Farming In The Eastern Cultivation World-Chapter 72: Full at Last

The little girl softly said, "I haven’t eaten my fill yet, so it probably doesn’t count as a lot, right? But the amount I’ve eaten today is already like what I’d normally eat over three or four days!"

Im Beomhyeon and Second Uncle heard her clearly too.

Second Uncle grew even more self-righteous. He pointed at Yoon Areum and said to Im Beomhyeon, "Hear that? Rumi’s still hungry!"

Jeong Daehu, who had been watching Second Uncle feed Yoon Areum all day and had witnessed her wild gobbling with his own eyes, had only been drawn over now by Im Beomhyeon’s shouting.

Now, he couldn’t help but exclaim, "Dear heavens! A little girl like her ate that much and still isn’t full?"

Yoon Areum’s big eyes began to fill with tears again. "But I really haven’t eaten enough..."

Aunt Seo walked over, smiling. "Alright, alright, let’s all go eat."

At the mention of food, Im Beomhyeon forgot all else and rushed to the table.

Yoon Areum also wanted to rush over, and had already gotten into a running posture when she suddenly remembered Bok Taejin. She froze in place, turned back quickly, and stared pitifully at him.

The rice was served in large bowls.

Yoon Areum held a bowl nearly the size of her head and shoveled rice into her mouth with all her strength.

Second Uncle who is watches this scene felt his heart aching, so he kept piling dishes into her bowl.

One moment he was saying the meat was tender and easy to digest, the next praising the goose leg as full of meat and flavor, and then reminding her that a little girl shouldn’t eat only meat—she needed to eat vegetables too.

His own bowl was practically untouched; all his attention was on serving Yoon Areum.

Seeing this, Im Beomhyeon focused on eating in silence.

By the time he was full, the large table was left with only some meat scraps and seasoning.

He rubbed his stomach and sighed, "It’s been years since I’ve had to fight for food like that."

Second Uncle smacked the back of his hand with chopsticks. "You’re a grown man. Don’t you think you shameless enough to fight with a little girl for food? Don’t you feel embarrassed?"

Im Beomhyeon grinned sheepishly. "All I know is being hungry hurts."

Perhaps it was because she had spent more time in the village now, or maybe because Second Uncle pampered her so much, but Yoon Areum’s courage had grown a little.

She heard what Im Beomhyeon said and nodded vigorously in agreement. "Being hungry really does hurt a lot! I’ve been hungry for so long, but today... today I finally got to eat enough."

Bok Taejin fell silent.

He seriously suspected that the real reason Yoon Areum’s parents had sold her was that she had eaten them into poverty.

All that talk about a fever damaging her brain was probably just an excuse.

That would also explain why, after finding out he was from Hwayang Village, they had handed over their daughter so readily to him and Im Beomhyeon—without even caring whether they got shortchanged.

They probably knew very well that Hwayang Village had an abundance of food, and their daughter would finally be able to eat her fill there.

Im Beomhyeon reached out and poked Yoon Areum’s little cheek. "You little thing, you had to eat that much just to be full?"

Yoon Areum mimicked his earlier gesture and rubbed her belly.

After thinking for a bit, she replied with uncertainty, "I probably won’t need to eat this much all the time in the future, right?"

Suddenly, she asked anxiously, "If I eat too much, will you send me back?"

Before Bok Taejin or the others could respond, she was already frightened by her own assumption and quickly waved her hands. "I can eat less from now on! Just one full meal can keep me going hungry for a long time!"

"I’ll just eat plain rice..." she started, then glanced at the table and saw some leftovers. She immediately corrected herself, "I can just eat your leftovers too, really. Just... please don’t send me away, okay?"

She looked like she was about to cry, pitifully tugging at the hem of Bok Taejin’s clothes.

Maybe she thought Second Uncle doted on her more, so she let go of Bok Taejin and clung to Second Uncle’s arm instead.

"Second Uncle, don’t let them send Rumi away, okay? Rumi will be good..."

There was no need for anyone else to speak up.

Second Uncle immediately glared at Im Beomhyeon, then gently picked up the little girl and said with great affection, "Don’t worry, Rumi. If anyone dares to send you away, I’ll fight them with my life!"

Im Beomhyeon grumbled, "What’re you glaring at me for? Who said anything about sending her away? That girl’s Taejin’s disciple now—how could we send her off again?"

That reminder made everyone suddenly remember.

Seo Sowoo blinked his eyes and asked dumbly, "Taejin, is your immortal sect always this casual about taking in disciples? Then hey, what do you think—can I become an immortal disciple too?"

Im Beomhyeon burst out laughing in disbelief. "Do you wanna call him master now or what? If you want to become an immortal disciple, you’ve gotta apprentice under Taejin!"

Seo Sowoo shook his head furiously. "No way! Taejin’s younger than me—I can’t call him master!"

Everyone roared with laughter.

Yoon Areum didn’t really understand what they were saying, but judging from their tone and expressions, she was sure she’d be allowed to stay—and maybe even eat like this every day. So she grinned happily along with everyone else.

Seo Sowoo scratched his head and thought he’d come up with a brilliant idea. "Taejin, can you hook me up with another immortal sect? Cultivating immortality sounds amazing... Ouch! What was that for, Beomhyeon?"

Im Beomhyeon withdrew his hand and lazily blew on his knuckles. "Felt like hitting you. Got a problem?"

Seo Sowoo didn’t dare argue and just held his head with a wronged expression.

Im Beomhyeon stood up, stretched his arms, and locked his hands behind his head.