I Became the Eldest Daughter of a Fallen Family - Chapter 67

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 67. Why You’re Coming Out from There (2)
“What? The Shim Family doesn’t even keep a store of meat. What’s the point of checking? We might as well just stir-fry whatever sauce scraps are left over and serve that…….”
“This isn’t just any household—it’s the Wi Family from Cheongpyeong. Are you trying to shame my family in front of them? I won’t allow it!”
Oh dear. Grandmother’s at it again.
At Hong’s sharp outburst, So Yeon-hui shook her head slowly.
Given that Grandmother had been put through the mill with her three sons’ broken engagements, it was no surprise that anything involving the Wi Family of Cheongpyeong made her lose her composure.
‘It’s a miracle she let me handle the Lady of the Wi Household’s birthday celebration in the first place. Looking back now, I have no idea why she agreed.’
Still, with matters having reached this pass, there was no breaking through her stubbornness.
So Yeon-hui reluctantly set down the rice paper she’d been holding and nodded.
“Understood. I’ll find something before mealtime, so please don’t worry.”
With that, she left the room at once and went in search of her younger siblings.
It wasn’t that she meant to ignore Grandmother’s plan, but she’d thought of something better.
“Yeon-su, Yeon-u. Do you remember where we buried those mushroom bottles together last time?”
“Yeah, I remember. But why?”
“Can you run over there and pick just one Enoki Mushroom for me? You know the ones—white, thin, long stems all bunched together in a single cluster.”
Not that So Yeon-hui felt no concern about sending the children into the forest alone.
But it was hardly a forest—it was practically a vegetable patch just behind the house, scarcely any distance from the So Household at all.
Since there was no time to waste, So Yeon-hui patted her siblings’ shoulders and gave them firm instructions.
“We’re short on ingredients for lunch side dishes, so you absolutely cannot wander off the path. Pick just one mushroom and come straight back. Do you understand?”
“Don’t worry, eldest sister. We’re grown now. We know what’s important and what’s urgent.”
“That’s right, sister. You already taught us how to pick the mushrooms so carefully that we know exactly what to do. So don’t worry—just leave it to us.”
Goodness, what siblings these were—so proper and thoughtful.
So Yeon-hui, touched by their words for a moment, smiled brightly and ruffled their hair.
“I’ll be in the Chicken Coop. Come straight there when you’re done. All right?”
Then she slipped out to the Front Yard, careful to avoid her mother’s eye as she tended the makeshift brazier, and quickly hurried around the fence toward the So Household’s Backyard.
‘Well then, let me start by cleaning up the chicken droppings.’
On the way home, she’d earned 7 Good Deed Points for helping an elderly person in distress. Back at the house, she’d picked up another 5 points for briefly assisting with bricklaying work.
She’d also gained an additional 10 points for kindly teaching her father a new construction technique, but after buying two more trowels, she had only 2 points left in her account.
That wasn’t nearly enough to buy meat—not even a single fish.
What else could she do? She’d have to scramble for more points.
As she entered the Chicken Coop, set a little distance from the house to escape the reek of droppings, the chickens erupted in loud clucking.
Even though she tried to befriend them by feeding them every day, the way they behaved so aggressively suggested that they were a poorly developed breed with their wild nature still very much intact.
“Ugh, all right, all right. I’m leaving soon. I’m not here to steal anything, so why are you so angry?”
With that, she immediately picked up a broom and dustpan and began sweeping out the droppings inside the coop.
Before, she’d let the chickens roam the yard during the day, keeping the coop clean, but since construction had started, the birds had been confined here, and feathers and droppings piled up by the bucketful every single day.
‘The dirtier and harder the work, the more Good Deed Points it gives. So I’m actually coming out ahead.’
Sure enough, as she swept out the chicken coop debris with enthusiasm, 5 points were credited straight away.
Next, she spread chopped dry grass and bean stalks throughout the coop. Along with a notification that ‘the chickens are satisfied,’ she received a bonus of 5 additional points.
“Now I just need to feed them and I’ll have earned today’s daily points.”
So Yeon-hui mixed together the Soybean Pulp and Rice Husk she’d set aside for feed, added several Earthworms as bait, and poured the whole mixture into the chickens’ trough along with a few wilted vegetable leaves.
