Zhuo Dawu had once been a broad-shouldered, powerfully built man.
Now, his injury and illness had reduced him to little more than skin and bones. His complexion was dry and waxy yellow.
Zhuo Ling quietly drew in a breath.
She had studied medicine. She had spent two years at the Underground City’s Medical University and knew that if his condition wasn’t treated soon, the infection could develop into sepsis at any moment. Once that happened, he’d be dead before anyone knew it.
In ancient times, there were no modern antibiotics.
The best medicine for external injuries was wound-healing ointment.
But a single box of it cost ten taels of silver.
Even if Zhuo Dawu spent the rest of his life twisting hemp rope, he still wouldn’t be able to afford it.
“Don’t look. It’s ugly.”
Seeing her staring blankly at his injured leg, Zhuo Dawu gently turned her little head away and said softly,
“Go find your mother.”
Zhuo Ling nodded calmly and silently opened the system shop with her mind to search for anti-inflammatory medicine.
In truth, even ordinary people in the Underground City couldn’t afford to get sick.
Although technology had advanced tremendously after the apocalypse, plants, animals, and mineral resources were all desperately scarce.
Without raw materials, even the cleverest cook couldn’t prepare a meal.
As a result, food and medicine were outrageously expensive.
In the anti-inflammatory and painkiller section, even a box of ordinary antibiotics cost 100,000 Underground City credits.
The premium antibiotics cost twice as much.
Without hesitation, Zhuo Ling bought one box of premium antibiotics and one box of painkillers.
“Ding… Your account has been charged 400,000 Underground City credits. Remaining balance… zero.”
The mechanical female voice struck painfully at Zhuo Ling’s nerves.
What highway robbery!
This is daylight theft!
She’d originally planned to buy a few emergency ration packs and secretly add them to the family’s porridge.
Now she couldn’t afford that anymore.
She’d never thought much about money before, but now she finally understood.
No matter where you lived…
Making money was always life’s number one priority.
She hid the medicine in the haystack again.
Keeping it on her body made it too easy to discover.
It wasn’t that she was afraid her family would learn she had transmigrated.
It was simply too bizarre to explain.
She’d wait until the right opportunity.
Besides…
Pretending to be a fool was actually pretty convenient sometimes.
Using both hands and feet, Zhuo Ling climbed off the kang and toddled toward the haystack on her short little legs.
She popped one antibiotic capsule and one painkiller out of their blister packs before hiding the rest.
Now her mind raced.
How could she get Zhuo Dawu to take them without anyone noticing?
“Haha! Little Ling’er, what are you doing in the haystack?”
Zhuo Changfu suddenly appeared behind her carrying a large broom.
“What delicious thing are you hiding? Let Second Brother have a look.”
“N-Nothing…”
Zhuo Ling quickly hid her hands behind her back.
“You can’t look.”
“Mom secretly gave you an egg, didn’t she? You think Second Brother doesn’t know?”
His large face leaned closer and closer as he peered around.
“Come on, let me see! Don’t be so stingy. I’m not going to eat it…”
The two boxes of medicine were still behind Zhuo Ling.
She hadn’t had time to shove them into the haystack yet.
As his face drew nearer, nervous sweat broke out in her palms.
“N-No… you can’t…”
Smack!
Something struck Zhuo Changfu on the head.
Rubbing it sheepishly, he turned around.
“Big Brother, why’d you hit me?”
“Mom says breakfast’s ready.”
With a smile, Zhuo Chang’an glanced at Zhuo Ling before saying to his younger brother,
“Changfu, I saw two eggs boiling in the pot. Hurry and—”
Clatter!
Before he even finished speaking, the broom hit the ground.
Zhuo Changfu dashed into the house like a gust of wind.
“Mom! Mom! Do we get eggs today?”
Only after watching his brother disappear inside did Zhuo Chang’an help Zhuo Ling to her feet.
“Ling’er, let’s eat.”
Taking advantage of the moment, Zhuo Ling quickly hid both boxes of medicine.
Fenniang was busy ladling porridge by the stove.
Zhuo Chang’an helped carry the bowls.
Changfu and Changgui sat properly at the table, staring expectantly as they waited for the eggs.
Zhuo Ling gripped the capsules so tightly they were almost melting in her hand.
Still, she couldn’t find an opportunity to slip the medicine in.
