Chapter 2: Identity_1

Maid Xiumei stood at the door resembling a wife-waiting stone, peering into the distance. Spotting Wei Ruo, she trotted over and seeing the basket of herbs on Wei Ruo's back, she said with a tone that carried both worry and a mild reproach:

"Miss, why did you run up to the mountain alone again? It's so dangerous!"

As she spoke, Xiumei had already efficiently taken the basket from Wei Ruo and transferred it onto her own back.

"Don't worry, Meimei, I didn't venture towards dangerous cliffs, really! The mountain is filled with rare herbs worth a lot of money. Not picking them would be a waste!"

"That's not the point! You aren't as sturdy as me! Even if you have to go, you should bring me along! I should utilize the martial arts skills taught by the master you hired for me!"

"If I bring you with me, who will cook for me? My tummy, my Wuzang Temple, depends on you!" Wei Ruo teased.

Today's trip had left her utterly exhausted, collecting herbs from a long distance had already used up all her energy. Plus, she had been called for a live birth delivery, which had practically drained her.

"If you want food, I can cook for you when I return! You running off to the mountains alone has me scared out of my wits at home. I can't even distinguish between salt and sugar!"

Xiumei stomped her foot.

"I'm hungry," Wei Ruo looked up at Xiumei with a longing gaze.

"Miss, you're changing the subject again." Xiumei felt helpless.

"Don't starve me, see, I've become so thin." Wei Ruo rubbed her belly, her point was pretty self-explanatory.

During the emergency situation when she was rescuing patients, she was unperturbed, but now she was acting coquettish with her maid just to get a meal, like a totally different person.

"Alright, alright, I've already cooked the meal, it's warm and ready in the stove, I'll get it for you right away."

Though Xiumei had a sharp tongue, she had a soft heart. Muttering to herself, she turned back and went into the kitchen.

What can she do? When her mistress gives her that look of longing for food, it's irresistible!

The courtyard where Wei Ruo stayed was filled with various plants, some for aesthetic appeal, some medical, and some were crops.

The only space left was for a stone table. On good weather days, Wei Ruo liked eating, drinking tea, and basking in the sun at that table.

This place was one of the secondary residences of the He Family, and only two people lived here: Wei Ruo and her maid Xiumei.

Wei Ruo was a transmigrator, transmigrated into the body of a minor female character in a book.

In the original work, she was the daughter of the Wei Family, who are bureaucrats, but was accidentally taken away by the He Family, who are merchants.

When she was raised by the He Family till the age of three, a fortune teller predicted that she would bring disaster to her parents, so she was sent to live here at this subsidiary residence.

The only people who came along with her were Wei Ruo's wet nurse and Maid Xiumei.

From then on, the He Family would send five taels of silver each month, and they no longer intervened.

Even during festivals, Wei Ruo has not seen them at all.

Now Wei Ruo was thirteen, she has been living in this village for ten years.

To Wei Ruo, she loved life in the village, she enjoyed interacting with the villagers.

She neither wanted to go back to the He Family nor her biological parents' home because in the original work, she experienced a hard life whether she was in the He Family or her biological parents' home.

The next morning, after breakfast, Wei Ruo and Xiumei left the house together.

Wei Ruo's residence was backed by a hill, stepping out there were vast fields.

It was the busy farming season, and the villagers were busy planting rice in the fields.

As Wei Ruo passed by, the villagers greeted her one by one.

"Ruoruo, my husband hunted a rabbit on the mountain today, I saved a leg for you, remember to let Xiumei take it home later!"

"Miss Ruoruo, I picked some water celery today and have set aside a portion for you. Remember to let Xiumei take it."

"Miss Ruoruo, the medicine you gave us last time worked wonders, my son Tiger got better as soon as he took it!"

"..."

Wei Ruo greeted them back and headed towards her own field.

Like everyone else, she took off her shoes, stepped barefooted into the mud-filled paddy field and started planting rice.

Xiumei attempted to persuade Wei Ruo to rest a few times, offering to do the work instead, but Wei Ruo insisted on doing it herself.

Because she had a reason to plant it personally.

Wei Ruo had a space, which appeared when she transmigrated. The entrance to the space was in the palm of her left hand - it was a red dot, like a cinnabar mole.

In that space, there was a simple thatched cottage. Initially, the thatched cottage was empty.

Outside the cottage was a vast void, enveloped in a thick white fog.

Later, Wei Ruo started decorating the thatched cottage. Over the years, she furnished the cottage, made arrangements, and stored items.

As Wei Ruo developed the interior of the cottage, the fog outside receded a bit, revealing a patch of land about two meters by two meters, and rice was already growing on it when it emerged.

So Wei Ruo began to plant rice, and when the rice was ripe and harvested, she received Experience Points.

After a few rounds of planting, the Experience Points maxed out, the space was upgraded, the fog retreated further, and a new piece of land of similar size emerged. This time, sweet potatoes were growing there.

At this point, Wei Ruo understood that her space could be upgraded, and the experience required for upgrading was obtained through her planting. Once the experience was maxed out, it could be upgraded, and after upgrading, new land and new seeds would appear.

This was very similar to a popular online game called "Happy Farm" she played years ago. Plant to gain experience points, level up when the experience points are maxed to gain new land and seeds to plant.

Later, Wei Ruo planted the rice seeds from the space outside, and after harvesting, she also gained experience, but she had to plant it herself. The portion given to the villagers to plant could not earn experience points.

So whether it's in the space or outside, she needs to plant them herself.

While the mistress and maid were busy with their work, suddenly two maids appeared with a group of people on the path beside Wei Ruo's field.

Seeing Wei Ruo standing barefoot in the mud, her face stained with dirt, both maids simultaneously displayed an expression of disgust on their faces.

What kind of appearance is that? Even the maids in our house are better-looking!

"We are servants of the Military Prefecture, sent by the Lord and Madam to take the young miss back to the mansion," one of the maids stated their purpose.

Military Prefecture? A look of surprise came over Xiumei, and she asked: "You must be mistaken. My mistress's family lives in the county town. She doesn't know any Colonel."

"She did before, but not anymore," one of the maids stated, "Our master has already investigated fully. Initially, at Haining Prefecture, the He Family and our Colonel's wife gave birth at the same time at the Guanyin Temple. There was an intrusion by bandits into the mountains and in the confusion, the babies got swapped."

The other maid added, "Your foster parents, the He Family who run a business in the county town, have already agreed to let us take you."

Hearing this Xiumei was so astonished that she could only gape.