Characters:

Ruan Mingzi: The Female Lead of the story.

Ruan Mingyan: Blood Sister of Mingzi. A mute.

Old Madam Zhao: Granny Zhao The matriach of the Ruan Family.

Madam Mao: A daughter in-law, wife of the 2nd son of Ruan Family.

Ruan Angui: Third son of the matriach. “Ruan Laosan” 3rd Uncle of the Female lead.

Ruan Chengzhang: The eldest male son of the Ruan's 3rd Generation. From the second branch of the 2nd Generation. Cousin of Female lead. Her Eldest Sister named Ruan Yuchun.

Madam Gao: A kind neighbour that is outspoken, helping Mingzi and Mingyan. Her husband Lu Daniu is the village only skilled craftsman. They have a daughter Lu Ruier.

The villagers stared at the figure sprawled on the ground, groaning nonstop, and the more they looked, the more familiar he seemed.

At last, someone spoke up hesitantly.
“Why does this person… look so much like Ruan family’s third son?”

Once that was said, the resemblance became impossible to ignore.

“Ruan Angui—is that you?” Someone asked in a rough voice.

There was no answer.
It wasn’t fully dark yet. By the remaining daylight, everyone could see clearly—if it wasn’t Ruan family’s third son, Ruan Angui, then who else could it be?

So what exactly was going on here?

Hadn’t the Ruan girl just shouted that there was a thief?

The villagers exchanged confused glances.

Ruan Angui had already prepared his excuse. Pointing at Ruan Mingzhi, who still had a crossbow slung on her arm, he cursed through the pain.

“It’s all this little whore’s doing! I just came to check on them, and she shot me with a crossbow! Oww—this hurts like hell! Are you trying to kill your own Third Uncle?!”

She put on a perfectly timed expression of shock. “How could it be Third Uncle?! Uncles and aunties, think about it—it's almost dark. I’d just come back from outside, and there wasn’t even a lamp lit at home. It was pitch-black; who knew if anyone was inside? If Third Uncle really came to visit us, why didn’t he call out at the gate? Who climbs over someone else’s fence instead? And sneaks around looking all suspicious? Of course I thought it was a burglar breaking into an empty house… How was I supposed to know it was Third Uncle?!”

Her clear, ringing voice laid out the logic step by step. As the villagers followed her reasoning, the more they thought about it, the more sense it made.

A neighbor nearby chimed in, “Now that you mention it, I did hear someone calling out the Ruan girl’s name a few times earlier.”

Ruan Mingzi silently praised that neighbor in her heart and immediately followed up.

“That makes it even stranger, doesn’t it? My younger sister was asleep inside the house, and I wasn’t home yet. No one answered—doesn’t that mean no one was home? If Third Uncle really came to see us and found nobody there, why would he start climbing over the fence?”

“Honestly, I was puzzled myself. What kind of thief would target my place? We’re dirt poor—everything in the yard is broken and falling apart. What could he even steal? The most valuable thing would be the one string of cash my parents left with my Grandmother... and Grandmother already gave that to me…” The way the villagers looked at Ruan Angui shifted, dawning comprehension in their eyes.

So that was it—he climbed the fence to steal that string of coins!

No wonder. Given Ruan Angui’s reputation, no one found it surprising. He had never been well-regarded in the village, idle, lazy, with no steady income.

What truly shocked them was how shameless he was. His two nieces were already struggling to survive, yet he still had the heart to covet the little money they had to rely on!

Under the many condemning, disdainful stares, Ruan Angui wished he could just play dead.

So he did exactly that. He said nothing, simply lay there groaning, acting as though he were gravely injured.

Seeing how thick-skinned he was, the villagers snorted in disdain. Knowing nothing more would come of it, they told Ruan Mingzhi to shout if anything happened again, then gradually dispersed.

Once everyone had left, Ruan Mingzi lifted the mountain pheasant in her hand and stood a few paces away from Ruan Angui.

In a sweet voice, she said, “Third Uncle came for that string of cash, didn’t you? Too bad, you came too late. I’ve already spent most of it today. Bought some pork, a pot, and a cleaver. Oh, and I also bought a small dagger.... it's  very sharp. Third Uncle, would you like to take a look?”

When she mentioned the dagger, Ruan Mingzi narrowed her eyes and deliberately drew out her words. She pulled the sheathed dagger from her chest, pushed the sheath open with her thumb, and smiled faintly as she stepped closer.

Ruan Angui usually feared nothing and no one, but for some reason, seeing her like this made him recall the icy chill of her arm when he’d touched her that day. Fear flooded his heart. His face turned pale. Forgetting his pain, he scrambled up from the ground, crawling and stumbling as he fled in a panic.

Only then did Ruan Mingzhi stop. Watching him disappear into the distance, she let out a cold snort and tucked the dagger back into her clothes.