The So Household’s chickens, whose wild nature hadn’t entirely disappeared but whose appetite was matched by nothing, immediately swarmed toward the trough as if they’d never been wary of So Yeon-hui at all.
“Cluck-cluck! Cluck-cluck-cluck.”
It was inevitable that the rooster would let out a sharp cry telling them to stop interfering with his meal and get out of the way of the trough.
“Well, anyway. I’ve managed to earn all the points I need.”
She’d actually earned a full 15 points from the three-part pet chicken care package.
Wouldn’t it be easier to earn Good Deed Points if she ran a poultry farm?
With such thoughts, So Yeon-hui opened up Jijang Market with a bright smile and bought a pack of twenty Fertilized Eggs.
She was about to hide five of them—aside from those she needed for the household—in various places around the coop, as if a hen had laid them, and was reaching for the straw nest set aside in one corner of the coop when……
“Huh? What’s this? Why is an egg here?”
An entirely unexpected discovery greeted So Yeon-hui.
* * *
In fact, when So Yeon-hui first brought the chickens home, no one except her twin siblings had welcomed them.
And no wonder—they were all scrawny and had patchy feathers, so everyone assumed they’d all die within a few days.
Hong had even thrown a fit when she heard the price, demanding to know what kind of scoundrel had swindled her granddaughter.
“So those wretches have fattened up plump and their feathers are gleaming now, and on top of it they’re laying eggs? My, truly what a change from one generation to the next.”
Given all the trouble So Yeon-hui had gone through to get the chickens to this state, there was a slight glisten of tears in her eyes.
Moved by emotion, she gently stroked the eggs nested in the straw.
The small warmth of them felt like compensation for all her effort.
‘Ah, I shouldn’t be doing this.’
So Yeon-hui smiled softly and hid the Fertilized Eggs she’d bought from Jijang Market alongside the others.
The eggs being warm suggested the hen was brooding them well. After all, wouldn’t it be better if she also brooded the store-bought eggs along with them?
With a sly grin, So Yeon-hui placed a few more eggs in a nearby nest and soon slipped out of the coop, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.
“Please raise those new eggs well, all right?”
Was this what the cuckoo felt in its heart?
Her joy at the thought of a coop soon filled with improved breeds and hybrid chickens was short-lived, though.
Just then, the twins came back with mushrooms in hand and saw So Yeon-hui emerging from the coop carrying an armful of eggs, their eyes going wide.
“Oh! Sister! Why are you coming out of the Chicken Coop? What eggs are those in your arms? Don’t tell me our little treasures laid them?”
“You’re an idiot—where’s your intuition? Those are such big eggs, so surely Jijang Bosal must have helped us.”
So Yeon-u’s eyes sparkled as she peered into the basket So Yeon-hui held, while So Yeon-su stood with arms folded, speaking sharply.
It was hard to believe the two had been born on the same day—they were so different. Yet that very difference made watching them a delight that never grew tiresome.
Besides, when it came to their love for animals, the twins were perfectly identical.
So Yeon-hui suppressed her laughter and slipped the twins a little hint of good news.
“The eggs in the basket are from Jijang Bosal, that’s true. But if you look carefully inside the coop, our little treasures really did lay one.”
“Really? Where, where is it?”
“Over in that corner. I was trying to put the Fertilized Eggs in there, and it turned out they’d already laid one.”
As So Yeon-hui pointed to the hen sitting on the nest of straw where she’d hidden the eggs, So Yeon-u practically jumped with delight and immediately leaned toward the coop.
So Yeon-su stretched her neck and bounced on her feet at the sight, looking like no ordinary child at all.
‘This is troublesome. There’s quite a lot I need to do to get lunch ready. But they’ve completely lost themselves in this, haven’t they?’
Yet there was no better influence on a child’s emotional development than animals, was there? So Yeon-hui decided to give her siblings free time for once, with a generous heart.
“All right, I’m going in first. You watch the chickens, but don’t miss mealtime. When I call you, come straight to the Front Yard. Understand?”
“Mm-hmm. Don’t worry.”
“We won’t miss dinner no matter what.”
Goodness. As if they could do anything else.
At the children’s half-hearted reply, So Yeon-hui shook her head and turned away.
Behind her back, the twins’ chatter followed as they peered into the coop.
As she passed through the back gate and headed toward the Front Yard again, her footsteps finally carried a touch of ease.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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