Chapter 188: Space Dimension
Xiao Qingya realized she had accidentally revealed a secret to her mother. Oops!
However, Zhou Anran didn’t ask where she found out the method to get out of the space dimension was. She inwardly patted her small chest in relief.
The moment they were out of the space dimension, they could finally open their eyes.
"Mother? Little Ya?" Xiao Jingran called out in surprise. He definitely didn’t expect that they would open their eyes so soon.
Zhou Anran clutched her dizzy head and sat up. "Where are we? Where are the others?"
"They are outside. Everyone is alright, don’t worry..." Xiao Jingran answered.
At this time, Xiao Fenghao had finished fixing the carriage. The moment they heard voices inside, he and Zhou Wenzhi went to check.
Zhou Wenzhi heaved a sigh of relief. "You two finally woke up..." he turned to Xiao Fenghao. "Hao’er, ask your aunt and sister to heat up the porridge."
Xiao Fenghao nodded and went to find his sister and aunt.
"How do you feel?" Zhou Wenzhi asked.
"Only a little dizzy," Zhou Anran answered honestly. "It will get better soon."
She lowered her head, finding Xiao Qingya was playing with the white fluff in her hands. Her head had a small wound, which was covered with a medicinal paste.
[System, I just realized. How did you get so big and look so majestic in that storage space?]
The System answered in a proud voice. [Host, that’s how my true form will look once you keep upgrading me. So, work hard.]
Xiao Qingya immediately flicked its nose, shaking the kitten slightly. [You have to work hard too!]
The kitten had grown considerably, but its size was still considered small and it still looked like a half-grown cat. Xiao Qingya could still carry it everywhere with her.
Xiao Jingran, who was listening to Xiao Qingya’s inner thoughts, immediately caught a keyword. Space dimension.
Based on his understanding from Xiao Qingya’s previous conversation with the system about the system’s space storage where she hid most of her fertilizers, it seemed to be some kind of separate, secret space.
So, that was where they both had gone to when they were unconscious?
Zhou Anran caught the sight of Xiao Jingran’s thoughtful face and sent him a look, signalling they would talk about it later.
There were also quite a few things that needed to be addressed.
Xiao Fenghao returned with quite a few people, causing Zhou Anran to be surprised.
There was Su Wan...
Her heart trembled slightly.
"You have finally woken up, Sister Anran! Little Ya too!" Su Wan said in relief.
Zhou Shuran entered the carriage and gave two bowls of porridge for them. "Elder Sister, Little Ya, eat quickly. We had just reheated them."
"Thank you," Zhou Anran said after she finished greeting Su Wan.
Seeing the look of surprise on her face, Su Wan explained rather mischievously. "My brother and I decided to go back to the Capital. I didn’t expect us to meet on the way. Let’s just travel together to be safe after this!"
She suddenly understood how they resolved the bandit incidents.
Xiao Qingya was also babbling about it with the System, opening the System’s notification as Xiao Yuxi fed her.
[It’s Aunt Su Wan who helped us to resolve the bandits? Thank you for the points, Aunt Su Wan!] Xiao Qingya grinned slightly.
She opened her mouth again to receive the spoonful of porridge.
[System, let’s talk about Mother’s space dimension again now. You mentioned an upgrade. What is it?]
The System immediately started explaining.
[Little Ya, your mother’s space dimension is still new, the most basic one, so it needs to be upgraded.]
[There are two ways to upgrade it, which is by obtaining some items from outside and storing them inside, or the most effective is by farming the lands there.]
Xiao Qingya was surprised. [It’s not a stagnant space?]
[Currently, it’s not. Oh, I have to remind you too. At the current level, the space dimension can only allow you and your mother inside. So...]
The job of farming and upgrading the land would fall on both of them first.
Xiao Qingya puffed up her cheeks. Her salted fish days seemed to be disappearing...
As the two were discussing excitedly, Xiao Fenghao and Xiao Yuxi threw their mother and brother a confused look.
