About half an hour later, Lin Qingbei’s puzzled voice sounded from outside the room.
“Sis, why did you lock the door?”
“Wait a moment.”
At that moment, Lin Xiazhi was drenched in sweat.
After finishing the final stitches, she quickly cleaned up the room, making sure there wasn’t the slightest trace left behind.
Only after feeding Shen Ying a healing medicine that she had exchanged for a valuable painting and calligraphy piece did she finally let out a relieved breath and head over to open the door.
The moment Lin Qingbei entered carrying a bowl, he wrinkled his nose.
“Sis, what’s that smell? It stinks.”
Lin Xiazhi casually brushed it off.
“I just cleaned Mother up and used some medicine.”
“Oh. Is Mother asleep?”
“She is.”
“I found some flour in the kitchen, so I made chicken noodle soup for you. Come and try it, Sis.”
The moment she heard the word noodles, her stomach, which had been empty all day, immediately growled in protest.
Compared to filling her stomach, Lin Xiazhi treasured this hard-won family affection even more.
Having a younger brother that came bundled with the deal wasn’t bad at all.
“Qingbei, you’re amazing.”
If the boy hadn’t always looked after the original owner in the past, Lin Xiazhi wouldn’t have accepted him so easily.
Fortunately, he was genuinely kind-hearted.
Embarrassed by the praise, Lin Qingbei didn’t know where to put his hands.
Leaning against the bed, he pretended to focus on Shen Ying, but his increasingly red ears gave away just how nervous he was.
Lin Xiazhi chuckled softly and picked up her chopsticks.
The first sip of chicken soup made her eyes light up.
To be fair, Wang Chuntao’s cooking skills were excellent.
The soup was rich and flavorful without being greasy.
The noodles Qingbei had made were wonderfully chewy as well.
She devoured the massive bowl in no time.
Yet when she finished, she still didn’t feel full.
Even in her previous life, her appetite had been astonishingly large.
Apparently, that hadn’t changed after coming here.
Still, it was already late at night.
There was no way she was going to make Qingbei cook another meal.
She decided she’d sneak some dry rations later when no one was watching.
Carrying her empty bowl, she headed outside.
“Qingbei, sleep beside Mother tonight. I’ll stay in another room.”
Tomorrow, she planned to head into town, sell the house, and start gathering supplies.
The next morning.
“Ahhh! Sis, come out quickly!”
Lin Xiazhi was jolted awake by Lin Qingbei’s excited shouting outside.
Thinking something had happened to Shen Ying, she immediately sprang out of bed and rushed outside.
“What happened to Mother?”
“Mother’s fine! Go look outside! There are so many! So many…”
The boy pointed excitedly toward the courtyard, stammering so much that he couldn’t finish his sentence.
“So many what?”
Unable to wait any longer, Lin Xiazhi walked out to see for herself.
The moment she stepped into the courtyard, she noticed six animals lying against the wall.
Three wild chickens.
Three wild rabbits.
Someone had thrown them into the yard during the night.
Walking over, she checked them carefully.
Every single one was already dead.
Lin Qingbei’s face was flushed red with excitement as he stared at the game and repeatedly swallowed.
“Sis, who secretly threw these in here? Could they be poisoned? Maybe someone wants to kill us.”
Squatting down, Lin Xiazhi inspected them more closely.
“All six had their necks snapped. They’re not poisoned. We can eat them.”
Whoever was secretly delivering food definitely had ulterior motives.
But so what?
Food delivered to your doorstep was food.
She wasn’t about to waste time digging three feet underground trying to find the mysterious benefactor.
“That’s great!”
Lin Qingbei immediately picked up one of the wild chickens.
“I’ll take this to the kitchen and stew it. Mother can drink it when she wakes up.”
Just as he happily headed for the kitchen, Wang Chuntao appeared and blocked his path.
“Oh my, so much game!”
She stared greedily at the animals.
“Lin girl, you’re really impressive. You caught all this in one night. We can have a proper feast at noon!”
“Who said any of it is for you?”
Lin Xiazhi rose to her feet and faced Wang Chuntao.
Both of Wang Chuntao’s arms were hanging in slings across her chest. She had clearly gone to a doctor and had her bones reset.
