Just as Xia Baozhu was contemplating the matter of taking the college entrance exam, her mother Lin Chunlan and eldest brother Xia Changzheng returned home.
Seeing the whole crowd gathered in the courtyard with Wang Zengdi still sobbing, Lin Chunlan frowned slightly.
Ignoring the silent exchanges between her daughters-in-law, she walked over and touched Xia Baozhu’s forehead. “No fever? Wang Chunmei said you fainted from a fever on the road. How could it be so serious?”
Xia Baozhu looked at her mother, who wore a neat and efficient Liu Hulan-style haircut, and pretended to be in low spirits as she shook her head. “I’m fine now. It might have just been heatstroke, and I hadn’t slept well. I took a bath in the afternoon and had a nap, so I feel much better.”
“Nonsense! How could you take a bath when you had a fever?” She turned to her second son and instructed, “Chang’an, go make your little sister a bowl of brown sugar poached egg soup.”
To Xia Baozhu’s surprise, Xia Chang’an obediently replied, “Okay,” and headed straight to the kitchen.
She quickly searched her memories and realized it was true!
Lin Chunlan rarely gave tasks to her two daughters-in-law but often assigned chores to her three sons.
Moreover, the eldest and second sisters-in-law, who had been arguing fiercely just moments ago, automatically stopped their quarrel and went to the kitchen to cook as soon as Lin Chunlan returned.
“Baozhu, come inside for a moment,” Lin Chunlan said, leading the way into the house.
Xia Baozhu was puzzled. So far, her impression of Lin Chunlan had been quite favorable.
In this era, most households followed the traditional division of labor: women managed the household, taking care of cooking, laundry, childcare, and serving the entire family. Even if they worked outside, it wasn’t in male-dominated fields like mechanics or welding.
The original host’s grievances toward her mother stemmed from the broader social environment. Gossip and idle talk had clouded her judgment, preventing her from seeing the truth. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her mother; no one had taught her that having such a mother was something to be proud of.
Xia Baozhu secretly wished Lin Chunlan would focus wholeheartedly on her career. If she were a housewife managing household affairs, living under her watchful eye, what if she accidentally revealed her true self?
But before she could even sit down after entering the room, she heard Lin Chunlan ask directly, “What happened to you today? You don’t seem quite yourself.”
Xia Baozhu: “…”
Stay calm! Stay calm! It’s nothing major!
She lowered her head with a pained expression and sighed. When she looked up again, her eyes glistened with tears. “Mom, I want to break off the engagement with Teng Fei.”
Lin Chunlan frowned. “Now you realize you need to wipe your nose after the snot’s already run down your face? I told you long ago that Teng Fei isn’t a good match. Even if you married him, you wouldn’t be able to handle him. Now that you’ve dragged it out this long, you finally understand what’s good for you. Tell me, what happened?”
Xia Baozhu quickly considered how the original host might have reacted. With an indignant expression, she said, “He’s seeing someone else! He’s a promiscuous man, and I don’t want him anymore! I want to report him for hooliganism—having a fiancée while fooling around with others. Just thinking about him makes me sick. It’s like I poured all my sincerity into a dog!”
She recalled all the heartbreaks from her past life and managed to squeeze out a few golden tears.
Lin Chunlan snorted coldly. “Like father, like son. Except for Teng Fei’s grandfather, everyone in the Teng family is a bunch of social climbers who look down on others. I told you, but you wouldn’t listen. At least you’ve come to your senses now. It’s not too late.”
No, it’s already too late. Your daughter’s heart was broken by that scoundrel, and she lost her life.
For a moment, she felt as if she had swallowed a live fly. She was utterly disgusted with Teng Fei. If it weren’t for him flirting around, she wouldn’t have been forced to travel back to the 1960s.
She didn't even need to act, saying bitterly, "I've thought it through completely. Tomorrow I'm going to the Teng family to break off the engagement, sever all ties with Teng Fei, and never have anything to do with him again!"
