Ye Wen sighed inwardly at the original owner.
At first, she thought the children were strange, but it turned out the original owner herself was the real odd one.
To avoid breaking her persona, she thought for a moment and then said to the child, “Xiannan, as the saying goes, ‘To win a man’s heart, you must first win his stomach.’ If you can cook really well, once your future husband gets used to your food, won’t he want only you?”
The original owner was a cruel matriarch; if she suddenly acted kind, everyone might think she was possessed.
So, to avoid suspicion, every time she spoke, she had to think carefully. She needed to maintain her previous image while still giving some guidance.
Sure enough, Wen Xiannan immediately perked up when she heard this.
The little girl bit her lip, thought for a moment, and then eagerly grabbed the wooden basin. “Mother is right! I’ll start learning to cook properly now. But Mother, you must teach me well. Once my skills are perfected, let’s see who dares underestimate me!”
Ye Wen watched the child fall for it and breathed a small sigh of relief.
With the eldest daughter-in-law still in confinement and the second daughter-in-law being lazy, it was just the two of them. If Wen Xiannan didn’t help, she couldn’t possibly cook for the whole family.
Thinking of the four children of the Wen family:
The eldest son worked like an old ox, only knowing how to plow quietly in the fields.
The second son helped a bit, but if even three of the ten acres were his work, that was generous.
The third son was worse, always at the academy, claiming to “focus on studies,” but in reality, he did no work and sucked resources from the entire family.
The youngest was a girl, spoiled by the original owner, and never touched a hand to work either.
So the whole family relied on the eldest couple to survive. And this honest pair worked tirelessly without complaint.
Thinking of the second daughter-in-law even trying to provoke the eldest son to beat his wife, Ye Wen’s expression darkened.
If she was reforming a “top-tier troublemaker,” today she would start with the second daughter-in-law.
Ye Wen’s mother was from the north, and her father from the south, so she knew a little about both northern and southern cuisine. Making flour dishes and stir-fried vegetables was no problem.
She mixed the flour, added water to make a batter, then heated the pan with a little oil to coat it. She poured a ladle of batter, spreading it thin to make flatbreads.
Soon, a basket was piled high with golden, steaming flatbreads.
Wen Xiannan, picking vegetables while inhaling the aroma, swallowed hard. “Mother, it smells amazing.”
Previously, even when the eldest daughter-in-law cooked, she never used so much oil. And while making the batter, Ye Wen had added two eggs!
With eggs, oil, and flour all together, could the flatbreads not be delicious?
“Mother, with eggs, oil, and flatbreads… is life too good?” Wen Xiannan murmured. She had finished picking vegetables and now sat across from Ye Wen, tending the fire.
Though she wanted to eat too, she understood that once the feast was prepared, everything good would be gone in this one meal. What would happen later?
The flames danced happily in the stove, lighting up the little girl’s delicate face. Ye Wen sighed inwardly. No wonder this child always dreamed of marrying into a wealthy family—she had the talent for it.
“Your brothers are busy with harvest work; you know how tiring it is,” Ye Wen said, flipping the flatbreads. “If they don’t eat well and exhaust themselves, this family will be ruined. Besides, once the autumn grain is harvested, will we run out of food?”
Wen Xiannan pouted. After taxes, most of the autumn grain would be exchanged for silver to support the third son’s studies. The rest wasn’t enough to feed the family—but she didn’t dare say this. Even if Mother doted on her, she’d only get scolded if she mentioned the third son.
Ye Wen recalled the original owner’s memory and understood why the little girl had been so gloomy.
Wen Shougui left twenty acres of land. Ten were rented out, ten were farmed by the family.
Logically, they shouldn’t have been this poor. But the original owner had insisted on funding the third son’s studies.
It was no joke that poor families rarely produced scholars. Studying at this time was a money drain: clothing, ink, brushes, paper, transport for exams—everything cost money.
The rent from the ten acres barely covered the basic study expenses. The rest of the family had to live off the other ten acres.
Ten acres had to feed a large family and support one scholar. Could the Wen family not live frugally?
From a modern perspective, it’s hard to understand why the whole family had to tighten their belts to fund one child’s education.
But in those days, if a family produced a scholar and didn’t split the household, all taxes and corvée labor could be exempted. That alone justified the sacrifice.
On top of that, the original owner favored the third son, wanting all family resources for him. That’s why he could enjoy the city while sucking resources from the family.
The eldest son was honest and hardworking. Though he toiled in the fields daily, he knew the third son had potential and, as the eldest, he felt responsible for the family after their father’s death.
If the third son succeeded, the hard work of previous years would be worth it. Occasionally, at night, touching his calloused hands and looking at his pale wife and children, he couldn’t help but feel some sadness.
The second couple didn’t have it so easy.
Seeing the mother favor the third son, they felt estranged, especially after Mrs. Tian gave birth to Yaozu. They had to plan carefully for their own son.
But the third son did have talent. In just three years, he passed the preliminary exam. If luck favored him, he might pass the county exam this year, benefiting the second household too.
So though the second family was dissatisfied, they endured, waiting for the results of the county exam. As for chores, the eldest son did most of the work, so the second family grumbled occasionally but didn’t openly oppose.
The youngest daughter, being a girl, naturally hoped her brothers would succeed so she’d have security when she married.
Thus, the whole family tightened belts for the third son. Apart from occasional complaints from the second family, no one said “no.”
Shaking off these thoughts, Ye Wen said, “Xiannan, when your big brother comes home, you mustn’t tattle on your sister-in-law.”
“What?” Wen Xiannan’s eyes widened. “Mother, big sister-in-law pushed you and your head got hurt, and you’re just letting it go? Usually, you’d have me call Big Brother to deal with her. Why the change today?”
Ye Wen cleared her throat. “Your big brother is already exhausted during the day. If he comes home and still has to deal with her, that’s extra effort. Since your father passed, the household relies on him, and I feel for him.”
“Besides, eating well today and moving less means the food stays in your stomach longer. Anyway, you mustn’t talk back; I know what’s best,” she said, purposely stern.
Wen Xiannan finally understood. Mother was concerned about her brother, not the sister-in-law. That made sense.
But hadn’t Mother always worried more about the second and third sons?
When did she start caring about Big Brother?
Then she thought again and relaxed: either way, he was Mother’s son. Caring about him was natural. At least Mother wasn’t worrying about Big Sister-in-law.
“Got it, Mother~” she drawled sweetly in response.