Chapter 98: Finally Home
A/N: Month 1 is done! Thank you soo much for supporting the story so far! HUGSS! Special thanks to the gifters, voters, commetors, and reviewers! Each one is super helpful to the story!
Shout out to May2026’s Top 3 Golden gifters Michelle_Clark_3206, SandraSom, and LilaB~
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Naia arrived home before dusk the next day. During this time, she breezed through a few malls with several bags on hand, adding to her stockpile bit by bit.
She had also bought several orders of ready-made food from different stores. This would become her habit every time she went out and passed by an area.
It was easier to take in a cubic meter worth of perishable goods every day than cramming them all at the end.
For one, since they were pre-made, the time and labor force required to make all that food became less of a hindrance. There were also fewer explanations required.
With her static area increasing in size, there was new space to fill with perishables. She also got shelves made for them (having an in-house engineer was awesome). She also got Glen to make racks that could store takeout food better.
It was amazing, even the nachos doused with cheese were still deliciously crunchy a few days later, and they were stored very well.
She got Glen and Gale out, too, to order along with her. They also bought batches of medicine, adding bit by bit on that too.
Speaking of this, she sent a message to Kael, asking him if he had a way to mass purchase medicine, so she didn’t have to go through this trouble.
A second later, he called, just to respond that he indeed had a way.
"..."
From Lotus Town, she drove to the village in her van. It was a typical van, but it did get a few curious looks from villagers.
Interestingly, when she got home, her uncle was already there! This was the first time she saw the man since coming here, and she had heard good things.
He looked exhausted, though, and he looked ten years older than his actual age.
He was a foreman for a construction firm and he was hired on a per-project basis in another city.
She smiled. She had a civil engineer inside and if she added a construction foreman, then she practically had a construction team, right?
Anyway, his work was project-based, and it so happened that he did not have a new job, so he went back. When she arrived, he was working out and doing exercises with his children.
Speaking of the twins, when they saw the van, they looked curious, but when Naia emerged from it, their eyes sparkled.
"BIG SIS!"
"SESTRA!"
They were drenched in sweat from exercise and she looked at them in disdain, pretty much smacking their faces with unused towels from the space.
After they wiped off the sweat and grime, the twins went over to hug her as if they hadn’t seen her in several months.
"Missed youuuu!"
"Where did you gooo?"
The two chattered like this to the point that Naia had no idea which question to respond to, first.
Speaking of which, considering this body was a few months shy of 20 years old, and these two were 18, they really make it sound like she was a generation older. Even in her past life, her age was still within the same generation, right?
Marcus was a little startled at his children’s energetic behavior before walking towards his niece.
"You must be Naia," Uncle Marcus said, smiling at her. "I’ve heard a lot about you."
"Hello, Uncle," she greeted with a smile, handing everyone the souvenirs she bought from Varma. These were simple accessories she bought from the market there.
They were quite affordable, but because it was from a town abutting mines, even the common penchants were legitimate stones. They simply didn’t pass the stringent ’quality checks’ of those purchased by jewelry stores.
She gave Grandma a beautiful jade bracelet, Linlin beautiful ruby earrings, while the men received cool-looking pendants they could wear on their bags or belts.
They were touched by the gift, though they flinched when they realized...the accessories looked like the real thing?
"This...these are real jade and gems?"
She smiled. "I won a lot from those stone opening things. Trust me: I got a lot of money. This is chump change!"
Grandma was particularly startled by the excessively valuable ’souvenirs’ but did not make a fuss about them being too expensive. It was the child’s heart, after all.
Uncle was also embarrassed to have received such a gift from the younger generation, especially when what he prepared were just...stationaries the shop owner said young girls liked.
He just put a mental note to make it up to her later.
"I heard my children talk a lot about you," Marcus said, helping her put away her things.
"You raised them well, Uncle," she said. "I quite like interacting with them."
Considering his conditions and what he had been through, he had indeed raised them well. Sure, Hans was a bit of a sissy and Linlin could get a bit violent at times, but those were minor issues.
This man was a single father with two kids. It could not have been easy.
Not to mention, he was single because his wife betrayed him and left their children to him in order to marry a rich family, which was also tantamount to declaring he was incompetent.
"My mom did the raising," Marcus answered with a humble stance while he gave her a few snacks from the table. She looked at the snacks and sweets on the table. They were take-home gift from uncle, no doubt.
It was not too expensive, but for this household’s capabilities, it was not inexpensive either. Her uncle, at least, knew when to appreciate and not to take for granted, which was very good.
How could his sister, Auntie Michi, be so different from him? She remembered her mother was also a very gentle woman.
Was it a genetic mutation or something?
