What was it about this water, this pond, this honeysuckle vine, that made it so perfectly just so, with half the blossoms falling directly into the water?

Cheng Ying poured the water she had used to soak her feet onto the ground.

It felt like there was no difference at all. She flexed her toes and looked; there were still just as many blisters.

As for the pain, it didn't hurt unless she touched it.

Cheng Ying felt rather disappointed. She had read in books about certain mystical spaces that could bring the dead back to life and regrow bone, but it seemed her own space lacked such power.

Cheng Ying surveyed her personal domain. Taking a large rock as the central reference point, there was a big pond on either side.

Beside one pond grew a massive honeysuckle vine, thick with clusters of small yellow or white flowers.

The edge of that pond was lined with ginseng seedlings, while the side of the other pond was filled with all manner of trees. The most striking among them was that entire stretch of vibrant red leaves.

In this place bursting with blossoms, the only things that didn't bloom seemed exceptionally rare, standing out completely on their own.

Cheng Ying looked at the space before her. While perhaps a bit common, even a little rustic, it was something she had cultivated bit by bit herself.

The sense of accomplishment was immense.

In the beginning, this space had been shrouded in mist everywhere; now, wherever something was planted, the area was clear and bright.

It was as if the primal chaos of the space had been partitioned by the vegetation.

Cheng Ying thought that if she wanted to expand the greenery, the current supply of saplings wouldn't be enough. Things grew faster in the space, granted, but only in the sense that they were easier to keep alive.

Cheng Ying plucked some very promising maple leaves—though she called them that; the locals knew the tree as lao sè (shai)—which were already somewhat mangled from their plucking.

Then, following the procedure from last time, she began taking cuttings within the space.

"We need to go large scale," she mused. This kind of work was incredibly exhausting; her back ached, and her hands hurt.

Cheng Ying wished she could drag Chi Wu in here for some mandatory labor—but that boy was too sharp; Cheng Ying dared not take the risk.

When Cheng Ying finally finished the task at hand, she saw that the small grove of maple trees, which had been so dazzling when she entered, was now completely bare, strewn with broken branches and fallen leaves.

The sight was truly speechless-making.

Cheng Ying couldn't help but feel a little guilty as she laughed to herself. She rubbed her slender waist—this truly was manual labor.

Perhaps she had been so absorbed in the work that she hadn't noticed her feet hurting.

Using a difficult posture, she managed to lift the sole of her foot to examine it.

Cheng Ying then looked back at the pond floating with petals. This was the water from within the space. Were the miraculous properties in the water, or in the flowers produced within the space?

They had already healed nearly completely. While the effect wasn't instantaneous, healing this quickly was beyond conventional medical standards.

Cheng Ying turned her foot over and over, scrutinizing the sole.

Then she left the space. Cheng Ying couldn't figure out if it was the water, the flowers grown in the space, or the effect of the flowers soaking in the water. It was puzzling.

Cheng Ying wondered if, just for this experiment, she should go back outside and deliberately inflict a new layer of blisters on her feet. The thought alone was unpleasant.

She dismissed such a foolish idea immediately.

There would be time later to investigate. But until she understood the mechanism, neither the water nor the flowers could be used carelessly; it could easily cause panic—especially her own internal panic.

To prevent anyone from seeing the now-scabbed soles of her feet, Cheng Ying deliberately wore socks.

Her feet had healed too fast.

Also, having crouched in the space for too long, Cheng Ying's lower back was aching terribly.

It was only because she was older, with a firm will dedicated to a bright future, that she could endure such long periods of solitude and toil in the space.

If this were a genuine teenage girl, even with such a resource, she probably couldn't utilize it properly. Could they endure the rigorous labor and self-reformation inside the space?

When the old lady returned at noon, she saw her granddaughter collapsed listlessly on the kang. "Oh my, what's wrong with you? Why are you still home moping? You've managed to get sick just by staying idle. You look more tired than I am after working all day!"

Cheng Ying felt a pang of sympathy. Hadn't she just done a full day of strenuous physical labor? It truly wasn't easy. Grandma dear, I'm fighting for our future, for both of us.

Cheng Ying whined, "Grandma, my back hurts. Can you rub it for me?"

The old lady sighed, "You really are getting sick from loafing around."

Despite her words, she still felt for her granddaughter. She climbed onto the kang, had Cheng Ying lie face down, and gave her a thorough massage from head to toe.

Cheng Ying stretched her back slightly. "Ah, that feels much better, Grandma. Your technique is amazing, how is it so soothing?"

The old lady scoffed, "I’ve never seen anyone so delicate. You sit on the kang all day and manage to wear yourself out. Are your feet better? If it doesn't hurt, get up and walk around a bit. Once you grow tough skin, it'll be fine."

Saying that, the old lady glanced at her granddaughter's feet. Indeed, she was growing up and getting vain; she was even wearing socks now. What was the point of all this fuss?

But she was her own granddaughter, so the old lady kept the thought to herself.

Cheng Ying replied, "It doesn't hurt anymore. I'll get up and let the ground toughen them up."

The old lady looked at her granddaughter's feet again, still troubled. They were common folk; she didn't understand why her granddaughter was so particular. She couldn't help herself. "What's all this vanity? Wearing socks, how is that supposed to heal quickly?"

