Chapter 2: Departure (Part 1)

  Although the medicine was bitter and there was no nutritional supplement in the food, Lin Chun still slowly pulled through. Looking at the thatched cottages in front of him, he thought to himself that if it snowed heavily, they would surely collapse.

  Taking advantage of the weather not being too cold yet, I must leave this house. Grandpa and grandma only care about themselves, and there's also an aunt who is staring at me with a fierce gaze. The other day when my younger brother came back, he whispered something to her, then came into the room and glared fiercely at Lin Chun.

  The gloomy atmosphere made Lin Chun's hair stand on end.

  The little aunt's affair had not yet been exposed, and Lin Chun admired the little aunt's courage. In this ancient era where men were respected and women were inferior, a private meeting between a man and a woman was no small matter if discovered.

  Just entered the kitchen, found nothing, thought that all the food must have been hidden in Lin's old lady's room, searched around, not a single thing was found, this is like Japanese devils entering the village, spotless!

  Lin Chuan didn't dare to stay outside for long, so he returned to his own room, thought for a while, and came up with a rough plan. He then went to bed and waited for Da Tou and Er Ya to come back.

  During this period, Da Tou took Er Ya to the mountain to pick wild fruits. The road was familiar, and they would usually return once every one or two hours. If there was no one at home, they would hurry back to the house, and the three siblings would quickly eat the fruit. If there were people at home, they would first hide the fruit outside and then quietly bring it back into the house after dark.

  Last time, they were unfortunately discovered and the three fruits they picked were snatched away by their aunt's black-hearted husband to give to his little grandson, causing Lin Chun San and her siblings to go hungry for a whole day. Luckily, in the evening, Da Tou brought back two eggs, so the three siblings finally got something to fill their stomachs.

  At night, Lin Chun had Da Tou and Er Ya wash their feet. The three siblings got on the bed and started discussing a plan to escape from the wolf's den.

  There is a well in the kitchen, and water is usually used in the kitchen. This well was also dug after Lin Daren got married, more than 50 meters deep.

  Inside the well, there is a piston and valve. The piston and valve are one-way, pulling up the handle can extract air from inside the pipe in the well, repeating this process multiple times will allow you to extract groundwater from the well.

  Although the big-headed man is small, he can still squeeze out water. Every day, while Lin Lao Tou and Lin Lao Tai are not at home, he fetches water, boils it hot for Lin Chun to wash his face. Boiling water requires firewood, most of which are dry branches picked up by Da Tou and Er Ya on the mountain. However, if discovered by Lin Lao Tou and Lin Lao Tai, they will still be scolded.

  So, Lin Chun didn't insist on it either. If hot water couldn't be used, cold water would have to do. With a leg injury and not being able to take baths conveniently, he could only wipe his body every day, but that was still better than not washing at all. This was also one of the reasons why Lin Chun was eager to leave the Lin family.

  After moving out later, I can boil more water and wash myself thoroughly. Da Tou and Er Ya can also have a good wash.

  "Big Head, is the village chief a good person?" In Da Yu's memory, he had only seen the village chief a few times and knew that everyone would listen to what the village chief said, very authoritative.

  "The village elder is a kind man, often giving my sister and me food. Yesterday, he even gave us a bowl of soup with eggs in it!" Da Tou was delighted. Lin Chun knew that eggs were a rare commodity in this place, usually reserved for the male laborers and pregnant women in each household, and hardly anyone else got to eat them normally.

  Even if there were, they would be saved until the market day to exchange for other necessities at home. Da Yu was also fortunate to discover a few chickens laying eggs outside and occasionally picked up a few eggs, but she was very careful, as being discovered would not be a small matter, and if accused of theft, her reputation would be ruined, which was especially important for girls in ancient times.

  When Pei Wushuang was around, he wouldn't let Da Ya pick up food. After Pei Wushuang left, Old Man Lin would only let Da Tou go eat, and completely ignored Da Ya and Er Ya. Occasionally, Da Tou would secretly stash some food away, but since Da Ya's leg was broken, Old Man Lin never called Da Tou to eat again, and Old Lady Lin would hurry to put things away after meals every day.

  Before, Da Ya Tui would take Da Tou out secretly to pick things up, but most of the time it was at dusk when the sky was about to turn dark and the villagers were having dinner and preparing for rest. Later, after getting injured, Da Tou took Er Ya instead, but Er Ya was afraid of the dark, so Da Tou went alone afterwards.

  "Hmm, that's good. Besides those families in the village who usually give you food, is there anyone else who is particularly good to you?" Lin Chun emphasized the word "particularly".

  "Em... really good."

  "Sister, I think it's Uncle Dashan. Uncle Dashan often takes my brother and me to the mountain to pick fruits. When we can't pick any, he helps us pick some too, and doesn't even take our fruits to feed Xiaoshan. He also invites my brother and me to his home for dinner..." Er Ya said hastily, seeing Da Tou deep in thought.

  "Sister, I also think it's Da Shan Bo Bo. Da Shan Bo Bo has several acres of land at home, and the grain he grows is enough to eat and still have some left over. He is also very fair in the village, doesn't speak falsely, and once I even saw him jump into the river to save Er Niu from the neighboring village. That Er Niu was really bad, often bullying Xiao Shan, but Da Shan Bo Bo didn't mind..."

  "En en, brother is right, the villagers all say that Da Shan Bo Bo is a good person, Cui Hua Da Niang is also good, and Xiao Shan is good too..." Er Ya obviously praised Da Shan Bo Bo's family highly.

  Lin Chun nodded, his eyes rolling around. This old man from the mountains was someone Lin Chun knew to be a straightforward and honest person. He was very tall and had a big build. His family was considered wealthy in the village and he liked to play with the kids.

  Dashan's wife, Cuihua, is also a capable person who takes charge of both household and outside matters. There are no elderly people at home, only Xiaoshan, their three-year-old child, who seems very gentle. She has visited our home several times, and Daliao has met her.

  In the village, apart from the village head, it seems that only Da Shan Bo Bo took good care of his sister and three brothers. It is said that Lin Da Lang and Da Shan had a good relationship before, but after Lin Da Lang joined the army, under several provocations by Auntie, Da Shan Bo Bo also did not dare to take too much care of Pei Wu Shuang. Occasionally, Xiao Shan's mother would send some food to Pei Wu Shuang, but that was all, and he never came home again. After all, rumors can be deadly.