Chapter 28: Crochet Doll

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Crochet Doll

"Village Head, when you heat the milk, remember not to open it and pour it into the pot. Just place the little box directly into the water to boil, and then insert the straw into the opening."

Yun Zhen taught the village head the most convenient way to heat the milk, as well as how to drink it once it was warm.

She then looked at the others and said, "I’ll keep everything at my house. My father and the village head will be responsible for distributing the supplies to everyone in the village every day. When you go back, please tell your families and neighbors about this."

No one dared to disobey the Goddess’s words.

"Rest assured, Goddess, we’ll definitely pass on the message," Grandpa Zhang replied. Knowing they would no longer have to suffer from hunger and the freezing cold, a trace of rosiness returned to his weathered face.

Granny Wu said, "We’ll also relay the Goddess’s words to the neighbors who live nearby."

The others chimed in in agreement, promising to spread the news to the rest of the village. The villagers of Taoyuan Village were kind and honest, which brought Yun Zhen a great deal of comfort.

"It’s getting late. Everyone, go back and get some sleep," she said.

The village head and the others helped Yun Xiu put everything away before they finally left. Once the door was closed, only their own family remained in the house. Little Bao had already fallen asleep.

Yun Old Lady quickly said, "Zhen Niang, I left some porridge for you in the clay pot." She was certain her daughter hadn’t eaten yet.

Yun Zhen was indeed quite hungry. She nodded and ate every last drop of the rice porridge they had saved for her.

She thought to herself, "From now on, I should eat at the cafeteria before coming back. That way, I can save a bit of food for the villagers."

"Father, it seems the villagers really believed what you said." When she first arrived and saw the villagers kneeling all over the ground, it had truly shocked her.

"The polished rice you brought out gave them the hope to survive," Yun Xiu explained. "Never mind being a Goddess—even if you were a wild monster from the mountains, as long as you provided food to fill their stomachs, they would worship you."

Yun Xiu smiled. Previously, the thought of his own family being well-fed and warmly dressed while their benefactors—who had shown them kindness as heavy as a mountain—suffered from hunger and cold had weighed on his heart like a massive boulder. He had felt ashamed and guilty, yet he was also terrified that helping the villagers might put his daughter in danger. This dilemma had tormented him, leaving him caught between a rock and a hard place.

But now, he wasn’t afraid anymore!

His daughter was revered as a Goddess by the villagers. They treated her with the utmost respect and devotion. No one would dare to profane the Goddess, meaning she could openly and legitimately help the villagers survive the famine and freezing winter.

The heavy burden in Yun Xiu’s heart was finally lifted!

Yun Old Lady laughed heartily. "Yes, exactly! Zhen Niang, you are now the Goddess in the hearts of the villagers. No one will dare to harbor any bad intentions toward you. Plus, we can help our benefactors through this difficult time. Both your father and I feel completely at ease now."

Yun Zhen smiled. "As long as you both are happy, that’s all that matters."

"I’ve been so busy working these past two days. I wonder if Little Bao missed me," Yun Zhen said. She felt helpless that she couldn’t spend more time with her daughter, but she had to go to that other world to work. It was all for the sake of survival.

Speaking of her granddaughter, Yun Old Lady felt nothing but warmth. "Don’t worry, Little Bao is very sensible. She knows you went to earn money and that you’ll bring back delicious rice for her. She hasn’t cried or fussed once since you left. She’s so well-behaved that it almost makes my heart ache."

Her granddaughter was just as sweet and considerate as her daughter had been as a child. Hearing this, Yun Zhen finally felt relieved.

She handed a bag to her mother. "These are some things I picked up. There’s a pair of shoes inside that looks perfect for Father, along with twelve glazed glass bottles we can use to store things."

She had completely realized by now that glazed glass was worthless in that world. Twelve bottles only sold for one dollar, which was roughly the cost of a pound of rice. Instead, she had found much more precious treasures: the dull yellow cardboard boxes and smooth, colorful cans were far more valuable. A single colorful can was worth a whole pound of rice!

"Wow!" Yun Xiu gasped in surprise, marveling at the items. "The color of these bottles is incredibly vibrant." They were a brilliant, striking green, even shinier than the jade worn by the wealthy madams and young ladies.

"They really are beautiful!" Yun Old Lady agreed, fondling a beer bottle affectionately, unable to put it down.

