"Starting tomorrow, let's change from two meals to one. Being a bit hungry is better than starving to death!" Old Man Su said.
Lying in bed, Su Jiu sighed helplessly.
This family was too poor.
If Grandma Su and the others starved to death, with her tiny body left uncared for, she would likely end up dead too in the end.
So worrying…
Su Jiu spread out her Divine Sense, searching inch by inch throughout the house.
Just as Grandma Su had said, this house truly had almost no food left.
In the rice jar in Grandma Su's room, there was only a shallow layer of coarse grains left. Hanging from the roof beam was a small half-bag of dried wild vegetables. Other than that, there was nothing.
Su Jiu didn't give up; her Divine Sense continued to expand outward.
Finally, she found a small piece of sweet potato in the corner of the kitchen that had been gnawed down to a stub by rats. Inside a rat hole, there were also some old wheat grains hidden away, most of them already chewed beyond recognition.
Her Immortal Abode Space could make plants grow quickly.
Perhaps she could give it a try?
However, this body was too weak. Although her Divine Sense could penetrate that far, she couldn't retrieve objects from such a distance.
And just from this short effort, she was already exhausted and starting to feel drowsy.
After struggling for a while, Su Jiu fell back into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, before it was fully light, Old Man Su groped his way out of bed.
He planned to ask Oldest Brother to go with him to the river to break the ice and see if they could catch a fish.
Sitting idle would only deplete their resources, and besides, there was no stored food left at home.
Now, as soon as he opened his eyes, he worried about where to find food.
Grandma Su couldn't sleep either, so she simply sat up.
Hearing the commotion, Su Jiu waved her arms, babbling "yiya yiya" to get Grandma Su's attention.
"Oh, Xiao Jiu'er woke up so early today. Did she wet herself?" Grandma Su wondered curiously, reaching over and habitually feeling her little bottom.
The diaper was still dry; she hadn't wet herself.
Was she hungry then?
It seemed her Guai Nan was getting hungrier and hungrier.
"Don't worry, Grandma will go get you something to eat right away." Grandma Su put on her clothes and was just about to get out of bed and leave.
Lying in bed, Su Jiu suddenly started wailing at the top of her lungs.
This gave Grandma Su a huge fright, thinking something was wrong with the little girl, and she immediately picked her up.
Once picked up, Su Jiu clutched tightly to the clothes on Grandma Su's chest with one hand while pointing outside with the other.
"Oh, Old Man, come quick and see what our Xiao Jiu'er is trying to do?" Grandma Su exclaimed as if she had discovered a new world, astonished by the little girl's actions.
"The girl is pointing outside. Does she want to go out?" Old Man Su pondered.
"No, it's too cold outside. We can't let my Guai Nan get frozen again," Grandma Su immediately dismissed her husband's guess.
However, Su Jiu, held firmly in her arms, was determined to go outside.
If she wasn't allowed out, she would wail…
In the end, Grandma Su yielded to her tyranny.
She was truly afraid her Guai Nan would cry herself sick.
Grandma Su bundled her up thickly. As soon as they left the bedroom and entered the main hall, Su Jiu continued pointing outside.
Under her persistent guidance, Grandma Su finally ended up in the kitchen.
Once they were close enough, Su Jiu waved her hand and stored the small piece of sweet potato in the corner by the wall and the remaining wheat grains in the rat hole into her Immortal Abode Space.
After accomplishing this, she stopped fussing, obediently resting on Grandma Su's shoulder.
She was exhausted. Wasn't it tough for her, just to keep this family from going hungry?
But this body was really too weak. Besides eating well and sleeping enough, she needed to hurry up and cultivate.
"It seems my Xiao Jiu'er is so hungry she knows to go to the kitchen looking for food!" Grandma Su said cheerfully.
Hearing the commotion, Mrs. Zhang, the eldest aunt, got up and came out.
"Mother, why have you brought Jiu'er out? Are you going to warm some milk for her?" Mrs. Zhang asked as soon as she saw them, quickly stepping forward to help.
Su Jiu lifted her head at the sound.
