The night was deep.
The kerosene lamp flickered, stretching the shadows beside the square table long.
The four members of the Yun family, the eldest, the second, the third, and Yun Que'er, were sitting around the four corners of the table respectively, each holding a blackish roasted sweet potato and munching on it, which was warm and sweet.
Yun Fujin swallowed slowly and rather absent - mindedly. "Little Que'er's idea is really good, but be careful not to be discovered when you do it."
The second elder brother gobbled his food up. Soon half of the sweet potato was gone. He wiped his mouth and said, "We've never tried it before. Little sister, how do you know how to cook sweet potatoes like this?"
"Come on, stop pretending. Just admit that you secretly bought it for her behind my back." Yun Yi ate gracefully, chewing slowly. Even though her mouth was full of sweetness, there was still disgust on her face.
Yun Que'er was so aggrieved. She finally understood how hard life was in the 1980s.
They had never even tasted dried sweet potatoes!
Her idea was to dry the uneaten sweet potatoes and then store them. In this way, they wouldn't go bad easily, and the storage space could also be reduced.
"Big brother, big brother." Her two little hands were black. Her eyes sparkled in the dim light of the kerosene lamp. "Can we secretly, secretly sell some of the dried sweet potatoes?"
Since it was a rare thing, it was better to share the joy with others. It would be even better if they could earn a little money while everyone was happy.
The eldest brother immediately tightened his face and poked her on the forehead with his index finger. "I think you've forgotten the pain once the scar has healed!"
Yun Que'er pouted and rested her chin on the table, looking so pitiful.
She couldn't imagine having dried sweet potatoes every day in the future. It would be better to kill her!
"Big brother, if little sister is stupid, do you think I'm stupid too? Leave this to me!" The second elder brother stuffed the remaining half of the sweet potato into his mouth. While his cheeks were bulging, he slapped his chest loudly.
The listless Yun Que'er instantly came back to life. Her eyes sparkled as she gave a thumbs - up. "Second brother, don't worry. If you go to the police station, I'll bring you food!"
"Smack!"
The second elder brother slapped her on the head. Yun Yi, who was caught off guard, burst out laughing.
The three of them all looked at Yun Yi. She immediately stopped smiling, straightened her face, and patted her butt. "I have school tomorrow. I'm going to bed."
Yun Que'er touched her forehead. It was warm. Just for a moment, who had a faint feeling of goodwill towards her? Who could it be?
That night, Yun Que'er slept in the room of the eldest and second elder brothers, while the two elder brothers squeezed onto the wooden - board bed beside the stove.
Their father taught in a junior high school in a neighboring town. It was quite a long way, and he could only come home on Sundays. When he was away, the eldest brother acted as the temporary commander.
Early in the morning, the eldest brother woke up his younger brothers and sisters one by one. Yun Que'er got up the latest. Yawning and rubbing her sleepy eyes, her short hair was in a mess, looking like a ruffled chicken.
"Look, our family's great hero. Big brother will comb your hair."
The wooden comb slid down along her scalp. Yun Que'er felt so comfortable that she got goosebumps.
"I've washed them all. How should I proceed?" Yun Jianzhou was holding a dustpan. The washed sweet potatoes were glistening with water, their rouge - colored skins plump.
The little girl's hair was smooth. She cheered herself up and picked up the family's kitchen knife.
That knife was even bigger than her head. It made Yun Fujin's heart skip a beat. "Little Que'er, be careful!"
In her previous life, Yun Que'er was alone. Her self - care ability was not only great but also at least up to the passing standard. How could she not even use a knife?
She walked up to Yun Jianzhou calmly, picked up a sweet potato, and with a few quick strokes of the knife, Yun Fujin and Yun Jianzhou were both stunned.
The sweet potato slices were about three centimeters thick, with the right thickness. They wouldn't lose their flavor due to over - drying, nor would they shrink too much because they were too thin.
"Alright, I'll leave these to you. I didn't expect that the little girl who used to be so naughty can now do some work. Maybe you'll marry into a good family in the future." Yun Jianzhou joked as he put down the dustpan. Only Yun Fujin's eyes became more and more complicated.
He had felt strange since yesterday. Little Que'er was still the same little Que'er, but he increasingly felt that something was unbelievable. It was as if she had been reborn and become a different person.
Naturally, Yun Que'er didn't notice Yun Fujin's strange expression. She was enthusiastically making dried sweet potatoes. The only thing that puzzled her was why it was so difficult to increase the favorability rating even though she was so capable...
