Chapter 3: The Truth

  Honey, cast your vote!

  After finishing breakfast, Qizhen took her things and left the house with Hu Zi. Today they were going to dig wild vegetables, originally Hu Zi didn't have to go out, but she wasn't at ease. In her past life, Hu Zi had mysteriously rolled down the mountain and gotten seriously injured, she didn't believe it was an accident. Moreover, the first person to find Hu Zi was Qiangzi Ge from the eldest uncle's family, this made it even more suspicious. In her past life, she had been worried but hadn't thought to investigate these things carefully, in this life she must be careful not to get caught up in their schemes again. Only by keeping Hu Zi under her own eyes could she feel at ease.

  "Hutou, just dig here on this hillside, don't run around." Qizhen'er reminded.

  The tiger cub nodded obediently.

  This mountain is close to Qijiazhuang, but also has a small distance. The mountain is very high and big, and it is said that there are many wild beasts on the mountain. Adults always remind their children to dig wild vegetables at the foot of the mountain, not to enter the mountain. For the villagers, small hunting is okay, but if they really want to deal with these large wild beasts, they really can't do anything about it.

  While Qizhen'er had to do today was to explore this mountain. She wasn't afraid of the mountain being big, but rather that it wouldn't be big enough. If she was destined to die, she would not return to the Qi household again and exchange her own life for money to feed those ungrateful wolves in Liu's family and Big Uncle's household. She had already thought it through, even if she escaped to the county and found Second Uncle, she would still be sent back. Not going to find Second Uncle meant that there was no one to take them siblings back. She also didn't have the ability to take care of her brother, and even if they managed to evade Big Uncle's household, they would still be targeted by kidnappers, so she had to run to a place where people rarely went. Even if it meant falling into the clutches of tigers and wolves, she would only consider it as her siblings being unlucky, and not willing to make things easy for those tiger-like people in Liu's household!

  Although the little tiger is small, he has already learned to dig wild vegetables. The place Shen Yuemin chose for him is on the windward side of the mountain slope, with a great view, and you can see both up and down the mountain. Qi Zhen'er was examining the terrain while paying attention to the little tiger's situation, and the little tiger was still very obedient to her, seriously digging wild vegetables without running around, Qi Zhen'er felt much more at ease.

  There are many wild vegetables here, and the little boy is small in stature but quick in action. At a glance, he appears to be someone who often does chores. His own small basket is full, and seeing that his sister has not returned yet, he doesn't run wildly around, instead preparing to dig more for his sister.

  At this time, there are many wild beasts, and Qizhen doesn't dare to run too far. After carefully exploring the road, she found that this mountain is really big. She walked for a long time and thought it was very far away, but when she came out and looked around, she hadn't even crossed over a small hill. Fortunately, she had made marks when she entered, otherwise, it would be easy to get lost on the roads she had taken.

  As soon as I came down from the mountain, I saw Huzi sitting obediently on the hillside, with a basket full of wild vegetables and a small pile beside him.

  Huzi saw Qizhen'er coming down the mountain and happily ran towards her: "Sister, look at all the wild vegetables I dug up."

  Qī Zhēn ér turned around and nodded in approval: "My Tiger is really great! He deserves a reward." She handed him some wild fruit she had picked from the mountain.

  Hutou was delighted to receive the wild fruit. He hadn't eaten these in a long time, and vaguely remembered his father giving them to him when he was very young. After his father left, his sister was just a little girl who didn't dare go up the mountain, so he never got to eat them again. Every time he saw the big kids in the village eating them, he really wanted some, but he didn't dare tell his sister. Qiangzi brother had also said he would give him some if he helped him with something, but he hadn't agreed. His sister had said that Qiangzi brother wasn't a good kid.

  Qī Zhēn ér saw him eating with a satisfied expression, and her heart felt very sour. The few wild fruits that no one wanted could make her brother so happy, after all, it was because she didn't take good care of him, which made him live in days without enough food or warm clothes.

  The little boy saw his sister watching him eat and suddenly remembered that she hadn't eaten yet. He hastily handed her a fruit: "Sister, you have some too."

  Qī Zhēn ér shook her head, looking at him with a pleased expression: "Sister has already eaten, these are for Tǔ Zǐ, Tǔ Zǐ was very well-behaved and diligent today, this is sister's reward for you."

  Hutou listened and laughed so hard that his eyes were invisible. He remembered the wild vegetables and said to Qizhen, "Sister, those are the wild vegetables I dug up for you."

  Qī Zhēn ér yī kàn, cái míng bái guò lǎo hǔ zi míng míng yǐ jīng wā le yī lán zǐ, xīn li hěn shì xīn wèi. Bié kàn hǔ zi xiǎo, zhème duō nián de jiān nán shēng huó, tā yǐ jīng dǒng dé hěn duō shì le.

  Qī Zhēn ér put the wild vegetables into her own basket, picked up Hǔ Zǐ's small basket, and led him home. On the way, she couldn't help but remind him again not to tell anyone at home about where she went today.

  They returned home and heard the sound of chirping and chattering in the courtyard, which was very lively. Qi Feng'er's voice with penetrating power could be heard clearly from a distance, and it is estimated that Qi Qiang was bullying her again.

  As soon as she pushed open the door, indeed. Qizhen couldn't help but sigh that it wasn't the right time to go home, and in a while Qifeng would definitely take out her anger on them again, and sure enough.

  "Qī Zhēn ér, quickly stop him for me!" Qī Fèng ér saw her siblings enter the door and naturally thought they were on her side, loudly shouting at them to stop Qī Qiáng.

  As for the contradictions between her siblings, Qizhen didn't want to get involved at all, and every time it was her sister and brother who suffered.

