Chapter 11: Abundant Materials

Lu Yun thought about the abundance of various materials in her space and couldn't help but smile broadly.

There were also various luxury items she had acquired in her previous life, jewelry, watches, clothes, bags, and even cash from different countries...

Even though that cash would take many years before she could use it, it also meant that even if she didn't use the magical ancient recipes from her space to accumulate wealth, nor rebuild the powerful business empire she had in her last life, she could still live a very good life.

This time, she didn't want to make her business that big again. Her experience in the last life made her realize that she actually didn't like being a businessperson. The bigger the business grew, the greater the responsibility she had on her shoulders.

Often times, the heavy burdens made her feel as if she was being crushed and couldn't breathe.

Moreover, all the ensuing big and small socializing and networking, many of which she couldn't even decline, made her detest them deeply.

In this life, she just wanted to spend a quiet life with her dad, mom, and possibly the little brothers or sisters who might come along later, living her own simple days. To freely choose the things she liked to do.

Let dad worry about making money. The breeze of Reform and Opening Up had already blown over, and the upcoming eighties were a time when opportunities were everywhere; as long as one dared to take the step, one could easily fill their coffers.

With her dad's character, plus her as the "Super Military Advisor" cheering him on from the side, was there any worry that her dad couldn't easily earn a substantial family fortune, allowing his wife and children to lead an enviable life?

Lu Yun couldn't help but lower her voice and hum a couple of lines, "Please take my song back to your home, please leave your smile behind..." Her mood began to soar.

The clouds in the sky quietly drifted by upon hearing it, and the sun peeked out from behind the clouds with a smiling face, making the light filtering through the grapevines even brighter for a moment.

Fortunately, it was still early, and even though it was the hottest month of August, the sunlight wasn't too intense yet.

Feeling exceptionally good, Lu Yun looked up at the grapevines above her head, and she immediately felt her mouth water at the sight of the clusters of green, purple, and mottled grapes hanging down.

Even though the grapes in her space were actually bigger and sweeter than those, it didn't prevent her from wanting to pick them personally.

Lu Yun climbed onto a stone stool and found that she still couldn't reach the grapes, as they were a bit too far. Not discouraged, she climbed onto a stone table only to find that it still wasn't enough, her tiny hands could just barely touch the bottom of the grapes.

Such is the sadness of being short and small in stature.

Unwilling to give up, she jumped up twice and then stood on the stone table looking around until her eyes lit up at the sight of a small bamboo stool not far away.

"Xiaoyun, time to eat."

Xia Yuan peeked out from the kitchen and saw Lu Yun climbing down from the stone table, which instantly made her jump in fright, "What if you fall from that height?"

Caught in the act.

Lu Yun immediately put on a flattering smile, stuck her tongue out innocently to peek at her mom, then quickly looked up with reluctant eyes at the grapes above her head before lowering her gaze.

When Xia Yuan saw her daughter's charmingly naive smile, her heart softened. She couldn't bring herself to scold her any further.

Remembering the last time her daughter smiled at her like that, when she was much younger, Xia Yuan felt both a pang of sorrow and nostalgia. She always remembered the gentle and soft way her daughter smiled as a baby, her laugh pure and dependent.

But later, as her daughter gradually grew up, she was busy working all day, and her daughter spent more time with her grandma. After that, everything changed. The mother and daughter nearly reached the point where they couldn't talk normally. Of course, most of the time, it was the daughter who yelled at her, followed by her becoming increasingly silent.

Now, seeing her daughter smile at her so obediently, Xia Yuan feared that a harsh tone might revert them to their previous state, so she couldn't help but speak in a lowered voice. It wasn't until after Lu Yun had safely landed that she went over and gently touched the top of her daughter's head.

"Why didn't you call out for grapes, so mom could pick them for you? You're small, and climbing up by yourself is dangerous. What if you had fallen?"

She feared her daughter might get impatient and didn't dare to say too much, so she looked up, picked several ripe bunches of grapes—five or six—and placed them on the stone table.

"Is that enough? If not, mom can pick more for you."

"That's enough."

Watching her mom treat her with such caution, Lu Yun hung her head and suddenly felt an urge to cry, "Next time, I won't climb up by myself."

"Good girl." A relieved expression appeared on Xia Yuan's face, and she couldn't resist touching her daughter's hair again. Her daughter really had changed; normally, she would have already been stiff-necked and yelling, "Don't tell me what to do."

"Leave the grapes there for now, have your meal first, mom will wash them later for you. Let's eat, I made stir-fried eggs with tomatoes, your favorite."

Xia Yuan walked toward the kitchen holding her daughter's small hand. Most families didn't cook in the morning, but she always thought it wasn't good for her young daughter to eat salty pickled vegetables, and mostly she would make an egg to supplement her nutrition.

In the past, she was too busy and, for convenience, would just boil an egg for her daughter, but later found that the egg hardly ever made it to her daughter's mouth, and was mostly charmed away. Afterward, she changed to making steamed egg custard or scrambled eggs, serving it as a side dish and making sure her daughter ate it during meals.

Fortunately, in recent years, although resources were still scarce, the situation had improved. Keeping a couple of chickens on a farm and giving the child an egg to eat every day was still manageable.

It's just that most families were reluctant to do so. After all, saving up eggs to exchange for other things at the supply and marketing cooperative could yield quite a bit.

"Mom, where's dad?" Lu Yun asked as she followed her mom into the kitchen, which was very close to the courtyard, just a few steps away.

"He went out to the fields early in the morning; he won't come back for a meal until later. You eat first; mom will wait for dad to come back and eat together," Xia Yuan said as she put Lu Yun's meal into a small bamboo sieve and then spoke to Lu Yun.

"I want to wait for dad to come back so the three of us can eat together, is that okay? Other families eat together," Lu Yun said with a hopeful expression.

"Your dad might take a while, and I'm worried about you getting hungry. Little kids can't stand hunger," Xia Yuan stopped her hand, found the suggestion tempting, but then looked at Lu Yun and shook her head, "You eat today, and I'll tell your dad to come back earlier tomorrow so we can eat together."

"Okay." Even though she felt a bit disappointed, Lu Yun still didn't want to go against her mom's wishes.

"How about you eat a little bit now to stave off hunger, and then have more when your dad comes back, is that okay?" Xia Yuan saw the disappointment on her daughter's face and felt somewhat sorry for her.

"Alright!" Lu Yun exclaimed in surprise. "There's no need to go to the dining table on the other side of the hall; I'll just eat here."

"You...!" Xia Yuan smiled helplessly, then she took another bowl, scooped half a bowl of rice and half of the stir-fried tomato and egg, and handed it to Lu Yun. After that, she picked up the empty sieve and walked out, "Eat well, I'm going to wash the grapes for you."

"Mmhmm."

As soon as Xia Yuan left the kitchen, Lu Yun hurriedly picked most of the egg out of the vegetable bowl and pushed it back in.