Chapter 5: Night Talk

“Dad, we can eat like this once in a while, but we don’t need to eat like this every day,” Zhao Chun couldn’t help but remind him.

Zhao Mengcheng knew the child was worried and understood that no matter what he said now, they wouldn’t fully believe him. He said, “It’s already cooked. Not eating it would be a waste. I’ll find a way to handle things in the future.”

Hearing this, Zhao Chun indeed lowered his head and began to eat heartily.

Zhao Xin was already eating so intently she couldn’t raise her head. However, the little girl loved being clean; even though she was young, she ate steadily, not letting a single grain of rice fall.

It was just steamed egg custard with salt and no sesame oil, along with two plates of plain stir-fried vegetables, yet the two children didn’t mind at all. They ate everything until it was spotless, not even leaving any broth behind.

Of course, they didn’t forget their father. Whenever Zhao Mengcheng ate a bit slower, Zhao Chun would serve him food. Zhao Xin followed suit, carefully holding her chopsticks to offer food to her father.

Zhao Mengcheng’s gaze grew warmer, and he became even more determined in his resolve.

However, he discovered that his stomach had become a bottomless pit. Most of the food had gone into his belly, yet he felt only half-full at most.

Zhao Mengcheng knew this was because his body was too weak and needed nutrition to recover quickly. Unfortunately, the family’s situation didn’t allow him to eat as much as he wanted.

After finishing, Zhao Mengcheng didn’t let the children help. He washed the dishes himself. Since there was no grease, they were clean after a quick rinse with water.

When he came out after shaking his hands dry, Zhao Xin approached with her full little belly and asked, “Dad, when will Second Brother wake up?”

Zhao Mao’s sleep lasted until evening.

Zhao Mengcheng grew a bit anxious as he waited, but fortunately, the boy’s temperature had dropped and the fever hadn’t returned.

After checking the child’s forehead again, Zhao Mengcheng said, “The doctor said sleeping more helps one recover faster. Let him keep sleeping.”

“Chun, watch your younger siblings. I’m going out for a bit.”

Zhao Chun quickly asked, “Dad, where are you going?”

“Our family is out of grain. I’m going to ask the villagers if I can buy some.” The last of the food at home had been eaten. If he didn’t buy more, they would go hungry tomorrow.

Zhao Mengcheng had planned it all out, but after taking just a few steps, he felt dizzy and nearly collapsed.

“Dad!” Zhao Chun cried out in alarm.

Zhao Xin was even more terrified and began to wail, “Dad, don’t die! I don’t want you to die!”

Zhao Mengcheng finally managed to steady himself, but his head throbbed from the sound of the child’s crying. “Stop crying, I’m really fine.”

Instead, the little girl was so frightened that she cried even louder.

“What happened? What’s going on?”

Uncle Wang and Auntie Wang heard the noise and rushed over. Before they even entered the door, they heard the little girl’s loud wailing. They almost thought something had happened to Zhao Mengcheng again.

But when they entered and looked, everyone was fine.

After hearing the whole story, Auntie Wang hugged the little girl and laughed. “What a silly girl. Don’t be afraid, your father is already better. Look at you, crying like a little kitten. If you cry any more, you’ll turn ugly.”

Zhao Xin pursed her lips, trying to hold back her tears, but she let out a loud burp from being full. She laughed through her tears, blowing a large snot bubble in the process.

This made everyone in the room burst into laughter.

Even though she was young, Zhao Xin knew how to be embarrassed. She buried her head in Auntie Wang’s arms and remained silent.

Uncle Wang smiled and turned to say, “Isn’t it just buying some grain in the village? I’ll handle it for you. You should focus on recovering your health during this time. Think about it, if you collapse, what will happen to these three children?”

Auntie Wang added, “You were so sick you couldn’t even get out of bed these past two days. It really scared these children.”

Zhao Mengcheng could do nothing about his current physical state, so he could only nod. “Then I’ll have to trouble you, Uncle Wang. Once I’m better, I will definitely thank you properly.”

“No need for thanks. You’re a good man in every way, you’re just too polite and care too much about your pride,” Uncle Wang said, shaking his head.

In his heart, he felt that Zhao Mengcheng had been kicked out of his home without a penny precisely because he cared too much about his dignity.

Zhao Mengcheng gave a mental smirk; he wasn’t the original owner of this body.

“It’s too late today. I’ll go buy grain first thing tomorrow morning. Every household in our village has stored grain, and the price will be a bit cheaper than buying it in the city,” Uncle Wang explained.

Zhao Mengcheng nodded. “I’ll leave it to you, Uncle Wang.”

He then took out the remaining money and handed it to Uncle Wang. Uncle Wang didn’t hesitate and accepted it directly.

After the couple left, Zhao Mengcheng didn’t plan to exert himself further. He simply lay down next to Zhao Mao to rest.

“I’ll watch over Mao. You two go get some rest as well.”

The Zhao family’s house was small, with only two rooms in total. Previously, the couple had slept with their young daughter, while the two sons shared a room.

The original owner had planned to build another room nearby once his sons were older, so they would have space to marry and have children. Unfortunately, disaster struck before he could save enough money.

Zhao Chun lingered, reluctant to leave. “Dad, you’re still sick too. I should be the one to take care of my brother.”

Zhao Xin immediately said, “Big Brother can look after Second Brother, and I’ll look after Dad. I’m a big girl now, I can help.”

Zhao Mengcheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. As an adult, he was now being fussed over by two children.

Neither child was willing to leave, both staring at him with wide, pleading eyes.

“Fine, you can both come up,” Zhao Mengcheng relented.

Zhao Xin cheered and scrambled onto the bed, while Zhao Chun remembered to help his sister take off her shoes.