Lin Chunlan thought for a moment and comforted her, "I'll talk to your dad when he gets back tonight. As for reporting him for being a hooligan, forget it. Not only do you lack evidence, but you'd easily stir up trouble. In the end, there'd be a flood of rumors and gossip, and you'd be the one to suffer. However, I think if we don't make a scene, the Teng family won't admit they want to break off the engagement."
Xia Baozhu was just saying that anyway. Reporting someone for being a hooligan was too abstract—where would she get evidence? First, she needed to successfully break off the engagement and occupy the moral high ground. After that, she could hide in the shadows and take potshots.
She wondered if Teng Fei was the kind of protagonist blessed with great fortune. If so, making him suffer a little would be difficult.
Dinner was Dachazi Zhou with Huang Wotou and a large plate of stir-fried cabbage.
The cornmeal wotou of this era wasn't like the ones from later times that were mixed with refined flour. Xia Baozhu took one bite and choked—this stuff was rough on the throat.
Ye Qin and Wang Zengdi had both taken their bowls back to their rooms to feed the children. At the stone table sat the family of six, excluding her father, Xia Yongwu.
Xia Baojian snorted as he watched her holding a bowl of brown sugar water, "Eating alone again, Second Sister! Did you pretend to be sick just to eat a poached egg?"
Xia Baozhen glanced at her brother cheerfully, "You've already eaten your egg for the week. Your second sister has been in the countryside for two weeks and saved hers up. After eating this one, she can still have another."
"Why should she? Second Sister should also eat one egg a month. The teacher says that at eighteen, you're an adult. If you're old enough to marry or get married, you shouldn't pretend to be a child just to trick an egg out of us."
Xia Changzheng smacked him on the head, "Watch your mouth! You're punished—no eggs for you next week."
Xia Baojian pouted, wanting to cry, but then remembered he was already a ten-year-old man and held it in.
Xia Chang'an gloated, "Why do you never learn, kid? Your heart's so big it could be pulled out through your ass. Your second sister was only gone for two weeks, and you've already forgotten who's in charge. I think you're just asking for it."
Xia Baozhu twitched her lips. In these times, eggs were a scarce commodity, and their family even had an "egg treaty."
Children could eat one egg a week, while adults could only have one a month. The original host was placed in the children's camp, which had long annoyed the real child, Xia Baojian.
A couple of years ago, it was hard to buy eggs even on the black market. This year, things had improved somewhat. For a family like the Xia household to consume two jin of eggs a month was already quite luxurious.
Aside from boiled eggs and poached eggs, the family occasionally made tomato egg drop soup, using only one or two eggs for a large pot.
Before the famine, the factory used to issue Roudan Piao every month, with each ticket allowing the purchase of three liang of eggs.
As for quotas, eggs were too precious. Ordinary citizens didn't have fixed egg quotas, and in these times, chicken was more expensive than mutton, beef, or pork.
Xia Baozhu also gave her cheap little brother a flick on the forehead. Watching him cover his forehead angrily, she smiled and waved the poached egg in front of him.
"I could give it to you to eat. Are you sure you dare?"
The original host's status as the little tyrant of the family was no joke.
She had been physically and mentally exhausted lately and needed to replenish herself.
It was time to assert her family status. She placed the poached egg directly into her cheap little brother's bowl. "Eat it."
The next second, Lin Chunlan spoke up, "Put that back in your sister's bowl. Your sister is sick with a fever and needs nourishment. Tomorrow, you can have an extra bowl of egg drop soup."
As if receiving the ultimate command, Xia Baojian immediately picked up his bowl and dumped the fried egg back into hers.
Xia Baozhu: "…"
The experiment was a resounding success.
In this household, Lin Chunlan was the undisputed boss. As long as she was around, even the mice had to obediently huddle in the corners.
A mother whose authority commanded respect without anger, an eldest brother who rewarded and punished with fairness, a second brother who never took things seriously, a gentle and kind older sister, a bratty and petty younger brother, and two sisters-in-law busy pulling each other's hair—this was Xia Baozhu's first impression of her family.
It seemed, perhaps, maybe, possibly? Reluctantly? She was holding the script of the family's favorite?