Chapter 11 - The Siblings Entering the Mountain

Yu Wan did not interfere with what happened after that. After paying for the medicine, she brought Little Bruiser out. She held her brother’s hand and walked to the side of the road, putting the empty pouch into her arms.

When she had turned the pouch over just now, Little Bruiser had seen it clearly. She had not left a single copper coin. Little Bruiser knew exactly what that meant. However, he understood that those copper coins were used to buy medicine for his uncle. Although he really wanted to eat osmanthus cake, he hoped that his uncle would get better.

1

“Bruiser…” Yu Wan bowed.

Little Bruiser suppressed the sadness in his heart and said sensibly, “I’m fine, Sis. I don’t like osmanthus cake to begin with!”

“Is that so?” Yu Wan gently rubbed his little head. Her fair hand slid past his ear and a copper coin appeared between her index and middle fingers. She smiled softly.

1

Little Bruiser’s eyes widened and he quickly touched his ears. “I, I, I have copper coins in my ears?”

2

Yu Wan smiled. “Do you still want the osmanthus cake?”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes!” Little Bruiser shouted excitedly! His disappointment was swept away. The joy of regaining what he had lost was even more pleasant than the first time he found out that he could eat osmanthus cake!

“How much is osmanthus cake?” Yu Wan came to the stall.

The vendor said, “One copper each.”

“Give me a piece.” Yu Wan handed him the copper plate in her hand. “Can you cut it in half?”

A copper plate of osmanthus cake was already small enough. How small would it be if it was cut into two halves? The vendor looked at the siblings with a strange expression. In the end, he agreed with a smile. “Okay.”

Not only did the vendor cut a thin piece of osmanthus cake in half, he even wrapped it up meticulously.

“Thank you.” Yu Wan thanked him and handed half of the osmanthus cake to Little Bruiser. “Can you leave the other half for me?”

“Yes!” Little Bruiser nodded happily!

…

“Brother, what is that woman up to?”

“How should I know?”

“Back then, I couldn’t even borrow a single copper coin when I went to borrow money from her. Now that Father’s leg can’t be treated, she’s acting all pretentious again!”

Yu Feng frowned. “Who told you Father’s leg can’t be cured?”

Yu Song opened his mouth and wanted to say, “That’s what the doctor said. You were there at that time too. Didn’t you hear it? The best time for treatment has passed. Now, taking medicine will only stop the situation from worsening…”

He was ultimately unable to say these words.

However, Big Brother didn’t deny that the woman was putting on an act, right?

He knew it!

She was indeed pretending to be a good person!

What was she after?

Yu Song was almost angered to death by Yu Wan’s charity, but he had no choice but to suppress his anger and take the medicine bag from the medicine boy. He thought that perhaps this was what she wanted. She wanted to anger them to death!

…

Yu Wan bought the osmanthus cake with the copper coins left as the fare. She really could not think of making another one out of her fingers, so she could only walk back to the village with Little Bruiser.

When Little Bruiser got tired of walking, he would lick the osmanthus cake in the paper bag.

The Yu brothers, who were following behind the two of them, couldn’t stand it anymore. They went forward and picked up Little Bruiser. Each of them carried him for a while and took turns to carry him back to the village.

Little Bruiser had fallen asleep halfway, so the two brothers had no choice but to send him home in one go.

When Aunt Yu, who had been taking care of Madam Jiang for half a day, saw her two sons and Ah Wan appear at the gate of Ah Wan’s house, her eyebrows jumped! Soon after, she saw little Bruiser sleeping soundly in Yu Feng’s arms and immediately felt relieved.

She glanced at Ah Wan and said indifferently, “Since you’re back, then go in. Your mother is fine. We should go back now.”

“Aunt,” Ah Wan called after her. She pulled out a small paper bag and smiled. “It’s for my little sister.”

2

Aunt Yu hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take it. When they reached a place with no one around, Aunt Yu wanted to throw it away. However, she opened it up unexpectedly.

Osmanthus cake.

Her youngest daughter was crying for osmanthus cake.

In the afternoon, Yu Wan finished tidying up the house and was about to enter the mountain again when Yu Feng came to visit.

