Chapter 59: Taking Serious Responsibility for the Eldest Brother

For Du Yun, ensuring that her honest family lived safely and happily was already the greatest blessing. For this goal, she worked quietly and diligently. The supplies she had saved couldn't simply be brought out directly; Du Yun felt as though she possessed a treasure trove she couldn't use. So, she had to make efforts through the current means available—the nearest was to make pastries and sell them for money.

After dinner, Du Yun took out the vegetables she had prepared and made pastries. In order to improve her family's conditions as quickly as possible, she used up all the remaining glutinous rice flour, making a full four large trays. The leftover bits from the edges were kept as snacks for her family, while the rest were carefully packed away to sell at the town the next day.

The following morning, before dawn, Du Yun was ready to head to town again, carrying her basket, naturally accompanied by her second brother, Du Huai. After their shared experience on the mountain, Du Yun and Du Huai had grown closer; unlike before, when they walked in silence, Du Yun would now occasionally speak to Du Huai, who responded briefly. The atmosphere was much improved.

Du Yun continued to sell pastries beside the toy stall. Business was good, and she gradually became acquainted with the kind-hearted woman there. By afternoon, only two pieces of pastry remained unsold, so Du Yun gave them to the woman, who thanked her repeatedly, delighted.

Clutching the ten yuan she had earned from selling pastries, Du Yun felt immensely successful. Earning money steadily like this to improve her family's life—even though it was slow—felt secure and reassuring.

Du Yun began to plan in her heart: she could earn about ten yuan per market trip. After deducting costs, she could easily save five yuan. That meant fifty yuan a month, six hundred a year.

With this much money, she could finally look forward to improving her family's life: first food and clothing, then building a big house, and finally helping her brothers marry. Du Yun thought joyfully—if not for the looming threat of the zombie world hanging like a sword above their heads, such days would be perfect.

Thinking of the zombie world, Du Yun's mood cooled. She couldn't let the ease of her family life make her forget the dangers of that world—it was a matter of life and death.

When she left, her eldest brother and the others were preparing to head into the city. That was probably the best chance to leave the zombie world; she wondered if they'd still be there when she returned. If they were, it would be fine. If they had already left and she was alone in the zombie world, that would be terrible.

There was also the matter of supplies. She had a new bow and was learning from her grandfather how to make arrows, storing as many as possible in her storage compartment for convenience. She had prepared food, but carrying drinking water for more than ten days was no easy task—she'd need to prepare carefully.

There were many things she needed to get ready, and since she was at the market, Du Yun decided without much thought to buy everything she might need in the zombie world.

Weapons-wise, just a bow and arrows seemed insufficient. Du Yun pondered and decided she needed a sharp knife or sword as well. With only ten yuan on hand and needing to buy things for her family, she set her sights on the supplies in her storage compartment.

With that thought, Du Yun couldn't sit still. She immediately found a secluded corner, glanced around to ensure no one was nearby, and concentrated, sending her mental strength into her storage compartment to search for items of value that her family wouldn't need.

"Food can be kept for the family to eat, fabric can be used for clothes, but the miscellaneous things from the general store—I don't even know what's useful." Du Yun searched high and low for a long time, but couldn't figure out what could be traded for weapons, and felt secretly discouraged.

Feeling somewhat dejected, Du Yun left the corner, but not ready to give up, she wandered around the blacksmith's shop. Seeing those gleaming kitchen knives and dusty furnace pipes, she briefly imagined herself hacking at zombies with a cleaver, shivered involuntarily, and decided to postpone the matter.

After wandering the market without finding anything worthwhile, Du Yun focused on buying ingredients for her pastries and prepared to head home. With her hard-earned money, she went to the grain shop, bought ten pounds of glutinous rice flour, and half a pound of sugar.

Actually, she had sugar in her storage compartment, but it was brought back from the zombie world and lacked a legitimate source here. If she used it without buying any sugar, people might wonder about the sweetness in her pastries—hard to explain.

With the rice flour and sugar purchased, Du Yun hoisted the sack and prepared to leave town. The day was hot, and carrying the flour soon made her sweat. As she neared the outskirts of town, she suddenly heard someone calling her.

"Xiao Yun, Xiao Yun!" Turning around, Du Yun saw a tall young man about twenty, and a boy of fifteen or sixteen, running quickly toward her. These two were none other than her eldest brother, Du Song, and her cousin from her uncle's family, Du Yang, who was her age.

"Eldest brother, third brother!" Du Yun was slightly startled to see them. In her memory, both were apprentices in the county town—why were they suddenly here in town?

"Why did you come to town? I saw you from afar and almost didn't recognize you!" Du Song clearly thought it odd to see Du Yun in town, quickly taking the heavy load from her shoulders.

"I tried making some snacks, brought them to town to sell," Du Yun said with a hint of guilt, seeing Du Song's disapproving expression.

"Nonsense. You're just a child, selling food all by yourself—what if someone tricked or robbed you?" Du Song frowned at Du Yun's frail appearance, full of disapproval. "Father, mother, and big sister shouldn't let a little girl wander around!"

"Eldest brother, I asked to do this," Du Yun replied, feeling a little guilty. This brother was just as she remembered—tall, strong, with a scholarly air unusual for a villager. No wonder he could be an apprentice in a big shop in the county.

"What do you mean you asked?" Du Song's eyes widened, looking rather intimidating.

"Big sister's wedding is coming soon. I thought she should stay home and rest, so I came out to earn a little money to help with her dowry," Du Yun said, her voice growing softer and more hesitant as she spoke.

"It's all because I haven't done well enough—you’re so young and already have to help support the family," Du Song's face darkened, clearly blaming himself.

"Eldest brother, don't say that. I'm part of the family too, with hands and feet—why shouldn't I work?" Du Yun smiled, tugging at Du Song's sleeve. His guilty attitude made her feel awkward all over.

"By the way, why did you come back?" Du Yun remembered the earlier topic.

"Big sister's wedding day is near, and I just got paid, so I came back to see everyone," Du Song said, smiling slightly as he gestured to the bulging bundle on his back, filled with many things.

"Ah!" Du Yun exclaimed softly. She knew her sister's wedding date, but hadn't realized it was so soon!