The tall, strong young man spoke in a clear and frank manner.

Shui Qing: .....The Hu family has a really good family tradition.

When it was time for dinner, Hu Wenhua was surprised to find that after finishing the poached eggs on top of his bowl, there were still two left at the bottom!

He looked at his sister in surprise, his burly body trembling slightly.

"Uncle, what's wrong?" Fan Hu asked curiously when he saw Hu Wenhua stop eating.

"The dumplings Mom made are so delicious, Uncle, eat quickly, or they'll be gone soon," Fan He urged.

Yan Qiu, being the eldest, was worried that they might choke if they ate too fast, so she gently advised, "It's alright, Mother said she cooked two big iron pots, there's enough to eat."

“Yes, there’s only one fried egg per person, but there’s plenty of dough balls,” Xinghui chimed in.

There are too many people, and there aren't enough seats in the room; there aren't enough tables and chairs either.

The adults squatted together, eating from rough earthenware bowls and chatting about the harvest in the fields, the city entrance fee, and the latest rice prices...

The children didn't like listening; they gathered together to chat about food and drinks. However, the fifteen-year-old uncle didn't squeeze in with the adults; instead, he joined them.

Hu Wenhua was taken aback when he heard his niece's words, "Only one per person?"

"What's wrong, Uncle? Do you still want to eat? I still want to eat too."

The fried eggs, golden brown on both sides, were fragrant and soft, especially the edges, which were crispy and crunchy with every bite. Xinghui thought her uncle was just craving something, so she went along with it.

She shouldn't have mentioned it, because once she did, the others felt even more hungry.

They might crave it, but no one would ask their mother to make more for them.

Eggs were a rare treat, and they could be exchanged for salt and other things. In the past, they were not entitled to eat them, and they didn't even get a share of the egg water from steamed eggs.

Now that Mother has given us all, the siblings are all equal, and we should be content.

When Fan Jiang was a child, he often followed his uncle up trees to raid bird nests and down to the river to catch fish. They had the deepest bond. He pleaded, "Uncle, please don't go home today, okay?"

Let me tell you, our chickens can lay eggs! This morning my older sister collected twelve eggs!

"They brought back six chickens today. They might have twenty eggs by tomorrow morning. You can keep them; if Mother makes eggs tomorrow, we can have some more."

Hu Wenhua smiled.

He heard his niece and nephew say that they all had only one egg, while he had three eggs!

The older sister is just feeling sorry for her younger brother.

"No, once you've finished your work, your uncle will go back home and bring you some good food in a while."

The children were short and thin, and needed to be nourished; how could he possibly leave them to eat their eggs?

He had to go back to work and send some money to his sister. Now that they had separated, he no longer had to hide any good food from her and could send it to her freely.

The five children were sullen when they heard that their uncle was going back.

Yan Qiu said, "Uncle, we're picking mushrooms. Mother said we can sell them for money. When we earn money, we can buy you and your grandparents delicious food!"

Hu Wenhua touched his niece's dry, yellow hair, and felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

The older sister and her children had a very hard life before.

He did not refuse, but replied, "...Okay."

Upon hearing Hu Wenhua's agreement, the children immediately became excited and chattered away, telling him all sorts of interesting stories about picking mushrooms.

Things like where the most bamboo mushrooms are, which ones are the freshest, and how the old lady selling them said the price is much lower...

Dinner was eaten early, and it was still bright outside when we finished. Butcher Hu wiped his mouth and called out, "Alright, daughter and son-in-law, we're going back now!"