Otherworldly Space: A Tale of Love and Growth - Chapter 5

It was almost noon when Song Ci finally managed to drag himself out of bed with sheer willpower.

He felt extremely exhausted, as if he had been drained of all his energy.

He had merely thought about Lin Xiaohé last night and hadn’t actually indulged in anything; it shouldn’t have been this tiring.

Could it be that just holding back for one night was so damaging to one’s health? Alas, inexperience in such matters was truly inconvenient.

Before long, Old Lady Song returned from the fields, carrying a hoe on her shoulder, and Song Ci felt a pang of guilt.

He had promised to go to the fields with her yesterday, but he had overslept by accident.

He hoped Old Lady Song wouldn’t think he had skipped out on work just to be lazy.

After all, his previous self had quite a few instances of shirking work and making excuses whenever it came to labor.

Of course, that wasn’t the case today.

Song Ci had no intention of making a living by farming in the future.

In his past life, he was an illegitimate child, but still a young master of sorts.

Although he wasn’t favored, he had never been deprived materially. He had never done fieldwork before; managing the space was merely a matter of thought.

Moreover, farming was truly not profitable. Agriculture at this time was underdeveloped, with low yields per acre, and one could only earn a meager living from it, not necessarily more than those who made a living by wandering from street to street.

However, having crossed over to become an ancient farmer’s son, land was the true foundation of life.

He might not personally work the fields in this life, but he couldn’t avoid dealing with the land. Once he had earned enough money, he planned to buy land and become a landlord.

The detestable feudal exploitation and rule!

Song Ci pondered the likelihood of Old Lady Song agreeing to hire someone to farm.

Song Ergou’s father had passed away three years ago, and as a widow, Old Lady Song still insisted on working in the fields every day; she would certainly be reluctant to spend money on hiring labor.

Renting out the land and collecting rent was another option.

However, Old Lady Song might not agree to that now, but when the family had more money and more land in the future, she would surely compromise.

Song Ci was so convinced that he could earn a fortune without farming, not only because of the space and the spiritual spring water, but also because of the food preparation methods and fruit and agricultural product processing techniques he had downloaded from the internet in anticipation.

Knowledge is capital, it is confidence. Song Ci believed that as long as he could master one of these skills and was willing to work hard and make an effort, becoming wealthy was not a problem.

“Mother, let me help you,” Song Ci said as he followed Old Lady Song into the kitchen after she returned home without taking a break and went straight to the kitchen.

The old lady was still robust and a capable worker, but she shouldn’t overexert herself and neglect her health.

If she waited until her later years when various hidden dangers erupted, she would suffer greatly. Now that he had become her son, Old Lady Song was his mother, and he would take care of her as if she were his own mother.

In the future, he would also have his wife show her respect.

In his past life, Song Ci had tried cooking quite a few times using the ingredients from the space, and he could cook most home-cooked meals whose names he could recall.

It wasn’t the right time to show off his skills yet; changing too quickly would arouse suspicion. However, helping Old Lady Song with some minor tasks was not a problem.

“Go, go, go, don’t mess around here,” Old Lady Song scolded upon noticing her son entering the kitchen right after her. “In our family, it’s the women who cook. There’s no reason for a man to be in the kitchen.”

“Mother, you’ve just come back from the fields. You must be tired. Take a rest first, and I’ll help you with the fire and water,” Song Ci said ingratiatingly.

“You’re just destined to work hard all your life. You won’t enjoy the blessings of your descendants in this life,” Old Lady Song sighed, feeling a bit heartbroken.

She thought he was being filial to her just to get a wife.

However, why couldn’t this silly boy see the truth? She was his mother; if he had something to say, he should just say it.

As long as he truly changed and lived a good life, no matter who he married, she would find a way to bring her home.

Song Ci thought Old Lady Song was upset about him being lazy today and felt a bit guilty.

But he also thought that on the first day of crossing over, his soul had traversed two worlds; he deserved a break.

Although he thought that way, he still showered Old Lady Song with sweet words, “Mother, how could you be destined to work hard? You’re meant to enjoy blessings.

In your past life, you had father to protect you, and in this half of your life, you have me. Just wait and enjoy your blessings.”

Seeing his behavior, Old Lady Song was even more convinced of her suspicions.

