Shen Guozhong had no choice.
He told Shen Yao to go into the kitchen and ask Wang Yunzhi to steam enough rice for two extra people.
In rural households, rice was partially cooked in the morning and steamed again at mealtimes.
Since grain was scarce, people had developed the habit of calculating food portions precisely according to the number of people eating.
Adding two unexpected guests at the last minute was genuinely troublesome.
Shen Yao glanced at He Shi.
He looked completely oblivious to the inconvenience caused by showing up uninvited right before dinner, utterly unaware of how rude he was being.
She turned and entered the kitchen to explain the situation to Wang Yunzhi.
Wang Yunzhi had already overheard some of the commotion.
After hearing Shen Yao’s explanation, she felt the two educated youths were rather unreliable.
Still, guests were guests.
Now that they had already entered the house, she had no choice but to make arrangements.
Fortunately, there were plenty of snails and fish prepared.
The only troublesome part was making more rice.
Meanwhile, He Shi sat in the main room chatting with Shen Guozhong.
Yet from time to time, his gaze drifted toward the doorway leading to the kitchen.
The little girl had gone into the kitchen and stayed there forever.
At last he heard footsteps approaching.
But it was Shen Gang carrying dishes out.
Without realizing it himself, He Shi felt a faint disappointment.
His observations were subtle.
Shen Guozhong noticed nothing.
Even Song Jincheng, who had been secretly studying He Shi all evening because of his suspicions, failed to spot anything unusual.
Inside the kitchen, Wang Yunzhi took the fish that had just come out of the wok and carefully selected three pieces with plenty of meat and few bones.
She placed them into a large bowl that already contained several other dishes.
Then she handed the bowl to Shen Yao.
“Take this to your Fifth Great-Grandma.”
“Tell her we’ve got guests tonight and wanted her to have an extra dish to try. Come back and eat as soon as you’ve delivered it.”
Shen Yao paused before remembering who Fifth Great-Grandma was.
She was one of Shen Guozhong’s older female cousins.
The original Shen Yao’s grandparents had died early, and this elderly relative had helped their family considerably over the years.
Unfortunately, her only son had been killed in battle the previous year.
The loss had devastated her.
Not wanting to burden anyone, she had rarely left her home this year.
Since Fifth Great-Grandma lived nearby, and Shen Yao’s condition had clearly improved recently, Wang Yunzhi did not ask Shen Gang to accompany her.
Taking the bowl, Shen Yao informed Shen Guozhong where she was going and then headed out the door.
Song Jincheng asked Shen Guozhong, “Is Fifth Grandma the martyr’s family member from the village?”
Shen Guozhong nodded. “She’s my aunt by clan relation. My cousin was killed in battle last year. Now she’s the only one left in the family. She’s getting on in years, so whenever we can, we try to look after her.”
Hearing that the old woman’s only son had died in the war, Song Jincheng sighed with emotion and began talking with Shen Guozhong about the hardships faced by martyrs’ families.
He Shi, however, frowned slightly. The pleasure he had felt upon seeing Shen Yao faded from his eyes, and his thoughts drifted somewhere far away.
Fifth Grandma’s home had no courtyard, only a low mud-and-tile house. That military cousin had actually done quite well for himself. From the original Shen Yao’s memories, before his death he had already risen to company commander. Though she called him an uncle because of seniority, he had only been about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Unfortunately, Fifth Grandma never got the chance to enjoy the blessings of having such a son.
The door was left slightly ajar. Standing outside, Shen Yao called out, “Fifth Grandma.”
A voice from inside answered, “Who is it?”
Then came the slow sound of footsteps approaching.
“It’s me, Yaoyao,” Shen Yao replied.
The old woman quickened her pace. The house was small, and she emerged soon enough.
In the fading light of dusk, Shen Yao saw a gray-haired elderly woman, just as kind and gentle as she remembered from the original owner’s memories.
The old woman was delighted to see her.
“Yaoyao, what brings you here at this hour? Have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet. There was a team meeting just now. We have a few educated youths staying for dinner at our house, and my mother asked me to bring you some dishes.”
Seeing that the interior of the house was pitch black, Shen Yao took the old woman’s hand and asked, “Why haven’t you lit a lamp, Fifth Grandma? What if you fall in the dark?”
