Chapter 7: Good Things Should Be Eaten Outside

Everyone in the village knew what kind of life Hu Zhaodi was living with the Hu family.

It wasn’t that no one sympathized with her, but even if they did, it wouldn’t make any difference. The Hu family didn’t allow anyone to help Hu Zhaodi at all.

Even if someone secretly tried to slip her some food, it wouldn’t fill her belly. If the Hu family found out, they would not only scold the person who brought her food but would also snatch it away and give it to the gluttonous Hu Yaozu.

The villagers weren’t wealthy themselves, so they couldn’t frequently provide for Hu Zhaodi.

Old Man Ji felt deeply for her but couldn’t really help much.

Hu Zhaodi smiled nonchalantly. “Don’t worry, Uncle, I think I’ll soon be turning things around.”

“You’re such an optimistic girl. It hasn’t been easy for you. I’ll be a bit late returning home today, so just wait for me at the city gate after you finish. I’ll give you a ride back.”

“Okay, thank you, Uncle Ji.”

Once they arrived at the county town, Old Man Ji went off to attend to his business.

Hu Zhaodi, on the other hand, inquired around to find a larger pharmacy in the county town.

After selling the wild ginseng and herbs she had found yesterday, she rented a wheelbarrow, preparing to transport the wild boar from her space to be processed.

After renting the wheelbarrow, she pushed it to a deserted alley and took the wild boar out of her space.

But as soon as she placed the boar on the wheelbarrow, it tipped over.

“Goodness! This wheelbarrow is tricky! Just a slight shift and it flips over. This is a hassle.”

The ancient wheelbarrow was quite peculiar, having only one wheel with two supporting wooden beams underneath. Without any experience, it was indeed difficult to control.

She quickly returned the wild boar to her space, righted the wheelbarrow, and tried again to place the boar on it.

However, even with the boar balanced correctly, she still couldn’t push the wheelbarrow forward.

Hu Zhaodi furrowed her brow tightly; this cursed wheelbarrow was really giving her a headache.

Just as she was about to tip it over again, a boy around fifteen or sixteen, dressed in tattered clothes, accidentally noticed her.

The boy rushed into the alley, took a look at the frail Hu Zhaodi, who was dressed even more poorly than he was, and asked, “Where are you trying to take this? I’ll help you.”

Hu Zhaodi was overjoyed. “Big brother, could you please help me take it to the place where they sell meat? Once we sell the wild boar, I’ll treat you to meat buns.”

The boy smiled shyly. “Alright, but I want three meat buns.”

“Not a problem! Thank you, big brother.”

Together, they struggled to push the wheelbarrow out of the alley and arrived at the meat stall.

“Uncle, do you buy wild boars here?” Hu Zhaodi politely asked with a smile.

The meat seller, looking quite amiable, came forward to help steady the wheelbarrow as he saw the two of them struggling.

“Little girl, I do buy wild boars, but the meat from wild boars is rather tough, and the price isn’t as high as that for farm-raised pigs. For a wild boar, I can only give you ten wen per jin, which is the highest price I can offer.”

Hu Zhaodi didn’t bother looking for prices elsewhere; pushing the wheelbarrow was already exhausting.

“Ten wen it is! Uncle, please weigh it.”

“Sure thing, little girl. If you have more wild boars in the future, just bring them to me. I’ll definitely give you a fair price.”

“Deal! Thank you, Uncle.”

The meat seller got the wild boar down, tied it with a rope, and called over two strong men to help weigh it.

“Little girl, this wild boar weighs one hundred fifty-nine jin four liang. I’ll count it as one hundred sixty jin for you.”

“Great! Uncle, you’re really nice! If I get another wild boar, I’ll bring it straight to you.”

“Alright, alright. By the way, how old are you? Why are there just the two of you? Pushing this wheelbarrow is quite a task.”

Hu Zhaodi smiled calmly. “Uncle, I’m an orphan, and I’m fourteen years old this year.”

