Chapter 11 - 11: Possibly Cannon Fodder_1

11 Chapter 11: Possibly Cannon Fodder_1

Translator: 549690339

Waking up from the dream.

Yingbao stared at the top of the tent, dumbfounded for quite a while.

She didn’t expect she’d be cast in a book.

Based on her years of reading experience and reflecting on her own experiences, she probably played the role of a villainous cannon fodder.

It’s a pity she had only read a few chapters, and she didn’t know what was next. She wondered if it was the same as what she had experienced in a previous life.

“Yingbao, get up and eat.” Chunniang had already prepared breakfast, and she came over to dress Yingbao who was awake.

“Mom, where’s dad?” Yingbao asked.

“Your father went to your uncle’s house before dawn. They’re going to the market today and can’t be late.”

After dressing Yingbao in a short sleeve sweatshirt, Chunniang helped her tie her wristbands and let her get off the bedstove herself.

Yingbao quickly went to the latrine, checked on Xiaolu, and then washed up.

Xiaolu had already been led to the courtyard, it huddled under the jujube tree, watching the little figure run back and forth with pitiful eyes.

After hurriedly finishing breakfast, Yingbao quickly said goodbye to her mother, grabbed a small bamboo basket in one hand, and led Xiaolu with the other to take a stroll outside.

Chunniang knew that her daughter would go out every morning and did not stop her, only reminding her not to go too far away.

The children in the village got up early. Before the sun rose high, they would carry their baskets to the fields to pick dewy grass, which they would wash, chop, and feed to the pigs and sheep, which loved it.

Yingbao also took advantage of the cool morning to go to the wild. Not for cutting grass, she was grazing the deer, and by the way, she smuggled some shepherd’s purse and five tripod plants for Xiaolu to eat.

Xiaolu was clearly more agile than the day before, and the wound on its buttocks seemed to have scabbed over.

However, because the injury was sticky with bloody fur, it was not clear how well it had healed, and Xiaolu resisted anyone touching its wound, so Yingbao continued to feed it the five tripod plants.

It seemed Xiaolu really liked to eat this, it even gave up its fear and stretched out its tongue to lick Yingbao’s fingers.

Yingbao simply took out some more and watched it eat it all.

After Xiaolu finished eating, it looked left and right, its tongue moving back and forth, seemingly thirsty.

“Here, drink some water.” Yingbao took out a broken pot, which contained some pool water.

Xiaolu drank it down in one gulp and happily started grazing again, wagging its short tail.

“Yingbao! You’re grazing deer.”

Yuanbao from her uncle’s house ran over, still carrying his little schoolbag.

Seeing him, Yingbao’s eyes lit up, “Yes, Brother Yuanbao, you are going to school this early?”

Yuanbao nodded and came forward to touch Xiaolu’s back.

Yingbao asked, “Brother Yuanbao, can I go to school with you?”

Yuanbao shook his head: “Master doesn’t allow.”

“I’ll stay outside, won’t go into the school.” Yingbao didn’t give up.

Yuanbao blinked and said earnestly: “Master will beat your hand with a ruler.”

Yingbao: …

Seeing his little cousin was not happy, Yuanbao hesitated for a moment and said, “Or, you can watch from a distance, just don’t get too close.”

The Master did not like girls going to school, he would scold and drive them away whenever he saw them.

“Okay.” Yingbao agreed immediately, led Xiaolu, and urged, “Let’s hurry.”

Yuanbao scratched his head, and had to follow her.

The village school was a private school run by the Chen Family, initially established for the education of the Chen Family’s children.

But it was the only school in the surrounding villages, so as long as they paid tuition, children from other families could also enroll.

The Master of the village school was an old scholar, also surnamed Chen. He was nearly seventy but very conservative and firmly refused to admit female students.

So in the Dongchen Village and Xichen Village, there was no girl who could read or write.

Yingbao parked Xiaolu about fifty feet away from the village school, pushed Yuanbao who was still sticking to Xiaolu, and urged him to get going.

Yuanbao reluctantly left, and cautioned before leaving, “Don’t run around, wait for me after school.”

Yingbao nodded and waved at him, “Brother Yuanbao, study well, teach me how to read after school, and I’ll let Xiaolu play with you.”

“Okay.” Yuanbao nodded seriously, turned around and resolutely ran towards school.

