Rebirth of a Star General

chapter 3: I WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO CHOP

He Yun Sheng frowned and asked: "What did you say?"

He Yan stood still and repeated earnestly: "I said, you cannot chop wood like this."

He Yun Sheng was impatient: "He Yan, you are a sick person so go and rest indoors. Don't pick on me."

"If you continue chopping like this, you won't get it done until midnight." He Yan didn't move.

Seeing her being so obstinate and disrupting his work infuriated He Yun Sheng. The axe with which he was chopping slid from his hands and landed on the blue stone floor with a bang. He took a step forward, and growled: "If it wasn't for you getting sick and useless, our father wouldn't have sent the manservant away. You may not know, the money with which father paid the manservant was used for your treatment. You understand clearly that I will not get this job done until midnight, so stop bossing around since you don't know how to chop wood, either! Oh, if you think you are so good at it, go ahead and do it yourself!"

He Yan fretted... so this household did have a manservant who was sent away because they needed the money to get her a doctor. This young boy had to do the manservant's jobs in his stead. Seeing his little faced flushed with anger, He Yan knew he had been carrying a grudge against her for quite some time. He continued rambling on without wasting a second to catch his breath.

Yet, there were certain advantages of being poor. For example, there was no one in the courtyard to see the awkward situation between the two siblings. If it was the He or Xu Family, the maids might have already crowded to enjoy the show.

After finishing his long speech, He Yun Sheng waited for He Yan to stamp her foot and start swearing, but to his surprise, this time He Yan refrained herself from doing so. Instead, she bent down and picked up the axe he had thrown to the ground.

She was nearly pulled down by the weight of the axe and her thin wrist looked shockingly weak, as if it could not even withstand the weight.

He Yan stared at her hand and frowned slightly. This body couldn't be used to even lift up an axe. Compared to her previous body, this one was too frail and fragile.

He Yun Sheng was stunned by her action. He asked doubtfully: "What are you doing?"

"I'll show you how to chop," He Yan answered.

He Yun Sheng was even more annoyed when he heard that. "Stop fooling around, you..."

A loud 'thud' sound interrupted his words.

He Yan had already lifted the axe and chopped a piece of wood neatly into two.

"See," she explained gently, "It's easy. You cannot hold near the blade because it will take more effort to chop the wood. You have to hold the axe firmly at the end of the handle, like this..."

He Yun Sheng gave her a blank stare. In an instant, his face flushed, with a voice filled with anger, he pointed his finger towards her and shouted: "You... you... you...! I know you carry ill intentions towards me! Your hand... father will definitely scold me when he sees it! He Yan, you are really malicious and treacherous!"

"Huh?" He Yan was puzzled. The next moment, a young female voice sounded, full of panic, "Miss, you're bleeding!"

He Yan subconsciously lowered her head only to see her palm all torn up. Her heart stirred at the sight of those distinctive blood stains.

She only used an axe to chop a piece of firewood and her hand was already torn? Just how weak was this body? The eldest young miss of the He Family had never even moved a finger to work, what was she made up of, cotton and tofu?

He Yan was lost in her thoughts. The maid, Qing Mei, had rushed over to pull her inside the house.

She spoke in a hurried tone: "We should apply some medicine on it first, who knows if it will leave a scar behind..."