Chapter 2: Delivering Food

"What, worried about your sister?" Ruan Tao poked Ruan Xing's head with a hint of amusement. "Don't worry, if you can get away, how could your sister not? Besides, what's a couple of hits? He is our father, after all; he wouldn't beat me to death, would he?"

You treat him like a real father, but he doesn't treat you like a real daughter!

Even if he won't beat you to death, he will sell you off!

Ruan Xing shouted in her heart while thinking of an excuse, revealing a well-behaved smile. "Sister, I want to ask Mother for some fabric scraps to make hair ties. Look, my hair has grown so long."

Ruan Tao stroked her younger sister's fuzzy head and thought for a moment. She still had to wash clothes by the well at the end of the alley in the afternoon, and the water vat at home was almost empty. She was small and not very strong, so she would have to make several trips. Letting her sister deliver the food would save her time to go fetch water earlier.

"Alright then, come back early, and don't forget to collect the bowls."

"Got it, Sister!"

Ruan Xing picked up the bowl, gulped down a few mouthfuls of rice soaked in vegetable soup to pad her stomach, and then lifted the basket with some effort and headed out the door.

The Weaving Workshop where Ruan Mu worked and the Gambling Den that Ruan Fu frequented were both in the Inner City, so they were on the way.

It was a pity that one earned money while the other spent it; it didn't sound pleasant.

If this money were given to her, it would be enough for how many Simulations! Sigh!

She went to the Weaving Workshop first. The female workers could rest for two quarter-hours at noon. At this time, the female workers waiting for their families to deliver food, just like Ruan Mu, were gathered in groups of two or three at the back door, gossiping.

Someone with sharp eyes saw Ruan Xing and reminded Ruan Mu, "Your Xing'er is here."

Ruan Mu responded softly and turned her head. She was not yet thirty years old; in the modern era, she might have just graduated from university and stepped into society, but here, she was already the mother of two children.

Her personality was just like her appearance—mild and gentle. Although she could not resist any of Ruan Fu's decisions because she had accepted the era's concept that a woman should treat her husband as heaven, she still tried her best to love her two daughters.

"Has Xing'er been good today? You didn't make your elder sister angry, did you?"

"No, I even helped Sister today."

Ruan Xing handed over the basket. The two of them found a spot by the wall in the backyard, squatted down, and finished the meal. Once finished, Ruan Xing brought up the excuse she had used to fool her sister before leaving. "Mother, do you have any fabric scraps? I want a flowery hair tie."

"Xing'er has grown up and knows how to love beauty now." Ruan Mu said, half-gratified and half-teasing, "After I finish work, I'll ask the Guan for some waste material to take home and make hair ties for you."

Although Ruan Mu was only a low-level textile worker at the Weaving Workshop, for women of this era, this was considered a relatively high-paying profession. After all, a loom was very expensive; the wood and labor costs alone would be at least one tael of Silver, and ordinary farm girls didn't even have the chance to touch one.

Moreover, there were hidden benefits. As long as one spoke to the Guan, the waste fabric scraps cut from the weaving process at the Weaving Workshop were usually allowed to be shared among the female workers to take home. Ruan Tao's hair ties, shoe uppers, and Ruan Xing's diapers when she was little all came from this, costing not a single copper.

Ruan Xing obediently said yes, and then she thought that Ruan Mu's Weaving skills were a skill right in front of her. If she learned to weave and could earn money by weaving in the future, she and Ruan Tao might not be sold by their scumbag father, and she could avoid the chance of encountering the male and female leads from the source.

"By the way, Mother, can you teach Sister and me how to weave? It's too hard for you to earn money to support the family alone. When Sister and I learn to weave and can earn money, you can rest a while."

Ruan Xing blinked her big, round eyes to act cute, not considering at all that her actual age wasn't much younger than her 'Mother'.

There was no help for it; who let her become Ruan Xing now? All the events of her past life were like passing smoke. Constantly dwelling on them would only affect her state of mind. Since she was here, she should settle in. Her most important task now was to live her current life well, and she also had a very grand goal.

That was Cultivation! Looking at her filial young daughter, Ruan Mu's heart melted instantly, but just as she was about to speak, she hesitated.

Learning to weave wasn't something you could just do by opening your mouth. In the early stages, just splitting the threads could waste a good amount of money. She had thought about teaching Ruan Tao to weave before, but Ruan Fu was unwilling to spend money on a girl; he only wanted to wait until the girl was older to marry her off in exchange for a dowry.

Moreover, at that time, Ruan Mu had just given birth to Ruan Xing not long before, and Ruan Fu had abandoned his responsibilities. Ruan Tao had been acting like a little adult since she was a few years old, taking her younger sister with her, and also having to learn to do housework and take care of her mother who had just given birth. Thus, Ruan Mu's idea took a turn in her heart, and she gave up on it.

"Right now, the family... probably doesn't have extra money for you to practice." Ruan Mu looked apologetic.

Ruan Xing didn't expect to succeed on the first try. This kind of thing required planting a seed first, and then she could plan slowly later. She was not discouraged and retreated to a secondary option: "Mother, how about this: when you bring back the fabric scraps today, let Sister and me make the hair ties ourselves. We can see if we have the talent before deciding whether to teach us, okay?"

Seeing her daughter, who was usually not very obedient, suddenly acting so sensible, Ruan Mu felt even more guilty. It was all her fault for not being able to urge her husband to be ambitious, not being able to take care of family harmony, and not being able to give birth to a son for the Ruan family to continue the Incense Fire, which was why she implicated her two daughters in suffering for a living at such a young age. So, she nodded gently.

