Liuyè nodded happily, not thinking much about what Bai Zilin meant.
“Okay! From now on, Big Brother Bai is my real older brother, and I’m your little sister. We’ll rely on each other and roam the world together. Oh, Big Brother Bai, you probably still don’t know my name yet. My name is Liuyè. I made it up myself. You can call me Little Sister Liu, or just Sister!”
When Bai Zilin heard that, he almost wanted to cry inwardly. Please don’t—I don’t want to be your brother.
“Heh… no need for ‘little sister,’ let’s just call you Liuyè,” he said awkwardly.
Liuyè nodded without thinking much. In truth, she suggested he call her “little sister” to comfort him. After all, like her, he had suddenly lost all his family and became completely alone in this world. Even if he said he wasn’t sad, he probably still felt awful inside. Unlike him—she truly wasn’t sad, because she wasn’t actually foolish.
Suddenly, she remembered something. She still needed to go into her space and retrieve some items. Now that Big Brother Bai would be with her, it wouldn’t be convenient to suddenly take things out of her space anymore.
“Big Brother Bai, wait here. I’m going up the mountain to get something I hid,” she said.
Bai Zilin nodded. “Go ahead, be careful.”
Liuyè waved and happily ran out of the broken courtyard, through the village, and toward the back mountain. She found a secluded spot and entered her space.
She picked up a large basket and began packing things.
Two bowls, two spoons, two pairs of chopsticks—her chopsticks were made from tree branches. One basin was enough; any more would just take up space. She also placed the small pot she had stolen from the Liu family into the basket, along with a rice ladle and a clean small jar for water.
The cloth bag that originally held seeds, she filled with salt and put it in. She added two flour sacks to use for carrying things.
She checked the pile again. It seemed there wasn’t much else worth taking. Too much would be heavy anyway. Okay, that’s enough—
Wait, she hadn’t packed food yet.
She grabbed another small jar and filled it with wild duck eggs, then sealed it and placed it into the basket.
“Now it’s OK.”
Right… it was already noon outside, and she and Big Brother Bai hadn’t even eaten breakfast yet.
What should she cook?
She looked toward the wild chickens in the distance. No, she couldn’t always feed him meat, or he might get suspicious.
Then she looked at the vegetables and fruits growing in the black soil space. That wouldn’t work either—outside was in a drought, even grass wasn’t growing. No one would have vegetables in their garden.
She then looked at the apples on the trees. These would work. She could say she picked them in the mountains.
Chestnuts were fine too, but no rush. The chestnut trees she had brought into the space a few days ago were already full. The four apple trees were also heavy with large apples. The corn in the black soil looked like it would be ripe soon—probably by tomorrow.
Liuyè picked twenty apples, placed them in the basket, and left the space. She carefully made her way back to the broken courtyard.
“I’m back, Big Brother Bai.”
She set down the basket and took out two large apples, handing one to Bai Zilin.
“These are apples I found on the mountain. There were only about twenty on the tree, and I picked the best ones. Try it and see if it’s good!”
She took a big bite herself.
“Wow, so sweet!”
Bai Zilin looked at the apple in his hand, surprised. Wild apples shouldn’t be this big—almost the size of a bowl, even bigger than his fist. He took a small bite. The taste was crisp, sweet, and juicy.
“This is really good,” he said. “Liuyè… no, Ziyè, these apples are delicious. Sweet and crisp, and so big. I’ve never even seen wild apples this large before. You’re really lucky.”
Liuyè nodded absentmindedly. “If it’s good, eat more. We have twenty of them, enough for a few days. Oh, I hid the pushcart. I’ll bring it out when we leave, so your parents won’t see it and take it back.”
Bai Zilin’s voice turned low. “They’re not my parents. My mother was already pregnant with me when she married him. I don’t know who my father is, and I don’t care. The two next door—Bai Shuisheng and Wang Liniang—I’ve already cut ties with them. From now on, just call them by name.”
Liuyè nodded and continued crunching her apple. Bai Zilin also said nothing more and quietly ate his.
“Crunch, crunch…”
Suddenly, a voice came from behind them.
“Big brother, what are you eating?”
Both of them turned around.
It was Bai Zimei, clinging to the top of the wall, only half her head visible. She stared at them with wide, greedy eyes, mouth open as she looked at the apples.
Liuyè rolled her eyes and turned away. Ugh, when did she get there? So annoying.
Bai Zilin also ignored her and kept eating.
Seeing that her brother ignored her and refused to share food, Bai Zimei grew furious. She climbed higher on the wall until her whole head appeared.
“Big brother, I’m hungry! There’s no water at home and I’m thirsty! I heard everything—you picked twenty apples on the mountain. I don’t want much, just give me ten!”
Still, Bai Zilin acted as if he didn’t hear her.
Bai Zimei jumped down from the wall and ran into the courtyard.
“You can’t treat me like this! I’m still your sister! You’re my brother—you have to take care of me! Give me the apples! I’m really dying of thirst!”
Seeing no response, she stomped her foot and reached for the basket.
“If you won’t give them, I’ll take them myself!”
But before her hand could touch it, Bai Zilin struck her hand hard with a stick.
“Ah! My hand!” she screamed, jumping back in pain.
Bai Zilin pointed the stick at her, his face dark. “Get lost.”
Frightened, Bai Zimei clenched her teeth in anger. “Bai Zilin, just you wait! I’ll get Father to deal with you!”
She ran off.
As soon as she got home, she screamed loudly:
“Father! Mother! Come quickly! Big brother is living well next door! That fool picked twenty apples on the mountain! I only asked for two for you, and he refused and even hit me!”
Liuyè quickly finished her apple and looked worriedly at Bai Zilin.
“What do we do? Your parents are coming. I’d better hide the basket.”
Bai Zilin agreed immediately. “Hurry and hide it. They’ll definitely come. I know them too well.”