"It’s a pity they aren’t worth anything in the Immortal Realm. The cardboard we used to start the fire last night, along with a type of colorful can that’s easy to crush, are what’s truly valuable there. Cardboard sells for fifty cents a pound, and those colorful cans are even more precious at a dollar each. I was able to buy all this food today because I sold over ten pounds of cardboard and a few dozen cans," Yun Zhen explained. She then recounted everything she had seen and heard that day, including how she had met Granny Qin.

"Our Zhen Niang has such good luck! You met another kind-hearted person!" Yun Old Lady said happily.

Yun Xiu spoke with pride, "Exactly. If her luck were bad, how could a Divine Artifact acknowledge her as its master?"

The family shared a warm, affectionate laugh.

"By the way, Zhen Niang, when I was organizing the things you brought today, I found a bag of thick, colorful yarn. I have no idea what it’s used for." Yun Old Lady retrieved a large bag of multicolored yarn, having left its contents entirely untouched.

Yun Xiu stared at it for a long time but couldn’t make sense of it either. "This thick yarn... and a long needle... There’s also a piece of paper printed with a little... person... yeah, I think it’s a little person."

Yun Zhen took it and examined it. There were a few words written on the packaging that she could faintly make out: "Amigurumi Crochet?"

"I understand now. Using this thick yarn and the long needle inside, you can follow the pattern on the paper to weave the colorful doll drawn here." After all, Yun Zhen had spent years working as a weaver. Gripping the colorful yarn and comparing it to the diagram on the paper, she quickly grasped how it was meant to be used.

Yun Xiu only knew basic mending and sewing. Watching his daughter’s confident movements, he praised, "Good girl, you’re so smart!"

Yun Old Lady watched intently as her daughter’s hands flipped back and forth. Smiling, she remarked, "I understand it now too. The people in the Immortal Realm are truly brilliant. How can they be so capable? Using just a handful of thick yarn without a single scrap of fabric, they can actually create such a beautiful doll."

She added with absolute certainty, "This must be what the fairies in the Immortal Realm use to pass the time, just like the wealthy young ladies in the county town do with their embroidery."

Relying on the light flickering from the fire pit, Yun Zhen crocheted a little figure that closely resembled the pattern. It had arms and legs, but it wasn’t human. It was actually a little lamb wearing a dress and a flower crown?!

The little lamb was snow-white all over, with two pale yellow horns and a fluffy, poop-shaped tuft of wool on its head. Its body was perfectly round, its eyes resembling two black beans. It was barefoot, drooling slightly, and wearing a bright orange bib on its chest.

It actually seemed quite adorable!

"Amazing! It’s not a person at all, but a chubby little monster," Yun Old Lady said in astonishment.

"It’s quite endearing, actually." Yun Xiu took it in his hands and gave it a squeeze.

There was still plenty of yarn left, so Yun Zhen made two more, resulting in a total of three little lambs. She kept one for herself to wear as an accessory and saved the other two for Little Bao to play with.

"It’s getting late. You have to work tomorrow, so go back and rest early," Yun Xiu urged.

Yun Zhen nodded. "Father, Mother, I’ll come over again tomorrow."

Returning to her dormitory, she slept incredibly soundly in the warm room. The elderly couple, along with their granddaughter, slept just as peacefully.

The rest of the village, however, was unable to fall asleep for a very long time. They were simply too excited to rest!

According to what Hunters Wang, Grandpa Zhang, Granny Wu, and the others had told them, the Goddess hadn’t just bought white flour steamed buns; she had also purchased a type of sweet potato that could be eaten as a main meal. Tomorrow, while boiling the porridge, they would roast one for each person. Rumor had it that the sweet potatoes were deliciously sweet and extremely filling.

Even more shockingly, the Goddess had bought eggs! Those were actual eggs, costing three to five copper coins apiece!

Only during the New Year would some families, reluctant to spend money on meat, buy a single egg for each person. The yolks were rich and golden, and the whites were perfectly smooth and slippery—they were incredibly delicious. And the Goddess had said that from now on, she would ensure the entire village had eggs to eat!

They had truly stumbled into a nest of fortune!

Tomorrow, they would eat white rice porridge and roasted sweet potatoes, and in the future, they would even have eggs! The immense anticipation hit them so hard they felt dizzy, their hearts going THUMP THUMP in their chests.

And so, they lay wide awake in the middle of the night!