In Suijin Town, Song Liyun chatted with Aunt Guo, who had come with her, while deftly carrying the freshly steamed multigrain buns out of the steamer.

Just then, Xiao An staggered in, dragging a bundle of firewood.

Song Liyun quickly put down the steamer and carried the bundle of firewood to the kitchen for him, casually saying, "Xiao An, if you need to get a bundle of firewood in the future, just ask Sister Xu. You can't carry it."

Because Luo Baihu was a group of laborers who picked up what others had left over, and there were many women among them.

Besides Aunt Cui and Aunt Liu, who are both in their forties, and two women in their thirties, there are also three unmarried girls.

Song Liyun was the oldest, at seventeen, while the rest were girls around fifteen or sixteen years old.

The group divided the work among themselves. Song Liyun usually followed Aunt Guo, who was in charge of steaming buns, and did some heavy and rough work such as carrying the steamer baskets. The other two girls helped with the fire in front of the stove and washed the dishes and vegetables.

Xiao An also helped with the fire, but he was small and found it difficult to carry bundles of firewood, so the two older children should have done it.

Song Liyun didn't want him to overwork himself and affect his growth and development.

No sooner had Song Liyun finished speaking than a person walked in from outside the thatched shed where they cooked.

Xu Yan'er, her face darkening, pouted and said discontentedly, "Song Liyun, you're not the cook, so why are you ordering me around?"

Song Liyun, being an adult, didn't want to argue with a child like her. She smiled and said, "Xiao An can't carry such a heavy bundle of firewood, so I'll trouble Sister Yan'er to carry it for a bit."

Xu Yan'er scoffed, "A good-for-nothing who can't even lift a bundle of firewood comes here to freeload. Doesn't he know any shame?"

Song Liyun's face darkened immediately, and she glared at her coldly: "Xu Yan'er, don't talk nonsense. Everyone is watching. My brother doesn't eat as much as you, but he does just as much work. You know who is the good-for-nothing."

Xu Yan'er's face flushed instantly: "You're talking nonsense. Where have I done less work? I'm just not like some people who like to show off and flaunt their achievements in front of others." As she spoke, she glared fiercely at Xiao An, who was hiding behind Song Liyun.

When the tasks were assigned, she heard clearly that everyone was there to perform corvée labor, except for Song Zhen'an, who was there to freeload off her older siblings.

If he were a normal child who only knew how to eat and play, that would be fine. But Xiao An was too diligent. He never ran around and worked hard honestly. Everyone who saw him praised him.

As a result, she, the rightful mistress, was criticized behind her back by several aunts, who said she was not even as good as a child.

Song Liyun held Xiao An's shoulder and pulled him out from behind her: "Xiao An, you did a great job. Don't be afraid. If you do well, everyone should see it."

Xiao An shrank back, not saying a word, only lowering her head and rubbing her fingers vigorously.

Song Liyun patted his head and sighed inwardly: He has a timid mindset and is not used to being praised. He can only take it slowly!

Seeing that it was almost dinnertime and they would soon be busy, Song Liyun didn't want to argue with Xu Yan'er in front of Xiao An and upset the child.

Song Liyun glanced at Xu Yan'er: "Even the centurion didn't say that Xiao An can't eat, so Yan'er, you should worry less about it in the future."

Xu Yan'er bit her lip. Song Liyun was right. The military camp really didn't care about a little kid eating for free.

Seeing that Xu Yan'er stopped talking, Song Liyun turned around and took a steamed bun from the steamer. Just as she was about to hand it to Xiao An, someone suddenly blocked her way.

Song Liyun looked up and saw that the person was in his forties, with a scar on the corner of his mouth.

"Aunt Cui, what do you mean by this?"

"Song girl, what are you trying to do? Don't you have any manners? The people working outside haven't even eaten yet, what right do you have to take things without permission?"

When will this ever end?!

Song Liyun frowned, somewhat impatiently saying, "Aunt Cui, the number of steamed buns for each person is calculated and made in advance. Xiao An will eat first and only eat his portion. He didn't touch anyone else's. What's wrong with that?"

Aunt Cui slammed her hand on the steamer and said in a harsh voice, "You say you didn't take it, but who knows!"

I know that the soldiers distribute grain according to the number of people, and this child's name is not even on the register, so he has no grain to eat.

The first couple of days were all new arrivals, and my wife wasn't petty, so she didn't cause any trouble.

Now look what's happened! We've raised a freeloader, an ungrateful wretch, who's even trying to steal food from those who actually do the work.

These words were barbed and pointed, even harsher than Xu Yan'er's.

Song Liyun's face instantly darkened; she could clearly feel Xiao An trembling behind her.

Freeloaders and jinxes—these words permeated his short life.

No matter how hard he works, he's just freeloading. He was cursed like this in Xiaoshi Village, and he's still being cursed like this by strangers now.

Song Liyun was furious: she had all of Song Lao Er's belongings in her space, so there was no need for her to bring Xiao An here to work and make a living.

Originally, the intention was simply to use the large number of people and the lively atmosphere to help Xiao An adapt to the environment.

But Xiao An tried so hard to please others, yet she was still ostracized. So there was no need for her to suffer and work so hard anymore.

People can leave, but words cannot be spoken like that.

Song Liyun's lips curled up in a mocking smile. "Aunt Cui is right."

Xiao An's name wasn't on the roster, but he did more work than those whose names were on it.

"Many living people shouldn't even be eating. Don't you think those who live off names deserve to starve? Xu Yan'er, Aunt Cui."

Xu Yan'er was none other than Aunt Cui's daughter.

Everyone had only been here for a few days, but Xu Yan'er, who was supposed to be doing corvée labor, had already been slacking off quite a bit.

However, Aunt Cui was the oldest and worked very efficiently. She was in charge of cooking and did the work of two people without burdening others. Out of respect for her, the others didn't say anything more.

Aunt Cui knew her daughter's temperament very well.

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