After parting ways with Aunt Chen, Jia Yue went into her own house.

Now, it's up to Aunt Chen to show her skills.

In her memory, Aunt Chen's husband was a colleague of the original owner's father, and they were at the same level, doing the same things.

If she remembered correctly, the original owner's father had mentioned during dinner that there would be a promotion evaluation soon, which might result in a raise.

Since there's a stake in it, Aunt Chen will definitely be proactive. As for whether it will harm her father's interests?

Anyway, we don't spend her salary, so it's better if she doesn't get the promotion!

Not long after she returned, her stepmother and younger brother came back. Seeing that she was awake, her brother Xu Yaodang started yelling at her, "Xu Jiayue, now that you're awake, hurry up and cook some food. I'm starving."

Upon hearing this, the stepmother glared at her son: "Don't say 'death,' it's very unlucky."

After saying that, she smiled and looked at Jia Yue, her tone quite gentle as she asked, "When did Jia Yue wake up?"

"I've been awake for a while now."

“Your younger brother is hungry, and your dad should be home from get off work soon. Mom’s cooking isn’t as good as yours, so you should cook.”

The implication is that you should hurry up and cook.

Jia Yue lowered her head, just like the original owner in her memory, without saying a word, and silently went to the kitchen to cook.

The Xu family home is neither too big nor too small. This house originally belonged to the maternal grandfather. Back then, the family was doing quite well, with three large rooms. Later, it was divided into four rooms: one for Xu's father and stepmother, one for her younger brother, one for her stepsister, and one for her.

There is also a kitchen.

After her stepsister got married, her room was partitioned off again. Her room was only big enough to fit a small bed and a small cabinet, and there wasn't even enough room for a person to move around.

The room that was partitioned off is supposedly for the younger brother's future child.

I wonder when this ten-year-old child will finally get married and have children.

The kitchen is much bigger than her tiny cubicle.

She can cook, but having been pampered in her previous life, she wasn't used to it at first. However, that's normal, and she didn't intend to improve her cooking skills.

She started to improvise in the kitchen, and the aroma that wafted out was naturally delicious. However, she was a little embarrassed to admit that she accidentally added too much salt.

She was still in the kitchen when she heard her stepmother's voice from outside.

"Old Xu is back, Jia Yue is in the kitchen!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Jiancheng replied calmly, "I told you she was faking it. She didn't go to the hospital, and she pulled through, didn't she? Children need discipline to grow up properly; we can't spoil them..."

“What you said makes sense. Jia Yue is a sensible child and will definitely understand your good intentions.”

...

As Jia Yue listened, a chill ran down her spine. She knew that this was the lingering emotion left behind by the original owner of the body.

Honestly, if someone grows up in an environment full of violence, verbal abuse, and hypocrisy, even if they don't die, they are very likely to become depressed.

The original owner's death was triggered by Xu Jiancheng's blow. It is highly likely that the original owner had lost the will to live. She didn't want to live anymore, or rather, she didn't know what hope there was left for her to live.

Thinking of this, Jia Yue lowered her head and, without thinking, "forgot" that she had already added salt, so she added it again.

A short while later, she came out of the kitchen: "Dinner is ready."

Xu Jiancheng said impatiently, "If the food is ready, bring it out. I've been working hard all day. Do you expect me to bring it to you?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Yue's violent emotions surged wildly. She warned herself that this was a society governed by law, and she could not kill anyone.

He'll be so sickeningly sweet he'll die!

"I'll go get it right away."

After saying that, Jia Yue went back into the kitchen and brought the food to the table.

Xu Jiancheng spoke again, his tone gentle: "Honey, Yaodang, dinner's ready."

"They're here."

After the three of them sat down, they started eating without waiting for Jia Yue to sit down.

Xu Yaodang had a craving for food, and he was the first to take a bite. The moment it entered his mouth, he spat it out, yelling, "It's so salty! Ugh, ugh, ugh..."

He had barely finished speaking when Xu Jiancheng and his stepmother put the food in their mouths, only to find it so salty and bitter that they spat it out.

Xu Jiancheng glared at Jia Yue and slammed his hand on the table: "How could you cook such salty food? How can anyone eat it?"

Jia Yue lowered her head, looking as if she had been scolded and dared not speak. In her heart, she thought that beasts did not deserve to eat proper food, and that not adding anything to the food was her mercy.

Xu Yaodang pointed at Jia Yue and complained, "Dad, he did it on purpose! He deliberately made the food so bad! Dad, hit her! Beat her to death!"

Xu Jiancheng had a bad temper to begin with, and when he heard his beloved son say that, his hands started itching. He then raised his hand to slap her on the head, without caring at all about the injury she had.

She quickly covered her head and started running outside, crying out, "Dad, I was wrong, please don't hit me, I was wrong, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made the food so salty, I didn't mean to, I just had a really bad headache and added too much salt, Dad, please don't hit me..."

He ran outside while shouting loudly.

In the courtyard, everyone knows exactly what's going on in each household.

Hearing Jia Yue's cries for help, people came out to see what was going on. They then saw Jia Yue running around frantically, and combined with what she was saying, people began to recall what Aunt Chen had been doing to spread the word all day.

Grandpa Wang then stepped forward.

“Jiancheng, it’s just one meal. The child didn’t do it on purpose. How can you hit the child? Jiayue still has a head injury. Even if you don’t take her to the hospital to get the child checked out, you should at least let the child rest. She’s cooking with an injury, and you’re still being picky. Let me tell you, child abuse is not allowed in our compound.”

Others chimed in to agree.

"Yes, Lao Xu, you can't hit the child, Jia Yue still has a head injury!"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!