An Xia remained calm, not bothering to pay heed to Mrs. Zhang’s malicious words.
She stretched her neck to peer into the woodshed and raised her voice, “Big sister, have you finished packing?”
“Should Qiu’er and I go help you?”
“No need, I’m coming out now!” As she spoke, An Chun emerged from the woodshed carrying three bundles.
The three sisters didn’t have many decent things to pack; it was nothing more than a few sets of clothes.
After stepping out of the woodshed, An Chun did not walk straight over to An Xia and An Qiu. Instead, she turned to face An Laifu. After a moment of silence, she said in a low voice, “Father, we are two separate families now. I will take good care of my two younger sisters.”
In her heart, after all, An Laifu was the one who had brought the three of them into this world.
Yet, An Laifu showed no sign of sorrow. Instead, he waved his hand at An Chun with a face full of disgust. “Stay away from me, don’t pass your illness to me.”
“The three of you, get out! I only have one son. I have to rely on him in my old age; don’t let you lot ruin his prospects.”
An Chun, who had originally remained calm and hoped to have a proper farewell with An Laifu, closed her eyes slightly and turned away quickly. Although she tried her best to hold back her tears, her eye sockets were painfully red.
An Qiu also kept her head down, looking somewhat dejected.
An Xia took An Qiu’s hand, walked over to An Chun, and took her other hand as well, saying gently, “Sister, let’s go!”
She knew very well that in the hearts of An Chun and An Qiu, there was still hope for An Laifu as a father. They believed that blood was thicker than water and that An Laifu had been cruel to them only because of Zhang Cuihua.
But An Xia understood clearly that An Laifu was selfish to the bone; to him, there was only one child who mattered—his supposed hope for the future, An Yu. As for his daughters, in An Laifu’s mind, they were nothing more than stepping stones on his son’s path to success.
What kind of family affection could there be?
The three sisters left the An family courtyard. An Chun’s spirits were somewhat low, while An Qiu adjusted quickly. Before long, she was chattering endlessly beside An Chun, trying to cheer her up.
An Chun suddenly stopped and looked at An Xia, appearing somewhat lost. “Xia’er, where will we live tonight?”
Living out in the open was absolutely out of the question; it wasn’t as if there had never been cases of wild beasts coming down from the mountains in the village.
An Qiu also looked up at An Xia expectantly.
“Isn’t there a family on the east side of the village that all died after eating mushrooms? Let’s temporarily settle there for now!”
An Xia had already decided on this. The Wang family were outsiders and had no relatives in Hulu Village. After the tragedy, the villagers had pooled money together to hold their funeral, leaving the house vacant.
An Chun frowned, somewhat resistant. “Xia’er, the villagers say that house is haunted. We should probably… not go there.”
An Xia smiled gently.
“Big sister, how can one take rumors of ghosts and gods seriously? If there were truly ghosts in this world, how could there be so many wicked people? They would have been dealt with long ago!”
With that, she led them toward the east side of the village.
On the way, they bumped into Sun Taohua.
“Where are you girls going with your bundles?” she asked curiously.
“To live on the east side of the village,” An Xia replied truthfully.
Sun Taohua looked at the three sisters with pity. “Have you been driven out?”
An Chun’s eyes turned red, and she couldn’t speak.
An Xia pursed her lips and said calmly, “No, we have split from the family to live on our own.”
Sun Taohua glanced at An Chun’s expression and knew that An Xia was lying to save face for her parents. It was not easy for these three children; no one just kicks their daughters out to live alone. Those heartless parents didn’t fear retribution.
“Where do you plan to live?” Sun Taohua asked.
“Wang Da’s house is empty, so we will stay there for a while,” An Xia answered.
Sun Taohua sighed inwardly and forced a smile. “That’s fine, too. It will just take some cleaning before it’s livable. You should hurry over, don’t be late.”
Living in a haunted house was better than sleeping outside and being carried off by wolves.
An Xia gave a polite smile and took An Chun and An Qiu away.
In Wang Da’s house, the essentials were already there—pots, bowls, and basins were all available. However, a thick layer of dust covered everything, and it would take time to clean.
An Chun, being the strongest, was responsible for organizing the furniture. An Qiu was in charge of sweeping the floor, while An Xia cleaned the tables and chairs.
“Gurgle~”
As the three sisters were working hard, An Qiu’s stomach growled! She pursed her lips, rubbed her belly pitifully, and whispered, “There’s no food for you, stop calling.”
After talking to herself, she went back to sweeping the floor.
But not long after, her stomach growled even louder.
An Xia looked over. “Qiu’er, are you hungry? After the second sister finishes wiping the chairs, I’ll go to the river to catch some fish for you.”
“Knock, knock, knock!” Just then, there was a sound at the courtyard gate!
An Xia looked at An Chun in surprise. “Who could be knocking at this hour?”
An Chun was also puzzled and said, “I don’t know, I’ll go open the door and see!” As she spoke, she went to open the gate.
When the door opened, she saw Sun Taohua standing there with a smile, a bamboo basket carried on her left arm.
An Chun gave a shy, honest smile. “Auntie Sun, what is this…”
Sun Taohua lifted the cloth over the basket and pointed at the contents. “I made some corn pancakes at home, so I brought them to you while they’re still warm.”
An Chun didn’t reach out to take them, looking somewhat awkward. “This…”
Although it was an era of peace, the life of ordinary people was still poor.
Sun Taohua laughed heartily. “Don’t be shy with me; I made too much at home.”
Seeing that An Chun was embarrassed, An Xia said loudly, “Thank you, Auntie.”
Now was not the time to be overly polite. As for the kindness shown to them, they would pay it back slowly in the future.
“We all live in the same village, why be polite!” Sun Taohua handed the wrapped pancakes to An Chun. “Take them!”
An Chun felt grateful and said sincerely, “Thank you, Auntie!”
Sun Taohua smiled. “I said don’t be polite. My home is also on the east side of the village; if you need any help, just let me know.”
With that, she walked away with her empty basket.
After the three sisters cleaned the courtyard enough to be livable, they devoured the pancakes Sun Taohua had sent. An Qiu even licked the crumbs off her hands. She was just too hungry!
Originally, there were two pancakes each, but An Chun only ate one, splitting the other in half to give to An Qiu and An Xia.
An Qiu looked at the crispy, fragrant pancake and swallowed, but she didn’t take An Chun’s piece. “Big sister, you eat it. I’m full. You did so much work, how can you not eat your fill?”
An Xia didn’t take it either, claiming she was full.
She felt a lump in her throat. An Chun was only a fifteen-year-old girl, yet she always tried her best to ensure that she and An Qiu lived a little better. Meanwhile, the father who should have been responsible for them ignored them completely, treating them like dirt.