Each grain of rice was coated in the golden, glossy sauce.
Each abalone glistened under the sauce, shining with a sinful allure.
“Let’s eat.”
Su Ci pushed three bowls of abalone rice in front of them.
The three pairs of eyes immediately went wide.
They had never imagined that rice could look like this.
This wasn’t just rice—it was a painting, a work of art!
“Si… Sister-in-law, can… can we really eat this?”
Lu Xiangnan’s voice trembled. She didn’t dare touch her chopsticks, afraid that a single poke would ruin the artwork.
“If you don’t eat it, it’ll go to waste.”
Su Ci scooped a big spoonful for herself.
The chewy abalone, the soft, glutinous rice, the salty-sweet sauce—it was perfection.
At her words, the three siblings seemed to hear the starting gun.
All pretense of delicacy was abandoned.
Lu Xiangbei grabbed a whole abalone with his chopsticks, ignored the heat, and stuffed it into his mouth.
In that instant, his eyes went wide with shock.
An indescribable, ultimate flavor exploded in his mouth!
Biting down, he could feel the abalone’s firm yet springy texture. Each chew released a burst of savory juice.
The texture! The taste!
In his ten years of life, the meats he had eaten were like sawdust compared to this.
So good!
So delicious that he felt like crying!
Lu Xiangnan and Lu Xiangdong also began devouring their bowls.
The two little ones’ mouths glistened with oil, cheeks flushed red, heads never lifting.
They had only one thought:
Eat!
Eat quickly!
Stuff every delicious morsel they had never tasted in their lives into their stomachs!
One meal.
Like a storm sweeping away clouds.
The three of them licked the last traces of sauce from the bowls until they gleamed like mirrors.
After the meal, the three slumped in their chairs like overfed kittens, patting their round bellies with blissful exhaustion.
Delightful.
Absolutely delightful.
This feeling was a hundred times better than celebrating the New Year!
Su Ci slowly wiped her mouth with a tissue.
Seeing them completely conquered by the meal, she knew it was the right time.
“Full?”
Her soft voice made all three sit up straight.
“Yes!” they replied in unison, like shouting a military slogan.
“Then let’s have a meeting.”
Su Ci took out a sheet of pure white paper and a fountain pen.
Under the curious eyes of the three, she spread the paper on the coffee table.
“From today onward, we’re implementing a new household management system.”
Su Ci lifted her pen and wrote, in bold, flowing characters at the top of the page:
【Su Family Household Management Rules】
The handwriting was beautiful—bold yet elegant, carrying an unspoken air of refinement and authority.
Lu Xiangbei only glanced at it and thought it a hundred times better than his teacher’s blackboard writing.
“Rule number one,” Su Ci’s voice was cold and commanding, leaving no room for doubt:
“To receive, one must contribute.”
She paused, eyes scanning the three tense little faces.
“From now on, no one in this house will be a freeloader—not even me.”
“All good food, fun, and nice clothes must be earned with ‘points.’”
Her pen flew across the paper.
【Household Points Redemption Table】
“Sweep the floor once, 1 point.”
“Wash all the family’s clothes once, 5 points.”
“Fetch and boil water for sister-in-law, 3 points.”
“Full marks on a test, 10 points.”
“Rank first in the grade, 50 points reward.”
“Actively protect sister-in-law’s reputation, reward as appropriate: 520 points.”
One by one, each item was written clearly, leaving nothing ambiguous.
The three siblings’ eyes widened.
So… arguing with Wang Sao this morning could earn points?
“And what can points be exchanged for?”
Su Ci, like a meticulous and seductive teacher, began to show her “sugar-coated artillery.”
She turned and pulled several items from a cabinet (actually, a space) and laid them on the coffee table.
The first item: a beautifully packaged can of malted milk.
The rich sweet aroma immediately tempted Lu Xiangdong.
“One can of malted milk, 50 points.”
Second item: a pair of brand-new, dazzlingly white Warrior sneakers.
The red stripes and sleek shape made Lu Xiangnan unable to look away.
Their breaths quickened.
These were luxury items they had dreamed of but never dared to ask for.
