When Xia Chunmei returned home, Xia Qiumei had already cooked sorghum porridge. Two handfuls of rice made four full bowls of thin porridge, so thin you could see your reflection in it. It was enough to fill her stomach.
Seeing that her younger sisters were so thin they were practically skin and bones, Xia Chunmei went into the kitchen to prepare an extra dish for them.
There was no oil or salt at home, not even a wok. There was no other way; iron was very expensive in those days, so poor families used pots to stew vegetables.
Xia Chunmei washed the jar clean, added a ladle of water and brought it to a boil. Then she beat the eggs she had received and poured them in, and a pot of tasteless egg drop soup was ready.
When it was done cooking, I sprinkled some chopped green onions on top.
For Xia Chunmei, who has eaten many delicious foods, this egg drop soup was hardly a delicacy, but it still made her three younger sisters drool.
Xia Yaomei cried loudly, "Hungry, eat, eat."
Xia Qiumei immediately got up and served herself a full bowl of egg drop soup, not caring that it was too hot, and drank it in big gulps.
Xia Dongmei, however, was mindful of her younger sister Yaomei who was crying, so she ladled out a bowl for her, scooped out a spoonful, blew on it a few times, and fed it to her.
"Dongmei, you eat first, I'll feed you." Xia Chunmei took over the task of feeding him.
She must have been starving, because even though she's not even two years old, Yaomei wasn't afraid of the heat and finished a bowl of egg drop soup in no time.
Xia Qiumei finished her drink and stared longingly at the rest. In the past, when the original owner saw her like this, she would always soften and share her own points with her, but this time...
Xia Chunmei gulped it all down in a few gulps.
She had been working herself to the bone all day and was starving. Xia Qiumei had drunk the largest bowl of water; how could she possibly give it to her?
Xia Qiumei was somewhat surprised, and her expression turned sour, but she ultimately said nothing.
In just one meal, Xia Chunmei got a general idea of her two younger sisters' personalities.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Xia Chunmei boiled two pots of water and had her three younger sisters wash their hair. Their hair was so dirty that she couldn't find the words to describe it.
After washing it clean, I cut it all off with scissors. It was so messy after washing that I had to cut it.
At first, they were unwilling, but Xia Chunmei was the eldest sister, and because of her, they were able to eat rice porridge and eggs today, so the honest and simple-minded girls had no choice but to comply.
After getting a haircut, I felt much more energetic.
Xia Chunmei finished tidying herself up, including getting her hair cut. Xia Qiumei did the work, but she had no experience and no sense of aesthetics. After the haircut, Xia Chunmei looked at her reflection in the water and felt a million curses running through her mind...
The beautiful idiot in the water is definitely not me!
At dusk, the aunties who had gone to Fanjiachong to help Xia Chunmei collect debts returned.
Aunt Pear Blossom walked at the very front, like a victorious rooster, her steps were full of swagger.
“Chunmei, that old man doesn’t have that many eggs at home. I was thinking that you sisters are also out of food, so I took the liberty of getting you twenty eggs and carrying back twenty catties of sorghum. That should be enough for you sisters to eat for a while.”
"Thank you, aunties, you've worked hard." Xia Chunmei bowed to them.
If they hadn't stepped in, these things probably wouldn't have been so easy to obtain.
The fighting power of women should not be underestimated.
Xia Chunmei kept her word and brought out ten eggs as a token of her gratitude.
But how should they divide it among the six of them?
Xia Chunmei was unwilling to have two more, not because she was stingy, but because they were simply too poor right now.
Seeing this, Aunt Lihua said to the others, "There are six of us, and it's not easy to divide ten eggs among us. Chunmei and her sisters have had a hard time too. Let's each take one as a token."
Aunt Pear Blossom spoke up, and the others were too embarrassed to say anything, so they each took an egg and left.
This saved Xia Chunmei four eggs. She thanked her repeatedly, especially Aunt Lihua, and thought that she must repay her properly when she had the chance in the future.
Today we harvested twenty-two eggs and over twenty kilograms of grain. Qiu Mei, Dong Mei, and the others were overjoyed. If they eat sparingly, they can last for more than a month.
Don't think it's an exaggeration, because in this era, except during the busy farming season, most ordinary families of ten would eat two meals a day, and their daily staple food would not exceed one and a half pounds. Those who did heavy labor would eat more, while women and children would usually eat less.
"Sis, I'm going to hide. I promise Grandma won't find me!"
As Xia Dongmei spoke, she carried the things into her room. This little girl was terrified of hunger and was afraid that Old Lady Chen would come to "confiscate" her house again!
The Chen family, humph, if they dare to come again, they'd better not be impolite. She's not the original owner of this body!
The Xia sisters were happy, but the Fan family was shrouded in gloom.
He originally planned to sell Xia Chunmei to get some money to spend, but now he's been raped instead of raped!
Twenty eggs and twenty catties of sorghum rice were not a small amount for a farming family, and the Fan family was extremely distressed.
"I refuse to believe that our whole family can't handle a little brat!" Old Man Fan gritted his teeth in anger.
“Mother, it was Chen Sanhua who instigated you to kidnap that damned girl. How can our family bear this compensation?” said Fan Fangshi, Shi Zhenxiang’s eldest daughter-in-law.
“Mother, my sister-in-law is right. The Xia family should at least bear half of the cost,” said Fan Liushi, the second daughter-in-law.
Shi Zhenxiang said irritably, "Do I need you to teach me how to do it?"
Upon hearing this, the two daughters-in-law immediately shut up.
"I, Shi Zhenxiang, will eat anything, but I will never suffer a loss!" She not only wants to get this compensation back, but she also wants all four Xia Chunmei sisters to have a good life!
The atmosphere at Xia Changjiang's home was equally tense.
They miscalculated!
They actually lost to a young girl with blond hair!
How frustrating!
"Mother, this matter can't just be left like this, can it?" Xia Xiumei was still in pain from that blow.
As the youngest daughter of the clan chief, she had never suffered such a loss before.
"Forget it." Xia Chenshi snorted coldly. "We underestimated her before, which is why the plan failed. She has no parents and no one to rely on. It's easy to deal with her. However, after what that brat said today, our family can't show up for the time being, otherwise the clansmen will definitely become suspicious."
"Oh no, what should we do?" Xia Xiumei exclaimed anxiously. "Brother Baowen said that breaking off the engagement without a reason would damage his reputation and affect his chances of passing the imperial examinations. If he doesn't break off the engagement, how will I have a chance?"
Xia Changjiang said, "What's the rush? If our family can't step in, can't we ask someone else?"
Both Xia Changjiang and Xia Chenshi had a suitable candidate in mind, but they tacitly kept it to themselves. There were some things they wouldn't tell their child.
“We might not even need to lift a finger,” Xia Chenshi sneered. “Do you think your great-aunt is the kind of person who would be willing to suffer a loss? That brat took so many things from the Fan family. Given your great-aunt’s personality, it’s no wonder this matter won’t end well.”
"Let's hold off for now and see what happens if we can't handle the Fan family. Your mother and I will take care of this, so just relax and wait to get married," Xia Changjiang comforted him.
When the topic of marriage came up, Xia Xiumei blushed slightly, looking quite charming.
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