For the next two days, the Old Su Family was a bit quieter and didn’t come looking for trouble with Su Qing.

Su Qing went about her business as usual. She had to work to earn work points, and she also had to find time to go into Baihua Mountain to collect the green mist and condition her body. For Su Qing, conditioning this current body was her top priority.

’This body is too weak. I need to hurry and absorb more of the green mist so it can recover as soon as possible. Otherwise, my current body won’t even be able to handle a higher-level Bagua Pool.’

Now that she had arrived in this era, the Bagua Pool had reverted to its initial state, perhaps because the original owner’s body was so weak. Its storage capacity was far too small. The day she went to the county seat, she had to stop halfway to absorb more green mist just to have enough energy to make it back to the village.

"Su Qing, someone’s here to see you! They’re right at your gate." That afternoon, while Su Qing was in the cornfield shucking corn with the other aunties, one of them ran over to tell her.

"Here to see me?" Su Qing wondered. ’It couldn’t be Aunt Fu, could it?’

"Yes, you can tell she’s from the county seat just by looking at her. She’s fair-skinned, a woman in her thirties, and she’s pushing a bicycle. It’s gorgeous—so shiny and new! There’s a cloth bag hanging from the handlebars, and a bundle tied to the back rack. You should hurry back and see." The auntie nodded eagerly, her voice tinged with envy. She was sure the bag and the bundle were full of good things.

As soon as Su Qing heard the description, she knew it was Fu Yuzhen. She smiled and said, "Thanks, Auntie. I’ll head back right now."

After getting permission for leave from the work-point recorder, Su Qing hurried home.

"Well now, Mr. Fu, you’re back in our Xiyuan County! Are you here today to see my Erya?" Su Shengguo had arrived in Lihua Village right around the same time as Fu Yuzhen. He had returned this time specifically because of Su Qing’s separation from the family. When he saw Fu Yuzhen standing at the gate of the yard next to his, he knew she was here to see Su Qing.

Su Shengguo had always known that Fu Yuzhen and Li Wan were close. For the past few years, he had taken advantage of Fu Yuzhen’s ignorance of Su Qing’s true situation, getting her to send plenty of things back, from which he had skimmed quite a few benefits for himself.

But Su Shengguo had never imagined that Fu Yuzhen would suddenly return, much less come looking for Su Qing. Seeing her standing right at Su Qing’s gate, his heart skipped a beat. ’Don’t tell me she already knows something.’

"Hmph." Fu Yuzhen didn’t give Su Shengguo a pleasant look. "Cut it out with that ’my Erya’ nonsense. That girl Su Qing has already separated from your Old Su Family. You’re not family anymore, so don’t act so familiar."

’Just as I thought!’

Su Shengguo’s heart sank. ’She knows.’

Before he could say anything, Fu Yuzhen continued, "Su Shengguo, you’ve been lying to me for years. Did you never think that one day the truth would come out?"

"Heh heh," Su Shengguo chuckled drily. "What are you talking about? When have I ever lied to you?"

"You know perfectly well whether you’ve lied or not." Fu Yuzhen rolled her eyes at Su Shengguo, not bothering to engage with the hypocrite.

Su Shengguo was furious with Fu Yuzhen’s attitude, but he didn’t dare say anything. Her brother-in-law was the deputy director of the food processing plant. If he said something she didn’t like and she decided to make trouble for him behind his back, who knew if that deputy director would make his life difficult.

A sense of crisis washed over him as he considered the possibility. ’She isn’t planning on helping that damn girl Su Qing get even, is she?’

His mind raced, but Su Shengguo didn’t dare let any of his displeasure show on his face. He quickly forced a smile. "You’re joking, Mr. Fu. Um, I’ll just go in and see my parents first. We can talk later, talk later."

Without waiting for Fu Yuzhen’s reply, he scurried into the courtyard.

Fu Yuzhen shot a vicious eye-roll at the gate of the Old Su Family’s courtyard.

"Aunt Fu," Su Qing called out as she hurried home and saw that it was indeed Fu Yuzhen.

"Qingqing." Fu Yuzhen was happy to see Su Qing, but her heart ached when she saw Su Qing’s small, sunburned face. "You’re still so young. Don’t work yourself like a grown-up; your body can’t handle it. And don’t you worry about making a living. You have me, your Aunt Fu."

"Aunt Fu, I’m fine. See? I’m doing great," Su Qing said with a cheerful laugh as she opened the gate and welcomed Fu Yuzhen into the yard. "You shouldn’t have! Just having you here is enough. Why did you bring so many things? I don’t need anything, I’ve already gotten everything set up. Please don’t worry about me."

Seeing all the things Fu Yuzhen had brought, Su Qing knew that she must have been truly, incredibly good to the original owner of this body.

"What you’ve bought for yourself is your own business. This is just a little something from me." Fu Yuzhen entered the yard and saw how clean and tidy the small space was. Thinking of the hardships Su Qing had endured over the years, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness. ’If Li Wan knew what this child has been through, she would be absolutely heartbroken.’

Fu Yuzhen had always firmly believed that something must have happened that prevented Li Wan from returning; she wouldn’t have intentionally abandoned Su Qing. After all, she had seen with her own eyes how much Li Wan used to dote on her daughter.

"Aunt Fu, come inside and rest for a bit."

Su Qing’s voice pulled Fu Yuzhen back from her thoughts. She quickly parked the bicycle in the yard and went to get the cloth bag and bundle from it. Seeing this, Su Qing rushed to help her carry them into the house.

Once they were settled inside, Fu Yuzhen accepted the water Su Qing poured for her. When she saw Su Qing had also brought out a plate of roasted wild chestnuts, she pulled her down to sit. "Stop fussing over me," she said. "Come and see what your Aunt Fu brought you."

Fu Yuzhen first opened the smaller cloth bag. Inside were some pastries, candies, and foods she had made herself, like meat sauce and pickles. There was also a whole smoked fish.

"Take these to eat. You can enjoy them over time," Fu Yuzhen told Su Qing.

"Aunt Fu, this is too much."

"It’s not that much," Fu Yuzhen said with a smile. "Most of it will keep for a while. Just eat the pastries soon. The rest will last you a long time."

Then, Fu Yuzhen opened the larger bundle and took out some clothes. "These are a few of my own pieces," she told Su Qing. "I altered them to fit you. Try them on in a bit to see if they’re a good fit."

She then looked at Su Qing and added, "And don’t you dare say you won’t take them. I altered them specifically for your size, so no one else can wear them. Of course, if you think they’re beneath you, that’s another story."

"I don’t! Of course not!" Su Qing said quickly. "Thank you, Aunt Fu."

The clothes alone showed just how thoughtful Fu Yuzhen was. Su Qing currently had no cloth ration coupons, and she hadn’t seen any fabric for sale at the black market the other day. But even if she had managed to buy fabric, she didn’t know how to sew. As for Li Wan’s clothes, she had only touched one outfit, leaving the rest untouched. They were tied to the original owner’s lingering attachments, after all. The one outfit she had set aside, she only planned on wearing when she went to the black market.

That was why she had been wearing her old clothes for the past few days.