When the Side Character Gets a System and Travels through Difference Worlds

Tan Ying didn’t dare throw a tantrum in front of Tan You anymore. She understood that no matter how angry she got, Tan You wouldn’t be the one to make peace first, like she used to.

So, she could only suppress her anger. "I saw them over by the big river. Tan Jin can swim..."

Tan Ying spoke with great animation, but Tan You just gave a disinterested "oh" and went back to wrapping zongzi.

"You’re putting meat in them?" Tan Ying asked in surprise, seeing Tan You place a slice of marinated pork belly inside instead of the usual candied dates.

"Baozi can have different fillings, so why can’t zongzi?" Tan You said casually. Her long, slender fingers twisted and folded the bamboo leaf, and in a few movements, a small, exquisite zongzi took shape.

She held out her left hand, and a piece of cotton string was placed in her palm. It was Tan Deming.

Tan Ying hugged her knees, her tone a mixture of dejection and jealousy. "You’ve gotten so capable now. You know how to do everything."

Tan You replied, "It’s not that I know everything. I just watched how other people did it. Anyone can learn if they put their mind to it."

After that, Tan You stopped talking to Tan Ying, and the pile of zongzi in the small basin beside her steadily grew. Tan Ying asked in surprise, "It’s so hot out. If you make so many, we won’t be able to finish them all, will we?"

Tan You said, "We can freeze the leftovers. Whenever we want some, we can just steam them."

"You bought a refrigerator?!" Tan Ying’s reaction was extreme.

Tan You looked up. "Why are you so worked up? Is my family supposed to stay poor forever?"

"That’s not what I meant..." Tan Ying forced a smile, but she was still just a sixteen-year-old girl. Both Tan You and Tan Deming could see right through her.

Tan You didn’t press the point. "I remember you’ve been back for a few days. School doesn’t start for another month. Aren’t you going to J City?"

"I am, the day after tomorrow," Tan Ying replied quickly. "I met a girl there... I promised I’d bring her my favorite wind chime this time..."

"Oh, that’s nice." If Tan You would have been emotionally affected by Tan Ying’s words in the past, now she was completely calm. ’That’s Tan Ying’s life,’ she thought. ’It has nothing to do with me.’

Her words had hit nothing but air. Tan Ying felt a stifling frustration, but she didn’t know who to vent it to. In fact, she didn’t even understand why she was in such a bad mood.

Hearing that Tan Ying was leaving for J City the day after tomorrow put Tan You in an excellent mood. She glanced at the little bit of pork belly left over. ’What should I make? It’s a bit too little for red-braised pork...’

Just as Tan You was pondering this, her grandma returned carrying two baskets. One held a few river clams, and the other was full of river snails. The old woman didn’t rush to the well to clean them, but first went to the small river to rinse the snails again.

When she came up the bank carrying the baskets, she saw the basin of zongzi Tan You had made, and a smile immediately lit up Wang Hunv’s face. Tan You arched an eyebrow. ’My grandma is so easily pleased; just a little bit of good food is enough to make her happy.’

But her personality was, in fact, a real piece of work.

"You gathered this many river snails?" Shaking off her thoughts, Tan You glanced at the still-dripping basket.

"Yep. I’ll pick them out later and put them in the fridge. Whenever you want to eat them, they can be used in soup or a stir-fry." Wang Hunv sat down on the small stool next to Tan You, picked up a teacup, and chugged its contents.

Tan You poured her another cup. "Drink slowly."

"It’s too sunny. Good thing you didn’t go; the sun is giving me a headache." Wang Hunv drank half a cup more before setting it down. "We worked so hard to keep your skin fair. Don’t you go out and get a tan. It’s better for a girl to be pale."

From the corner of her eye, Tan You saw Tan Ying’s face twist in anger, but the girl didn’t dare say a word. Who could blame her? Her grandma’s fierce reputation was known far and wide. Yes, her grandma, Wang Hunv, was the village’s famous shrew. She not only threw fits at home but was also an unapologetic troublemaker outside of it.

Tan You lowered her head to hide the smile playing on her lips. She casually poked at the river snails. "Are there Snails in here, too?"

"Yep, about twenty of them." Wang Hunv glanced over. "Snails don’t taste very good."

"That’s because you don’t know how to cook them." Tan You looked at the Snails, then at the leftover pork belly. "I’ll make you Snail Cups. I guarantee you’ve never had anything like it..."

"I’m heading back!" Before Tan You could finish, Tan Ying abruptly stood, blurted out the words, and left. In moments, she was gone.

Tan You was confused. "What’s with her? The past couple of days, she stayed until it was almost dark before going home."

Tan Deming finally couldn’t help but laugh. "Her grandfather, Old Yu, had the nickname ’Snail Eye’."

"Huh?" Tan You’s eyes widened, clearly clueless about this.

Tan Deming explained, "Her grandfather passed away a long time ago, so of course you wouldn’t know. Back when he was alive, he’d get furious with anyone who mentioned Snails. It’s because he had big eyes that bulged a little, so he ended up with that nickname."

"No wonder," Tan You laughed as well, not letting it bother her. ’Good riddance. I hope she doesn’t come back; she’s so annoying.’

Wang Hunv said, "You can decide what to do with those Snails. I’m going back to the river to see if I can find anything else."

Tan You replied, "Okay. I’ll go put the zongzi on to boil now. They’ll be ready for you to eat when you get back tonight."

Wang Hunv waved her hand dismissively. "You handle it. Anyway, I’m not cooking."

’Though her fierce reputation preceded her, Tan You could see how hard she worked. She was an old woman from the countryside who’d never been to school and could barely read. She supported the family, inside and out, all by herself. To keep from being bullied, her only choice was to become ferocious.’

’But Tan You really couldn’t bring herself to feel close to her, because the old woman had truly been awful to her in the past. Now, Tan You cooked all sorts of delicious food, partly to pass the time, and partly because, in the end, she couldn’t help but feel a little pity.’

’The old woman was just so thin. Tan You estimated she weighed less than seventy-seven pounds. Looking at that skinny frame, Tan You sometimes worried that a strong gust of wind might just blow her away.’ 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Once Wang Hunv left, Tan Deming and Tan You were once again the only two left under the shade of the tree.

Tan Deming tucked a storybook into a fold of the lounge chair. "I’ll go find you some firewood. That... Snail Cup thing... how do you make it?"

"You just pick out the Snail meat, clean the shells, mince the meat and some pork together, add seasonings, then stuff it all back into the Snail shells. Later, when I’m boiling the zongzi, I can just steam them on top of the pot."

Tan You explained it simply, and Tan Deming frowned. "That sounds like a lot of trouble."

"If you want to eat well, you can’t be afraid of a little trouble," Tan You shrugged. "Besides, I was just stuck on a problem. I can think about it while I do this. At least it gives me something to do."

"If Tan Ying hadn’t been coming over, I could’ve saved myself so much trouble. Dealing with her these past few days, I’ve nearly filled the entire freezer." Tan You was in a foul mood. She had spent half of yesterday afternoon steaming baozi, and of the three shelves in her freezer, only half a shelf was still empty.