Who Made This Mantou? (3)

"Hey, you!" the wealthy girl in the class finally lost her cool and approached Yuan Ling. But instead of calling Yuan Ling by her name, she decides that simply shouting at her would be more than enough.

Unfortunately for her, Yuan Ling wasn't categorized as one of the herbivores in the class either. She might be an orphan that lived with her older brother, poor and weak background, but her talent was in the top ten in her class.

Suppose her family background was slightly more remarkable. In that case, she could even compete for a position within the top five in her class.

On top of that, Yuan Ling was merely a fourteen-year-old lass.

Her cultivation might be just around the peak of Foundation Realm's Second Stage, but that's more than enough for her stand against the other classmate's disturbance.

"Hey!" the wealthy girl in Yuan Ling's class shouts slightly louder this time, but she was still ignored. Furthermore, Yuan Ling is still enjoying her steamed bun without bothering to turn her head around to face this troublemaker.

"Do you think they're going to fight?" said one of the male classmates in the corner. Their attitude seemed to be more towards the neutral position, not taking any sides between the two.

"Maybe? I can't wait to see how would it turn out if two of our class' top ten students fought." another male classmate in the group around the corner added.

An argument like this was the best for them because it usually escalated to a brawl. And this was the only source of entertainment, especially during lunchtime.

"Are you deaf?" the wealthy girl slapped Yuan Ling's table with the bamboo-woven meal box. But the latter was a second faster to react. The meal box was already in between her hands when that slap left an indent on the table's surface.

Her action was a deliberate provocation for sure.

If Yuan Ling was just a second slower, her meal box would likely end up tragically in the wealthy girl's hand.

"Why should I answer you? My name is Yuan Ling, not Hey." Yuan Ling retorted. But her hand didn't stop there. Another steamed bun came in between her fingers while she replied to the wealthy girl's question.

Yuan Ling calmly takes a bite of her food while staring at the wealthy girl beside her. To the current Yuan Ling right now, nothing is more vital than her eating the fluffy steamed bun made by her beloved "Long-Gege."

"Fine." the wealthy girl concede slightly. And weirdly, she seems to be struggling from something smells nice.

It was also a little unfitting for her social class to address someone like this. If the other classmates run their loose lips outside, they would likely say something unpleasant about her misbehavior.

"Where did you get these steamed Mantous from? Did you steal them on your way to the school?" the wealthy girl asked. Her choice of words was still as sharp as before.

"What does it has to do with you?" Yuan Ling replied after she finished the steamed bun in her hand. A hint of anger is shown on Yuan Ling's face.

This was her first time bringing something to eat in class during lunch. Still, she had no idea that it would escalate into a situation where she would be considered a thief.

"Nothing to do with me? Do you think you're qualified to eat something like this with your background? Even if your family background is ten times better than now, you're still not eligible for such a delicate food."

"What else could it be, except you're stealing them?" the wealthy girl said.

Her words made Yuan Ling look around her. From the reaction of the others, it seemed that what the wealthy girl said made sense.

But making sense doesn't mean she could simply accuse Yuan Ling of stealing.

"Do you have proof that I stole these steamed buns? If you don't, then shut the hell up and suck up with it. I am not obliged to explain whats belonged to me. And even if I did steal them, are you expecting me to give them to you? Does it belong to you?" Yuan Ling retaliates.

Her retaliation made the wealthy girl turn speechless for a few seconds.

"Then, do you have the proof that they belong to you?" the wealthy girl struggled. She's still unwilling to take a step back even after Yuan Ling retaliates.

"I don't. But do you think that the teacher would let it be? Don't forget that while the academy is lenient in forcefully taking ownership of others' belonging, they condone the act of stealing."

"If you're found to be guilty of stealing... Heh..." the wealthy girl chuckled the more she spoke. There seemed to be a scene in her mind that could make her happy.

"I wonder what can you do if you get expelled from the academy before you turn fifteen and get accepted into one of the bigger sects," she added.

