Chapter 2

As expected, this navigation system was ridiculously rotten! Why did it have to guide her to the silver that belonged to her own family? When Yang Wan handed the silver to Zhou Chunxiu, her face was still flushed with barely contained frustration. Zhou Chunxiu immediately pulled her into her arms, catching Yang Wan completely off guard. She couldn't even remember how many years it had been since she had been this physically close to another person. A gentle pat landed on her back. "You silly girl, are you still sulking with your mother?" Her voice was affectionate and full of indulgence. Yang Wan's stiff body gradually relaxed and unconsciously sank into the woman's embrace. A pair of slightly rough hands gently stroked her head and ran down her back. It gave Yang Wan a strange sensation, as though someone had pressed a sensitive spot on her body. She didn't dare move at all. "Wanya, even if the silver is gone, we can still earn more. Our family has good connections in the village. We can always find someone willing to lend us some." "Tell Mother honestly. Are you still thinking about that boy?" Yang Wan immediately shook her head several times, eager to prove her innocence. Zhou Chunxiu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "That's good. You're not even fifteen yet. Once some time has passed and this matter has died down, I'll ask your father to find you a good husband." Yang Wan finally lifted her head and firmly declared: "Mother, I don't want to get married yet!" She wasn't even fifteen. By actual age, she was only thirteen! Why on earth would she get married? Zhou Chunxiu assumed her daughter was just speaking out of anger. Thinking about her daughter's preferences, she planned to ask her husband to find another family with a scholarly background when the time came. That way, her daughter could completely forget that despicable Chen Guansheng. Just then, her eldest sister-in-law, Wu Fen, called from the doorway. "Mother, is little sister here?" Yang Wan quickly stood up and went outside. Wu Fen immediately placed something warm into her hand and urged her. "Eat this while it's still warm. You haven't had dinner tonight!" After handing it over, she turned around and left. Zhou Chunxiu glanced at the egg in Yang Wan's hand and nodded. "You never treated your eldest sister-in-law kindly before, yet she still cares about you. You really need to change your attitude." Yang Wan nodded firmly. Apparently, she had been the only troublemaker in this family. However, she peeled the egg and gave it to her well-behaved little nephew, Hutou. Hutou was six years old. There were no other children in the family, so he spent his days following his mother around, helping her with simple chores like tending the fire and picking vegetables. Wu Fen knew that her younger sister-in-law disliked her, so she had also warned Hutou not to bother Yang Wan. As a result, the little boy was somewhat afraid of her. Fortunately, children were easy to win over. After eating the egg, Hutou even covered his mouth and smiled at her. That night, while lying on the hard wooden bed, Yang Wan tried to activate the Rotten Navigation system again. Unfortunately, there wasn't even the slightest response. What was she supposed to do without money? Yang Wan calculated their family's financial situation. When she had first awakened, the Yang family had hired a doctor for her and bought medicine. They still owed money for those expenses. The crops in the fields wouldn't be ready for harvest for another month or so. The family had taken the grain they previously stored and sold it during the day. Old grain fetched a low price, and they had only kept enough to last a few more days. Even if they sold everything, it wouldn't bring in much money. Yet they had to gather eight taels of silver within five days. Even if her sisters-in-law went back to their parents' homes to borrow money, everyone in the family knew that was merely something they said to offer comfort. Her eldest sister-in-law, Wu Fen, came from a family that ran a grocery shop in town. Unfortunately, having a stepmother often meant having a stepfather who didn't care about you either. Back then, Zhou Chunxiu had taken a liking to her and paid ten taels of silver as the betrothal gift. Otherwise, Wu Fen would have been married off by her stepmother as a second wife to some widower. When the Wu family married off their daughter, all they provided was a single red bridal veil. They hadn't even given her a new set of clothes. Because of this, Wu Fen had always felt inferior after marrying into the Yang family. She worked diligently and quietly, showing great tolerance even toward her cold and demanding younger sister-in-law. Wu Fen's younger brother was only thirteen or fourteen when her stepmother had already sent him away to work. Borrowing money from the Wu family would be practically impossible. As for her second sister-in-law, Liu Xiuxiu, her family lived in a neighboring village and were ordinary farming folk. There were many people in the Liu household. Although they weren't as well-off as the Yang family had once been, they still managed to make a decent living. However, including Liu Xiuxiu's father, the Liu family had five able-bodied men. At least two of them would have to serve in the military, meaning they would need sixteen taels of silver to avoid conscription. Even if they swallowed their pride and went to borrow money, how much could they possibly get? Whether it was Yang Daye or one of the Yang brothers who ended up serving in the military, it would be unbearably cruel