Jiang Le, worried that the two kids had been waiting too long, hastily grabbed a bamboo basket and headed out the door.  

Just as he stepped outside, he ran into Jiang Huan and immediately called out to her, “Sis, we’re going to the back mountain. Wanna come?”  

Jiang Huan glanced at the two little kids, then at her fifteen-year-old brother, and her expression turned somewhat complicated. She declined outright, “No, you go ahead.”  

Jiang Le listened as she mentioned she had some girlfriends in the village to meet up with, so he nodded and didn’t press further.  

Once outside, the two little kids immediately waved at him. “Little Jiang, hurry up! I saw Sanya and the others already heading up the mountain!”  

Though Jiang Le was thin, he wasn’t short—his long legs and arms allowed him to catch up in just a few strides. He ruffled each of their heads and said, “Call me brother.”  

The little kids shrank their necks but didn’t comply.  

As they walked toward the back mountain, some villagers stole glances at them—most likely at Jiang Le. He didn’t pretend not to notice and instead flashed a bright smile at the onlookers, making them awkwardly look away.  

Along the way, Jiang Le finally learned the names of the two little kids. The girl was called Xiao Feng, and the boy was Xiao Long—names that fit perfectly with the naming conventions of the era.  

Xiao Feng and Xiao Long were Sun Yulan’s youngest daughter and son. They had two older sisters and three older brothers, making a total of seven children in their family.  

A family with seven kids might seem shocking in modern times, but in this era, it was nothing special. For example, the Wang family next door to Jiang Le also had seven children.  

Rumors said some families even had eight, nine, or even ten kids. In these times, having more children was considered a blessing.  

The back mountain they were heading to belonged to Kanzi Village. When villagers weren’t busy, they’d go up to gather firewood. If they were lucky, they might even find wild fruit—though that was rare.  

Once the fruits on the mountain were close to ripening, someone would pick them immediately. Fresh fruit was a luxury in these times.  

Since the mountain was communal property, cutting down trees was forbidden, but gathering fallen branches was allowed.  

Kids like Xiao Long and Xiao Feng usually only went as far as the mountainside, which was close to the village and relatively safe. Going deeper risked encountering wild beasts.  

Old Man Jiang, for instance, had once ventured deep into the mountains alone, encountered a wolf, and while fleeing, accidentally fell down the mountainside.  

As Xiao Feng talked about the dangers of wild beasts in the mountains, she turned to Jiang Le and comforted him in a grown-up tone, “But don’t worry! Xiao Long and I come here all the time. We’ll protect you!”  

Jiang Le looked down at the little kid who barely reached his waist and couldn’t help but laugh. “Thanks, Xiao Feng. You’re so brave.”  

The sudden praise made Xiao Feng blush. She had never been complimented like this before. Villagers spoke bluntly—no one called her “brave.” At most, they said she was reckless, like the boys in the village. Sometimes even her parents said the same.

Xiaofeng never really considered those words as praise. But she liked the way Jiang Le said it.  

The little girl shyly stomped her feet, then noticed out of the corner of her eye that Xiao Long had already started gathering firewood. She immediately panicked: “Xiao Long! You—why didn’t you call me? You started picking secretly!”  

Xiao Long was clearly doing it on purpose, grinning widely as he quickly tossed branches into his small basket.  

Jiang Le watched the siblings bicker and couldn’t help but smile, joining in to gather firewood as well.  

They didn’t stick together the whole time, spreading out about ten meters apart. The mountain paths twisted and turned, so Jiang Le couldn’t see them, but he could faintly hear Xiao Feng and Xiao Long’s squabbling.  

He didn’t find it boring, though—after all, Gua Gua was with him. He chatted idly with the system: [Gua Gua, can you scan around and see if there’s anything edible nearby?]  

Gua Gua brought him back to reality: [Host, if there were anything edible, do you really think the villagers would leave it for you?]  

Jiang Le: […] 

Miserably, he went back to picking up sticks.  

Seems like foraging for food was a lost cause this time. Might as well focus on gathering firewood properly.  

After bending over for who knows how long, Jiang Le checked his basket—it was now half-filled with dry branches, which weren’t too heavy.  

He walked a bit further and spotted a few more kids up ahead, none of whom he recognized. The oldest looked about ten, while the youngest was probably only five or six.  

The five- or six-year-old definitely wasn’t here to work—most likely, their older sibling had been ordered by their parents to babysit.  

Just as Jiang Le was about to smile at the kids, the obvious leader of the group, a little boy, warned him sharply: “Stay away! This is our spot!”  

Jiang Le stopped in his tracks: “…” Fine, then.  