To prevent being discovered, the dried sweet potatoes could only be dried under the window. The second elder brother had disappeared, but Yun Fujin and Yun Que'er had achieved quite a lot.
When Yun Yi came home from school, she saw the golden - yellow dried sweet potatoes in the dustpan. After natural dehydration, the edges were slightly curled, looking quite pleasing to the eye.
The little girl sitting on the small stool in the alley had a blushing face. The fine beads of sweat had moistened the hair on her temples. She was skillfully cutting the sweet potato slices in her hand.
Yun Yi was a bit stunned. Had this little sister she picked up been busy all day?
Rarely did Yun Que'er behave so obediently, but she felt rather unaccustomed.
After standing there for a while, she consciously put down her schoolbag and joined the team for getting rich. "Look how tired you are. Who are you showing off to?"
It was her usual cold words. But as she said so, she consciously picked up the kitchen knife that the eldest brother had borrowed from a neighbor's house and started slicing the sweet potatoes.
Yun Que'er was just about to defend herself when suddenly someone kicked open the door.
Her heart tightened. Yun Jianzhou was smiling like a flower. "It's done! It's done! The deal is made!"
This sudden outburst made Yun Que'er glad that she didn't have a heart problem. But beside her, Yun Yi hissed. There was a cut on the knuckle of her thumb, and blood was oozing out.
"Th - third sister, are you okay?" Yun Que'er asked clumsily. She was completely caught off guard. She didn't expect that her third sister was so clumsy that she could cut herself.
Yun Yi was usually very competitive. It would have been fine if Yun Que'er hadn't asked. But as soon as she did, Yun Yi threw the knife into the dustpan, glared at Yun Jianzhou, and said, "It's all your fault!"
Yun Jianzhou was in high spirits and quite happy at first. But now he spread out his hands helplessly. "What did I do? You're just clumsy..."
Neither of them was easy to deal with. Yun Que'er had a splitting headache. Before the fight broke out, she smilingly acted as a peacemaker. "Okay, it's all my fault. It was all my crazy idea that made second brother tired and third sister get hurt."
After saying that, she grabbed Yun Yi's hand. Yun Yi instinctively tried to pull it back, but the little girl's chubby hands were quite strong.
"Third sister, it's important to stop the bleeding. It will be very troublesome if the wound gets infected." She said in a milky voice and grabbed a corner of her clothes to press on Yun Yi's finger.
Yun Yi stiffened all over. She almost doubted her own ears. Such words actually came out of Yun Que'er's mouth!
But the fact was just like this. This little girl was caring about her.
A strange feeling welled up in her heart. She then realized that somehow, she didn't dislike Yun Que'er anymore...
It was as if there was something attractive about her that made her couldn't help getting closer.
No, this was impossible!
Yun Que'er was an annoying troublemaker!
Selfish. Since she entered this family, she had snatched the eldest brother's preference and the father's doting, taking away everything that should have belonged to her!
"Get out of my way!"
Yun Yi suddenly shook off Yun Que'er's hand. Two drops of blood fell on the little girl's face.
Yun Que'er was stunned. She thought she had played the role - playing of a little kid quite successfully. Why didn't her third sister buy it?
She watched helplessly as Yun Yi left angrily. Then there was another warm feeling on her forehead.
Instantly, Yun Que'er smiled. So this system actually had a hidden function of detecting people's hearts?
"What are you grinning about?"
When she came back to her senses, the second elder brother's scrutinizing eyes were beside her. It was quite scary. She blinked her big eyes, and her thick and long eyelashes fluttered. "N - nothing..."
The second elder brother frowned, looking extremely solemn.
Yun Que'er felt creepy under his stare. She leaned back warily. She felt a bit lacking in confidence because she was an imposter.
"What does 'infection' mean?"
Unexpectedly, the second elder brother scratched his head in distress. It was the first time he had heard this word. How could a seven - and - a - half - year - old kid know more than him?
A black line appeared on Yun Que'er's forehead. She thought she had shown her true colors!
It was just a false alarm. She maintained an innocent expression. "I heard it from the little brother in the village doctor's family."
"Oh." The second elder brother straightened his back thoughtfully. He thought so. How could his little sister know more than him!
At this moment, on the rattan chair in the clinic, the exquisitely carved little boy suddenly sneezed. He squinted his eyes as if he was tired of the world and then changed to a more comfortable lying position, holding an old - fashioned traditional Chinese character version of Compendium of Materia Medica in his hand.