Roan didn't plan on doing anything as long as the other party kept her mouth shut. Knowing she was willing to buy wild eggs, he encouraged Marco to keep searching the mountains and promised to keep an eye out himself.

  Why pass up a chance to earn money legally? It was an unspoken rule: only a fool turns down a profit.

  The next day, Marco was relieved to find he hadn't been reported. He immediately ran to coax his sister, promising that once he made enough money, he’d buy her tons of candy.

  "I heard there are hard candies that taste like fruit. I wonder what 'fruit flavor' even is," Marco said with a look of longing.

  Sofia was expectant but also a bit dejected. "All I know how to do is twist straw rope and weave mats." She figured the city girls wouldn't want those things.

  "But your rope is the strongest, and your mats are the tightest! Even the purchasing station praises your work. In the entire village of Solana, there’s no girl more skilled or capable than my sister!" Marco couldn't stand seeing Sofia sad and piled on the praise.

  Sofia bit her lip and smiled. She wasn't useless; even if she couldn't see, she could still earn her own way.

  Early the next morning, Marco finished his farm work and headed to the fields to dig for loaches. He was in a hurry to find eggs in the mountains, but he wouldn't break his word. As his brother said: Integrity is everything.

  Loaches were worthless then, but eels could fetch a price. However, he didn't have enough to meet the purchasing station’s quota, so he gave the eels to Elena as a bonus. He kept a bit for himself—Sofia loved the soup, and Roan had promised to cook it today.

  Marco kept his word, and Elena wasn't stingy. She privately bought a handful of candies from Anita, wrapped them in newspaper, and handed them to him.

  Marco was thrilled, but even though Elena saw him gulping in anticipation, he refused to take them. "Give them to me when I bring the wild eggs."

  He hesitated for a moment. "If I find a lot of eggs... can I trade them for cash instead?"

  A kid with backbone, Elena thought, smiling as she tucked the candy away. "Of course you can."

  Loaches weren't an everyday meal since they required precious oil. She kept them in a basin with the eels to let them spit out the grit, planning to eat them every other day.

  Every morning, the camp gathered for an hour of combat support training. Even with the war over, training was mandatory.

  There was also "Ideological Training." They had to learn to identify propaganda dropped by enemy balloons—how much they’d be paid to defect, how much for leaking secrets, or how much for moving across the Rio Sangreza...

  Elena never considered moving. The other side screamed "Freedom," while her side screamed "Democracy." Having lived through the future, Elena knew one thing: Whoever manages the country well and lets the people eat their fill is the good government. Labels didn't matter.

  After training came the back-breaking work of transplanting rice seedlings. Under the labor of steady old oxen, the fields were plowed and ready. The busy season was finally winding down.

  Next came drying the grain and filling the granaries. After that, each camp would get their rations. The newcomers, however, wouldn't get theirs until next year. They had to use their own money or deduct it from future wages.

  This was where the 2,000 Pesos Elena had asked from her mother came in handy. It was more than enough to buy three months of food.

  Before the transplanting was even finished, Major Barda reassigned Elena. She and a few recruits were tasked with drying rice. They hauled it out when the sun was up and rushed it back into the granaries—which were actually air-raid shelters—before sundown. It sounded easy, but chasing the sun and dodging rain clouds meant hauling heavy bags back and forth several times a day. It was grueling work.

  A few days later, the newcomers had settled in with both the locals and the veteran soldiers.

  Sienna was especially cozy with the veteran female soldiers, always linked arm-in-arm with them. Lately, she hadn't even been sleeping at the barracks, though she wasn't stupid enough to move in with them officially without an assignment.

  "I don't know what she's up to with all that social climbing," Lucy grumbled.

  Sienna was always nitpicking Elena. Even when she said something "nice," it sounded foul. She might fool others, but she can't fool me, Lucy thought.

  Elena didn't care. In this life, she wasn't a fool anymore. If Sienna provoked her, she’d snap back; if not, she wouldn't let Sienna ruin her mood.

  Coming back to life at her most desperate moment had cleared Elena’s head. She thought she would spend this life seeking revenge on her family and Sienna. But facing her second chance, she realized she had a healthy body and dreams. Why waste her life staring at Sienna?

  In her past life, Elena died young and alone. Life was hard in the countryside and even harder at home. But before she died, after returning to the city, she hadn't been poor. She’d started as a street peddler, worked her tail off, and built a fortune far larger than most.

