Why did you provoke me?

From then on, Yu Meng became even more silent. Every day, she would hold that line drawing book and ponder it.

Sometimes I would go to the river with Sister Xiu and pinch some grass to make green beads.

One day, Yu Meng suddenly brought a little black cat home from outside. It was tiny, with a tuft of white fur on the tip of its tail.

Yu Hai diligently built a cat bed for the kitten. "Little sister, I've laid out a small blanket here; the kitten can stay here. Tomorrow I'll catch some small fish for it to eat."

Yu Meng nodded with a smile.

After that incident, Dali left with the Cai Group and hasn't returned for almost a month.

Sister Xiu diligently cleans the house inside and out every day, and then she follows Yu Meng and tries hard to learn from her line drawing book.

Occasionally, when Mr. Zhou had a task, she would go. Every day without fail, she would put a green bead in a special little box.

Yu Meng saw it. Sister Xiu whispered, "The trump card."

Yu Meng was taken aback. That matter might have touched upon Xiu Jie's deepest fears. Yu Meng gave her a thumbs up. Xiu Jie looked at her with surprise. "You support me in doing this."

Yu Meng nodded. Xiu Jie was just a child staying at someone else's place. It was only natural for her to accumulate some resources. That was Xiu Jie's cleverness, and also the reason Yu Meng was willing to be close to her.

The eldest brother's marriage ultimately fell through. According to their father, "My eldest brother said that the bride price they were asking for was too high, and he couldn't afford it."

"Actually, I already told your older brother. If he really likes it, we're willing to pay for it too."

Thanks to your secret subsidies this year, our family's situation has improved a lot. But your older brother said in the end that he didn't like it that much either. So, let's just leave it at that.

Yu Meng looked at her father, puzzled. Her older brother was very stubborn.

Mr. Yu sat down. "I don't think your older brother is that interested in that girl. There's just something strange about him."

Yu's father looked at Yunmeng. "Little Si'er, you said your older brother is already 15 this year. If I send him to a martial arts school to learn something now, isn't it too late?"

Yu Meng understood what her father meant. Their family's circumstances had indeed been difficult for the first two years. But in the past year, the three sisters had given their father green beads. Therefore, her father must have saved up some money, which led to this idea.

Yu Meng shook her head earnestly. It's not too late. It's never too late to learn skills.

Yu's father looked at Yu Meng shaking her head, then suddenly smiled. "You support your father, right? I hope all my children are doing well."

Yu Meng gave her dad a thumbs up, saying, "You're the best dad."

Yu Meng didn't know when her father and older brother had discussed this matter. Anyway, one day when her older brother came back, he brought her a lot of things. His eyes were also red.

The next day, my older brother went to the martial arts school in town to become an apprentice.

Two months later, my older sister returned, looking travel-worn and much thinner, but her eyes were still incredibly bright.

The first thing Dali did upon entering the room was to hug Yu Meng and give her a big kiss. Then she piled a huge bunch of things in front of her little sister.

Yu Meng was bewildered. She had already broken off contact with her older sister last time, so what was her sister up to now?

Dali hugged Yu Meng tightly. "Little sister, you have no idea how dangerous it was for me to go out this time. I think I almost didn't make it back."

Dali's voice was a little choked up. "Do you know what I was thinking at that time? I was thinking, how can I make my little sister happy when I get back?"

My hands unconsciously grabbed at things around me, handful after handful. At that moment, I felt like I was breaking down.

Dali lay on Yu Meng's small body, "Suddenly, I remembered something my little sister taught me. Everything has a main thread. The second layer of dough that's peeled off is the same."

Dali turned Yu Meng around and said, "I used the method you taught me to find the main vein of that big thing and then peeled off its skin."

Dali pressed her head against Yu Meng's forehead. "You know, because of this huge thing, most of the Cai Group's people were seriously injured. We simply don't have the ability to transport it back."

The skill you taught me not only saved me, but also everyone in the mining group. You are my little fairy sister. Big sister will protect you for life.

Yu Meng stood there, listening to Dali's rambling. She understood; her older sister was still the same older sister. She even said she would protect her for life.

She didn't dislike her, nor did she look down on her. Yu Meng felt quite happy. She had thought her older sister would treat her coldly upon her return.

But she was wrong; the older sister hugged her and thanked her.

Yu Meng wiped away Dali's tears with her small hands. She thought this older sister was a bit silly, but didn't seem that bad. Maybe she should secretly forgive her.

During dinner, Dali did not tell her thrilling stories.

They just said they'd caught a big one this time. It's probably worth a lot of money. They're all very happy; they'll get a lot of money.

Mom and Dad were both delighted, saying that Dali was really capable. Xiujie watched Dali with envy. She also wanted to work for the mining company so she could earn money for the family.

Yu Hai showed Yu Meng's kitten to Da Li. "Isn't it beautiful? I suggested naming it Mao Jian'er, but my little sister disagreed."

"Where did you find such a kitten, little sister? You've taken such good care of it, its fur is so shiny," Dali exclaimed.

"Of course, I feed this kitten with small fish that I catch every day," Yu Hai said proudly.

"Catching small fish is nothing. If you can write 100 words, I'll give you a reward." Dali pouted.

Yu Hai's eyes lit up. He looked up at his older sister and said, "Really? You keep your word."

"No, I misspoke. It's 150 words." Dali looked at his expression and knew she had said too little.

"Little sister, come here quickly. Big sister said that if I can write 150 words, she will give me a reward. You can be my witness. Little sister, we'll split it in half then." Yu Hai's voice was cheerful.

Seeing how fast he ran, Dali knew she had underestimated him again. Oh well, the things she bought were going to be for them anyway.

150 characters are nothing to Yu Hai now. Every day he teaches the characters he has learned to his younger sister.

One day, his younger sister wrote more words than he had. He looked at her in confusion and asked, "I didn't teach you that much, how come you know so much?"

Sister Xiu told him from the side that it was the character he had taught his younger sister, and she had memorized it all.

Some of the words were forgotten by Yu Hai himself.

Yu Hai was furious. He was the older brother; how could he know fewer characters than his younger sister? Besides, if he knew fewer characters than his sister, how could he teach her?

From that day on, Yu Hai became particularly diligent in learning characters. Xiu Jie, however, looked at Yu Meng with a smile; in this family, the youngest sister was the smartest, possessing a photographic memory.