Xiao Jingran shook his head, signalling they should ask their mother later.
Zhou Anran was a little absentminded. After she forced herself to concentrate on the System’s explanation about her space dimension, she was back worrying about Xiao Yuanwei’s presence.
They actually met again...
She glanced at her second son and eldest daughter. These two weren’t too good at hiding their emotions like Xiao Jingran did, so it was quite a relief they didn’t seem to see his real face yet.
Most likely he was wearing a mask like he did a week ago.
"Sister Anran, what do you think about travelling together?" Su Wan repeated worriedly upon seeing the quiet woman.
Zhou Anran turned to Zhou Wenzhi, and the old man easily made a decision, agreeing with Su Wan. Only Heavens knew how scared he was when he saw his daughter and granddaughter unconscious.
The carriage was stuck and couldn’t be pulled for a while. They only managed to pull it after five or six guards helped them.
"That will be great, Uncle Zhou!" Su Wan said excitedly.
She whispered something to a maidservant beside her, who immediately saluted and went to Xiao Yuanwei.
Because Xiao Yuanwei’s convoy was also still dealing with the aftermath after taking care of the bandits, they all decided to set a camp there.
At night, the Zhou and Xiao family’s group also slept in the carriage. After Zhou Shuran, Zhou Wenzhi, and Xiao Qingya slept, Zhou Anran went to find her children and explained what had happened to them.
"There was the miraculous spring water Little Ya and the System talked about before?" Xiao Yuxi muttered.
"Doesn’t that mean that the field is a better place for planting things?" Xiao Fenghao added.
"Mother and Little Ya just need to upgrade the space dimension before Mother can bring us in." Xiao Jingran explained.
It was also a convenient place to store things.
Zhou Anran tried to put some items inside the space dimension, starting from something as small as pebbles to a long firewood.
There was no Xiao Qingya and the System to explain to her, so it took her a while before she figured it out how it would work. In the end, she could put these items inside with some concentration.
"Woah," Xiao Yuxi did a small clap in shock and excitement as she saw the item disappear.
"It’s such a magical thing," She commented, genuinely happy her mother got it.
Xiao Jingran suddenly asked. "Mother, can you bring the spring water outside?"
If she could, it meant that the quality of the paddy rice they could grow outside might be as good as grown inside Zhou Anran’s space dimension.
He had heard the System mentioning that the fertilizer’s effect had some limit. Once the limit was reached, it could be improved further with the spring water.
Zhou Anran was startled, and her eyes suddenly lit up.
She glanced at her water pouch on her waist and took it off, opening it. After she sniffed it, she gave it to Xiao Jingran.
"Jing’er, try it. I picked the water from the space dimension."
Xiao Jingran poured a small amount on his palm and sniffed it, and then licked it a little. His other siblings also tried them.
"We still have a lot inside the space dimension. A whole river..." Zhou Anran explained. "It’s unknown where it came from."
The space dimension also looked so wide that she couldn’t see its end.
"Let’s change our family’s drink to this," Zhou Anran decided. She could see that her children’s pale complexion improved after they drank the spring water.
Xiao Yuxi nodded furiously. "Mother, my energy returned. If only I had this water before, I couldn’t have taken care of more bandits!"
Zhou Anran smiled, and she advised her daughter not to put herself in danger before she asked them to give her their water pouches.
"I will take some water from the space dimension. You all should drink more since it’s beneficial."
Once she gathered the water pouches, she disappeared and went inside the space dimension. She only came out after she filled in all of them.
After she distributed the water pouches, she immediately urged Xiao Fenghao and Xiao Yuxi to sleep. They both obediently followed her words.
Now, it was just Zhou Anran and Xiao Jingran.
"Mother wants to talk to you about something..." Zhou Anran began. "Since you have met him, don’t tell your other siblings for the time being."
Xiao Jingran took a deep breath and couldn’t help but ask. He could sense a faint presence who was looking at them both in the distance.
"Is he really our father?"