The little saplings had generally grown thicker, which was truly cause for celebration. Finally, there was a feeling of cheating. Cheng Ying felt utterly refreshed throughout her body. A year of hard work hadn't been in vain. She had managed to create something distinctly different.

The honeysuckle border was now flanked by a flower wall, accidentally constructed by Cheng Ying using stones she had brought in.

It was a flower wall utterly devoid of artificial neatness, perfectly embracing a natural aesthetic.

And then there was the change in Cheng Ying's pond. Originally, it was just a muddy pool; although the water was always cool, the bottom was entirely composed of earth.

Now, it was different. Both of Cheng Ying’s ponds were built up with stones.

The sight alone was enough to refresh the mind and spirit.

Schools of ornamental fish swam in the water. Cheng Ying mused that the royal palace’s fish ponds must look just like this.

As for the pond across the way, it was similar, except there were no fish in the water.

The cluster of little ginseng roots that had been soaking—which she felt would be a waste to discard—were nowhere to be seen. Cheng Ying didn't know where they had gone. Perhaps they had been digested internally.

Then there were the things inside the dimension; she was no longer pursuing showy blossoms.

It was an elegance achieved through a very natural form. Truly elegant. Although perhaps not dazzling, no matter which angle she observed a plant or an animal—or rather, the schools of fish—they possessed elegance and distinctive character.

Cheng Ying muttered to herself, "What have I done to earn your favor, granting me such a benefit? Heaven has opened its eyes; Heaven's taste has improved."

Happily, she thought, or perhaps Heaven's aesthetic sense has simply oxidized.

Cheng Ying saw another line of text appear on the giant boulder she had been hammering at—the one that gave no response—it read: "Labor is Most Glorious."

Five huge characters, bright and translucent red!

Cheng Ying nearly choked on her breath. So, her year of toil and suffering was what earned this, was it? Was there any need to be this overbearing?

Cheng Ying burst out, "Of all the various dimensions I've seen, you are the most useless! If I plant saplings, fine, I can suffer outside, but when I dug for saplings here in your realm, I certainly didn't have it easy! If you have any real ability, you could have made my labor lighter. Labor is glorious, my foot!"

Cheng Ying noticed the stone was darkening considerably; it clearly did not want to listen anymore.

She looked down at the base of the large stone pile and saw a small area covered with uniquely shaped stones she had carried in, stones that hadn't yet been utilized.

She walked over and picked them up one by one to examine them. They looked far more beautiful than when she had first tossed them into the dimension.

This place truly valued elegance; it could make something unique out of even a simple stone.

Cheng Ying huffed, "You paved the pond with stones—was it because these surrounding stones were an eyesore? They look better than you do!"

It was a pity she didn't see the giant rock start smoking.

Cheng Ying continued grumbling, "Hmph, I could pave the pond myself! What use are you?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a patch of ground the size of her own yard filled with massive stones instantly materialized before her.

Cheng Ying didn't immediately process where these stones came from. She just thought that there hadn't been an empty space right in front of her feet; how were these things placed there?

Searching for logic in a place as illogical as the dimension was surely a sign of a mental lapse.

Cheng Ying quickly looked back at the pond; it had reverted to a muddy pit. She blamed her own loose tongue, "Actually, the way it was before was better. I was just saying."

Before she could finish, the stones vanished with a whoosh.

Cheng Ying looked again, and there was the more sophisticated, high-class pond.

Cheng Ying stared blankly for a moment, then picked up a few broken pieces of pottery she had brought in, "I'll use these to make a flower pot."

Before she finished speaking, the shards of pottery transformed into a five-sided bucket—perfect for planting flowers.

Cheng Ying went and bound some wire around it, and the flower pot was complete.

Cheng Ying suddenly remembered: did her dimension always have this function, or did it evolve? She looked speechlessly at the large stone.

If she asked, would it tell her?

Then a single word appeared on the great stone: "Stupid." What did that mean?

Cheng Ying looked at the saplings in the distance. "Can I take two saplings down?"

The saplings flew over, still clumped with earth.

Cheng Ying was stunned for a long time, then shook her head and shouted. She was going mad! Who would have thought the dimension could be used like this? All her suffering and exhaustion over the past year had been entirely self-inflicted!

Cheng Ying thought about how she had spent half her time for the last year and a half digging up saplings in the dimension—her back aching, legs hurting, head throbbing, hands stinging. All that work was redundant!

How could she not go crazy? Was she the type of person who, given a cheat code, would insist on sweating it out?

Cheng Ying could no longer be bothered to look at that erratic thing.

She turned, exited the dimension, and sat alone in her room, stewing in her anger.

Her chest heaved violently.

Cheng Ying didn't know that as soon as she left the dimension, the giant stone let out a very haughty 'Hmph'—a sound so infuriating it was almost unbearable.

This thing was deliberately tormenting her!

Cheng Ying emerged from the dimension in an explosive state, feeling as if fifty tons of gunpowder were buried in her belly; everything looked displeasing.

She was indeed petty. Although her temperament had changed somewhat, that was only when she wasn't subjected to significant provocation. Clearly, she had been provoked now.

Cheng Ying looked at the sweater she was unwittingly clutching in her hand. She had even managed to wrinkle it with sheer force.

That was some grip! Cheng Ying felt sorry for her own hand and decided she should find something to do to divert her attention.

