Chapter 22: Hidden
“A place that other’s can’t find?” Yuhang’s eyes lit up at his sister’s suggestion.
Since he could remember, he knew that every time he collected food, he wouldn’t be able to eat so much as a bite of it, so his parents would purposely eat less and give their portions to him.
This was the first time I ate so much! But hunger could not be resolved with just one good meal, so it wasn’t a long-term solution! The impending feeling of hunger made him feel a sense of crisis.
“Okay! Let’s take a part of the vegetables back, and then put the rest in a place that only we know. When we feel hungry, we can come and eat some!” Bailian ruffled Yuhang’s hair, her heart panging in sympathy for her young innocent brother.
“But….” Yuhang froze and began to tremble.
As if he had just remembered something terrible.
He had thought of that old lady at home. If she found him hiding and eating food, she would most definitely beat him just like before!
“These harvests are the fruits of our own labor. It should all be ours Didn’t Father just agree with my idea of making money and keeping it for ourselves? And you think they will just stand by? Is it fair for us to be beaten even though we work the most?” Bailian calmly looked into Yuhang’s fearful eyes, her voice gentle as she reasoned to her brother.
If she wanted to change the Third Branch’s future, she would have to start from the very beginning and try to change the Third Branch’s point of view little by little, inch by inch. Yuhang was the eldest son of the Third Branch, and his decisions would determine the Third Branch’s future!
The Third Master was very simple and honest and would suffer sooner or later. But Yuhang and Yuyang could still be persuaded to think otherwise.
“Unfair….I want to eat meat too!” Yuhang’s head swayed back and forth as if thinking of something delicious, a look of yearning appearing on his gaunt face.
Bailian mentally slapped her forehead, this Li Family is really too much!
In the original owner’s memory, the siblings had never eaten or tasted meat, but only smelled it whenever the Li Family made some…
“Then it’s decided! Sister will get some meat, you two should go dig for wild vegetables first,” Bailian waved her hand and pointed at the surrounding land, “Don’t wander too far!”
“Sister, really?” Yuhang’s eyes were bright with expectation.
Yuyang also similarly looked up at Bailian with eyes full of longing.
“Of course” Bailian assured them, nodding her chin up and down. There were a lot of aquatic resources in the river in her dimensional space, they would definitely be very beneficial for the body.
She had also consumed lotus seeds and dragon fruit in her space, even drinking some spiritual spring water. After she came out, it felt like a warm, nourishing current was running throughout her body, strengthening her slowly.
This flowing energy was similar to the internal strength one developed from martial arts, but there were still some differences. Nonetheless, she could tell it was very good for her.
In the modern world, she had possessed some internal strength, but it wasn’t very much. She was only able to become a senior agent by heavily depending on her unparalleled medical skills and various abilities.
I thought it would take a long time to cultivate internal strength in this world, but I didn’t expect to be able to do it just by eating and drinking. This is too much of a cheat ah!
Being able to snap a broom and smash the pear tree wood table was also thanks to the internal energy coursing through her body. This space must be a real treasure!
Yuhang and Yuyang are way too thin for their age, they needed lots of food to make up for their years of malnourishment and stunted growth.
When Yuhang and Yuhang heard that there was meat waiting for them, they happily started to plow over the soil using rocks and branches they got nearby.
After all, they were still children and naturally felt dependent on their older sister.
Bailian smiled watching the two children dig wild vegetables so earnestly and eagerly.
We can’t force the Li Family, so I’ll have to let the Third Branch suffer a bit longer, gain some sympathy and then it will be much more natural when the family decides to separate.
Of course, during this time, Bailian would secretly treat and fatten up the Third Branch. They’ll look miserable on the outside, but actually contented and happy on the inside.
Bailian hiked up in the direction of the babbling stream, but she was wearing clothing of the ancient times, which had been slowing her down. Bailian picked up the hem of her shabby skirt.
Then taking off her worn-out, patchy cloth shoes, she pulled her pant trousers all the way up. As soon as she pulled them up, Bailian was stunned at the sight.
There were multiple dark and yellow scars on her thin, white ankles, which signified just how serious the injuries must have been.
Bailian quickly rolled up her sleeves, and sure enough, the same was true here.
