Zeng Wenjuan gave everyone a bean cake and a White Rabbit candy: "Come on, you guys fill your stomachs first. This meal may take some time."

Zhao Honghua is the oldest, 15 years old, and is in the third grade of junior high school. The second sister, Zhao Hongying, is 13 years old and is in the first grade of junior high school. The third sister, Zhao Hongxia, is 11 years old and is in the sixth grade.

The village primary school only goes up to the fifth grade, so the eldest, second and third children all go to school in town and have to live in the school dormitory. After all, they have to attend evening self-study classes at night, and it is quite far from home. It takes an hour to walk there, which is not safe.

The fourth sister Zhao Hongyan, the fifth sister Zhao Hongmei, and the sixth sister Zhao Hongju are triplets. They are eight years old this year and are in the third grade. Zhao Hongtiao's mother was physically damaged when she gave birth to the triplets. If she had not given birth to more children, she would have lived a few years less. But Zhao Hongtiao's father wanted to have a son, so he passed away after giving birth to the youngest sister Zhao Hongqi. Zhao Hongqi is only five years old this year and has not yet started school. He will be five years old soon, next year.

At that time, compulsory education had not yet been implemented, and tuition was still very expensive, and notebooks and pens required money everywhere. Zhao Hongtiao gritted her teeth to support her family, but she was the least educated in the family and had not even attended literacy classes.

The endings in the book are not good. After Zhao Hongqi fell ill, Zhao Hongtiao sold herself. The sisters were protected too well by Zhao Hongtiao. After Zhao Hongtiao sold them, they could not protect themselves at all. At the beginning, Zhao Hongtiao could still manage them, but later she could not protect herself. So the first, second and third sisters were sold by Zhao Hongtiao's father Zhao Yougen, who exchanged money to marry a widow. The fourth, fifth and sixth sisters were also sold later. Zhao Hongtiao was also beaten to death.

Of course, these will have a butterfly effect, and the ending will change. It has changed now.

When the six sisters saw the snacks handed over, they subconsciously swallowed their saliva, but they also knew that these foods were very expensive and they could not accept them.

"Sister Wenjuan, we can't take your snacks anymore. Please save them for Goudan! We are not hungry now, we can eat later." Zhao Honghua stood up as a representative and refused.

Zeng Wenjuan chuckled, and regardless of their refusal, she stuffed the snacks into their arms, scolding them, "These are for you, just eat them. Your sister is willing to eat at my house, and the relationship between our two families has improved a lot. It's okay to eat a little of my food."

It was Zhao Hongqi who couldn't help but take a bite of the pancake when she smelled the delicious pancake. The other sisters were furious and anxious when they saw it.

Zeng Wenjuan immediately frowned, "What's wrong with you guys? I'm happy to see your little sister eating my food, so you should eat quickly. Why are you being so rude to her? The kitchen doesn't need you. If you feel bad about it, just help me take care of your nephew, Goudan."

Zhao Honghua didn't know what to say, but she remembered the kindness and would repay it double when she had the ability.

Several children were driven out by Zeng Wenjuan, and Zhao Hongtiao also came back. Seeing her sisters eating snacks in the yard, she frowned, but didn't say anything and walked into the kitchen.

"Wenjuan, those snacks are so expensive, why did you give them to them? Then Goudan will have nothing to eat." Zhao Hongtiao said with concern.

Zeng Wenjuan smiled and said, "We now have a way to make money. You also heard that they still need so many herbs. We can definitely make more money. We can buy more when we have finished eating."

After hearing this, Zhao Hongtiao didn't say anything else. She smiled and asked, "What else do you want me to help you with now?"

"Please help me light the fire! I can cook faster and the children must be hungry." Zeng Wenjuan said with a smile.

Zhao Hongtiao sat in front of the stove and started a fire. Zeng Wenjuan cut the pork belly, marinated it with sweet potato flour and some seasonings, and then arranged it, with pickled cabbage as the base and the meat on top. It was then steamed directly in the pot.

Then they used a clay pot to steam the rice. With so many people, they needed at least a pound of rice to feed themselves. Zeng Wenjuan used a large bowl to hold two bowls of rice. After estimating that it was just the right amount, she washed the rice and prepared to steam the white rice.

"Oh! Why did you steam so much rice? We won't be able to finish it later. Why don't you take out some and dry it? It should still be edible!" Zhao Hongtiao stood up and saw it, and said with some heartache.

Zeng Wenjuan was not too shocked. Most rural people, when they are not working, basically eat two meals a day, and most of them are the kind with more vegetables and less rice. This is the first time that Zhao Hongtiao has seen so much rice cooked.

"It's okay to eat pure rice occasionally. Didn't you buy so much rice just to eat it?" Zeng Wenjuan said with a smile.

Zhao Hongtiao couldn't persuade Zeng Wenjuan so she didn't say anything else. She just watched Zeng Wenjuan put the clay pot on the stove to steam and wash the vegetables. Zhao Hongtiao then lit a fire in the stove.

It took more than an hour for the food to be ready. When the stir-fried vegetables and white rice were served, the children were extremely excited.

"The sauerkraut and pork belly are here." Zeng Wenjuan held the big bowl with the discarded rag and brought out the sauerkraut and pork belly.

The freshly cooked pickled cabbage and pork belly was full of meaty aroma, which instantly filled the whole room and made people swallow their saliva.

As soon as the pork belly was put down, Goudan and the two younger ones Zhao Hongqi started drooling. Although Goudan had eaten meat every day during this period, the aroma was too overbearing and really made people salivate.

Zeng Wenjuan filled everyone's bowl with white rice and gave each person a piece of pork belly. She smiled and said, "This food may be a little hot right out of the pot, so be careful when eating it! It will taste better with some pickled cabbage. I put a little chili powder in it, so it shouldn't be too spicy."

Zhao Hongtiao was touched when she saw the big bowl of rice. Although she was doing a man's job, she had to tighten her belt to feed so many mouths. Although she could usually eat her fill, it was funny to say that this was the first time she had eaten such a big bowl of white rice in her life.

"Wenjuan, thank you! Please treat me to a meal."

Zeng Wenjuan glanced at Zhao Hongtiao and immediately understood her idea. She smiled and said, "I'm not treating you for nothing. I'm counting on your sisters to teach Goudan in the future. And when you make money, can you not treat me? Only if we spend hard can we have the motivation to make money. We earn our own money and spend it ourselves."

"You're right. I've been earning money to support my family these years. I'm no worse than men. I'm proud! Who says women are inferior to men? There are so many men who don't want to take care of their parents when they get old." Zhao Hongtiao has a lot to say about independence and even despises her father.

Only people without ability want sons. People with ability want children. If you train them well, they will be no worse than boys, and may even be better than boys.