Cheng Ying took a deep breath, rolled up her sleeves, and began a thorough cleaning spree, disturbing every nook and cranny.

She moved from inside the house to outside. It became so clean that Cheng Ying eventually had no further work to do.

But the fire in her chest hadn't been fully extinguished.

Finally, Cheng Ying dragged Er Ya out. Even her already short fur looked displeasing. She grabbed the old woman’s scissors and, on the afternoon of the second day of the New Year, gave Er Ya a haircut.

Seeing Er Ya’s appearance, Cheng Ying finally found some amusement. "It’s better when Wu Zi is home. If I could yell at him, I wouldn't have to vent my frustration on you like this."

Cheng Ying started missing Chi Wu.

Er Ya whimpered under her newly shorn head, sounding utterly wronged. Cheng Ying said, "Aren't you beautiful? When you go out next time, I guarantee both male dogs and male wolves will look at you twice."

Er Ya hadn't seen a mirror, or she would know why people would look twice—it wouldn't be for beauty.

Cheng Ying looked at her Er Ya and felt relief that she had only trimmed her hair. Otherwise, how would Er Ya survive the dead of winter?

Cheng Ying found herself laughing. She abruptly pulled Er Ya back inside. "Come on, let's go inside and stay warm. Although this haircut looks good, the timing is wrong. Don't catch a chill."

Cheng Ying shared her insights with Er Ya. "It's my own fault for being unrealistic, asking that wretched thing for food, clothes, and money."

Then she sighed, "Why didn't I ever think the dimension could work like this? Is it my fault? Wasn't it that unlucky thing that struck me down so hard I dared not ask for anything? What a fate!"

In any case, having an outlet for her frustration made Cheng Ying feel much more balanced. It was better than not realizing this until later. At least in the spring, she wouldn't have to bend over digging saplings anymore.

To compensate Er Ya for her ordeal, Cheng Ying stopped knitting her own sweater and dedicated her time to knitting a hat for Er Ya.

When the old woman returned, she saw the yard and the house cleaned until they gleamed, and she became furious. "Oh, you troublesome child! Who told you to mess around during the first month of the New Year? Don't you have any taboos? Who cleans out their house and throws things away during the New Year? You’ll be the death of me!"

When she entered the house and saw Er Ya lying on the floor of the east room,

The old woman’s eyes struggled to focus. After her expression shifted several times, she snatched the feather duster from the cabinet and advanced. "I'll teach you to torment Er Ya!"

Cheng Ying saw the old woman's movement and knew trouble was brewing. She quickly tucked up her legs and darted out of the room, shouting back, "You can't hit people during the New Year!"

The old woman chased Cheng Ying around the yard several times with the feather duster. "I swept the house in the twelfth lunar month! Who told you to clean it now? Who cleans like this during the New Year? You just can't stand me having a peaceful time, can you? And this dog—you shaved its head in this freezing weather!"

She said this while catching her breath. Cheng Ying thought that life truly lay in movement; look at her old woman, her cheeks flushed red after two laps, looking much livelier.

However, she still needed to defend herself. "I just wanted Er Ya to look prettier!"

The old woman spat, "Bah! Why didn't you shave your own head and make yourself bald?"

Then, before Cheng Ying could argue back, the old woman regretted her words. "Pah, pah! You troublesome thing, you’ve made me dizzy with anger. Thankfully, it’s already past the fifth day of the month."

Cheng Ying mumbled, "Grandma, Er Ya looks quite pretty like this." She was being stubborn.

The old woman snorted, "Get lost! Don't think I don't know Er Ya is a female dog. If you keep this little beast, you either don't keep her at all, or if you do, you treat her well! Do you understand the concept of nurturing? You'll anger me to death!"

Cheng Ying quickly softened, "Grandma, please don't be angry. It's just that my skills aren't great. I'm knitting a hat for Er Ya right now."

The old woman felt that perhaps her granddaughter hadn't acted intentionally.

Cheng Ying shuffled over hesitantly. "Grandma, please don't hit me. If you hit me during the New Year, I'll be getting beaten all year long."

The old woman retorted, "You knew it was the New Year and you still dared to cause trouble! By that logic, Er Ya will be walking around with a bald head all year, too!"

Saying that, the old woman dropped the feather duster, dusted off her trousers, and went inside.

The old woman, being elderly, ultimately felt sorry for Er Ya. Even though the matter concerned an animal that only ate without growing much, she picked up the hat Cheng Ying had knitted for Er Ya from the kang and began her work.

Cheng Ying felt as if the explosive depot in her chest had been struck by the old woman’s feather duster, leaving not even a spark.

It seemed she had masochistic tendencies. That must have come from her biological mother. Definitely.

Not daring to provoke the old woman, Cheng Ying went outside to fetch firewood to start the cooking fire.

The lives of mother and daughter went on quite comfortably. For Cheng Ying, apart from missing Chi Wu when doing tasks that required convenience, everything remained essentially the same.

Meanwhile, the old woman pondered where her daughter and son-in-law had gone.

They must have been worried.

And Er Ya was going to stand out—walking around with a shaved head covered by a hat, she would certainly attract attention. But it was like wearing a veil; the hat rarely stayed on her head for long and ended up hanging around her neck.

So, although Er Ya became famous, very few people actually saw what she looked like because she was a masked dog—all thanks to the antics of the Cheng family's great simpleton.