The System Wanted Me to Be a Landlady (GL) - Chapter 7: Aunt Fierce

Chapter 7: Aunt Fierce

The young girl stood at the alley’s entrance, the spring breeze blowing coldly through her rough hemp clothes, making her shiver.

Song Yuyan snapped back to reality, then noticed the gossiping stares around her and walked away awkwardly. She truly came with good intentions to mend things with Tang Zhi, didn’t she? But the impression the original owner left wasn’t something she could change quickly.

She wandered through streets and alleys, trying to find work at small teahouses, proper shops, or roadside stalls, but these shopkeepers all knew her. They had even hired the original owner before!

They remembered her sticky fingers, like pocketing customers’ money, arguing with patrons, or carelessly breaking bowls. They had fired her back then, and now they wouldn’t hire her again.

Song Yuyan had no choice but to walk farther. After confirming the original owner’s memories showed no work in this area, she tried again to ask if anyone needed a worker.

She’d been out for half a day without a sip of water, and now her throat was dry, and her stomach growled with hunger.

As she considered heading to the docks to look for cargo-moving work, a fat woman at the entrance of a small shop shouted at her, “Yam, what are you doing here?”

Song Yuyan almost didn’t react, but when she realized the woman was calling her, she wanted to pretend she hadn’t heard.

Yes, though the original owner was also called Song Yuyan, she had a nickname, “Yam.” They said the lowlier the nickname, the easier it was to survive, so people here had all sorts of nicknames.

And who else but someone close to the original owner would call her that?

Song Yuyan hesitated for a moment. Her manners wouldn’t let her be so rude, so she walked over and said, “Aunt Fierce.”

The middle-aged woman, though called this, didn’t have “Fierce” in her name. She had no name of her own, and after marrying Song Yuyan’s clan uncle, people mostly called her “Song Guoshi .”

Aunt Fierce was very fat, and in the original owner’s memories, she was a hot-tempered, fierce woman.

She was called “Aunt Fierce” because, when young, she and her husband met bandits on the way to visit relatives. Her husband was so scared he wanted to kneel and beg, but she wasn’t afraid. Instead, she charged at the bandits to fight them. That scared the bandits so much they fled without taking anything.

So, when people described her, they added “Fierce,” and over time, they just called her “Aunt Fierce.”

Song Yuyan admired her greatly, but the original owner once got caught doing something bad by her and was beaten for it. So, deep down, she feared her and never dared wander in this area.

With these memories, Song Yuyan grew nervous under Aunt Fierce’s scrutinizing gaze.

“Why aren’t you talking? Can’t make it in Xingxian Ward, so you’re planning to mess around here?” Aunt Fierce frowned.

If Song Yuyan didn’t know that “mess around” meant causing trouble here, slightly different from the modern term, she’d have thought Aunt Fierce was a transmigrator too.

She said, “I’m not here to mess around. I just want to find some work.”

Aunt Fierce stared at her. “Stole someone’s vegetables and got caught, so no rice to cook?”

“…” Song Yuyan wanted to say she was wronged, but this body wasn’t. So, she didn’t argue and said earnestly, “I came out today to find some honest work.”

Aunt Fierce snorted and said, “Fine. I have a worker who’s out for two days. If you really want work, you can come to my place for those two days.”

A lifeline in a desperate moment!

Song Yuyan was thrilled and said, “Thank you, Aunt Fierce. I’ll always remember your kindness!”

Aunt Fierce stared at her, muttering, “What’s with the sudden politeness? Got some scheme in mind?”

She didn’t waste more words with Song Yuyan. She called her inside, explaining what to do and talking about the pay.

Since Song Yuyan was just a temporary worker, she’d be paid daily.

Hiring a worker cost thirty wen a day. Though Song Yuyan came after noon, Aunt Fierce’s business happened to start in the evening and end at hai hour, around nine to eleven at night, so the pay was counted as a full day.

Song Yuyan’s tasks were simple. Aunt Fierce sold food, but her small shop wasn’t big enough to run like a restaurant or tavern. To make the business thrive, they had to take the food to various restaurants to sell.

Song Yuyan thought it over. Wasn’t this like those people who came to her table at restaurants, carrying baskets to sell flowers, wine, or peanuts?

The job’s name was “peddling.”

Fine, she’d never done this kind of work, but it wasn’t shady, and survival came first.

____

The restaurants weren’t open yet, so Song Yuyan helped Aunt Fierce with small tasks. When the sun began to set, around four o’clock, Aunt Fierce suddenly handed her some buns.

Did temporary workers get meals too? Song Yuyan was puzzled.

“You’ll be back late tonight. Sun’er and Bing’er won’t have food tonight, right? Take these for them to eat, clean up after, and come back!”

True to the original owner’s memories, Aunt Fierce was brisk and no-nonsense, shooing Song Yuyan out the door. Song Yuyan held the warm buns wrapped in oiled paper, marveling again at how simple and kind most people were!

She thanked Aunt Fierce, noting this kindness, and hurried back to the Song family.

Smoke rose from the Tang family’s roof next door. Song Yuyan paused, then entered her own home.

Seeing no one in the main room, she checked the bedroom and saw Song Yuban hurriedly stuffing something under the bed, then glaring at her. “Why are you back so early?”

Song Yuyan was stunned but understood why he was upset. The original owner was out all day and came home late, so her early return disrupted the two kids’ plans.

She didn’t check under the bed. Song Yuban was ten years old and could have his own secrets. She wouldn’t pry.

Showing the buns, she said, “Hungry? Time to eat.”

Song Yuzhuang’s eyes lit up. He came closer and said, “Smells good!” even though he couldn’t smell anything.

Song Yuyan smiled, but her heart ached. The adults caused all this trouble, and the kids were so innocent!

Song Yuban was wary. “Where’d these buns come from?”

“Aunt Fierce gave them to me. Oh, I’ll be working these next few days, so I might come back late. If anything happens, find me at Aunt Fierce’s shop. You two—”

Song Yuyan paused, remembering these kids weren’t the type to wait for her before sleeping, so she swallowed the rest of her words.

Song Yuban and Song Yuzhuang couldn’t wait to eat the buns, but Song Yuyan saw their dirty hands and made them wash. They were confused and grumpy but gave in to the food’s temptation.

The buns were made of rice flour dough wrapped around filling, like modern “shumai” but a bit bigger. Steamed, the dough was crystal clear, and the filling was fresh and tasty, popular everywhere.

Being near the sea, the filling was mostly seafood. Song Yuyan couldn’t tell what meat it was but tasted some mushrooms.

After the three siblings ate, Song Yuyan found her cleanest clothes. She wanted to bathe, but there were no conditions, so she just wiped herself down, saving the bath for later.

After washing her face, she saw a reflection in the water, a face seven parts like her own, and felt dazed.

They say looks come from the heart. Song Yuyan’s own face was gentle, not stunningly beautiful, but her soft features gave a calm feeling.

But now, this face was sallow and thin, the eyes plain, and though young, the teeth were already yellowing…

Seeing this, Song Yuyan quickly grabbed leftover ginger, dipped it in a paste made from willow branches, and brushed her teeth.

Her mouth burned with ginger, but she felt more at ease.

Before leaving, she told the kids not to play with fire at night and to sleep early.

Song Yuzhuang agreed happily. Song Yuban, still savoring the buns’ flavor, reluctantly agreed for their sake.

The author has something to say: Don’t worry, our Yam will become a beauty.