The rain had stopped.
The sky was a clear blue.
The air was filled with the rich scent of grass and trees, as well as the refreshing moisture after the rain.
Lu Jingzhi was also on the verge of starvation.
Alright.
She had to put aside the task of fixing the house, and feed herself first.
She didn't remove the blood-stained gauze from her forehead; her wound had mostly healed, and it was too conspicuous.
Her home was so poor that they didn't even have a bronze mirror.
There were big and small muddy puddles in the yard, filled with rainwater. Lu Jingzhi randomly picked one and took a look at herself.
She had nice facial features and big eyes, but she was too skinny. If she took good care of herself, she could become a beauty.
As she stood up, she felt lightheaded. If it wasn't for someone who grabbed her arm, Lu Jingzhi would have fallen into the muddy puddle.
"Thanks, beautiful."
Jiang Tanyue's mouth twitched slightly. After making sure that the girl had steadied herself, she withdrew her hand without a word and said in a hoarse voice, "Before you can truly let yourself go, it's best to call me big sister first."
"Thank you, sister." Lu Jingzhi smiled slightly, smoothly adopting the new title.
Her eyes really were beautiful, and coupled with Lu Jingzhi's unintentional hint of innocence, they were quite bewitching.
"Your injuries are severe, don't run around. There's no extra money to treat you," Jiang Tanyue said, handing her half of a dry and hard steamed bread of corn.
It was mixed with wild vegetables, had a strange color, and looked ugly, but she stuffed it into Lu Jingzhi's hand anyways and advised seriously, "It's a bit hard to swallow, but it's our only food for today. I hope you won't be as picky as the lady inside. There's hot water in the room, you can soak it to make it easier to eat."
Lu Jingzhi had no choice but to eat the steamed bread of corn, bite by bite.
Her soul wasn't quite used to the coarse texture, but her throat could manage it.
It wasn't just unappetizing.
It was extremely unappetizing.
After finishing it, she washed her hands and sighed, as if she had completed a daunting task: "Scratched my throat."
Jiang Tanyue pushed a cracked bowl towards her, "Drink more hot water."
"That sounds familiar," Lu Jingzhi blurted out.
Both girls looked at each other and then averted their eyes. Jiang Tanyue swiftly put a small iron shovel and sickle into the basket, put the basket on her thin shoulders, "I'm going to the mountain to dig for wild vegetables, you stay home and recover. Once you're healed, you'll have to work too, understand?"
Lu Jingzhi downed the water with a gulp, "I'll go with you."
Jiang Tanyue frowned and spoke with displeasure, "There's no extra money to get you a doctor. If anything goes wrong again, you'll die."
Lu Jingzhi had only seen this face smile when she first woke up.
It was also a fake smile that could be turned on and off at will.
Now, it was a cold and businesslike expression.
Jiang Tanyue probably got the steamed bread from some kindhearted villager. She was still able to go to the mountain and dig for wild vegetables - that was the value of the older sister in this impoverished family. Lu Jingzhi had to show her own value too.
"Don't worry, I can do it!"
Jiang Tanyue nodded, "We're both adults now, just weigh the consequences."
Original Lu Xiaomiao was eleven years old this year, while her sister was thirteen. When their father was still alive, the family of three used to live in the old house. The mother worked a lot and ate little, and so did the Jiang sisters, they were malnourished and small for their age, unlike other children their age.
A thirteen-year-old in modern times could reach 1.7 meters, while a thirteen-year-old in ancient times, especially a rural peasant, would be lucky to reach 1.2 meters.
With such a face, saying mature words had a sense of dissonant cuteness which made Lu Jingzhi unable to suppress her laughter.
Jiang Tanyue was speechless.
She felt that her sister's laughter was inexplicable, as if there was something seriously wrong with her.
Never mind.
No matter how serious the illness, she would bear it - as long as it wasn't like the delicate one inside the house.