Ye Xiu’e left happily, and Su Wanwan felt warmth in her heart as well.
Her grandmother in her previous life had loved her dearly too, but Grandma had always been decisive and straightforward, never particularly good at expressing affection.
She had never experienced this kind of constant fussing and concern before.
So this is what having a mother feels like?
Warm, caring, and unexpectedly adorable.
Suddenly, being transmigrated didn’t seem like such a bad deal after all.
The mornings in the eleventh lunar month were bitterly cold.
Ye Xiu’e pulled her faded cotton jacket tighter around herself.
When she arrived at the kitchen, Old Madam Su had already prepared a large pot of sweet potato porridge.
In this era of shortages, sweet potatoes were one of the most common foods on any table.
They grew almost anywhere, produced abundant harvests, and filled the stomach well.
By adding plenty of sweet potatoes and only a little rice, a huge pot of porridge could be made.
It was nearly the end of the year, and most families were running low on the grain allocated at the beginning of the year.
Everyone was tightening their belts.
Compared to some families, the Su household wasn’t doing too badly.
At the very least, everyone could usually eat enough to avoid hunger.
Families with five or six children often didn’t even have enough sweet potatoes to go around.
Going hungry was a regular occurrence.
Since the family hadn’t divided households yet, all decisions regarding food were controlled by Old Madam Su.
Ye Xiu’e had gotten up early that morning, just as the porridge finished cooking.
Ignoring Old Madam Su’s murderous glare, she grabbed a bowl, filled it generously, and sat near the doorway to eat.
In the past, she had always restrained herself.
Not anymore.
From now on, she intended to eat well—and eat plenty.
Behind her, Old Madam Su stared so fiercely it seemed she wanted to burn a hole through Ye Xiu’e’s back.
Who ate sweet potato porridge by scooping out all the rice first?
She was taking all the good parts.
What would everyone else eat?
Ye Xiu’e had never acted like this before.
Ever since yesterday’s confrontation, she had become incredibly irritating.
Yet the image of Ye Xiu’e holding a cleaver still lingered in Old Madam Su’s mind.
No matter how unhappy she felt, she didn’t dare say anything.
Instead, she silently hoped that her eldest daughter-in-law’s plan would succeed soon and get that crazy widow out of the family.
Ye Xiu’e ate three large bowls.
By the time she finished, most of the rice had disappeared from the pot.
Only then did she stop.
Her stomach was finally full.
She walked back toward her room.
Not wanting to wake her daughter, she simply peeked through a gap in the curtain.
Inside, Wanwan was curled up beneath the blankets, sleeping peacefully.
Only a small head poked out.
Ye Xiu’e pressed her lips together and smiled contentedly.
Then she picked up the medicine basket hanging under the eaves and headed toward the mountain area.
After feeding the chickens, Old Madam Su returned to the kitchen.
The moment she lifted the lid off the pot, she nearly smashed it in anger.
The pot contained almost nothing but sweet potatoes.
There wasn’t even much rice left.
That crazy woman usually knew how to save food.
She only ate one bowl of porridge each morning.
Yet today she had practically eaten all the rice.
Old Madam Su blamed herself for not standing nearby to supervise.
Just then, Su Wangcai and his family entered the kitchen.
They had gone to bed hungry the previous night and suffered through it miserably.
Before sleeping, they had specifically told Old Madam Su to cook extra porridge and add more rice.
But when they looked into the pot, all they saw were sweet potatoes and a few scattered grains.
Su Wangcai exploded.
The family had eaten little more than sweet potatoes the night before.
Their stomachs had growled all night.
The room had been filled with endless farts.
The smell had become so unbearable that Su Wangcai had nearly fled outdoors despite the cold.
This morning, he had eagerly anticipated finally eating some rice.
Instead, he found another pot full of sweet potatoes.
He was ready to curse.
But Old Madam Su beat him to it.
