“Mommy, is she so small because she doesn’t get to eat enough?” When she heard that they were the same age, Little Bei immediately guessed the crux of the matter. Otherwise, why would she be shorter than her despite being the same age as her?

  Mu Jingzhe looked at Little Bei. “Little Bei, you seem to pay quite a bit of attention to her.”

  “Mm, seeing her reminds me of myself.” Little Bei nodded. “Mommy, wait for me.”

  Little Bei ran out and saw that Little Zhaodi was indeed still there. She took two pieces of milk candy and a peanut one out of her pocket.

  “For you.”

  Little Zhaodi had seen milk candy before. This was something only boys on the mountain could eat during the New Year. She was a girl, so she didn’t have the right to eat it. She had picked up candy wrappers to lick them before, but they hadn’t been delicious.

  Despite seeing Little Bei suddenly pass the candy to her, Little Zhaodi didn’t dare take it. Little Bei stuffed it into her hand and whispered, “Eat it in secret when you’re alone. Don’t give it to them.”

  Little Bei didn’t like Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ, so she wasn’t willing to let them eat it.

  Little Zhaodi nodded in a daze. Seeing her dazed look, Little Bei was afraid that she would be robbed of the candy if she saved it for later. After all, the same thing had happened to her before.

  “Eat it now, or they’ll snatch it.”

  “Thank you, Little Fairy Sister.” Little Zhaodi spoke very softly.

  Little Bei was stunned. “I’m not your Fairy Sister. I’m Little Bei. You can call me Little Bei. When is your birthday? Let me see which of us is older.”

  “I don’t know.” Little Zhaodi didn’t know when her birthday was, nor did her parents remember. She had no idea that there was such a thing as a birthday.

  “We should be around the same age. I’m a little taller than you now, so I’ll be your older sister for now. You can call me Sister Little Bei.”

  “Alright, Sister Little Bei.”

  “How obedient.” Little Bei was very happy. She peeled off the candy wrapper and stuffed the candy into Little Zhaodi’s mouth. “Eat it now.”

  \r \r \r

  Little Zhaodi habitually bit it, and a sweetness she had never tasted before spread in her mouth. It was different from any kind of wild fruit. It was very, very sweet.

  Little Zhaodi felt that it tasted like a petal that she often found to suck. She didn’t know what kind of flower it was, but when the petal was plucked, one could suck the juice inside. It was very sweet. She had thought that that was the sweetest thing ever, but in the end, this candy was even sweeter than that flower.

  Little Zhaodi greedily savored it. Her eyes were sparkling, and she couldn’t bear to swallow it. Little Bei chuckled. “Eat it before going in.”

  Little Zhaodi nodded vigorously. Little Bei looked at the scar on her forehead. “How did that scar come about? Did they hit you?”

  Little Zhaodi sniffed. “I scared them, and they said they didn’t see me.”

  Eldest Brother Shao and the rest couldn’t bear to pay the electricity bill. There were no lightbulbs at home either, so they even had to save on the usage of kerosene lamps. Little Zhaodi was too dark and was especially inconspicuous at night. For a moment, Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao and the rest had forgotten that there was someone at home and had been startled when they’d accidentally bumped into Little Zhaodi.

  This was how Little Zhaodi had gotten injured, but at that moment, Little Zhaodi had completely forgotten about the pain. The candy was so sweet that her eyes narrowed. After feeding Little Zhaodi, Little Bei bounced back home to eat.

  Little Zhaodi should have listened to Little Bei and eaten all the candy, but because it was so delicious, she couldn’t bear to eat it all at once and secretly hid it.

  After hiding it, because she was constantly afraid of losing it, she would secretly touch it to see if it was still there. As she made many small movements, Shao Shou discovered her.

  There had been no sweets to eat at home for a long time. When he saw the candy, Shao Shou’s eyes turned green and he immediately demanded that Little Zhaodi give it to him. Previously, Little Zhaodi had been very weak and hadn’t retaliated or scolded them back, but this time, she surprisingly resisted.

  “No.” In spite of her fear, Little Zhaodi covered her mouth and shook her head. This candy had been given to her by Sister Little Bei. She didn’t want to give it to them.

