Chapter 7 My Frail and Incapable Cousin

Chapter 7 My Frail and Incapable Cousin

Although Pei Wu was thin, he was still a grown man. When he was not fully conscious, he instinctively grabbed Jiang Ru as his lifeline and leaned all his weight on her.

Even though Jiang Ru was prepared, she was almost overwhelmed by him. She didn't have time to care about the proper separation between men and women. Jiang Ru hugged Pei Wu's waist and used her body to support him so that he could barely keep from falling.

Jiang Ru touched the obvious bones on the boy's back and was even more shocked by Pei Wu's thin body; he was too thin.

Jiang Ru struggled to help Pei Wu sit down. Looking at his pale, bloodless face, she sighed helplessly. At this age when he's growing, not eating a single bite of meat is bound to make him faint.

After he calmed down, Pei Wu weakly pushed Jiang Ru away, still managing to shoo her away even at a time like this: "I'm fine, you go first..."

He couldn't finish speaking because Jiang Ru covered his mouth.

Seemingly surprised by Jiang Ru's direct response, Pei Wu paused, blinked, and his long, thick eyelashes, like brushes, obediently refrained from arguing. Of course, it was also possible that Jiang Ru had forcibly muted his microphone.

Jiang Ru placed her hand on his face, lowered her body, and told him, "Don't move."

Pei Wu then settled down for a short period of time.

It's not hard to guess why he fainted. He was mostly hungry, exhausted, and had been in the sun for too long. Multiple factors combined to cause this.

It wasn't considered serious, at least in his eyes, but Jiang Ru seemed to care a lot.

She ladled some of the leftover porridge from the morning for Pei Wu to fill his stomach. After Pei Wu finished the small bowl of porridge, Jiang Ru put the bowl on the table and prepared to help Pei Wu back to his room.

Pei Wu was unsure whether to tell Jiang Ru to stop touching him or to ask her to let go first. He struggled in vain for a moment, and was immediately scolded: "Don't move."

Pei Wu had never been scolded like this before. He had always been sensible since he was a child, and this was the first time his younger cousin had told him he was immature. It was as if Jiang Ru was the older sister, and Pei Wu was the younger brother who was always causing trouble.

Fortunately, he regained some strength and was able to walk on his own. Jiang Ru helped him to the bedroom door. As he watched Jiang Ru's slender hand press against the door, he moved his lips, and Jiang Ru glared at him and said, "Shut up."

Pei Wu had no choice but to swallow back what he wanted to say.

Jiang Ru had seen this room before; there was nothing interesting about it. She helped Pei Wu into the room, and just as Pei Wu was about to lie down on the straw bed, Jiang Ru stretched out her foot and kicked the straw bed to pieces.

Not content with that, she kicked away the clods of earth as well, making it impossible for her to sleep.

Pei Wu paused for a moment, then moved his hand as if to say something. However, Jiang Ru didn't give him a chance to speak and forcefully pushed Pei Wu onto the bed.

Pei Wu lay weak and helpless inside. Jiang Ru covered him with a blanket and threatened, "When I come back, you'd better not move around."

Pei Wu knew that going there now would only cause trouble, so he lay down quietly and didn't say anything more.

Once she was sure he wouldn't run off, Jiang Ru breathed a sigh of relief. As she turned around, she picked up the straw from the ground to prevent Pei Wu from sleeping on the floor again.

She threw the straw by the stove to use as kindling, then went back to her room, grabbed some copper coins, and went out.

Aunt Zhang's house is in the south of the village, not far from Pei Wu's house. Jiang Ru asked the villagers and walked towards Aunt Zhang's house along the road.

From afar, Jiang Ru saw Zhang Xingjun squatting outside the courtyard, throwing several pebbles into a bamboo tube. He threw them accurately, indicating that he played this game often and was very skilled.

Just as Jiang Ru was about to walk past him, the child happened to turn around and saw her. Zhang Xingjun's eyes lit up, and he grinned happily: "Jiang Ru, did you come to play with me?"

Jiang Ru smiled politely at him and asked, "I'm looking for Aunt Zhang, her house should be around..."

"I see." Zhang Xingjun nodded and called out into the courtyard, "Mother, Jiang Ru is looking for you."

Jiang Ru: ""

She looked at Zhang Xingjun's sun-darkened and reddish face, and the two "crystal pendants" hanging under his nose. She glanced at his clothes, which looked like he had rolled in the dirt, covered in patches of grime, and his hands were filthy.

It's hard to imagine that such a kind and simple person as Aunt Zhang would give birth to such a naughty child.

Jiang Ru looked at Zhang Xingjun with a complicated expression and said disdainfully, "Wipe your nose."

"Oh." Zhang Xingjun raised his sleeve and wiped his nose.

Jiang Ru retreated as if facing a formidable enemy. Her eyes widened, and she felt a chill run down her spine. She gritted her teeth and said, "How can you be so unhygienic!"

Zhang Xingjun asked, puzzled, "What?"

Jiang Ru didn't want to talk to him or be friends with him anymore. Just then, Aunt Zhang came out of the house, and she immediately went to greet her.

Zhang Da Niang was taken aback when she didn't expect Jiang Ru to come alone. After Jiang Ru explained her purpose and said she wanted to buy an egg from her, she immediately agreed and turned around to go back into the house to get the egg.

In those days, if a family's chickens laid eggs, they would usually be reluctant to eat them themselves and would save them to sell. So it wasn't a problem for Jiang Ru to ask her to buy them.

Moreover, Pei Wu's body needs nutritional supplements right now, so Jiang Ru had no choice but to come to Aunt Zhang's house to buy them.

