Su He followed the Xiao family into the main room.
The room wasn’t large. An old wooden table sat in the center with four low stools, and the tabletop was worn white in places, clearly showing its age.
Wang Guixiang quickly brought out the meal.
A basket of black flour flatbreads and a basin of clear soup, without a single speck of oil floating on top.
“Mother, we actually have flatbreads today!”
Xiao Yue looked delighted, even swallowing her saliva.
Wang Guixiang glared at her. “Keep your mouth shut. Your brother just got back from fighting, he needs to eat more.”
With that, she pushed two flatbreads in front of Xiao Zheng.
Then, she split one flatbread into two halves, handing them to Xiao Jun and Xiao Yue respectively.
Finally, Wang Guixiang turned her attention to Su He, sizing her up with a frown.
“Can you… eat coarse grains?”
The border was nothing like the capital. Black flour flatbreads were already considered decent here, but people from the prosperous capital usually looked down on them with utter disgust.
Some even fell ill within two days simply because they couldn’t stomach the food.
“I can eat it.”
Su He nodded without a moment’s hesitation. Was this a joke?
In the apocalypse, she had routinely eaten molded food. Even though these black flour flatbreads were coarse grain, they were a luxury by comparison.
However, looking at the portions on the table, she couldn’t help but steal a glance at Xiao Zheng.
With a physique like his, could he ever get full on this?
Seeing her response, Wang Guixiang finally handed her a flatbread from her hand.
“Eat up.”
Su He took the bread and thanked her, while Xiao Zheng had already picked up his first piece.
A few massive bites, and one flatbread was completely gone!
“…” Before Su He could even register it, she watched Xiao Zheng wolfing down the bread.
The second piece.
The third piece.
Xiao Zheng ate incredibly fast, yet not rudely. His movements were just exceptionally efficient, as if he had long grown accustomed to eating this way.
The flatbreads in the basket quickly dwindled by half.
Xiao Yue stole a glance and muttered softly.
“Eldest Brother is starving again.”
Wang Guixiang sighed. “Who wouldn’t be starving after coming back from battle?”
As she spoke, she pulled another flatbread from the bamboo basket and handed it over to him.
Su He did a quick calculation in her head.
In just a brief moment, Xiao Zheng had already devoured five flatbreads.
Looking at his robust, muscular frame, she nodded silently in full understanding.
This physique… truly drains the rations!
At this thought, a crystal-clear goal formed in her mind.
To keep this man properly fed, she absolutely had to farm grain!!
And she had to grow it in large quantities, and grow it fast.
As if sensing her gaze, Xiao Zheng looked up at her. “You’re not eating?”
Hearing this, Su He lowered her head and immediately took a bite of her bread.
The black flour was quite hard, and the coarse bran scraped against her tongue, tasting rather astringent in her mouth.
Yet Su He reacted as if she felt nothing, her expression devoid of any disgust.
In the apocalypse, she had eaten far worse. This food was already considered excellent to her.
“…….”
From the corner of his eye, Xiao Zheng was also observing his new wife.
The girl was eating very earnestly, without a trace of reluctance or any sign of forcing herself.
It was as if living like this was completely ordinary to her.
Xiao Zheng knit his brows slightly, finding it a bit strange.
Wasn’t she a first-class maid from a Minister’s estate?
Faced with such coarse food, she actually ate it so calmly?!
Could it be that she had gotten used to it on the road of exile?
Xiao Zheng suppressed the doubts in his heart. Regardless, it was a good thing she could adapt to the new environment so quickly.
Perhaps this new wife wasn’t as troublesome as he thought.
In fact… she seemed rather low-maintenance.
Su He chewed slowly, and soon picked up her second flatbread.
Xiao Yue, who was originally burying her face in her soup bowl, suddenly paused her movements, her eyes widening bit by bit.
She quietly nudged Xiao Jun. “Second Brother, look.”
Xiao Jun looked up and was also stunned for a moment.
By the time Su He finished her fourth flatbread, she finally took a sip of the soup.
Her expression remained completely calm, as if she didn’t think anything of it.
At this moment, the main room fell dead silent.
