"I disagree. Two more people mean two more mouths to feed, and that would require so much food!"
Lu Qiqi patted the crumbs of the pancake in her hand and looked in the direction of the sound. Her third uncle and third aunt were talking to a somewhat plump woman.
The woman looked older than her third aunt and pointed at the two sisters with her index finger.
Lu Qiqi guessed that this person should be her third aunt's sister-in-law, Madam Lu.
Lu Dahai tried to persuade Madam Lu, "Sister-in-law, my two nieces are really pitiful. If you're worried about not having enough food, use our share. I promise you won't suffer any loss."
Mrs. Lu lowered her hand, still unwilling to let the two sisters stay. "Who knows if we'll be at a disadvantage? We're all cooking in the same pot, how can we accurately calculate who gets a bite more and who gets a bite less?"
Then the third aunt stepped forward and said, "Sister-in-law, since you put it that way, let's divide the family property. That way, we won't have to worry about eating an extra bite of food."
Madam Lu's expression suddenly changed, and she looked somewhat incredulous. "Little sister, you're actually going to talk about dividing the family property for the sake of two people with different surnames?"
Looking at her sister-in-law and son-in-law with firm expressions, Madam Lu then turned her head and scolded the man squatting to one side.
"How can you be so spineless? Your little sister wants to split up the family because of two people with different surnames, and you don't even dare to fart."
The eldest brother of the Li family didn't say anything and turned his face to the side.
Madam Lu dared not cause a family division. Her husband was a cripple, and the whole family depended on Lu Dahai and Li Qingyu. She could only vent her anger on her husband.
Lu Qiqi never expected that her third uncle and aunt would actually want to separate the family for the sake of the sisters.
She was somewhat moved. In this chaotic world, everyone was in danger. Her aunt's family wanted to sell them before they fled the famine. Her third uncle and aunt not only provided them with food, but they even went so far as to divide the family property.
It's just grain, isn't it?
That's easy!
The food in the space is enough to feed a family for half a year without any problem.
She was worried about not having a legitimate reason to come up with a solution, and now was a good opportunity.
Lu Qiqi stood up and stepped forward, "Third Aunt, we have grain, let me show it to you."
Then he walked to the bamboo basket, took out a bag of rice, a bag of millet, half a bag of flour, a dozen or so cakes, a ceramic jar of fine salt, and a small packet of sugar.
As Lu Qiqi took out the items one by one, Lu's eyes began to light up, especially when she took out rice, flour, and fine salt.
This time, the Lu family fell completely silent.
Keep in mind that they didn't even have ten pounds of rice combined, let alone wheat flour and salt.
Sugar and fine salt were precious items that only the wealthy could afford in peacetime.
After a long pause, Lu finally managed to say, "If you want to stay, then stay."
Then it ran away.
Lu Dahai frowned as he looked at the grain and asked, "Seventh Girl, where did all this come from?"
Lu Dahai knew the sisters' situation well; if they had food, he wouldn't need to provide them with relief so often.
Furthermore, fine salt is such a valuable commodity that even wealthy families cannot buy it without connections.
Lu Qiqi explained, "I pawned the painting my mother left behind, and the shopkeeper took pity on me and helped me arrange it."
That makes sense now.
Lu Dahai knew that his second sister-in-law was a skilled embroiderer who had worked as a master embroiderer in the embroidery workshop.
He guessed that the embroidery was so good that the generous pawnshop owner was happy and gave him fine salt, so he stopped asking questions.
Lu Dahai said, "You've been busy all night, go and get some rest."
Lu Qiqi smiled and said, "Okay, Third Uncle, you and Third Aunt should also get some rest."
Lu Qiqi returned to Lu Yao's side and had just sat down when Lu Yao leaned closer and whispered, "Sister, my hands are so itchy."
Upon hearing this, Lu Qiqi reached out and rolled up one of Lu Yao's sleeves. The girl's delicate arm was covered with more than a dozen red spots, which looked shocking.
Lu Qiqi felt a little sorry for you, "Let me put some medicine on you."
She took out the spiritual spring water and rubbed it on Lu Yao's arm a few times. The red spots gradually faded away, and there was no trace of them left.
Lu Qiqi hadn't expected the spiritual spring water to be so powerful. It seemed she would have to dilute it with water in the future, otherwise its restorative ability would be too amazing.
Lu Yao felt the itching on her arm had stopped and smiled, "Sister, what kind of medicine is this? It's amazing! It feels cool and refreshing when you apply it, and the itching stops immediately."
She asked Lu Qiqi curiously, "Where did this medicine come from?"
Lu Qiqi applied the spiritual spring water to her other arm as well, explaining, "It was given to me by the pawnshop owner; I can't tell anyone this little secret."
Lu Yao had no doubt whatsoever and nodded obediently, "That shopkeeper is such a kind person."
Lu Qiqi smiled but didn't say anything, telling her to rest quickly.
***
The next morning, Lu Qiqi and Lu Yao each ate half a pancake and prepared to continue their journey.
Li Family Village has a large population. Lu Qiqi glanced around and estimated that the population was more than twice that of Lu Family Village.
Lu Dahai went to the village chief early in the morning to explain that his family had grown by two people. When he returned, he brought with him a boy who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old.
It was Li Changlong, Lu Dahai's eldest son. Lu Qiqi hadn't seen him last night; it turned out he was keeping watch.
Li Changlong wore short, coarse clothes, had dark skin from years of working in the fields, and had a somewhat simple and honest smile.
He saw his two younger sisters, scratched his head with a sheepish grin, and said, "Qiqi, Yaoyao, you're here."
Then, he took out two green wild fruits from his pocket and handed them to Lu Qiqi and Lu Yao, saying, "These are wild fruits I picked in the forest. They are sweet and sour and very delicious."
Lu Qiqi accepted the wild fruit. "Thank you, Second Brother."
Suddenly, Lu Qiqi felt a sense of belonging. It was an indescribable feeling, like when family members would remember to bring back little trinkets when they came back from a trip. The items might not be valuable, but the sentiment of being remembered was what mattered.
After a day's journey, we finally chose to rest in a mountain stream. The stream had long since dried up, leaving only bare rocks and a dense forest behind them.
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