Chapter 3 - Two: The Abandoned Courtyard

Chapter 3: Chapter Two: The Abandoned Courtyard

Qiao’er stood beside the doorway and watched her mistress stare at a single seed as though it were a priceless jewel.

She had been serving the Fourth Miss for three years.

In those three years, she had learned several important things.

The Fourth Miss was quiet.

The Fourth Miss was timid.

The Fourth Miss rarely spoke unless someone spoke to her first.

And the Fourth Miss had never once shown interest in farming.

Yet today—

The girl who had just awakened from a fever was standing barefoot in the courtyard, holding a seed between her fingers and smiling as if she had discovered a treasure chest.

Qiao’er wasn’t sure whether she should be relieved or worried.

"Miss," she said carefully, "shouldn’t you rest?"

Lin Yue looked up.

"Rest?"

"Yes."

"You’re right."

Qiao’er brightened.

"Then let’s go back inside."

Lin Yue shook her head.

"I need to inspect the courtyard first."

Qiao’er stared.

"Inspect?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Lin Yue looked at her seriously.

"Because this place is going to be our home."

Qiao’er was speechless.

Our home?

She looked around.

The eastern courtyard had been abandoned for so long that even the servants avoided it.

The roof leaked.

The walls were cracked.

The kitchen had barely enough firewood to last two days.

The vegetable patch was buried beneath weeds.

The well had not been properly cleaned in years.

The furniture looked as though it had been rescued from a rubbish pile.

And the Fourth Miss wanted to call this—

home?

Qiao’er suddenly felt tears gathering in her eyes.

Perhaps the fever had damaged her mistress’s mind.

"Miss," she whispered, "if you don’t like this courtyard, this servant can ask the steward whether—"

"No."

Lin Yue interrupted gently.

"I like it."

Qiao’er looked confused.

"You do?"

"Very much."

Lin Yue walked farther into the courtyard.

She crouched beside the wall and touched the soil.

It was dry near the surface.

But when she dug her fingers a few centimeters deeper, the earth became cool.

Good.

Very good.

She picked up a handful and rubbed it between her fingers.

There was organic matter mixed into it.

The courtyard had probably been neglected for years, but that also meant nobody had exhausted the soil through continuous cultivation.

She stood.

"Qiao’er."

"Yes, Miss?"

"Where does this water come from?"

Qiao’er pointed toward the rear wall.

"There is a spring beyond that wall. The old servants used to collect water there."

"Used to?"

"They said it was inconvenient."

Lin Yue walked toward it.

The spring was partially hidden by vines.

She moved the leaves aside.

Clear water trickled over a bed of stones.

Her eyes lit up.

"Excellent."

Qiao’er watched helplessly.

Her mistress had said that word several times already.

Every time she said it, another problem seemed to appear.

"Miss, that water hasn’t been tested."

"I know."

Lin Yue looked at it thoughtfully.

"Which is why we won’t drink it yet."

Qiao’er relaxed.

At least her mistress wasn’t reckless.

Lin Yue examined the area.

The spring was uphill from the courtyard.

That was useful.

With a little work, gravity could do most of the transportation.

No complicated machinery.

No electricity.

No modern pump.

Just elevation.

She smiled.

"We can build a covered water channel."

Qiao’er stared at her.

"A what?"

"A small one."

Lin Yue pointed.

"The water can flow from there into a storage jar here. We’ll keep the drinking water separate from washing water."

Qiao’er blinked.

"But... why?"

Lin Yue looked at her.

"Because dirty water makes people sick."

Qiao’er nodded slowly.

That much she understood.

Lin Yue continued.

"And we don’t put the latrine near the water source."

Qiao’er nodded again.

"Of course."

"Where is the latrine?"

Qiao’er pointed toward a little wooden structure behind the kitchen.

Lin Yue followed her finger.

Her smile disappeared.

"Oh."

Qiao’er immediately became nervous.

"What is wrong?"

"That."

Lin Yue stared.

The latrine was downhill from the spring.

And far too close.

She rubbed her forehead.

"We’re rebuilding that tomorrow."

Qiao’er looked alarmed.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Miss..."

Lin Yue smiled.

"Don’t worry. I’ll do most of the work."

Qiao’er looked at her thin arms.

Then at the broken hoe.

Then at the enormous patch of weeds.

Then back at her mistress.

She decided not to argue.

The Kitchen

The kitchen was worse than Lin Yue expected.

There was a stove.

Technically.

But half the bricks were loose, and the chimney was partially blocked.

There were two cooking pots.

One had a crack.

The other was covered in soot.

