The old lady had only gone out to clear the weeds in the yard, but when she returned, she saw her little granddaughter making steamed buns one by one, slowly steaming them in a small steamer.
This item was left behind by the previous owner of the house and was somewhat old. Grandma was a diligent person and had cleaned the old kitchenware thoroughly.
“Xixi, where did these coarse grain steamed buns come from?”
Their color was darker and distinct from white flour buns, so Grandma thought they were made from coarse grains.
Shen Xixi had already prepared an explanation: “On the way, I met a hunter from the village and traded a pheasant for some white flour.”
She had already rehearsed her story with Xiao Xingbao. With no food left at home, she didn’t want to keep eating vegetable porridge.
Earlier, she had checked and found a pot of vegetable porridge with only a few sparse grains of rice. Clearly, the thicker portion was for those helping out, while the watery, rice-scarce portion was for the family.
“A pheasant can be traded for this much white flour?” Grandma looked suspiciously at the remaining three or so pounds of white flour on the side.
After all, grain was precious these days. A pound of white flour was about the same price as pheasant meat, and a pheasant weighed only three or four pounds at most, even if it was large.
The little girl had steamed so many buns, using at least six or seven pounds of flour.
“Grandma, I mixed a lot of kudzu root into these. I didn’t use much white flour, which is why the color is a bit dark.”
“Oh, you silly child, we haven’t even tasted this stuff yet. Who knows if it’s edible? You shouldn’t waste good white flour on it.”
Grandma grew anxious upon hearing this. “Let me try it first!”
She wasn’t being greedy; she just wanted to test if it was poisonous. Her expression, as if facing certain death, made Shen Xixi chuckle.
“Grandma, it’s not poisonous. I already tasted it raw earlier, and it’s fine. The doctor said it can be eaten both raw and cooked. I begged the doctor to give me a piece to try, and it tasted just like the one I dug up. I definitely didn’t get it wrong.”
“Oh, this is sweet and tastes much better than black flour steamed buns. The texture is fine and doesn’t stick in the throat.”
Grandma looked pleasantly surprised. Just then, Liu Taohua returned, looking somewhat disheveled.
“Mother, what happened to you? Why is there mud on your clothes!”
“Yes, Da Shan’s wife, did you fall or get into a fight?”
Grandma set down the steamed bun and anxiously examined Liu Taohua’s clothes. Several places were torn, and there were scrapes on her skin, with bloodstains seeping through the fabric.
“Wah… Mother, the eldest branch of the family won’t let us live! They called a bunch of people to pull out all the radishes and vegetables left in the fields they allotted to us.”
“And… wah… they even cut down all the rice in the fields!” As she spoke, she collapsed to the ground, crying uncontrollably.
“What? Those heartless wretches! The rice won’t be ripe for another month. Cutting it now will only yield empty husks. They don’t want us to have a good life! I’ll go fight them to the death!”
With that, she grabbed a broom from outside and rushed toward the old house.
Furious, she ran so fast she didn’t look like a woman in her fifties.
“Wenxing, hurry and check on your grandma! She’s gone to the old house to fight! Third Brother, come with me quickly!”
Liu Taohua panicked. If the old lady got too angry and something happened, or if she was bullied by the eldest branch, what would they do?
Wenxing and Shen Hong, who were still working, hurried over to ask what was wrong. Upon learning the reason, the two young men’s eyes turned red.
“Third Uncle, let’s hurry! We can’t let Grandma be bullied!”
Shen Xixi also followed the few family members as they ran toward the old house.
Having overheard their conversation, Xiao Xingbao dashed ahead swiftly. Shen Xixi instructed him to invite the Zheng family.
“You shrew! Feng Shi, don’t think I won’t hit a woman!”
Friendly reminder: If you can’t find the book by searching its title, try searching by the author’s name—it might have just been renamed!
Settings
The old lady had only gone out to clear the weeds in the yard for a short while, but when she returned, she saw her young granddaughter making steamed buns one by one, slowly steaming them in a small steamer.
This steamer had been left behind by the previous owner of the house and was somewhat old. Grandma was a hardworking person and had washed the old kitchen items very clean.
“Xixi, where did these coarse grain steamed buns come from?”
The color was darker and different from white flour, so Grandma assumed they were coarse grain steamed buns.
Shen Xixi had already prepared her excuse: “I ran into a hunter from the village on the road and exchanged a pheasant for some white flour.”
She had already coordinated her story with Xiao Xingbao. There was nothing to eat in the house, and she didn’t want to keep eating vegetable porridge.
She had checked earlier; there was still a jar of wild vegetable porridge with only a few scattered grains of rice being cooked. Clearly, the thick portion was for those helping out, while the watery part with barely any rice was for the family.
“A pheasant can be exchanged for this much white flour?” Grandma looked at the remaining three jin or so of white flour with a suspicious expression.
After all, grain was precious nowadays. A jin of white flour was worth about the same as pheasant meat. A pheasant only weighed three or four jin at most, and that was considered large.
The young girl had steamed so many buns; she must have used at least six or seven jin.
“Grandma, I mixed a lot of kudzu root into this. I didn’t use much white flour, which is why the color is a bit dark.”
“Oh, you child! We haven’t even tasted this stuff yet. Who knows if it’s edible? You went and steamed it with white flour—don’t let good things go to waste.”
Hearing this, Grandma got anxious. “Let me taste it first!”
It wasn’t that she was greedy; she just wanted to check if it was poisonous. Her “ready to die for the cause” expression made Shen Xixi feel a bit amused.
“Grandma, it’s not poisonous. I already tasted it raw earlier, and it’s fine. The doctor said this can be eaten both raw and cooked. I begged the doctor to give me a piece to taste, and it tasted just like the one I dug up. I definitely didn’t get the wrong thing.”
“Oh, this is actually sweet! It tastes much better than black flour steamed buns. The flour is fine and doesn’t choke your throat.”
Grandma looked pleasantly surprised. Then Liu Taohua returned, appearing somewhat disheveled.
“Mother, what happened to you? Why is there mud on you!”
“That’s right, Da Shan’s wife, did you fall, or did you get into a fight with someone?”
Grandma put down the steamed bun and anxiously inspected Liu Taohua’s clothes. They were torn in several places, and she had some scraped skin with blood seeping into the fabric.
“Wuhu… Mother, the eldest branch of the family isn’t going to let us live. For the fields they allocated to us, they called over a bunch of people and pulled up all the remaining radishes and vegetables.”
“And… wuhu… they even cut all the rice in the fields!” As she spoke, she collapsed onto the ground, crying hysterically.
“What? Curse them! The rice is still a month away from being ripe. Cutting it now means it’s all empty husks! They just don’t want us to have a good life! This old lady is going to go risk her life against them!”
Saying this, she grabbed a broom from outside the door and rushed toward the old house.
She was so furious that she ran incredibly fast, not looking at all like a woman in her fifties.
“Wenxing! Quick, go take a look! Your grandma has gone to the old house to fight for her life! Third Brother, come with me quickly!”
Liu Taohua grew frantic. If the old lady got so angry that something happened to her, or if she was bullied by the eldest branch, what would they do?
Wenxing and Shen Hong, who were still working, hurried over to ask what happened. After learning the truth, both boys’ eyes turned red with anger.
“Third Uncle, let’s go quickly! Don’t let Grandma be bullied!”
Shen Xixi also followed the family members as they ran toward the old house.
Hearing the conversation, Xiao Xingbao ran even faster; Shen Xixi had told him to fetch Zheng Jia.
“You shrew! Feng Shi, don’t think I won’t hit a woman!”