When Anna returned home and saw the dilapidated house made of stone and wood, she couldn't help but sigh.

They were so poor.

A gentle female voice came from inside, "Who is it?"

"Mom, it's me, Anna," Anna quickly responded.

She endured the pain on her knee and slowly walked in. The woman from inside had already come out.

Her name is Gayle. Though only in her early thirties, she was already the mother of six children—two of whom had died young. The hardships of life had left her with rough skin and a perpetually tired expression, and the same colored eyes as Anna's were filled with an unshakeable weariness.

But upon seeing her eldest daughter, Gayle's blue eyes softened a bit.

"Anna, did you find a job?" she asked with concern.

Anna shook her head. "They said I wasn't strong enough."

She had been searching for two days but had found nothing.

"Don't worry," Gayle comforted her. "Your father and I both have jobs, We're not in dire need of money right now."

Anna nodded, hiding her anxiety and not mentioning the terrifying encounter she had just had.

Gayle went back to her handicraft work, one of the family's steady sources of income, while Anna returned to her room.

Well, calling it her room wasn't quite accurate. The small house had only two bedrooms. Her parents occupied one, while she shared the other with her siblings.

Inside the room, her seven-year-old sister Adele was playing with the youngest brother, little Evan. Seeing Anna, Adele ran over and hugged her. "Anna!"

"Adele, have you been good today?" Anna patted Adele's head and asked with a smile.

Adele looked up, her sky-blue eyes inherited from Gayle blinking, and replied in her childish voice, "Adele is always good! And little Evan was very good today too!"

"That's great. Could you get me a jar of water?" Anna smiled.

"Okay!" Adele didn't ask why. She let go of Anna and ran out.

Anna sat on the bed, and little Evan clung to the bed's edge beside her, his tiny hands gripping her skirt, calling her in his baby voice, "Anna!"

Anna smiled and tapped little Evan's nose, feeling the pain in her knee lessen.

Little Evan giggled incessantly, nearly toppling over. Anna quickly grabbed him.

The hardships had indeed made these children mature early, making them heartbreakingly well-behaved.

Adele was still too young and could only watch over three-year-old Evan. Her other brother, Jem, was just ten but already helped at their father Evan's tavern, saving a meal and earning three or four copper coins a day.

Before Anna's transmigration, her original self had worked odd jobs with Gayle, earning only a dozen copper coins daily. Her father Evan, as a bartender, sometimes received tips, making about five or six silver coins a month. Yet, with the large family, daily food alone cost nearly twenty copper coins. Plus, the mandatory head tax to the lord and other miscellaneous expenses left them with just one or two silver coins saved by the month's end. In such conditions, no one could afford to fall ill; the potions prescribed by doctors were priced in silver coins.

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The basic currency units in this world were gold coins, silver coins, and copper coins, with each having a value of one hundred of the previous. In Anna's memory, she had never even touched a gold coin.

Gayle told Anna not to worry, but how could she not worry?

Their family had extremely poor resilience to risks; the slightest disturbance could plunge this seemingly well-fed family into the abyss.

That's why Anna had to go out every day, trying to find a job to save money. Once she understood this world better, she would think about ways to get rich. Although she had inherited the original body's memories, her activities were too limited by her social class, and her knowledge was too scarce.

Adele came back, panting, with a jar of water. Anna took it, and as soon as she lifted her skirt, Adele gasped and covered her face. "Anna, what happened to you?"

Anna's fall earlier had been quite hard; her knee was scraped, and the red blood had stained the lining of her skirt. She was just glad the skirt itself wasn't torn.

"Shh, don't shout so loudly. If Mom hears, she'll worry." Anna quickly whispered to Adele. She couldn't hide it from Adele since they shared a room, but she didn't want to worry anyone else. It was just a minor injury, and it would heal in a couple of days.

Adele's eyes widened, and she tightly covered her mouth, nodding vigorously.

Little Evan imitated her, pressing his tiny hand over his mouth and widening his sky-blue eyes.

Anna couldn't help but smile. While cleaning the wound, she bit her lip to avoid showing any pain and maintained her composure as the big sister, so as not to worry her younger siblings.

Little Evan squeezed closer and carefully blew on Anna's knee, mumbling, "No more pain, no more pain!"

It seemed like his words had magic power, as Anna felt the pain in her knee lessen.

In this world, there was very little entertainment for poor. Since Anna couldn't find work and there was nothing to play with, she began to clean the house once her knee stopped hurting.

Just as she swept the dirt to the door, she noticed a boy peeking in. When their eyes met, the boy froze, looking a bit embarrassed. He quickly averted his gaze but soon turned back and called softly, "Anna."

Anna recognized him from her memories. He was Little Tim, the son of Old Tim, the bakery owner. Compared to her family, his was much better off.

In this neighborhood, Anna was the prettiest unmarried girl, and Little Tim would often give her things to express his feelings.

Anna walked over, and as she got closer, she smelled the sweet scent of bread, causing her mouth to water.

She used to hate eating bread, but now, just smelling the sweet scent of wheat bread made her crave it.

After all, she had been eating rough, throat-scratching, awful-tasting rye bread every day.

Little Tim handed her a palm-sized wheat bread, shaped neatly in an oval, soft and fragrant, emitting an enticing "eat me, I'm delicious" aroma.

"Anna, this is for you!" Little Tim mumbled, not daring to look her in the eye, his ears turning bright red.

Perhaps the original body was still naive about love, but how could Anna not see Little Tim's shy yet sincere feelings?

But she was only focused on making money now!

She resisted the hunger in her stomach and didn't reach out to take the bread.

Instead, she said, "Did you sneak this out without your father's permission? Take it back, or he'll scold you."

Little Tim didn't expect Anna to refuse. His emerald green eyes dimmed, and at the mention of his father, he shrank back slightly. Then suddenly, he forced the wheat bread into Anna's hand and ran off.

"Little Tim!" Anna couldn't stop him and sighed.

This small wheat bread cost seven or eight copper coins. If it were rye bread, it could be exchanged for three or four loaves of the same volume, enough to feed her whole family for a meal. But this bread was just a small treat.

Anna made a mental note to repay Little Tim's kindness when she became successful in the future. As she turned around, she saw a girl nearby, glaring at her with hostility.

When Anna turned, the girl didn't hide. Instead, she strode over, her chin raised with disdain. "Hmph, it's just a white bread. When I become a maid in the lord's household, I can eat this every day!"

Anna remembered this girl named Lily. Lily was the same age as her, with straw-colored hair and a face full of freckles. Jealous of Anna's beauty, Lily had always been at odds with her, aiming to outshine her.

Anna tried to walk past her. But Lily, eager to flaunt, blocked her way and said, "I'm not lying! My Aunt works at the Earl's mansion, and she recommended me for a job in the kitchen there. I won't even look at such lousy white bread in the future!"

Anna had no intend to respond to Lily, but hearing this, she paused and asked, "Is the kitchen at the Earl's mansion hiring?"