Chapter 22: Slimmer
Last night, they caught a total of four swamp eels, and Su He immediately used them to make eel congee.
The food at home changed every day, but it never disappointed them. Mom's cooking was amazing, the two kids thought.
After finishing their meal, Fu Dajun came over.
"Dad, have you eaten yet? There's still some eel congee here," Su He said warmly.
"I've already eaten. I came to discuss planting Fire Durians with you," Fu Dajun said, a little annoyed with his wife for forcing his son's wife to live here, making it inconvenient for the two families to discuss things.
But now that she had already lived there for a while, it wouldn't be right to ask her to move back, and Su He might not even want to live with their family.
Hearing it was about planting Fire Durians, Su He lit up immediately.
"So? Is the family going to join me in this?" Su He asked eagerly.
Fu Dajun nodded and said, "We've already planted most of the family's fields, just waiting for the autumn harvest. So your sisters-in-law discussed it and decided to team up with you."
The men in the family all worked construction, hauling bricks. The country was still developing, and brick houses were becoming popular everywhere, unlike the mud houses Su He lived in now.
"Great! When will my sisters-in-law be free? If possible, I'll go get the saplings to plant."
In truth, with her current reward points, she could only buy ten Fire Durian saplings. But durian trees need a lot of upkeep later, and Su He still planned to move to the city eventually, so this family business would definitely need her sisters-in-law's help.
This was why Su He was so eager to involve the Fu family—it was a win-win situation, and she naturally prioritized their participation.
"Tomorrow. Didn't you say you were in a hurry? Better plant the saplings as soon as possible; otherwise, the autumn harvest will come in two months," Fu Dajun said after some hesitation.
"Alright, sounds good," Su He replied brightly.
"I almost forgot—I brought you bags of sweet potatoes, corn, and rice." Fu Dajun then took out the three large bags he had left by the door and handed them to Su He.
"Dad, don't worry about us. We're fine for food," Su He quickly said.
"I've already brought them, just take them," Fu Dajun insisted, placing the bags beside her.
Su He was touched. He was already the second person to bring her food.
People back then were so kind. Honestly.
"Alright, then thank you, Dad," Su He said before going inside to fetch a large bag of instant noodles for Fu Dajun.
"These are instant noodles I brought from the city. You can cook them or just add hot water."
Back then, instant noodles were mostly sold in cities and were hard to find in the countryside.
Fu Dajun initially wanted to refuse, but seeing her earnest look, he accepted them.
They wanted to mend ties with Su He, so it was best not to reject this gift-giving.
"Alright, I'll take these back for your mom and brothers and sisters-in-law to try."
"Dad, remember to open the flavor packets and stir them in," Su He quickly reminded.
Before leaving, Fu Dajun scooped up Zai Zai and Niu Niu.
Had these two kids gotten chubbier? Compared to when they first arrived in the village, they seemed noticeably heavier.
Zai Zai and Niu Niu were severely malnourished before, but after Su He's care over the past few days, they've gotten healthier, and their weight has gone up.
Now, the kids are looking better and better, with their faces looking more like their dad's.
"Be good for your mom," Fu Dajun said to the children with a smile.
"Yes, Grandpa."
"Okay~"
The two children replied.
Fu Dajun smiled to himself. If Su He continued to be as diligent and responsible as she was now, perhaps Ting Hua would be willing to give their marriage a real shot.
That evening, Aunt Niu showed up.
"Miss Su, our family discussed it and eighty yuan is a little steep. Seventy yuan would be fine," Aunt Niu said politely.
"Aunt Niu, I'm offering eighty yuan partly because I don't have the money to pay you right now—it might take three or four months before I can give you the rent. The extra ten's like interest. Let's not haggle over it—eighty yuan a year, okay?" Su He stood her ground.
"As for when the rent should be paid, our family also talked about it, and we'll go with the timeline you suggested," Aunt Niu nodded in agreement.
"Good, then it's settled." With the land deal settled, Su He let out a relieved sigh.
Once she had some free time, Su He slipped into her [system] space to check on the centipede she hadn't had time to deal with.
The system said it was worth two thousand points, but she wanted to put it up for bids to see if she could get a higher offer.
"Bidding starts at 2K. Anyone interested in this centipede? Pictures attached."
Su He took a photo of the centipede and uploaded it.
There are all kinds of centipedes, and based on Su He's past experience, this one wasn't your run-of-the-mill centipede.
A DM popped up right away.
"Hello, I can offer five thousand points. Will you sell it to me?"
Su He didn't reply immediately, wanting to wait for more offers before making a decision.
She closed the system and went back to working the field.
After exchanging for a giant flashlight in her space, Su He had the two children hold it for her while she worked in the field.
Su He planned to plant the seeds today.
These seeds were also exchanged from the space—some green onions, cilantro, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and other leafy greens like bok choy.
The system said these seeds were improved versions from the future, with higher yields than those from her current era.
Su He worked until past eleven. The kids were already out, and she finally got around to washing up.
Looking at her thick arms and legs, she wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt like she had slimmed down a bit compared to when she first arrived in this body.
Clearly, losing weight was relatively easy for the original owner's body.
She remembered the original owner used to be inactive, with such a heavy body that she hardly broke a sweat.
Now, Su He was sweating buckets daily. If this trend continued, she believed her weight loss success was just around the corner.
She finally worked up the courage to look in the mirror again. Even after all that time in the sun lately, Su He hadn't gotten tanned at all.
The one good thing about this body was how pale it was. Su He had initially thought it was because the original owner didn't work or get sun exposure, but it turned out she was naturally pale.
Even the pores on her face weren't as enlarged as before. Only now could Su He kinda see what her face really looked like.
Weirdly, they were starting to look more like her old face. It was truly bizarre.
Was this a parallel world? Was the original Su He just another version of her?
The name and looks were exactly the same as her former self.