There were multiple scars and marks on both her arms and legs. Bailian, closed her eyes, concentrating to recall the original owner’s memory. She saw that she had been beaten, often lashed at by a stick or whip. Not only did Matriarch Wang beat her, her sisters from the First and Second Branch would also join in.
The original owner didn’t like to talk and was very shy, so whenever she was beaten, she wouldn’t tell anyone, not even trying to fight back. Even if the Third Branch felt distressed and anxious, they could only helplessly watch on.
Therefore, Bailian had always endured the beatings silently.
She had endured until the Eldest Master’s and her fiance, Scholar Zhang’s, banquet. The beatings had stopped briefly because the Li Family was too busy celebrating that the Eldest Master had passed the exam.
However, in the end, the original owner had died because of Li Xuehua from the First Branch…
Not only did Bailian have plenty of scars, so did the others of the Third Branch. From her memory, Yuhang and Yuyang were beaten no less than her.
The only person who had been beaten the least would be the Third Master.
Matriarch Wang only beat children or women weaker than her, as no one would put up a fight. But she didn’t dare to beat the only laborer of the Li Family, a strong, masculine man whose muscles rippled with power from working in the fields.
Bailian silently rolled her sleeves back down, vowing to avenge the original owner in the future.
Then, Bailian began to put on an act, like she was just fishing on the stream’s banks.
She noticed that there were some fish in the stream, but there were only a couple. After just a glance, she ascertained that the biggest fish wouldn’t be any bigger than her small hand.
Bailian naturally wasn’t fishing for these puny pretty, and once she imagined it, a large fish weighing about one jin ( 1 jin = 500 g= 1.1 pounds) materialized into her outstretched hand.
She briskly threw the fish into the shallows of the stream, still pretending like she was seriously fishing. Every few seconds, she would covertly throw in a new fish into the open stream.
Feeling some regret, Bailian bitterly looked at the various aquatic varieties in her spiritual river, but she could not expose herself, so she could only take out the most inconspicuous species from it.
Of course, even though she had only taken out a few pounds of fish, it had still been a rash move.
Since the fish weren’t very large and fortunately, no one ever ventured this far into the mountainside. Bailian wasn’t planning on showing anyone what she had just done, so she would just monetarily fool the Third Branch and act like she had stumbled upon this group of fish randomly.
Soon after, Bailian “caught” six fresh, plump fish and then stopped.
Glancing at her two silly and naive brothers, from a distance, she saw that they were still attentively and focused on digging at the ground, not even sparing so much as a glance in her direction.
Bailian contemplated for a bit, before taking off her worn and threadbare clothes, washing them downstream of the river. The season was slowly transitioning into autumn, it was a bit chilly, but by circulating the warm spiritual energy in her body, she didn’t feel cold at all.
Although the original owner was very hygienic and kept clean, she could not always take a bath. In a convenient modern world, Bailian always took a bath whenever she had the chance.
If I go even a day without washing, I feel so dirty! Bailian thought this in her heart, sighing in contentment, Maybe I should put a tub in space, it’ll be much more convenient!
A few minutes later, Bailian emerged onshore.
Besides, in ancient times, a woman’s reputation was paramount in deciding one’s future. Although there were only her two silly brothers nearby, if she were seen by others, adding onto what happened at the banquet yesterday, it would become even more troublesome.
Bailian didn’t care whether she wouldn’t be able to marry, but the Third Branch was too good to her, and she was borrowing the body of the original after all, she couldn’t act too presumptuously.
It could affect Yuhang and Yuyang’s future as well!
Bailian tried to use the warm current circulating throughout her small body to dry her clothes, but unfortunately, it was still sopping wet even after ten minutes, so she just gave up.
It’s not a big deal, I’ll just get some more of it from my dimension when I have time!
Bailian scoured the banks for some sturdy branches along the stream’s shallow banks, and after rustling around in the shallows for a while, she found a flat, sharp-edged stream beside the stream.
She quickly used the sharp stone to gut the fish’s head and stomach. Her expertise as a medical expert with high surgery skills made this an easy process. The fish’s viscera and innards were thrown directly into the stream. If she didn’t, the gory smell of innards was bound to attract some unwanted wild beasts in the area.
As a secret service agent, Bailian was highly trained in field survival.
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