Although Ye Qingning’s hands itched to act, she made no move. Instead, she went to a small eatery to have breakfast.
It was still daytime—she could not create panic.
She casually tossed a stack of Japanese military currency at the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper thought: This must be some collaborator’s family member, treating money like nothing.
Ye Qingning thought: Isn’t everyone paying with military notes anyway? Why is the boss smiling so fake when I gave so many?
Then she came to a conclusion: Who the hell actually likes this worthless forced military currency?
So that’s how it was. No wonder the Japanese were distributing it so casually.
She decided: once she recovered everything, she would take all of it and spend it in Japan.
The Japanese said military notes were money and could not be refused—fine then.
Thinking this, her mood instantly improved. She slowed down and enjoyed her breakfast while listening to gossip around her.
“I heard another one died yesterday… and quite a few Japanese soldiers too…”
“Good riddance.”
“How many high-ranking officials have been assassinated this year already?”
“Better for them all to die.”
“Shh! Keep your voice down! Do you want to get arrested?”
“They arrest people for questioning all the time now. Everyone’s scared. Look, people are going out in groups now, no one dares to be alone.”
“Best if they all get out of Hua Country.”
“Not that easy.”
“I just hope they don’t come up with more evil tricks.”
“Life’s already hard enough. I still haven’t been paid last month…”
“Speaking of wages, did you hear? Today a lot of rich people and former officials went to foreign banks to withdraw money.”
“Something happened?”
“I heard the bank vaults were robbed!”
“Wow, that must involve a lot of fighters. Yet there was no movement at all.”
“That’s just what I heard.”
“Can the money still be withdrawn?”
“I heard people all came back empty-handed, but the banks gave a date.”
“The Foreign Affairs Bureau must be busy.”
“Good thing I don’t have money in banks.”
“Haha, we can’t even enter banks. Foreign banks require deposits of over 100,000 minimum—we can’t even get in.”
“I’ll probably never see that much money in my life.”
“Who can…”
Ye Qingning wanted to say she could, but she did not like storing money in banks.
So it turned out Japanese officials had been getting assassinated frequently this year, leaving them panicked.
Cut off the leader to eliminate the bandits—she liked that idea.
Then she would kill more to keep them obedient. With a smaller body now, she would need to train more.
When she left the shop, the sky had turned gloomy again. A heavy rain was likely coming—rainy season was arriving.
She liked staying home on rainy days.
But now, she still did not know where home was.
Compared to the Concessions, this area was much harsher. More people sat or squatted in corners and by the roadside.
Their eyes seemed unfocused—looking at the ground or nowhere at all.
Were her family members also suffering like this?
Especially her grandfather—he should be around three years old now?
Somewhere, the “three-year-old grandfather” was eyeing a Japanese soldier’s big chicken drumstick, rolling his eyes.
“Big sister… can you give me something to eat?”
Ye Qingning looked down.
A big-headed child, half a head shorter than her, was holding a broken blue-patterned bowl with thin black hands.
She did not respond immediately. The child’s voice drew attention from others nearby.
Without looking at the child again, Ye Qingning walked past.
The child lowered her arms in disappointment and slowly moved back to the wall.
“Uncle, how much porridge is left?”
“What?”
“All of it.”
When the shopkeeper still looked confused, Ye Qingning reached for money and then paused—remembering past reactions.
“Banknotes?”
“Yes, yes, that works.”
She took out a stack of small bills and handed them over.
“Feed everyone on the street.”
“Alright, alright! You’re from across the river, aren’t you?” The middle-aged man smiled broadly, eyes narrowing. “I’ll bring it over right away.”
Which rich kid was this? She was giving far too much.
“That big-headed child wearing oversized short sleeves, barefoot, holding a broken blue bowl—make sure she gets food.”
“Got it, got it. I’ll remember.”
The big-headed child had just taken a sip of sweet porridge and let out a happy sigh.
Soon, a large crowd gathered.
The porridge quickly ran out.
Just as some people were about to leave disappointed, more food arrived—flatbreads, scallion pancakes, rice balls, soy milk, fried dough sticks…
The child received a pile of food amid everyone’s envy, happily bundling it in her clothes while carefully holding the remaining half bowl of porridge. She ran into the depths of the alley.
She lived in a house deep in the alley with her uncle’s family.
Her uncle had recently been beaten on the street by Japanese soldiers for no reason and could no longer work.
Her aunt was also missing.
Food at home had been gone for a long time.
Her older brother stayed home to care for their uncle and younger siblings, while she went out to beg for food because she was too hungry.
She thought today would be like every other day—empty-handed—but she had not expected so much food!
It was that beautiful big sister from earlier. She was so kind!
“Brother! Brother!”
Her voice was filled with joy.
A thin boy around ten years old came out of the house. He forced a tired smile.
“Xiao Mi, why are you so happy today?”
“Brother, food! So much food!”
The boy quickly took it. The food was still warm.
Xiao Mi’s belly was even slightly red from the heat. He hurriedly placed everything on the table and wiped her with a damp towel. Xiao Mi giggled happily.
“Where did it come from?”
“I asked a big sister if she had food, and she bought so much! She even treated many people! Everyone gave me some!”
The boy showed a faint bitter smile, then softened his expression again and patted her head.
“Xiao Mi is amazing. Let’s eat together with Uncle.”
“Yes! It’s enough for two days! If only it weren’t so hot.”
“At least we can be full for the next two days.”
Inside the room, the middle-aged man lay pale with cracked lips.
His wound was healing too slowly in the summer heat. He had recently had a fever but had barely survived.
However, without proper nutrition, his body was extremely weak.
The boy entered and fed him porridge spoon by spoon.
The man forced himself to swallow. He knew the children were also hungry, but he could not die—if he died, the family would be finished.
Xiao Mi went to wake her younger siblings.
“Pingping, Guoguo, wake up! It’s time to eat! There are pancakes!”
It was said their aunt once ate a red apple while pregnant with them, so the twins were named Pingping and Guoguo.
The names sounded sweet.
“Big sister, really?”
“Yes, yes.”
The two little ones climbed down excitedly.
When they reached the table and saw the food, their eyes sparkled.
“Big sister… can we eat everything?”
“No.”
The boy stepped out at that moment.
The three younger children all turned to look at him at once.