Chapter 146: Chapter 146

Just as she entered the village, Bai Ruxue saw her third uncle, Bai Dahe, walking towards her with a wooden stick in hand, not sure what he was up to.

She didn’t want to engage, so she just rode her bike straight ahead, but Bai Dahe wasn’t letting her go.

"Xiao Xue! You went to the city again? And you brought back a little beggar?" Bai Dahe blocked Bai Ruxue’s bicycle, forcing her to stop.

"Is there something you need, Third Uncle?" Bai Ruxue asked with a displeased expression.

It was already past four, and even though it was spring and dark came late, she still felt uneasy about her mom being alone at home with two small kids.

"I just wanted to ask about the little beggar sitting behind! Nothing else!" Bai Dahe said, rubbing his chin and his eyes spinning around.

"Who she is doesn’t concern you, Third Uncle! If there’s nothing else, move aside!" Bai Ruxue gave him no face at all, considering him useless and greed-driven.

"There’s something, there’s something! Xiao Xue! I saw the other day! You gave cigarettes to the people building the poultry farm! The aroma was so good, I could smell it from afar! Give your third uncle a pack?" Bai Dahe didn’t bring up the little beggar again; he was still hung up on the cigarettes.

"Did Third Uncle participate in building the poultry farm?" Bai Ruxue asked impassively.

"I... your third uncle wanted to participate, but the team leader said there were enough people! Nothing I can do!" Bai Dahe scratched his head.

Not sure what’s going on, ever since that girl took a fall and woke up, he hadn’t managed to gain a single advantage from his older brother’s family.

Each time, it was this girl messing things up for him, making him lose both face and dignity.

Even the tribute grain for the old couple was lost because of him.

"Then there’s no way around it! The cigarettes were given to those who contributed to the construction! They were distributed by the authorities, one per person, no more, no less! No spare to give to you!" Bai Ruxue said coolly, matter-of-factly.

"Xiao Xue, I am your third uncle! Not only did you not give me a job, but you also won’t give me even one pack of cigarettes! Is this fair treatment?" Bai Dahe got anxious and shouted loudly, though fortunately being at the edge of the village, they were far from others’ homes.

"I’ve told you before! I am just your niece, not your parents! Fair or not is none of my concern! All I know is, I reciprocate those who treat me well! Move aside! Or I’ll pass right over you with my bike!" Bai Ruxue finished, pretending to mount her bicycle.

Bai Dahe was taken aback, gradually moving aside, and Bai Ruxue took the chance to pedal away with Dong Sihan. Googlᴇ search novelꞁire.net

Bai Dahe realized and shouted loudly from behind,

"Don’t gloat! I’ll tell your grandma you picked up a beggar and see what you do then!"

But he didn’t know, Bai Ruxue was never afraid of Grandma Bai, and now she actually hoped she would come to cause trouble. It would give her a chance to anger her and make her reveal whether her dad was actually her biological father.

"Sister, your third uncle doesn’t like me. Maybe you shouldn’t take me home; just leave me in a haystack or somewhere sheltered from the wind and rain. You saved me, I can’t cause you trouble!" Dong Sihan worriedly said from the back.

"What’s a kid worrying about? Sit tight! They’re just like locusts in autumn, bouncing around for a few days?" Bai Ruxue’s tone was not good; she was already upset with her dad today, and had only cheered up a bit thanks to Zhang Yuan, when Bai Dahe popped up again.

She was now more determined with her thoughts; her dad’s matter had to be handled quickly, or trouble would only increase by the day.

Although Dong Sihan didn’t understand the latter part, he was moved by Bai Ruxue’s earlier words telling him not to worry like an adult, his eyes turning red.

How long had it been since someone cared for him ? Even though his sister’s tone was harsh, he still felt her concern.

This made him feel at ease, sitting at the back, the anxiety in his heart gradually lessening.

When Bai Ruxue brought Dong Sihan home, Wang Cuihua was nursing the child. Seeing her eldest daughter bringing a... well, a young child home, she raised her head with some confusion.

"Mom, I found this child on the road. Her parents passed away. She came to seek refuge with her grandmother, but her grandmother refused to acknowledge her! She fainted by the roadside, looked pitiful, so I brought her back." Bai Ruxue explained to Wang Cuihua.

"Oh, child, come and sit down! Warm yourself up!" Upon hearing what had happened to this child, Wang Cuihua immediately felt pity and looked at her with compassion.

"Thank you, Auntie, for taking me in!" Dong Sihan bowed like a little adult to Wang Cuihua, then turned toward Bai Ruxue.

"Sit for a while! I’ll go find you some clothes to wear!" Bai Ruxue said helplessly, having brought her back, she now needed to clean her up. Seeing her in tatters, lice might even be crawling on her.

She rummaged around in the cabinet and finally found a set of Xiao Yun’s clothes. The two kids had taken all their clothes to school, leaving only this set of old clothes, which luckily could still be worn.

She then went out to boil a pot of hot water and asked Dong Sihan to clean up and put on the clothes.

By the time everything was done, it was almost dark. She was too lazy to cook, so she took out a bag of shaved noodles from her stash, boiled it, and topped it with a few eggs.

The dinner for the three of them was just simple cooked noodles.

However, this meal made Dong Sihan lower her head, not once looking up from her bowl.

Even long after, she couldn’t forget the delicious taste that one meal of noodles brought her.

But once grown, she couldn’t taste that deliciousness anymore, nor did it bring the same happiness.

Nonetheless, whenever she felt upset, she would cook herself a bowl of noodles with two eggs.

Feeling like after eating, all troubles seemed trivial and resolved.

Of course, that’s a story for another time.

"Sister, let me wash the dishes! I’m really good at it!" After the meal, Dong Sihan eagerly took on clearing the table, washing dishes, and sweeping the floor.

Bai Ruxue could tell this little girl was very smart; she was worried about being disliked and thrown out, so she tried her best to do things, striving to make herself likable.

"Alright! Just as well I need a break!" Bai Ruxue didn’t refuse, thinking if this made her feel secure, she should go ahead and let her do it!

Wang Cuihua watched this scene, dabbing her tears frequently.

"Xiao Xue, Sihan has suffered too much; if possible, let’s keep her with us! If she goes back to her grandmother’s and they don’t acknowledge her, it would cause her even greater harm.

"Mom, don’t be hasty. This little girl has her own mind; let her make her own decision! If she really has nowhere to go and she’s willing, it’s no trouble to have another little girl in the house!" Bai Ruxue comforted Wang Cuihua.

Little did they know, their conversation was entirely overheard by Dong Sihan outside.

The girl, despite her resilience, couldn’t hold back and eventually broke into tears.

She rushed into the inner room and knelt down, "Sihan wants to stay at sister’s house, Sihan wants sister to be my family, no matter what you ask Sihan to do, Sihan is willing. Sihan can do housework and even go out to earn work points! I can do anything!"

This startled the two in conversation; Bai Ruxue quickly got down and pulled her up.

"Sihan, get up first, have a good night’s sleep, don’t worry, we won’t chase you away!" Bai Ruxue said, though she didn’t mention making Dong Sihan part of their family.

As the child was too young, having wandered for so long, endured hunger, been thrown out by her grandmother, it was natural to desire family. However, she still needed to take the child to her grandmother’s house to see what was going on and make plans accordingly.