Chapter 59: Making Pickled Cabbage

Cheng Luyun was in the yard, trimming vegetables. Yesterday afternoon, when Huang Wei saw the black fish, she wanted to make pickled cabbage fish, but unfortunately, there was no pickled cabbage. She had secretly tasted Cheng Luyun’s pickled cabbage, but her expression afterward wasn’t great.

At that moment, Cheng Luyun knew: Huang Wei could make it, she just needed good pickled cabbage.

She herself definitely couldn’t make pickled cabbage; otherwise, Huang Wei wouldn’t have made that face after tasting hers.

After Huang Wei took Huang Chengcheng out to herd the ducks, the vanished Cheng Luyun appeared in the yard. She took a huge pile of mustard greens from the kitchen and crouched in the yard, washing and trimming them one by one. Since there was no rush, she washed them very slowly. By the time they returned, Cheng Luyun had only finished a little over half.

Another reason she was so slow today was that her mind was elsewhere. Her thoughts kept drifting back to what Huang Wei did last night.

She secretly vowed to teach Huang Wei a lesson.

Arriving at the front door, Huang Chengcheng couldn’t help but let go of Huang Wei’s hand and run inside on her little feet. Passing Sister Cui’s house, Huang Wei saw the door was tightly shut. This was expected, as Sister Cui’s house currently didn’t have even half a ghost. The memories of yesterday surfaced again. Huang Wei frowned, turned her head away to steady her breathing, and then walked toward her own home.

When she entered, Huang Chengcheng was already cuddling in Cheng Luyun’s arms with the flower crown, acting spoiled. She had flopped onto Cheng Luyun’s lap, her little belly resting on Cheng Luyun’s thigh, holding the flower crown in both hands, stretching forward to put it on Cheng Luyun. Cheng Luyun leaned her upper body back, raising her hands higher to avoid getting water on Huang Chengcheng.

“Mommy, put it on quickly! It matches Chengcheng’s crown! Daddy made them both!” The smile on Huang Chengcheng’s face was just like the flower crown on her head—utterly radiant. The little yellow flowers swayed gently in the breeze.

Most of the time, Cheng Luyun doted on Huang Chengcheng. A smile tugged at her lips as she lowered her head slightly.

Under Huang Wei’s watchful gaze, Huang Chengcheng placed the flower crown on Cheng Luyun’s head.

Cheng Luyun was someone who appeared gentle. Wearing the flower crown made her look even more warm and soft. Huang Wei, who had just entered the gate, was stunned by the sight. She was still under the eaves of the front hall, the roof shading her from the sun, keeping her in shadow. She carried the pigweed basket on her back, the sickle and the little duck-herding stick inside.

In countless days and nights past, Huang Wei always seemed like this: standing in a dark corner, watching her adoptive parents and their child share heartwarming moments. She felt envy, hoping one day she could have a family like that. But the truth was, Huang Wei never would. Her adoptive parents didn’t even want to spare her a single glance.

This moment was just like all those moments.

It seemed she was still that Huang Wei, hiding in a dark corner, unchanged. Only the family before her was now Cheng Luyun and Huang Chengcheng. The mother-daughter duo nestled together, clearly two ghosts, yet radiating such tenderness. It was as if there was no place for her there at all.

But Cheng Luyun was so beautiful, wearing the flower crown she’d made, laughing with Huang Chengcheng like two suns.

If only there was a place for her in this painting… The longing arose in Huang Wei’s heart. Just as she was lost in thought, she heard Cheng Luyun call out, “Brother Wei, what are you standing there for?” Cheng Luyun’s words pulled Huang Wei back to reality from her reverie.

“Ah…”

A gentle breeze brushed her cheek, lifting her bangs slightly, the strands tickling her cheek, the sensation reaching all the way to her heart.

Cheng Luyun still looked a bit awkward, and she narrowed her eyes when speaking to her—a danger sign for Huang Wei, her whole brain screaming “Danger! Danger!” But Cheng Luyun’s smile was a trap, and Huang Wei willingly stepped into it.

She lifted her foot, stepping out from the shadow of the eaves into the yard. Sunlight instantly fell upon her. She walked from outside the painting into it.

Huang Chengcheng scrambled off Cheng Luyun’s lap, bounding over to Huang Wei. Setting down the pigweed basket, Huang Wei reached out and took Huang Chengcheng’s hand. The next moment, she was pulled stumbling forward, soon arriving before Cheng Luyun.

At this moment, the memory of last night’s events flooded back, and Huang Wei’s face flushed involuntarily.

She found a small stool and sat down opposite Cheng Luyun, very naturally reaching out to start washing the vegetables. Cheng Luyun was just about to get angry when she noticed the tips of Huang Wei’s ears were bright red. Cheng Luyun was both angry and amused. She’d done something like that, yet was the first to feel embarrassed.

But with Huang Chengcheng present, she couldn’t bring up yesterday’s matter. She could only simmer with anger and keep washing vegetables.

If it weren’t for the pickled cabbage fish, she would never do this!

The family sat there washing vegetables, and in no time, they were done. Only after washing the mustard greens did Huang Wei think to ask, “What are we doing with all this? Stir-fried mustard greens for lunch?”