Seeing Ruan Mu relent and agree, Ruan Xing's eyes curved into smiles. She vied to put the bowls and chopsticks Ruan Mu had used back into the basket. "Mother, leave it to me, leave it to me. You rest a while longer before you have to go back to work. I'm going to deliver food to Father."

Having said that, fearing Ruan Mu would go back on her word, she carried the basket and trotted out the courtyard gate. The Weaving Workshop and the Gambling Den were several streets apart. Her small frame lacked the strength to walk fast, and she had delayed time talking to Ruan Mu at the Weaving Workshop earlier. By the time she reached the Gambling Den, it was already almost the end of the Wei hour.

This kind of small Gambling Den where all sorts of people gathered was usually a hidden establishment. A random courtyard with curtains hung up and a few tables set up became a place for gamblers and drunkards to pass the time. The door was half-closed, and a few shirtless men sat in the outer room; those were the gang members who took a cut, acting as bouncers to catch cheaters and collect debts for the Gambling Den.

And Ruan Fu, who claimed to be hanging out with these people, was actually nothing more than a fat sheep in their eyes.

Ruan Xing walked past them and lifted the curtain to enter the inner room. The atmosphere in the small room of several dozen people was heated. Many gamblers who were on a roll were shouting until their faces were red and their necks thick, and Ruan Fu was one of them.

"Damn it! I don't believe there's anyone with a Human Tile bigger than mine this round! I'll match!"

"Are you afraid of this brute? I don't believe your rotten luck can turn the tables today. I'll match too!"

"Hahaha, that's refreshing, I'll match too!"

People around them began to watch and jeer.

"Keep raising the bet, Ruan Shu Daizi! Don't be a coward!"

"Haha, exactly. You won quite a few coins from your brothers a few days ago; you wouldn't have lost everything and can't even pull one out, would you?"

The table was covered with broken Silver and copper coins. Ruan Fu's face alternated between pale and red, his hands clutching his Leaf Cards tightly. Everything on the table was his entire net worth; he couldn't match anymore. But if he opened the opposing hand now, if his cards weren't bigger than the opponent's, he would have to pay three houses.

This was the best luck he'd had all day, a Red Pair of the same color, which counted as an Earth Tile in Pai Gow. In the small hidden games he played, a Heaven Tile basically never appeared. The only Earth Tile bigger than his was a Black Pair of the same color, but the person opposite him was just a bit bigger than him—was that possible?

Many men around him teased him with laughter, making him feel even more that he couldn't save face. He gritted his teeth and said, "I won't match, I'm opening the opposing hand!"

The person opposite him was a short, fat man. Ruan Xing had seen him once; he had previously called Ruan Fu brother and drank with him. At this moment, he rubbed his hands, his fat face full of lewd smiles, and said, "Oh, Brother Ruan, you're not being very loyal to the brotherhood here. Really, I can't help it, who told me to be your brother? Brother Ruan, will you open first or shall I?"

At this point, the game had nothing to do with the other two houses. Either the opponent was bigger than Ruan Fu, and Ruan Fu would pay three houses double the Silver on the table, or Ruan Fu was bigger than the opponent, and all the gambling stakes on the table would belong to him.

Ruan Xing, relying on her short stature and agile body, hid in the crowd of onlookers. Everyone was attracted by the card game, and no one looked at her. Although she had never played cards, this scene looked very much like the "slaughtering the pig" games played in movies. A sense of foreboding rose in her heart, making her not even want to deliver the food and just wanting to run away.

But looking at the broken Silver and copper coins piled together on the table, she felt a bit greedy. The last time she came to deliver food, she had quietly swiped one, and no one had discovered it yet. Could she swipe another one while it was crowded and chaotic this time? Anyway, it was all money from rotten gamblers and gang members; she didn't feel that taking it would damage her morality.

She didn't ask for much, just enough for her to perform one more Simulation.

"I'll open first!" Ruan Fu spread the three Leaf Cards in his hand, which were half-soaked with sweat, in a row in the middle of the table. At this moment, he felt both nervous and somewhat smug. "How about it? Have you ever held such big cards?"

"Whoa! An Earth Pair!"

"You kid hit the jackpot today!"

Hearing the exclamations of others, Ruan Fu slowly felt confident again and looked expectantly at the fat man opposite him to reveal his cards.

The fat man hummed and laughed twice. "Brother Ruan, I'm really sorry!"

The three Leaf Cards were slowly spread out. Every time one was revealed, Ruan Fu's heart tightened.

Black Plum Blossom, Red Plum Blossom, Blue Plum Blossom.

Same-color Heterochromatic Three-Origin, Heaven Tile.

"How could this be!?" Ruan Fu screamed, collapsing into his chair, dejected.

How could it be a Same-color Heterochromatic Three-Origin? Even if it were a same-color Black Pair, he wouldn't have lost! There was a chorus of boos all around. The fat man kept saying he was sorry while very unashamedly sweeping the gambling stakes on the table into his sleeves.

Ruan Xing was staring intently at the money on the table when suddenly Ruan Fu erupted, giving everyone a fright; he jumped up, scrambled onto the table, and with bloodshot eyes grabbed the fat man by the collar, roaring, "Impossible! This is impossible! You must have cheated!"

"You're crazy! Cough, cough... This is Qiye's territory! You—you dare to run wild here!" The fat man, choked by Ruan Fu until he couldn't breathe and his eyes were rolling back, shouted loudly between coughs.

(End of chapter)