Although half a chicken had been stolen, seeing Mrs. He’s frustrated expression brought the three siblings immense satisfaction.
“Second Sister, how did you know the second branch of the family was aiming to raise a Great Writer? That’s amazing!”
Su Mo, abandoning his usual aggressive demeanor, now looked at Su Ying with admiration.
“It’s not amazing at all. She’s the one people say has ambitions higher than the sky. Besides, she only gave birth to two daughters. If she doesn’t use them to pave a Broad Road for herself, how can she justify all her efforts?”
Su Ying explained with a smile.
“That makes sense, but it’s still a pity about that half chicken!”
Su Juan and Su Mo were still lamenting the loss.
Su Ying waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry. Next time she comes, I’ll buy some rat poison and put it in!”
After she said this, Su Juan couldn’t help but glare at her. “Our family can barely make ends meet. Where would you get money to buy rat poison?”
Su Ying declared confidently, “I’ll earn it!”
She had skillful hands and knew many trades. Earning enough for a pack of rat poison wouldn’t be a problem.
It wasn’t that she was vicious or murderous, but she understood the principle of survival of the fittest. Moreover, she clearly knew that the opponents the three siblings faced were not simple.
“Fine! You think about how to earn money slowly. I’m going to cook first!”
Su Juan didn’t quite believe Su Ying had any good ideas. She had tried embroidery to earn money, but it was too slow. She had also considered selling herself as a maid, but that would prevent her from returning home regularly to take care of her younger sister and brother.
Previously, the two of them had thought about selling themselves to a wealthy family, but wealthy households weren’t easy to stay in. She always feared they would be mistreated, so she strongly opposed the idea.
Nowadays, aside from Su Mo occasionally bringing back some game, it was her writing a few characters to earn some money for the three of them to get by.
As Su Juan went to the kitchen to busy herself, Su Ying suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Su Mo,
“Little Brother, do you still have a Slingshot? Give me one!”
Hearing her request, Su Mo didn’t ask what she needed it for and hurried to fetch it for her.
The Slingshot was made of peachwood, polished shiny with tree oil for maintenance, and tied with a long rubber band. It was both beautiful and practical; Su Mo had used it to hunt many birds and rabbits.
Su Ying took the Slingshot back to her room and summoned the Trading System.
Since waking up, she had known she possessed this system. Simply put, it provided things that didn’t exist in this era or tried its best to fulfill whatever she needed in her heart.
However, to obtain the items offered by the system, she had to exchange them with specified objects or complete tasks assigned by the system.
At this moment, there was only one item in the system’s product list: a Laser Pointer. The condition for obtaining the Laser Pointer was to exchange it with a Slingshot.
The exchange was quite straightforward. Su Ying took out the Slingshot, confirmed the trade, and the Slingshot instantly disappeared. In its place, a black Laser Pointer appeared in her palm.
She took the Laser Pointer outside and tested it, finding it very effective.
Just as she felt her personal safety had gained an extra layer of protection, a Black Eagle descended from the sky, crashing straight into the courtyard.
The sound of the heavy impact startled both Su Juan and Su Mo, who rushed out to see what had happened.
“Second Sister, did you shoot this? You’re incredible!”
Seeing Su Ying standing alone in the courtyard and recalling that she had asked for his Slingshot earlier, Su Mo naturally deduced it was her doing.Su Juan also stared at her in astonishment, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Su Ying, however, looked completely bewildered. Ah, how had she managed to bring down the Black Eagle? Was it the laser pointer?
Without another word, Su Mo quickly stepped forward and grabbed the still flapping Black Eagle.
“Hurry, hide it in the house! Don’t let anyone see!” Su Juan immediately directed.
The courtyard gate had already been bolted by her, and the people outside had returned to their own homes. It seemed no one had witnessed the Black Eagle landing in their house.
After some effort, Su Mo tied up the eagle and even bound its beak with a rope to prevent it from making any noise.
At dinner time, Su Juan brought the food to the table.
Each person had a simple bowl of coarse rice porridge, a few Vegetable Cakes in a chipped bowl, and a plate of pickled vegetables.
