“Little sister, didn’t you and Mother say you were going to the county this afternoon to buy a carriage? How are you going to go?” asked Xia Zhishun (Xia Jingzhi) as he looked at Xia Yan squatting by the chicken coop, drooling.
“Oh—today we’re not going. We’ll take an ox cart tomorrow morning. Second Brother, look at all these little chicks. Why don’t we kill that old hen and make fried chicken?” Xia Yan wiped her saliva and tempted him.
“That’s the only old hen we have at home. We can’t kill it. Wait until the chicks grow up, then you can eat them. Right now, it lays an egg for Mother every day!” Xia Jingzhi said in panic.
“Second Brother, Second Brother, listen to me. Look, it can barely walk anymore. It must be sick. Let’s just kill it and eat it. If we don’t, it’ll lose more meat soon,” Xia Yan said, drooling again.
The hen, hearing this, flapped wildly in the coop as if protesting: I’m not sick! I can still fly! Don’t eat me!
Xia Jingzhi saw the hen struggling like it was fighting for its life and quickly dragged Xia Yan away helplessly.
“Be good, little sister. Once the new house is built, I’ll definitely kill a hen for you then. For now, let it live a few more days, alright?”
“Second Brother, you’re talking to me like I’m a child,” Xia Yan muttered.
“You are a child,” he blurted out without thinking.
“Fine! You’re just tricking me! I’m not talking to you anymore!” Xia Yan turned and left in a huff.
Madam Wang Chunhua came back with clothes from Xia Zhiqiu just as she met Xia Yan.
She shoved the clothes into Xia Yan’s arms. “Where are you going now? Go change your clothes!”
“Mother, I want fried chicken. Kill the hen and make me fried chicken,” Xia Yan said casually.
“That hen is too old; it won’t taste good. I’ll pick a fat young chicken for you later. Honestly, I don’t know who you take after, always so greedy,” Wang Chunhua pinched her cheek.
“Hehe, of course I take after you,” Xia Yan smiled.
“I’m not greedy! Even your two four-year-old siblings are more sensible than you,” Wang Chunhua sighed.
“If you keep talking like that, I’ll run away from home again,” Xia Yan said proudly.
“Go ahead. Don’t come crying for me to pick you up again,” Wang Chunhua replied and walked off toward the chicken coop.
After changing clothes, Xia Yan came out holding a large bowl of strawberries. She washed them and brought them to Xia Zhiqiu and the two younger kids.
“Sister, come eat strawberries. I got them from a noble—very expensive, worth a thousand gold coins!”
“Did Mother and the others eat them?” Xia Zhiqiu asked.
“Second Sister, why are they called strawberries?” Xia Yuan asked.
“Why are they worth a thousand gold coins?” Xia Yunuo asked.
“I don’t know why they’re called strawberries! ‘Thousand gold’ just means very expensive! Stop asking so many questions!” Xia Yan snapped.
Later, Xia Yan brought strawberries to Xia Jingzhi and Wang Chunhua.
But Wang Chunhua refused. “The rice seedlings must be planted immediately. The fields need work before autumn harvest.”
“You already have so much land in the space, why bother farming outside?” Xia Yan complained.
“You think it’s easy to explain where all this food comes from? Your brothers and sisters aren’t fools,” Wang Chunhua explained.
They discussed farming and decided to transplant rice seedlings. The whole family worked under the sun until sunset, exhausted.
On the way home, villagers gossiped about them planting rice so late and mocked their household. Wang Chunhua remained calm, not responding.
After returning home, everyone rested and ate simply. That night, Xia Yan secretly entered her space, enjoying its comforts, while the outside world slowly changed…
And far away, gossip and rumors about their household quietly spread.