Chapter Eight: There Are Sweets at Uncle's House

Bai Mianmian was struck speechless. She had thought the system had finally developed a conscience and led her to good people, but as it turned out, they were merely old acquaintances of her original self.

"Uncle Ping, Uncle Cheng, Uncle Yong."
"Aye!"
"Mm!"
"Right."

She rummaged through the depths of her memories and indeed found impressions of these men. By the time her father was conscripted, she had been nearly six years old. That day, when he had bid farewell to his wife, daughter, and friends, she had eaten the most satisfying meal of meat in her life. Since then, she had never stepped foot in town again.

"My mother remarried a year ago. It was my grandparents who wanted to sell me. Uncles, you don't need to pity me. The family my grandparents found for me is far better than the Bai family. At least, if I leave the Bai family, I'll be able to eat my fill."

She struck first to gain the upper hand. Given her appearance, which was comparable to that of a refugee, the three men couldn't bring themselves to say they would go to the Bai family to settle the score for her. Yet, watching her be sold into servitude left them deeply unwilling.

"Sister-in-law Shuan is truly heartless. When Brother Shuan was alive, even if he was scolded by the family, he would always save something for her. And yet, the moment he left, she abandoned the child!"

Compared to the impulsive Li Cheng, Li Yong and He Ping were much more composed. After exchanging glances, they asked, "Did your grandparents say which family they sold you to?"
"Do you know where you're going?"

Bai Mianmian: "..." She couldn't very well say she didn't know.

"Don't worry, we just want to know where you're going so we can look out for you in the future," He Ping cajoled.
Li Yong chimed in, "Your Uncle Ping is right. We just want to take care of you. We neglected you in the past, but we'll pay more attention to you from now on."

Future or not, no one could say for sure. For now, she only wanted to eat. She ignored their gazes and took a large bite of a steamed bun. Seeing her urgency, He Ping hurried to boil some soup. Before she had even finished half a bun, the soup was ready, and he added a coarse flour bun with a radish filling.

"Eat slowly. There are several more steamed buns and two more radish buns left."
"Take two more buns with you when you leave."

Bai Mianmian blew on the egg drop soup and pushed the bun away. She didn't want to eat dried radish! Steamed buns kept better. There was a big difference between coarse flour and fine flour; the former was mostly wheat bran, while the latter had about a third of the bran content.

"Could you add some water, please?"

***

One sip, and she was almost sent to the afterlife. It was both bitter and salty. The Bai family hadn't even been willing to give the children of the second branch salt, so her original self had a low tolerance for saltiness. Her tongue felt numb.

He Ping smiled but didn't get up. "Dip your bun in it. Eating more salt is good for your health."
Bai Mianmian: "..." No matter how healthy it was, it shouldn't be this salty. The egg drop soup, which wasn't delicious to begin with, became even harder to swallow. It lacked any fat, and it was so plain it didn't even have a garnish of scallions! It was truly fishy and salty.

"How long has it been since the Bai family let you have salt? Your hands are shaking so badly!" Li Cheng said, his mood complex. Li Yong, who had been about to speak, closed his mouth. He had wanted to say the same.

Bai Mianmian followed their gaze to her small hands clutching the bun; they were trembling like they had a motor installed, with dense, rapid oscillations. She had been so focused on eating that she hadn't even noticed.

Dissatisfied with the soup as she was, she silently pulled the bowl back and finished half of it with the bun. The original body's stomach was like a chick's; half a bun was plenty. By force-feeding herself another half-bun and the rest of the soup, she felt so full she nearly vomited.

"Please pack two coarse flour buns for me." She was stubborn and persistent. He Ping sighed and packed the remaining buns. He wrapped them in oil paper and then in a coarse cloth bundle. As she watched, she pulled out a string of copper coins. Most of the money had been provided by the younger Madam Zhou, and the purse naturally belonged to her. It wasn't small. Out of the 565 coins remaining after buying rice paper, there were three small silver ingots, worth about three mace. The remaining two hundred-plus coins looked quite inconspicuous inside. However, her revealing them made the Li brothers think twice.

"If this isn't enough, please forgive me."
"Brother Ping, the little girl is just like Brother Shuan—stubborn. Just take the money," Li Yong urged.

He Ping's gaze followed the string of coins. When Li Yong handed it to him, he gave a subtle wink. "Then I won't decline, Uncle."

The three had their own thoughts, but since Bai Mianmian wanted to leave, they didn't stop her. They didn't stop her from looking at or buying things, either. She had known all along that she was being followed. Setting aside the matter of her father, the three men seemed decent enough, and she didn't want to implicate them. Finding an opportunity, she shook them off and ducked into a quiet alley.

It was hard to say whether she was lucky or unlucky. She had only turned through two small alleys before she was blocked.

"Little girl, I have candy at home. Do you want some?"
"..." Bai Mianmian's lips twitched. She was already