Chapter 22 – Being a bully
It was as if Yan Xiaosi could smell the fragrance of chicken stewed in baizhu again.
Yan Shuyun laughed and said, “Fourth brother, you must be craving chicken meat.”
Yan Xiaosi didn’t just crave chicken, she craved any kind of meat. As long as it was meat, she could eat a bowl of it now.
“The sun is going down, let’s hurry home.”
Ms. Zhong felt some guilt about the situation and shifted the topic away from food. She reached out and grabbed the basket from Yan Shuxin before walking toward where she kept her tools.
It was because of her incompetence that the four children couldn’t even eat their fill of coarse flour, let alone meat.
“Mom, it’s heavy. Can you carry it?”
Ms. Zhong was about to pick up the basket when Yan Xiaosi rushed up and pressed the basket down.
“Why don’t we just leave the firewood on the mountain for now and carry it back tomorrow?”
Ms. Zhong was only in her thirties, but her back was bent because of constant stress. Her rough skin was not like those of people in their thirties, but rather like forties.
Yan Xiaosi probably inherited part of the original owner’s memory. When she saw Ms. Zhong’s bent back, Yan Xiaosi’s nose felt a bit sour.
Ms. Zhong squatted on the ground and was busy putting the two shoulder straps of the basket on her shoulders.
“Mom can carry a hundred jin. The baizhu and a bundle of firewood are not even a hundred jin. Besides, mom already left a bundle of firewood in the mountain this morning.”
Ms. Zhong insisted on carrying the firewood home. Yan Xiaosi could only go along and help her mom stand up.
“Mom, you can give me the sickle to hold.”
Yan Xiaosi’s small body couldn’t help Ms. Zhong carry the firewood, but at least she could lessen the burden by holding the sickle.
Ms. Zhong handed her the sickle.
Yan Xiaosi put the sickle in the bamboo basket and asked Yan Shuqin, Yan Shuxue and Yan Shuyun to hand theirs to her as well.
She threw all four sickles into the bamboo basket and held it in her right hand. With her left hand holding the hoe, it was still quite tiring for her.
At the foot of the mountain, a stray dog suddenly rushed over and stopped in the middle of the road, barking at Yan Xiaosi, Ms. Zhong and Yan Shuqin.
The dog bared his teeth and barked. Yan Shuyun, who was walking in front, stepped back in a hurry. She stumbled over a stone by her feet and lost her balance. She fell back. The firewood landed on the ground, and her body followed.
The bundle of firewood scattered all over the ground as the vine holding it together broke.
Yan Shuyun’s ankle was cut when she fell to the ground. The pain made her tear up.
“Yun’er.”
“Third sister.”
Ms. Zhong, Yan Xiaosi, Yan Shuqin, and Yan Shuxue shouted at the same time.
Yan Xiaosi hurriedly dropped the basket and hoe to check Yan Shuyun’s injury.
Yan Shuyun’s pant leg was cut. Yan Xiaosi rolled up her clothes and saw that the wound was an inch long and bleeding.
“Woof woof…”
The wild dog was still in the middle of the road, stretching its neck and barking.
Yan Xiaosi recognized this dog. It belonged to the village head Liu Qianhe and his family, and was the pet of Liu Qianqian.
It was quite a bully.
“Third sister, wait here. I’ll let you eat meat tonight to recover.”
Yan Shuyun was already thin and weak. Seeing how much blood she shed, Yan Xiaosi was heartbroken.
When Yan Xiaosi stood up, Yan Shuyun tried to hold her back. “Fourth brother, what are you doing?”
Yan Xiaosi stood up. At the same time, she casually grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it hard at the mongrel dog.
