Chapter 11

The little girl lay with her cheek pressed against the desk, her wrist, which was propping up her head, exposed, revealing clear marks of blood. The bruises from a few days ago had not yet healed, and now with the new ones, Mei'er's thin wrist was covered in a purplish-red hue, which looked quite eerie under the lamplight.

"This girl, why can't she listen!" Jiang Chenxing's face darkened, his good mood instantly ruined. Seeing the marks on Mei'er's wrist, he knew she had been lying this morning. What she said about going to repay Uncle Huang was just a cover; she had gone to Chunxiang Building to do hard labor again.

After several deep breaths, the frown on Jiang Chenxing's forehead slowly eased. Although he was angry, he felt more heartache and pity. To fall asleep at the desk, she must have been so tired! The marks on her wrist hurt just to look at...

"Mei'er, go back to bed!" Jiang Chenxing leaned down and whispered in the little girl's ear, lifting her up to carry her to the bed.

But as soon as he moved, the sleeve of her linen dress brushed against Mei'er's wrist, and she immediately let out a cry of pain, waking up.

"Ouch! It hurts, fufu... Brother, you're back..." Mei'er blew on her wrist and then saw Jiang Chenxing.

She quickly stood up from the stool, smiled awkwardly, and complained, "It was so boring being alone at home, I actually fell asleep at the desk... Brother, how was your day? Did you find a job?"

As she spoke, Mei'er pulled away from Jiang Chenxing, quietly tucking her hands into her sleeves.

Jiang Chenxing ignored Mei'er's question, his face stern as he scolded, "Why don't you listen? You even lied to me, saying you were going to repay Uncle Huang?"

"Ah?" Mei'er feigned surprise, scolding, "Brother, what are you talking about, how could I lie to you... Forget it, I won't argue with you. I'll go heat some water for you! You must be exhausted after running around all day, a hot bath will do you good..."

Mei'er spoke rapidly, not giving Jiang Chenxing a chance to interrupt, and turned to walk out the door.

"Bang!" Just as Mei'er had opened the door halfway, Jiang Chenxing pushed it shut again.

Mei'er's incessant chatter stopped abruptly. Looking at the serious Jiang Chenxing, her lips pursed into a straight line, and her clear eyes showed a look of grievance.

"Ah!" Seeing Mei'er's expression, Jiang Chenxing couldn't maintain his stern face. His expression softened, and he said gently, "Mei'er, I told you, from now on, all the household matters are my responsibility! Why don't you listen and go to Chunxiang Building to do hard labor again?"

"Brother didn't find work yesterday, and I was afraid it would be the same today... I haven't been to Chunxiang Building for two days. If I don't go, they won't let me work anymore!" Mei'er lowered her head, her voice soft.

"How much did you earn?" Jiang Chenxing asked.

Mei'er lifted her face, seeing that Jiang Chenxing was no longer stern, her nervousness slowly eased, and a hint of pride crept into her tone, "I earned two copper coins today, twice as much as last time. I can buy a white flour pancake!"

"Two copper coins, a white flour pancake..." Jiang Chenxing pulled Mei'er's small hand to his chest, looking at the purplish-red marks, feeling a bitter taste in his heart. He thought to himself, "From now on, this kind of life will never happen again!"

Mei'er clearly felt her brother's concern, her heart warming, and she said softly, "Brother, I'm fine, it doesn't hurt at all... rumble!" Before she could finish, her stomach let out a loud growl.

"Did you eat dinner?" Jiang Chenxing frowned, displeased.

"I ate at noon, I wasn't very hungry in the evening... rumble!" Mei'er blushed, her lie being refuted by another loud growl from her stomach.

"I gave you money to eat, even if you want to save, you can't starve yourself!" Jiang Chenxing lightly tapped the little girl's head.

"Brother is so wasteful, I have to save a bit, or we might... rumble!" Mei'er muttered softly.

"Little girl, if you call me wasteful again, I'll really get angry!" Jiang Chenxing tapped her head again and said, "I'm also hungry, let's eat together!"

"Brother didn't eat dinner either? But there's probably no one selling white flour pancakes now!"

"Who said we're eating white flour pancakes? This time, we'll make it ourselves! Come, to the kitchen!" Jiang Chenxing chuckled, imagining the little girl's surprised expression when she saw the meat, and opened the door to go out.

"Make it ourselves, but there's no ingredients in the kitchen..." Mei'er had worked hard all day, drank some cold water when she came back, and went straight to the bedroom, so she hadn't noticed the seasonings Jiang Chenxing had bought.

Following Jiang Chenxing into the kitchen, Mei'er's eyes widened as she saw the various items on the stove.

"Green onions, ginger, garlic, salt, soy sauce... and what are those two things..." After a quick glance, Mei'er's face puffed up, and she grabbed Jiang Chenxing, shouting, "Brother, are you crazy, buying all these seasonings, you must have spent all the money, how will we live... uh!"

Before Mei'er could finish, a long piece of meat suddenly appeared in front of her, swaying gently.

"This is... meat! Such a big piece, at least ten pounds..." Mei'er's pupils followed the meat, and she swallowed hard.

