“Father, Mother, Brother Beichen and his family are secretly eating chicken behind our backs!”
The moment Xiao Zou stepped through the gates of the old Song family home, she began shouting at the top of her lungs.
“You have no idea what I just saw! That wretched girl Xiaoyu actually stewed two whole chickens! In times like these, when food is scarce everywhere, they’re being outrageously wasteful!”
Her voice was so loud that even the neighbors several houses away could hear every word.
At that moment, Xiao Wang had just finished cooking a pot of wild vegetable porridge. She carried it to the table alongside a plate of shepherd’s purse scrambled eggs, which was meant to be the family’s dinner.
“Why are you yelling so loudly?” Old Man Song scolded with a frown. “Lower your voice. Aren’t you afraid people will laugh at our family?”
Even as he spoke, resentment had already begun brewing in his heart.
So the first branch had been hiding things from them all along.
The moment Old Madam Wu heard the news, her sallow face turned pale with fury.
“Zhou Rong, that shameless woman!”
She slammed her hand against the table.
“She must have been whispering in Beichen’s ear all this time! If I’d known earlier, I would’ve forced him to divorce her. She causes nothing but trouble day after day!”
“In the past, Beichen never dared disobey us. If it weren’t for her stirring things up, how could he possibly have demanded a family separation?”
Song Beishan’s eyes immediately began to flicker with calculation.
His eldest brother’s family knew how to hunt.
If they were allowed to live comfortably after leaving, they might never return.
“Mother,” he said thoughtfully, “although Brother Beichen has separated from the family, we’re still blood relatives.”
“Now they’ve gotten hold of meat, yet they didn’t even think of bringing any to honor Father and Mother first.”
“That’s completely lacking in filial piety.”
The more Old Madam Wu listened, the angrier she became.
Even the wild vegetable porridge and scrambled eggs on the table suddenly seemed tasteless.
Just then, Song Beishan’s two sons, Song Youde and Song Youyi, began making a scene.
As Old Madam Wu’s favorite grandsons, they knew exactly how to get what they wanted.
Both boys threw themselves onto the ground and started rolling around while crying loudly.
“Grandmother! Even that useless girl Song Xiaoyu gets to eat chicken! I want chicken too!”
“That’s right! Giving chicken to the first branch is a waste!”
After saying that, Song Youyi puffed out his chest proudly.
“Once I eat chicken and grow strong, I’ll pass the imperial examinations, become an official, and take Grandfather and Grandmother to the city to live in tall mansions!”
The old couple immediately beamed.
Their smiles stretched from ear to ear.
Clearly, these were the same words Song Beishan constantly fed to his sons.
Unable to bear seeing her precious grandsons upset, Old Madam Wu stood abruptly.
“Beihai!”
“Xiao Wang!”
“Come with me. We’re going to collect that chicken from Beichen’s family.”
“Tonight, my two precious grandsons are eating chicken no matter what!”
Xiao Wang secretly frowned.
She also had children.
Unfortunately, her son Song Tiedan had inherited his father’s simple and honest nature.
Because of that, Old Madam Wu never favored him.
Even if they managed to take the chicken back, the majority would undoubtedly go to the third branch.
By the time the grandparents and Song Beishan’s family finished eating, the second branch would be lucky to receive a few scraps.
Neither Song Beihai nor Xiao Wang wanted to get involved.
Unfortunately, they did not dare oppose Old Madam Wu.
…
Meanwhile, over at the thatched hut, Song Xiaoyu had already chopped both pheasants into bite-sized pieces.
To make a proper chicken pot, the meat needed to be marinated first.
Making sure nobody was paying attention, she secretly retrieved light soy sauce, oyster sauce, pepper powder, and cooking wine from her medical space.
She poured the seasonings over the chicken and mixed everything thoroughly with her hands.
After covering the bowl with a lid, she set it aside to marinate.
Next, she washed her hands carefully and began preparing the mushroom chicken soup.
The hen pieces were first blanched with ginger slices before being transferred into a clay pot.
After adding salt and plenty of water, she set the pot over the fire to simmer slowly.
Their family possessed very few cooking utensils.
Aside from a rusty iron wok, they only had a cracked clay pot, which Village Chief Wang’s wife had kindly lent them.
As Song Xiaoyu focused on cooking, sweat gradually appeared on her forehead despite the freezing weather.
Nearby, Zhou Rong finished shaping the steamed buns and began rolling out thick hand-pulled noodles.
Before long, a rich and enticing aroma filled the air.
Zhou Rong couldn’t help moving closer.
The moment she lifted the lid from the iron wok, her eyes widened.
