As for his elder sister, two years ago when Zhang Chen was thirteen, the Great Victory Dynasty conscripted him for service. As the only male in the family, Zhang Chen had no choice but to go. His elder sister, not wanting her young brother to die, somehow managed to bring back a large amount of silver coins to exempt him from labor. But from that day on, his elder sister disappeared from home, and Zhang Chen’s conscription was also canceled.
At that time, Zhang Chen did not understand. His stepmother said that his sister abandoned him to search for their mother, and Zhang Chen believed it, harboring hatred towards his elder sister. Now, thinking it over carefully, he suspected there might be more to the story, and the outcome might not be a good one. How could his sister, a weak woman, have obtained such a large sum of silver?
Zhang Chen dared not think deeply!
Zhang Chen bypassed the back mountain and arrived at the village there, called Liwan Village, with over three hundred households, considered a large village. His stepmother’s family did not live on the outskirts but at the central core of the village.
Before Zhang Chen could enter the village, from afar at the desolate mountain area at the village entrance, he saw a small, skinny figure squatting on the ground, carrying a basket on their arm, digging for wild vegetables.
The figure was very small and wore tattered, ill-fitting clothes, which were obviously oversized, making the person inside appear even smaller and frailer.
Seeing that frail back, it was like looking at a skinny monkey, dressed in clothes, squatting and crawling on the ground.
"Zhang Tuowei!"
Zhang Chen looked at that short figure and shouted while holding a muntjac from afar.
The petite figure paused in action, then turned around swiftly like a monkey. Once they saw Zhang Chen’s face clearly, they tossed the basket aside and rushed toward him agilely like a monkey. However, the "little monkey" wore adult clothes, and the hem was obviously too long. Running too quickly, they stepped on the clothes and fell face-first into the dirt.
"Don’t rush! Don’t rush!" Zhang Chen felt a pang of heartache seeing the small figure fall but, because he was holding the muntjac, couldn’t go over directly. He could only shout helplessly, "Take it slow! Take it slow!"
"Big brother!"
The figure didn’t care, quickly got up, and continued running forward. When they got closer and were about to leap into Zhang Chen’s arms, they once again stepped on the hem and tumbled in front of Zhang Chen.
"Rip~"
This time, not only did the figure fall, but there was also the sound of cloth tearing—the much-troubled hem finally ripped.
"Big brother!"
The girl didn’t care about any of that and, with a dust-covered face, jumped up and dove into Zhang Chen’s arms.
Yes, it was a girl! It’s just that the name sounded so unpleasant. Who knows why her father gave such an awful name, "Zhang Tuowei," to their daughter back then.
Zhang Chen ignored the dust, directly hugged the girl, and scolded affectionately, "Didn’t I tell you to slow down?"
The girl’s body was covered in dust, her small face tanned and peeling, looking like a traveler who had returned from a biking trip in Tibet, filled with weariness and showing premature aging, causing him to ache inside.
"Tell me, how many months has it been since you came to visit me?" The girl’s voice was crisp, her eyes sparkled with innocent clarity, and she rubbed her dusty face against Zhang Chen’s clothes.
"You little girl, you’re still blaming me? I couldn’t even survive in the front mountain, how could I have time to visit you? I barely had time to go into the mountains looking for prey." Zhang Chen ruffled the girl’s hair playfully before lifting her onto his shoulders. Her body was so light, like skin and bones, as if just a skeleton.
With those oversized clothes, she looked like a giant skull—humorous yet laughable.
"I thought you were disgusted with being burdened by me and didn’t want to see me anymore," the girl said with a voice full of resentment.
"You silly girl, of course, I would come see you," Zhang Chen comforted her.
The girl turned her eyes, looking at the muntjac behind Zhang Chen: "Wow, Big Brother, you caught a big one."
"Wanna eat it?" Zhang Chen asked with a smile.
"I do! I want it steamed! I want it braised!" The girl’s eyes shone brightly at the sight of the muntjac, as if she wanted to stuff it into her stomach right away, her drool dripping onto Zhang Chen’s neck.
"Zhang Tuowei, that’s disgusting! Wipe your drool!" Zhang Chen wiped his neck with his sleeve, his voice exaggerated with disdain.
But the girl didn’t mind. She reached into Zhang Chen’s basket, took something, and exclaimed, "Wow, jerky! It’s really jerky! Big Brother, you live such a good life! No wonder you look fair and tender, like a rich young man—turns out you’re eating well in the front, leaving us to suffer in the back."
As she spoke, she stuffed the jerky into her mouth without caring about the dirt on her hands, filling her mouth like a little hamster, puffing out her cheeks.
"Zhang Chen, you look fair and chubby in the front, but don’t care if I’m dead or alive. I’ve been thinking of you every day, fearing you’d starve if you couldn’t hunt, but you’re so heartless." Zhang Tuowei directly sat on Zhang Chen’s shoulders, legs swinging and kicking his chest.
It was Zhang Chen’s first time meeting his younger sister since regaining his past life memories, without any sense of unfamiliarity or estrangement. After all, this was his dear sister who came from the same womb.
"You, little girl, you’re too much. I thought of bringing you something nice, and yet you still blame me. If I had time, how could I not come to see you?"