After the family split up, my stepmother and scumbag father begged me to come home.

Lin Qianqian was overjoyed with her two hundred coins in her pocket.

This was the first pot of gold she had earned since coming to this ancient world; it was heavy, and even felt warm against her chest. She had to find a place where even mice couldn't find it to hide it, otherwise, if it fell into Old Madam Lin's hands, it would all be for nothing.

"Let's go home." Lin Qianqian tossed the empty basket onto her back.

Lin Yulong jogged to catch up, but after a few steps he remembered, "Sister, we've sold all the wild vegetables. What will we say when Grandma gets back and asks?"

"Just say you didn't find anything." Lin Qianqian didn't even lift her eyelids.

She has a big task to do, and by then the old lady won't care about that trivial matter of wild vegetables.

"Sister..." Lin Yulong swallowed hard, "Will we get beaten up?"

"Get beaten up?" Lin Qianqian turned to look at him. "If they hit you, run away and find the village chief. Remember, the more you cry, the better. The more you cry, the more the village chief will side with us. Got it?"

Lin Yulong nodded emphatically: "I'll remember, sister."

Even if you're rich, you can't flaunt it. You can't ride in an oxcart; the village women have sharp eyes, and if they see you coming back from town, they'll practically turn your basket upside down to look inside out. The two found a secluded spot, took out the leftover rabbit meat from the morning, squatted under a tree, and devoured it before starting their journey.

By the time we reached the village entrance, the sun was already setting.

Lin Qianqian's throat was parched, and the sweat on her back soaked through her clothes, making them sticky and clinging to her body. Lin Yulong wasn't in much better shape; his face was as red as a boiled shrimp. As soon as he entered, he rushed to the water vat, scooped up a ladle of cold water, and gulped it down.

Lin Qianqian drank a swig, wiped her mouth, and listened intently.

The courtyard was quiet; not even a fart could be heard.

"Why isn't there any movement?" Lin Yulong asked in a low voice.

"Taking a nap, huh?" Lin Qianqian said.

Taking a nap is good; it makes it easier to get things done.

She turned and went into the kitchen. When she came out, she was holding a kitchen knife in her hand. The blade was so white that it made Lin Yulong's eyelids twitch.

"Sister!" Lin Yulong grabbed her arm, his face pale. "It's not that bad, don't kill anyone!"

"Who killed the chickens?" Lin Qianqian shook off his hand and walked straight to the chicken coop. "I killed the chickens."

She bent down and scooped the fattest old hen out of its nest. Its wings flapped loudly, scattering feathers everywhere.

Lin Yulong swallowed hard: "Sis, if you kill a chicken, Grandma will fight you to the death..."

"I'm just afraid she won't fight me to the death." Lin Qianqian laughed, a laugh that sent chills down Lin Yulong's spine. "Do you want to split up the family?"

Lin Yulong nodded.

"If you want to split it, do as I say." Lin Qianqian shoved the chicken into his arms. "You kill it, I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong."

Lin Yulong looked down at the old hen in his arms with its beady eyes, then looked up at his sister.

"Are you really going to kill me?"

"Not only will we kill them, we'll eat them too," Lin Qianqian said. "Do you want to eat meat?"

Lin Yulong's Adam's apple bobbed.

he thinks.

He's almost forgotten what meat tastes like.

With a swift stroke, the knife cut a bloody gash across the chicken's neck, splattering blood all over the ground. The old hen kicked its legs a few times, then gradually went still.

Lin Qianqian, carrying a chicken, gestured with her chin at him: "Come on, let's go up the mountain. Go call Tiger."

Lin Yulong dashed off to Aunt Ding's house and returned shortly after, dragging Hu Zi with him. The three teenagers darted into a ravine, found a sheltered spot, and Lin Qianqian squatted down to get to work.

Mix mud, wrap the chicken, and start a fire.

Tiger squatted nearby, watching eagerly as the mud ball slowly dried in the fire. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "Sister Qianqian, where did this chicken come from?"

"Don't ask," Lin Qianqian said without looking up. "Just eat."

When you peel open the beggar's chicken, the aroma is so enticing it makes your eyes water.

The three of them squatted by the fire, not caring about the heat, tearing off a piece and stuffing it into their mouths, gasping for breath from the heat but unwilling to spit it out.

By the end of the meal, the three of them were so full they could barely stand up straight, and they lay on the grass groaning.

As the sun was about to set, the group went home.