Qin Jiao's heart ached with a sense of helplessness. It was just the beginning, but simply eating a few meals with meat and knowing that Qin Xiaotao could no longer bully her was enough to make her sister feel happy.
'Such a sweet, simple child, so easily satisfied.'
Qin Jiao patted the little topknot on her sister's head. "From now on, our Xiao Shi will be even happier."
"I want you to be happy too, Sis, and Mom and Dad! All four of us, happy together!"
"Okay."
After they finished foraging, Qin Shi went to wait for Qin Jiao at the foot of the mountain. Qin Jiao had told her she couldn't bring their haul home, otherwise their aunt and the others would surely make a fuss. She had to hide it first.
Qin Shi had complete faith in her older sister now, believing whatever she said.
Then, when no one was around, Qin Jiao transferred everything into her space.
Her space was now piled high with wild vegetables, mushrooms, and many kinds of nuts. All told, the collection should sell for a good amount of money.
'Of course, this is just the beginning, and it's not much money. Once I have some starting capital, I'll be able to do so much more.'
The sisters headed back to the village together. On the way, someone called out to them, "Your parents are back, and it looks like one of them is hurt."
Qin Jiao froze, then immediately grabbed her sister's hand and hurried home.
In her previous life, her parents had also come back around this time. But because of the incident with Shen Yi, she had been expelled from school and was too ashamed to come home, so she'd gone to stay with a classmate for a long time instead.
She only found out later that her parents had returned for a visit, and that her father, Qin Zhonghui, had burned his hand. But he'd been so worried and overwhelmed by what was happening with his daughter that he neglected the injury.
Because it wasn't treated in time, the wound became infected and festered, leaving him with a permanent injury that prevented him from ever chopping vegetables again.
Qin Jiao's parents worked as cooks in another city.
'This time, no matter what, I have to convince Dad to go to the hospital and get it properly checked out.'
As she got back to the house, just as she expected, she could hear her father, Qin Zhonghui, saying with a laugh, "It's nothing serious. It'll be fine after a little rest."
Mr. Qin said coldly, "You were too careless."
Qin Zhonghui just gave an honest, good-natured smile.
Meanwhile, their aunt muttered under her breath, "With an injured hand, does this mean he can't go out and earn money anymore?"
Su Yun frowned. She felt the hidden barb in her sister-in-law's words, but when she saw her husband, Qin Zhonghui, shake his head at her, she held her tongue.
They would always endure it, but from the moment she was reborn, Qin Jiao had no intention of enduring anything.
Carrying her basket and leading her sister by the hand, she walked in and said loudly, "Wow, you're so concerned about our family, Auntie. But it's fine if my dad can't earn money for a little while. After giving Grandpa so much money, he deserves a break."
The moment Qin Jiao's words fell, the expressions on several people's faces changed.
The reason was simple: Mr. Qin had taken most of the money Qin Zhonghui and his wife had given him out of filial respect and handed it over to his third son and daughter-in-law.
Otherwise, how could they afford to play cards and eat meat every day?
Mr. Qin cleared his throat. "You two just got back. Go to your room and rest."
The old man was an expert at quelling disputes. He immediately put on his patriarch face, trying to sweep the whole affair under the rug.
With that, he picked up his long-stemmed pipe and left, effectively shutting down any further discussion on the matter.
Feng Lan, however, glanced at the empty baskets belonging to Qin Jiao and her sister and couldn't resist saying, "You two go up the mountain every day. What have you been doing up there? You didn't bring anything back?"
It wasn't that she needed the wild vegetables; she just couldn't stand the sight of that girl, Qin Jiao.
Qin Jiao set down her basket and said calmly, "That's right, we didn't find any. Wasted half the day for nothing. If I'd known, I would've been better off like Auntie, just watching people play cards at the general store."
"What's a kid like you doing watching card games!" Feng Lan shot Qin Jiao a glare and stormed off.
Su Yun, however, listened to their exchange, a thoughtful expression on her face.
Qin Jiao's family of four had no choice but to retreat to their room in the west wing of the back courtyard. After closing the door, Qin Jiao said gravely, "Dad, you have to go to the hospital. You can't delay treatment for that hand."
"It's fine, it's just a burn. It'll get better with some rest."