to the family. The battlefield was brutal. With the continuous waves of conscription over the past two years, the chances of survival were practically nonexistent. The fact that Yang Daye had managed to return alive all those years ago was nothing short of a miracle. One could even say his ancestors must have been watching over him. Yang Wan tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. In her previous life, she had been a left-behind child who grew up living under other people's roofs, constantly watching her relatives' expressions and trying not to upset them. She wasn't close to her parents and had never received much affection or care from them. She had no idea what a normal, loving family was supposed to feel like. Yet after coming to this place for only two days, she already didn't want to destroy the warmth of this family. Thinking about the television dramas and novels she had watched and read in her previous life, she remembered how the protagonists would constantly come up with clever ideas, making one fortune after another. She couldn't help but envy them. She thought about it the entire night. By the time dawn was approaching, she still hadn't come up with a way to make money quickly. But suddenly, that familiar mechanical voice sounded again. "Welcome to Rotten Navigation! Please select your route." Yang Wan excitedly sprang upright in bed! Silver! Silver! I want to find lots and lots of silver! she repeated silently in her mind. However, the three directional arrows that appeared before her were still the same as before. The only difference was that the green arrow had turned gray. Now, only two arrows remained. The yellow arrow indicated a destination 900 meters away, while the red arrow indicated a destination 5 kilometers away. Moreover, the yellow arrow was flashing. What did that mean? Was the silver about to disappear? Yang Wan became nervous. The red arrow pointed to a destination five kilometers away. It would take her at least an hour to walk there, so she could only choose the yellow one. Besides, the 900-meter destination was somewhere inside the village. For the sake of silver, I'll risk it! She reached out and tapped the yellow arrow before immediately climbing out of bed. Outside, the sky was only beginning to brighten. Following the navigation, she stumbled along the uneven path, sometimes taking deep steps and sometimes shallow ones. Fortunately, the navigation system seemed to have at least a little sense of direction. Although she occasionally had to step through puddles or climb over the ridges separating the fields, the route was still manageable. Before long, she found herself behind someone's house. Just then, the navigation system suddenly announced: "Obstacle detected 10 meters ahead. Danger level: half a star. Detour recommended." The arrow pointing toward her destination was right in front of her. Why the hell should she take a detour? Yang Wan immediately stopped in her tracks. Although the danger level seemed rather low, she had no idea how this system calculated its ratings. Just then, she saw two figures emerge from the house and appear right in front of her. She quickly crouched down to hide. The two figures were embracing each other so tightly that they seemed reluctant to part. "Yinxiang, I don't want to keep sneaking around anymore!" "Brother Sheng, just wait a little longer. Once the crops have been harvested, we'll leave together. No one will ever be able to separate us!" Yang Wan silently spat out a curse. Pah! Why the hell did this navigation system bring me to the scene of an affair? "Yinxiang, I've brought all the silver I've secretly saved. I buried it in the corner of this vegetable garden before coming here. Make sure that your husband doesn't discover it. We'll dig it up when it's time for us to leave." Yang Wan's eyes lit up. The direction indicated by the arrow was right in front of her, slightly to the right. "Alright, Brother Sheng. I'll wait for you—" The two continued kissing passionately, seemingly unable to bear being apart. Yang Wan's legs had already gone numb from crouching for so long before the man finally left. The woman immediately walked to the corner of the vegetable garden and began frantically digging with her hands. When she finally pulled out a small cloth bag, Yang Wan heard the unmistakable, crisp clinking sound of silver coins. Are you telling me to rob someone? Yang Wan hesitated. Then, a loud roar suddenly came from inside the house. "Yinxiang! You filthy woman! Where the hell have you gone?!" The woman was so frightened that she dropped the money bag. She quickly tossed it into a nearby bucket before hurrying back inside. Yang Wan immediately seized the opportunity and rushed over. But when she took a closer look, she was completely dumbfounded. Even before getting close, she could already smell the strong stench of urine. The woman had thrown the silver into a bucket of human waste! Meanwhile, the voice inside the house continued. "You filthy woman! Why are you covered in dirt? Have you been sneaking around with another man?!" Immediately afterward, the sound of a woman screaming as she was beaten rang out. "I'm going to see what your lover looks like! You shameless woman! Lead me to him right now, or I'll beat you to death!" Yang Wan could already hear footsteps approaching the door. She had no choice but to quickly kick the bucket over. Then she grabbed a few vegetable leaves from the garden and, suppressing her disgust, used them to wrap up the contaminated money bag before carrying it away. "Safely arrived. Navigation complete."