Chapter 573: Farm Woman 1
Tan Dehai was resting in Tan Ying’s dorm when he saw Tan Yue walk in behind her, carrying some grapes. He couldn’t help but feel a little confused. "Tan Yue, what are you doing here?"
Tan Yue smiled. "My sister said we couldn’t just eat your watermelon for free, Uncle, so she had me bring over two bunches of grapes. I should get going now, Uncle. My sister still has things to do over there."
Tan Dehai was about to say something, but Tan Yue had already dashed away. He sighed. "Tan You has become quite the slippery one."
Tan Ying pursed her lips. "Why do you think she’s changed so much?"
Tan Dehai replied, "What else could it be? She just got smarter, that’s all."
Back with Tan You, as soon as Tan Yue left with the grapes, Tan Lin had something to say. "How much does half a watermelon even cost? Those two bunches of grapes of mine were over ten yuan. They’re the ones who came out ahead."
"Remember that one time you ate a meal at their house? Tan Dehai’s family went on about it for ages."
Tan You waved her hand dismissively. "You can go back and talk about it too. No one’s stopping you."
"You’re right, I’ll say it when I get back!" Tan Lin slapped his thigh. "Tan Ying has been taking advantage of you for years, and her family just pretends not to see it. If you ate so much as a piece of candy from their house, he’d bring it up for the next several years."
Tan You said, "Let’s not talk about Tan Ying anymore. We won’t be seeing each other much since we’re not in the same class."
"Even though we live in the same faculty housing area, we’ll see a lot less of each other. As far as I’m concerned, she’s in my past."
Tan Lin asked, "Aren’t you worried she’ll choose the science track? If she picks physics and biology, she’ll be in your class again."
Tan You thought for a moment. "If that’s really the case, then I’ll have to consider taking the college entrance exams early. I really don’t want to be anywhere near her."
Tan Lin smiled. "Alright, I’m going to take Tan Yue home now. You want to come with us?"
Tan You had no intention of going to Tan Lin’s place. "No thanks. I’m going to work on my practice problems here, so I’ll pass."
Tan Lin pursed his lips. ’It used to be that I thought Tan You didn’t like studying and had a bad attitude about school. Now, I feel like she studies too hard. How can a person change so drastically?’
After seeing Tan Lin and Tan Yue off, Tan You sat down by the window. Saying she wanted to work on problems was just an excuse; she really just wanted to get rid of Tan Lin.
Just as Tan You was lost in thought, the Beauty System, which had been enjoying the drama back in her hometown, finally returned. "Host, Host! The Tan Deji family is about to die of anger right now."
Tan You was unconcerned. "All the better if they do. How’s my grandpa?"
The Beauty System replied, "Grandpa’s happy. He and Grandma are cleaning the house."
The corners of Tan You’s mouth turned up. ’Grandpa really gets me,’ she thought. He knew she couldn’t stand Tan Desheng, so the moment the man left, he had immediately started cleaning the house.
"Host, are you unhappy?" After sharing a few more bits of hometown gossip, the Beauty System suddenly flew right in front of Tan You, meeting her gaze.
Tan You frowned slightly. "I am a little upset. There are certain people you want nothing to do with, but they just keep clinging to you."
Be it the Tan Deji family or Tan Ying, Tan You wanted absolutely nothing to do with them. But it was like they were incapable of understanding human speech. On that note, if Tan Ying really did choose physics and biology, Tan You would have to seriously consider taking the college entrance exams early.
The Beauty System didn’t know how to comfort Tan You. It wagged its large tail. "Host, to cheer you up, how about we go do a mission? It’ll help you take your mind off things."
Tan You paused. "That sounds like a good idea. Let’s do it?"
These days, Tan You barely spent any time preparing when she drew a new mission. She had already survived the hell mode of an intermediate mission; now, any mission below that level seemed easy to her.
But the mission she drew this time was different. Up until now, with the exception of one trip to a Western Fantasy Plane, all of Tan You’s missions had been in modern worlds. This time, however, she had drawn a mission set in ancient times—a survival mission during a chaotic era, no less.
Tan You couldn’t help but press a hand to her forehead. She was well-read, but just thinking about the situation made her feel helpless. First off, just being a woman in ancient times was a huge disadvantage. It would be even more difficult since she also had to raise the original body’s three children.
Second, they were in a chaotic era; finding even a small, peaceful corner to live in would be a challenge. One couldn’t just live as a recluse forever. Thinking about it, all these were major obstacles.
Mulling over these issues, Tan You pinched the bridge of her nose. After a moment of deliberation, she entered the mission world. Although it was another intermediate-level mission, compared to her experience in the Western Fantasy World, this starting situation was much better.
"Sigh, what’s to become of the Chen family now?" Tan You was still in a daze when she heard the sounds of discussion around her.
"Chen Da and his eldest son are gone, just like that. Now the old couple has died from the shock and grief. All that’s left of the Chen family is Mrs. Wang and her three daughters. How are they going to survive?"
"With no man to support the household... It’s going to be difficult."
"But isn’t there still An Wen? If Chen Da and his eldest son hadn’t gone out looking for An Wen’s birth mother, would they have run into bandits on their way back? Now four members of the family are dead, one after another. Sigh."
Listening to the discussions outside, Tan You’s lips curled slightly. ’Fortunately, this isn’t the worst possible situation. At least I’m not about to get killed off the moment I arrived.’ The chaotic era hadn’t truly begun yet, and for now, this small mountain village was still relatively peaceful. This gave Tan You some breathing room.
With that thought, Tan You pushed against the bed planks, trying to sit up.
The moment she moved, a rustling sound filled the air. Tan You frowned, looking down to see that she was lying on a pile of dry straw.
Tan You couldn’t help but curse under her breath. ’Just how poor are they?’
At that thought, Tan You gave a bitter smile and forced herself to sit up. The moment she moved, however, her vision went black. It seemed this new body was in even worse shape than her own.
To be fair, the original owner of this body, Mrs. Wang, had truly been steeped in suffering her whole life. Her life was difficult before she married, and it only got worse afterward. Her parents-in-law had one son and one daughter. As the wife of the eldest son, the original owner was naturally expected to take care of her sister-in-law, Chen Cui.
After much difficulty, her sister-in-law finally showed some promise and went to work in town. However, not long after she left, she came back carrying a child. She claimed the child was hers but stubbornly refused to say who the father was.
Because of this, the Chen family became the laughingstock of the entire village. As for Chen Cui, she simply dumped the child, washed her hands of the matter, and returned to town. The original owner’s parents-in-law, who had always doted on their daughter, insisted on keeping the child and raising him themselves.
At the same time, they constantly pressured Chen Da and the original owner’s son, Chen Anwu, to go search for Chen Cui. And the result? They came back empty-handed every single time, dragging the family further and further into poverty.
The child Chen Cui brought back was, of course, An Wen. Because of him, the original owner and her three daughters couldn’t hold their heads high in the village.
But she never imagined things could get even worse. And now they had. On their most recent trip, while returning empty-handed once again, the original owner’s husband, Chen Da, and their son, Chen Anwu, encountered a band of marauders on the road and were killed.
By the time they were found, their bodies were already stiff and a gruesome sight. The old couple of the Chen family were so consumed by anger and grief that they, too, passed away, unable to recover from the shock. Their eldest son and eldest grandson—they had been the pillars of the family.