Compared to the dilapidated shacks and thatched houses of other families in the village, the Tang family’s courtyard was quite well-built, complete with a main house and side rooms. However, Tang Laoer and Tang Laosan were lazy and cunning, and the courtyard wall, battered by wind and rain, had fallen into disrepair without ever being fixed.
Tang Tian easily found a small hole in the corner of the wall, slipped through it, and headed straight for the kitchen in the backyard.
The Tang family kept complaining that they were starving, yet on the stove sat half a basin of Coarse Rice Porridge and over a dozen Dark Flour Mantou. Even the sliced Salted Vegetable Strips were drizzled with sesame oil!
Tang Tian cursed them silently in her heart—a bunch of black-hearted, rotten-gutted scoundrels!
No wonder Tang Laotai always insisted on cooking herself—turns out it was all to cheat her and her three children into eating Bran Cakes while the rest of the family secretly enjoyed good food!
Her poor mother, who ate only one Bran Cake per meal, would save half to share among her three children. During the day, she washed clothes and worked hard; at night, she stayed up late to complete tasks assigned by the nearby military camp, mending clothes and stitching shoe soles.
It was nothing short of a miracle that the four of them hadn’t been worn down to death by such harsh treatment!
Listening carefully for any noise from the front yard, Tang Tian quickly located the remaining fifty-jin sack of coarse rice in the cellar and took it directly.
Climbing back up, she also took the basin of porridge, the mantou, the salted vegetables, selected five or six ceramic bowls and chopsticks, and an old clay pot.
Estimating that these would last her family about half a month, she exited the courtyard the same way she came.
Sure enough, not long after, Tang Laotai gleefully entered the backyard with her second daughter-in-law. “It’s just as well that those jinxes were driven out. This winter, we can eat well every meal without worrying about them finding out! Come spring, if they’re tough enough not to freeze to death, we can call them back to work. By then, wild vegetables will have sprouted, and we won’t have to waste our family’s grain!”
“Mother, you’re truly amazing, hehe, you’ve outsmarted sister-in-law completely!” Liu Meihua flattered cheerfully. As long as she didn’t have to work, anything was fine!
Tang Laotai was feeling proud, but as soon as she stepped into the kitchen, she let out a heart-wrenching scream!
“My porridge! My mantou! Which damned thief dared to rob our home!”
Hearing the commotion, Tang Laoer and the others rushed from the front yard, their eyes red with fury.
“Quick, search nearby! Catch the thief, catch the thief!”
The family frantically threw open the courtyard gate, ready to dash out, only to find two imposing horse carriages parked at the entrance, accompanied by over a dozen cavalry guards…
In the thatched shack at the village entrance, Li Qiushuang had managed to borrow half a bucket of water and was carefully feeding the children with a broken gourd ladle.
Eight-year-old Tang Hai, having quenched his thirst, patted his belly foolishly, clearly still hungry.
Eleven-year-old Tang Chuan was also awake, but having been weak since birth, he kept his eyes closed, conserving his energy to avoid troubling his mother at such a time.
Meanwhile, Tang Tian’s eyes darted around as she pondered how to bring out the porridge and mantou from her space. But no matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with a perfect excuse, so she simply gave up.
She sidled up to her mother and whispered, “Mom, last night I was burning up and thought I was going to die. But an old man in my dream gave me water to drink and taught me lots of fun tricks!”
Preoccupied with worries about the future, Li Qiushuang replied absentmindedly, “Be good, Tang Bao’er. Dreams aren’t real…”
“No, Mother, it’s real!” Tang Tian tugged her mother’s hand and lightly waved it before them.
Li Qiushuang’s vision suddenly blurred, and a pot of coarse rice porridge and a pile of dark flour mantou appeared on the kang, complete with bowls and chopsticks!
She gasped in shock, but her daughter’s small hand immediately covered her mouth.
“Mother, don’t shout! I’m afraid Grandma will come and snatch them back!”
