Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The sky turned completely dark.

The crowing of roosters and the barking of dogs continued incessantly.

Jiang Mianmian lay in her mother's arms, feeling somewhat uncomfortable and clearing her throat.

Apart from her discomfort, the whole family looked very comfortable.

There was a sense of peacefulness in the air.

Her mother held her in one hand and chopped firewood with the other, "Clang, clang, clang."

Her father cooked over the stove, slicing unidentified leaves, "Scratch, scratch, scratch."

Her eldest brother carefully whittled wood with a knife, "Shh, shh, shh."

Her elder sister washed clothes, hammering them against a wooden board, "Bang, bang, bang."

The mountain chicken swam in the hot water in the pot, "Gurgle, gurgle."

Jiang Mianmian yawned.

She felt sleepy again.

Her eyelids couldn't resist closing.

Then she felt herself being laid down by her mother.

She knew it was a wooden basin.

A wooden basin crib, she watched her mother make it, filled with a pile of unidentified dry grass underneath and covered with layers of repeatedly washed rags on top. At first, she resisted, but lying down felt surprisingly comfortable, not prickly at all.

Her mother laid her down, and she woke up, opening her eyelids, but she didn't cry.

She was obedient.

She even did some stretching on her own.

Trying to use her hands to bring her feet to her mouth...

Then she felt the wooden basin being moved, and then she saw the sky.

Her elder sister brought the wooden basin next to her.

"Mom, I'll wash clothes and take care of my sister at the same time. You go lie down for a while."

Jiang Mianmian thought her elder sister had quite a bit of strength; she held the basin steadily, and she didn't feel any shaking.

Then she happily looked at the sky.

There were many stars twinkling in the sky, really many, and there was a little cool breeze, slightly more comfortable. At this moment, her sister stood up and covered her with a piece of clothing???

Jiang Mianmian wanted to protest, but she couldn't push away the clothing no matter how she twisted.

Instead, her sister looked at her and giggled.

Jiang Mianmian looked at her sister laughing, and when she laughed, her eyes resembled those of her handsome father, with curved eyebrows and eyes, quite beautiful.

Jiang Mianmian... how did this involve her? She suddenly became agitated, struggling.

Mother held her tightly, rendering her completely immobile.

"Mother, just sell me, then buy delicious food and raise my sister to be as strong as me," Elder Sister Jiang Yu said.

At that moment, Jiang Mianmian felt a pain in her heart as if it were the heart of a newborn baby.

She cried loudly, her throat hoarse.

Before, she heard that her sister exposed her friend's ugly deeds just to snatch a kitchen job, thinking she was a bad girl. Now, she was willing to sell herself just to take care of her sister. How foolish, tap into that selfishness of yours!

Jiang Mianmian cried with all her might, nonstop.

But her abilities were limited, and her crying sounded more like wheezing.

It was as if she was about to suffocate.

Which startled the entire family.

"Auntie, we can't accommodate you. Please leave," Mother spoke up.

"Auntie, please leave. We won't sell our daughter," Father stated firmly.

Elder Brother simply escorted Sixth Auntie out.

Sixth Aunt stood at the doorway, venting her anger with curses, while spitting out a thick phlegm:

"You worthless bunch, can't even enjoy a bit of comfort, deserve to suffer in poverty for a lifetime. If Jiang Lao'er can manage to support your little ones, I'll eat three pounds of shit."

But nobody in the family paid any attention to Sixth Aunt's ranting.

Jiang Mianmian was genuinely scared, crying uncontrollably in anyone's arms, unable to stop.

She gained a firsthand experience of the family's environment.

It was too impoverished.

Jiang Yujie held her sister, gently swaying her.

"Don't cry, Mianmian. Big sister won't leave. I'll be with you every day, I won't leave again."

She spoke through tears as well.

If there was a way, who would willingly become a servant?

As Jiang Mianmian cried, she suddenly felt her vision blur—there was a spring within sight.

The spring was the size of a bowl mouth, gurgling with water, about the thickness of a finger. As the water splashed into the air, it disappeared without a trace.

Jiang Mianmian instinctively reached out to touch the spring water, and a drop of sweet water sprinkled onto her, tasting refreshing and crisp. As it entered her mouth, it was sweet and invigorating, and when it reached her nose, her baby-like nasal congestion instantly cleared.

Wow, the superpower of a time traveler!

She forgot to cry, gaping in astonishment.

And Jiang Yujie found that her sister, who she said wouldn't cry anymore, really stopped crying and even seemed to smile.

She smiled too, but tears flowed even more intensely.