"Better be concerned about yourself, young lady. It wouldn't be nice if you fell down a few spots before all of us turn fifteen." Yuan Ling responded.

But instead of bickering with her, Yuan Ling decided to use the remaining time she had to finish the steamed bun left inside her meal box. Felt somewhat guilty if she finished everything up, she stopped after finishing the third and fourth piece of the same steamed bun.

The leftover could be made into dinner if her older brother wasn't in his optimal condition to make enough flour for their dinner tonight. A smile quickly appeared on her face, right at the moment her Long-Gege appeared in her mind.

The sweetness on her face is like a maiden in love.

Even the boys seated far from her couldn't help but be smitten by her smile. There was also a hint of floral sweetness that came uncontrollably from the slowly appearing Spiritual Essence after filling her stomach with Long Yuan's good food.

-----

'Well, this much should be enough, I think?' Long Yuan was in a conversation with himself while foraging around the outer circle of the woods. In his hand was a hurriedly woven basket made from the wheat's stalk he put together.

The basket here should have about a pound worth of Silvergrass Fruits from his rough estimate. And while he had the opportunity to do so, Long Yuan tried a few of them. The fruit might be hideous to look at, but the flavor it had resembles kumquats, citrus fruit with the size of an olive.

But in appearance-wise, the Silvergrass Fruit was closer to the size of blueberries. The greyish outer appearance of the fruit was also quite appealing, making it extremely obvious for foragers.

Although he's somewhat worried that he could encounter a ferocious beast, the curiosity within defeated all the worries Long Yuan had in his mind. By the time he realized it, Long Yuan was just two steps away from the nearest shrub with greyish-colored berries.

He had collected over a pound of the fruits by the time he realized that the sun was right above his head.

'I should quickly make my way home and start milling the flour. I might be able to make some fruity flavored bread if the time allowed me to do so.' Long Yuan rambled while carefully making his way out of the woods.

The way into the woods was easy, but there were quite a few obstacles when he tried to get out.

He immediately picked up his pace after getting out of the woods. Both of his hands were keeping the hurriedly-woven basket from breaking apart.

It was quite a challenging task, but Long Yuan eventually reached his home safely with all his harvest. After gently throwing the Silvergrass Fruit into a bucket and soaking it with water, Long Yuan brought himself and the crop basket to the threshing machine.

The threshing process was quite odd at first, but Long Yuan quickly got ahold of the process after a few repetitions. He also quickly found a few shortcuts that could be applied in his preparation to get the grains ready for milling.

Although he was more efficient than yesterday, the number of grains he had today was almost tripled compared to yesterday.

No matter how quickly he could, all of this intensive labor would definitely exhaust him before he arrived at the milling process.

But that's where the Silvergrass Fruit comes in.

Although the Spiritual Essence available inside these wild fruits was not worth mentioning, they are still worth a little after eating a few of them. And that tiny, unworthy amount of Spiritual Essence is what kept Long Yuan awake over the afternoon until Yuan Ling was home.

"Long-Gege!" that little lass seemed to be in a great mood today, based on how loud is her voice from afar. Still, Long Yuan was unsure if the affection between him and Yuan Ling came from his heart.

After seeing Long Yuan working with the quern, she sprinted back to the house. The unhappy thoughts that were in her mind while she walked home seemed to begone when she saw the face of her reliable older brother.

Without the need to call her to do anything, Yuan Ling automatically made her way out with two wooden buckets and started to refill the water vat with freshwater as usual. In meanwhile, Long Yuan was still working with the quern.

Perhaps because they both had something to eat in the afternoon, it was not as hungry as they thought.

In between the work, Yuan Ling also helped turn the quernstone when Long Yuan rested and ate some Silvergrass Fruits. It was already quite late when the siblings were done with the milling process.

But nothing beats the happiness of looking at the flour container about a third full. If the siblings could repeat this two more times, they would have more than enough for a week.

"Long-Gege, Ling-Er still have two buns left. Should I reheat them so we can share them?", the fourteen years old lass was smiling sweetly while she took the bamboo meal box out.