These past few days, they had only been eating white rice.
That was really expensive—one jin of white rice could be exchanged for more than two jin of coarse grains. If they rationed themselves, they definitely wouldn’t go hungry.
The coarse grains he mentioned were things like cornmeal, sorghum flour, and millet. At most, Lin Zhi could make a simple cornmeal porridge or millet porridge—she couldn’t even make a steamed corn bun.
Most importantly, she wasn’t used to it. Besides, she even felt that eating plain white rice porridge was a compromise; how could she possibly eat coarse grains?
Seeing that he was still worried, Lin Zhi patted his backside. When he glared at her while holding his butt, she tilted her chin to the side.
“If you’re that worried, go check the rice bin in the kitchen. There’s enough rice in there for us to eat for months.”
Children were simple-minded. Even if there was that much rice at home, they wouldn’t overthink it. Lin Zhi, not wanting the hassle, had taken out over 200 jin at once.
The rice bin was originally meant for water, but after she managed to get water from the general store, she felt that having two water barrels in the kitchen was unnecessary.
The 200 jin of rice didn’t even fill the bin, but it took up about a third of it. Xiao Heze went to check and came back, glaring at Lin Zhi with fierce eyes, like a little wolf cub.
“You had all this food—why didn’t you let us eat before? Why did you lie to us and say there was no food at home?”
Xiao Heze, who was always being scolded as a “debt collector,” was furious. He thought she had been lying just because he and his brother ate too much, which supposedly made the family so poor that they had nothing to eat.
These past few days, Lin Zhi had always taken them with her whenever she went out. She hadn’t brought any food home, so the rice that was at home must have been there all along.
She ate well and drank well while letting them go hungry—it was really too much. He had even thought that the food at home was only enough for her, which was why she didn’t share at all.
Lin Zhi thought it over carefully and still couldn’t recall whether the original owner had actually said that, but whether they did or didn’t, it wasn’t her fault.
She felt perfectly justified. Standing tall with her chest out, she was firm and confident.
“Past is past, now is now. That’s all history—you keep remembering it for what?”
“As long as there’s food to eat now, that’s enough. No matter how much you plan, it won’t let the old you have a meal.”
Even though it was clearly her who hadn’t given them food, she still spoke so boldly—it was outrageous.
Angry, little Xiao Heze couldn’t argue or fight back, so he could only sit aside and stew in his anger.
Lin Zhi didn’t care whether he was mad or not; she still had a bunch of work to do. Shoes had to be made—but where was she supposed to learn?
Carrying a head full of worries, she showered and went to sleep. As she was about to fall asleep, she thought that maybe she could go to the village to ask for help.
There were a lot of people in the family yard, but she didn’t want to ask them. If she got along with others, she’d end up being pulled into conversations every day.
She was the kind of person who liked to keep her little life private. Unless necessary, she refused to interact with others.
If she went to the village for help with her work, she could trade eggs or other things. It was far away, and once the payment was settled, no one owed anyone anything—no need to maintain contact.
Having made up her mind, she felt at ease, exhaled deeply, and slept soundly.
In the morning, she was woken up by weight pressing on her again. The two brothers seemed to have an unspoken agreement—yesterday it was the older one cuddling in her arms, today it was the younger one’s turn.
She moved the brothers off her, then watched them for a few minutes. Seeing that they were still asleep, she let out a small hum.
They were so restless in their sleep; it was better to let them sleep on their own. She didn’t want to be squashed to death by them one day.
After he left, the twins suddenly opened their eyes. Xiao Heze winked proudly at Xiao Herun.
“How is it? Soft and comfy, right?”
Last night, he had woken up in the middle of the night and found himself in that woman’s arms. He was shocked at first and wanted to leave, but the embrace was so warm and comforting that he didn’t want to get up.
He thought he might get scolded if caught, but she hadn’t reacted at all. It was as if nothing had happened.
After telling his brother last night, his eyes shone. Even though he didn’t say it, he knew his brother would also want to be held by her.
Since he had been able to sleep in her arms, his brother would surely want the same; otherwise, he would be at a disadvantage.
So in the middle of the night, he quietly pushed his brother into her arms. Sure enough, even when she noticed, she didn’t get angry.
“Little brother, tonight it’s my turn!” Xiao Heze whispered to his brother. Even though she was fierce, she smelled nice and was warm, so he was willing to sleep hugging her.
Xiao Herun didn’t understand his brother’s little pride. He clearly liked being held by Lin Zhi but refused to admit it.
Thinking that tomorrow it would be his turn again, he curved his eyes and obediently nodded.
Since they were awake, they didn’t linger in bed. After washing up, the first thing they did was feed the chickens.
Earthworms weren’t easy to dig up. If they couldn’t find any, they would need Lin Zhi to figure out what to feed the chickens.
Lin Zhi had never raised chickens before. Looking into those round eyes, she tentatively suggested, “How about feeding them coarse grains?”
She had dozens of jin of coarse grains in the cupboard. If it went uneaten for long, it might get infested with bugs.
“If that doesn’t work, feed them beans!” she added. She had taken ten jin of each kind of bean from the general store. Now, not only was the cupboard full, but even the jars in the kitchen were packed.
Hearing this, Xiao Heze’s face changed. Lin Zhi immediately felt trouble brewing. This little rascal, after a full meal, always became daring, looking for a chance to argue with her.
If he weren’t so young, he would have jumped up and beaten her already.
“I’ve never raised chickens before, how would I know? They lay eggs, but none are for me. I’m already being kind letting you use my grains. Feed them or not, up to you,” she shrugged, completely giving up.
Her rogue tone infuriated Xiao Heze, but he also knew she was right. She hadn’t raised chickens before, so asking her was pointless.
He couldn’t bear to feed the chickens himself, so he stood at the door thinking for a while, then took the dazed Xiao Herun outside.
“Don’t be gone too long. If you come back late, I won’t save any food for you,” Lin Zhi reminded them, then let them go.
After all, the family yard was safe, and soldiers guarded the entrance. They could go wherever they wanted—she didn’t care.
She had planned to plant vegetables in the front yard yesterday, but the trip to the county delayed that.
Today, she had to go to the village to find someone to make shoes for them, which would also take time. So she seized every minute to work on the vegetable patch.
Before breakfast was ready, she planted a small patch—a few square meters. After sowing some leafy vegetable seeds, she scattered a few tomato seeds nearby.
Lin Zhi didn’t know much about gardening. She planned to just go with the flow. After sowing, she would diligently care for them and let fate decide if they grew.
After finishing this, breakfast was ready. Today’s porridge was still white rice, but she added a small handful of millet, so the texture wasn’t as smooth.