Yangzhi's eyes were vacant, lost in the question of why. Though she didn't voice it, both Cheng Ying and Chi Yong saw it.

Cheng Ying felt it wasn't her place to explain, and besides, what could a child like her possibly understand?

Chi Yong glanced at his shrewd daughter. "Old folks like obedience."

"It's just a little unfair to Wuzi, since that was all his credit," Yangzhi murmured.

"There'll be plenty of time for that later," Chi Yong assured her.

"Fine, I'll go along with you two. Oh, Yongzi, about your sheep—one of them seems to be shedding. Is something wrong?"

Chi Yong frowned. This wasn't the season for molting.

Cheng Ying's heart fluttered, a strange little leap, though she couldn't fathom why. It had been ages since she’d pulled any wool; surely it couldn't be related to her. But her unease persisted.

"It's nothing. I'll check it tomorrow. If it looks bad, I'll report it to the team," Chi Yong said.

With that, the two of them left. Chi Wu was already asleep in the west room.

Yangzhi moved the table to the east room. After warming up, the three of them ate a bowl of hot congee and settled lazily onto the heated brick bed. Cheng Ying finally felt truly comfortable, almost wishing she could fall asleep right there at the table.

When Cheng Ying finally woke, the only person home besides Chi Wu was her grandmother.

Cheng Ying pulled out the padded cotton coat and trousers the old woman had kept warm under the quilts earlier, putting them on; the warmth was immediate against her skin.

Cheng Ying pushed open the door to find Chi Wu wrestling with something alone in the yard.

His eyes lit up when he saw her. "You're awake! The congee is still warm in the pot, want some?"

Cheng Ying shook her head. "No thanks. I ate late last night, not hungry now."

Chi Wu looked at her, then said, "Wait here."

He walked toward the back yard, and Cheng Ying followed, watching as he retrieved a cloth bundle from where he hid his fish.

He handed the bundle to Cheng Ying. Her heart pounded as she held it—the familiar density, the weight. Even from a distance, she caught a faint, unmistakable sheepish odor. Cheng Ying felt a sudden pang of sorrow. "You didn't—you didn't just pluck the wool off one sheep, did you?"

Chi Wu looked genuinely embarrassed. "In the beginning, I hadn't thought of anything else. But then I stopped doing that."

Cheng Ying thought: There really are real-life versions of Bai Yun, the character played by Song Dandan.

Her current feeling was one of near-tears. She couldn't possibly let her stepfather take the blame for this, could she? Why did this wool feel so hot to hold?

This kid, Chi Wu, must have tasted success; he had gathered so much! He must not have rested all day.

"Why the expression?" Chi Wu asked.

Cheng Ying thought: What expression do you expect me to wear? How can I possibly be happy about this? "If you plucked the sheep bare, Uncle will surely be criticized!"

"No, I only took a small patch. And I scattered a handful of wool inside the sheep shed. Nobody will know I took it secretly," he insisted.

Cheng Ying thought: This kid's backup plan is decent. A pile of wool in the shed can make it look like it's spread everywhere, like the sheep are naturally shedding. Just pretend spring came early.

Still, the two children remained uneasy.

They waited until Chi Yong returned in the evening. Chi Wu questioned his father about the condition of the sheep.

Chi Yong looked at the two children. "Well, the team is busy stringing up power lines. I told the team leader, and he said we'll check on it first. If it’s nothing, we’ll let it go. If it’s bad, we’ll just have to slaughter it."

Chi Wu let out a breath of relief, and his dinner tasted sweet.

Cheng Ying only glanced at her food occasionally, eating slowly throughout the meal, her whole demeanor conveying that this had nothing to do with her.

Her own grandmother's characteristic squinted eyes hadn't even lifted an eyelid. But Cheng Ying knew the old woman understood everything. After all, she couldn't hide the fact that she was drying wool from the grandmother she shared a room with. And judging by the look her stepfather kept throwing her way, he probably knew too.

Only her own mother—her heart completely guileless—was a complete simpleton.

After supper, the grandmother took the fabric Cheng Ying had bought and went to the team leader's house.

Cheng Ying knew her grandmother was using the opportunity to her advantage; she wasn't keeping the windfall for herself but sharing it with the team leader's mother—the woman who was Cheng Shan’s mother and whom their own grandmother had to call 'auntie'—giving her two meters of cloth.

It had to be said, the grandmother knew how to handle things. Though it wasn't given away freely, buying two meters of cloth for six mao without needing a ration ticket was something only their grandmother could manage.

Once Cheng Ying saw her grandmother leave, she dared to put the wool into her spatial storage.

Of course, she would need to conduct further 're-education' for Chi Wu, that promising young sprout, on how to avoid making such foolish mistakes. Pulling wool from a single sheep was as bad as putting all one's eggs in one basket.

Using the excuse that she still hadn't slept enough, Cheng Ying retreated to the east room to sleep early while her grandmother was out.

She didn't pay much attention to the white socks Chi Wu only wore while on the brick bed. In Cheng Ying's view, the boy was overly strange, treasuring a pair of socks instead of wearing them on his feet. She genuinely couldn't stand watching it.