“I came here with an elder from the village. They had some business to attend to, so I had to come sell the wild boar by myself. Fortunately, this kind-hearted big brother helped me,” Hu Zhaodi explained.

The meat seller was taken aback, staring at the frail girl whose height and weight were seriously out of proportion for her age. He picked up a knife, cut off a piece of marbled meat, and handed it to Hu Zhaodi.

“Little girl, this piece of meat is a gift from me. Take it home and nourish yourself; take good               care of yourself,” he said.

“No, thank you, Uncle,” she replied.

“You should take it! You look so thin; it’s not right,” the seller insisted, stuffing the meat into Hu Zhaodi’s hands.

Hu Zhaodi smiled as she looked at the pork in her hands. The difference was significant compared to the ones from her space supermarket; it was truly authentic, free-range pork.

However, she believed that one shouldn’t accept gifts without merit, and she wouldn’t accept sympathy or charity from others without giving something in return.

She looked thoughtfully at the meat seller’s face and asked with a smile, “Uncle, do you often feel pain around your belly button?”

The seller stared at her in disbelief, his eyes wide. “How do you know?”

Hu Zhaodi placed her fingers on the seller’s wrist to check his pulse. “I have some knowledge of medicine. Uncle, you have gastroenteritis. I’ll write you a prescription. Go to the pharmacy and get some medicine. Boil three bowls of water down to one, and take it three times a day. If you eat regularly, you’ll get better.”

“You can even practice medicine? That’s impressive! Since you know some medicine, you need to take better care of yourself,” the seller said, clearly surprised.

“I know, Uncle. I’ll make sure to eat and drink well to get stronger so I can bring you more meat in the future,” Hu Zhaodi replied earnestly.

“Good, good! Make sure to keep your silver safe. Times are tough, so head home before it gets dark,” he advised.

“Alright, Uncle. I’ll see you another day,” Hu Zhaodi said.

“Be safe on your way back,” the seller called as she waved goodbye.

After parting ways with the meat seller, Hu Zhaodi gave the boy twenty wen to buy himself something to eat.

The boy didn’t hesitate, accepting the copper coins before leaving.

Hu Zhaodi returned the wheelbarrow and, glancing at the meat in her hand, found a secluded spot to send the cart back to her space. She took out some seasonings to marinate the meat, then tied it back up to carry in her hand.

She stopped by a bun shop to buy a steaming meat bun to fill her stomach before heading to the place where she was supposed to meet Old Man Ji.

After waiting for a while, Ji finally arrived driving a bullock cart.

Climbing onto the cart, Hu Zhaodi beamed at him. “Uncle Ji, let’s take our time getting back. On the way, let’s find a place to roast this meat. I’ll treat you to some barbecued meat.”

Old Man Ji laughed heartily. “Alright, Hu girl, good things should be eaten outside. Don’t take them home to those good-for-nothings; if you do, there won’t be any left for you.”

Hu Zhaodi nodded in agreement. “I’m not foolish. They don’t see me as human, so why should I save the good things for them?”

Ji sighed and hesitated before speaking again. “Hu girl, everyone in the village knows you aren’t really a Hu family child. It seems you might be the only one who didn’t know.”

“Uncle Ji, I already know. That’s why I’ve started to resist them these past couple of days. Do you know about my origins?”

“I only know that Hu Dashan’s wife was married for three years without conceiving. Later, a wandering Taoist told Yang to adopt a girl and name her Zhaodi, which would allow her to become pregnant. You were bought from a trafficker when you were just three years old, and you never knew who your biological parents were. However, the clothes you were wearing when the Hu family bought you were ragged but made of fabric that only children from wealthy families could afford,” Ji explained.

Hu Zhaodi nodded. She didn’t care about who her biological parents were; she just wanted to confirm whether the original owner was indeed Hu Dashan and his wife’s biological daughter.

Now that she had confirmation, it was time to make the Hu family pay for the years they mistreated her.