The incident traumatized Hao Dani deeply. She had already accepted that her father was a drunkard who beat people, but for him to sell his own daughter was something she couldn't accept.
Since she was young, her father had never even given her food. Sometimes, he would leave and not return for a week. She still remembered when her father tried to kill her, but luckily her brother, Hao Ruofei, came and beat him.
Her father fainted and never dared to beat or scold her again. Her brother was her protector, teaching her many things, including medical knowledge, though she had no idea where he had learned it. There were rumors that her brother had beaten a scholar from the same village and forced him to teach him how to read. But then her brother would bring meat for the scholar's family, silencing the rumors.
However, when it came to medical knowledge, she didn't know who had taught him, and he never shared it with others. He only kept it between them and once told her, "One day, I will open a hospital for the villagers." Eager to help her brother, she diligently learned from him.
"That old man is no longer our father; he's the reason we lost our mother," Ruofei said sternly.
"I understand, he will no longer be our father," Hao Dani replied.
Even though it was his first time meeting his biological sister in this world, those long memories filled the gap, and he truly loved Dani as his sister.
That night was a long one for Hao Ruofei. He didn't sleep until 1 a.m. because he was busy reading novels on his book tablet. He did this to figure out what kind of future he wanted to build. With his reading speed, he managed to finish two books.
The first was Bandit Emperor, and the second was about a woman who transmigrated with a spatial jade. After reading them, he finally decided what he would do in the future.
The next morning...
"Dani, I need to confess something," said Ruofei.
"What is it, brother?" asked Dani.
"Yesterday, something happened to me," Ruofei said, showing her a jade stained with a bit of blood. "Do you see this?"
"Is that jade? You told me before that jade is green, so why is there red on it?"
"This is my blood... Actually," Ruofei then explained the mall system to her. He conjured an item out of thin air, which left Dani in shock.
........
It has been two days since they started living in this mountainous area, but they still couldn't find anything to sustain their lives.
Farming? The land was unsuitable for growing crops. How could they irrigate the top of the mountains? When they looked around, they realized that all the suitable land for farming had already been taken by the villagers.
Teaching? They could open a school for commoners, but the mountain was too far from the county. They also held the title of exiles, so no one wanted to learn from them. Even the villagers here were poor, so how could they ask for a fee?
Hunting? Yes, they could do that, but the resources were limited, and only a few prisoners knew how to hunt from their time in the army. With over 300 exiled people, they needed a lot of food to survive.
That morning, they gathered together in the horse shed.
"How much of our savings are left?" asked the ex-general.
"Around 93 taels."
"It's not much. We need to find a job so we can survive."
"The real question is, how?"
"Should we meet the village leader?" someone suggested.
So, they went to meet the village leader. Upon hearing their situation, even the village leader was dumbfounded.
"I don't know how to help you. I wanted to suggest opening a school for the villagers, but you have more than 300 people stranded here," said the village leader.
"Thank you for your help, we understand," they replied.
Suddenly, they saw Hao Ruofei coming down from the mountains, carrying a cow weighing around 1,000 jin, approximately 500 kg, on his right shoulder. They were amazed. How could a human lift a cow as if it were cotton?
An idea suddenly struck them—maybe this man could help them.
"Hi, Mr. Ruofei," they greeted him.
"Yeah, what can I help you with?" replied Ruofei.
They explained their problem, and upon hearing this, Ruofei felt happy. He really needed people right now.
"If I hired you, would you do it?" asked Ruofei. "Even if I asked you to build something?"
"Yeah, we'll do it, as long as it's not something immoral," they replied.