black-market deals and needed cash, so they decided to sell the two children. They even hired this old hag as a broker.
And the original Xu Wanning? Completely brainwashed. Whatever Gu Jun said, she obeyed—like she was under a spell—just to earn his forgiveness and get him back.
When Xu Wanning stayed silent, the woman thought she was scared.
"Come on, hand the kids over! I'll give them to Gu Jun and he'll pay you right away!"
"If the money's going to Gu Jun, then go ask him for the kids!"
Xu Wanning couldn't help but laugh—out of pure anger. The original owner wasn't just dumb; she was the type of idiot who thought being used made her special.
"You—hey!"
The woman tried to grab her again, but Xu Wanning shoved her away. "Try anything else, and I'll report both you and Gu Jun to the village office!"
Without another word, she picked up her trembling little daughter, told the boy to follow, and headed toward the tile-roofed house at the east end of the village.
"Mom… you're not gonna sell us?"
The little girl looked up at her with watery eyes, so fragile that Xu Wanning's heart softened immediately.
"No, I'm not. Mom won't ever sell you again! I was wrong before, but I won't be anymore. Can you and Dachun trust me this time?"
"Okay!"
The girl's face bloomed into a sweet smile, and she gave Xu Wanning a big wet kiss on the cheek.
Dachun didn't say anything. He just stood there, watching her carefully, like a little adult. Something about his mother seemed… different today.
She'd never hugged his sister before.
But he remembered—this woman knew how to lie. That morning, she'd tricked them by saying there were sweet fruits behind the mountain, which was how they ended up outside in the first place.
Xu Wanning glanced at the two kids and sighed silently. Great. Her son was clearly going to be the hard one to win over. Must've inherited that from the male lead.
When they got home, the old lady—Lin Mother—immediately called the two children over.
She had raised the male lead all by herself, working until her body broke down. Her legs had been acting up for days, leaving her bedridden—and that was exactly when the original Xu Wanning tried to sell the kids.
Seeing that her grandchildren were safe and sound, Lin Mother finally exhaled in relief. "Where were you two just now?"
The little girl peeked at Xu Wanning and said nothing.
The boy pointed straight at her. "She took us to see a child broker. She wanted to sell us."
"Oh, heavens above…"
Lin Mother's face twisted with grief and anger as she smacked her useless leg. Just one more step, and she would've lost her precious grandchildren forever. What sins had the Lin family committed to end up with such a daughter-in-law?!
Watching the old lady's breakdown, Xu Wanning stood off to the side, silent and guilty.
Hey, she got it! They were on the same side—neither of them liked the original Xu Wanning!
After a while, Lin Mother fished out three crumpled yuan from her waistband and handed them to her.
"This is all the funeral money I've got saved up. Take it. Just don't sell Dachun and Yaomei. I'll be back on my feet soon, and we'll earn work points. You won't starve."
Xu Wanning stared at her, shocked.
Damn… Usually it's the mother-in-law bullying the daughter-in-law, but this was a total reversal. The original must've been so awful she scared the poor old lady into submission.
No way. She had to fix her image in Lin Mother's eyes.
"Mom," Xu Wanning said sweetly, pushing the money back into the old woman's hands, "I've thought it through. From now on, I'll live properly with Lin An, take care of the kids, and be a good daughter-in-law to you!"
Her voice was honey-smooth, full of sincerity. Lin Mother froze for a second—this was literally the first time she'd ever heard her daughter-in-law speak like a human being.
Then, to everyone's surprise, Xu Wanning went straight to the kitchen and started a fire.
If you want to win someone's heart, you start with their stomach.
Back in her element, Xu Wanning felt confident—until she opened the grain sack.
Inside was just a handful of cornmeal, the rest all sorghum and mixed beans.
So the original would rather starve her kids and herself than stop sending food and money to that scumbag and his mistress. No wonder the kids—four and five years old—looked tiny, like two-year-olds. Eating this garbage, how could they grow properly?
Even a master chef can't cook without ingredients. Xu Wanning frowned, missing her modern-day grocery chain, Anxin Fresh.
Suddenly, a flash of white light filled her vision.
When she blinked, the old smoky kitchen was gone. She was standing in her own store again!
Rows of top-quality produce, meat, seafood, and fruit stretched before her.
Cherries, Honeycrisp apples, green-skinned lychees—fragrant and fresh.
Boston lobsters and Australian king crabs waved their claws in crystal-clear tanks.
Her hand landed on a perfectly marbled cut of A5 Wagyu.
"I… I just unlocked a cheat skill?!" she muttered in disbelief.
In this era, nothing mattered more than food. With this kind of ability, feeding two kids and an old lady would be nothing. Hell, she could support a whole village!
Excited, she tested it—jumping in and out of the space, taking small amounts of rice and flour each time. To her delight, the stock in her "store" automatically replenished itself after every use.
After some quick thinking, she grabbed a free-range chicken, a few vegetables, and condiments. Tonight, she was making braised chicken to nourish the kids.
The fire crackled, oil sizzled, and the air filled with the smell of caramelized sugar and fried ginger. The chicken simmered slowly in the pot, rich and fragrant.
Inside the house, the grandmother and kids huddled together.
Lin Mother wiped at her tears, heart aching as she looked at their thin faces and faded, patched clothes. She hated her useless legs for keeping her from taking care of them.
The mouthwatering aroma drifted in. The little girl sniffed.
"It smells so good… Mom must be making something yummy for us."
"Don't be stupid," Dachun muttered, lips curling. "It's definitely for Gu Jun."
Every time the original made something tasty, she'd bring it straight to that bastard. The kids never even got to taste the soup.
The past few days, with their grandma bedridden, they'd only been eating cornmeal porridge so thin it was basically hot water.
Yaomei's head drooped. Still, she lifted the curtain and peeked through the crack.
Xu Wanning spotted the tiny face and waved with a smile. "Sweetheart, come help Mom taste this. Tell me if it needs more salt, okay?"
Yaomei hesitated, stepping forward with one foot—then pulled back, afraid of getting hit again.