Chapter 5: Striving to Live

Wen Nuan Nuan opened the sturdy camphorwood chest and retrieved the banknotes from the hidden compartment at the very bottom of the quilt cover. She counted them—five notes in total, each worth one hundred taels, all intact.

She took one note and placed it in her personal pouch, feeling the many small pieces of broken silver inside—a comforting sense of security. After taking another note, she hid the remaining three separately in various spots around the room, finally feeling at ease.

It wasn’t that she distrusted the Leng Family, but she firmly believed in not putting all her eggs in one basket. If thieves were to break in, keeping all the banknotes in one place would mean losing everything at once.

Currently, Leng Xiao was studying at Tianhong Academy in the city. As for the others, if she remembered correctly, Leng Tian was twelve years old, and the twins Leng Chen and Leng Yun were nine. As for herself, she had just turned fifteen.

They were all still children, and keeping all the money in one place was too risky.

She had also considered storing the banknotes in the refrigerator, but since she had just transmigrated, she wasn’t sure if the ink on the notes was waterproof. What if moisture from the refrigerator caused the ink to smudge and the bank refused to honor them?

For now, since she wouldn’t be going out in the next couple of days, she decided to hide them in discreet spots around the room. When she needed to go out or figured out a waterproof and moisture-proof method, she could then store the banknotes in the refrigerator.

After tidying up, Wen Nuan Nuan opened the door.

Outside, as expected, stood three thin and frail young boys. Their lives of hardship and loneliness since childhood made them appear much younger than their actual ages.

When Wen Nuan Nuan had read the novel, she knew this was intentionally arranged to create a stark contrast with their later lives of wealth and prosperity, so she hadn’t felt particularly heartbroken then.

But now, seeing them standing before her, as thin as bean sprouts and dressed in dirty, tattered clothes that were clearly too small and ill-fitting, her heart felt as if it had been pierced by something.

Back in her previous life, she had often donated to impoverished children on a certain online shopping platform. Whenever she saw the bright, hopeful eyes of children in the pictures looking back at her, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy and would donate as much as she could.

Now, those bright, hopeful eyes were no longer just images in pictures—they were real and filled with concern. Wen Nuan Nuan couldn’t bear it any longer and quickly shifted her gaze elsewhere.

She was afraid that if she looked any longer, she would burst into tears.

Doing so would only frighten the three children in front of her.

She just needed a moment to compose herself.

Seeing Wen Nuan Nuan avert her gaze, the three boys thought she was still looking down on them as before, and their expressions dimmed.

After a while, Wen Nuan Nuan turned back and asked softly, “I’m a little hungry. Is there anything to eat at home?”

Of course, there was nothing to eat in this house. She asked this question to pave the way for taking out money later to buy food.

Although the refrigerator had an endless supply of food, these were just children after all, and the house was empty. Taking out food abruptly would likely scare them, especially the two younger ones.

While she knew they would grow up to be resilient and decisive, she had no idea about their current personalities.

It couldn’t be helped—the original book mainly focused on the four of them in their adulthood, with this period only briefly mentioned in flashbacks.

For now, she would buy some food first, secretly supplement it with ingredients from the refrigerator, and once she became more familiar with the three children, she could find a more reasonable excuse to explain things away.

Hearing Wen Nuan Nuan say “home,” the three children’s faces visibly lit up with joy. This was the first time in over a month since their sister-in-law married into the family that she had referred to this place as “home.”

But then, remembering her question about what food was available when she said she was hungry, the three of them hung their heads in shame. At home, there was no meat or eggs to speak of, not even rice, flour, coarse grains, or brown rice.

Yet they couldn’t ignore their sister-in-law’s question. Leng Tian stammered in reply, “The vegetable garden still… still has some winter cabbages, sister-in-law… sister-in-law…”

He wanted to ask if she would eat them, but with only vegetables and no rice or oil, how could she possibly eat? She had already made it clear earlier that she wanted good food.

Everything edible in the house had already been eaten.

Originally, they had hoped to sell the Fleeceflower Root to pay off their debts and buy some food. But the doctor they had called said their sister-in-law was beyond saving. Unwilling to give up, they had boiled the Fleeceflower Root to try and save her.

After all, she was their eldest brother’s wife. If anything happened to her, how could the three brothers explain it to their eldest brother, who they regarded as a god-like figure in their hearts?

Moreover, the Fleeceflower Root had been found by their eldest brother in the first place. He had instructed them to dry it and sell it in the city for a good price.

Even while studying, their eldest brother still looked after the three of them. They couldn’t let anything happen to their sister-in-law.

But now, when their sister-in-law said she was hungry, they had nothing to offer her.

Wen Nuan Nuan looked at the three of them, their small heads bowed in shame, and couldn’t help but marvel at how, from a young age, they had genuinely obeyed Leng Xiao from the bottom of their hearts and followed his lead in everything.

Even she, as Leng Xiao’s wife, benefited from this, enjoying absolute importance and reverence.

Even though the three of them were already eating the coarsest food themselves, they still wanted to give her good food and felt ashamed for not having any to offer.

Their thoughtfulness was truly heartbreaking.

Fortunately, she had transmigrated here!

Little ones, follow your sister, and she’ll take you to feast on delicacies!

Chicken, duck, fish, and meat—eat until you’re full!

From now on, you’ll rise to the peak of life!

Well, that last part might be a bit exaggerated. Reaching the peak of life would still depend on your eldest brother.

Clearing her throat, Wen Nuan Nuan boldly handed over a banknote: “Here, this is my dowry property. You keep it. When the creditors come to collect the debt, you can use it to repay what we owe.”

Then, she took a few pieces of broken silver from her purse. She had no idea how many taels they amounted to—after all, as a modern person, how could she recognize the weight of silver in taels?

“Take this and buy some rice, flour, and the like from the wealthier households in the village,” she said. The banknote was too large an amount, and it would be difficult to break it for small purchases in this small village. Besides, it was unwise to flaunt wealth. If the villagers found out they had a large sum of money, it might attract the envy of petty thieves.

It was always wise to guard against others.

The three children’s eyes welled up with tears, as if they had never expected warmth or assistance.

In truth, the original Wen Nuan Nuan would never have helped them, but who was she now? She was the new Wen Nuan Nuan!

Of course, things were different now!

Leng Tian’s hand trembled as he reached out, but thankfully, he didn’t say any unnecessary polite words.

Come to think of it, given the current situation—barely having enough to eat and on the verge of losing their home—if Wen Nuan Nuan offered money and they still refused out of politeness, it would either be hypocritical, insincere, or a failure to recognize the reality of their circumstances.

Fortunately, these three children, who would one day become extraordinary individuals, were already adept at assessing situations and understanding their reality at such a young age.

“This is a three-tael piece and a two-tael piece of broken silver. With just one tael of silver, we can buy rice and flour and make it last for two or three months if we’re frugal. The villagers don’t have more than that anyway,” Leng Tian explained.

When they return, they can add plenty of vegetables from the garden, enough for sister-in-law to eat for two or three months. The three of them can survive on just vegetables, or they can go to the back mountain to hunt some game and gather medicinal herbs to exchange for copper coins. Then they can buy some coarse grains like sweet potatoes and corn—just enough to get through the winter.