CHAPTER 857: CHAPTER 336: SCREW YOUR TRAGIC BEAUTY (PART 6)

His features twisted, expression tangled, it seems the process wasn’t very pleasant, but he endured it in the end.

Old Lady Han not only didn’t cause a scene or curse implicitly, but instead forced an ugly smile and said to Xiao Bao, "Yes, I, I made it especially!"

Unable to outright say the lie "made it especially for you," Old Lady Han could only ambiguously respond.

However, for Xiao Bao, who was already accustomed to reading her expressions, this was enough.

He hurriedly took the flatbread and began to eat in big mouthfuls.

Delicious!

Truly delicious, although mixed with bean flour, sweet potato noodles, and other coarse grains, it was still real food.

It wasn’t wild vegetables, nor was it bran, but food that could truly be eaten and fill the stomach.

Slightly scratchy on the throat, but in Xiao Bao’s view, it was already a rare delicacy.

Mainly because it was dry and not watery.

It could actually be filling!

A flatbread the size of an adult’s palm, Xiao Bao ate one and was only half full.

Just as he hesitated whether to ask for another, his mother handed him another warm bread.

Xiao Bao instinctively sneaked a glance at Old Lady Han, and sure enough, saw her face was gloomy, about to say something.

Xiao Bao felt his heart skip a beat, and his hand holding the bread trembled.

The next second, if Old Lady Han started scolding, he would immediately put the bread back.

But today was truly strange, as just at the moment Old Lady Han opened her mouth to scold, she forcibly swallowed her words back.

Despite being precocious for his age, Xiao Bao’s observations were not as thorough as an adult’s.

He didn’t notice Mr. Tian on the other side giving Old Lady Han a look.

Xiao Bao didn’t notice, but Ms. Hetian keenly sensed it.

She lowered her eyelids, made no sound, but silently remembered it all.

It seemed the commotion today had some effect after all.

Even if it didn’t completely scare Old Lady Han, it made Mr. Tian realize something.

However, Ms. Hetian wasn’t yet sure whether this "effect" was positive or negative.

Will certain people "rebound" next?

Ms. Hetian remained calm, stuffing food into her mouth while urging Xiao Bao to eat quickly.

Out of a basket of flatbread, Ms. Hetian and her son finished half of it.

This time, not just Old Lady Han, but even Mr. Tian’s face darkened.

What’s with this dead girl today?

Eating so much?

Is she venting her anger or deliberately antagonizing her parents?

Seven or eight flatbreads, on a normal day, would be enough for this dead girl for two days.

Yet, she finished them in one meal!

And that little brat, he ate two and a half as well!

Eat! Eat! Eat!

Only knows how to eat, not afraid of bursting!

Mr. Tian’s eyes were full of gloom, he didn’t even bother pretending, sitting alone at the cave entrance, puffing on a dry tobacco pipe.

Old Lady Han initially awaited Ms. Hetian to clean up the pots and bowls but found that this dead girl actually left with Xiao Bao.

"...She truly thinks she’s some young lady of the house? Not cooking, not washing dishes, putting down her chopsticks and just going out for a walk!"

Old Lady Han finally couldn’t hold it anymore, cleaning up while grumbling angrily through gritted teeth.

"Old man, what are you thinking? Do you really plan to worship Daniu like an ancestor in the future?"

Despite her long tirade, no one echoed or responded.

She was beyond frustrated and ran over to Mr. Tian, lowering her voice, "And that little brat? Truly not selling him? That’s a full two thousand coins or a bucket of coarse grain."

Mr. Tian smoked half a bag of tobacco, his face shrouded in smoke, revealing no emotions.

But his voice carried an icy tone, "Sell! Not only sell that little brat but sell Daniu as well!"

"I inquired this morning, there are hunters in these mountains—"

And these hunters are worse off than ordinary farmers.

Farmers have land and houses, tightening their belts, they can still get by.

But those hunters, they have no land, and some even lack proper household registration.

Hiding from the government, they stay deep in the old forests, living alongside wild animals all day.

Such a family can’t even afford a bride.

Ms. Hetian, although not young, is not old, only twenty-five or twenty-six, still can bear children.

Besides, she’s capable, worth as much as an old ox.

Selling her to the mountain hunters could fetch some money.

If there’s no cash, then take wild game, pelts as payment.

Mr. Tian appeared to be an honest rustic farmer, but truly more calculating than Old Lady Han at his core.

And having been to the County, he had seen the world and knew some of the ways outside.

In just the time of one meal, Mr. Tian hatched a plan—

Sell Xiao Bao to the broker who specifically buys boys, and then secretly sell Ms. Hetian into the mountains.

Though losing a strong laborer is somewhat regrettable.

But Ms. Hetian was too peculiar today, Mr. Tian feared future troubles.

Might as well solve it in advance, so their family could more smoothly escape the famine...