“Ling’er, come help Big Brother carry the egg.”
Holding a bowl of porridge, Zhuo Chang’an waved her over.
“Take it to Dad.”
Fenniang had only boiled two eggs.
One was for Zhuo Ling.
The other was for Zhuo Dawu.
Here’s my chance!
“Egg! Egg! Dad eat egg…”
Still acting silly, Zhuo Ling picked up the egg and deliberately let it slip from her hand.
It fell onto the floor.
Her face instantly crumpled.
“Oh no! Egg… broken!”
“It’s alright, it’s alright. Don’t cry, sweetheart. Just pick it up and you can still eat it.”
Leaning over the edge of the kang, Zhuo Dawu lowered his head to look.
“Chang’an, hurry and pick it up…”
Zhuo Chang’an set down the bowl and bent over to retrieve the egg, conveniently blocking both Zhuo Ling and the bowl from everyone’s view.
Without wasting a second, Zhuo Ling pulled open the antibiotic capsule and sprinkled the powder into Zhuo Dawu’s porridge.
But against the dark porridge, the pale yellow-white powder stood out far too clearly.
She hurriedly stirred it with her finger.
Out of habit, she popped her finger into her mouth and sucked it clean.
When Zhuo Dawu looked up, he happened to catch the scene.
He couldn’t help smiling.
“Is our little girl hungry?”
“Uh…”
Zhuo Ling awkwardly kept her finger in her mouth.
“My tummy’s hungry.”
“Ling’er doesn’t need porridge. Dad will eat it.”
With a loving smile, Zhuo Dawu rubbed her head and stuffed the egg into her hand.
“Dad doesn’t like eggs. You eat it for me.”
Something inside Zhuo Ling suddenly warmed.
She had once read in the Underground City’s library that when parents gave the food they couldn’t bear to eat to their children, they always lied by saying, “I don’t like eating it.”
She had never imagined that one day she’d be the child fooled by those very words.
Spending 400,000 credits to buy medicine for her new father…
It was absolutely worth it.
Fenniang’s heart ached for her husband, but all she did was shoot him a mildly reproachful glance.
Changfu and Changgui stared longingly at the two eggs in front of their little sister.
They were so envious that they were practically drooling.
Yet neither of them complained.
They simply lowered their heads and continued noisily slurping their bowls of porridge.
“N-Not eating! Eggs… stink!”
Zhuo Ling’s nose tingled.
She grabbed the eggs, tossed them onto the floor, and pretended she was about to stomp on them.
Zhuo Changfu’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
He hurriedly shielded the eggs with both hands and cried out anxiously,
“Don’t step on them! Don’t! If you won’t eat them, I will!”
Zhuo Changgui looked completely baffled as he sucked on his finger.
“How do eggs stink? They smell so good…”
“I won’t eat them!”
Still acting like a fool, Zhuo Ling angrily rubbed her little backside.
“Blanket… stinky!”
The two brothers froze for a moment.
Then they remembered how everyone had spent the entire night farting after eating eggs.
Immediately, they burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“If Ling’er won’t eat them, then you two can each have one.”
Fenniang laughed helplessly.
“It’s still early. After you come back from digging wild vegetables, I’ll take you into town and buy some rice and flour for Ling’er.”
Every morning, Zhuo Chang’an took Changfu into the mountains to chop firewood and gather wild vegetables.
If they were lucky, they might even find a few edible mushrooms.
But the drought had become increasingly severe.
All the wild vegetables and mushrooms near the village had long since been picked clean.
The villagers now had to travel in groups deep into the mountains, hoping to gather enough to cook into porridge.
The moment Zhuo Ling heard the words digging wild vegetables, her bright eyes lit up.
She had just emptied her wallet.
Wasn’t this another perfect chance to make money?
“Big Brother… Ling’er… go!”
Grabbing Zhuo Chang’an’s sleeve, Zhuo Ling pointed at him, then at herself.
“Dig vegetables!”
“No. Ling’er will stay home and play with Mom.”
Before Zhuo Chang’an could answer, Fenniang stopped her.
“There are big tigers in the mountains. They’ll snatch Ling’er away and eat her.”
In the past, whenever Zhuo Ling saw her eldest and second brothers heading into the mountains, she’d thought they were going to play and always insisted on following.
One mention of the “big tiger” had always frightened her into behaving.
This time, however…
It didn’t work.