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墨書 Inktalez
The two of them cautiously entered the cave and lay down on their wooden beds, completely unnoticed by the people inside.
After eating, Liu Qingxi felt much better. Having bled so much and worked all day, he quickly fell asleep.
The next morning, just as dawn broke, Liu Qingxi was awakened from his sweet dreams by a loud voice: "Get up, get up! Stop pretending to be dead and hurry up to work!"
It was Aunt Wang's unique voice, the very command that Liu Qingyan feared the most.
The siblings resigned themselves to getting out of bed and listened to Wang's orders: "Today, both of you will come with me to the mountains to find food. If you don’t go, you won’t eat today. I won’t raise you for nothing."
"Yes, Aunt! We will go with you!" Liu Qingxi helped Liu Qingyan get ready, shouldered a bamboo basket, and followed the Liu family out.
Fortunately, after last night's meal and a good night's rest, they felt much more energetic. Otherwise, carrying such a large basket would have been exhausting.
Along the way, Wang was picky about everything, her nose wrinkled and her eyes narrowed. The siblings silently endured it.
Even Liu Laosi and Liu Laowu were not spared from Wang's nagging. After all, anyone who didn’t contribute would eventually have to rely on her sons for support.
In summary, everyone had to work hard to find food; otherwise, she held the power in the household and could decide who would eat and who wouldn’t.
Liu Laosi and Liu Laowu appeared to be honest men; with their elder sister acting like a mother, they dared not resist. Their wives also looked timid.
This made Liu Qingxi realize that in this family, only the First Branch and Second House had a say; everyone else had to follow orders. Even Yan and the Qin family had to give face to Wang.
Moreover, the shocking scene from yesterday reinforced Liu Qingxi's understanding that she and her brother had the least status in this household and lived the hardest lives.
No, she must change her current situation by relying on herself. She didn’t want to live under oppression forever, especially with her younger brother being so small; he deserved a better future.
However, the immediate priority was to understand this family and this era. She needed to establish a firm footing before considering anything else; she couldn’t be too eager for quick results.
While lost in thought, the group reached a narrow path that twisted and turned endlessly ahead.
Various weeds grew abundantly along the roadside as the adults of the Liu family continued upward without stopping.
Everyone knew that all edible things below had already been picked clean by villagers; only what was higher up might still be left behind. Their goal was halfway up the mountain.
The path was bumpy and overgrown with weeds, making it difficult to walk. Before long, Liu Qingxi and Liu Qingyan were exhausted. They hadn't eaten anything since they got up in the morning, and what little they had eaten the day before had long been digested.
However, Wang couldn't stand it any longer. "You two, hurry up! You're so precious, can't even do a bit of work? If you can't keep up, just give up! Hurry up, or you won't get any food today!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Qingxi gritted her teeth and pulled Liu Qingyan along to catch up with the group, feeling a wave of shortness of breath. She knew they were walking too fast.
But to avoid Wang's scolding, they could only persist and keep moving forward.
Suddenly, Liu Qingxi felt a lightness on her back. Looking up, she saw a dark-skinned man helping her carry the basket on her back. She recognized him as Liu Laosi.
She didn't expect this quiet man to actually lend a hand. Liu Qingxi felt grateful but didn't say much; Wang was like a firecracker and only seemed pleased when she saw the siblings struggling.
At that moment, she dared not provoke her and simply smiled at Liu Laosi to express her thanks.
Liu Laosi said nothing. In this family, he and Liu Laowu were like invisible men. They never hesitated to work hard and never fought for attention. Perhaps Liu Laowu lacked confidence because he had no sons, but Liu Qingxi couldn't understand why Liu Laosi didn't resist.
Not understanding was better than wasting brain cells on it.
Fortunately, Wang didn't look back again; perhaps she thought the siblings were tired from her yelling.
After about half an hour of walking, they finally reached a spot halfway up the mountain. At this point, the sky had just brightened, and looking down from their vantage point, Village seemed very far away.
Everyone was experienced; they spoke little and directly carried their baskets, spreading out to search for food—edible wild vegetables and fruits—collecting everything without complaint.
Compared to villagers with fields, this was the source of food for the Liu family, and everyone did their best to find something.
Liu Qingxi initially thought there would be plenty of wild vegetables on the mountain, but she was mistaken.
She hadn't realized that in this impoverished era, wild vegetables were considered valuable by common people; they could be dug up for free as long as one was willing to put in the effort. Almost all the edible wild plants on the mountain had already been picked clean.
Fortunately, having lived in the countryside during her childhood, Liu Qingxi recognized some edible wild vegetables. She led Liu Qingyan in another direction.
Years of overgrowth made the rugged mountain path truly difficult to navigate. Learning from others to be cautious of snakes and similar creatures, Liu Qingxi picked up a stick to tap around her before continuing onward.
During their search, the Liu family encountered many villagers who were also climbing the mountain to find food during this non-planting season to conserve grain.
Regardless of circumstances, the villagers of Ten Li Pu had taken them in; the Liu family felt grateful and treated every villager with respect.
The always arrogant Wang family was the same; they were fierce at home but dared not confront outsiders. She feared the kind of life that comes with being displaced. If the villagers of Ten Li Pu forced them to leave, her family would have no way to survive. She kept smiling and greeting the villagers.
At this moment, Liu Qingxi felt emotional; the Wang family wasn't foolish, just too unreasonable.
“Xiao Yan, dig up that one; it's edible!” Liu Qingxi was busy with her own tasks while teaching Liu Qingyan. Although small and thin, seven-year-old Liu Qingyan worked quite skillfully.
“Okay, sister, look! I’ve dug up so many!” Liu Qingyan said proudly. Previously, no one had taught him which plants were good to eat and which were not, so he often faced criticism.
The delicious food Liu Qingxi brought last night made him admire her greatly; he believed everything his sister said!
As they climbed higher, they found more wild vegetables and fruits. Liu Qingxi didn’t miss a single one. Gradually, the sun rose higher until it hung directly overhead.
At this point, the siblings were sweating profusely and had moved farther away from the Liu family, unable to see any trace of them: “Sister, when are we going home?”
Being young, Liu Qingyan couldn’t hold back anymore and pouted as if he wanted to cry.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. Aunt and the others haven’t called us back yet; let’s wait a little longer!”
However, after waiting for another half an hour, there was still no sign of movement around them, and Liu Qingxi began to feel anxious.
It was already afternoon; why hadn’t they gone home yet? What should they do?
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