The Gu family had to support two students, so life was not easy. After having a few days of “special treatment,” Gu Yuan began eating with everyone else again. The only difference was that she still received an extra egg.
Just that one egg made Wang-shi’s eyes turn red with jealousy. She muttered under her breath, “It’s just a scraped forehead. White flour and eggs every day… is that really necessary?”
Her resentment wasn’t without reason. The Gu family was so poor that they were about to run out of millet. Yet Gu Yuan was eating white flour—something considered “top grade.”
A jin of millet cost four wen, while fine white flour cost fifteen wen. With one jin of flour, you could buy four jin of millet. Four jin of millet, with a bit of wild greens, could feed the whole family for two days.
As for eggs, three wen could buy two. In Wang-shi’s eyes, Gu Yuan wasn’t eating eggs—she was eating money.
And since the family hadn’t split up yet, everything Gu Yuan ate counted as part of their share. How could she not be angry?
Old Madam Gu slammed the ladle onto the table with a bang. Her expression darkened. “Second daughter-in-law, what did you just say? Say it louder if you’ve got the guts.”
Under normal circumstances, anyone would have shut up. But Wang-shi was different. She believed that since she had two promising sons, the old madam wouldn’t really do anything to her.
She lifted her chin. “Mother, Little Aunt is fine now. I think the egg should be stopped.”
The whole room went silent.
Wang-shi continued, as if unaware of the atmosphere. “Mother, it’s not that I don’t care about her, but our family really can’t afford it anymore. The children’s studies cost money, and it’s almost time for exams. It would be better if they lived in town to save time…”
In her eyes, a daughter would eventually marry out. Only sons were the root of the Gu family.
Before she could finish, Old Madam Gu grabbed the ladle and hit her repeatedly.
“You heartless thing! You lazy bones who eat and still have the nerve to talk! I’ll beat you to death!”
She even struck Second Uncle Gu on the back a few times. He didn’t dare dodge.
Old Madam Gu finally said coldly, “I’m not dead yet. This family is not yours to control.”
Then she ordered, “Second daughter-in-law, each person will collect twenty cicada shells. If they don’t meet the quota, no one eats dinner or breakfast tomorrow.”
Wang-shi’s face turned pale.
Second Uncle Gu quickly tried to smooth things over, even offering that Wang-shi and his daughter could go collect cicada shells at night.
But Old Madam Gu only snorted.
“Then set a rule. No twenty pieces, no food.”
The matter was settled.
After the meal, everyone went back to work in the fields.
At noon, Gu Yuan stayed home, bored from resting too long. She went to her mother-in-law’s room, planning to cook soup for everyone.
Old Madam Gu trusted her completely and gave her the key to the storeroom.
Gu Yuan quickly found mung beans and red sugar, deciding to make sweet mung bean soup.
Just as she was about to cook, her nephew and niece—Gu Nanfeng and Gu Chunyu—came in and helped her light the fire.
They were obedient and quiet. After the soup was done, Gu Yuan even gave them each a spoonful of brown sugar, making them smile brightly.
Later, she put the soup in a jar and cooled it in a well.
When it turned icy cold, she brought bowls for the two children and told them to stay home.
But Gu Nanfeng insisted on following her to deliver it to the field.
At the threshing ground, many villagers were working. When they saw Gu Yuan, some began to tease her.
“Isn’t this Stone’s family’s Gu Yuan? What are you doing here?”
The tone was clearly unfriendly.
But before Gu Yuan could respond, Gu Nanfeng proudly said, “My aunt is bringing green bean soup for my grandmother! She’s afraid my grandma is thirsty from working!”
The villagers laughed, not believing it at all.
Gu Yuan didn’t bother explaining.
She didn’t care what outsiders thought.
What mattered to her was only the people who truly cared about her in the Gu family.