Bai Sheng shyly tucked away her blackened little feet, "My shoes broke on the way."
Lu Ye suddenly grabbed her ankle and looked at the sole of her foot.
The scraped sole was covered in sand, a bloody mess.
Bai Sheng felt a little embarrassed with his warm large hand holding her ankle.
Lu Ye frowned slightly and said, "You ran over here to find us?"
"Yes, didn't I just say? I was afraid you... I came to bring you water. Lu Yun and Lu Yu were so thirsty they fainted. You were out working hard, you must be even thirstier..." *If you die of thirst, I'll be a widow.*
Lu Ye ignored what she was saying. After gently putting down her foot, he took out a piece of paper from his shirt pocket, carefully put it in his trouser pocket, and then started to take off his shirt.
Bai Sheng was startled. Could he be... No, how could he? If he wanted to do something, it wouldn't be at this time. Bai Sheng chuckled to herself.
Lu Ye had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs, with excellent proportions. Although he was thin, one could still see small grains of tanned muscle, particularly firm.
He tore off a small piece from his shirt, then took Bai Sheng's ankle again, and said in a low voice, "Bear with the pain."
Seeing Lu Ye gently wipe the sand from the sole of her foot with the cloth, Bai Sheng was dumbfounded. She nervously squirmed her body, her cheeks flushing.
After cleaning both feet, Lu Ye tore the remaining clothes in half and wrapped Bai Sheng's feet securely.
Bai Sheng stepped on the ground, feeling like she was wearing cloth shoes. Her feet felt much more comfortable. "Thank you, Lu Ye."
Lu Ye nodded faintly and turned to look at Lu Hua.
Lu Hua's complexion had improved considerably. After a while, she opened her eyes, her eyes red. She called out "Brother," and then looked at Bai Sheng, awkwardly calling her "Sister-in-law."
Bai Sheng hadn't expected the original owner to be so disliked. All her siblings looked at her with unnatural expressions.
But it didn't matter. That was the original owner's bad karma, not her fault.
"Hey!" Bai Sheng responded affectionately, then grinned, her eyes crinkling, and smiled brilliantly at Lu Hua.
Lu Hua: ???
Lu Ye looked at them and said gently, "Let's go home." There were two younger brothers at home, and he was very worried.
Lu Hua had already stood up. Seeing Lu Ye bend down to carry her, she immediately pulled away, her face resolute as she refused, "Brother, you sold so much blood to redeem me, how can you still have the strength to carry me? I feel very energetic now and can walk myself!"
Lu Ye had sold blood to redeem Lu Hua?!
Bai Sheng was shocked. No wonder he looked so weak earlier.
She had chased after them all the way, already thirsty and tired. To redeem her, he had sold so much blood, and he had been carrying his sister all this way!
Lu Ye was truly a loyal and righteous elder brother.
And also a person with astonishing physique and great strength!
Bai Sheng suddenly no longer worried about telling him about her spatial dimension and spiritual spring.
Lu Ye still insisted on carrying Lu Hua. Bai Sheng said, "Lu Ye, just listen to your sister. If your health collapses, this family will truly collapse. You must take care of yourself first before you can take care of your family."
"Yes, Brother, Sister-in-law is right," Lu Hua nodded repeatedly, her gaze towards Bai Sheng softening a little.
Lu Ye thought about it and didn't insist further. He had lost too much blood today; the brothel madam practically wanted to drain him dry.
The three of them walked home together.
When they arrived home, the sun was already setting. Lu Yun and Lu Yu were eagerly waiting at the village entrance. Seeing the three of them, they immediately shouted and ran over.
"Big Brother!"
"Sister!"
Bai Sheng: My ears are deaf. Yes, I can't hear anything.
The two younger brothers rushed up and hugged Lu Hua tightly. After hugging Lu Hua, they hugged Lu Ye, and finally, the four siblings hugged each other, laughing heartily.
Lu Ye, who happened to look up from the embrace, saw Bai Sheng standing alone and smiling awkwardly. His expression faltered slightly.
When Bai Sheng's gaze met his, he nodded at her faintly.
Bai Sheng didn't understand the meaning of Lu Ye's nod, but she didn't intend to disturb the reunion of the four siblings any further. Weighing the water pouch in her hand, she turned and walked into the "room" where she had been lying earlier.
Raising her hand, she filled the water pouch and hung it on the wall.
As she was about to go to the kitchen to fill the stone vat, she almost bumped into Lu Ye when she turned around.
"Uh, you've come at the right time. I'll tell you how this water came about," Bai Sheng extended her right hand towards Lu Ye, preparing to show him the little red flower.
Lu Ye raised his hand and blocked her hand back, saying gently, "There's no rush with this. I need to handle something first. You stay home and look after the younger siblings."
"What is it? So... urgent?" Bai Sheng asked. Since they were already husband and wife, many things needed to be open and shared.
Lu Ye looked at her deeply, hesitated for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "This afternoon, my grandmother, Lu Chenshi, colluded with my eldest aunt and third aunt to sell Xiao Hua to a brothel in town. They must give an explanation for this!"
Bai Sheng had an impression of those wicked women in her mind, but she didn't expect them to sell their own granddaughter (niece) to a brothel for a little benefit! This... was simply too base!
If Lu Ye was going to confront them, she, Bai Sheng, had to go!
After all, she was a postgraduate, someone with knowledge, calm, quick-witted, and her vocabulary for scolding, from elegant to vulgar, from spicy to plain, was undeniably abundant.
Coupled with the occasional influence of Douyin videos, she could also imitate the posture and mannerisms of rural women arguing quite well.
"I'll go with you!" Bai Sheng looked into Lu Ye's eyes, her gaze firm.
"You?" Lu Ye was slightly taken aback. He clearly hadn't expected Bai Sheng to do this, especially since she had been indifferent to everyone before this afternoon.
Bai Sheng knew that Lu Ye had already noticed the original owner's difference, but the original owner had only been in the second branch's house for a month. Besides being indifferent to people, Lu Ye didn't actually understand her other temperaments or dispositions. Therefore, even if the "original owner" suddenly changed her ways, it was easy to find an excuse.
For example, she suddenly figured things out and wanted to live a good life with Lu Ye from now on.
Bai Sheng pursed her lips and smiled, winking at Lu Ye, "Don't worry, I'm good at arguing, and I can definitely help you scold those wicked women."
Lu Ye thought about it and agreed. Those three were all malicious women, and bringing a woman along would definitely be more convenient. He nodded in agreement.
As the two of them were leaving, Lu Hua suddenly came over and blocked their way. As if she had made a big decision, she said with a slight tremor, "Brother, Sister-in-law... I want to go too... to help you argue."
Perhaps it was because she had been used to being scolded and beaten by her grandmother, Lu Chenshi, since childhood, Lu Hua had always been very afraid of her, which had led to a timid and weak personality. However, her daring to step forward this time was a very good sign of progress.
Just as Bai Sheng was about to speak, Lu Yun and Lu Yu, one tall and one short, also walked over from the side and said in unison, "We're going too, to help you argue."
Bai Sheng and Lu Ye exchanged a glance. Bai Sheng said, "Alright then, let's all go! Many hands make light work! We'll definitely make that Lu Chenshi scold us until she's upside down!"
The children giggled. Lu Ye's lips curved slightly, almost imperceptibly.
The last rays of the setting sun reddened everyone's faces. The group of five walked with determined steps towards Lu Chenshi's house, which was several dozen meters away.