Aunt Zhang went inside and took out an egg, handing it to Jiang Ru. Jiang Ru paid Aunt Zhang the market price, and before Aunt Zhang could refuse, she quickly grabbed the egg and ran away.

Holding the hard-won egg, Jiang Ru carefully placed it on the stove and started cooking.

She cooked a little extra porridge today, including eggs, and carried the plate into Pei Wu's room.

Perhaps he was immune to her presence; Pei Wu was no longer surprised by her entering his room. However, when he heard the door open, he still instinctively sat up straight and stared intently at Jiang Ru.

Jiang Ru brought the porridge into the room, glanced at Pei Wu's bed, and asked, "Can you get up?"

Pei Wu's gaze fell on her, and he nodded.

This time, he didn't need Jiang Ru's help. He got off the bed by himself and slowly sat down at the table. He even took the time to ask Jiang Ru if she had eaten. It didn't matter whether Jiang Ru ate or not; he was more afraid that Pei Wu would starve to death, so he urged him to eat quickly.

Pei Wu's face was no longer as pale as before. Perhaps it was because he had drunk porridge earlier. A little color gradually returned to his face, but he still looked sickly.

After he finished a bowl of porridge, Jiang Ru handed him an egg, gesturing for him to eat it. Pei Wu paused for a moment, then refused, saying, "You eat it, I won't."

After he finished speaking, Jiang Ru decisively picked up the egg, tapped it twice on the table, and began to peel it.

Pei Wu didn't pay attention to her actions. He was a ruthless man. If it were any other child, they would probably be swallowing their saliva by now, but Pei Wu didn't.

Jiang Ru slowly peeled the egg and waved it in front of Pei Wu's eyes, but Pei Wu remained completely unmoved.

Jiang Ru asked, "You really don't want to eat?"

Pei Wu shook his head: "I won't..."

His words were abruptly cut off halfway through. His eyelashes drooped, and he stared straight at the hand in front of him. Jiang Ru took the opportunity to stuff an egg into his mouth.

The hand in front of him was very white, with long, slender fingers. The delicate hand held an egg and placed it near his mouth.

Pei Wu was caught between a rock and a hard place.

If the egg went into his mouth, Jiang Ru wouldn't be able to eat anymore, but he couldn't eat meat right now. Pei Wu stiffened his body, reached out, and took the egg away.

Jiang Ru laughed: "I knew it..."

However, Pei Wu turned his back and took the egg out of his mouth. Fortunately, the egg only lightly touched his lips and he didn't actually bite it.

Pei Wu stared coldly at the egg in his hand. Jiang Ru had never seen such a stubborn person. She pointed at Pei Wu and said, "You really won't eat it?"

Pei Wu shook his head firmly.

Jiang Ru laughed in exasperation: "It's still because of that so-called mourning period."

Pei Wu nodded.

Jiang Ru gritted her teeth: "You say you won't eat them, but what about these eggs? You're wasting food. Do you know how I got these eggs? Do you know how hard it was to come by? Do you know how much labor will be wasted if you don't eat them?"

Pei Wu: "..."

Pei Wu was also caught in a dilemma. In his mind, wasting food was an unforgivable sin, but he could not violate etiquette, nor could he give away the food he had eaten. He was truly caught in a dilemma.

While he was struggling with his thoughts, Jiang Ru would lift her chin and look at him, as if to see what kind of reaction he would have.

Pei Wu remained silent, but Jiang Ru could no longer bear it: "Are you going to eat or not? My porridge is getting cold. If you don't eat it, I still want to eat it."

She hadn't eaten yet, but she was prioritizing Pei Wu's needs, leaving him hungry while he struggled with his decision. Naturally, Pei Wu couldn't accept that.

Sure enough, as soon as he said that, Pei Wu tried to put the egg back in the bowl, saying, "You eat first, then I'll..."

"If you don't eat, I won't eat either," Jiang Ru said defiantly. "Hurry up, or what will I do if you starve to death?"

Seeing that Pei Wu's expression was softening, Jiang Ru pressed on, appealing to his emotions and reason: "Cousin, you are my only family now. If you die, what will happen to me, a weak woman? I will die too."

As she spoke, she squeezed out two genuine tears.

Pei Wu's gaze fell on Jiang Ru's exaggerated acting face, but his heart stirred slightly.

Although his cousin was from an extremely distant relative, she was still his cousin no matter what.

If she is telling the truth, then there's nothing to worry about if Pei Wu is alright. But if something really happens to him, then he's the only one Jiang Ru can rely on.

When one is ill, one should drink alcohol and eat meat. This is a special case for him. Pei Wu lowered his head and slowly ate the egg that Jiang Ru had cooked for him.

Jiang Ru finally breathed a sigh of relief. Actually, she wanted to buy meat from Aunt Zhang today, but in this era, people would save meat for festivals and New Year's celebrations. If she bought it, it would only cause trouble for others.

I can go to the market in a couple of days and buy it then.

Having given her frail cousin a little more life, Jiang Ru felt refreshed and picked up her bowl to go outside.

The porridge was still warm on the stove. Jiang Ru had anticipated that it would take time to persuade Pei Wu to eat the eggs, so she deliberately left a little fire burning.

The porridge is now at a perfect warm temperature, just right.

Jiang Ru gulped down a bowl of soup. The door to the west wing creaked open, and Jiang Ru looked up to see a white figure walking out of the room and slowly approaching her.

Pei Wu placed the copper coins in his hand on the table: "Thank you very much for taking care of me today, cousin. I am very grateful, but I can't let you spend money. This is for buying eggs. You must accept it."

A note from the author:

----------------------