Yingbao sat on the hillside, from where she could see the school, the slowly flowing Chuanhe River, and Shigong Bridge over the river.

As long as she crossed the bridge, she would reach Xichen Village on the other side, where Chen Changping’s house was.

In her previous life, all of her suffering after birth came from that family, and they were also the ones who ended her life.

It’s such a pitiful thought.

Yingbao turned her gaze, one hand stroking Xiaolu while observing the children who were rushing to school.

Having eaten its fill, Xiaolu nestled at the feet of its young master, contentedly chewing its cud.

A few curious schoolchildren sized up this strange pair; two of them even climbed up the dirt slope, reaching out to touch Xiaolu.

Startled, Xiaolu sprang up and hid behind Yingbao.

Yingbao stared icily at the two children.

She recognized both of them.

One was Chen Song, the youngest son of Brother Chen Changping, and the other was a child from the leading family of Xichen Village.

Seven-year-old Chen Song was a year older than Yuanbao and had just started learning. At the moment, he seemed dim-witted and harmless.

Who could have imagined that such a child could harbor malicious intentions towards a six or seven-year-old girl five years later?

But then again, as vengeful as she was, how could she let herself be wronged?

In the cold winter of her seventh year, she arranged for Chen Song to fall into the icy water, ending up in an ice hole.

Even though he was rescued in time, both of his legs became useless, rendering him a cripple.

Of course, she didn’t get off lightly either; she was brutally beaten by her own parents and grandmother with several rods broken on her body. She was almost beaten half to death and was left in a pile of hay, immobile for a month.

During that month, no one bothered to get medical treatment for her or took care of her. She was neglected like a stray dog.

Perhaps to avoid neighbors’ criticism, they occasionally threw her a piece of black pancake and a scoop of water.

Even in that state, the Chen Family had deemed her as good as dead.

Who would have thought that she would stubbornly hang on to life?

To this day, Yingbao still doesn’t understand why she’s like a cockroach that can’t be killed, managing to survive time and time again in dire situations.

“Is this deer yours?” Chen Song asked.

Yingbao ignored him, leading Xiaolu away.

Chen Song, not miffed by the child’s disregard, followed them and continued to ask, “Which family do you belong to? Can I lead the deer for a while?”

Yingbao scowled and coldly said, “No!”

Chen Song frowned, preparing to say something, when one of the children by his side said, “You can’t just say ‘no’ and expect us to listen. We want to lead the deer!”

And with that, he attempted to snatch the rope.

Yingbao quickly dodged and cried out, “Master! Your student is trying to steal my deer!”

The child was taken aback and involuntarily stepped back, hurriedly looking around.

Sure enough, the Master was standing at the entrance of the school, watching them from a distance.

The child and Chen Song were terrified and ran downhill as if fleeing.

Yingbao snorted and continued to stroll with Xiaolu.

Just yesterday, the Jiang Family had treated the Master to deer meat. She didn’t believe that the Master could just stand by and watch his students bully a young child of barely a year old.

After strolling for a while and finding no one around, she squatted down to shovel soil from the farmland or river ditch into the cave dwelling.

When she had gathered enough, she stole some shepherd’s purse and stuffed it into the basket before heading back.

Xiaolu followed her closely, seemingly not needing to be led by the rope.

Once home, Yingbao was soaked with sweat, completely exhausted.

After all, she was not yet two years old, and her strength was limited.

After working and walking so much, Yingbao felt on the brink of collapse.

“Where have you been going off to?”

Chun Niang came out of the kitchen and saw her daughter sprawled out on a rattan bed. Feeling her forehead, she asked, “What’s wrong? Did you get heatstroke?”

Yingbao shook her head, weakly saying, “I woke up too early and I’m tired.”

Chun Niang chuckled, gave her daughter’s nose a gentle pinch and said, “I think you ran yourself ragged outside. Go to bed. When you wake up, I’ll give you some braised pork.”

Her family had received a piece of deer meat yesterday, which she had stewed early in the morning. Today, she was going to braise it, making it crumbly and soft, perfect for her daughter as it wouldn’t stick between her teeth.

“Mm.” Yingbao clung to her mother’s arm and softly said, “Mum, you sleep too.”

With no other choice, Chun Niang lay down next to her daughter and fanned her with a straw fan.