She glanced at the collapsed fence, thinking that tomorrow she should hurry those households to come fix it.

After all, hadn’t they nearly been “robbed” today?

Carrying the pheasant inside, Ruan Mingzi saw Mingyan standing in the shadows of the room, gripping the half-open door nervously. Clearly awakened by the earlier commotion.

Ruan Mingzi felt a pang of tenderness. She lifted the pheasant to cheer her up.
“Yan Yan, look—what’s this?”

Only then did Mingyan notice the pheasant in her sister’s hands. Her big eyes lit up as she ran over in a few quick steps, making soft “ah-ah” sounds and pointing at the brilliantly colored tail feathers.

“Later we’ll fry some pork cracklings and simmer a pot of chicken soup,” Ruan Mingzi said cheerfully, already planning it all out.

“These tail feathers are really pretty! I’ll make you a shuttlecock with them.” Seeing her sister’s eyes nearly glow with excitement, Ruan Mingzi’s own almond-shaped eyes curved into a smile.

Mingyan happily made a few more “ah-ah” sounds and nodded repeatedly. Ruan Mingzi stroked her sister’s head and sighed silently.

In the original owner’s memories, Mingyan had once been able to call out “Father,” “Mother,” and “Sister” when she first learned to walk. Later, after a severe fever, she stopped speaking altogether.

When there was a chance, she’d have to take her to learn sign language.

Ruan Mingzi made a mental note.

Taking advantage of the remaining daylight, the sisters went out together and dragged back some dry branches. Living in a village by the mountains had its conveniences—firewood was everywhere. Ruan Mingzi even hauled back a long bamboo pole, chopping it into several bamboo tubes to use as containers, and made a few pairs of chopsticks as well.

Earlier, when she’d returned from Auntie Gao’s place, she had stuffed a fire starter into her hands. Now, Ruan Mingzi used it to light some straw, pushed it into the stove, and soon the flames licked up, warming the entire kitchen.

Mingyan dragged over a wooden stump and sat before the stove with solemn devotion, helping to tend the fire. Working together, the sisters boiled a large pot of water, bled and plucked the pheasant, and laid its beautiful tail feathers out neatly on the windowsill to dry.

Ruan Mingzi washed the slab of pork belly she’d bought earlier, cut it into small pieces, and rendered it slowly over low heat in the iron pot. Soon, a generous amount of oil seeped out, the fatty bits turning into golden, crispy cracklings. The rich aroma filled the air. Mingyan wasn’t usually greedy for food, but now even she couldn’t stop herself from drooling.

Ruan Mingzi picked out the cracklings with bamboo chopsticks and put them into a bamboo tube, handing it to Mingyan. She poured the remaining lard into another bamboo tube to store. Mingyan refused to eat first. She picked up a piece and fed it to Ruan Mingzi, only then carefully lifting one to her own mouth.

As she ate, tears suddenly fell.

Ruan Mingzi laughed and felt her heart ache at the same time. She wiped her sister’s tears away.

“Crying already? The good days are still ahead. You can cry all you want then.”

She then made a pot of chicken soup with the pheasant. There was no salt and no extra seasoning, but the natural fragrance of the soup still filled the room. Tender white meat and pale golden broth. It was enough to make anyone hungry. Mingyan shyly wiped the corner of her mouth.

When the chicken was done, Ruan Mingzi packed more than half a bamboo tube with meat and added plenty of broth, filling it to the brim, and carried it over to the Lu household.

The Lu family was in the middle of dinner when Madam Gao came to the door. Seeing Ruan Mingzi bring such a full portion of chicken, she was stunned.

“What are you doing, child?” Madam Gao was usually straightforward, but now she was so moved she could hardly speak.

It wasn’t that her family lacked food, but she knew the Ruan sisters’ situation all too well. This child probably hadn’t tasted meat in ages, yet she brought them such a generous share…

Ruan Mingzi smiled.
“Auntie Gao, please don’t stand on ceremony with me. This pheasant was shot with the crossbow Uncle Lu made for me. I haven’t forgotten today’s flatbread and bandages, and Uncle Lu’s crossbow really helped me out. This bit of chicken is nothing.”

“We don’t have proper containers at home, so I used bamboo. I washed it all clean! Please don’t mind.” she said, pressing the bamboo tube into Madam Gao’s hands.

“Yanyan’s waiting for me at home, so I’ll head back now.”

Madam Gao answered with an “ah,” then hurried inside and returned with a small bag of fruit.

“These grew on our own trees, not worth much. Don’t be polite with Auntie anymore. Take them back and let Yanyan eat them as snacks.”

Ruan Mingzi thanked her openly and carried the fruit home.

That was how human kindness worked—give and take, back and forth.

When others treated her well, even if she had only a little, she would repay them sincerely.

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