Her heart felt even more blocked. It seemed that having a son was not as good as having a roast pork bun; once he had a wife, he forgot about his mother.

“What blessings are you talking about? At my age, other people are already grandmothers with several children, yet I don’t even have a glimpse of my grandson,” Old Lady Song said with a somewhat stern tone, although she was happy to have a heart-to-heart talk with her son, she felt an indescribable discomfort.

“Mother, the water has boiled. Let me wash the vegetables for you,” Song Ci forcefully changed the subject.

“I’m asking you a question, don’t divert me with something else!” Old Lady Song said with a stern face, which looked quite fierce, but in reality, she was just eager to know who the future mother of her grandson was.

“Mother, don’t ask me now. It’s still uncertain. I’ll tell you in a few days,” Song Ci said, widening his eyes and looking at Old Lady Song imploringly.

Old Lady Song’s heart softened, “Go on, feed the chickens for me. Seeing you makes me annoyed.”

“As you wish,” Song Ci said, and immediately went outside.

Song Ci scattered a few handfuls of bran around the yard.

The rooster first chose the spot with the most food and, like a king, walked over with a leisurely gait, beginning to eat slowly.

Only then did the other four hens start to peck at the food competitively.

Song Ci pulled a blade of dogtail grass and poked the rooster’s rear, saying, “Rooster, rooster, what should I do?”

The rooster lifted its head and looked at him with its small, sharp eyes, as if to say, “You, a human, can’t solve your own problems and expect a chicken to teach you? The more you live, the more foolish you become,” before lowering its head again to continue eating gracefully.

Song Ci: This chicken must be possessed…

In fact, Song Ci wasn’t really expecting the chicken to give him advice on life; he just hadn’t figured out how to tell Old Lady Song about Lin Xiaohé.

To be direct, his son almost raped Lin Xiaohé, but the deed wasn’t done, yet his heart was lost, and he wanted to marry the young man and pamper him.

However, everyone in the village knew that Lin Xiaohé was going to be married into another family. Many families had proposed to the Lin family, but Uncle Lin had not agreed.

Moreover, his previous self had such a bad reputation; it was even more likely to be rejected.

The Lin family wanted a son-in-law who could take care of the elderly and continue the family line. He should have no problem with these two aspects, but because of his mother, he couldn’t become a son-in-law by marriage.

Moreover, even if he could become a son-in-law by marriage, he was unwilling to.

Just as some families had to guard against son-in-laws by marriage turning into ungrateful people, son-in-laws by marriage also had to guard against the in-laws’ oppression.

Moreover, as a man with a bit of a chauvinistic attitude, Song Ci didn’t want to live a life where he couldn’t hold his head up high.

He wanted to marry Lin Xiaohé, but it was quite a challenge.

After lunch, Song Ci wanted to see Lin Xiaohé and went to look for him.

He didn’t see anyone on the mountain where Lin Xiaohé usually went, so Song Ci walked around the nearby mountains in Daping Village.

He was looking for the person and also scouting the terrain to avoid slipping up when chatting with others in the future.

Daping Village was surrounded by mountains on two sides. Women and ge’er usually picked wild vegetables and cut pig grass on the outskirts of the mountains, while hunters went deeper into the forest.

Song Ci had set his traps in a relatively inner area, but he wasn’t in the mood to go deep into the mountains today.

By the time Song Ci had walked around the outskirts of several mountains, an hour had passed, and there was still no sign of Lin Xiaohé anywhere.

Lin Xiaohé hadn’t gone out, and Song Ci felt a bit disappointed.

Even if he couldn’t talk, just taking a few glances from a distance would be fine.

It would confirm that it was worth challenging various evil forces and overcoming numerous difficulties to finally win the beauty’s heart.

Well, Song Ci was probably just overthinking and being sentimental. Lin Xiaohé hadn’t agreed to marry him yet.

After coming down from the mountain, Song Ci walked aimlessly on the main road.

Before he realized it, he had turned near Lin Xiaohé’s home.

From a distance, he saw Lin Xiaohé bending over to feed the chickens, making cooing sounds to attract their attention.

Song Ci couldn’t help but smile.

The young man looked very cute and charming, bathed in the soft light of the setting sun.

Song Ci felt that for such a peaceful and beautiful moment, he had to marry the person.