Chapter 2: My Younger Sister is Actually Quite Kind

Under her eldest sister's unrelenting gaze, Pandi could only open her mouth again, but after taking two large gulps in succession, she refused to open it again no matter how Ding Xuewei coerced or enticed her.

Ding Xuewei could press the mouth of the bottle against the child's lips, but she couldn't pry the child's mouth open to force-feed her. Helpless, she could only withdraw her hand and tighten the cap.

Smacking her lips, Pandi's expression turned somewhat strange. "Big sister, this stuff tasted weird when I first started drinking it, but after a few more gulps, it's actually kind of tasty. Where did you pick it up? I'll go keep watch to see if I can find another one."

Ding Xuewei, who seriously suspected she had been subtly implied something, was speechless: "......"

Facing Ding Xuewei, Pandi felt her sister's aura freeze instantly. She nervously reached up to scratch her head. "I was truly too naive. This stuff looks expensive at a glance. It was just luck that you picked it up, Big Sister; where would there be so many waiting for me to find them!"

"As long as you know," Ding Xuewei said stiffly.

Pandi, who actually still wanted to try her luck in her heart: "......"

The two sisters stared at each other for a few seconds. Feeling a bit awkward, Ding Xuewei broke the eerie atmosphere. "There's nothing edible on this hill. This bottle of yogurt will barely be enough to get us through tonight. Let's rest early and try to hit the road earlier tomorrow."

As soon as Ding Xuewei said they would leave, Pandi, whose expression turned grim, grabbed her. "This year, even Great-Aunt didn't send any peaches, plums, or pears to the house. Even if there was food in the woods or on the hills before, it's probably all been picked clean by now!"

Under her eldest sister's gaze, Pandi felt extremely vexed. "I'm so stupid, to think of this only now. I've made Big Sister work hard for nothing all this time!"

Feeling like she was being subtly insulted again, Ding Xuewei was once again speechless.

Taxes were heavy; for ordinary commoners, after the summer tax and autumn grain, very little remained.

Wild fruits and wild vegetables in the woods and on the hills naturally became the focus of maintaining their livelihood.

And this year could be described as a series of disasters. Not long after the seedlings were planted, there was continuous drizzling rain, causing half of the seedlings to wither and die from disease. When the rice began to flower, there was another half-month of fine rain, and half of the ears failed to grow. They finally endured until the harvest, but a day of heavy rain fell without fail, and that meager harvest simply rotted in the fields.

This year, the fields were essentially a total loss.

Given this year's situation, it was already quite good that Great-Aunt hadn't come to the door to beg for grain!

The "Great-Aunt" Pandi referred to was the wife of her maternal uncle, the eldest brother of her grandmother's family.

In the novel, Pandi came from a scholarly family; her ancestors had produced officials. However, aside from that great-great-great-grandfather who had brought glory to the old Ding family, the mostly scholarly Ding family had not produced any more great talents.

Even Pandi's grandfather didn't pass the examination to become a *tongsheng* until he was forty!

In the novel, because the Ding family wanted to raise talented scholars, they placed special importance on the marriages of children who studied. They had family rules stating that if one did not become a *tongsheng* by fifteen, they could not marry until twenty; if one still hadn't achieved the title of *tongsheng* after fifteen, they would immediately be matched off.

In Grandpa Ding's generation, he was an only son. Despite having mediocre intelligence, he refused to admit defeat and would not agree to a match even at twenty, until he met Pandi's grandmother—who had been separated from her family—a year later.

Those who had connections with Pandi's grandmother all said that Pandi's biological grandmother was a gentle, refined woman with a scholarly air. Unfortunately, this gentle woman, who had won Grandpa Ding's heart so deeply, did not live to grow old with him; she passed away from complications during childbirth in the fourth year of their marriage.

The pain of losing his wife led Grandpa Ding to decide never to marry again. However, facing his growing son and his aging parents, he broke his vow in the fifth year after his first wife's death.

Regarding Grandpa Ding's two wives, Old Master Ding and Old Madam Ding were both very gratified. Although the two daughters-in-law had different personalities, both had very good tempers, were very filial, and knew how to manage the household well.

The book said that the stepmother had a very good relationship with her natal family. Not only did she care deeply for the daughters-in-law she brought into her family, but she was also incredibly good to her own natal family. And that Great-Aunt was also very tactful; spring wild vegetables, summer fruits, and autumn rice wine—those things never failed to arrive every year.

The stepmother was also very fair to her and her brother; whenever her natal family sent things, they would have their share.

Because of this, when the crazed villain disregarded their lives and death and dragged all their family and relatives into the vortex, it provoked a wave of curses from the readers.

"Big sister?"

Noticing her sister had drifted off again, Pandi reached out and gave her a light push. "What's wrong with you today, Big Sister? Why do you keep spacing out?"

Ding Xuewei, who had only spaced out in front of her twice: "......"

This villain's nerves were too sensitive!

As expected, there was a reason she would become the female lead's rival!

Fearing she would lose herself in her inner monologue, Ding Xuewei quickly put her arm around Pandi's shoulder. "While what you said is right, I don't quite agree. If we don't go up this hill, we might not have the luck to find this yogurt. Besides, our purpose for going up the hill isn't just to find food, but also to rest."

"Big sister is right, gains and losses are all matters of fate!" Her gaze falling on the smooth, round, strange bottle, Pandi felt it made sense.

Ding Xuewei, unsure whether her luck was good or bad: "......"

"Actually, my luck was quite good today. I met a kind uncle who gave me a door plank." Thinking of something, Pandi revealed a faint smile.

"A kind uncle?" Ding Xuewei's breath hitched.

She had a shadow regarding the term "kind uncle." It was because of a "kind uncle" outside Chunping Prefecture that Pandi had been bewitched, beginning her tragic life journey.

Not noticing the tension in her sister's tone, Pandi recounted the story slowly. "Mhm, he was a very kind uncle. When he saw us clinging to a tree branch, he gave us the door plank. He even told me to follow the water flow and not to go near whirlpools or rapids..."

Seeing that her sister was very interested, Pandi spoke incessantly. Regarding this kind uncle, she was filled with a sense of gratitude so deep she felt she would repay him in her next life.

After understanding that the uncle had given the door plank to the sisters while the original host was unconscious, and then grabbed a log to float away with the current, Ding Xuewei finally felt relieved.

"That uncle is indeed a good person. Good people aren't many in this world; there are more people like those who, seeing a child washed away by water, would want to lend a hand to someone else's child!"

"Right?" The young girl's smile became even more brilliant upon being validated.

She seemed to have forgotten their current situation, appearing quite content to simply be with her sister.

"If I could meet his child, I would definitely treat them very well."

Ding Xuewei: "......"

A personality that repays kindness and surely settles debts is truly likable!

As for the child... if they could survive in a flood like this, they would certainly be someone remarkable.

"If we have the chance later, we'll ask around. If we can find this uncle, Big Sister will repay him with you. As humans, the most important thing is to be reasonable and understand things—to make friends with the good people we should, and to stay away from the bad people we shouldn't."

"Some people are bad to their very core; you can't see it at all," Pandi said gloomily.

Ding Xuewei: "......"

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(End of Chapter)