The bran paste was quick to make. Once the water boiled, they poured in the paste and stirred it for a while, and it was ready.
Shen Dong saw that there was not much wheat flour mixed into the bran Village Chief Lau had given them. It certainly would not taste good, but this was food that could save their lives. Having something to eat was already a blessing.
Shen Dong, who had gone hungry for so long, did not have much strength either. He had Shen Xi help support Shen Yuan. “Lift Big Brother’s head a little. I need to feed him the paste.”
Shen Xi followed every instruction, sniffling as he moved with care. His small, grimy hands cradled Shen Yuan’s head, while he did not dare look at the paste in the cracked pottery bowl.
Grrr…
Grrr…
Two hungry stomachs rumbled. Shen Dong scooped up the paste with a wooden spoon and stuffed it into Shen Yuan’s mouth. His little blackened face was solemn. “Third Brother, this is Big Brother’s food. We can’t eat it.”
Shen Xi lowered his head and swallowed hard. “I’m not eating. I want Big Brother to live.”
He knew that if Big Brother did not eat, he would die, and then Shen Xi would never have a Big Brother again.
Just as he no longer had a grandfather, grandmother, father, or mother.
His body fought to save itself, swallowing instinctively. After eating two bowls of bran paste, Shen Yuan finally felt alive again.
When he opened his eyes, he had just swallowed the last mouthful of bran paste. Now that he was conscious, his sense of touch was even sharper. Shen Yuan felt as though something had scraped his throat raw. The paste was so coarse that it was difficult to swallow.
“Big Brother, you’re awake!” Shen Dong cried out in delight. He carefully set the empty pottery bowl on the ground, his bright eyes fixed anxiously on Shen Yuan. “Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Are you still hungry?”
Shen Yuan had inherited the original body’s memories, and it seemed he had also inherited his feelings for his family.
His gaze fell on the dried blood across Shen Dong’s forehead, and he froze.
He reached out, wanting to touch it but not daring to, afraid of hurting Shen Dong. His voice was hoarse. “Our Dongdong has suffered.”
There was no food in the house, and the grain jar had not been moved. The child’s forehead had been fine when he left, yet he had returned with a bloody wound. Shen Yuan knew that the food he had just eaten was something Shen Dong had begged for with his life.
He owed his life to Shen Dong’s endless kowtowing.
Shen Yuan gently stroked the back of the boy’s head and promised softly, “Big Brother won’t let Dongdong get hurt again.”
Shen Dong was completely dazed.
Looking at his big brother, he felt that Shen Yuan was not quite the same as before.
Before, there had always been a deathly air about Big Brother, as though he might disappear at any moment. But now it was different. Even though Big Brother was very weak, Shen Dong could feel the vigorous vitality within him.
And Big Brother seemed much closer to him.
Before, Big Brother had rarely spoken, much less called him so affectionately.
Shen Dong suddenly felt as though nothing hurt anymore. He was not supporting the family all by himself. He still had Big Brother to rely on. When he was tired or in pain, Big Brother would worry about him.
He was so content.
Shen Dong was actually very shy about having his head patted, but he truly loved this warmth, this feeling of being cared about and cherished. Uncomfortable yet unable to pull away, he could only keep his little body stiff and speak with feigned composure. “There’s still some bran flour left. I’ll make Big Brother more paste tonight.”
No matter what, Big Brother could not go hungry again.
After eating two large bowls of bran paste, Shen Yuan was still weak, but he could walk.
With some strength returning to his hands, Shen Yuan felt a little more grounded in reality.
Relying on the original body’s memories, he moved the grain jar to look for corn.
Every household’s grain jars and water jars were large pottery vats fired from clay, glazed inside and out. They had no decorations, and one of their defining features was that they were extremely heavy.
Seeing how hard Shen Yuan was struggling, Shen Dong and Shen Xi came forward to help, even though they did not know why he was moving it.
The two children were thin and frail as well, with hardly any strength. Grateful for their willingness to help, Shen Yuan secretly put in even more effort.
There were obvious signs that the soil beneath the grain jar had been disturbed. Shen Yuan crouched down and dug at it with his bare hands.
Before long, a small hole appeared, containing a little sack covered in dirt.
Shen Yuan pulled it out and opened it. Less than half of the yellow corn inside had already turned black. It was moldy.
There was also some gray dirt mixed in. It was hardly fit to eat.
