Since things are already settled, there's no need to dwell on them too much.
Mei Mengzhen, who's been through so many hardships, quickly adjusted her mindset. She glanced at the clock in the living room, thinking not much time had passed. But wow, it's already lunchtime.
She hurriedly asked, "Chenchen, are you hungry? I'll go make lunch."
Mei Mengchen's eyes lit up, "Are we having this morning's dishes?"
"Do you want to eat those? Cabbage or potatoes?"
"Anything's okay, everything you make tastes so good." Mei Mengchen wasn't trying to flatter her at all; he genuinely felt the dishes this morning were delicious—better than mom's.
Though she also thought the two morning dishes were pretty good, there were other veggies in the space, and she wanted to try something different. "How about I make you some yummy new dishes? If you don't like them, I'll make the morning ones again tonight, okay?"
Mei Mengchen didn't hesitate and answered right away, "Okay."
She settled Mei Mengchen on the sofa, put on some cartoons for him, then handed him a cup of Spiritual Spring Water, and finally went to the kitchen to cook.
Their fridge was in the kitchen. When she opened the fridge door, it just happened to block Mei Mengchen's view. She thought about what she wanted to cook, then used the fridge as cover to sneak the veggies out from the space.
Two dishes: tomato and egg stir-fry, and braised pork with string beans. The meat and eggs were already in the fridge; she just needed to get a tomato and some string beans.
She first took the meat out of the freezer, put it in a basin, soaked it in Spiritual Spring Water to speed up thawing. Of course, she mostly wanted to use the water to make the meat taste better.
Next came cooking rice, washing and stir-frying veggies. With this morning's experience, she was much less flustered this time.
Mei Mengzhen was busy by herself in the kitchen, and Mei Mengchen watched her back for a long time, not wanting to look away.
Even though things were settled, it still felt like a dream to Mei Mengchen.
He knew he was young and might be a burden to his sister, but these past days in the hospital, family members took turns visiting and bringing him food. On the surface they acted all nice, but once alone, they'd scold him for freeloading or call him a thankless brat, an unwanted stray.
He might be little but he wasn't dumb—none of that was nice. And when he talked back, they actually tried to hit him.
He knew his sister didn't really like him, so at first he didn't dare complain, just kept it all inside. But when he heard those relatives wanted to take him to their place, he panicked. He really didn't want to go, so when Auntie spoke, he just started crying.
Even though he felt useless, he couldn't help it—he was still so small, just couldn't hold it in.
But he hadn't cried for long before he heard his sister wanted to keep him with her.
He was so surprised—his sister never really liked him, and he'd always known that. As for why, he only half understood.
Seeing his sister fighting so hard to keep him, he felt he should do something too. So when the relatives objected the second time, he yelled out loud.
Luckily, his sister really did keep him.
He wouldn't have to go live with relatives and become the kid everyone called a freeloading stray.
And now, he really liked his sister—even more than dad and mom. She cooked him tasty food, gave him delicious water, smiled at him, and stayed with him! Slept with him! He loved this kind of sister. Though he was little now, he promised to treat her well when he grew up. Wait, he was little, but he could treat her well even now.
Mei Mengzhen had no idea that keeping her brother out of guilt was giving him all these thoughts.
Once she brought the dishes out, she glanced at her brother still in the living room. Their eyes met, and Mei Mengzhen smiled, "Come on, go wash up, it's time to eat."
Mei Mengchen hopped off the sofa, put down his cup, ran to the restroom, and then dashed to the dining table.
By then, Mei Mengzhen had put out all the food. The tomato egg stir-fry looked bright and appetizing, and Mei Mengchen reached straight for it with his chopsticks.
When he tasted it, he was amazed again: "Wow, so yummy! Sis, this dish is so good!"
"Really? Let me try." Mei Mengzhen took a bite and instantly agreed, nodding her head. "Delicious." The tomatoes were perfect—just the eggs could be better.
The other dish was great too; thanks to the meat soaked in Spiritual Spring Water, the beans and pork tasted fantastic.
This meal, without a doubt, stuffed them both—yep, space-grown produce is really something…
For kids, life is nothing but eating, playing, and sleeping. Mei Mengchen was used to taking an afternoon nap, so after lunch, Mei Mengzhen coaxed him to sleep.
After her brother was asleep, she didn't idle either. Once she lay down, her consciousness entered the space.
Even though the veggie market nearby wasn't convenient for her to sell veggies, it didn't stop her from wanting to do it. To sell, the small batch she tested before definitely wasn't enough, now that she had time she'd have to plant more. And with space growing, instant planting and harvesting is a joy only she can imagine.
In less than an hour, the newly planted veggies piled up like a small mountain. Plus, thanks to the Osmanthus Tree's help, all she had to do was scatter some seeds, barely needing to do anything else.
Moments like this made her feel grateful for the Osmanthus Tree that's been with her all childhood.
She walked over, patted its trunk and casually praised it. But thinking about how the space still didn't have much, she couldn't help grumbling, "Says I can keep poultry and plant trees, but where am I supposed to get those?"
No sooner had she finished speaking when a bright flash appeared before her eyes.
Mei Mengzhen tensed up instantly, "What is that?"
She wondered what the light was—it had disappeared in the blink of an eye. She looked at the Osmanthus Tree again, and a thought crossed her mind: she'd touched the Osmanthus Tree right before the flash.
She looked at her hand, then at the Osmanthus Tree, and tentatively reached out again. The bright flash appeared once more.
Startled, she shivered, but got the gist of how to use it: just touch the Osmanthus Tree, and the light would come on.
This light was no ordinary flash—it was an LED display, and on it was an app called Spatial Mall.
This Spatial Mall was easy to use, pretty much like the online stores everyone used in the future, but here she could operate it directly with her mind.