"Mother, you're back."
As soon as Su Luo stepped outside the kiln's fence, Chen Yihuan's sweet laughter rang out as she ran over to open the door for her.
"Huanhuan, where are your brother and grandma?" Su Luo looked around but couldn't see them.
“My brother said there weren’t enough wild vegetables to eat today, so he went to dig some more. Grandma went to fetch water for Grandma Wang at the village entrance, and she could exchange it for a few ounces of broken rice to eat.”
Grandma Wang's son runs a business in the county, leaving only an elderly woman at home. Zhao Ruyun has to carry three large vats of water for her in exchange for a few ounces of broken rice.
Picking rice every three days means that Su Luo and her family of four can only eat a small amount of broken rice each day.
Looking up at the sky, it was almost noon. Zhao Ruyun should be back soon to cook for them.
"Huanhuan, you must be starving. Mom will make you some meat today."
"There's meat to eat?"
Chen Yihuan's eyes widened in surprise, she swallowed hard, her eyes filled with joy.
Just as Su Luo put her things down, Chen Yanchuan returned. Su Luo had taken his hoe, which he used to dig for wild vegetables, so he had to use the wood-chopping knife from home instead.
"Mother, I'm back."
Chen Yihuan obediently poured a bowl of water and handed it to Chen Yanchuan to drink.
"It's good to be back. You dug up so much shepherd's purse today?"
Su Luo took the basket from Yan Chuan, gazing at the five-year-old boy with a pang of heartache.
"Chuan Chuan, don't go digging for wild vegetables anymore. I won't let you and Grandma go hungry. When I earn money, I'll send you to school in Yongle County so you can become a strong and upright man."
Chen Yanchuan never expected that his mentally challenged mother would say such things one day. It seems that his mother's madness has really been cured.
Chen Yanchuan felt a mix of joy and sadness, and he forced back his tears.
"Mother, I...I..."
"Alright, Mom knows you want to help Grandma take care of my sister and me. You've been wronged. Oh, by the way, Mom brought you some good food from the county today."
Su Luo turned around and took out a bag of mung bean cakes from her basket, handing it to Yan Chuan: "Take this and eat it with your sister, but don't eat too much, or you won't be able to eat your meal later."
Upon opening it, they were surprised to find it was mung bean cake. This kind of cake was a precious item, and they had only ever seen the village chief's grandson, Li Hongcai, eat it before.
The two little ones dared not wolf down their food, afraid they would finish it all at once, so they could only eat small bites sparingly.
Su Luo poured the rice she bought today into the rice container and started cooking the rice for everyone in the large iron pot.
Wash the shepherd's purse dug up from Yanchuan, mince half a pound of pork, and add the shepherd's purse to make a soup.
After chopping the firewood into small sections and boiling water to wash the pot, Su Luo realized while making soup that there were no seasonings at home, and they couldn't even afford the most basic salt.
Yan Chuan and Yi Huan were eating pastries without looking at her. Su Luo took out salt and chicken essence from her space and put them into the soup. The soup instantly became fragrant and delicious.
Su Luo scooped it up in a large bowl. All the bowls in the house were made of clay and were not perfectly round.
Placed on the dining table, Yan Chuan and Yi Huan sat at the table eating pastries. Upon seeing the meat soup, they couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
"Mom, there really is meat."
Su Luo looked at the two children and smiled, "Really, you can each have one more piece of pastry, but you can't eat any more."
"We understand, Mother!"
Su Luo turned back to the kitchen. There were no other side dishes at home, so she stir-fried pork until fragrant, then added chopped shepherd's purse and seasonings. The wild vegetables immediately made her look appetizing.
There were about three pounds of pork left. Su Luo cut off two pounds and wrapped them in oil paper. She used the remaining pound to make braised pork. Since the group hadn't eaten meat for a long time, she made a small amount of braised pork to avoid diarrhea.
Yan Chuan followed the aroma to Su Luo's back and thought to himself, "Her mother isn't stupid anymore. Her cooking smells so good now. I like my mother now."
"Mom, I'm going to call Grandma home for dinner."
Su Luo glanced at him and said, "Go, and come back quickly. It's the last dish, it'll be ready soon."
Yi Huan stopped eating the pastries and picked up the firewood with her little hands, saying, "Mom, I'll help you start the fire."
"good!"
Su Luo cut the meat, blanched it, took out the spice packet she had prepared in her previous life from her spatial storage, opened it and put it in. It contained spices such as star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves. She added a little water, and it became fragrant but not greasy.
Yi Huan looked down at the fire and suddenly a wonderful aroma wafted over. When she looked again, Su Luo had already finished cooking. The braised pork was glossy and looked incredibly appetizing.
"Huanhuan, go wash your hands and get ready for dinner."
"oh!"
Yi Huan ran to the water vat, scooped a ladle of water into the basin, and washed her hands.
Su Luo took out the firewood that hadn't finished burning, poured water on it to extinguish it, so it could be burned again next time.
"Brother, Grandma, you're back."
When Zhao Ruyun returned, she also brought back a load of water.
"Go wash your hands and eat now that you're back."
Zhao Ruyun was startled when she saw Su Luo scooping out a large bowl of white rice from the pot. Yan Chuan had told her that they were having meat today, but she hadn't believed him at first, thinking that Su Luo was just being silly and trying to fool the two younger ones.
Su Luo: "What are you all standing there for? Come and eat."
There were two dishes and a soup on the table, and they were all meat. Zhao Ruyun, who hadn't eaten meat in a long time, unconsciously swallowed her saliva, but she still had her senses.
"Luo Luo, this fine white rice, and this pork, how did you get them? Did you go to..."
Before Zhao Ruyun could utter the word "steal," Su Luo said, "Don't worry, I bought it with my own money."
Su Luo handed the rice bowl to Zhao Ruyun: "Eat first, and I'll tell you slowly after you finish eating."
Seeing that Su Luo seemed to be in a normal state, Zhao Ruyun decided to believe her.
There wasn't much braised pork, so Su Luo simply divided it up into several pieces for each person.
"Mom, this meat is delicious!" Yi Huan said excitedly, picking up a piece of braised pork with her chopsticks.
Yan Chuan's eyes lit up, but he still pretended to be a little adult, being stingy and taciturn, and refrained from saying anything.
Zhao Ruyun looked at the white rice in the bowl and ate it heartily. The stir-fried shepherd's purse with meat was so much tastier than the boiled shepherd's purse they had cooked.
"Luo Luo, I didn't expect you to have changed for the better, and your cooking is so delicious."
Of course it tastes good. She added salt and seasonings to these dishes, and for the braised pork, she added brown sugar from her spatial storage to color it.
After they finished eating, Su Luo told Zhao Ruyun about her selling herbs and gave them the clothes she had bought for them.
"This... Luo Luo, did you really buy all of these?"
Su Luo nodded, took out a light gray outer robe from her bundle, and handed it to Yan Chuan: "Put on your new clothes and see if they fit."
Yan Chuan took the new clothes, and finally a childlike smile appeared on his face.
"Thank you, Mother!"
She then gave the pink dress to Yi Huan, and the two children were overjoyed. Zhao Ruyun was very clean, and although their clothes were worn, the two children were very well dressed, and she herself was also very clean.
Zhao Ruyun put the new clothes away and said, "Luoluo, it's fine for you three to buy new clothes. I still have clothes to wear."
Zhao Ruyun just wanted to save money. She knew all too well what it was like to go hungry. Now that Su Luo had earned some money, she couldn't afford to spend it recklessly.
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