Fortunately, the bed was large enough. Since the children were small, one adult and three kids could just barely squeeze in together.

Zhao Chun mimicked an adult by touching his younger brother’s forehead, nodding as he said, “The fever is gone, but why hasn’t he woken up yet?”

Zhao Xin reached out to touch her father’s forehead, nodding just like her older brother. “No more fever. He’ll be better tomorrow.”

She looked so adorable that Zhao Mengcheng couldn’t help but rub her small head. “Go to sleep.”

Fearing the children might crowd the sick Zhao Mao, Zhao Mengcheng moved the boy to the innermost side and slept in the middle himself. Zhao Xin slept right next to him, while Zhao Chun volunteered to sleep on the very edge.

Zhao Chun added, “This way, Little Sister won’t fall out of bed.”

As it turned out, the moment the three of them lay down, Zhao Chun began to let out soft snores. He fell into a deep sleep in the blink of an eye, clearly exhausted from the past few days.

Tucked into her father’s arms, Zhao Xin’s face soon turned a rosy pink as she drifted off.

Zhao Mengcheng, however, was physically exhausted but mentally sharp. Although he knew the environment was safe, the sound of three unfamiliar sets of breathing made it hard for him to adjust.

With the warmth beside him feeling like two small furnaces, Zhao Mengcheng simply closed his eyes to rest and began to organize his Mental Power.

Sensing its master’s attention, the Mental Power became active again. Its invisible tendrils stretched out, playfully tapping one child’s forehead and brushing against another’s nose.

Zhao Mengcheng was very tolerant of this special ability that had followed him through two lifetimes, even indulging it a little.

Once he finished organizing it, Zhao Mengcheng sighed.

His Mental Power had indeed regressed to its most primitive state. Aside from sharpening his six senses, it served no other purpose for the time being.

Having been reborn in another world with his special ability intact, Zhao Mengcheng had nothing to complain about. He set the power aside for the moment.

Currently, the family had no land. With the prices in the Great Zhou, the two taels of silver he had used to buy grain wouldn’t last long, especially since his body was weak and required a lot of nutrition to recover.

The most urgent task was to earn money. Only with money could he buy meat and restore his health.

Zhao Mengcheng began to ponder. The original owner had worked as an accountant in the city. He was literate and good at math, so logically, he should be able to find similar work.

However, the original owner had returned home under the stigma of falsifying accounts and embezzling money. Changhe Town was small and news traveled fast. Finding another job as an accountant would be incredibly difficult.

After all, who would hire an accountant suspected of dishonesty?

Besides that, the strong men of Qingshan Village often went to town to find work, but that was all manual labor. It was grueling, exhausting, and paid very little.

Zhao Mengcheng wasn’t afraid of hard work, but with his current frail physique, a few days of labor would likely send him straight to an early grave.

He valued his life dearly, so he immediately ruled out manual labor.

As for the classic transmigrator’s trio of soap, glass, and hotpot, those were even more out of the question.

First of all, he had no capital. Even soap, the simplest of the three, required lard. In ancient times, lard was a luxury; ordinary families would hide away what little they had to eat sparingly.

Glass was even more far-fetched, as the conditions required for firing it were extremely difficult to meet.

As for hotpot, most of the necessary spices couldn’t be found in the Great Zhou. The few similar items available, like pepper¹, could only be bought at pharmacies. They were priced as medicine and were incredibly expensive.

Zhao Mengcheng was a widower with three underage children. He had no power, no background, and no resources. These methods were temporarily unusable.

He let out a breath. As a highly educated man from the future, surely he wouldn’t be defeated by a lack of silver.

Unable to think of a solution for now, Zhao Mengcheng simply stopped worrying. He planned to wait until his body was a bit stronger before looking for opportunities in the city.

At the very least, he was literate. Few people in Changhe Town could read and write. As long as he wasn’t too proud, he would eventually find an opening.

Having made up his mind, Zhao Mengcheng decided to focus on his recovery first.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, his previously idle Mental Power suddenly bristled like sharp thorns, nearly lashing out.

Zhao Mengcheng snapped his eyes open, only to meet a pair of bottomless eyes.

They were eyes that had seen too much, filled with hatred and loathing for the world. One look revealed nothing but despair.

“Mao?” Zhao Mengcheng frowned.

Zhao Mao was awake. He was staring silently at his father like a cornered beast, looking as if he might snap at any moment and bite through the man’s throat.

That was not the look of a child.

Zhao Mengcheng’s heart hammered against his ribs as an impossible possibility crossed his mind.

Suppressing his suspicion, he reached out with feigned casualness to feel the boy’s forehead. “The fever is gone. You’ve been asleep all day. Are you hungry? Wait here, Daddy will go heat up some food and bring it to you.”

“Who are you?” a raspy voice croaked from the boy’s lips.

Zhao Mengcheng looked at him gently. “I’m your father. Did the fever scramble your brains?”

“Daddy.” The boy’s gaze softened, appearing to believe him.

Just as Zhao Mengcheng was about to speak again, the boy suddenly lunged, snapping his teeth toward the vital point of his throat.

“Stop!”

Zhao Mengcheng’s sharp command came too late. Sensing a threat to its master, his Mental Power tentacles lashed out instinctively, surging into Zhao Mao’s mind.

Zhao Mao stood no chance against the assault. His small body went completely limp.

Zhao Mengcheng cursed inwardly. Even in his weakened state, he hadn’t truly believed a child could harm him.

A Mental Power attack was no laughing matter; it could cause instant brain death. Unfortunately, he had been a second too slow to stop it.

Catching the unconscious boy in his arms, Zhao Mengcheng’s expression shifted to one of alarm. He hadn’t just killed the child, had he?

Translator’s Notes