Waking up this morning to find his mother not at home, Zhengyang recalled her words from last night and knew she had gone to the county town. Seeing sweet potatoes buried in the embers of the fire pit, he felt completely at ease.
After eating breakfast with his younger sister, he banked the fire and went out to work. Collecting pigweed didn’t earn many work points, but it could still be exchanged for grain. His mother hadn’t been working these past few days, so as the man of the house, he naturally had to help shoulder more of the family’s burden.
So, the two siblings had gone out to gather pigweed. It was arduous work in this freezing weather; after a whole day, they had only filled one basket to hand in, earning a single work point. Having eaten nothing for lunch, the two were starving. They had wanted to come back and eat the sweet potatoes they had saved from the morning, but unexpectedly, their mother had beaten them home.
"Mom!" Xiuxiu called out loudly the moment she received her brother’s nod of approval. Ever since she was almost sold off, the little girl had grown exceptionally attached to her mother.
Bai Jiu was currently inside the house cooking rice. She had no choice—there was only one pot in the house, so she had to cook the rice first before stir-frying the dishes. Otherwise, by the time the rice was done, the vegetables would have long lost their flavor.
"Hey, Mom is here! Come inside quickly," Bai Jiu immediately replied upon hearing the shout.
As soon as the children entered the house, they saw a blazing fire in the pit and noticed that their mother had finished setting up the stove. Their eyes lit up.
"Mom, did our family buy a pot too?" Zhengyang asked. Children from poor families matured early; he knew that buying a pot like this must have cost a lot of money.
"We sure did. We’re having a feast today. Come here, you must be starving." Seeing the two children enter, Bai Jiu helped them take off their woven baskets. "Mom bought rice cakes and some glutinous rice strips in the county town. Eat these to tide you over for now."
These items didn’t require ration coupons, so she had bought quite a lot, and they were cheap too.
"Mom, you’re the best," little Xiuxiu said. Instead of taking the snacks, she threw her arms around her mother.
Bai Jiu knew that these two children were deeply traumatized. The original owner of this body had been so neglectful that whenever there was good food, she would eat it all herself rather than share it with her children. That was why Xiuxiu was so grateful to Bai Jiu now—simply because this mother actually saved food for them.
"You are my children. If I’m not good to you, who else would I be good to? Now that we have our own little home, just tell Mom whatever you want to eat. Mom will buy it and make it for you." Bai Jiu’s heart ached for these two. They had suffered far too much. It could be said they grew up steeped in bitterness; having parents had barely been any different from having none. The only saving grace was probably that their mother had managed to keep them alive within her limited means.
"Okay!" The two children beamed with joy. How could four-year-olds truly not care about delicious food?
"Alright, go wash your hands quickly. I’ll put these here for you. Mom is going to cook right now. You haven’t eaten lunch yet, have you?" Bai Jiu set the snacks down and gently detached Xiuxiu from her legs.
The two children were truly well-behaved and obedient. While Bai Jiu busied herself, Zhengyang ate his snacks while helping her watch the fire. Xiuxiu even braved the winter cold to help Bai Jiu wash the vegetables soaking in the basin. Even though she repeatedly tried to stop them, neither would listen. They insisted they wanted to help their mother, and how could Bai Jiu bear to disappoint them?
Just like that, the first meal in their new home was completed with the children’s help.
"Smells so good! Mom, the meat you make smells much better than what Grandma used to make." Zhengyang was practically drooling.
Bai Jiu had made braised pork, stir-fried shredded carrots, and a seaweed egg drop soup. Though there were only three dishes, this spread would be considered an absolute luxury even in the village chief’s home. It was no wonder Zhengyang was drooling at the aroma.
"If you like it, eat as much as you want in a bit," Bai Jiu smiled.
For the staple, she had cooked pure white rice without mixing in any coarse grains. The aroma was incredible; even city folks wouldn’t dare to eat so lavishly.
"Mhm." Zhengyang kept his eyes glued to the braised pork in the pot, not even blinking.
The scent of the food quickly wafted out, which was sheer torture for the elderly folks living in the same compound as Bai Jiu’s family. Xiuxiu was no better than her brother. She smacked her lips with a loud SMACK. If Bai Jiu hadn’t warned them that the food wasn’t fully cooked yet, the little girl would have likely dug right in with her bare hands.
Soon, after the sauce in the braised pork thickened, Bai Jiu lifted the lid. The soy sauce-braised pork inside was absolute perfection in color, aroma, and taste.
"Time to eat!"
There was a small table in the kitchen, left behind by who-knows-who. The rice and the dishes they had cooked earlier were already set on it. The table was placed right next to the fire pit, allowing them to eat while warming themselves by the flames. In this bone-chilling winter, the entire kitchen was baked in the cozy warmth of the small fire.
One side of the kitchen led directly into the bedroom. Although it was called a bedroom, the partition in the middle had long rotted away due to years of disrepair. Furthermore, since the stove was connected to the heated brick bed in the room, cooking on this side filled the living quarters with smoke. Bai Jiu couldn’t fix this structural flaw and could only leave the window open halfway. Precisely because of this, the people in the neighboring rooms were tantalized by the mouthwatering smell.
During this meal, the mother and her two children stuffed themselves until their bellies were perfectly round. Even Bai Jiu couldn’t escape the temptation of the rich meat.
"I’m so full." Bai Jiu leaned against the wooden wall and rubbed her belly. It had truly been a long time since she had overeaten like this, but it felt great.
"Mom, are we going to eat like this from now on?" Zhengyang looked at the empty bowls on the table, feeling a sudden pang of heartache. He hadn’t thought about it while eating, but now that he was finished, he felt intensely guilty. They had actually polished off so much food in just a single meal!
"How about we save a bit more in the future?" Zhengyang suggested with concern.
Bai Jiu was amused by his earnest little expression. "You little brat, your heart aches the moment you put down your bowl, but I certainly didn’t see you eating any less just now!"
After speaking, she vigorously ruffled the little guy’s hair.
"Rest assured, Mom knows what she’s doing. Our family’s life won’t be bad from now on, so just put your mind at ease." This little guy’s head was filled with entirely too many worries.
"At your age, you just need to eat well, sleep well, and play well. You don’t need to worry about anything else. Mom is here."
Her son was so sensible that it made her heart ache. In the modern era, children his age would still be acting spoiled in their parents’ arms.