But Shen Dong and Shen Xi’s eyes lit up. Corn!
To them, even moldy corn mixed with dirt was better than bran.
Although they would not be able to eat this corn, at least their little sister’s food was secured!
Shen Yuan looked into the sack. In his former world, food like this certainly could not be eaten.
But in this place, everyone was accustomed to eating such food.
Their bodies had built up a resistance to it. At worst, they would get diarrhea. It would not kill them.
After going through such terrible hunger, and with the original body’s memories feeling so real that it was almost as if he had personally experienced them, Shen Yuan could not bring himself to throw the corn away.
The sack was small. If they ate their fill, the corn inside would only be enough for the Shen brothers to have two meals.
Shen Yuan listened to Shen Dong and Shen Xi’s stomachs rumbling without pause, then glanced at Shen Nan, who was huddled outside with their little sister in his arms, afraid to come in because he wanted some paste as well.
He filled in the hole and moved the grain jar back into place.
Shen Yuan poured all the corn from the sack into a large pottery basin.
Shen Dong assumed he was going to make food for their little sister. The family’s corn had generally been boiled into porridge for her.
They ate bran flour and bark flour mixed with wild greens.
Looking at the amount of corn in the pottery basin, Shen Dong felt puzzled.
His little sister’s meal was cooked once every two days, and one handful of grain was enough each time. Shen Dong had been cooking for her this past month, but Big Brother had done it before that. He should not have forgotten the proper amount.
When he saw Shen Yuan go to draw water, Shen Dong tugged at his sleeve to remind him. “Big Brother, you put in too much rice. Little Sister can’t eat that much.”
“It’s not just for Little Sister. Everyone is eating.”
Shen Yuan could feel that the children’s bodies had reached their limits as well. Every one of them was so thin they were little more than skin and bones.
If they went any hungrier, something serious would happen.
Not only the children, he also needed something nutritious so he could recover quickly.
The original Shen Yuan had only just found work carrying cargo two days ago. He was paid one copper coin for carrying five large bundles, which was only possible because he had happened to come across a cargo ship belonging to the Xie Family. The ship’s owner was kindhearted and willing to pay twice the usual rate for the labor.
For other jobs, the highest rate was one copper coin for ten large bundles. If someone thought the pay was too low, they could simply refuse. There were plenty of others willing to do the work.
The original Shen Yuan had gone without enough food for so long, and had been so desperate to seize this opportunity to earn money, that he had overexerted himself and failed to make it through.
Now that Shen Yuan had just arrived in this world, whether he could find other work was another matter. But he definitely had to go back to this job tomorrow. Tomorrow would also be the final day, when he would collect the wages for the past few days.
Manual labor required a full stomach. After finally getting another chance at life, Shen Yuan cherished it dearly.
When Shen Dong heard that everyone would be eating, his eyes widened in shock.
The more outgoing Shen Xi raised his head and asked, “Big Brother, if we all eat it, what will we have for the days after that?”
He was genuinely curious.
Shen Yuan was amused by his strange question and startled expression. “We need to eat our fill to have the strength to work.”
Seeing that none of the children looked happy at the thought of having a full stomach, but instead wore deeply worried expressions, he could only reassure them. “It’s fine to eat one meal. Big Brother will get paid tomorrow. Then I’ll go to the grain shop and trade for more bran flour, enough to last us a while. Don’t be afraid.”
Knowing that they would still be able to get by, all three children let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
Shen Dong hurried off to light the stove, while Shen Xi squatted beside Shen Yuan’s feet and looked up at him, blinking his large eyes.
As Shen Yuan skimmed the spoiled corn floating to the surface of the water, he lowered his head to look at him. “What is it?”
Shen Xi grinned, revealing a row of little white teeth in his dirty face. He asked with great anticipation, “Big Brother, Big Brother, could you call me Xixi?”
He had heard Big Brother call Second Brother Dongdong, and it sounded so nice.
He wanted Big Brother to call him by a pretty name too.
Shen Yuan had thought it would be something serious, but it was only a child being affectionate. It was rather adorable.
He smiled. “Xixi, go draw another ladle of water for Big Brother.”
Shen Xi gave a loud reply, then sprang to his feet and hopped off to draw water.
Watching the child’s lively back, Shen Yuan chuckled again.
When he turned around, he saw Shen Nan squatting at the doorway with Shen Bei in his arms, pretending to be a mushroom. He kept his head lowered and did not say a word or look at anyone.