Mrs. Zhang had a large frame and average looks. Apart from her somewhat sallow complexion, she was otherwise fine.
Unlike Grandma Su, who not only had a small frame but was also very thin. Her face had already lost much of its flesh, leaving only skin barely covering it. The clothes she wore hung loosely on her, as if a gust of wind could blow her over.
"Mother, let me feed Jiu'er. You should rest!" Mrs. Zhang reached out and took Su Jiu over.
Su Jiu, nestled against her, immediately felt an overwhelming sense of safety.
"Alright, you go ahead and feed her," Grandma Su waved her hand.
If Mrs. Zhang hadn't gotten up during the night and discovered Jiu'er abandoned in the snow, her Guai Nan would likely have been long gone.
In a way, Mrs. Zhang was the little girl's savior.
She felt reassured leaving the child in Mrs. Zhang's hands.
Carrying the child and holding the warmed goat's milk, Mrs. Zhang returned to her room.
Su Jiu, nestled against Mrs. Zhang, tilted her head and looked around curiously.
Eldest Uncle Su Xiangdong had been called by Grandpa Su to go ice fishing. Lying side by side on the kang were the three brothers, Su Zili.
Hearing footsteps, Su Zili instinctively poked his head out from under the quilt.
When he saw the little one cradled in Mrs. Zhang's arms, he jumped up excitedly from the kang: "Mom, you brought our sister to our room!"
He had adored his sister for a long time, but she had always been in Third Aunt's room before, and his parents wouldn't let him go there.
Later, she was raised in Grandpa and Grandma's room, and Grandma warned him not to disturb her.
Now, finally, their sister had come to their room.
"Mom, will Little Ninth Sister be raised in our room from now on?" Su Zili's heart raced, his hands trembling, eager to reach out and touch his sister's little face.
"Get lost, you brat! Don't scare Jiu'er!" Mrs. Zhang glared at her eldest son, placed the goat's milk on the kang, and carefully sat down while holding Xiao Jiu'er.
"Mom, let me help you feed our sister!" Su Zili persistently leaned in, picking up a small wooden spoon to try feeding her.
At this moment, the second brother, Su Ziyi, and the third brother, Su Zi'an, also poked their heads out.
They all stared eagerly at Su Jiu, cradled in Mrs. Zhang's arms.
Su Ziyi: "Our sister is so tiny!"
Su Zi'an: "Can I hold her?"
Mrs. Zhang: "No one is allowed to touch her! Whoever makes our sister cry will get a taste of my bamboo stick!"
Su Zi'an's outstretched little hand withdrew pitifully.
Su Jiu drank her milk while watching these little sprouts.
The eldest, Su Zili, was already nine years old this year; the second, Su Ziyi, was seven; and the third, Su Zi'an, was five.
Due to years of not having enough to eat, their most prominent feature was their thinness—sallow and emaciated, appearing short and small.
"Mom, our sister is so well-behaved. Why doesn't Third Aunt like her?" Su Zi'an stared at his sister, unable to understand.
He had always dreamed of his mother giving him a sister.
Now that he had Little Ninth Sister, he was overjoyed.
"Adult matters are none of your business, children!" Mrs. Zhang frowned, unsure how to answer and refusing to address the question.
In a big forest, you find all kinds of birds.
And people are no different.
Feng Qiulian inherently held a preference for sons over daughters, but this time, she had gone too far.
After finishing her milk, Su Jiu yawned and drifted off to sleep again, drowsy and content.
When she woke again, it was already noon.
She was back on Grandma Su's heated brick bed.
The courtyard was lively, with a group of rowdy boys crowding around the fish brought back by Old Man Su and Su Xiangdong, buzzing with excitement…
It had been too long since they last had meat.
They remembered the last time they ate meat was during last year's Mid-Autumn Festival, when Second Uncle had received a small portion of meat from the factory.
It had been so long that they had almost forgotten what meat tasted like.
This time, Old Man Su and Su Xiangdong had been lucky—they caught a grass carp weighing over three catties, plus three palm-sized crucian carp, enough for the whole family to enjoy a hearty meal.