The shelves held:

half a jar of salt,

a small amount of dried grain,

three onions,

and what appeared to be an ancient piece of dried meat.

Lin Yue picked it up.

She examined it.

She smelled it.

Then she immediately put it down.

"No."

Qiao’er looked embarrassed.

"That was given to us last winter."

"It’s summer."

"Yes."

Lin Yue looked at her.

Qiao’er looked away.

"Throw it out."

"But—"

"Throw it out."

Qiao’er reluctantly obeyed.

Lin Yue sighed.

"Food storage is going to be one of our first projects."

"Food storage?"

"Yes."

She looked around.

The kitchen was hot, humid, and poorly ventilated.

There was no proper storage container.

No elevated grain storage.

No sealed jars.

No cooling area.

No organized inventory.

Lin Yue’s mind immediately began reorganizing everything.

She needed:

dry storage,

cool storage,

sealed containers,

rodent protection,

clean shelves,

and a proper inventory system.

She looked at the three onions.

Then the grain.

Then the salt.

She smiled.

"Tomorrow we make a list."

Qiao’er asked, "Of what?"

"Everything we own."

Qiao’er hesitated.

"That won’t take long."

"Good."

Lin Yue nodded.

"Then we can make a second list."

"What list?"

"Everything we need."

Qiao’er stared at her.

"And what if we can’t afford it?"

Lin Yue’s eyes sparkled.

"Then we make money."

The First Ledger

That evening, Lin Yue found an old notebook in the cabinet.

Most of the pages were blank.

Perfect.

She sat beside the small window.

The last sunlight of the day fell across the table.

Qiao’er brought tea.

Lin Yue dipped a brush into ink.

At the top of the page, she wrote:

EASTERN COURTYARD — HOUSEHOLD INVENTORY

Underneath, she began counting.

One bed.

One table.

Two stools.

Three bowls.

Two chopsticks.

One cracked pot.

One usable pot.

One knife.

Two broken hoes.

One small sickle.

Four blankets.

Three changes of clothing.

One servant.

Lin Yue paused.

She looked at Qiao’er.

Qiao’er blinked.

"What is it, Miss?"

Lin Yue added:

One very hardworking servant.

Qiao’er’s ears turned red.

"Miss!"

Lin Yue laughed.

She had not laughed this much in years.

Not even before transmigrating.

Perhaps this strange place wasn’t so bad.

She continued writing.

Food:

Grain — small quantity.

Salt — small quantity.

Onions — three.

Dried meat — discarded.

Fuel:

Firewood — approximately two days.

Money:

She turned toward Qiao’er.

"How much money do we have?"

Qiao’er lowered her head.

"Seven copper coins."

Lin Yue stared.

"That’s all?"

"Yes."

She looked at the coins.

Seven.

She carefully placed them on the table.

Seven tiny pieces of metal.

Her entire fortune.

Lin Yue thought for a moment.

Then she smiled.

"Good."

Qiao’er looked worried.

"Miss?"

"We have enough to start."

"With seven copper coins?"

"Yes."

Lin Yue put the coins into a small cloth pouch.

"We don’t need to become rich today."

She stood.

"We just need to become richer than yesterday."

The First Garden

The next morning began before sunrise.

Qiao’er woke to strange noises.

Scrape.

Scrape.

Scrape.

Scrape.

She stumbled out of bed.

"Miss?"

No answer.

She hurried outside.

Lin Yue was standing in the courtyard.

Her hair was tied up messily.

Her sleeves were rolled above her elbows.

She had taken one of the broken hoes.

Qiao’er stared.

"Miss!"

Lin Yue turned.

"Good morning."

"Why are you awake so early?"

"Farming."

"You can’t farm with that!"

Lin Yue looked at the hoe.

The wooden handle was cracked.

The metal blade was rusty.

She nodded.

"I agree."

"Then why are you holding it?"

"Because it’s the only one we have."

Qiao’er sighed.

She walked over.

"Give it to me."

"No."

"Miss."

"You’ll hurt yourself."

"So will you!"

Lin Yue smiled.

"Then we’ll hurt ourselves together."

Qiao’er didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

In the end, she grabbed the hoe.

Together, they cleared the first patch of weeds.

It took nearly an hour.

Then another.

Then another.

By breakfast, they had cleared a small rectangle of land.

Lin Yue stood with her hands on her hips.

"Perfect."

Qiao’er looked at the tiny patch.

It wasn’t perfect.

It was barely large enough to grow a few vegetables.

But it was theirs.

Lin Yue took the mysterious seed from her pocket.

She held it up.

