Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

The elder sister he referred to was his eldest uncle's daughter, Chen Honghua. She was cunning, wily, and ignorant, and Gu Ruoqing's good friend.

Gu Qingyao laughed and said, “Nothing happened. They can't bully me. Can't you see that I'm fine?”

Chen Goudan laughed. “Didn't you go to the city yesterday? I saw Elder Brother Mo's car return today. Did you come back with Elder Brother Mo? That car is awesome! Elder Brother Mo is great!”

His eyes shone as he spoke. All boys liked cars and this child's eyes were filled with hero-wors.h.i.+p.

“With Elder Brother Mo around, they certainly won't get their way.”

Gu Qingyao smiled and said, “Don't worry, nothing will happen to me. But you must take care of yourself and your younger sister, do you hear me?”

Chen Goudan hurriedly said, “I will certainly take good care of my younger sister!”

But he did not mention himself.

Gu Qingyao's heart ached as she looked at the sallow, skinny child standing before her. The few children around them had run off and she seized the opportunity to take four eggs from her inters.p.a.ce, and hand them to him.

These were real bird eggs. They were very small and had already been cooked, so they could be eaten straight away.

In the village, chicken eggs were very precious. Even if she gave them to him, he would not take them.

But many children loved to rob nests and bird eggs were more commonly found instead.

“For you. They're already cooked. Bring them back and give your younger sister two of them. Don't be reluctant to eat them. They're only safe in your stomach. Understand?”

If he brought them back, and Chen Honghua saw them, not only would he and his younger sister not get to eat them, they would be beaten.

Chen Goudan glanced at them and shook his head. “Elder Sister Gu, you eat them yourself! I… I can't take them!”

“Your Elder Brother Mo got these the last time he went up the mountain. He gave me a few, but I still have some more! He has been home recently, so he has many opportunities to go up the mountain! If I want to eat more, I can just get them from him. You take them!”

Chen Goudan took them at last because Gu Qingyao mentioned his younger sister. His 6-year-old sister had never eaten such wonderful things since she was born. When he thought of her, he did not have the courage to refuse anymore.

“Thank you, Elder Sister Gu!”

After bidding Chen Goudan goodbye, Gu Qingyao took her basket and climbed over the small hill. A small stream flowed at the bottom of the slope, on the opposite side of the hill.

This place was further from the perimeter and almost n.o.body came here, hence there were more wild chickens here.

Along the way, Gu Qingyao set several traps, hoping to catch a few small animals. In her previous life, she had learnt many of these tricks in her travels with Mo Beihan. So she managed to set them easily.

Also, she was not afraid to go so far alone because she was a good fighter.

In her previous life, she felt insecure after what had happened. So she had forced herself to learn to fight. A few cousins in her family had all been trained and were adept at fighting.

Later on, she had followed Mo Beihan around the country, and had learnt many things. As a result, although Gu Qingyao was now out by herself, she was not at all worried about encountering bad people.

5

It was already autumn and it was colder inside the forest. The little stream before her was narrow, at most three or four meters wide at its broadest point. At some places, it was only two meters wide. The stream varied in depth at different points.

1

She went around setting traps, then went to the stream to catch fish.

Fish and prawns could still be found in small rivers and some drains, unlike in later years, when they would be killed by pollution.