Chapter 135: Learning the Art of Household Management from Grandmother

After spending a considerable amount of time with the boss on the starship and completing a full day’s worth of training, Du Yun took a shower, grabbed a quick bite, and returned to Green Field Planet. Only a few minutes had passed there.

Stepping out from behind the green curtain of crops, she looked left and right. Finding no one, she followed her grandmother’s instructions and walked light-footed toward the village grocery store.

"Grandma, I'm back!" After picking up some soy sauce and vinegar, Du Yun returned to her grandmother’s house with a brisk step. Her younger brother and sister were nowhere to be seen, likely off playing somewhere. Her grandmother sat alone under the eaves, slicing fresh vegetables picked from the garden.

"Grandma, are you preparing dinner?" Du Yun asked, puzzled. The wooden board was piled high with a basin’s worth of sliced eggplants. It seemed like far too much for just one meal.

"This isn't for dinner, silly girl. Haven't you ever seen your grandma drying vegetables before?" Her grandmother looked at Du Yun’s bewildered expression and chuckled with affectionate indulgence.

"Drying vegetables?" Du Yun realized instantly that this must be a traditional method of preservation. It was a primitive technique that had long since vanished from the era and planet she came from, so her ignorance was understandable.

"Let me help!" Enthused by the task, Du Yun mimicked her grandmother’s movements, carefully arranging the eggplant slices onto bamboo mats, which were then placed in a ventilated spot under the eaves.

"Grandma, is this enough?" They worked in silence, Du Yun slicing and arranging until the space under the eaves was filled with mats. Only then did they stop.

Her grandmother smiled, looking at the bounty of eggplant slices, and reached back to knead her sore lower back. "Running a household isn't about being rich or having fancy clothes; it’s about foresight. If you don't plan, you’ll always be poor. I spoiled your mother too much when she was young, and I regret it now. You, Yun’er, must learn these household skills well so you can manage a home properly when you marry."

"Grandma..." Du Yun stayed silent, unsure of how to respond. Since transmigrating, she had indeed noticed her mother’s tendency to swallow her grievances, and she often felt it was unfair to her.

Yet, when she imagined her mother being as strong-willed as her own grandmother—the paternal grandmother—she shivered. If her mother, who was the daughter-in-law, and the paternal grandmother, who had raised the two highest-earning grandsons, were to clash, the house would likely be in constant turmoil. It seemed impossible to live that way.

As a perpetual homebody, Du Yun had no idea how one should navigate such relationships. She set those thoughts aside and focused on keeping her grandmother company, listening to her talk about the trials of being a wife.

"My life was bitter when I was young. When I first married into the Xia family, it was just before the New Year. Seeing the granary full and plenty of meat, I thought the Xia family was well-off. I forgot everything your great-grandmother taught me. I was extravagant with the cooking, making whatever I felt like. Life was sweet back then..."

Her grandmother sat on a small stool, her face illuminated by the soft, hazy orange glow of the setting sun as she reminisced.

"I had brought a fair bit of private savings from my maiden home. Once we finished the cured meat hanging under the eaves, I’d take out my own money every few days to buy more."

"I was foolish. I thought the grain was endless, so I cooked whatever others wanted and whatever I craved. But I didn't notice when the rice bin stopped being replenished, or that the family stopped using communal funds to buy meat. Everyone in the house was just waiting for me to spend my own private money."

"I was the youngest daughter-in-law in the family, and I was no match for them. I thought that once my money ran out, the others would contribute theirs for the household, so I spent every last cent of my savings."

"Wait? You spent it all?" Du Yun’s eyes widened. Seeing the bitter smile on her grandmother’s face, she feared the outcome hadn't been good.

"Yes. Once my money was gone, I realized the family had intended to split the household long ago. They had planned to do it as soon as I married in, but they hadn't expected me to be such a fool, pouring my own savings into the common pot. They delayed the split until my money was exhausted."

"I was so angry I tried to argue with them. Can you guess what they said? They claimed I didn't know how to manage a home and was just being wasteful! They wouldn't take the blame." Her grandmother pursed her lips and snorted, the memory clearly unpleasant.

"What? That’s too cruel!" Du Yun was stunned. People could play such games? She immediately felt that her grandfather’s parents and brothers were truly despicable.

"Grandma, are you telling me this so I can warn my sister to keep her private savings safe?" Du Yun processed her grandmother’s words, thinking she had grasped the lesson, and looked up to ask.

"I’m not finished yet, keep listening! Back then, when I had no money left, I cried and made a scene with your grandfather. He even accused me of treating his family like outsiders. It wasn't until after we split the household and he saw his brothers building new houses while he was stuck in a thatch shack that he realized he was the one being treated as an outsider." Her grandmother chuckled, a look of triumph on her face that made Du Yun smile in sympathy.

"Later, in the spring, I went out to forage for wild vegetables and cleared a piece of wasteland to grow a huge garden of greens. In the summer, I dried vegetables. When winter came and everyone else was left with nothing but cabbage and potatoes, my family had plenty to eat. Even without meat, our meals were better than theirs. That was when your grandfather finally realized it wasn't that I didn't know how to manage—it was that they were the ones who hadn't been living properly." Her grandmother covered her mouth, laughing heartily.

"Grandma..." Du Yun looked at her, her mind in a whirl. She had always assumed her grandmother’s life had been smooth sailing, never imagining there were so many twists and turns.

"Child, a woman’s life shouldn't be measured by immediate gains or losses. Sometimes a loss isn't necessarily a bad thing, and sometimes an advantage isn't necessarily a good one. Remember this well, and tell your sister when you go back." Her grandmother’s advice was cryptic, and though Du Yun wanted to ask more, she didn't know where to begin.

"Mother, I’m home!" Just then, Du Yun’s mother appeared at the gate, her face flushed red by the sunset, making her look years younger.