Shen Bei sucked on her finger and giggled foolishly. The four children all had completely different personalities.
A large pottery pot was set into the earthen stove.
Cooking the corn porridge took some time. There were no clocks here, and it was impossible to judge the time of day precisely by the sky. They could only estimate.
The sun was about to set, and darkness was approaching.
The fragrance of grain spread throughout the kitchen, and the children could not help swallowing repeatedly.
Shen Yuan did not keep them waiting. He took out bowls and filled each of them with a large, heaping serving.
He had the three children, Dong, Xi, and Nan, eat first. He served himself a small bowl of the thickest rice broth from the top and held Xiao Beibei in his arms to feed her.
Shen Yuan had grown up in an orphanage, where the older children took care of the younger ones. He had plenty of experience caring for children.
Feeding them was even easier.
Xiao Beibei was exceptionally well behaved. She neither cried nor fussed, simply opening her mouth whenever he fed her. When she finished, she stared at Big Brother and giggled.
Shen Dong and the others had not eaten fragrant corn porridge in a long time. The porridge was light and sweet, with a smooth, thick texture. The layer of rice oil soothed their stomachs. As it slid down, their entire bodies felt comfortable and at ease, and their throats did not feel the slightest bit irritated.
No matter how reluctant they were to finish it too quickly, a bowl was soon empty.
The children licked their bowls clean, and Shen Yuan felt his heart ache at the sight. He told them to fill their bowls again from the pot once they had finished.
The three children’s eyes were filled with longing for the food, but not one of them moved.
There was only this small amount of corn porridge to begin with. Being able to eat one bowl was already wonderful. The rest had to be saved for Big Brother and Little Sister. They could not eat any more.
Shen Dong shook his head. “Big Brother, you have to carry large bundles tomorrow, so you should eat more. Gathering wild greens doesn’t take much strength. One bowl is enough for us.”
Shen Xi and Shen Nan nodded along. No matter how Shen Yuan tried to persuade them, the three children refused to eat another bite.
Shen Yuan knew that they did not refuse because they did not want to eat. They wanted to eat very badly.
They were simply too obedient and sensible, afraid that if they ate too much, there would not be enough left for him.
He had to find a way to make more money.
He had to eat his fill, and he had to make sure his younger siblings ate their fill too.
After Shen Nan finished eating, he took the sleeping Shen Bei from Shen Yuan and timidly told him that he was going to take his sister to bed.
Shen Yuan nodded. “Thank you, Nannan.”
Shen Nan pressed his lips together and secretly blushed. His voice was very small. “I, I don’t mind.”
Shen Yuan watched the tiny little boy carry an even tinier baby away. He only looked back after Shen Xi took his hand and reminded him to eat.
Shen Yuan ate two bowls of corn porridge before stopping. He covered the remaining half-pot with a woven grass lid to serve as tomorrow’s food.
Here, people went to sleep once the sun set and rose when the sky began to lighten.
The Shen Family did not even have lamp oil. Once it grew a little darker, the room was pitch-black.
Shen Yuan felt his way to the bed. The four children were already sleeping in a row.
Just like the original Shen Yuan, he slept on the outermost side.
It was spring, but the mornings and evenings were still cold. They crowded together on a wooden plank that was not particularly wide, keeping out the dampness rising from the ground. They covered themselves with a worn quilt filled with reeds and willow fluff, which was not particularly large either.
It was still cold, with hardly any warmth at all.
Shen Yuan’s hands and feet were freezing, but he still pulled the worn quilt a little farther toward the children.
In his previous life, he had gone to Country F as a volunteer. Development there was extremely poor, resources were scarce, and the population was large. As a result, the children there often lacked clothing and food, and the food they ate every day even included dirt cakes.
Dirt could not be digested and would simply accumulate in the stomach. The children’s bellies swelled round, while their limbs were as thin as chopsticks.
They looked like thin chopsticks stuck into a ball, both bizarre and pitiful.
Because they ate so little and received no nutrition, the children had very weak resistance to disease. A minor chill could trigger a series of infections. Once their immune systems were compromised, it could easily cost them their lives.
The mortality rate among the children was extremely high.
The children here were only slightly better off than those in Country F. Shen Yuan did not dare take any chances.
After tucking the quilt securely around his younger siblings, Shen Yuan sighed in the darkness. It was not enough for them to eat their fill. They also needed warm clothes.