Chapter 149: Chapter 149
"Oh dear, Little Ya's back! Come let Third Uncle take a look—that noggin of yours didn't get knocked silly, did it?"
The group had just reached the doorway when they encountered a lanky, fair-skinned young man sauntering from the village entrance—none other than Yang Jianye, the third uncle of this body.
Seeing his slacking-off appearance that clearly came from sneaking away from fieldwork, Old Lady Yang immediately frowned in displeasure.
Just as she was about to scold him, Third Uncle Yang had already bounded over to An Ning in three large strides:
"Ah, look how pitiful my niece looks! Face pale as a sheet! Here—this is what your uncle won playing cards the other day. Consider yourself lucky, little girl..."
With obvious reluctance, he fished out a few boiled peanuts from his pocket.
Mimicking the original body's mannerisms, An Ning obediently accepted them.
Hmm... how generous—a whole four peanuts.
That pitiful expression made Third Uncle Yang unconsciously touch the remaining large handful of peanuts in his pocket, his conscience prickling ever so slightly.
"Ah well, considering what you've suffered!" He pulled out two more peanuts and, as if afraid he'd regret it, swiftly stuffed them into his niece's hands.
Finally, he couldn't resist adding:
"See how good Third Uncle is to you? These are all the peanuts I managed to win these past few days."
An Ning nodded eagerly like a pecking chick.
Only then did Third Uncle Yang hum a tune triumphantly as he sauntered back toward the village entrance, though not without casting a disdainful glance at his unlucky second brother before leaving.
Thinking of his daughter who hadn't spoken a word to him since waking up, Second Uncle Yang turned awkwardly, about to say something, only to see his youngest daughter had already turned away.
Rubbing his empty pockets, Second Uncle Yang frowned but ultimately said nothing more.
Returning to the sisters' tiny partitioned room, An Ning promptly divided the windfall of six whole peanuts equally with her sister.
As for their younger brother next door who was practically drooling with envy—An Ning completely forgot about him.
Seeing her little sister still thinking of her even in this state, Third Sister felt deeply moved.
This sister of hers—so worth doting on!
"Don't worry, sis has some too!"
Not only did she push the still-warm peanuts back, she even pulled out an extra small handful from her own pocket.
Looking at the noticeably plumper peanuts in her hands, An Ning blinked her big eyes and tilted her head curiously:
"Did Third Sister win these playing cards too?"
"Third Sister's amazing! Most peanuts in the village aren't this big!"
Hearing this, Third Sister Yang froze momentarily before forcing an awkward laugh: "Well... your sister just got lucky! Keep this between us—just like those candies I gave you last time, these all came from trading with city folks."
The more she spoke, the smoother her lies became. She couldn't help leaning in conspiratorially:
"Last time I happened upon a dumb rabbit in the mountains—hadn't chased it more than a few steps when the silly thing ran straight into a tree! Lucky, right?"
"But remember—this is just between us!"
"I understand!" An Ning nodded solemnly:
"Can't tell anyone—no one at all, or else sister's things will disappear." She patted her small chest:
"Don't worry, not even Mom or little brother will hear it from me!"
Seeing her sister's innocent expression, Third Sister finally exhaled in relief.
Whew! Close call... almost gave herself away. Good thing she was clever!
But her sister was right—rubbing the remaining candies in her pocket, she reconsidered sharing one with their brother.
With Mom around, little brother wouldn't starve. Unlike her poor sister...
Sighing heavily at An Ning's increasingly pale, thin face, Third Sister's heart ached.
Since An Ning couldn't move around much recently, their birth mother Li Xiaocao personally brought dinner that night—a bowl of watery sweet potato porridge with sparse yellow millet grains, the only improvement being half a boiled egg.
Apparently even this was only obtained after Third Sister made a huge scene at dinner.
Beyond this, An Ning's severe injury might as well have been a breeze over a pond—it left no ripple in the Old Yang household.
Even birth mother Li Xiaocao only secretly wiped tears before slipping her daughter a few sweet potato strips.
If not for the biscuits stored from her previous world and Third Sister's occasional help, this would have been her toughest transmigration experience yet.
As for eggs, milk, or meat—in these lean times when everyone had noses like bloodhounds—even four-year-old Little Brother Yang had sniffed around suspiciously multiple times, convinced his sisters were hiding treats from him!
It took a full month before An Ning could barely move about. During recovery, she daily witnessed her sister's supercharged battle mode—berating Old Lady Yang above, cursing Eldest Aunt Yang below, occasionally kicking Eldest Cousin Guoqing in between.
The sheer energy made even a lazybones like An Ning feel envious!
Next door, Eldest Aunt Yang's smug voice continued:
"My, look how tall our Guoqing's grown! Spitting image of his father back in the day!"
"Can't blame Mother for doting on him—some people can seethe all they want!"
After all, some just drew the short straw at birth!
Her husband was Old Lady's precious son after two daughters—what were Second and Third Uncles compared to him?
And her Guoqing was the eldest grandson!
She shot a contemptuous look at Third Sister struggling to shell peanuts nearby:
Third Sister retorted coldly: "Tall? Sure—with all that food going nowhere else but his height!"
"Pah! Being like Uncle's nothing to boast about—you'll be crying later!"
That uncle was all talk—a complete hypocrite.
As if she didn't know where Eldest Aunt's arm bruises came from.
Flinging peanut shells down, another round of quarreling erupted, punctuated by Li Xiaocao's feeble attempts at mediation—until sudden commotion erupted outside:
"Yang Family! Come quick—your man's in trouble!"