None of the three siblings complained. They each picked up a Vegetable Cake and took a bite, followed by a mouthful of darkly pickled mustard greens, eating with great satisfaction.
Su Ying also tried to eat. Although she had previously only consumed liquid food, she didn’t mind eating coarse grains in this new body.
“We don’t have much food left at home, Second Sister. I’ll think of another way to help with your face. We still have a little money—tomorrow, let’s exchange it for some food first, alright?”
Halfway through the meal, Su Juan suddenly said this to Su Ying.
Su Ying nodded. “It’s fine, Sister. Don’t worry about my face for now. The most important thing is that everyone at home has enough to eat!”
A month ago, Su Ying’s face had been ruined, and she had cried and wailed at home, saying she didn’t want to live anymore. It was Su Juan who had consoled her and spent a lot of money trying to treat her face, but it had all been in vain.
Not only had her face shown no improvement, but a lot of money had been wasted. Thinking back on it now, Su Ying still felt heartache over that money.
Seeing that Su Ying didn’t care about her face, a wave of guilt suddenly surged in Su Juan’s heart. It was all her fault for not protecting Second Sister back then, allowing that scoundrel to ruin her face.
“Second Sister, don’t worry. In a few days, I’ll go up the mountain again to see if any big game has fallen into my Snares. If there is, I’ll sell it and buy ointment for you. I’ll definitely cure your face!”
Su Mo spoke to Su Ying with the firmness of a little adult.
Su Ying felt very comforted. “Mm! But you have to be careful when hunting—don’t get hurt. By the way, tomorrow the three of us should go to the market together, sell that Black Eagle, and buy some wrist guards and knee pads for Little Brother. I’m always worried when he goes to the back mountain!”
Su Mo was about to wave his hand in refusal, but Su Juan agreed. “That’s a good idea. If we get enough money, we can even take you to the clinic afterward. But we’ll have to get up early tomorrow—that Black Eagle looks like it’s worth a lot, and it would be trouble if someone set their eyes on it!”
“Mm! Sounds good!”
Su Ying nodded in approval.
Seeing that his two sisters had settled the matter, Su Mo didn’t say anything else, just grinned and gulped down his porridge.
After the meal, Su Juan cleared the dishes, while Su Ying went to make the beds. The old courtyard had many rooms, but due to their age, several had large holes in them and broken windows. The three siblings had only managed to tidy up two usable rooms.
She and Su Juan shared one room, while Su Mo slept alone in the other.
After tidying up and washing, they went to bed before it got completely dark. Su Mo first walked around the courtyard, setting up a few Animal Traps and sprinkling realgar powder along the base of the walls to prevent thieves and poisonous snakes from getting in.
The night passed quickly. Before dawn, Su Juan got up, packed a few Vegetable Cakes, boiled some water, and then woke Su Ying and Su Mo.
After washing their faces to refresh themselves, the three of them took advantage of the pre-dawn darkness to conceal yesterday’s Black Eagle in a cloth bag, packed some food, and set off on foot toward the market.
Xiaohe Village was not far from Panlong Town—less than half an hour’s walk—so they usually went to Panlong Town for market days.
Su Ying thought the Black Eagle, with its jet-black feathers and spirited demeanor even after being tied up all night, resembled a king among birds and would surely fetch a high price. Since there were more knowledgeable buyers in the county town, she suggested to her elder sister that they go there instead.
Su Juan agreed it was a reasonable idea, so the three of them walked an additional half hour to Longtou County.
The county was bustling with people. When Su Mo brought out the Black Eagle, many onlookers showed immediate interest and inquired about the price.
Su Mo stated the price they had agreed on during the journey: “One hundred taels!”
It was a bit expensive, but haggling was expected—if they could sell it for fifty or sixty taels, it would still be a profit.
Su Ying had originally followed her elder sister and younger brother to sell the eagle, but a sudden eerie gust of wind blew her forward several steps.
“Take a look! Ten coppers won’t let you down, ten coppers won’t cheat you! Everything for ten coppers, each item just ten coppers…”
A street vendor was shouting vigorously.
Just as Su Ying was about to leave, the system prompted the Appearance Restoration Balm, and the required item for the trade was a black waistband on the stall priced at ten coppers.