Li often said privately, "Even if they live in the same family and are brothers from the same mother, once they get married, they become another family!"

After listening for a long time, Yuan knew that only her father, mother and she were a family, and even her grandparents could not be counted in, because her grandparents were also "another family".

Every time Li said this, Fu Dabai's expression was not good, but he never refuted, at most he would say, "Okay, we are a family after all, and the child is still here, don't say these things."

Li would always say unconvincedly, "What is the child afraid of? It's just right for Yuan to listen to it, so that he won't be taken advantage of by others!"

Then there was a long string of chatter interspersed with various swear words.

Usually, Li mentioned this because Yuan's food was eaten by the rabbits and apricots, or Li was afraid that Yuan would give the food to the rabbits and apricots, or that there would not be enough food for their room, or when the food was about to be divided, Li was afraid that there would not be enough food.

For example, now, it is already past noon and smoke is just beginning to come out of Lao Fu’s stove.

Today it was the turn of Xiao Yang from the second room to cook.

Little Yang's cooking skills have never been very good. She is the daughter of a relative of Old Yang, and after many connections, she can barely be considered Old Yang's niece.

Her mother died when she was two or three years old. Her stepmother found her annoying when she came into the family and was in a hurry to send her away when she was only eleven or twelve years old.

It happened that old Mrs. Yang went back to visit her relatives and wanted to find a wife for her son. However, when the stepmother asked around, everyone said that she could not marry into the Fu family because they were too poor. If a mouse went into the family, it would be like giving their family a meatless feast.

When the stepmother heard this, she was so happy that she gave little Yang away for a dowry of three cents.

Old Mrs. Yang took her home, raised her for two years, and then gave her to her second son without even holding a wedding. When she was fourteen years old, young Mrs. Yang gave birth to her first son.

When little Yang left home, her stepmother did not give her a penny of dowry. She only had a tattered bundle and two patched clothes that she turned over three times for fear that not a penny would be taken away.

When my daughter left the house, she said, "Don't come back even if you starve to death. Being rich and powerful is your own business. If you want to bring something back, it's out of your conscience."

I'm still thinking about what to send back.

Little Yang grew up in this kind of environment. She could do all kinds of work except cooking. Her stepmother was afraid that she would steal food, so she locked the door of the stove three times when it was not in use.

I started learning to cook after I married into the Lao Fu family, but I don’t have much talent and my skills are so poor that it’s hard to describe.

She was also very stingy. She was reluctant to put in too much rice or flour, and only used a few drops of oil and grains of salt.

Cooking in this way is suitable for family conditions, but it is really unpalatable.

Although the pots, pans, and utensils were always eaten until they were shiny, I was still really hungry after eating.

Every time she cooked, Li had to give instructions to Yuan.

"Mom is telling you, don't slurp the food your grandma gives you. That won't make you full.

Your second aunt is stingy to begin with. Even if you tell her to grab a handful of rice, she will grab half a handful and save the other half.

Even then you have to add a full pot of water to it, and it will all go down in a gulp after you drink it, and it will be gone after two trips to the toilet. What do you think you can get from me?

Everything she did will end up in the stomachs of her sons and grandchildren!

Although the old lady didn't say it, she was biased towards her son in her heart. She thought her grandson was inferior to her, let alone her granddaughter.

You are the only one between your father and me, and you are lucky to be favored by her. You still don't have many grains of rice in your bowl, but you are just better off than your two cousins.

You should eat quickly after a while, and when you have finished the food in your bowl, ask your father and grandfather for help. Because you, an old lady, feel sorry for them, you will naturally give them some more.

Don't worry about your two sisters, let them stare if they want. They don't even love their own parents, so how can they expect their uncle's family to share the food from their bowl?

You are just stupid enough to think they are sisters from the same family.

They didn't crawl out of your mother's belly. They have their own families and brothers. They are members of two other families. If they want to eat, they can go to their parents and brothers for help.

They only have one meal a day, which is not enough for them, why do you care about their lives?"

Yuan was carried around by Li while being chattered about. He put on his clothes and washed his face in a daze. He also had two round little pigtails tied on his hair.

Ever since Yuan was tricked into giving away his two buns, Li felt that she had raised a fool and she had to remind Yuan all the time not to care about his cousins.

Li continued his usual ramblings and finally asked, "Did you listen?"

"I heard you. I won't give it to you." Yuan rubbed his sleepy eyes and responded obediently with a listless look.

Adults can eat less and endure it.

But the children couldn't bear it. They were so hungry that they staggered after walking a few steps. All we could do was to tell them to sleep a little longer. When they fell asleep, they wouldn't be hungry anymore.

Therefore, the children of Lao Fu's family often sleep until noon and have food as soon as they wake up.

After eating, I would sit by the fire in the big house and stay awake for the whole afternoon. Then I would go to sleep at night, feeling dazed and living one day at a time.

People like Yuan and his friends at this age cannot find a job even if they want to.

In winter, they could only rely on Fu Dabai and his brothers to go to the town to find some manual labor. The Li women embroidered handkerchiefs and purses to sell, and occasionally they could take on some work such as washing, mending, and cooking to supplement the family income, but there were not many such jobs in the village.

The money the adults earn is just enough to get by.

The heavy snow these days has blocked the roads, so I can't go out to find work even if I want to.

These are all idle talk. The most important thing right now is to eat. After Li gave the instructions, she felt relieved when she heard A Yuan agree.

Yuan has always been an obedient person and will do whatever he promised to his parents.

Li touched Yuan's head with satisfaction and said, "Yuan is so good."

Then he took her out the door.

Fu Dabai followed them yawning, and it was obvious that he had just woken up like A Yuan.

Little Yang had already placed the food on the table in the big room.

A bowl of watery porridge, eight or nine steamed buns, and a plate of shredded mustard greens.

The adults could get half a steamed bun and half a bowl of porridge, and the children got the rest. Two or three-year-old children like Yuan, Xingzi and Niu Wa were not full, let alone the older children.

The Yang couple from the second wife never cared whether the child was hungry or not.

Zhao and Wang broke the steamed bread in their hands again and again, hid a small piece in their sleeves, and gave some of the bread to their sons.

Rabbit and Apricot stared at it for a while before lowering their heads and biting into their own steamed bread.

Li also hid a piece, which would usually end up in Yuan's mouth. But when Li wanted to break off a piece in his hand to share with Yuan, Fu Dabai got there first and gave him a piece of his own steamed bread.

A Yuan took it silently, but did not eat it. He hid it in his sleeve, planning to share it with his parents when he returned home hungry at night.

Old Mrs. Yang, who was distributing porridge, paused and poured him another spoonful of porridge with a wooden face.

Fu Dabai finished his meal with a slurp, but the spoonful of porridge was saved in the bowl and poured into Li and A Yuan's mouths by Fu Dabai.

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