Surviving in the General's Mansion - Chapter 50

Xiao Yaqing tipped her face upward and fanned her eyes.

“Don’t cry, darling~”

Hearing English for the first time in so long, she finally smiled through her tears.

“I haven’t heard English in ages.”

She looked around the room.

“It feels strange speaking it while dressed like this in a place like this! Ha ha!”

She tugged at Xia Heng’s skirt.

Only after she stopped crying did Xia Heng breathe a sigh of relief. If she continued, she would make Xia Heng cry too.

Then Xia Heng answered her questions one by one.

“I came from 2023. I’ve been here less than a month.

“The timing was terrible. Somehow I became a maid. But the General’s Mansion is quite good, and I receive wages.

“I’ll save money and redeem myself first, then decide what to do.”

Eyes still red, Xiao Yaqing said, “Sister, don’t worry! Mutual aid is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation!

“Besides, we’re the only two compatriots here. I’ll ask Mingxu for you later. Come with me!”

The thought of the Xiao Family’s excellent food made Xia Heng’s heart leap.

“Right! Last time I visited your home, there was red-braised pork and fried chicken. It smelled incredible! You even had milk tea!”

“Those are easy! Come with me. Your sister has money now—you can eat as much as you want!”

Xiao Yaqing spoke grandly.

“I came from 2022, but I’ve lived here for more than ten years. Time must flow differently between the worlds.

“You introduced modern numerals at exactly the right moment!

“Father is Minister of Revenue now, and the family business will soon be handed to me. I was worrying about how to introduce numerals reasonably. Those ledgers are unbearable.

“But I arrived too early. My parents know everything I learned growing up, so I couldn’t invent an explanation.”

Xia Heng nodded.

“I had no choice. Cang Chuli tested me on Mathematics without warning. I calculated the answers mentally, and then he made me examine ledgers.

“By then, pretending ignorance was impossible, so I invented a book!”

“Mingxu isn’t easy to fool. If he can’t find that book, he may suspect you…

“By the way, after all this talking, I forgot to ask your name. I’m Xiao Yaqing. I had the same name in my last life!”

Xia Heng smiled.

“Same here. I was Xia Heng in both lives.”

“As for the book, I have a solution. See this?”

She held up a sprouting potato that could be planted in a few days.

“Right! I noticed it earlier. This is a potato, isn’t it? And those outside are chili peppers? What else is there? I don’t recognize them.”

“Those things seem not to have reached this land yet. You have no idea how much I missed them!

“Potatoes are my favorite, and food without chilies has no fragrance!”

Xia Heng smiled mysteriously and whispered in her ear.

“What? You have a system?!” Xiao Yaqing exclaimed.

“I understand. You must be this world’s heroine!”

Xia Heng stared at her speechlessly.

“You are XXXXXXX.”

“Hm? What did you say?”

“I said this world is XXXXXXX, and you are XXXXXX.”

“Beep. Warning! Host, do not reveal this book’s plot to an important character.

“Transmigration System 003 has automatically censored sensitive information. Again: do not reveal the plot to important characters!”

The dormant system suddenly came back to life.

Apparently, she could not tell anyone that this world was a novel.

Then why could she tell the heroine about the system? Was it because she herself did not belong to the book?

“What did you just say?” Xiao Yaqing asked.

“I said I really do have a system…”

“Ah, wonderful! I thought my wealth could carry you to victory, but you have a system!

“Was I the clown all along?

“Can it make you beautiful? Give you good luck? Is it a system that helps you turn your life around?”

“No! I still need you to carry me. It only lets me check in and draw prizes. It has a shop, but I can’t afford most things!

“Rich lady, I’m hungry! Let me cling to you!”

“I see. If the book truly exists, that should dispel Mingxu’s suspicion.”

Xiao Yaqing nodded.

“Then… shall we do business, Sister?”

She stared intensely at the pieces of seed potato.

“Yes!” Xia Heng answered without hesitation.

Xiao Yaqing continued, “Huaxia’s annual grain production barely covers consumption. With these crops, the people could eat better.

“Especially this year, with constant warfare and floods in the south…

“Do you have high-yield rice?”

“Yes, but there’s a problem. I don’t have enough points.”

“One point per plant? That really is…”

“It looked cheap at first, but it isn’t enough for large-scale cultivation.

“For now, I can grow one batch and save seeds.

“Rice will take longer. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are faster, and we can plant them twice a year.”

“Good. Give me some when this batch matures. I’ll have them grown on my estate, and we’ll split the harvest equally.”

“All right. It’s cold now, so we can’t plant more. I’ll save points and exchange for more varieties when spring comes.”

“Then we can have unlimited potatoes and sweet potatoes! French fries! Mashed potatoes! Shredded potatoes! I can’t wait!”

“Stop, stop! Here!”

Xia Heng spent two points on two packs of spicy wheat strips and two egg tarts.

They had to celebrate.

“Prepared food is surprisingly cheap. Try them! They taste just like I remember!”

Almost reverently, Xiao Yaqing accepted the food and tasted each.

Tears filled her round eyes again. She was so moved she had nearly forgotten the flavor.

Xia Heng imitated her eye-fanning and made her laugh.

Xia Heng had considered hiding that she was a transmigrator. One mistake could bring disaster.

But after living here, she could no longer treat everyone as mere characters on a page.

She wanted to accomplish something. That feeling had grown more urgent after seeing Chef Xiang prepare provisions for the Zhenbei Army.

Admittedly, she adored beauty and had liked Xiao Yaqing the moment she saw her at Lehua Tower.

But instinct mattered. After years in human resources, Xia Heng trusted her judgment of people.

From the novel’s viewpoint, Xiao Yaqing had undeniably been love-addled.

Yet she also did many things that benefited the country and people, such as producing alcohol.

Because the heroine was also a transmigrator, any modern idea Xia Heng pursued would eventually expose her.

And when Xiao Yaqing learned of the system, her gaze contained only happiness and envy, not jealousy.

She was strong enough in her own right. Why would such a heroine not be worth befriending?

At worst, whenever her love-addled brain acted up, Xia Heng could slap her awake.

Xia Heng thought this with a sweet, not-at-all-threatening smile.

At that moment, the two women shared the snacks bite by bite, close and content.

Meeting an old friend far from home truly was wonderful.