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墨書 Inktalez
"Are you hungry? Grandma will go make you something to eat!" the old lady asked with concern.
Without waiting for Liu Qingxi to respond, she rolled up her sleeves and turned to leave. In this unfamiliar environment, Liu Qingxi felt warmth for the first time, and suddenly her eyes became moist.
Since Grandma left, no one had ever asked her with such care. When she returned home from work, she was always faced with cold walls, and even the air felt lonely.
Following the old lady's footsteps, Liu Qingxi saw her cooking on a makeshift stove. It was not quite right to call it a stove; it was simply a few stones piled together with a hole left for placing a pot, beside which were several bundles of firewood.
The old lady quickly got a fire going and then turned back to the cave. After a while, she brought out a blackened bowl filled with something unrecognizable.
But seeing Liu Qingyan's pitiful gaze beside her, Liu Qingxi knew that this half bowl of unknown substance was very important to this family; in the eyes of children, it was a rare delicacy.
Before long, the old lady finished preparing the porridge and carefully served it: "Come on, eat it while it's hot! You haven't eaten for quite some time!"
Receiving the steaming black porridge, Liu Qingxi didn't know how to start. To be honest, this bowl of porridge had no smell at all; even in the most difficult times in modern life, she had never eaten anything so terrible.
However, this bowl of porridge was different for this family; it was made from what everyone could spare.
In that moment of distraction, the old lady's next action stunned her. The Qin Family feared waste and rinsed the pot with hot water before pouring it out and handing it to Yan.
"Old man, you should eat this; we can't waste it!"
"Oh no, I'm not eating. I'm not hungry. I'll eat when the kids come back!" This body’s grandfather Yan was thin and gaunt, his eyes lacking spirit. Faced with this bowl that barely had a few black grains visible at the bottom, he felt both sorrow and longing.
But in the end, he held back: "I'm an adult now; we can't waste it. You hurry up and put it away inside so it doesn't spill and get wasted!"
"Alright!" The Qin Family carefully took the bowl inside, holding it as if it were a treasure. Yes, even that little bit of food stuck to the pot was incredibly precious to them.
Watching this scene made Liu Qingxi's nose tingle; she felt moved and nostalgic.
She had never seen such a scene in her past life, but from her grandmother's stories, she knew that during the most difficult years of famine, they would rinse their bowls after meals and drink from them again. In even harder times, they would dig up tree roots and peel bark to eat—similar to the current situation of this family.
The Qin Family soon came out of the cave and saw Liu Qingxi still hadn’t started eating: "Xier, don’t just stand there! Hurry up and eat before it gets cold!"
"Alright, I'll eat now!" Under the old man's expectant gaze, Liu Qingxi held the bowl and reluctantly opened her mouth to take a sip.
It was indeed quite unappetizing, but considering this body was starving, there was no sense of discomfort. The natural craving led her to drink half a bowl before she slowed down.
Seeing Liu Qingyan's envious little eyes beside her, Liu Qingxi couldn't help but smacked her lips and swallowed. She handed the bowl over, saying, "Brother, you eat!"
"Sister, I won't eat. Grandma said you've been hungry for a long time, and I just ate this morning." After swallowing another big gulp of saliva, Liu Qingyan held back.
The expression of a child who craved food yet resisted eating made Liu Qingxi feel sorry. "You should eat; I've had enough!"
Seeing that Liu Qingxi didn't seem to be lying, Liu Qingyan smiled happily and took the bowl and chopsticks, ready to dig in. But just then...
A group of people slowly approached the cave, their footsteps becoming clearer.
Upon hearing the footsteps, Liu Qingyan hurriedly tried to hide the bowl, but there was nowhere to conceal it...
This was a makeshift fenced yard; everything inside could be seen clearly from afar. There was no time left.
Just as Liu Qingxi stared blankly at Liu Qingyan's flustered movements, a sharp voice rang out: "What are you two doing? What do you have behind you?"
Then a thin black woman strode over, her eyebrows raised, nose high, and thin lips. Liu Qingyan stood with his hands behind his back in front of the woman like a lamb waiting for slaughter.
"Uh... Aunt, I’m not hiding anything!" Little Guy stammered in response.
It turned out this woman was Wang Shi, the wife of Liu Eldest. It was said she had a bad temper and was sharp-tongued, treating Liu Qingxi and her brother poorly and often not allowing them to eat.
"If you're not hiding anything, why are you stammering? Why are your hands behind your back? Show me!" As she spoke, the woman reached out to grab Liu Qingyan's arm.
The boy was small and skinny; he was no match for an adult. The bowl hidden behind him was snatched away by the woman. "I knew you were hiding something! So you’ve been sneaking food at home. You little brat! Not only do you not work, but you also dare to steal food at home."
After saying that, without caring about the many people present, Wang Shi slapped Liu Qingyan. She felt furious; she had worked hard climbing the mountain for food while these two little brats secretly cooked for themselves. This bowl of porridge could feed a person for an entire day.
Just as her hand was an inch away from Liu Qingyan's face, a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed hers: "Aunt, it’s my fault; don’t hit my brother!"
Though it had only been a moment, in her heart Liu Qingxi had already regarded Liu Qingyan as her brother. Therefore, she couldn't just stand by and watch him get hit.
She was actually very weak, and pulling on Wang's arm took all her strength.
Wang was already angry, and being suddenly grabbed only fueled her rage!
"Well, one after another, ungrateful wretches! I can't say anything about this. Tell me, what have you two been doing? One is lying in bed, and the other can't do anything. I still have to provide for your food and shelter. Is this how you repay me? Why am I so unfortunate?
You shameless little wretch, being lazy and daring to steal! Just wait until I beat you for being both lazy and greedy!" After saying this, Wang rushed at Liu Qingxi.
This scene left Liu Qingxi stunned; she had never encountered someone like this before, who would resort to violence without a second thought.
Already weak, she was thrown to the ground by Wang's arm, and the impact caused her hand to hurt from hitting the small stones on the ground.
This sudden blow left Liu Qingxi's mind blank; under Wang's slap, she had no power to resist.
At that moment, others looked on coldly as Liu Qingxi was beaten, as if it were a common occurrence.
Having already fallen into despair, Liu Qingxi felt a dull pain in her hand. With Wang's merciless slaps, she slowly closed her eyes, perhaps hoping to return to her previous life...
Just when she was about to sink into utter despair...
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