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  The reason her family abandoned her wasn't just Sienna and Elias—it was because Elena had donated all her wealth to the poor before she collapsed. Her family had been waiting for her to die so they could inherit her money, only to find she was "broke." To them, a daughter without money was just a burden.

  In this life, Elena just wanted to eat well, drink well, and live her best life. Her only regret was not seeing Sienna and Elias’s miserable marriage with her own eyes.

  No matter, Elena thought. In this life, even if Sienna doesn't want Elias, I’ll make sure they end up together.

  "Forget her," Elena said. "Marco brought two crucian carp today. How do you want them?"

  To Elena, food was the priority. You need to eat to be healthy.

  Lucy touched her filling cheeks and sighed. She never thought she’d gain weight away from her parents. Her family was the poorest in their village. "You don't have much money, Elena. Spend it wisely."

  Elena hugged Lucy’s arm, leaning her head on her shoulder. "I'll listen to you, Sister Lucy," she said in a sugary-sweet voice.

  Lucy got goosebumps and glared at her. "You're not even eighteen yet—where did you learn to sound so seductive?"

  Roan, busy working in a nearby ditch, felt his skin crawl as he watched the two women acting so close. He stood up as they walked away. When did Marco get to know these female soldiers?

  As the busy season ended, military training increased to two hours, including knife fighting and rifle aiming. Elena struggled with the physical intensity, but she pushed through. She knew it was good for her body.

  Then came the room assignments. The recruits had been sleeping in the air-raid shelters, which was dangerous—one stray spark near the ammunition depot could mean disaster and court-martials for the officers.

  The military quarters were ideally situated, encircled by rice paddies, rolling hills, and a shimmering river. These were once grand mansions of wealthy families, abandoned during the war. Though spacious, they were now teeming with veteran soldiers and married couples.

  Since there were six newcomers but only five beds, one female soldier had to live with a local farm family.

  "Major, let Sienna stay with me," a short-haired veteran named Camila spoke up. "We're both from Vandora, so we have similar habits."

  Major Barda was considering drawing lots for fairness, but this spoiled that plan. He was annoyed. Still, he couldn't get angry—it made sense for a veteran to pick a fellow townsman.

  Sienna didn't pack immediately. She looked at Barda. "Camila, thank you for looking out for me, but I’ll follow the Major’s orders."

  Barda felt better and looked at Sienna more kindly. "Sienna will move in with the veterans."

  Sienna smirked, exchanging a look with Camila.

  Barda then looked at Elena, Anita, and Lucy. Anita and Lucy looked healthy, but Elena was frail and pale. He wanted to keep Elena in the camp so they could watch her if she got sick.

  Lucy had a different idea. If Elena was forced to live with farmers, Lucy would go instead. Living with strangers felt unsafe, but she wouldn't let Elena suffer. She was about to volunteer when Elena spoke up.

  "Major Barda, isn't there an empty house in the village? I’ll move there."

  Everyone froze. An empty house?

  "Near the back of the hill. Those two small cabins. They look deserted." Elena pointed, and Barda realized which ones she meant.

  They were sturdy houses built by a rich man for his mountain guards. They had only been empty for a year. The last tenant was a lonely old man who had died inside—his body wasn't found for three days. Ever since, the village said it was haunted.

  Sienna’s smirk widened. She had been plotting how to kick Elena out, and here Elena was, jumping into a "ghost house" herself.

  "No way!" Lucy cried out. She’d heard the stories—ghastly screams and ghost noises at night. Plus, the cabins were isolated. Mountain guards were usually huge men to fend off thieves, wild boars, and wolves. A girl living there alone was target practice.

  "Your health is poor. You stay in camp; I'll go," Lucy insisted.

  Elena thought for a moment. "Major Barda, can two people stay there? If the barracks are full, Lucy and I can move there together. We’re from the same village and were high school classmates."

  Since he’d made an exception for Sienna, he couldn't easily refuse them.

  Barda frowned. The house was isolated but technically bordered the village. Its nearest neighbor was Roan and his siblings. But he said, "Don't be ridiculous. You’ll be assigned to a farmhouse."

  Elena knew that in her past life, Lucy had lived with a farm family and it had ended badly.

  "Major, the farmers are struggling. Us moving in is a burden, not help. We're here to support the border, not drag it down. We can take care of ourselves," Elena said, her voice soft but firm.

  Barda was torn. No farm family actually wanted a female soldier in their house, and the soldiers didn't want to be there either. Letting the two of them live together seemed okay, but he would have preferred sending men. But the men were already in a large room with two empty beds.

  What a headache...

  "Fine," Barda sighed. "I agree."