Cheng Ying closed the east room door and stepped back into her space. Finally, it looked somewhat established. At least Cheng Ying felt the sense of harvest, given that the honeysuckle vines were currently blooming.

Looking at the honeysuckle clinging to some kind of hardwood, Cheng Ying felt a deep sense of satisfaction; she was finally approaching the rhythm of prosperity.

The small branches she and her mother had casually broken off the mountain that day and stuck into the soil—she had only done it as an experiment—had all sprouted. Especially the honeysuckle vine, which was growing vigorously. Perhaps this plant truly suited the space.

Cheng Ying looked at the ginseng she had specifically planted near the water pool, thinking only that it would be wonderful if the flowers were valuable. Honestly, she didn't know why it produced so many blossoms. Oh well, she could only wait for the ginseng seeds to mature. She wondered if those seeds were worth anything.

Fortunately, all the random branches Cheng Ying had unintentionally brought into the space had survived. Even if they wouldn't flower, they were growing well, lush and leafy. Every single branch, even those with only a few new sprouts, retained an air of elegance, utterly captivating. This space truly spared no effort in cultivating elegance.

Cheng Ying felt it was a place designed to induce self-reflection. Fortunately, she was broad-minded: You be elegant all you want; I'll just eat my fill.

Looking at the corn stalks blooming with tassels, Cheng Ying could only sigh. The flowering period for the corn she grew was so long. She could only be thankful she hadn't tried to artificially pollinate them; that would have been a disaster. Cheng Ying proved quite capable of regulating her own expectations.

Cheng Ying turned and walked toward the pond where she kept the large carp. Or perhaps, she wasn't sure what to call this fish anymore. Calling it a carp certainly didn't fit.

"If people didn't know better, they’d think you were possessed. How unsightly, looking like some kind of chimera," Cheng Ying muttered. She had to admit, despite her words, the fish was stunningly beautiful, even if it didn't have much flesh. It was the kind of creature you felt embarrassed to eat, and frankly, she didn't want to.

Cheng Ying worried about the wool in the cloth bundle. This pond was too large, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing. What if she dumped the bundle in? Where would she ever find it again? Wouldn't it just float everywhere?

With no other option, Cheng Ying placed the cloth bundle on a large stone and exited her space.

Her family was truly poor to the point of destitution; they didn't even have a large basin. Unable to find one, Cheng Ying retrieved a net-like pouch from her grandmother's cabinet and re-entered the space.

She placed the bag of wool inside the netting, secured the top tightly, snapped off a twig from some unknown variety of firewood tree, hung the netting from the stick, and then firmly planted the stick in the earth. Only then was the wool properly secured. Cheng Ying was confident that, with the space’s capabilities, the resulting wool should be white, fine, and soft in the future. She exited the space, ready to retrieve it whenever she needed.

Once out, Cheng Ying found herself the only one with nothing to do. Like Chi Wu, she slung a basket on her back and went out to gather firewood. This was her and her mother's home, after all; she couldn't let that fellow Chi Wu outshine her. She needed to display some sense of responsibility as the head of the household. Everyone needs to make their presence felt when they’re out in the world, that was Cheng Ying’s current mindset.

Cheng Ying set off with her basket, following the path she'd taken the day before. Along the way, she spotted piles of gathered firewood and collected them, moving them into her space. Of course, her small basket had to hold some too. Cheng Ying thought the current generation's morality was questionable. Leaving perfectly good firewood lying about—wasn't that just inviting people like her to take advantage? Though more likely, Chi Wu had gathered and stacked it here. In Cheng Ying's view, only Chi Wu would be foolish enough to do that.

As she gathered wood, Cheng Ying also scouted out any branches she deemed worth trying to propagate, tucking those into her space. Soon, sweat beaded on her forehead. As for wolves or other dangers, Cheng Ying’s courage had grown; since no one was around, she could simply duck into the space and be safe. She definitely wouldn't be in mortal danger.

When her basket was nearly full, Cheng Ying headed back. If Chi Wu returned before her, she wouldn't be able to move the firewood out of her space without him seeing. Cheng Ying wanted to ease Chi Wu’s burden; otherwise, hauling this much wood would require him to make several trips back and forth. The space allowed Cheng Ying to handle the entire transport in one go. It had finally proven its worth for transportation—huge capacity, effortless movement.

When Cheng Ying returned, the grandmother hadn't arrived yet. Cheng Ying started unloading the wood from her basket, casually pulling out the large stack of firewood she had stockpiled in her space. Seeing the instantaneous height of her woodpile, Cheng Ying quickly put some of it back into the space. Even a god wouldn't believe she could bring back this much firewood in one basket trip. Therefore, Cheng Ying couldn't unload it all at once; she needed to take it slowly, step by step. It seemed she’d have to make several more trips with her basket in the future.

Chi Wu returned slightly later than Cheng Ying, but it was clear from his expression that he wasn't happy.

"What's wrong? Were you bullied again? Are you a boy or a girl? Why don't you fight back?"