“Pfft—”
“What are you laughing at? Haven’t you ever lost a tooth?!”
Ye Qingning casually handed the sugarcane to a beggar by the roadside. Holding the small tooth in her palm, she made a wish: Become perfect again and return to your rightful place.
Then she tossed it into the grassy area of her space.
“Qingning, don’t be angry. I won’t laugh anymore!”
“Hmph!” It was too embarrassing!
“Really! And Qingning, no matter what you look like, you’re still pretty!”
Ye Qingning rolled her eyes at him. Of course she was. She just didn’t feel like talking right now—she had lost a front tooth, and air leaked when she spoke.
“You head back first.”
“You’re going back? Should I walk you home?”
“No need.”
With her mental age already over thirty, did she really need a twelve-year-old boy to escort her?
“Alright then. I—”
“Baozi little sister!”
“Hm?”
Both Ye Qingning and Gu Jin turned their heads at the same time and saw a boy selling candied water chestnuts on sticks.
“Little sister, Baozi little sister!”
“You’re calling me?” The boy had a scar at the corner of his eye.
Since when had she become “Baozi little sister”? Could it be that she had found her family? Did her family have a child around her age?
Gu Jin clearly thought the same—his eyes lit up.
“My name is Sun Jiaqian, third among us. Thank you for giving Fifth a big bun and money last time. That’s how we were able to buy medicine to save First Ten. The one selling fish was Fourth.”
“You have quite a lot of brothers and sisters.” Ye Qingning had encountered three of them already. It had been a while, and she had almost forgotten.
“We don’t have families anymore, so we live together. Recently… everyone wanted to thank you.”
“Where do you live?” Being thanked—she didn’t mind that. As for what he left unsaid, if they didn’t mention it, she wouldn’t ask.
Gu Jin stood to the side with his hands behind his back, putting on an air of importance. His father had said that when he stayed quiet, he looked more like someone of status.
“Little sister, come with me!”
Sun Jiaqian led Ye Qingning and Gu Jin through winding alleys, eventually entering a courtyard within the concession district.
In present-day Shanghai City, that could already be considered a mansion. After all, there were still many homeless refugees lying along the streets.
“This is Big Brother and Seventh Sister’s home,” Sun Jiaqian said as he pushed open the courtyard gate. Several smaller children immediately rushed out—most of them girls.
“Third brother!”
“This is Baozi little sister—I found her!”
Ye Qingning noticed that Sun Jiaqian was currently the oldest here. The youngest was still being carried in someone’s arms.
The children she had seen outside were already considered decently dressed, but here, most of them were barely clothed.
It had rained recently, and the weather had already turned cooler.
“My name is Ye Qingning. The one you’re holding—is that First Ten?” Ye Qingning pointed at the baby being carried.
“No, that’s Seventeen. First Ten is lying inside—he’s weak.”
“Qingning, thank you! I’m Tenth, First Ten’s older sister.” A barefoot girl walked over.
“You’re welcome.”
This place was basically a small orphanage.
“Qingning, this is Little Seven Luo Xi, Ninth, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth.”
“Hello.” Twelfth was clearly younger than her, and the rest were even smaller.
After that, a group of children surrounded her, expressing their gratitude.
Sun Jiaqian went out to call the others. The older children outside gradually returned as well, each expressing their welcome.
Big Brother Luo Jun, Second Sister Chen Guo, Fourth Brother Fu Zhixuan, Fifth Brother Jiang Wucheng, Sixth Brother Jiang Wenquan, and Eighth Luo Zhiyan.
Ye Qingning had never been so warmly welcomed before. She even wondered if they were planning to rob her—she wasn’t as weak as she looked.
The girls cooked minced meat with cabbage and steamed white rice.
Her and Gu Jin’s bowls were filled to the brim, while the other children sharing the meal only had a few bites each.
The older ones who had returned said they had already eaten and didn’t need any.
Ye Qingning didn’t say much and finished all the food. Gu Jin, who was picky, also ate everything.
“It’s really delicious!”
“Little Seven cooked it—she’s the best. If you like it, you can come often,” Sun Jiaqian said.
“Qingning, where do you live? Why have we never seen your family?” Fifth couldn’t help asking.
“I’m looking for my other family members.”
Gu Jin already knew, which was why he wanted her to go home with him.
Hearing this, the others lowered their heads—they also had no families anymore.
Luo Jun and the older siblings exchanged glances. Chen Guo went back into the room and came out again.
“Qingning, this is the money you gave before. It’s too much. You should keep it safe and spend it sparingly.”
“Sister Chen Guo, once I’ve given it, it’s yours.”
“We can’t take it. This money can be exchanged for many copper coins. For things like buying fish, copper coins are enough,” Fu Zhixuan said gently.
“I’m not lacking!” Were these people fools?
“Really not lacking?”
“Not lacking.”
Luo Jun and the others didn’t insist further. They also needed money to stock up on food and daily necessities.
“Are your relatives in Shanghai City? We can help you look,” Luo Jun asked.
“I don’t know. But I have their photos.” Ye Qingning took out family photos of her grandfather’s side and her maternal grandfather’s side.
It was like treating a dead horse as if it were alive—who knew, maybe it would work.
“Everyone, come take a look and remember their faces!”
Gu Jin also leaned in. It was his first time seeing them. Perhaps later he could have his sister draw them so the gang could help search as well.
“Got it, Big Brother.”
“Qingning, how can we contact you later?”
“I’ll be around Shanghai City for a while. I’ll come often.”
“Qingning, are you going to leave Shanghai City?”
“If I can’t find them, I’ll move to another city.”
“It’s too dangerous for you to be alone. Things are chaotic outside now.”
“Don’t worry! If I’ve survived this long, it means I have some skills!”
She dared say that as long as she wasn’t careless, no one in this era could harm her.
Besides, aside from the concession areas, nowhere in Shanghai City was truly safe. And by the end of this year, even the concessions would fall—there would be no safe zones left.
After Ye Qingning and Gu Jin left, Luo Xi and the other girls went into the kitchen in the dark to take out bowls and chopsticks. Chen Guo carried out a basin of some kind of porridge-like paste.
“Time to eat. Little Seven, do you want some more?”
“No, no. We already ate white rice today!”
“Seventeen and the others are full too.”
“There’s still a bowl of white rice in the kitchen. Add more water tomorrow morning and cook it longer so First Ten and the others can eat their fill.”
“The meat today smelled so good.”
“But we’re out of rice.”
“Rice is hard to come by. The black market prices are too high. I’ll go out tomorrow to buy more grain. Prices are rising every day. Third, you go buy cloth and cotton—we need to try to make a thin blanket.”
“Brother, we’ll help look for people tomorrow too.”
“I’ll go out tomorrow as well.”
“Second Sister, you should stay home and rest.”
“I can manage.”
…
Every word of this reached Ye Qingning’s ears as she yawned and walked away.
As long as they weren’t plotting to harm her for money, it was fine. Otherwise, she wouldn’t mind teaching them a lesson.