Chapter 5 Scolding Big Brother

“Qiuxi, what are you saying? Are you crazy? You’re actually fighting with Big Brother for food, he’s our Qin family’s scholar…”

Old Lady Qin always felt sorry for Qin Zian, she couldn’t bear to see her grandson suffer the slightest bit of injustice, and immediately exploded.

Qin Ruo picked up the chicken leg, tore off a piece of meat and put it in her mouth, before speaking slowly.

“What’s wrong with being a scholar? Isn’t studying supposed to make people understand reason, know right from wrong, be introspective and humble? Is studying supposed to make people think they’re superior because they know a few characters and some knowledge? Can they be thick-skinned and feel at ease, enjoying the fruits of others’ labor?”

“Who’s thick-skinned, you’re simply unreasonable!” Qin Zian’s face flushed red, and he only managed to spit out this sentence after a long time.

He felt wronged, Qin Qiuxi was clearly not like this before.

“Isn’t it you, who always wants to eat white rice, gets new clothes every year, and takes it for granted, who hasn’t earned a single copper coin?”

“What? Not convinced? Erlang could work in the fields at the age of six, and he could go into the mountains to chop wood and dig wild vegetables at the age of eight. Even in the cold winter, his hands and feet cracked, and he still had to wash your clothes. What were you doing? Do you really think you’re a big shot?”

Qin Zimu lowered his head and quietly tucked his hands into his sleeves.

He was surprised that Qin Ruo would actually speak up for him, even going so far as to turn against his brother. Qin Zimu’s eyes welled up.

Qin Ruo pretended not to see Qin Zimu’s actions.

She wasn’t standing up for Qin Zimu, she simply couldn’t stand Qin Zian, who put on airs of being a scholar but didn’t do anything.

He would eat his bowl of rice and then curse his mother, wasn’t that the kind of person Qin Zian was?

Old Lady Qin, who wanted her grandson to pursue a career in officialdom, always gave Qin Zian whatever he wanted.

Whether it was food or clothing, she always made sure her grandson had the best.

Unknowingly, she had raised Qin Zian into a cold, selfish, and demanding waste.

He always stood by and did nothing about the family’s affairs.

That’s fine! But he also looked down on his sister and brother, who worked like oxen and horses to support his studies.

What was that if not studying until it went to the dog’s belly?

Actually, Qin Zimu had also attended private school for two years. After his father left, Old Lady Qin made the final decision to withdraw Qin Zimu from school.

The reason was that the family couldn’t afford to support two scholars. After that, Qin Zimu followed the original owner and did whatever he could to help with the family chores.

Because Qin Zian, relying on his status as an older brother, suppressed him everywhere, and because of Old Lady Qin’s favoritism, Qin Zimu gradually developed a timid, cowardly, and unconfident personality, always trying to please others.

“Did I ask you to do it? You did it willingly, what does it have to do with me?”

Qin Zian, who had been put down, blurted out without any sense of wrongdoing.

“Yes, you didn’t ask anyone. Only Qin Qiuxi, that fool, rushed to be your ox and horse. Year after year, month after month, she risked her life to go into the mountains to hunt, in exchange for your annual tuition fees, ink, paper, and brushes.”

Qin Ruo sneered, then stopped talking and focused on eating her chicken leg.

Although Old Lady Qin’s cooking skills were a bit lacking, the chicken soup still had a muddy smell. But the original owner’s body needed it, so she could only make do for now.

Long-term malnutrition and working day and night, not only had Qin Zimu not grown taller, he was pale and thin, like an eight or nine-year-old child.

The original owner was the same. Although she was fifteen years old, she was short and thin, like a twelve or thirteen-year-old. Fortunately, she inherited the good features of her parents, and if you looked closely, she was still quite beautiful.

Influenced by her father, the original owner, Qin Qiuxi, was particularly fascinated by hunting. She started going into the mountains with her father at the age of six.

By the time she was eleven, she had learned most of her father’s hunting skills.

After Qin Huaizheng disappeared, Qin Qiuxi took over her father’s role and became the main source of income for the Qin family.

Besides tending the fields, she spent all her free time going into the mountains to hunt and earn money.

As the person who contributed the most to this family, she still couldn’t even afford to eat and dress well.

The only winter coat she had was made from the quilt that Qin Zian had taken apart because he thought it was too heavy and not warm enough.

Old Lady Qin did this without any psychological burden. There was only one scholar in the family, so he had to be taken care of.

The family could go without new clothes and quilts, they could endure the winter, but not her grandson.

Old Lady Qin didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. What family in Changhe Village wasn’t like this?

Grandson is different. Scholars should have the dignity of scholars, their food and clothing cannot be too bad.

We can’t let Qin Zian lose face in front of his classmates and be ostracized.

We can save wherever we can, nothing is as important as Qin Zian’s affairs.

The original owner was a simpleton, even if she had some dissatisfaction, she would be suppressed by Old Lady Qin’s strength, unable to make any waves.

Over time, she became numb.

Qin Ruo decided to recover her body and leave when she got the chance.

With her self-defense skills from her previous life, she was confident that she could live well even if she was alone.

There’s no need to be trapped in a small space because of a so-called useless scholar.

The original owner is the original owner, she is she.

She won’t be like the original owner, working like an ox and a horse, serving a master, and continuing to selflessly dedicate herself to Qin Zian. It’s impossible.

Qin Zian looked at Qin Ruo, who was eating with her head down, and thought about how he was always the center of attention in this family, but now he was being ignored.

The huge psychological gap made Qin Zian angrier and angrier. He threw down his bowl and left.

Old Lady Qin had been unable to get a word in edgewise, feeling sorry for her grandson who hadn’t eaten all day.

She couldn’t care less about blaming Qin Ruo anymore, so she scooped up a bowl of food and chased after him. Only Qin Zimu and Qin Ruo were left in the house.

Qin Zimu silently lowered his head and bit into the chicken leg, tears welling up in his eyes.

Since his father’s accident, he couldn’t remember how long it had been since he last ate a chicken leg.

Usually, when his sister hunted wild animals, she would take them to the town to exchange for money.

Occasionally, when his brother came back, he would buy some meat for a treat, but most of it went into his brother’s stomach.

Even when they killed a chicken, they would divide it into two parts.

Besides the specific portion for Qin Zian, they would be lucky to get a few pieces of meat.

How could it be like today, when he actually got to eat a chicken leg.

“What are you crying for? You’re crying over a chicken leg, what a loser!” Qin Ruo glanced at Qin Zimu with disdain and scooped a spoonful of chicken meat into his bowl.

Qin Zimu collected the firewood, and the original owner caught the wild chicken. She wouldn’t let herself be deprived of it, would she let that white-eyed wolf have it?

“Thank you, sister.” Qin Zimu said softly.

“There will be plenty of opportunities for you to eat until you vomit.” Qin Ruo casually gave Qin Zimu a big promise.

Eat until he vomits… how many chickens would that take?

No matter how mature Qin Zimu’s mind was, he was still a young boy. Hearing Qin Ruo’s words, his eyes instantly lit up.

He began to silently count in his heart, how many chickens would he have to kill before he could try the taste of eating until he vomited.