Come to think of it, that kid looked familiar—probably from the Wang family next door. Was his name Wang Sizhu or something?  

It wasn’t that Jiang Le had a great memory, but the Wang family’s naming conventions were extremely simple—boys were called “[Number] Zhu,” and girls were called “[Number] Ya.”  

They had four boys and three girls. Wang Sizhu was the youngest son, with one little sister below him—the very “Sanya” Xiao Feng had mentioned earlier, who was among the group.  

Of course, Jiang Le wasn’t about to “steal territory” from a bunch of kids. He turned to leave when Sizhu loudly declared: “We gotta stay away from that big dummy! Being near him brings… brings bad luck!”  

Sanya quickly nodded in agreement: “Yeah! My mom said his grandpa died, his eldest brother died, and his second brother’s a cripple…”  

Before she could finish, Jiang Le suddenly whipped around, his icy glare locking onto them. The seven- or eight-year-old girl was instantly frightened and burst into tears with a loud “Waaah!”

Seeing his sister burst into tears, Sizhu immediately puffed out his chest, brandished a stick, and glared fiercely at Jiang Le. “You big dummy! How dare you scare my sister? I’ll have my brothers beat you up!”  

His so-called “brothers” were, of course, just a bunch of little kids.  

Jiang Le averted his gaze—not because he was scared, but because seriously, was he really going to fight a group of children?  

Still, it was obvious where Sizhu and Sanya had heard those words.  

He turned and walked away. Behind him, Sizhu’s triumphant voice rang out: “Sanya, why are you crying? That dummy’s just a coward—I scared him off! If you keep crying, you’re a coward too!”  

Whether Sanya responded or not, Jiang Le was already too far away to hear.  

Gua Gua sensed the host’s low spirits and coughed lightly: [Host, are you really upset? Your eldest brother isn’t actually dead.]

That was true. Jiang Guoqing had lost contact during a mission, and everyone assumed he was dead—but he wasn’t. Jiang Le couldn’t remember exactly when he returned in the original novel, but the eldest Jiang brother had not only survived but also completed his mission.  

However, by the time Jiang Guoqing came back, the Jiang family was already in complete disarray: Jiang Junqing had been sent to labor reform, Jiang Huan was trapped in a miserable marriage, Zhao Meilian and Jiang De had met with an accident on their way to find Jiang Huan, and the original host had disappeared without a trace. Only Grandma Jiang remained, but after so much tragedy, she passed away shortly after Jiang Guoqing’s return.  

Jiang Le didn’t quite remember Jiang Guoqing’s ultimate fate, but it definitely wasn’t good.  

The Jiang family was essentially the author’s designated cannon fodder camp—anyone who offended the male lead was doomed to a miserable ending, all to make the protagonist’s rise to power more satisfying.  

Before transmigrating, Jiang Le hadn’t thought much of it. But now, those words on the page had become real, living people—his family.  

Gua Gua: [Host, are you planning to go provoke the male and female leads?]

Jiang Le snapped out of his thoughts: [Of course not!]

He wanted to stay as far away from them as possible, terrified that the Jiang family might follow the same tragic path as in the book.  

Gua Gua: [Then what are you worried about? The Jiang family won’t end up like in the novel.]

Jiang Le finally perked up. Right—if he just stayed away from the protagonists, things wouldn’t play out the same way. The original plot wasn’t unchangeable, after all.  

Noticing Jiang Le’s improved mood, Gua Gua decided to cheer him up further: [Host, walk another hundred meters ahead. There’s something edible there.]  

As soon as Gua Gua said it, Jiang Le’s spirits lifted. He quickly followed the directions and soon spotted a fruit tree about three or four meters tall, laden with small, thumb-sized golden-yellow fruits. He had no idea what they were—he’d never seen them before—but their vibrant color and sweet fragrance suggested they were ripe and ready to eat.

Since Gua Gua said the fruits were edible, Jiang Le immediately started picking them.  

Just as he was about to fill his basket, Xiao Feng and Xiao Long walked over. Jiang Le was about to excitedly tell them to pick some too when he noticed their disgusted expressions.  

“Why are you picking sour fruits? They taste awful,” Xiao Feng said, wrinkling her nose.  

Jiang Le froze, looking down at the half-basket of wild fruits he’d gathered. “These… aren’t edible?”  

“Theyare edible, but they’re super sour. Even birds flying by won’t eat them,” Xiao Feng explained, giving Jiang Le a pitying look. “You should probably dump them. Carrying them back would just be a waste of effort.”  

Jiang Le: “…” So that’s why no one had picked them despite there being so many!  