Snatch them back?
Li Qiushuang’s body stiffened for a long moment before she abruptly pulled her daughter’s hand away, her lips trembling as she asked, “Tang Bao’er, did you… take these things from Grandma’s house?”
Tang Tian nodded emphatically. “Yes! Grandma hid them in the kitchen after she finished cooking, and I saw them!”
As she spoke, she waved her little hand again, and a bag of coarse rice appeared on the ground.
“And this! After Father died, the government gave us rice, but Grandma and the others have already eaten half of it!”
Li Qiushuang’s face turned pale, then green, then pale again. She wanted to say something, but her throat felt stuffed with cotton, and no sound came out.
Four years—a full four years—she and the children had endured eating wild vegetables and tree bark in spring and summer, bran cakes in autumn and winter, barely surviving yet continuing to struggle!
She had thought times were hard for everyone, that they were all enduring together. Even if her mother-in-law was biased, at most she might give Jinbao from the second branch some extra treats…
Never had she imagined that only she and her three children were suffering, while the rest were drinking rice porridge and eating mantou!
Even if she, as a daughter-in-law, was an outsider and not well-treated, the children were still Tang family blood.
How could their own grandmother and uncle be so heartless!
“Tang Bao’er, hide the rice bag! Don’t let anyone see it!” Li Qiushuang hoarsely instructed, then grabbed the mantou and shoved them into her second son and youngest daughter’s hands before turning to feed her sickly eldest son spoonful after spoonful of porridge.
Tang Tian nibbled on the mantou, finally feeling a sense of fullness in her stomach, which made her eyes crinkle with a smile!
There’s no wall in the world that can’t be torn down. As long as Mother saw more of the Tang family’s true colors, in a few days, the four of them could completely break free from the Tang family and live freely…
That night, Li Qiushuang tossed and turned, unable to sleep. One moment she thought of all the hardships and grievances over the years, the next she pondered her youngest daughter’s strange encounter, unsure whether to cry or rejoice.
She had intended to remind her daughter again at daybreak, fearing her young age might lead her to show off carelessly and risk being captured as a monster!
But in her half-asleep state, the door of their dilapidated straw shack was kicked open, startling her and the children awake.
Tang Laoer shouted from outside, “Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law! Mother wants you to come home immediately—my elder brother is back!”
Li Qiushuang leaped off the kang and flung the door open.
“What did you say? Your elder brother… is back?!”
“Yes, my elder brother isn’t dead. He’s already home…” Tang Laoer smiled oddly and added, “He even brought an honored guest with him!”
But Li Qiushuang didn’t wait to hear the rest—she was already running barefoot into the darkness.
Tang Tian, however, heard everything and felt something was terribly wrong.
She quickly jumped off the kang and hurriedly instructed, “Elder Brother, watch over Second Brother. I’m going to find Mother!”
Tang Laoer reached out to grab her but didn’t even catch a strand of his niece’s hair. He curled his lip and sauntered back after her.
The main hall of the Tang residence was brightly lit, with a crowd gathered around a burly man dressed in lavish robes, chatting and laughing boisterously.
Needless to say, this man was none other than Tang Dayong, who had returned from the dead. Years of military campaigns had carved deeper resolve between his brows, and his presence commanded authority.
Li Qiushuang stumbled into the room, pausing in momentary disbelief before recognizing her husband. She burst into uncontrollable sobs, throwing her arms around him in a desperate embrace.
“Wuwu… Brother Dayong, you’re alive! Wuwu… You’ve finally returned, you’ve finally come back! This isn’t a dream, it’s truly not a dream!”
Tang Dayong’s expression turned complicated, as if he wanted to say something, but someone nearby slammed a teacup down heavily.
A haughty woman’s voice cut through the air, “Husband, let’s not waste time. The capital affairs won’t tolerate prolonged absence. We should attend to serious matters!”
Startled, Li Qiushuang turned toward the voice, her heart sinking with sudden dread…