Anjing, who was eating her vegetable pancake with her head down, finally looked up at An Ding and hesitantly spoke.

"Although Grandpa and Grandma say they don't have enough money, I think, Second Brother, even if you and Dad earn enough money and give it to Grandpa and Grandma, they still won't let Third Brother go."

Anle blinked, carefully observing the quiet and reserved girl. Calling this boy "second brother"? So, this little girl is the original owner's older sister?

She looks quiet and pretty, but her sallow complexion and thinness obscure her beautiful features; it's obvious she's malnourished.

Although she came from a poor peasant family, she had a gentle and quiet temperament, as if she came from a wealthy family, giving her the feeling of a refined young lady.

With proper nurturing, she could truly be cultivated into a beautiful and refined young lady.

This is definitely a rough gem waiting to be polished, and she truly felt the urge to mold this little girl into a beautiful gem.

Who told her to only be interested in beautiful things, and only in what she considered to be promising investments!

Everything she creates is absolutely valuable!

Just like those A-list celebrities she packaged and made famous, which one of them didn't rise to fame quickly after passing through her hands?

She is a seasoned talent scout and image makeover ambassador, although that is just one of her hobbies, and her main job is simply being a college student.

Thinking of her past life, Anle couldn't help but sigh. She had eyes that could see beauty, but unfortunately, those eyes had now been lost in this godforsaken slum.

Anle's gaze was fixed on the family's worn-out, patched-up, coarse cloth clothes—

Judging from the clothes this family is wearing, it's definitely not the era of superstars she lived in in her previous life!

Let's focus on getting rich and living a comfortable life first!

She was afraid that if things continued like this, she would really have to eat dirt in this slum with this family!

She didn't want to suffer this punishment. In her past life, she had never worked in the fields, farmed, climbed mountains, or chopped firewood!

How could I possibly end up as a village girl in this life?

Just as he was daydreaming to himself, he saw An Ning suddenly stand up, her face looking rather pale.

"Why should we? If our family earns the same amount of money as Second Uncle's family, why won't Grandpa and Grandma let Third Brother go?"

She sighed quietly, her voice barely audible.

"Fourth sister, there are so many mouths in our family waiting to be fed. As Grandpa and Grandma would say, Dad's earnings alone can't even cover the food for our eight mouths. We're a money-losing family."

"How many people are in my second uncle's family? Just four mouths to feed, and they earn more than double what our family earns in a month. It makes sense to send my cousin to school."

An Ning grumbled and turned her face away.

"Tch, that's because Grandpa and Grandma were biased. They didn't let our dad go to the carpentry shop to learn carpentry, but they made our second uncle go there as an apprentice. Otherwise, would our second uncle be where he is today? Now that he's a master carpenter, he wants to split up the family business."

My second aunt is always nagging about separating the family property right under my grandparents' noses. She always has a long face at our house, saying that we eat and drink for free and that the whole family is supported by my second uncle, as if my father didn't contribute any money.

I think Grandpa and Grandma, after all, couldn't stand my second aunt's nagging and started thinking about splitting up the family as soon as possible, because they thought our big family was a burden.

An Mancang paused in his porridge-drinking motion, frowned, and glanced at An Ning.

"Fourth Brother, who told you that? You can't just say things like that!"

“Dad, I’m not making this up. That’s what everyone in our Qushui Village is saying. They say Second Uncle is doing really well now. He’s making a lot of money in town. If he splits up the family property, he can buy a house in town and bring Grandpa and Grandma over to enjoy their retirement.”

Even if we had separated the family, Grandpa and Grandma wouldn't be living with us. They're going to live with Uncle's family in town to enjoy their retirement.

"It's all because of our family that we're dragging this down. Otherwise, with Uncle's skills, he could have settled down in town in three to five years, right?"

An Yi glanced at An Mancang and moved his lips.

“Dad, isn’t Shoushan’s dad a master craftsman in that shop with Second Uncle? I heard Shoushan say that his dad can earn five taels of silver a month in that shop, and Second Uncle… he pays one tael of silver to Grandpa and Grandma every month, right?”

"Did my second uncle embezzle four taels of silver from his monthly allowance?"

"What nonsense are you spouting, child? You believe everything you hear. There's no such thing as a job that only pays five taels of silver a month!" An Mancang's face darkened instantly. "From now on, don't listen to those gossipy rumors and spread them around."

An Mancang rarely lost his temper. Seeing that An Mancang was angry, An Yi quickly lowered his head and mumbled a weak murmur.

"This, this is not what I said. I just heard it from outside."

"San'er, you can't go around spreading rumors. If they reach your grandparents' ears, our whole family will start making a scene because of your nonsense."

What if your second uncle's family feels disheartened when they hear this and actually separates from us? Our whole family is counting on your second uncle's family to earn a few more dollars, isn't it?

"If we really split up the family, we won't be able to live such a comfortable life now." Qiao Qiuniang scolded An Yi.

An Yi lowered his head, clenched his fists in suppressed emotion, and responded.

"Yes, Father, Mother, I understand. I will never say such things again." What he said was clearly the truth; Shoushan would never lie to him.

The guards knew perfectly well how the family lived, eating only steamed buns and rice every day.

It's a lie, it's my second uncle!

Anle glanced at An Yi's resentful yet suppressed little face, blinked, and made a decision in her mind.

It seems that people are living such a miserable life that they can't even support their own family.

Relying on that second uncle?

Not liked by grandparents?

How miserable must this life be?

Look how much this third brother is holding his breath!

That night, after the family went to bed, Anle, covered by the blanket, curled up in a corner of the kang (a heated brick bed) and cursed under his breath.

Damn it, this lousy life has to be improved. Eight people in the family are crammed into the kang (heated brick bed) in the east and west rooms.

Her original owner's father and two older brothers lived in the west room, while she, her original owner's mother, two older sisters, and a little one slept on the kang (heated brick bed) in the east room.

When has Anle ever lived such a miserable life?

If this keeps up, she'll die from sleepless nights!

She doesn't have the habit of sleeping with a group of people!

After a sleepless night, Anle got out of bed early the next morning, before dawn. Alone, she sat listlessly on the threshold of the kitchen doorway, staring blankly at the gray sky, a look of utter despair on her face.