  Ziqiang never put his siblings in his eyes, and said with a provocative tone: "Come on, come on, watch me hit one palm." As he spoke, he still twisted and turned to show off his posture.

  Qizhen'er pretended not to see them and pulled Huzi towards the pigpen.

  Qī Qiáng saw that they didn't dare to fight him, and his arrogance became even more overbearing. Only Qī Fēng was so angry that she almost cried out loud, but towards Qī Qiáng, she had no way to deal with him. As for Qī Zhēn and her younger brother, however, they were completely under her control.

  "Qī Zhēn ér, wait for me, I'm going to tell my mother that you and my brother are ganging up on me!" Qī Fèng ér shouted viciously at their backs.

  Qizhen'er ignored all this, and when Hu Zi turned his head in anger to distinguish himself, he was also stopped by her. It's really like she thought she was a little kid of Hu Zi's age who could be easily deceived. The gate is open and many people are watching. If she couldn't bear Qifeng'er's provocation and ran in to intervene, it would be unclear what to say. Now everyone sees that it's just the siblings fooling around, and she didn't do anything, so even if Liu Shi gets angry, he can only scold her a couple of times.

  Qifeng angrily picked up the handkerchief that Qiqiang had dirtied on the ground and carefully put it in her bosom. This was a silk embroidery that Ping'er had bought with her own money when she was a maid in a wealthy family, with new patterns from the county town that people in rural areas couldn't see. It's all Qiqiang's fault for getting it dirty, she must tell her mother about this later. And those annoying siblings Qizhen!

  As for Qifeng's idea, Qizhen guessed eight or nine out of ten, no more than reporting to Liu. The most ruthless report was made by her siblings, mentioning Qi Qiang just in passing, and she also knew that Liu would not severely punish this second son.

  As for Qizhao, Qizhen really didn't want to mention him. Liu's eldest son, Qifu, was learning carpentry in the city and could only return home a few times a year, so Liu thought he had no choice but to spoil this younger son even more, with the result that he became like this. At a young age, he didn't study well and spent his days hanging out with some idle people in the village, either peeking at widows bathing or stealing vegetables from other people's gardens. Bullying younger children was also a common occurrence for him, and as a result, Liu had to apologize to many people, but still couldn't bear to discipline this younger son. Maybe it was he who stole the eggs on Qingming Festival? Although Liu didn't stint on his food, she didn't give him any pocket money either. He had taken a liking to Xing Widow's daughter and must have stolen them for her. He hadn't done such things a few times; in the past, he used to do bad things with Huzi, who couldn't do much but could still be of some use as a lookout. After Qizhen found out, she strictly forbade Huzi from playing with him again. The more Qizhen thought about it, the more likely it seemed that this was what had happened.

  In her previous life, Qi Zhen'er was timid and had always endured Liu's oppression, not daring to do anything. After being reborn, she had become indifferent to many things and had also learned to be clever. She couldn't let others use her as a gun to attack her own brother and then come after her for revenge. So she wasn't afraid of Liu finding trouble with her, Liu's methods were always the same, and she could tolerate them. No matter what, she would still have her day in the east wind, Qi Zhen'er thought secretly in her heart.

  "Feng'er sister and Qiangzi brother, why are they like this? Why do they fight and drag us in to help?" Hu zi said angrily. Although he's young, he understands many things. Moreover, since Qiangzi let him take the blame before and was beaten by Xing widow once, he knew that Qiangzi brother wasn't a good person. Children see things as either black or white, how could Hu zi not know what kind of person Qiangzi is after being deceived by him? So Qizhen'er only reminded him once and saw Hu zi avoiding Qiangzi afterwards.

  Qizhen'er smiled slightly after hearing his words: "Huzi knows that Feng'er sister is not kind-hearted, so let's keep a distance from them in the future. They are not easy to mess with."

  Huzi nodded: "I know, sister. Last time Qiangzi asked me to help him and I didn't agree. He said he would give me an egg but I still didn't agree."

  Qizhen originally didn't take his words to heart, thinking that Qiangzi was just being mischievous again. But when she heard the two words "chicken egg", she couldn't help but think deeply. "When did your brother Qiangzi ask for your help?"

  "Hmm, I think it was a few days before you got beaten up by Auntie Bai. After you got hurt, I didn't see him for several days."

  Qī Zhēnér heard Hǔ Zǐ say that, and there's nothing she doesn't understand. The eggs were stolen by Qī Qiáng! Good grief, stealing them to their own home is one thing, but making her suffer unjustly is another matter altogether. Liú Shì really went all out, almost breaking her bones, and the wound on her back still hurts vaguely even now. If Liú Shì didn't know who stole the eggs, Qī Zhēnér would be willing to write her name upside down. Even if she didn't know at first, she quickly figured it out, but instead of feeling any guilt, she continued to torment the siblings to death. Truly, when the beam is not straight, the house will collapse - a mother and son with hearts blacker than coal!

  Huzi saw Qizhen's gloomy face and carefully said, "Sister, I didn't mean to bring up your painful past." Sister must have thought of the time when her aunt scolded her. These days, whenever he went out, his friends would tease him that his sister was a thief, even stealing things from their own home. But he knew his sister wasn't that kind of person.

  Qī Zhēn'er knew she had scared Hǔ Zǐ, so she softly comforted him: "Hǔ Zǐ don't be afraid, sister isn't mad at you." Only then did Hǔ Zǐ put his heart at ease.

  Qī Zhēnér's heart wasn't thinking that way, Qī Qiáng could have pushed his own brother down the mountain for money in his past life, and this life he stole things from her, got beaten, and even got her involved in a murder case, she wouldn't just let it go like that.