The little girl knew that too, but seeing those faces that were usually full of passion for life now covered in worry because of the lack of clothing and food made her truly uncomfortable.
Seeing the normally radiant little girl wilt like a flower deprived of water, Lin Guanghui couldn’t bear it.
“You want to help them?”
“Mm.”
“How do you want to help?”
“I don’t know.”
“But you’ll suffer a huge loss. A very huge loss.”
The one who answered was Jiang Tao.
The little girl replied firmly:
“I have it.”
The two brothers looked at each other. Jiang Tao spoke first.
“Let’s eat first, then talk.”
Since they were here, they naturally went to Jiang Tao’s house to eat. Jiang Tao definitely wouldn’t let her go anywhere else.
Jiang Tao and Lin Guanghui had skipped work to come back, and it still wasn’t time to get off work.
Jiang Tao’s wife, Liu Xiaoqin, hadn’t returned yet, and his mother had also gone to the street office to receive supplies and hadn’t come back.
The little girl had originally come to bring Jiang Tao something.
Now she was taking things out of her basket.
A package of pastries for the old woman.
A large oil-paper package of buns. She had made quite a lot a few days ago, over twenty pots in total, and had kept them in the space all this time, so they were still steaming hot.
A piece of braised meat.
A small jar of crispy cucumbers. Last year, she had pickled a whole jar, and this year she planned to pickle more in a few days. This stuff went well with rice.
Oh, right.
She still needed to buy another jar later.
She had also made a lot of braised meat a few days ago. There was plenty of meat in her space—all kinds of meat—so she made all kinds of dishes.
The moment the smell of buns came out, Lin Guanghui couldn’t take it anymore. His mouth watered unconsciously.
The little girl looked at him.
“You didn’t go.”
Meaning: It wasn’t that I didn’t give you any. You were the one who didn’t go eat.
Lin Guanghui immediately said:
“I’ll go when we get back.”
Jiang Tao, who was pouring water for the two of them in the kitchen, smelled the fragrance and quickened his steps.
“Sister, you made buns again?”
While staring at the buns, he also stared at Lin Guanghui.
What did that glowing look in his eyes mean?
He even looked at Lin Guanghui defensively.
Lin Guanghui rolled his eyes at him.
As if I would fight your mother, wife, and child for food.
How promising.
Only then did Jiang Tao turn his gaze to the table.
“Sister, thanks. You still think of your brother when there’s something delicious.”
His sister had a good relationship with them, which was why she did this.
He wouldn’t be polite. That would be too distant.
Seeing the two of them constantly swallowing their saliva, the little girl felt helpless and a little sour-hearted.
The lives of family pillars weren’t easy either, especially when there were elderly people above and children below.
She took out another package.
This should be enough for the two of them.
“Here, yours. Hurry and eat.”
The two brothers froze for a moment, but they weren’t polite with their sister and immediately started grabbing.
“Ah, yes, this is the taste.”
“Sister, what kind of meat is this? It’s so fresh.”
The one who could still make room in his mouth to talk was definitely Jiang Tao.
The little girl smiled.
“The one you’re eating is bear meat. His is lamb.”
Jiang Tao opened his mouth and froze.
“What meat?”
Lin Guanghui also paused. He could identify lamb.
“Bear. Xiong. Bear. Bear meat.”
“Y-you-you… where did you get bear meat?”
The two men stopped eating.
This child was truly too worrying.
“I caught it in the mountains.”
In the mountains…
Caught it.
Jiang Tao felt like he was hearing things.
Was this his sister?
His sister was delicate and weak. How could she say something this terrifying?
Lin Guanghui thought of how the little girl moved in and out of the back mountain as if entering her own backyard.
What she said might actually be true.
The little girl simply felt that she should let them understand a bit of her ability.
That was all.
Jiang Tao was still earnestly lecturing her.
“Sister, you can’t keep going into the mountains from now on. There are many wild beasts in the mountains. Wild beasts don’t care whether you’re a little girl.”
As he spoke, he grabbed another bun and took a bite.
“What meat is this?”
They were all meat fillings, so why did they taste different?
The little girl glanced over and simply pointed them out one by one.
“The one you’re eating is deer meat. This one is wolf meat. This one is rabbit meat. This one is bear meat. This one is roe deer meat. This one is pheasant meat. These are wild boar meat. This one is badger meat. The package I brought today is pure meat. I also made some mixed with vegetables, but I didn’t bring those.”
Extravagant.
There were over ten kinds of meat fillings alone.
Don’t blame them for being ignorant.
The two brothers were completely stunned.
“Sister, aren’t you scared?”
“No. They’re very easy to catch.”
That was indeed the truth.
With one wave of her hand, she could take them all away.
Jiang Tao thought of another issue.
“Did anyone see you?”
These were all public property. Strictly speaking, any prey caught should be handed over.
“No.”
The little girl shook her head, and only then did the two brothers relax a little.
The two brothers had been frightened so badly in such a short time.
They only wanted to eat buns, yet now their hearts had been thrown up and down until they didn’t know what to feel.
They stopped eating.
“I need to calm down.”
Jiang Tao couldn’t even sit anymore and simply stood up.
“Sister, have you told anyone else?”
“No.”
“Have you given these buns to anyone else?”
She pointed beside her.
“Him.”
…
“Sister, it’s best not to tell anyone else about the meat.”
“I know. Don’t worry, Brother Jiang. I wouldn’t bear to give such good meat to others.”
“Haha, right. Don’t give it to others.”
…
Lin Guanghui, who had been silent for a long while, spoke:
“Taozi, do you know who’s currently in charge of supply grain?”
“His name is Sun Ming. He’s from the Grain Management Bureau and is specifically responsible for supply grain. He’s a decent official. I’ve met him a few times. He’s about my age and is a filial son. Leader, are you thinking…”
“Mm. This can be done openly now. But we still can’t expose her. Even though it’s a good deed, better safe than sorry. We need to guard against risks.”
“That’s necessary. Don’t worry, Leader. I’ll get in touch with him. With grain this tight recently, the Grain Bureau must be extremely anxious. If people die, it becomes a major issue. Even if it wasn’t his responsibility, it would become his responsibility.”
The serious matter was settled, and the two men had eaten lunch.
The little girl had eaten breakfast early before going out and still wasn’t hungry.
So the three of them didn’t wait any longer.
They locked the door and left.
Jiang Tao returned to the factory to find a way to contact Sun Ming.
Lin Guanghui openly skipped work under the excuse of sending the little girl home.
The little girl glanced sideways at him.
Why did she always feel like he was afraid the buns would run away?
Only after he ate until his stomach was full, and after both eating and taking some with him, did Lin Guanghui finally leave.
The little girl thought for a moment, returned to her space, and planted another batch of coarse grain.
Only then did she feel at ease enough to wash up and rest.
Jiang Tao was very efficient.
He was responsible for procurement to begin with, and the factory cafeteria also needed to purchase grain. Because of that, he managed to connect with Sun Ming.
When Sun Ming heard that Jiang Tao could still procure the full amount of rations, the deputy director in charge of grain nearly cried from excitement.
Good heavens.
At a time like this, even supply grain couldn’t reach half the required amount, yet this person could still buy the full amount.
What did that mean?
It meant he had connections.
He had to cling to this thigh.
Jiang Tao’s original intention was to release a large batch of grain, but he also made it clear that grain itself was in short supply. He could help make connections, but the grain could only be used as supply grain and not for anything else.
Sun Ming was about to cry from anxiety.
Ancestor, that’s exactly what I want—supply grain!