Work hard, study hard, and they could have them?
But there was still one more item.
Su Ci produced a small black velvet box.
She opened it slowly in front of the three.
“Click.”
A silver, futuristic-looking object lay in the center.
The dial wasn’t traditional hands, but a row of glowing red digits.
An electronic watch!
A rare item only appearing in big cities last year!
It supposedly cost hundreds of yuan—more than a sewing machine!
On Seagull Island, few had even heard of it!
“Buzz—”
Lu Xiangbei’s mind exploded for the second time.
He stared at the watch, eyes burning like fire.
The red digits seemed magical, drawing every ounce of his attention.
He imagined wearing it through the courtyard.
How would the kids who normally looked down on him react?
What a grand display! What glory!
“This,” Su Ci’s voice, like a devil’s whisper, struck at Lu Xiangbei’s heart:
“A Shanghai brand full electronic watch, redeemable for…”
She deliberately dragged out the words.
Lu Xiangbei’s heart leapt to his throat, feeling it might burst out of his chest.
“500 points.”
Five hundred points!
He quickly calculated in his mind.
Sweeping the floor once = 1 point, he’d sweep ten times a day!
Washing clothes = 5 points, he’d do it daily!
Ranking first in the grade = 50 points, he’d achieve it no matter what!
His blood felt like it was on fire.
A surge of unprecedented energy rushed from his feet to the crown of his head!
What hardship? What fatigue?
Nothing mattered in front of this divine watch!
“Understood?”
Su Ci stuck the fully written sheet on the most prominent wall in the living room.
“Understood!”
Lu Xiangbei shouted first, loud and resolute, like he’d burnt his boats.
He looked at the sheet as if it were a map to paradise.
“Sister-in-law!” He spun around, eyes shining dangerously. “From now on, I’ll handle all the housework! No one else touches it!”
He pointed at the broom in the corner as if it weren’t a broom but a weapon to conquer the world.
“This broom is mine!”
Lu Xiangnan panicked.
“Brother! You can’t! Laundry is mine!”
“I don’t care! Points are mine!”
“No way! The Warrior shoes are mine!”
The two nearly fought over chores.
Only little Lu Xiangdong remained calm.
He silently eyed the malted milk and the “full marks = 10 points” item.
He resolved: starting tomorrow, he would memorize the textbook from cover to cover!
Su Ci sat on the sofa, slowly biting into a red apple pulled from her space.
She watched the three little ones, buzzing with energy, fully immersed in the competition, and smiled with satisfaction.
Excellent.
Household order was firmly established.
The first rule of the Su Family Household Management: to receive, one must contribute.
The core principle:
Dangle the biggest carrot to make them work the hardest.
The joy of a capitalist is this simple.
Su Ci’s gaze left the children and drifted to the window.
Night deepened.
The sea breeze blew.
The courtyard was quiet, except for the muted arguments of the kids over who would wake first to sweep.
Su Ci’s mind, however, was already planning the next step.
The kids’ labor alone was not enough.
The military wives in the compound were idle labor.
And all of Seagull Island…
Its seafood resources were endless.
Her bottle of top-grade oyster sauce, not yet used.
And the mountains of spices in her space…
A bold idea began to form.
Perhaps when she told Lu Xiangbei about the “ten-thousand-yuan household,” it wasn’t just empty talk.
She could take them and, in this barren 1970s, make it happen herself.
Step one: create a sauce so irresistible that everyone would go crazy.
A sauce more fragrant than meat.
Before dawn.
Half-past midnight on Seagull Island, black as ink.
The entire compound still slept, the waves tirelessly crashing on the shore.
“Swish—swish—”
Yet in the Lu household, an eerie sweeping sound rang out.
Lu Xiangbei sprang from bed!
He had planned yesterday to wake at 4:50 a.m., sweep the courtyard first, and secure his 1 point!
For that divine electronic watch, he even dreamed of sweeping!
But now…
Someone was earlier than him?!
Who dared steal his points?!
Lu Xiangbei dashed out barefoot, not even bothering with shoes!
In the courtyard, a small figure was vigorously wielding the large broom.