“You don’t have to worry about the pharmacy anymore. I’ll go to the authorities in three days.”

The situation had already reached an irreversible point. He did not blame her for acting on her own. After all, there was indeed no better solution at that time. However, he did not think that she could gather so much silver in three short days. Unless…

She still had some money left.

In next to no time, Yu Feng denied this guess. With the mother and son of the Zhao family around, even if she had a lot of money, it would have been emptied long ago.

“This is my family’s business…”

Yu Wan smiled and interrupted him. “Don’t worry, I won’t let Big Brother go to the authorities.”

“You…” Yu Feng frowned even more tightly.

Yu Wan looked at her brother and said, “I said that it will be resolved.”

Yu Feng coldly said, “Including the interest, it’s twenty taels!”

1

They woke up early and worked late every day. They could not even save one or two taels per month. No matter how good her fish sold or how many bamboo shoots she dug, would she be able to collect such a huge sum in three days?

Yu Wan was in no mood to argue with him. She took her tools and went up the mountain from her own backyard.

In the village, her family was the only family that directly connected to the back of the mountain. Back then, this piece of land was desolate, and because it was too close to the back of the mountain, snakes, rats, and insects often appeared. Ah Wan coveted the cheapness of it, and Mrs. Jiang wanted peace and quiet, so they bought this piece of land and built a house.

This was the first time Yu Feng went to the back mountain of Ah Wan’s house. The small hill didn’t look big, but it was a different scene once he climbed over it.

The villagers often went up the mountain to chop wood, but they went to the west side of the village’s fields. There were more people going there, and gradually, a path was formed. It was unlike this place, where there were thorny bushes and thick shadows that covered the sun. There were unpredictable dangers lurking everywhere.

He looked at Ah Wan who was leading the way and thought to himself, “Is this really his sister? Why does she look like a completely different person when she walks?”

“We’re here.” Yu Wan stopped near the river.

There was actually a river here… Yu Feng was slightly surprised. “You fished here?” He dared to bet that this river had never been fished by the villagers. No wonder the fish were so fat and plentiful. “Aren’t you afraid of running into something when you go deep into the forest as a girl?” Even when he went hunting in the mountains, he had never been to such a deep place.

Yu Wan chuckled. “Big brother, do you mean the fishes?”

Yu Feng stopped talking. As the saying goes, fortune comes from danger.

Yu Wan took out a shovel and started digging for earthworms.

“You were most afraid of this before,” Yu Feng said, puzzled.

“I’m not afraid now,” Yu Wan said lightly. There was nothing to hide. She was indeed not afraid anymore, but she did not want to explain too much about her change. She changed the topic and said, “Big Brother followed me all the way up the mountain. It can’t be to see me fishing, right?”

Of course… not! Only then did Yu Feng realize that he had obediently followed her up the mountain! How could this be…

Yu Wan took out a firewood knife from the basket and said with a slight smile, “Then I’ll have to trouble Big Brother to help me cut the firewood.”

Yu Feng looked at her coldly. “Even if you catch all the fish in the river, you won’t be able to sell them for twenty taels!”

“Here.” Yu Wan ignored his words. She took a step forward and stuffed the knife into his hands. Then, she left him to go fishing alone. After she finished fishing, she went to dig for winter bamboo shoots. When she returned fully loaded, Yu Feng had finished chopping the firewood and had already gone for three trips. This was the fourth trip.

“Thank you, Big Brother. It’s enough.” Yu Wan smiled and nodded, then returned to the backyard with Yu Feng.

Yu Feng had just put down his shoulder pole when Yu Wan handed him two clean wooden buckets. “Big Brother, can you help me carry some water?”

Yu Feng’s expression turned extremely ugly. This girl didn’t even hold back when ordering people around?

When Yu Feng returned with a basin of water, Yu Wan was busy preparing dinner.

“If it’s possible, can you help me to prepare dinner, Big Brother?” Yu Wan asked with a smile.

Yu Feng’s face darkened.

“Forget it.” Yu Wan stir-fried the pork belly in the pot. “I’m afraid you’re not good at cooking.”

Yu Feng’s body trembled. Who was the culinary master of this charred pork belly…