“Stop looking so miserable. I don’t owe you anything. If you’ve got the guts, go ask that widow for the rice. She’s the one who ate it.”
What?
That woman had eaten it all?
Su Wangcai became even angrier.
Still, Ye Xiu’e wasn’t known for having a big appetite.
There was no way she could have eaten everything.
Old Madam Su must have simply refused to add more rice.
He shot her a dissatisfied look while the children loudly demanded rice.
Old Madam Su’s head began aching from all the noise.
In the end, she reluctantly brought out more rice and prepared another pot of porridge.
Mostly because she couldn’t bear seeing her grandsons go hungry.
Two consecutive meals of sweet potatoes were hard to endure.
Then she reached into the chicken coop and pulled out two eggs.
The children immediately cheered.
The eggs laid by the family’s hens were normally saved and exchanged for rice or flour.
Getting to eat them was rare.
Usually one egg was stretched over two meals.
Now there were two at once.
How could the children not be excited?
Xu Shi quickly shushed them.
That ugly girl had learned how to complain now.
They couldn’t let her hear.
If Ye Xiu’e discovered they were secretly preparing special food and started causing trouble again, it would be a disaster.
Fortunately, her worries were unnecessary.
At that very moment, Su Wanwan was sleeping peacefully beneath her warm blankets.
Her laboratory contained plenty of food.
She couldn’t care less about a couple of eggs.
After a satisfying breakfast, the children went outside to play.
Su Wangcai and Xu Shi returned to their room and shut the door.
It was time to discuss Ye Xiu’e.
“Husband, do you think that plan will work?”
Su Wangcai puffed on his pipe and slowly released a cloud of smoke before answering.
“I used to think Ye Xiu’e was easy to control. After yesterday’s incident, I realized she’s not so simple.”
Xu Shi immediately stood up.
Her voice rose anxiously.
“But that person is coming today. We can’t let all our preparations go to waste. It wasn’t easy finding someone suitable.”
Su Wangcai rolled his eyes.
“Why are you talking so loudly? Do you want everyone to hear?”
Startled, Xu Shi glanced nervously out the window.
Only after confirming nobody was nearby did she relax.
“I’m only thinking about what’s best for our family.
She’s a widow.
She can’t stay in the Su family forever.”
The more she talked, the more indignant she became.
“Besides, there’s only one barefoot doctor position in the brigade.
As long as she stays, I’ll never have a chance.”
Just thinking about the monthly ten-yuan subsidy and work points filled Xu Shi with anticipation.
Ye Xiu’e was such a fool.
Every month she handed all her money over to Old Madam Su.
And Old Madam Su was so stingy she wouldn’t even spend it on decent food for the family.
There was only one son left in the family—Su Wangcai.
Yet she never seemed interested in supporting him.
Sometimes Xu Shi even suspected that Old Madam Su was secretly saving the money for Su Hongxia instead.
Su Wangcai knocked the ashes from his pipe into a corner and packed in fresh tobacco.
Seeing how unconcerned he looked only made Xu Shi more anxious.
She sat back down heavily.
“You’re usually such a chatterbox. Why are you silent when something important comes up? You’re driving me crazy!”
Su Wangcai leisurely took another puff.
Only then did he speak with obvious satisfaction.
“What does a woman like you know?
Don’t worry.
This time, whether Ye Xiu’e wants to leave the Su family or not, she’ll have no choice.”
Xu Shi’s eyes lit up.
Leaning closer, she asked excitedly,
“Oh? Have you thought of a good plan? Tell me!”
Su Wangcai leaned close to her ear and whispered his scheme.
As she listened, Xu Shi’s smile grew wider and wider.
Finally, she couldn’t hold back her laughter.
“Good! This is a great idea!
That Ye Xiu’e has finally left us an opening.
If she’s willing to go with that man this afternoon, then fine.
But if she refuses…”
Her smile turned cold.
“Then we won’t blame ourselves for making sure she can’t hold her head up in public.”