Rebirth of a Star General

Chapter 3: Let Me Show You How to Split It

He Yunsheng frowned and asked, “What did you say?”

He Yan remained motionless and repeated seriously, “I said, the way you’re splitting firewood won’t do.”

The young boy became impatient, “He Yan, if you’re sick, go back to your room and stop causing trouble here.”

“The way you’re splitting it, you won’t finish even by nightfall,” He Yan said calmly.

He Yunsheng seemed to suddenly get angry. He let go of the axe, and it fell heavily on the flagstone, making a loud noise. He took a step forward and said angrily, “If it weren’t for spending money on your illness, Dad wouldn’t have sent away the servant. You even know it will take until nightfall to split it. If you haven’t split firewood before, then don’t act like you know it all! If you’re so good at it, why don’t you do it yourself?!”

He Yan’s heart stirred; she realized that there was a servant in the house, but due to their poverty, they had to send the servant away to pay for her medical expenses. This young boy had taken on the servant’s work. Judging from his appearance, he had accumulated a deep resentment towards his sister. He mocked and ridiculed her without any courtesy.

Being poor also had its advantages. For instance, there was no one in the courtyard, and the awkward situation between the siblings wouldn’t be witnessed by others. If it were in the previous He or Xu families, it’s likely that the maids would have formed an audience like an army unit.

He Yunsheng expected He Yan to get angry and curse him, but to his surprise, this time, she didn’t curse him. Instead, she bent down, picked up the axe he had thrown on the ground.

As she held the heavy axe, her delicate white wrist seemed as if it couldn’t bear the weight, making people feel worried.

He Yan looked at her hand and furrowed her brows slightly. She couldn’t even lift the axe properly. Compared to her previous self, she was indeed far worse off.

He Yunsheng was puzzled and asked, “What are you doing?”

“I’ll show you how to split it,” He Yan replied.

He Yunsheng became even angrier, “Stop trying to confuse things, you…”

Before he could finish his sentence, a loud “bang” interrupted him.

He Yan had already swung the axe and split the firewood in front of her neatly in two.

“See?” She said, “It’s simple. You shouldn’t grip the front of the axe, but the end of the handle, and split along the grain of the wood. It’ll save you a lot of effort.”

He Yunsheng stared at her dumbfounded. After a moment, his face turned red, and his tone was almost furious as he pointed at He Yan, “You, you, you, you really have ulterior motives! Your hand… Dad will definitely scold me when he sees it! He Yan, you’re so scheming and cunning!”

“Huh?” He Yan was puzzled. But in the next moment, a panicked female voice rang out, “Miss, you’re bleeding!”

He Yan instinctively looked down and saw that the palm of her hand had been scraped open at some point, and there were bloodstains on her hand, surprisingly still somewhat attractive.