Situ Dieer was distressed and had no mood to comfort Situ Yu. She walked into the kitchen, helped up Situ Zhi, who had fainted onto the floor, and stumbled back to the mud-brick house, ignoring Situ Yu who was still crying loudly at the kitchen door.
The older woman shook her head, thinking, "The young masters and misses of wealthy families are truly difficult to serve."
That night, the three siblings, with empty stomachs, huddled in the moldy mud-brick house, enduring the most difficult night of their lives.
Because they despised the dirty bed sheets and pillows, they hadn’t brought them back, and could only sit on the damp rotten wooden planks through the night.
Early the next morning, after a whole day and night of hunger, they no longer dared to despise the food as unpalatable, and gobbled down several black buns.
Strangely, the typically disgusting black buns unexpectedly tasted fragrant to them.
Just after finishing breakfast, the steward ca over and took the three siblings to the fields, pointed to a large paddy field ahead, and said, "Your task today is to weed. If the field is not weeded by noon, there will be no lunch."
After saying this, the steward left.
They were born into a wealthy family, always attended to by maids, and had never done heavy work. Initially, they refused to do it, squatting at the field’s edge in a daze.
Situ Zhi was off on the side catching frogs, busy and having fun.
By midday, the steward’s wife ca over to check and was infuriated, couldn’t help but point at them and shout, "You... you... you all really think you’re still the noble young masters and misses, but don’t forget, you’re now servants."
"You foul woman, what nonsense are you spouting?" Upon hearing the wife’s words, Situ Zhi flared up.
Steward: "You little brat, what’s the matter? Didn’t learn your lesson after being scolded by the old cook yesterday?"
The incident of Situ Zhi being knocked unconscious by the old cook had already spread throughout the manor.
Indeed, the forr Third and Fourth Misses and Little Young Master of the illustrious General’s Mansion suddenly demoted to servants was a huge news story. Moreover, the once rampant Little Young Master being knocked out by a cook beca a laughingstock, a topic of keen interest over tea and als.
Recalling yesterday’s embarrassnt, Situ Zhi’s face went completely red, as it was the first ti since growing up that anyone dared to hit him, let alone knock him unconscious.
Situ Zhi: "You... you... how dare you hit , I’ll have Grandma sell you."
The steward laughed and said, "Little Young Master, you still haven’t grasped the situation! Then continue dreaming of being a young master here."
After speaking, the steward let out a piercing laugh and turned to leave.
Situ Yu: "Third Sister, what does she an?"
Situ Dieer: "What else could it an? We’re not having lunch today!"
"Ah?"
Situ Yu, upon hearing this, crumpled her face into the likeness of a bitter lon. For the first ti in her life, she had gone to bed hungry the previous night, and her stomach ached terribly from the hunger. The feeling was worse than death, and she didn’t want to experience it again, so she said, "Third Sister, I don’t want to be hungry, I want to eat."
Situ Dieer was also afraid of hunger, but since they hadn’t worked that morning, by the rules, there was no food for them, so she could only comfort her: "Fourth Sister, just hold on a little longer. If we work hard this afternoon, we’ll have sothing to eat tonight."
Situ Zhi sat on the field ridge in defiance and said, "I won’t do it. Why should I do this filthy farm work?"
The three siblings, having not done the farm work in the morning, could only work the fields in the afternoon on empty stomachs. Situ Zhi continued his own ways, sitting on the field ridge playing with bugs.
By evening, they finally received two portions of food, which the three siblings had to share.
Thus, the three siblings settled into life at the manor in this way.
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