"Xiaoyan, don't sleep. Zheng Wei will be here to pick you up soon," said Madam Xu, standing by the bed with a smile. She was eager for the girl to leave; her fate after leaving this house was no longer her concern.
Shen Xiaoyan opened her eyes and sat up. She felt a bit stronger and looked outside. It was early spring, the sun hadn't risen yet, and it was probably around 6 AM.
She glanced at Madam Xu by the bed, her face full of impatience. Shen Xiaoyan scoffed inwardly, thinking how eager she was, not even waiting to have breakfast with her, just to save a few bites of food.
Ignoring Madam Xu, Shen Xiaoyan got dressed, washed up quickly, and walked into the courtyard. The sun had already peeked over the eastern horizon, casting a warm, orange glow on her. Shen Xiaoyan's mood suddenly brightened a little.
Madam Xu followed Shen Xiaoyan out, looking at her thin figure. She suddenly felt that the girl seemed a bit different. But upon closer inspection, she found her to be the same as ever.
Madam Xu shook her head, thinking she might be overthinking things. Now, all they had to do was wait for Zheng Wei to arrive.
At this moment, Shen Xiaoming emerged from the kitchen, holding a bowl, and walked directly towards Shen Xiaoyan.
"Sister, have some porridge before you go."
Shen Xiaoyan looked at the bowl. It contained plain white rice porridge, its aroma wafting invitingly. Shen Xiaoyan felt her taste buds tingle, her mouth watering.
Madam Xu, seeing the rice porridge, became furious. She wanted to scold, but was interrupted by Xu Xiao'e. "Mother, eldest sister is leaving. Let her eat her fill before she goes. Isn't it also a sign of your love for her?"
Hearing this, Madam Xu stopped talking, but her flushed cheeks showed how angry she was. She stared intently at Shen Xiaoming, plotting how she would deal with him after Shen Xiaoyan left.
Shen Xiaoyan finished the bowl of porridge under her brother's watchful gaze. Her body felt warm and comfortable.
Her demands were not high: to be fed, clothed, have a comfortable place to live, and ideally, to have her little brother by her side.
"Mother, Zheng Wei is here," Xu Xiao'e said in a low voice, pulling on Madam Xu's arm as she saw Zheng Wei suddenly appear by the gate.
Shen Xiaoyan looked towards the gate as Xu Xiao'e spoke. The original Shen Xiaoyan knew Zheng Wei's appearance, but seeing him in person felt different.
In fact, seeing him wasn't as scary as she'd imagined. After all, the current Shen Xiaoyan had seen zombies dragging their intestines around in the zombie apocalypse; a few scars were nothing.
"I'll go pack my things," Shen Xiaoyan said and then walked towards the house.
"Sister, let me help you," Xu Xiao'e trotted after Shen Xiaoyan. She didn't want to stay here any longer; Zheng Wei was too frightening.
Zheng Wei looked at Shen Xiaoyan's retreating figure, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. Shen Xiaoyan used to tremble whenever she saw him. But today was different. She had even dared to meet his gaze just now. It was rather interesting.
Shen Xiaoyan quickly packed her small bundle. There wasn't much, just two sets of old clothes.
She walked up to Shen Xiaoming, patted his shoulder, and whispered, "Take good care of yourself. Sister will come back to get you as soon as possible."
Shen Xiaoming, holding back tears, nodded. He would definitely wait for his sister to pick him up. His sister had never lied to him.
As for their father, Shen Cheng, whom she had never met, Shen Xiaoyan had no interest.
Carrying her bundle, she walked to Zheng Wei and said, "Let's go."
Zheng Wei gave Shen Xiaoyan a deep look and then turned and walked towards Baiyun Peak.
Madam Xu watched Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei disappear from sight, her heart finally at ease. The annoying girl was finally gone, and the 20 taels of silver wouldn't be lost.
Just as she was about to go inside, she saw Shen Xiaoming standing there blankly, holding a bowl. Anger flared up again. "You little brat, who told you to make porridge? How much work do you do for this household? And you have the nerve to eat rice porridge? Are you looking for a beating? You're not allowed to eat today!"
Saying this, she snatched the bowl from Shen Xiaoming's hand and shrieked, "Hurry up and go wash clothes! Are you waiting for me to do it for you?"
Shen Xiaoming trembled all over and quickly ran a few steps, picked up the basin by the door, and walked out of the gate, heading in the opposite direction of Baiyun Peak.
...
Meanwhile, Shen Xiaoyan followed Zheng Wei as they walked forward. Zheng Wei didn't speak to her, but he didn't walk too fast, making it easy for Shen Xiaoyan to keep up.
Shen Xiaoyan looked at Zheng Wei's back. He was very tall, at least 185 cm. His legs were long, but his strides weren't large. Shen Xiaoyan pursed her lips and smiled. It seemed this man wasn't as cold as he appeared!
They walked out of the village and another half hour later, they finally reached the foot of Baiyun Peak.
Baiyun Peak was situated high up and stretched for several miles. There were no large trees in the area, only some saplings and dry grass. The soil was poor, considered wasteland.
Zheng Wei had settled in this area for two reasons: first, the Zhu family wanted him to keep his distance, and second, he disliked crowds. With no neighbors nearby and being close to Baiyun Peak, hunting was convenient.
Indeed, although the Zhu family had raised Zheng Wei, their actions were also quite heartless.
The Zhu family was originally very poor, with four sons and one daughter. They only had a few acres of thin land, and the whole family barely had enough to eat, relying on Zhu Kaishan's hunting. However, after Zhu Kaishan rescued Zheng Wei, his family built a house with blue bricks and red tiles, bought dozens of acres of land, and even sent their grandson to school.
The villagers speculated that the Zhu family must have obtained money from Zheng Wei, otherwise, how could they suddenly become so wealthy?
In the beginning, the Zhu family treated Zheng Wei quite well, saying they would support his studies. But who knew that Zheng Wei refused, saying he wanted to learn hunting from Zhu Kaishan.
In a short time, Zheng Wei mastered Zhu Kaishan's hunting skills completely, even surpassing his mentor.
He handed over all the game he hunted to the Zhu family. As long as he could eat, he had no other demands.
On the other hand, the Zhu family also had their own calculations. When Zheng Wei was rescued, he wore very luxurious clothes and carried 500 taels of silver. His background was certainly noble.
However, after waiting for eight years without anyone coming to find him, the Zhu family eventually lost patience and began to consider parting ways with Zheng Wei. This led to the subsequent affair of buying a wife with money.
What Shen Xiaoyan saw before her now was the house the Zhu family had built for Zheng Wei.
A simple fence enclosed two mu of wasteland, and in the center of the courtyard stood a few adobe huts.
Zheng Wei opened the fence gate and walked towards the house. Shen Xiaoyan looked around curiously, not forgetting to keep pace with Zheng Wei.
They walked together to the front of the thatched hut before Zheng Wei stopped. Shen Xiaoyan, engrossed in her observation, didn't notice Zheng Wei had stopped and bumped directly into his back.
"Ouch," Shen Xiaoyan exclaimed softly, rubbing her bumped forehead.
"What's wrong?" Zheng Wei turned around and looked at Shen Xiaoyan. Couldn't this woman watch where she was going?
"Sorry! I didn't do it on purpose," Shen Xiaoyan quickly waved her hand and said.