The seed glowed faintly.

A translucent message appeared.

[Would Host like to plant?]

Lin Yue almost laughed.

"So now you can speak?"

No answer.

She rolled her eyes.

"Fine."

She planted it.

The moment the seed touched the soil—

[Ding!]

[First cultivation completed.]

[Living Space development progress: 1%]

Lin Yue froze.

She had completely forgotten about the space.

She closed her eyes.

Her consciousness entered it.

The tiny golden space appeared before her.

The ten-square-meter patch looked exactly as it had before.

Except—

A tiny green shoot had appeared.

Lin Yue crouched beside it.

She stared.

"Already?"

The shoot trembled.

A second leaf unfolded.

Lin Yue’s eyes widened.

This wasn’t merely accelerated growth.

The plant seemed to respond directly to her care.

She reached toward it.

Warmth flowed into her palm.

[Basic cultivation function activated.]

[Host may cultivate ordinary plants.]

[Quality depends upon seed, soil, water, care, and environmental conditions.]

Lin Yue nodded.

That made sense.

She wasn’t being given unlimited food.

She was being given a place to build.

That was much more interesting.

A Visitor

Lin Yue was still thinking about the golden space when she heard footsteps.

Qiao’er immediately stood.

A servant had entered the courtyard.

He carried a wooden tray.

Lin Yue recognized him vaguely.

He was one of the servants from the main residence.

He placed the tray on the table.

"Madam ordered that this be delivered."

Lin Yue opened the lid.

Inside was a bowl of plain porridge.

Two steamed buns.

Nothing else.

The servant turned to leave.

"Wait."

He stopped.

Lin Yue picked up one of the buns.

"Is this today’s food?"

"Yes."

"And tomorrow?"

The servant shrugged.

"You should ask the kitchen."

Lin Yue looked at him.

He avoided her eyes.

She understood immediately.

Nobody expected her to complain.

Nobody expected her to survive.

Nobody expected her to matter.

Lin Yue smiled.

"Thank you."

The servant looked surprised.

He bowed awkwardly and left.

Qiao’er watched him disappear.

"Miss..."

"Yes?"

"Are you angry?"

Lin Yue looked at the two buns.

Then toward her tiny garden.

"No."

She smiled.

"I’m motivated."

Qiao’er had a terrible feeling about what that meant.

That afternoon, Lin Yue went to the market.

She took five of her seven copper coins.

Qiao’er nearly fainted.

"Miss! That’s almost everything!"

"I know."

"What if we need money?"

"We will."

"How?"

Lin Yue stopped in front of a seed stall.

She pointed.

"By planting."

She spent the coins carefully.

Not on rice.

Not on meat.

Not on sweets.

She bought:

radish seeds,

mustard greens,

beans,

cabbage,

and several packets of local vegetables.

The elderly seed seller stared at the strange girl.

"You know how to farm?"

Lin Yue smiled.

"A little."

The old man laughed.

"Everyone says that."

Lin Yue looked at the seeds.

"I’ll show you."

That evening, the Eastern Courtyard smelled of fresh earth.

Qiao’er sat beside Lin Yue, exhausted.

The two of them had planted until their fingers were covered in soil.

Qiao’er looked at their tiny garden.

"Do you really think this will work?"

Lin Yue leaned back against the wall.

"Yes."

"What if the plants die?"

"Then we’ll find out why."

"What if the harvest is poor?"

"Then we’ll improve the soil."

"What if we don’t make enough money?"

"Then we’ll find another way."

Qiao’er looked at her mistress.

"You’re not afraid?"

Lin Yue was quiet.

Of course she was.

She was twenty years old.

She had been ripped from her old life.

She didn’t know this family.

She didn’t know this country.

She didn’t know the politics.

She didn’t know how long she would survive.

But she knew something.

She knew how to start with nothing.

And she knew how to build.

Lin Yue looked toward the darkening sky.

"No."

She smiled.

"I’ve been lost in a forest before."

Qiao’er blinked.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Lin Yue stood.

"Everything."

She looked at their tiny garden.

"In the wilderness, you don’t build everything at once."

"You find water."

"Then shelter."

"Then food."

"Then fire."

"Then you make tomorrow easier than today."

Qiao’er listened quietly.

Lin Yue picked up the watering bucket.

"So that’s what we’ll do."

She looked at the crooked little garden.

"One day at a time."

Inside the golden space, the tiny green plant unfolded another leaf.

[Living Space development progress: 2%.]

Lin Yue smiled.

She had no idea what would happen at one hundred percent.

But she had a feeling she would find out.