Chapter 149: Nanny Rong

Sister Yu’s words reminded her. Yan Yu said, “Sister Yu, how about I arrange a ship for you with Uncle in the future? His place has really advanced technology.”

Sister Yu’s eyes lit up, but after thinking for a moment, she waved her hand. “No, no, if the ship is too good, I might not be able to protect it.”

Yan Yu understood instantly.

When the world is in chaos, so are people’s hearts.

As usual, their trade included charcoal still carrying embers, horse meat, dried meat, and a big bundle of dried wild vegetables.

They hadn’t found much alcohol in the bandit den, and everything they did find had been given to Physician Cui for cooling and disinfection. As for the empty jars—how could Yan Lao’er bear to throw them away? Now, they were finally coming in handy.

Medical alcohol lay quietly inside the jars.

Yan Lao’er carefully sealed each lid, while Li Xuemei folded medicinal tablets with small pieces of cloth.

Yan Yu’s mind froze on the image of Sister Yu skillfully igniting charcoal…

Then, suddenly—the platform disconnected!

There was still supposed to be time left, but it was as if the signal had abruptly vanished, pulling her back to reality.

Yan Yu was deeply moved.

She felt she had learned a lot from Sister Yu.

To live positively, to have goals and work toward them—no matter where one was or how difficult the circumstances…

And to always remain vigilant!

Her mother used to be the best at this—disciplined and always sounding warnings.

Yet, what had happened earlier still frightened her.

She had insisted on exchanging for a combat robot.

She and her father had been carried away in the heat of the moment… Fortunately, Uncle’s side didn’t have that option.

Yan Yu suddenly spoke up, “Dad, Mom, we need to be more cautious!”

Her parents looked at her in surprise.

“And we can’t completely rely on the platform.”

Yan Lao’er and Li Xuemei exchanged glances before asking, “What’s wrong?”

“The platform disconnected.” Yan Yu spoke calmly. “It was supposed to run for thirty minutes—Uncle and Sister Yu said the same. But just after finishing my trade with Sister Yu, the connection cut off.”

“This time, the inventory didn’t refresh either. It’s still the leftover items from last time.” Yan Yu’s expression grew serious. “I’m wondering… what if one day, the platform disappears entirely?”

Li Xuemei seemed thoughtful, while Yan Lao’er’s eyes widened in horror, his words stumbling: “N-no way… right?”

“Anything is possible,” Yan Yu said. “Even if it doesn’t disappear, it might shorten the time, cut off midway, or not open at all when the half-month cycle comes.”

“It could just be an energy shortage,” Yan Lao’er suggested, reluctant to accept the idea of losing the platform.

Yan Yu’s voice lowered. “I don’t want to think that way either. Every time it’s like opening a blind box—it’s so exciting! Seeing others like us, being looked after by our homeland… It makes me feel we haven’t been abandoned. That we still have our motherland, our roots.”

Li Xuemei patted her head.

Yan Lao’er dug around in his clothes, then, with great reluctance, shoved his precious money pouch into his daughter’s hands—fast, before he could regret it.

“Take it, girl! Doesn’t it feel nice and solid in your hands? Hard cash—feels so reassuring, right?”

Yan Yu didn’t just hold it—she promptly opened the pouch and counted the money over and over.

Her serious expression was almost comical.

When she looked up again, her whole demeanor had brightened, her eyes sparkling.

“Dad! This much already?!”

Yan Lao’er shot a smug glance at Li Xuemei.

See? Their daughter was happy!

“Money isn’t everything, but as long as you’re alive, you can’t live without it!” Yan Lao’er said earnestly. “When we first came here, we had nothing. Look at us now—a whole cart of supplies, all ours.”

“Ahem, even if some of it isn’t useful for now.”

“We’ve got Sanbao, Maomao, and Nanny Rong—each one a huge help. Even if your uncle ends up as a poor official, it won’t matter. Your dad can make money. By then, we’ll have both power and wealth. What a life! We wouldn’t have dared to dream of this before.”

“Officials and merchants colluding—rich beyond belief!”

“With your uncle and me being so close, we wouldn’t even need to collude. He’d have to take care of us anyway, don’t you think?”

Yan Yu instinctively nodded. Her dad wasn’t wrong!

“Isn’t this a proper home already? Our whole family, together. Wherever we go, we buy a house—then that place becomes our home!

“In the future, we’ll have Nanny Rong manage the household. Oh my god, such high treatment! That line she said earlier—your mother and I were stunned! Good thing no one else heard it, or we’d be the biggest rebels around!”

“The ones plotting rebellion are still in the shadows, while your dad’s already declared himself emperor! Hahahaha!”

Yan Yu grinned and joined in the laughter.

“Dad! We should change the name ‘Nanny Rong.’ No one actually calls people that—let’s call her Aunt Rong instead.”

“What’s the rush? She doesn’t have voice recognition installed. We just met her, right? If we just met, we wouldn’t know her name.”

Yan Yu tilted her head. “True, we need to think of a way to make her blend into the crowd, stay unnoticed, but still keep in touch with us.”

“For now, no contact,” Li Xuemei decided. “She should stay hidden until we settle down in Guanzhou.”

Yan Lao’er agreed. “Yes, hide well, eat, sleep, move around—watch how others do things and blend in. Be as inconspicuous as possible.

“And don’t come to us unless we find you first.”

Yan Yu added, “And don’t let anyone notice anything unusual about you. Uh… do you even need to eat?”

Nanny Rong shook her head, mimed eating, then placed her hand on her stomach before finally…

The three of them: Understood!

Just like Sanbao, her disguise was completely thorough.

Yan Yu gave Uncle another mental thumbs-up. What craftsmanship! Perfection!

“Then let’s prepare some supplies for you. Some things we can’t carry ourselves, you can help us with—okay?”

Nanny Rong smiled and nodded.

Yan Lao’er rushed off to gather things.

Mainly items they couldn’t openly carry—white rice, fine flour. He split them up and mixed in common grains and wild vegetables. Oh, and water—he needed to put together a complete survival kit.

—————

Author Note:

Nanny Rong has joined the story~

A housekeeper-type assistant.

When I was younger, I really disliked Nanny Rong in dramas—she seemed so evil!

But now, looking back, she was amazing. She upheld orthodoxy—so impressive!

——————

—Nanny Rong (容嬷嬷, Róng Mó Mó) is a well-known character from the classic Chinese television drama My Fair Princess (还珠格格), which aired in the late 1990s. She serves as an elderly and strict maid to Empress Dowager and is a close confidante of the Empress. In the series, she is infamous for her harsh and ruthless demeanor, particularly her cruelty toward the protagonist Xiaoyanzi.

Over time, “Nanny Rong” has become a cultural reference in China, often symbolizing a strict, sharp-tongued, or even sinister older woman. The character is particularly notorious for a scene where she tortures Xiaoyanzi with a needle, making her one of the most hated antagonists in Chinese television history.