Snatching the wild chicken from Qingbei’s hands, Lin Xiazhi tossed it in front of Wang Chuntao.
“Take it and stew it.”
Then her eyes turned cold.
“If I catch you stealing even a bite, I’ll remove your jawbone.”
Wang Chuntao instantly froze.
Terror filled her eyes.
She regretted her words immediately.
The sight of meat had made her forget all about yesterday’s suffering.
Why had she insisted on walking straight into the blade?
“I’ll go. I’ll go right now.”
She bent down to pick up the chicken, only to remember that neither of her hands could be used.
Afraid of provoking Lin Xiazhi’s anger, she hurriedly crouched down, grabbed the chicken by the neck with her teeth, then turned and ran.
Lin Qingbei looked confused.
“Sis, she’s the mistress of this house. Why does she listen to you so much?”
Lin Xiazhi grinned proudly.
“Because from now on, we’re the masters of this house.”
“The Chen family are the servants.”
“If you need anything, just order them around. Don’t do it yourself.”
“!!”
Lin Qingbei’s eyes widened.
Lin Xiazhi didn’t bother explaining further.
She picked up the remaining wild chickens and rabbits, carried them into the house, and stored them inside her spatial storage.
Suddenly, frantic voices came from outside the courtyard.
“Village Chief, something terrible has happened!”
“Our house was robbed last night!”
“And our mother and eldest brother have disappeared!”
Two short, stocky men rushed into the yard, breathing heavily and looking panicked.
Hearing this, Lin Xiazhi walked outside and casually pulled Qingbei behind her.
Her cold gaze settled on the newcomers.
“Who are you looking for?”
The two men stopped when they saw her.
“We’re looking for the Village Chief. Go call him out.”
Then one of them noticed Lin Qingbei.
“Huh? Why is that little bastard here too?”
Lin Xiazhi’s expression remained completely blank.
“Who are you calling a little bastard?”
Lin Er pointed directly at Qingbei.
“Him, obviously!”
For some reason, the words felt wrong the moment they left his mouth.
Before he could figure out why, his vision blurred.
The next second, he collapsed onto the ground.
A foot slammed onto his stomach.
A chilling voice came from above.
“Try saying it again.”
“!!!”
Lin San was stunned.
Lin Er couldn’t even breathe under the pressure.
No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t escape.
“Let me go!”
“What’s all this noise? Who got robbed now?”
Chen He walked out of the kitchen carrying a cleaver.
The moment he saw Lin Xiazhi beating someone again, he immediately wanted to turn around and retreat.
Unfortunately, Lin San spotted him.
“Village Chief, save my brother!”
“Your servant girl is going to beat him to death!”
“Lin Xiazhi, do you have any respect for your elders? Let go of my brother! He’s your second uncle!”
Lin Qingbei snorted.
“What kind of elder is he?”
“You unfilial little brat! I am your second uncle! Ahhh!”
A sharp pain exploded in Lin Er’s chest.
Crack!
The sound of breaking bone rang out.
One of his ribs snapped.
Blood immediately spilled from his mouth.
“Second Brother!”
Lin San was dumbfounded.
He couldn’t believe Lin Xiazhi was actually ruthless enough to do it.
His legs weakened as he instinctively retreated several steps.
Worried that the commotion would attract the villagers, Chen He forced himself to approach.
“Stop hitting him.”
“Lin Er’s mouth is a little foul, that’s all. It’s not worth making such a huge scene.”
“And it’s early in the morning. You don’t want the villagers paying attention, do you?”
Lin Xiazhi certainly didn’t want attention.
But she tolerated insults even less.
Even if the insult didn’t contain a single curse word.
“This is your last warning.”
“Second Brother, are you alright?”
“I won’t die.”
Only after Lin Xiazhi removed her foot did Lin San dare help Lin Er to his feet.
Not daring to provoke her again, he finally remembered why they had come.
Turning toward Chen He, he said urgently,
“Village Chief, our house was robbed last night! Our mother and eldest brother are gone too!”
Then, as if something suddenly occurred to him, he swung around and pointed directly at Lin Xiazhi.
“Yesterday, they were clearly with you at the very end!”
“Speak!”
“What did you do with them?!”
The certainty on Lin San’s face made it seem as though he had witnessed everything with his own eyes.