At her question, Cheng Luyun’s hands, about to pick up the vegetables, paused. She really didn’t want to talk to Huang Wei right now, but if she said nothing, the vegetables she’d washed would be turned into plain stir-fried mustard greens. Although Huang Wei’s stir-fried greens would be delicious, Cheng Luyun wanted pickled cabbage even more! She wanted pickled cabbage fish!

Awkwardly, she answered. “No, making pickled cabbage.”

Huang Wei paused and looked at the pigweed beside her. “But… I haven’t fed the pig yet. Making pickled cabbage takes a while. How about I finish with breakfast first, and after we eat, we can make the pickled cabbage?”

Cheng Luyun wasn’t happy. She glanced at the pigweed basket and decided to lighten Huang Wei’s load today so she could make the pickled cabbage. “I’ll feed the pig today. You hurry up and cook. After that, go make the pickled cabbage.”

Since Cheng Luyun had spoken, Huang Wei naturally obeyed. Besides, she wasn’t that fond of cooking pig slop anyway. She agreed and went into the kitchen to prepare things first, while Cheng Luyun cooked the pig feed.

The mustard greens washed this morning could be used right away. Huang Wei planned to make a small side dish of stir-fried mustard greens, plus a cucumber salad. The chili sauce should be ready too. Crushed cucumber topped with chili sauce would definitely be appetizing.

Breakfast was made quickly, finished in a flash. But the soy milk and fried dough sticks Huang Wei had envisioned hadn’t been made yet. She resolved that this couldn’t go on. She had to discuss with Cheng Luyun about freeing up some morning time. Otherwise, eating congee with side dishes every morning, life would lose a bit of its flavor.

After eating with the mother-daughter pair, she carried her basket to the guesthouse.

Walking along, the villagers called out “Brother Wei” as usual, greeting her, but their attitudes were significantly more fawning. Huang Wei sensed something was off. Especially when passing Huang Wu’s house, Huang Wu was exceptionally warm. This man was a fence-sitter, always going where the wind blew. He wouldn’t flatter her for no reason.

She hadn’t asked the villagers to do much work in the past two days. Huang Wu’s ingratiation definitely wasn’t about food. Huang Wei lowered her eyes, understanding the reason.

These villagers probably knew what had happened to Sister Cui’s family. The previous warmth in their eyes when looking at her had faded, replaced by a good deal of fear and wariness.

They were terrified they’d end up like Sister Cui’s family, without even a speck of ash left after death. Trembling, the tone of their greetings to Huang Wei was slightly different.

Huang Wei acted as if nothing had happened with the villagers. Basket in hand, she arrived at the guesthouse, dropped off the items, and prepared to leave.

But their Captain stopped her. “Brother Wei.” She turned back to see the Captain take a couple quick steps to reach her. “These last two days, no matter where we go in the village, we see villagers. They’re always watching us. And not just watching—they eat sunflower seeds while watching… Brother Wei, any idea what’s going on?”

Hearing the Captain, Huang Wei understood somewhat. She hesitated, looking at the players before her. She truly didn’t want them to die, yet the System displayed a large line of text before her eyes, demanding she uphold her duties as a Guide NPC. She knew she couldn’t say it too directly. She could only phrase it another way, hoping the Captain would understand.

“Maybe it just tastes better when they’re watching you eat.”

After speaking, Huang Wei left.

Walking along the road, she was lost in thought. The System was actually quite dumb. Or maybe, because she was just an ordinary NPC, the System assigned to her was a “dumb” one. When she calculated points with the players earlier, the System hadn’t intervened. This was perhaps because, in the System’s eyes, points were equivalent to money. An NPC earning money from players was part of staying in character.

Most crucially, Huang Wei hadn’t done anything contrary to her NPC identity.

Stripped down, her identity was simply: a Guide, whose job was done after leading players into the village; Cheng Luyun’s “husband” and Huang Chengcheng’s “father,” roles she was fulfilling properly; a Huang Family villager, and Huang Wei hadn’t shown herself to be anything but a villager NPC. In the players’ eyes, she was just a somewhat special NPC. Nothing more.

As long as she lived within this framework, the System wouldn’t do anything to her.

She reached out and touched the virtual panel in front of her. Her panel was extremely simple: just her name, identity, and duties. The System had told her the Guide’s duties. But the duties of “husband” and “father”—those she had to figure out herself.

The System was truly a big villain, tossing her here for no reason, forcing her to rely on it for survival.

The only thing she felt fortunate about was that, in this hopeless instance, she had found someone she liked. And that person seemed to be moving closer to her. Although her sanity was strung tight, fearing it would snap at any moment… yesterday she had kissed Cheng Luyun and hadn’t died. Today, Cheng Luyun was telling her to make pickled cabbage. Didn’t this mean everything was moving in a good direction?

She wanted to paint a picture: a happy family consisting of herself, Cheng Luyun, and Huang Chengcheng. She had to strive towards this dream. Whether for her feelings for Cheng Luyun, or for her own respect for life, she had to complete this painting.

Her feelings were sincere. Her desire to live was sincere.

Huang Wei lowered her hand, clenched her fist, and stopped looking at the virtual panel.

First, make the pickled cabbage.