"She gave birth! It's a girl, Sister Hua."

"Useless thing. Since it's a money-losing commodity, just send it to the Beauty Manor."

"Sister Hua, this woman fainted from exhaustion after giving birth."

"Clean her up, take her to the bathhouse, and she'll be able to produce milk later."

Sister Hua left with heavy footsteps.

Bai Lan could tell from these two places that they were clearly not good places, and she was now feeling extremely anxious.

Staying here will definitely not end well.

The midwife quickly cleaned up the woman who had just given birth and impatiently called out, "Someone, we're done cleaning up here. Take her away. I need to go back and rest. It's late at night, and I'm exhausted from all this work."

Two servants carried over a stretcher, lifted the person onto it, and quickly walked away.

When the courtyard quieted down again, Bai Lan pulled her sister along and secretly followed the direction the two servants had left in.

Bai Lan walked at the front, her eyes fixed ahead. Bai Mei's limbs felt weak, her head darting left and right, one hand on her chest. Her heart was pounding so fast she felt it would jump out if she didn't hold it down.

The road was long, and Bai Lan dared not stop for a moment.

I don't know how long we walked, but the view started to open up, and there was a small house, about two square meters in size, every five meters in the empty courtyard.

The two looked at the densely packed little houses in front of them, wondering what they were for.

Bai Lan tentatively took two steps to see what was inside, but her sister pulled her hand and shook her head. She was so scared, worried that there might be some danger.

Bai Lan whispered to comfort her, "Sister, I'll just peek secretly without making a sound. If you're scared, just wait for me here."

Bai Mei was afraid that if she let go of her hand, she would lose her sister, so she mustered up her courage and followed her forward.

These small houses, visible to the naked eye, are not very big and should pose no danger.

Bai Lan tiptoed closer to the nearest small house, circled it, and found no door, only a small window.

The two slowly poked their heads out, and through the small hole, they could see a four- or five-year-old child sleeping soundly in the two-square-meter space.

The place isn't big; you can see it all at a glance.

Finding that there were people inside and no danger, the two felt reassured.

Bai Lan and her sister secretly peeked into several small houses nearby and discovered that each house contained a little girl, some of whom were only two or three years old, while others were over ten years old.

There were many small rooms like this, but the two of them only looked at a few before stopping.

The two of them are barely able to take care of themselves, let alone save others.

"Sister, it's almost dawn, and my feet hurt so much. What should we do? Will we die here?"

It's already remarkable that Bai Mei has been able to persevere for so long, considering that her body was already injured and she was wearing a curtain, which made things very inconvenient.

Bai Lan turned around, and the hazy night slowly brightened. Her sister's face was deathly pale, her lips were cracked, and she was visibly withered.

She felt a mix of heartache for her sister and worry about whether the two of them could escape, staring blankly at the small house in front of her.

We can't stay here.

If they discover someone is dead in the yard and two girls have escaped when it gets light, then they will be in even greater danger.

"Sister, let's walk along the wall and see if there's anywhere we can hide. It's getting light, and I'm worried they'll come looking for us."

Bai Lan helped her sister walk along the wall, but Bai Mei stumbled after only a few steps, collapsed to the ground, and could not get up again.

She was exhausted, her face covered in sweat: "I can't go on, little sister, you go first! Don't worry about me."

As dawn broke, Bai Lan grew anxious.

"Sis, you rest against the wall for a bit, I'll run ahead and see if there's a good place to hide." She quickly jogged forward.

Bai Mei leaned weakly against the wall, tears streaming down her face, her eyes following her sister's departing footsteps.

Why should I live, dragging my sister down? If I had gone with our parents back in the village, my sister could have survived on her own, wouldn't have had to come looking for me, and wouldn't be trapped in this cage.

Why don't I just die now? If I die, my sister won't have to worry too much.

She stared intently at the wall she was leaning against. Should she just bang her head against it?

She tried to bang her head against the wall, but she was too tired. Her head slammed against the wall with a low thud and a sharp pain.

How utterly useless! Can't even die!

She looked up and saw Bai Lan's wide eyes. The hurt in her eyes made it hard for her to breathe. She lowered her head and dared not speak.

Bai Lan came over, helped her sister up, and walked quickly forward. Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere became somewhat tense.

She had just walked around the wall for a while and found an inconspicuous little wooden door by the wall. After opening it, she found that it led to another courtyard.

Time was of the essence, and she didn't have time to look at the yard. She hurried back to find her sister, only to find her struggling to bang her head against the wall.

Her heart ached as if it were being cut by a knife, and she gripped her sister's hand tightly.

The two sisters struggled to push open the small door and crawl inside, and Bai Lan closed the door behind them.

There was a large courtyard. Bai Lan helped her sister push open a separate small house, inside which were countless wooden barrels stacked together.

Bai Lan didn't care about anything else. There was no one inside. She helped her sister to the corner of the room and put her down.

Just in case, we moved the wooden bucket over to block in front of my sister.

"Sis, lean back and rest for a bit."

Bai Mei nodded, closed her eyes, and fell asleep, exhausted.

Bai Lan walked around the room twice; there was nothing inside except for various wooden barrels.

She didn't know what these buckets were for, but they had a faint milky scent that smelled particularly pleasant.

She was now worried about being discovered, so she secretly observed the outside world through a small crack in the window.

As the sky grew brighter, the quiet courtyard came alive.

A fragrant aroma of food wafted outside, and servants carried food to various parts of the courtyard.

Bai Lan's stomach growled a few times, but she held back from making a sound.

"Hey, it seems like another cow was delivered last night."

"What age are you? Are you good-looking?"

"How can someone so young and beautiful be ugly!"

"I heard she gave birth to a money-losing child."

"Oh! No wonder!"

"She just gave birth, so there probably won't be much milk on her first pump, right?"

"I'm experienced, let me go!"

"No, it's my turn, I won't let you pass!"

Two servants carried an empty wooden bucket and walked away talking.

Bai Lan thought of many things through their conversation.

Soon after, the two returned, and the previously empty wooden barrel was now filled with pure white milk, emitting a faint fragrance.

"Hehehe! The new guy has a good feel for things."

"It'll be my turn next time!"

"No, I haven't had enough yet! Don't forget I found this job for you. It pays well, and you can touch women. Don't forget where you're looking!"

"Oh, I was just kidding. I wouldn't fight you for it. I'll just touch the others."

"Good that you understand! I'll let you have your turn when I get tired of it!"

"Okay, okay! Thank you, bro!"