“Sister-in-law… you can really pack it away too,” Xiao Yue couldn’t help but exclaim in awe.
Su He froze for a moment, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“I’m a little hungry today.”
This was the truth. During her time under escort, this body hadn’t once been fed to satisfaction.
Furthermore, as a superpower user from the apocalypse, her natural appetite was slightly larger than that of an average person. For a moment, she had inevitably lost control and eaten a bit too much.
Seeing that the siblings, Xiao Jun and Xiao Yue, didn’t look completely full, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt. Stepping through the door only to grab other people’s rations really wasn’t great.
However, she lowered her head and looked at her hands.
A subtle warmth stirred at her fingertips, and her confidence suddenly returned.
Grain—she could grow it!
Wang Guixiang stared at her for a long while before suddenly nodding.
“It’s good that you can eat! A good appetite means you have a solid frame.”
Then, she shot a glance at her eldest son.
“The two of you actually make a good match.”
One was a bottomless pit.
The other could really pack it away too.
By the time the meal was finished, not a single crumb was left on the table.
Su He felt her stomach was about sixty to seventy percent full, but throughout the entire meal, she had tasted almost no flavor.
Setting aside the black flatbread—which was not only rough enough to scrape her throat but also incredibly hard—the porridge in her bowl was merely water with a hint of rice flavor, clear enough to reflect a person’s shadow.
There were a few wild vegetables, but the taste of salt was so faint it was almost imperceptible.
Yet, she still finished every bit.
Five years of life in the apocalypse had drilled into her the habit of never wasting a single drop of water or grain.
But this wasn’t the apocalypse anymore.
This world had supplies; the resources were just limited.
Su He looked down at the empty bowl in front of her, her eyes darkening slightly.
Since there were supplies and she had the capability, she wasn’t going to starve or suffer anymore. She needed to improve the family’s meals and raise their standard of living as quickly as possible. Given the ability and the right conditions, she naturally wanted to eat her fill, dress warmly, and live a comfortable, good life.
“Ah Jun, Ah Yue, you two clean up the bowls and chopsticks.”
Wang Guixiang stood up and began assigning tasks. She clapped her hands, then looked at her eldest son.
“You just got back from the camp. Don’t busy yourself today; just rest well at home.”
“It’s fine, I…”
The moment Xiao Zheng spoke, he met his mother’s glare.
“Your injuries aren’t even healed yet, behave yourself!”
After scolding him, Wang Guixiang’s gaze landed back on Su He.
Looking at this newly arrived daughter-in-law, she felt a bit stuck for a moment. The girl was brought home, but she was still wearing that worn-out criminal slave prisoner garb, without even a single change of clothes.
“Wait here a moment,” she instructed Su He, then turned and walked into the inner room.
A brief moment later, Wang Guixiang returned, having dug out a neatly folded set of clothes from a chest—a light pink, old outfit.
The fabric was somewhat aged, but there was virtually no wear and tear, showing it had been meticulously kept.
She walked out with the clothes and handed them directly to Su He.
“Here! Take it!”
“For me?” Su He was stunned.
Wang Guixiang glared at her. “Who else?”
With that, she muttered another line.
“I wore it when I was young. Just make do with it for now. We can’t have people saying a daughter-in-law of the Xiao family looks like a beggar, can we?”
The words weren’t pleasant, but Su He felt a warmth in her heart.
Wang Guixiang cleared her throat, her tone remaining stiff.
“A new bride entering the household needs a bit of festive cheer anyway. Just take this as your bridal attire.”
“Yes, I like it very much.”
Su He smiled as she accepted the clothes.
Though the fabric was old, it was very clean and even carried a faint scent of soap pods.
She looked up at Wang Guixiang. This woman spoke harshly, yet her eyes revealed a lingering reluctance to part with the item.
“Thank you, Auntie.”
Wang Guixiang immediately frowned. “What’s there to thank? Once you step through this door, we’re family. Go wash up in a bit and change into it.”
With that, she waved her hand and walked out.
Su He gently stroked the fabric. Having kept it for so long without giving it away, could these clothes have been reserved for Xiao Yue’s future wedding?
Yet now, she had brought them out and given them to her…