She went over the plan for that household once more in her mind.
Step one: stir up trouble until the chickens and dogs are restless.
She would start tomorrow.
In the main house, Lin Guozhu was holding a bowl, shoveling rice into his mouth without looking up, and asked, “Everyone eaten?”
“Eaten,” Ding Yuxiang answered smoothly.
She wasn’t lying—she herself had eaten, and her daughter had eaten too. As for whether those two little brats in the woodshed had eaten or not, what did it have to do with her?
It would be better if they went hungry. After starving for a few meals, they’d know who the master of this house was.
Lin Guozhu didn’t ask further. After finishing his meal, he set the bowl on the stove, wiped his mouth, and heard the courtyard gate creak outside.
“Are Mom and Dad back?”
As soon as the words were spoken, Lin Xiaohua’s voice drifted in: “This road is too hard to walk! I’ve even sprained my foot!”
“Hua, Mom will help you, take it slow.” It was Old Mrs. Lin’s voice, filled with affection.
“You just spoil her!” Old Man Lin grumbled from behind.
Lin Guozhu put down his bowl, went to the main room to speak with his parents for a few words, then returned to his room to rest.
From start to finish, no one mentioned the siblings in the woodshed.
And no one knew that Lin Qianqian, with a cloth strip wrapped around her head, was lying on a straw mat, her stomach aching with hunger.
“Gurgle—”
Her stomach growled.
Lin Yulong had sharp ears and heard it immediately: “Sis, are you hungry? I’ll go find you something to eat.”
Lin Qianqian grabbed him: “Don’t go. If you’re caught, you’ll get beaten again.”
“But you…”
“I’ll tough it out,” Lin Qianqian interrupted him. “A-Long, are you hungry?”
Lin Yulong shook his head vigorously: “Sis, I’m not hungry.”
He was lying.
He had only had a bowl of thin porridge in the morning, so watery he could see his reflection. There was nothing at noon, and nothing in the evening either. His stomach had long been empty, his chest sticking to his back.
But he couldn’t say he was hungry. If he did, his sister would give him her food.
The woodshed fell silent. Outside, the wind blew, and the pigs in the pen grunted a couple of times. After a while, a series of “meow, meow” sounds suddenly came.
Lin Qianqian tilted her head to listen: “What’s that noise?”
“Probably a cat in heat,” Lin Yulong said.
The cat’s cries were strange—sometimes long, sometimes short, sometimes high, sometimes low—and it kept crying without leaving. Lin Yulong sat up: “I’ll go take a look and chase it away.”
The woodshed was pitch black. As soon as he stood up, he tripped over some firewood on the ground and nearly fell.
“Be careful,” Lin Qianqian warned.
Lin Yulong felt his way to the door and peeked out.
Under the moonlight, the courtyard was empty. Where was the cat?
Just as he was puzzled, someone at the base of the wall called out to him in a hushed voice: “A-Long! Over here!”
Lin Yulong looked closely—it was Ding Xiaohu, crouching in the shadows, waving at him.
“Brother Xiaohu? It’s so late, why are you here?”
Ding Xiaohu crept over, took two dark objects from his pocket, and stuffed them into his hand. Then he opened his other hand, revealing an egg lying in his palm.
“My mom was worried you’d be hungry, afraid that Ding woman wouldn’t give you food. These are flatbreads, and this—”
Lin Yulong stared at the egg, his eyes nearly popping out: “An egg?”
“My mom said Sister Qianqian is too badly hurt and needs to recover.” Ding Xiaohu handed the egg to him as well.
Lin Yulong clutched the two flatbreads and the egg, his hands trembling slightly: “Thank Auntie… We’ll definitely repay you in the future.”
“What are you talking about!” Ding Xiaohu punched him lightly, “Hurry up and take it! I’ve been pretending to be a cat for so long, and you didn’t even notice.”
Lin Yulong was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh: “So that stray cat just now was you? I thought it was just some mischief!”
“You little rascal, asking for a beating!” Ding Xiaohu made a move to hit him, then quickly pulled back his hand, “I was just afraid your stepmother would find out! Alright, I’m leaving now, hurry back.”
He crouched down and slipped away along the base of the wall.