Gua Gua sounded a little guilty: [This system can only detect toxicity, not flavor…]

Jiang Le glanced at the fruits he’d painstakingly picked after climbing up and down the tree. He couldn’t bear to just throw them away. So what if they were sour? A little sweetness could balance it out, right?  

There’s no such thing as bad food—only undiscovered ways to prepare it! Jiang Le firmly believed this.  

Seeing Jiang Le insist on carrying the sour fruits back, Xiao Feng and Xiao Long thought he was being silly but didn’t say anything else.  

“We’re heading back now,” Xiao Feng announced. Their baskets were half-full of firewood—any more, and they wouldn’t be able to carry them.  

Jiang Le nodded. The two kids were really likable—they’d even promised to protect him earlier. Remembering the White Rabbit milk candies he’d exchanged yesterday, he reached into his pocket, pulled out two, and held them out like a suspicious stranger luring children: “Want some?”  

Xiao Feng’s eyes widened. “What… what is this?”  

“It’s candy. Milky, sweet, and delicious,” Jiang Le explained patiently, surprised they didn’t recognize White Rabbit candies.  

Now both kids’ eyes grew even rounder. They’d never seen such exquisitely wrapped candy before. The only sweets they’d ever had were chunks of sticky, yellowish maltose—a rare treat they could only beg for during the New Year.  

They didn’t know what “milky” tasted like, but it sounded amazing. Instantly, the two started swallowing hard.  

Xiao Feng glanced at Xiao Long, then asked timidly, “…Can we really have some?”  

Xiao Long stayed silent, thinking his sister was being naive. There was no way Jiang Le would actually give them such precious candy—he was probably just teasing them, like how Sanya liked to taunt them with treats.  

But to his shock, Jiang Le grinned and said, “Call me “gege” (big brother), and they’re yours. Deal?”  

Xiao Long immediately blurted, “Gege!”  

Under Jiang Le’s stunned gaze, the boy didn’t blush at all. What was the big deal about calling someone big brother? It wasn’t like it cost him anything.  

But if this Jiang… “gege” is just messing with us, Xiao Long thought fiercely, next time we come to the mountain, I won’t bring him along—no matter how much Xiao Feng begs!

But then—plop—a beautifully wrapped white candy suddenly landed in his grubby palm. Xiao Long was dumbfounded.  

Xiao Feng quickly chimed in beside him: “Gege (big brother)!”  

She got a candy too. Both kids stared in disbelief. “Jiang gege… you’re really giving these to us?”  

Jiang Le looked at their thin faces and bright, shining eyes. “Of course. I’m an adult—I keep my word.”  

The two still couldn’t believe it. They cradled the tiny candies in their palms, reluctant to eat them.  

In the end, Jiang Le had to warn them that the candy would melt if they didn’t eat it. Only then did they carefully unwrap the treats and pop them into their mouths, still clutching the wrappers like treasures.  

So this is what “milky” tastes like? It was the most delicious candy they’d ever had.  

Wuwuwu… Jiang gege is even better than our own big brother!

Jiang Le had no idea that, thanks to two White Rabbit candies, his status in the kids’ hearts had just surpassed their actual older brother’s.  

On the way down the mountain, Xiao Feng and Xiao Long practically fought to carry his basket for him—though Jiang Le, of course, wouldn’t let them.  

The siblings lived closer to the foot of the mountain. Today, they’d taken a detour just to fetch Jiang Le. After they headed home, Jiang Le continued on his way.  

The original host’s body was way too weak. Even with just a half-filled basket, he had to stop and rest repeatedly.  

During yet another break, as Jiang Le prepared to cross an alley up ahead, he spotted a group of teenage boys kicking and punching something—or rather, someone.  

Frowning, Jiang Le squinted to see better.  

Gua Gua: [No need to look, Host. They’re beating someone up.]

Jiang Le: […]  

He recognized one of the bullies—it was Gou Dan, the same kid who’d come looking for him earlier. As the group shifted, Jiang Le finally glimpsed their victim: a scrawny kid curled into a ball, arms wrapped around his head.  

Jiang Le’s eyes burned—not from tears, but rage. Were these brats trying to kill that child?!  

Gua Gua timely reminded him: [Host, if you charge in, you’ll get beaten up too. Though you could share some of the damage for that kid.]

Jiang Le: […I’m not that stupid.]  

He glanced around. The alley was clearly seldom used—Gou Dan and his gang had deliberately chosen a secluded spot.  

Jiang Le immediately shouted at the top of his lungs: “RUN! The Party Secretary is coming!” 

Whatever the case, the mention of the village’s highest authority should at least startle them.