“Xiaoyu!”
“I never knew you could cook like this!”
“This smells incredible!”
She took several deep breaths before turning to inspect the clay pot.
Immediately, another cry of surprise escaped her lips.
“The soup is even better!”
“It smells just as good as the dishes from the restaurants in town!”
After simmering for so long, the broth had turned a beautiful milky white.
The fragrance of chicken blended perfectly with the fresh scent of mushrooms, making anyone who smelled it hungry.
Song Wen and Song Wu quickly crowded around.
Both stared at the food without blinking.
Their throats bobbed as they swallowed repeatedly.
Even their stomachs began rumbling loudly.
When the noodles were finally finished, Zhou Rong and Song Xiaoyu each took a bowl.
The men ate steamed buns instead.
Since they had neither table nor stools, the family spread dry straw on the floor and sat together around a piece of oilcloth.
For ordinary farming families, cooking oil and salt were luxuries.
Many households could barely afford either.
Aside from Song Xiaoyu, nobody present had ever eaten food that looked, smelled, and tasted this good.
Fearing that her two sons would devour everything too quickly, Zhou Rong immediately picked out several pieces of chicken and placed them into Song Xiaoyu’s bowl.
“Father, Mother, drink more soup.”
Song Xiaoyu filled bowls for her parents.
“It’ll help strengthen your bodies.”
Her considerate behavior made Song Wen and Song Wu look even more like greedy gluttons by comparison.
Zhou Rong immediately tapped both sons on the forehead with her chopsticks.
“Look at you two.”
“All you think about is eating.”
“You’re no different from a pair of pigs.”
“My little cotton jacket is the only one who knows how to care for me.”
“Mother!”
Song Wen protested.
“I was just about to give you this chicken leg!”
He quickly placed a large chicken leg into her bowl.
Not wanting to fall behind, Song Wu hurriedly added several pieces of meat to Song Beichen’s bowl.
“Father, eat more.”
“The sooner you recover, the better.”
Song Beichen and Zhou Rong exchanged smiles.
For a moment, warmth filled the little hut.
When has their family ever experienced such happiness?
Back at the old Song family home, every meal depended entirely on Old Madam Wu’s mood.
She always gave the first branch the smallest portions.
By the time it was their turn, only a little broth remained.
Even when Song Beichen returned from hunting with meat, Old Madam Wu would secretly hide it away and sneak it to the third branch after dark.
Of course, Song Beichen knew all of this.
But she was still his mother.
What could he say?
Just as the family was enjoying their meal, Zhou Rong suddenly heard movement outside.
Looking up, she saw several figures approaching.
The moment she recognized them, her expression darkened.
“Mother? Brother Beihai? Xiao Wang?”
She immediately stood and walked forward.
“What are you doing here?”
Without hesitation, she blocked their path.
There was no way she would allow them near the food.
The family had already separated.
Yet these people had appeared precisely when dinner was ready.
Their intentions were obvious.
The moment Song Beihai saw the food, his eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.
Every bowl was piled high with chicken.
The aroma alone made his mouth water.
So, Xiao Zou had been telling the truth.
The first branch really was eating meat.
Old Madam Wu nearly exploded when she saw everyone happily eating.
One hand planted firmly on her hip, she pointed accusingly at Song Beichen and Zhou Rong.
“Beichen!”
“So this is why you insisted on separating from the family!”
“You’ve been hiding wealth for yourselves!”
“You unfilial wretch!”
“You’ve been completely bewitched by this woman!”
“Now you don’t even care about your own parents!”
“If the Song family ancestors knew about this, they’d climb out of their graves and beat you to death!”
Zhou Rong lowered her head under the barrage of insults.
Song Beichen clenched his fists tightly.
Yet even now, he could not bring himself to argue with his mother.
Seeing their parents being bullied, Song Wen and Song Wu’s eyes turned red with anger.
Before either brother could react, Song Xiaoyu stepped forward.
She placed herself directly in front of Zhou Rong.
Then she grabbed a thick wooden club lying nearby.
Raising it, she pointed the end straight at Old Madam Wu’s face.
“You old witch.”
Her voice was cold and sharp.
“Stop pretending this is about filial piety.”
“You’re just greedy for our chicken.”
“Don’t use righteousness and family duty to blackmail my parents.”
“At your age, don’t you have any shame?”
“These pheasants were caught by me this afternoon after our family separated.”
“They belong to my family and no one else.”
“And yet you actually came all the way here to beg for food?”
Song Xiaoyu tightened her grip on the club and sneered.
“Get the hell out.”