  “How dare you refuse!” Shao Shou lost it and raised his hand to snatch the candy.

  Little Zhaodi hugged her head and didn’t dare retaliate. However, when someone tried to snatch the candy from her, she resisted. Little Zhaodi, who had been doing housework since she was young, was actually very strong in spite of her petite frame. Shao Shou’s strength was nowhere near comparable to hers.

  In the end, not only did Shao Shou not manage to snatch the candy, but he was also pushed down by Little Zhaodi.

  Shao Shou’s wails instantly attracted Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao’s attention. Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao acted as if she couldn’t see Little Zhaodi’s messy hair and nosebleed. When she saw that Shao Shou had injured his knee, she slapped Little Zhaodi.

  “How dare you hit your master!”

  Little Zhaodi was thrown down the stairs and didn’t get up for a long time.

  “Beat her to death, beat her to death!” Shao Shou shouted excitedly. Then, he tried to snatch the candy from Little Zhaodi’s hands.

  Little Zhaodi held back her tears. Afraid that Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao would snatch the candy along with her son, she directly stuffed it into her mouth.

  If she ate it, she wouldn’t be afraid it would be snatched again.

  “Ah!” Shao Shou was so angry that he slapped her and tried to dig it out of her mouth. Little Zhaodi still refused.

  Shao Shou was so angry that he wailed. “Mom, my candy, my candy!”

  “Who gave you the candy?” Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao asked.

  Little Zhaodi didn’t say anything. Shao Shou sat on the ground anxiously. “I want to eat sweets. I want to eat sweets!”

  Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao had no choice but to search for it. Soon, she found the peanut candy. Panicking, Little Zhaodi snatched it back without hesitation and even ate the candy wrapper.

  “Are you the reincarnation of a hungry ghost? Who gave it to you!” When Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao heard Shao Shou’s cries, she hit Little Zhaodi ruthlessly.

  Soon, she thought of the people next door. Only those who lived next door could afford to give away so much candy. Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao spat, “Those kids would rather give it to an outsider than to their own cousins.”

  “Mommy, I want candy. I want candy!” Shao Shou rolled on the ground and threw a tantrum, crying and begging for candy. “If I do not get some, you should beat her to death. She snatched my candy.”

  “Why are you still rolling on the ground when you’re already ten years old?!” Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao scolded Shao Shou, but Shao Shou didn’t care at all.

  When Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao saw that Shao Shou was crying and making a fuss, while Zhaodi was eating sweets next to him, refusing to spit them out no matter how hard she hit her, she was so angry that she had no choice.

  In the end, she asked Little Zhaodi to continue asking for candy. “Since they’re giving it to you, go and ask for more.”

  Little Zhaodi refused to go. Since she didn’t move, Shao Shou continued to cry. Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao had no choice but to pick up the broom and chase Little Zhaodi out. “Hurry up and ask for candy. If you don’t get any, I’ll beat you to death!”

  Previously, they hadn’t been able to do anything to Mu Jingzhe and the rest. Seeing that Little Zhaodi was useful, Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao couldn’t help wanting to get food through Little Zhaodi. It would be fine even if she was given just a few sweets.

  Little Zhaodi didn’t want to go, as she didn’t want Little Bei to dislike her. However, no matter how hard she struggled, she was no match for Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao. Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao carried her to the door and pressured her to ask for candy.

  Little Zhaodi ran back a few times and was chased out each time. Head hurting from Shao Shou’s crying voice, Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao hit her even harder. As she was hitting her, she happened to encounter Little Bei and Shao Nan, who were returning.

  Little Zhaodi was shocked to see Little Bei and quickly wiped her face. However, the nosebleed blood on her face had already dried and couldn’t be wiped away.

  When Little Bei saw Little Zhaodi’s face, she frowned. Upon seeing Little Bei frown, Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao hit her even harder. She wanted Little Bei to be moved and pity Zhaodi. Then, she would give her more sweets and delicious food. If that didn’t work, it would be good if they could give her food. This way, she would save on food.

  As Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao slapped her, Little Zhaodi’s body trembled. However, she bit her lips without saying a word. She only wanted to break free, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t.