Chapter 18: The Arrival of the Second and Third Branches of the Yu Family
Old Yu’s two younger brothers, along with their families—a total of twenty-one people—stepped into the already cramped communal room. Their arrival made the air inside even thinner, the odor more pungent, and the space unbearably crowded.
Seeing the commotion, Shu Suhua, the wife of Yu Qiang, immediately led her daughter-in-law along with her grandchildren to climb up to the communal dormitory.
In Yu Qiang’s family alone—if you don’t count his two sons—the female members and children numbered six. As these six people quickly occupied most of the available space, Yu Liang’s family, belonging to Old Yu’s second younger brother, grew anxious.
“Old Third, dear sister-in-law, my grandchildren are only four, and besides, the eldest daughter-in-law is even pregnant. Your whole family doing this is simply unfair, isn’t it?
After all, I’m your second sister-in-law. You should let them make room for me!”
Lounging on the bed, Shu Suhua clutched her quilt tightly, unwilling to move even an inch—giving Dong Chunfang of Yu Liang’s family not an inch of courtesy.
“Second sister-in-law, you too—why should I be the one to give way? Go tell your big brother’s family to make room. Those two grandsons of his look strong; they wouldn’t easily yield space for my daughter-in-law and grandchildren!”
At hearing Shu Suhua’s words, Dong Chunfang’s face immediately fell in dismay. “Shu, please don’t be so selfish…”
“But, second sister-in-law, I don’t want to hear that from you. Am I not allowed to be treated as your elder? Surely if big brother’s family occupies ten spaces, why don’t you dare demand that they make one for you?”
“Enough, stop arguing! Zhengqing, you go downstairs and make room for your second aunt’s people.”
Poor Yu Zhengqing, an innocent bystander in this misfortune, never expected such trouble to fall on him.
Yu Yingying, always the boldest, spoke up despite everyone’s discontent with Yu Hui’s arrangement, her tone pleading. “Grandfather, we can barely sleep for a few hours here. Can’t we just make do? They were all raised in the countryside—what’s wrong with sleeping on the floor? Why must our father go down?”
Hearing her words, a look of unexpected relief finally crossed Yu Zhengqing’s face.
Yu Liang’s family, too, decided not to make a fuss; since Yu Hui had already spoken, they didn’t feel the need to act the villain.
In the end, the huge communal dormitory could barely accommodate ten people. Even so, it managed to sleep only five people from the second branch of the Yu family.
Dong Chunfang, as the senior, climbed up with the pregnant eldest daughter-in-law Huang Xiaoju and her two grandsons plus a little granddaughter—who, at sixteen, had to join her parents on the floor.
Meanwhile, the entire Yu family was “joyfully united.” Next door, Yu Luo’s family of three closed their door and, after gorging themselves with food and drink and even touring Ye Jiamai’s operating room, later laid out fresh bedding and thick quilts, enjoying the most beautiful sleep they’d had since their transmigration.
In the warmth of her bed, Yu Luo was roused by the system’s voice.
[Ding dong, System Prompt: Host, wake up and pack up—prepare to begin a new day on the road of exile.]
Reluctantly, she stretched out her waist and glanced to the side, where a couple lay tightly embracing in one quilt. At that moment, Yu Luo became fully alert—no longer drowsy!
Her parents were truly something else! After being married for over twenty years in her previous life, had they grown even more lovey-dovey after transmigration?!
How could they not consider their daughter’s feelings? They held each other so tightly that anyone unaware might think they were newlyweds!
Yu Luo complained as she glared at the couple huddled together. “Father, Mother, get up—it’s time to depart. Gather the blankets!”
“Ah—hurry! Quickly clear your head; your arms are numb!” Unexpectedly, Ye Jiamai’s gentle, high-pitched voice suddenly rang out, waking the sleeping couple in an instant!
Yu Haojie cried out in pain. Ye Jiamai frowned at her own posture, then quickly scrambled out of the warm bedding with a shy expression.
Yu Luo rolled her eyes, folded her own quilt, and stored it in her system space. Then, using water from one of the water jars saved in her system, she quickly washed up and took out a few steamed buns to eat. After finishing, she transferred some of her stored provisions into her system space to feed the livestock she had purchased, and then retrieved her new cotton shoes to change into.
“Xiao Luo, your system space is truly amazing—these meat buns are still warm?”
“It seems that aside from its preservation function, the system keeps cooked food at this same temperature. I only discovered that this morning.”
At these words, Ye Jiamai’s eyes lit up! “If in my past life you had a system like this, our entire family wouldn’t have to cook for months on end whenever we felt like eating!”
In her previous life, Ye Jiamai was a workaholic. Especially during her promotion period, she couldn’t even spare a moment for the family, young Yu Luo had managed everything on her own—learning to cook, wash clothes, and sleep by herself before she was even ten…
“Mother, don’t get too carried away—back in our past life, you didn’t even cook a few proper meals for me. Don’t worry, once we reach the wild lands, I won’t expect you to cook for us anymore.”
Ye Jiamai laughed guiltily as she quickly washed up and changed her clothes.
“Why are there still hats, scarves, and gloves?”
“The gloves were urgently made by Xiu Zhuang—only three pairs, stuffed with cotton to be used in the snow. The hats and scarves are all made of fur. I chose them because they’re warm. Once we reach the wild lands, having them will make life a bit easier.”
“Yu, it’s time—we must set off!”
As the couple pored over the items in Yu Luo’s backpack, the door was suddenly knocked on. Outside, the guards’ urging voices were heard, and Yu Haojie hastily responded.
When the three emerged, they were startled by the sight of a vast crowd!
“Why are there so many people?”
Ye Jiamai looked at the gang of disheveled, haggard-faced people who clearly hadn’t had a proper rest, all with blank expressions. Their appearance also drew the attention of the rest of the Yu family. When everyone’s eyes fell on Yu Haojie’s enormous backpack and on the thick cotton clothes worn under their prisoner uniforms, each face filled with envious glances.
This time, the constables didn’t chain everyone’s feet. Instead, they tied everyone’s waist with a single, sturdy hemp rope. The rope was fastened around everyone’s waist. It didn’t hinder their travel, but if anyone tried to escape, it would alert everyone.
