C14 Making Trouble

Shi Xiaoxia looked at her with concern in her eyes, her gaze softening. "The dried fish was made by you and your sister together. When did you see her use rat poison?"

The two thought for a moment and seemed to come up empty.

"Sister, are you..."

Shi Xiaoxia made a gesture for silence. She had worked hard to make those dried fish; there was no way she would let them have it for free!

After quickly packing up, the three sisters left the Shi family home.

As soon as they stepped outside, they saw Dawang waiting anxiously at the corner. He hadn't left. Was he really waiting here all this time?

It seemed he truly had feelings for the original owner!

"Xiaoxia, how did it go?" Dawang hurried over when he saw the three sisters, his eyes shifting from their bundles. "Did you really split from the family?"

"Yeah, we finally left!" Shi Xiaoxia sighed with relief.

"Sister, where are we staying tonight?"

"They didn't give you a place to stay?" Dawang looked incredulous.

Although he knew how the Shi family treated the sisters, he hadn't expected them to be so heartless, essentially kicking them out like this.

Shi Xiaoxia shrugged. Being able to take their belongings was a small victory. "There's an old temple on the east side of the village. We'll stay there for the night and make do."

"No way, you three can't stay there. Why don't you come with me? It's not a big place, but at least it's something for the night," Dawang suggested, his face slightly flushed.

"We appreciate your kindness, but if we go over there, people might start talking. Besides, there are three of us, and it's not too far to the east side of the village. It's no trouble at all!" Xiaoxia declined.

Dawang also felt it wasn't appropriate. After all, they were unmarried women, and having them stay at his place might be uncomfortable for them.

Seeing his furrowed brow, Xiaoxia smiled, "Alright, don't worry. We've got some food with us. You should head back. Once we're settled, we'll send word to you!"

With that, she and her sisters headed toward the east side of the village.

They walked quite a distance until Dawang was out of sight. Only then did Xiaodong voice her concern, "Sister, why did you turn down Dawang's help?"

"He's not any better off than we are. Besides, his willingness to help us in tough times is already a huge favor. How could we add to his burden?"

If Dawang's situation were better, she might have accepted his help and repaid him later, but he wasn't exactly living in comfort either.

Xiaodong nodded in understanding.

Soon, the three of them arrived at an old, rundown temple. It was covered in cobwebs and dust. As they pushed the door open, it creaked loudly and fell over!

Startled, they struggled to move the door aside before entering.

"Go gather some willow branches, and we'll do a quick clean-up. We'll sleep here tonight," Xiaoxia suggested. The fallen door could be laid on the ground to make a simple bed, though it would only fit two people.

With plenty of experience pulling all-nighters to meet deadlines, staying up all night was no big deal for her.

The three of them finished cleaning, their faces covered in a layer of dust.

"Hey, sis, your face is all smudged!" Xiaodong laughed.

Xiaoxia chuckled too, pinching her cheek. "We all look like raccoons now. Alright, you two go wash up. I saw some straw outside; you can use this door to make a bed. There should be a pot in the temple. Go look for it, and before it gets dark, I'll head out to gather some wild greens. We can cook them with the salted fish for dinner!"

"Okay!" they both agreed.

Xiaoxia headed out, not venturing far. Luckily, she knew plenty of wild greens and gathered a bunch in just half a day.

Carrying them in her shirt, she headed back to the temple. From a distance, she saw Xiaodong and Xiaoqiu standing at the entrance, their belongings scattered around.

She hurried over, hearing noises inside. "What's going on?"

"Sis, Xiaoyu showed up!"

Xiaoyu? What was she doing here?

Xiaoxia handed the wild greens to Xiaodong and went inside. There she found Xiaoyu, wielding a stick she had found somewhere, swinging it wildly. The makeshift bed they had set up with straw was now a complete mess!

"Xiaoyu, what on earth are you doing?"

Xiaoyu finally stopped what she was doing and turned around. Gone was the tearful girl who had been sent back to the family; her eyes were now filled with anger. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been sent back. If I'm not happy, neither should you be!"

With that, she raised the wooden stick in her hand, ready to smash the pot in front of her!

Xiaoxia hurried to stop her, but she was too far away to make it in time!

With a loud "clang," the pot cracked right down the middle, splitting into two pieces! The soup and dried fish inside spilled everywhere, making a mess on the floor.

Feeling triumphant, Xiaoyu kicked the scattered firewood, sending it flying before strutting out of the room. As she brushed past Xiaoxia, Xiaoxia stuck out her foot, sending a piece of wood rolling under Xiaoyu's feet. Caught off guard, Xiaoyu stumbled forward!

With a dull "thud," Xiaoyu flailed her arms and legs before crashing to the ground!

"Sis!" Two sisters rushed in from outside, startled by the scene before them.