Unaware that he had been rejected by his brothers, Duolu wandered over to Yu Rujia and said softly, "Auntie, have some pancakes."
Yu Rujia patted his little head, thinking how nice it was to touch, but it didn't change her mind: "We'll eat it tomorrow, not today."
Duolu looked a little aggrieved, his big eyes gazing at the mooncakes placed high up. He then nuzzled against Yu Rujia, pleadingly, "Auntie, just a little bit, just a little bit."
Yu Rujia pressed down on the little dumpling that was still trying to rub against her: "No, I said we'd eat it tomorrow, so we'll eat it tomorrow."
Duolu bargained: "I'll eat it tomorrow, the same amount as my older brother." He had obviously noticed that Duofu's portion was different from his, but he was in a hurry to eat the mooncakes and didn't have time to protest.
Just then, a series of screams caught their attention. It turned out that Duoxi had finished her mooncakes but still wanted more, and was pulling on Gao Shujing's hair in protest.
Unfortunately, the protests were ineffective. After all, he's young, and it's already good enough that he got a taste and a chance to participate. Who would dare let him eat more?
To divert the children's attention from the mooncakes, Yu Rujia coldly and ruthlessly put them away amidst the children's reluctant gazes. They were all the kind that couldn't be eaten in large quantities, so there was no point in looking at them.
The little ones swallowed hard, and Duofu comforted the twins, "It's alright, we can eat more when we grow up."
Yu Rujia left with the mooncakes, leaving the children there to discuss how to grow up.
Thinking of the huge pile of meat at home, Yu Rujia prepared some braising spices and found Gao Shujing, who was coaxing Duoxi who was making a fuss because she couldn't get mooncakes: "We're having braised meat tonight."
Gao Shujing changed the way he held Duoxi: "Have you prepared the braising ingredients?"
Yu Rujia: "Yes, it's been a long time since I've had this. With so much meat on the table, it would be a real shame not to make some braised meat."
Upon seeing Yu Rujia, Duoxi stretched out his two chubby little hands to hug him. In his little heart, he felt that the uncle was a bad person who wouldn't give him any good food, so he wouldn't play with him anymore.
Yu Rujia took the person and then handed the braising sauce to Gao Shujing.
The latter took the braised food, glanced at Duoxi who was affectionately hugging Yu Rujia and rubbing against her, and flicked his forehead in annoyance: "Little guy, you've grown quite temperamental."
Duoxi cried out to Gao Shujing a few times, hugging Yu Rujia's neck, indicating that he and his aunt were the best of friends in the world and he didn't want the bad uncle.
The meal on Mid-Autumn Festival was plentiful, consisting of eight dishes: braised pork (dried, fragrant, crispy, tender, and succulent), stir-fried pork intestines, stir-fried pork liver, garlic ribs, boiled fish fillets, pork tripe and chicken, fish porridge, and water spinach.
If it weren't for the fact that only these two families live here, I really wouldn't dare to cook so much; it smells just too good.
Yu Rujia's mouth was covered in oil from eating, while Duofu, who had a few edible dishes, also ate without lifting his head.
The three unlucky ones, the twins and Duoxi, could only eat fish porridge and taste some pork tripe and chicken soup. No matter how much the three of them made a fuss, they couldn't get a single bite of the other dishes.
Looking at the three pitiful children, Duofu decided in his little heart to be more considerate of his younger brother in the future, since they couldn't eat many delicious things. He happily took a bite of the fragrant rib, squinted his eyes, and sighed that his younger brother was too pitiful.
Yu Rujia chuckled at his cute expression and asked, "Duofu, what's wrong with you?"
Duofu opened his eyes: "My brothers can only eat porridge and soup. When I eat other good things, I try not to open my eyes to look at them. I can't bear to see them looking so pitiful."
A smug expression graced his little face. Luckily, Duolu and the others couldn't understand him, otherwise a group beating would definitely have been inevitable.
Yu Rujia said mischievously, "Why don't you eat the same food as your brothers, and leave the rest of the dishes for me and your uncle?"
Duofu shook his head and said, "No, my younger brothers can't eat good food. I have to eat more for them. I can't waste Uncle's cooking skills."
Gao Shujing glanced at the little guy who was talking to himself, and silently continued to feed Duoxi. In this family, everyone except him was an ancestor, especially little Duoxi. If he took away the food in his mouth, he would definitely make a fuss.
After the family finished eating, Yu Rujia took the children to wash up.
Gao Shujing quickly tidied up the dishes and, under the cover of night, carried two large baskets of things to the cowshed.
Xia Jingxing, who had been waiting in the darkness outside, heard footsteps and quietly peeked out. Seeing that it was only Gao Shujing who came, he took a few big steps forward, happily took a basket, and asked, "Fourth Brother, what delicious food did you bring? It smells so good."
They lived in a cowshed. Although they were not subjected to physical torture, they could only eat until they were seven or eight tenths full each day. Most of their meals were simple and plain. They relied on Gao Shujing to send them good food, but only on a limited number of occasions.
Given their identities, Gao Shujing couldn't visit them too often, lest he be discovered.
The food couldn't be too good either; they had to avoid any meaty aroma. Because of this, they didn't even dare to cook meat and could only occasionally eat some cooked food brought by Gao Shujing.
When I cook for myself, the best thing is boiled eggs. But even so, with so many people, it's impossible to have them every day. It's already good enough if we can have one every few days.
Xia Jingxing would sometimes go up the mountain for a treat and bring some meat down for his family, but he did so less often than Gao Shujing did.
In fact, the Xia family's meals were better than many other families in the brigade. It's just that three or four months ago, they had plenty of meat and fish at every meal, but now they can't eat meat even once every ten days or half a month. The difference is too obvious.
Having not eaten meat for half a month, Xia Jingxing's mouth was already incredibly bland. Guessing that Gao Shujing would bring them food around the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xia Jingxing stayed outside for the past two nights, not returning home until nine or ten o'clock at night.
Gao Shujing: "You'll definitely like it."
Xia Jingxing drooled and said, "I like any kind of meat."
Hearing the noise from inside, Xia Jingfan opened the door, let the two in, and then closed it again.
Gao Shujing: "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival."
After receiving everyone's Mid-Autumn Festival greetings, Xia Jingxing had already taken out everything from the basket, his mouth watering even more.
They hadn't eaten so many fancy dishes since the family tragedy.
Smelling the aroma, Xia Jingxing couldn't help but praise, "Fourth Brother, your cooking skills are getting better and better. I can't wait to start eating."
That's what they said, but Xia Yuanqiang and the four elders didn't touch their chopsticks. He could only watch the food without taking a bite.
Fortunately, Xia Yuanqiang, the patriarch, didn't keep him waiting too long. As soon as the dishes were laid out, he picked up a piece of braised meat with his chopsticks and said, "Everyone, eat up quickly so no one can smell the aroma." Then he put the meat slice in his mouth and savored the meaty flavor.
Gao Shujing braised the meat for several hours until it was so soft it was like mud, falling apart at the slightest touch. Even though Xia Yuanqiang had lost several teeth, it didn't affect his eating speed.
He started eating, and everyone else followed suit, with the food on the table visibly decreasing.
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