Lin Sisi had no intention of wasting words. “Get lost, or don’t blame me for being rude!”
The group wasn’t afraid of this little girl at first, but when they saw Lin Zheng toss aside his bowl and chopsticks and stand up with a fierce glare, they froze.
Though his injuries hadn’t fully healed, Lin Zheng was tall and strong. The skinny, weak refugees quickly scuttled away in fear.
Lin Zheng frowned, worried. “It seems the situation outside is worse than I imagined.”
The caravan was about to set off. While packing, Lin Sisi asked, “Brother, we left in such a rush yesterday, I didn’t get a chance to ask… how did you know the authorities were coming to conscript men? And what happened to your injury?”
Lin Zheng sighed and recounted everything.
Earlier, there was a large-scale conscription within Qinghe County, and their father was taken because of it.
At first, the villagers assumed it was just normal conscription. But half a month later, their mother suddenly told him something was wrong.
By then, Lin Zheng was old enough to handle responsibility. He noticed something off about his mother and knew her background was unusual, so he didn’t doubt her warning.
Before he could ask more, she left, leaving only a jade pendant and some silver behind.
She told him to protect his two younger sisters, stockpile food, and leave immediately if things looked dangerous.
If they ran out of options, pawn the jade pendant—someone would help them once they reached Anzhou territory.
Before Lin Zheng could even process this, she was gone. He used the excuse of going out to work but actually went to gather information on the situation, leaving his sisters with their uncle’s family for care.
It was then he discovered that although the county appeared calm, the grain stores were almost empty.
The silver his mother left, combined with the twenty-some taels he had saved, could barely buy any food. Merchants were hoarding grain, prices soaring.
With no other choice, he had to buy grain bit by bit from neighboring towns. Because of this, his uncle’s family misunderstood him, causing trouble for his sister…
After finally stockpiling some food and buying a donkey cart with the remaining money, he was about to return to Xiahe Village when soldiers suddenly stormed the neighboring town.
Shouting about border warfare, they were conscripting all able-bodied men, grabbing anyone in sight.
Lin Zheng immediately sensed danger. He hurriedly prepared to leave with the donkey cart, but in the chaos, a soldier struck him with a sword.
“Border warfare…”
Lin Sisi furrowed her brows, worried.
Her brother’s firsthand account left no doubt—these refugees were likely fleeing from the border conflict.
“Brother, we should be careful. Go tell Aunt Yang; tonight, let’s take turns keeping watch.”
Even if these refugees seemed harmless now, caution was never too much.
Lin Zheng nodded and went to discuss with Aunt Yang’s family.
The caravan moved on, and Lin Sisi thought about what her brother had said when an unexpected visitor appeared.
“Sister…”
Lin Qingqing came again, fragile and delicate. “I saw some trouble near you earlier. I hurried over to help. Are you alright?”
“Thanks to you, we’re fine,” Lin Sisi said, rolling her eyes, unwilling to waste words. “Why are you still here? Didn’t I make myself clear before?”
Lin Qingqing seemed determined. “Sister, when I asked to borrow food, it wasn’t for me.”
“Brother Qinglin… no, Mr. Gu was very ill. He can’t exert himself now and needs good food to recover. That’s why I wanted to borrow your donkey cart and some food.”
“Sister, you two are engaged. I know you’ve always liked Mr. Gu, and I can’t just watch him suffer, right?”
Lin Qingqing looked confident.
Lin Sisi finally understood why Lin Qingqing kept sticking around and why Aunt Yang had said what she did—it was all about Gu Qinglin.
“What does Gu Qinglin’s illness have to do with me?”
Lin Qingqing hadn’t expected this. “Sister, don’t say that in anger, you…”
“Oh, right. Since you’re so close with Gu Qinglin now, tell him this for me: I’m calling off the engagement.”
Lin Qingqing was completely unprepared—this was nothing like she had expected!
She knew Lin Sisi liked Gu Qinglin, which is why she hadn’t told her he was sick. She’d been taking care of him all this time, and now couldn’t let Lin Sisi swoop in.
But Lin Qingqing truly had no ill intentions—she only wanted Gu Qinglin to survive.
Her family wasn’t wealthy. Every meal was coarse grain cakes. His mother was weak. He had to pull his own cart every day, walking long distances. How could he get better under such conditions?
Lin Qingqing’s own family hadn’t treated her well. Her daily rations were barely enough for her, let alone taking care of Gu Qinglin.
That’s why she came to Lin Sisi. She thought if she explained Gu Qinglin’s illness, Lin Sisi would lend him some food so he could survive.
If he died on the road, all her efforts would have been wasted.
She forced a strained smile, worse than crying. “You must be joking, Sister. You like Mr. Gu so much… why would you want to call off the engagement?”
Lin Sisi calmly studied her distressed face and asked, “Shouldn’t you be happy? If I break off the engagement, your wish comes true.”
Lin Qingqing panicked. While breaking the engagement was good, it shouldn’t happen now!
“I remember you used to look down on Gu Qinglin, saying he was a scholar but poor, couldn’t even offer a proper betrothal gift.”
“And now, in less than two months, suddenly you like him?”
Seeing Lin Sisi’s suspicious expression, Lin Qingqing grew more flustered and quickly made an excuse to leave.
Why had she asked so suddenly? Did Lin Sisi see through something?
Impossible.
Her ability to relive her life was a gift from heaven. Lin Sisi was just an ordinary farm girl—there was no way she could have guessed.
Before she could recover from this thought, Mrs. Li scolded her.
“You brat! Where have you been slacking off? Your father and brother are exhausted from pulling the cart, and you’re just standing there, not even carrying a basket, eating plain rice every day!”