With that, the old lady shook her head and went out to cook. The girl was growing up and getting too concerned with appearances.

Cheng Ying helplessly looked at her own feet. Am I really that vain? Besides, I’m a teenager who barely leaves the yard—who am I trying to show off to? I’m being framed! It’s just habit, alright?

During dinner that evening, Chi Yong returned. While eating, he chattered to the old lady about matters concerning the production team.

Cheng Ying quietly tuned in, listening closely. Caring about the village's major affairs was just like caring about national ones.

Chi Yong said, "Mom, the team has drafted the regulations for dividing up the land and establishing household contract responsibility. Most villages are similar, but specifics require careful review. Our village's land is divided into three grades. The best land is distributed by population. The second grade is also by population. Then there's the third grade, which is equivalent to barren mountain. Doesn't everyone need firewood in the winter? Each household gets a patch of barren land. But our area is sparsely populated. I doubt anyone will want the mountain lots; even if they're assigned, they won't be managed."

He added that last part himself, just to let his mother know that if they wanted mountain forests, they wouldn't be worth much, as there were already too many mountains around.

Cheng Ying, however, thought differently. Since she had saplings in her space, if she invested some effort now planting them on the barren mountain, it would all yield returns in the future.

They wouldn't even require management; she could just wait to count the money—that was much easier than setting up a factory or a company.

Why take the difficult route when a simple one exists? In the future, carrying bags of ginseng would be like a coal boss sitting on his mine.

She pictured herself living luxuriously, where they tossed around banknotes, she'd toss around ginseng; they’d toss around black coal, she'd toss around lumber. They wouldn't be inferior to anyone.

The sheer rapture in Cheng Ying's small eyes made everyone at the table stare at her a few extra times. Perhaps the child was mentally unbalanced from missing her mother.

The old lady decided she needed to sit down and have a serious talk with her granddaughter later.

Chi Yong thought he should perhaps take Yingzi to visit his wife soon.

Chi Wu just thought, That girl is plotting something again. If anyone understood Cheng Ying best, it was Chi Wu, who was deeply acquainted with her ways.

The old lady turned away from her granddaughter and addressed Chi Yong, "Well, did you speak to the team leader about it?"

Chi Yong replied, "I did. The first-grade land is all near the village edge, good soil, close to home. If we want to secure enough to eat and drink, we should keep it. The second-grade land is all terraced fields up in the mountains; our family truly can't handle all of it. Later, when Yingzi’s mother becomes the health worker, she definitely won't have much time either. I was thinking of speaking to the leader about exchanging our second-grade land for mountain plots, ones closer to home. What do you think, Mom?"

The old lady nodded. "Do as you think best. What would I, an old woman, know?"

This was approval. Cheng Ying thought her stepfather's reasoning made sense.

An ugly wife close to home is a treasure. There was a saying in the village.

Furthermore, the barren land nearby wasn't truly barren; it was practically a managed forest. And the terrain was flat, barely qualifying as a mountain. Once cleared, it would become prime farmland. Nowadays, everyone was focused on reclaiming mountains for cultivation; no one cared about those patches.

Even if they were just left as mountain plots, the old pines and wild pear trees already growing there were valuable assets.

Chi Yong continued, "We have to prepare the land as soon as spring arrives. The leader is worried about delaying the spring planting, so the household contracts will probably be finalized in the next few days. Everyone is anxious to see their own land. Mom, you and the kids don't have to wait for me for meals these few days."

The old lady acknowledged, "Understood. By the way, now that this land belongs to us, we still have to pay the head tax, right?"

It seemed the old lady did have concerns she hadn't voiced.

Chi Yong quickly corrected his mother's slip of the tongue—"head tax" was dangerous language. "No, Mom. Every year, according to the number of people, we pay the public grain quota."

The old lady murmured, "I wonder what the harvest will be like in the future. Taxes during those years could kill people."

Chi Yong spoke up quickly, knowing that careless talk in these times could lead to disaster. "Mom, this is a good society now, not the old society. It’s not called a head tax, and it’s not that much. If we farm, we keep more at home."

The old lady fell silent, realizing she had spoken out of turn. "Yes, I know. Just help out diligently at the team these days. Don't worry about things at home."

Chi Yong replied, "With Mom here, I don't worry. Once the children are back in school, I won't have much else to do. I can shuttle them back and forth morning and evening while working the fields during the day. Nothing will be delayed."

The old lady nodded. "The hard work will only last a few months. Once Zhizi comes back, things will ease up. Even though she’s the village barefoot doctor—the health worker—the village is small. How many people can get sick? She’ll end up working at home more often than not."

This was her way of telling Chi Yong that he wouldn't have to do all the work alone from now on; there would be someone to help. This wasn't about the hardships of a biological son; it sounded like the old lady was coaxing Chi Yong to prioritize family. Cheng Ying felt a little uneasy hearing it.

Chi Yong said with humble dignity, "This amount of work is nothing. For Yingzi and Wuzi, my wife and I will work hard."

His words were respectful yet firm, also signaling to the old lady that he worked for his own children, for his own home.