"How about it, little girl!" Jiang Chenxing chuckled, waving the meat in front of the little girl.

"Brother, did you steal it! How could you do that, if someone finds out..." The little girl didn't react with joy as Jiang Chenxing had expected, but instead looked at him with disbelief.

"Ah!" Jiang Chenxing stumbled, almost falling over!

"Stop... stop... This is what I earned, okay!" Jiang Chenxing quickly interrupted Mei'er.

Mei'er stared, her mouth slightly open, and after a moment, she murmured, "This... really what you earned?"

"Of course! Don't you think, is brother the kind of person who steals?" Jiang Chenxing nodded, his face serious.

"Yes!" Mei'er touched her chin, murmuring, "Brother, though rigid, cold, unsociable, self-righteous, and stubborn..."

Jiang Chenxing's face turned black, his teeth grinding, and the veins on his forehead throbbing.

"But, brother would never steal!" Mei'er's eyes lit up with surprise, staring intently at the meat in Jiang Chenxing's hand, and asked curiously, "Such a big piece of meat, it must cost at least ten yellow crystal coins! How did you earn it?"

"Let's eat first, I'll tell you later!" Seeing Mei'er's happy expression, Jiang Chenxing's mood also brightened. He waved his hand, placed the meat on a wooden board, and picked up a knife to start cutting.

"Brother!" Mei'er stepped forward, snatching the knife from Jiang Chenxing's hand, and shouted, "Do you know how to do this? You've never cooked before, you'll ruin the meat, step aside!"

"Uh!" Jiang Chenxing blinked, and before he could react, he saw Mei'er's eyes gleaming as she raised the knife and chopped off three pounds of meat. Then, with a series of swift chops, the meat was cut into irregular, uneven pieces. The powerful and domineering momentum of each chop, the sound of the knife hitting the board, made Jiang Chenxing's heart tremble.

"Mei'er, what...?" Seeing the three pounds of meat chopped into strange shapes, Jiang Chenxing licked his lips, trying to stop her.

"What?" Mei'er turned, her delicate eyebrows furrowed, the knife in her right hand raised.

"Doing it this way, the meat might not be... easy to..." Jiang Chenxing said softly, Mei'er's current momentum was quite intimidating.

"Afraid I'll do it badly? For the past three years, who has cooked every meal?" As she spoke, Mei'er raised the knife again.

The knives in this world were different from those on Earth, being somewhat long and narrow, like machetes. Jiang Chenxing clearly felt a flash of cold light from the blade, making his back chill, and he quickly stepped back.

Mei'er smiled triumphantly, puffed out her cheeks at Jiang Chenxing, and turned to continue chopping the meat, her mouth watering, her face creased with smiles, her eyes narrowed into slits. It had been years since she had eaten meat!

Jiang Chenxing didn't dare to step forward, watching as Mei'er finished chopping the meat, then fetched water and started the fire. But why are you holding the knife while starting the fire?

The water boiled, and Mei'er threw the meat into the pot, then sprinkled some salt in...

Half a month later, a large bowl of meat and broth was placed in front of Jiang Chenxing, the surface covered in foam, the smell of raw meat and mutton filling his nose.

Next to Jiang Chenxing, Mei'er was eating with gusto, her mouth full of oil, making him feel nauseous. And as she ate, she mumbled, "Mmm~ so delicious, so good!"

Three pounds of meat, after stewing, still had about two pounds left. In a few minutes, half of it was already in the little girl's stomach, and she had even drunk the broth.

"Mei'er, here!" Jiang Chenxing pushed his bowl towards her.

"Brother! Why aren't you eating?" Mei'er wiped the oil from her mouth, frowned, and asked.

"I... suddenly don't feel hungry anymore!" Jiang Chenxing smiled awkwardly.

"Brother!" Mei'er looked straight at Jiang Chenxing, her eyes misty, biting her lip, and said softly, "I know brother is worried about me and wants me to eat more... But brother still needs to go out to earn money, you can't be hungry! So..."

Mei'er stood up suddenly and said loudly, "Brother, you must eat this meat!"

Jiang Chenxing knew it was bad when Mei'er's tone changed. This little girl could get crazy. On the night he had just arrived, she had stuffed a black flour pancake into his mouth.

Sure enough, before Jiang Chenxing could move, Mei'er had already wrapped her arms around his neck, picked up a piece of meat, and brought it to his mouth.

Jiang Chenxing didn't dare to struggle, afraid of hurting her with her injured hands. He could only open his mouth and bite the hard-to-swallow piece of meat.

"Little girl, I'm not worried about you, I really don't want to eat..." Jiang Chenxing silently lamented in his heart.

After finishing the bowl of meat, the little girl finally let go, satisfied. By then, Jiang Chenxing was already feeling nauseous.

"It's cool now, the leftover meat won't go bad. We can save it, it should last us seven or eight days... When brother earns money tomorrow, I'll cook for you again!" The little girl said with a smile.

Jiang Chenxing, who had just stood up, swayed and almost bumped into the table corner.

"Alright! Brother, tell me quickly, how did you earn such a big piece of meat? Ten yellow crystal coins!" Mei'er supported Jiang Chenxing, her eyes bright, looking like a curious child.