The old woman smiled until her eyes narrowed into slits and patted Shen Yao’s hand.
“I won’t fall. I’ve lived in this house my whole life. I could walk through it with my eyes closed. No need to waste kerosene.”
She lowered her gaze to the bowl Shen Yao was carrying.
It was a large bowl. On top were five or six pieces of soft-shelled turtle and fish, along with a few river snails. The snails beneath must have filled the rest of the bowl.
She exclaimed in surprise.
“Why bring such good food to me? I’ve already eaten dinner. Yaoyao should eat more herself. You’re so thin a gust of wind could blow you away.”
The original Shen Yao must have been very close to the old woman, because Shen Yao herself felt comfortable around her.
Smiling, she said, “There’s plenty at home. We didn’t buy it. Gangzi and I caught everything from the river, and my dad caught the soft-shelled turtle yesterday. If you’ve already had dinner, just have a taste. You can put the rest in the cupboard and heat it up tomorrow.”
As she spoke, she moved to carry the food inside.
Oddly enough, the old woman had walked out through the darkness without concern, but when Shen Yao started to enter the house, she became anxious.
“Wait there. Let me light the kerosene lamp first. Be careful not to trip.”
By now Shen Yao’s eyes had already begun adjusting to the darkness inside.
Supporting the old woman, she said, “I’ll go in with you. Since you live alone, it’s better to keep a lamp lit. Saving a little lamp oil isn’t worth getting hurt over.”
The old woman’s heart warmed at Shen Yao’s soft, gentle tone.
Then she suddenly realized something.
“Yaoyao sounds like she understands a lot more now.”
There was unmistakable delight in her voice.
The original Shen Yao had never spoken in an obviously foolish way. She simply did not think things through as carefully as the current Shen Yao did. So Shen Yao was not nervous at all.
Smiling, she said, “Really? My mother says I’ve become more sensible too.”
The old woman happily patted her hand.
“Good, good, good. Our Yaoyao is a good child, kind-hearted. You’ll have good fortune in the future.”
The house was small, only two rooms, an outer room and an inner room.
The two women felt their way into the inner room. The old woman struck a match and lit a kerosene lamp.
Shen Yao placed the bowl of food on a small table and noticed another bowl covered with a lid.
Lifting it, she found half a bowl of sweet potato porridge.
From her memories, ever since news of her uncle’s death had arrived, Fifth Grandma’s life had become increasingly difficult. Although she received government subsidies, they were limited. At her age, with no source of income, life was far from easy.
Most likely she had eaten only half the porridge and saved the remainder for breakfast the next morning.
The sight made Shen Yao’s heart ache.
Before coming to this world, she had never truly encountered ordinary people at the bottom of society, nor known how they lived.
The elderly women she had known were people like her own grandmother, the matriarchs of noble households, and the Empress Dowager in the palace, all of whom lived lives of privilege and luxury.
Fifth Grandma was not actually that old, only in her sixties, perhaps no more than two years older than Shen Yao’s own grandmother. Yet time had left far deeper marks on her. She looked more than ten years older.
Even the family of a production team leader struggled to get by, let alone a solitary elderly woman with no labor force in the household.
After setting down the bowl, Shen Yao urged her to eat a few pieces while they were hot.
The old woman was reluctant.
“If I eat too much at night, I won’t sleep well. I’ll save it for tomorrow.”
The weather was so hot that food spoiled easily. Shen Yao repeatedly told her that she had to eat it tomorrow no matter what and not let it go bad.
She added that there was no hurry to return the bowl, she could come collect it the following evening.
Then she found a plate from the cupboard and covered the bowl to keep mice from ruining the food.
Only after everything had been properly arranged did she prepare to leave.
Knowing Shen Yao still had to return home for dinner, the old woman did not keep her.
Instead, she carefully took out a clean handkerchief from a drawer, unfolded it, and revealed a piece of slightly softened malt candy.
She pressed it into Shen Yao’s hand.
“Take it as a little treat.”
The moment stirred memories belonging to the original Shen Yao.
Before Fifth Grandma’s son died, life had been comfortable for her. There had always been snacks and treats in the house, and the old woman had quietly given most of them to Shen Yao.
A little today, a little tomorrow.
She had treated her no differently than a beloved granddaughter.
Before the original Shen Yao’s accident, she had visited Fifth Grandma every day.
