Chapter 61: One Candied Cake Plus One Dime

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"Brother, you don't need to be afraid. As long as I can cure Shi Mingsheng, he'll be fine, and you won't get into trouble. Just promise me that you'll be more careful in the future, and don't do bad things. We'll handle this secretly and not let the adults find out."

"Little sister, can you really cure him?" Ai Wen couldn't believe it.

"Of course, you forget whose little sister I am." Tang Ailian tried to ease her brother's nervousness.

Indeed, Ai Wen couldn't help but laugh at his sister's words. However, he still worried, "What about them?"

He was afraid they would still tell the adults.

Tang Ailian turned to Shi Mingyu, "Shi Mingyu, as long as I cure your brother, please don't tell the adults about this, okay?"

Shi Mingyu had just thought about getting some elixirs from Tang Ailian to sell and use the money for her education, so she didn't want to agree. However, she was usually timid and couldn't find the words to refuse.

Long Huadeng, who was accompanying her, quickly spoke up, "No, you can't do that. Your brother injured Mingsheng, and even if he gets better, he still suffered. You must compensate her." Then she added, "It would be best if you give her a portion of the spiritual elixir your master gave you."

Ai Wen immediately objected, "I didn't mean to hurt your brother. I was playing with Xiaohu and throwing sheep dung. Your brother ran over to our side. Did he come from the duck house?"

He was puzzled, "How did you know? He had two duck eggs hidden in his pocket. When I accidentally hit him, he fell down, and the duck eggs broke. The yolks were everywhere, and his clothes got dirty."

Shi Mingyu's face immediately changed, "What are you talking about?"

Tang Ailian, however, seemed to know, "Did you check if he had duck eggs with him? He had two duck eggs hidden in his pocket, and when I accidentally hit him, the eggs broke, and the yolk spilled everywhere, staining his clothes."

Shi Mingyu's face turned pale, "You can't say that."

Tang Ailian chuckled, "I was just asking. So there really were duck eggs, huh? Who would put duck eggs from their own home into their pockets? Don't they know that eggs are easily broken? It seems that those eggs weren't from your family's ducks. And your brother came from the duck house, so the only possibility is that he picked up the eggs from the production team's duck farm."

"Shi Mingsheng stole duck eggs, and you, Shi Mingyu, were on lookout duty to warn your brother if anyone came, right? Your brother picked up the eggs from the production team's duck farm. He probably didn't see my brother and Xiaohu playing with sheep dung and rushed into the place where they were throwing it, accidentally getting hit by my brother. And you..." Tang Ailian pointed at Long Huadeng, "you were involved too!"

Long Huadeng quickly defended herself, "I wasn't involved. Mingsheng stole the eggs, Mingyu was on lookout, and I just happened to be passing by. I didn't participate."

Tang Ailian and Ai Wen burst into laughter, but it seemed that the involvement of the two siblings in stealing eggs had been nailed down.

Shi Mingyu's face turned ashen, "No, I don't want this. It was my brother, he wanted duck eggs, so he asked me to watch out for him. I—"

She knew that her parents didn't value her, and if her brother got into trouble, she would be the one to bear the punishment, not him.

Tang Ailian sighed, "How about this? I'll cure your brother, and we won't tell the adults about your involvement in stealing eggs. But you both must promise not to steal from the production team anymore. My brother also needs to be more careful when playing, to avoid hurting others or himself."

Shi Mingyu, relieved that her brother was okay, readily agreed. After all, they were just children, and seeing her brother safe made her forget her previous worries.

Tang Ailian was surprised when she saw Shi Mingsheng. He had been hit in a very critical acupoint, and his vitality was fading. If she didn't help, he might die.

Tang Ailian had not encountered such a severe situation in her previous life, but fortunately, she had her skills from her master now. She administered some spiritual water and opened the blocked meridian points, and Shi Mingsheng gradually regained consciousness.

Shi Mingyu was overjoyed to see her brother awake and safe, and the siblings' secret about stealing duck eggs remained hidden. After all, they were just children. Seeing that her brother was fine, Shi Mingyu felt relieved, and she even brought out some homemade rice cakes to share with Tang Ailian and the others.

Tang Ailian, however, found the rice cakes to be soft and not very appetizing. They had been made for the Lunar New Year and had likely gone stale. But in these times, children didn't have many treats to enjoy, so they ate them happily.

Then Tang Ailian had an idea, "How about I treat you all to some candied cakes from the store?"

Candied cakes were essentially large flatbreads, about the size of a palm, and they cost two cents each.

As soon as they heard about the candied cakes, the children immediately put down their sticky and soft rice cakes. The five of them held hands and walked to the local store where Tang Ailian handed a five-cent note to the one-eyed shopkeeper and said, "We want five candied cakes."

With five cents, she purchased five candied cakes and received one cent in change. She then distributed the cakes and the change among the children, giving each of them one candied cake and one cent, saying, "This is for your trouble today. Let's put an end to this matter here, and from now on, no one should mention it again."

Tang Ailian considered this one candied cake and one cent as hush money, so to speak. As children of this time, one cent was already quite a lot for them, as many of them didn't have any money at all.

(End of this chapter)