Back then she no longer came to receive treats. Instead, she came to keep the old woman company. Whenever her own family had something good to eat, she would bring some over.
She may have been simple-minded, but she had truly been a kind-hearted girl.
Since becoming Shen Yao, and because no one had mentioned Fifth Grandma, she had completely forgotten about her.
When Shen Yao left, the old woman followed her out on unsteady legs.
She escorted her more than a dozen steps beyond the house and stood there in the night, watching.
Only after seeing Shen Yao reach the Shen family courtyard and wave goodbye did she finally turn around and go home.
Inside the Shen family’s main room, He Shi kept glancing out the window.
At last, he saw the silly girl returning.
Standing outside the courtyard gate, she smiled and waved at someone.
Under the moonlight, she looked obedient and sweet, carrying a kind of gentleness he had never seen in her before.
For that brief moment, his gaze seemed glued to her face, unable to pull away.
Only when Shen Yao turned and walked back inside, lowering her head slightly so that the moonlight no longer illuminated her features clearly, did the spell finally seem to break.
Less than half a minute after Shen Yao returned home, Xu Xiangdong, who had gone across the river, came back as well. He was carrying a bottle of good liquor and cheerfully announced that everyone should have a taste.
Five dishes and a soup had already been set out on the table, making for a very lavish spread. The river snails made up the largest portion, with two full plates of them. Seven dishes in total filled the square Eight Immortals table nearly to capacity.
Shen Guozhong invited everyone to take their seats.
In Shen Yao’s original world, men and women over the age of seven were not supposed to sit together, but no such custom existed here. This place advocated women’s liberation and equality between men and women, so Shen Yao naturally adapted to local customs.
Well, that was not the most important reason.
The important thing was that sitting at the table meant she could eat more of the good dishes. She had truly suffered enough these past days.
The rural Eight Immortals table was square, surrounded by four long benches, each seating two people.
Song Jincheng and the other two young men all refused to take the seat of honor because of their age. In the end, Shen Guozhong and Wang Yunzhi sat at the head of the table.
Not wanting to sit too close to educated young men around her age, Shen Yao chose the seat on the right beside her mother, sharing a bench with Shen Gang.
Xu Xiangdong was quick-witted. The moment he saw Shen Yao take her seat, he casually, yet very swiftly, claimed the bench directly opposite the Shen siblings and sat facing Shen Gang.
Song Jincheng, who had been exchanging polite refusals with Shen Guozhong and was about to sit on the left beside him, paused in surprise.
Everyone knew Xu Xiangdong and He Shi were close friends. For a moment, Song Jincheng hesitated, unsure whether he should still sit there.
At that exact moment, Xu Xiangdong patted the seat to his right, the one directly facing Shen Yao, and said with a bright grin,
“Ah Shi, sit here. We don’t know much about village matters anyway. You can ask Uncle Shen more questions.”
Before the meal had even begun, Team Leader Shen had already become “Uncle Shen.”
Then Xu Xiangdong flashed another dazzling smile at Song Jincheng and patted the seat to his left.
“Educated Youth Song, come, sit over here. I’ve always admired cultured and knowledgeable people like you. It’s rare to get the chance to share a meal together. And look at all this food Auntie prepared, especially with cooking skills like these.”
He raised a thumb.
“The color and aroma are already perfect. The taste can’t be bad either. Tonight we’ll drink properly, and nobody’s going home sober.”
And so, while Xu Xiangdong noisily played host and livened up the atmosphere, Song Jincheng, the actual guest of honor invited by the Shen family, ended up being seated in a lower position.
Shen Guozhong was momentarily stunned.
Xu Xiangdong seemed genuinely warm and friendly toward Song Jincheng, and Shen Guozhong honestly could not tell whether it was intentional or accidental.
The thought barely surfaced before he dismissed it.
Surely not.
After all, it made little difference where someone sat.
He smiled and invited everyone to settle down.
“You young people should sit together. You’re all educated youths, so you’ll have plenty to talk about.”
Only Shen Yao, who had grown up witnessing countless subtle social maneuvers of this kind, raised an eyebrow slightly.
Still, it had nothing to do with her.
Her attention was already fixed on the dishes covering the table as she contemplated a much more important question.
When everyone started eating, should she go for the soft-shelled turtle first, or the fish?