"Winter Plum, are you hot? Go sit over there. And bring a few more eggs, Mother will light the stove."
She grew up in the countryside in her previous life, and all she did was tend the stove; she learned it at the age of seven.
"Mother, why are you here?" Lamei looked up at the sound of her voice. Before she could react, her mother took the firewood from her hand and pulled her up.
"Mother, Grandma locked the eggs in the cupboard, and I can't open them," Lamei continued.
Yan Xia threw the lit straw and firewood into the stove, then got up, picked up a thick wooden stick, and smashed it hard against the cabinet.
The old lock was smashed to the ground.
"Look, it's open. Wash the eggs and put them in the pot to boil. Let's have a good meal today."
Yan Xia remained expressionless; her actions had truly terrified La Mei.
"Mom, won't Grandma scold you for this? Mom, what's wrong with you today?"
"It's alright, your grandma is still sleeping on the ground. Cook them all, don't leave any. Take the cured meat down from the roof too, I'll make some stir-fried cured meat with chili peppers later. You cook a pot of rice in a clay pot, but don't add too much water, I only eat dry rice," Yan Xia instructed.
Since her own mother had spoken, Lamei had no choice but to do as she was told. After all, her mother would take care of the consequences if the sky fell. It just so happened that she hadn't eaten an egg in two years. The last time she ate one was when she was helping her cousin wash clothes. A piece of egg white fell out of his sleeve, and although it was covered in wood ash, Lamei couldn't resist eating it.
Just thinking about the taste of eggs made Lamei's mouth water. Her life at the Chen family wasn't much better. She ate wild vegetable porridge or coarse rice porridge every day. She wasn't starving, but she wasn't full either, and her mouth had no taste at all.
As for why her grandmother slept on the floor, Lamei didn't care at all.
Let her sleep wherever she wants; it's not good for her anyway. Sleeping in a latrine is none of her business.
The mother and daughter were busy preparing the meal, and soon everything was ready. Meanwhile, Guihua had already called the remaining three children back.
"Come on, everyone go wash your hands first, then sit down and eat quickly. I have something to tell you after you've eaten. Guihua should have mentioned it to you earlier. We'll discuss it later. I'm starving."
After Yan Xia finished speaking, she picked up her bowl and chopsticks and sat down at the table first. She filled a bowl with rice and topped it with two golden fried eggs. When she took a bite, the yolks flowed out. They were even soft-boiled eggs. She ate a bite of rice and a bite of egg, then took a bite of stir-fried cured pork with chili peppers. She chewed the three flavors together.
"Wow, it smells so good! It's so delicious! What are you all standing there for? Sit down and eat! Aren't you hungry?"
Since their mother had said so, the five of them had no choice but to obediently sit down.
At first, they only dared to eat rice in small bites. After Yan Xia put a large chopstick of vegetables on each of their plates, they bravely began to eat heartily.
In just fifteen minutes, a large bowl of stir-fried cured pork with chili peppers, eighteen boiled eggs, and a pot of rice were all eaten clean.
I didn't make too many fried eggs, just two for each person.
The cured pork here isn't too salty; it's just right to eat with rice.
The five siblings hadn't eaten meat for years. Since their father passed away, the food had become increasingly worse. They sat at the small dining table, burping contentedly.
"Alright, now that we've eaten and drunk our fill, it's time to get down to business. Guihua, put down your bowls and chopsticks. No need to wash them. Today we're leaving this den of wolves and will never have to put up with that old woman's temper again. But do you really want to leave? I'm afraid you'll have to suffer for a while. The temple at the village entrance is dilapidated, but at least it has a gate and is barely habitable. We'll stay there temporarily after we leave. As for the land, I don't have the money to buy it. We'll clear the wasteland then. There's plenty of wasteland in Baihua Village."
"I'll see if I can start a small business and try to get you three brothers to get married next year. Guihua and Lamei can get married a little later, eighteen is not too late. What do you all think?"
After making a simple plan, Yan Xia looked at the group.
“Mother, I’ll go with you. I’ll go wherever you go,” said Guihua, the second daughter.
“Like my eldest sister, home is wherever our mother is.” The eldest brother, Chen Jinfu, quickly took sides as well.
"Mother, I don't want to stay in this wretched place anymore. Grandma scolds me every day, and Yinbao beats me all the time. Look, my arm is covered in bruises. Mother, I'd rather starve or work myself to death than stay here." The third son, Chen Jinlu, rolled up his sleeves, revealing bruises all over them, which made Yan Xia's eyebrows twitch.
"As long as I can have a full stomach, I'm fine with going anywhere." After saying that, Lao Si La Mei picked her teeth with her chopsticks. She smacked her lips and ate the bits of meat stuck between her teeth with reluctance.
Since her father died, she has forgotten the taste of meat. She can't even taste meat broth, let alone meat.
As long as she could eat meat, she would be willing to live in a dilapidated temple or even a latrine, let alone a ruined temple.
"Fifth son, what about you?" Chen Jinshou, the youngest son who was called out by Yan Xia, lowered his head and remained silent.
Just as he looked up to respond, a commotion arose in the courtyard.
"Where are they all? Guihua, empty your cousin's chamber pot, it's almost full. That lazy brat, you're going to get a beating, or I'll tell your grandma and she'll beat you to death."
Guihua's eldest cousin-in-law, Li Rulan, had already gotten up. Ever since she married into the Chen family and gave birth to their only great-grandson, Chen Tiangui, she had become incredibly powerful, and the whole family had to fawn over her. Even the hot-tempered Chen Lishi treated Li Rulan with kindness and gentleness.
"Are you deaf? Can't you hear me? Osmanthus, Osmanthus! Where is she? She died this early in the morning! Oh, I'm so angry! Winter Plum, Winter Plum, come out and empty the chamber pot—"
Li Rulan shouted at the top of her lungs for a long time, but no one paid any attention to her.
Yan Xia, who was in the kitchen, pulled her two daughters and gestured for them not to go out.
Tired of calling out, Li Rulan had no choice but to angrily empty the chamber pot herself.
After everyone left, Yan Xia began to give instructions.
"Guihua, you and Lamei go and pack all the bedding and clothes in your room. We're leaving today. Jinfu, go and invite your village head grandfather over as soon as it's light. Now you and Jinlu go back to your room and pack your luggage. Remember, don't leave anything behind. If you can't take anything with you today, you probably won't be able to take it with you later. As for Jinshou, you'll be the same as them."
Yan Xia felt that her youngest son's expression was a bit strange, but she didn't think too much about it. After all, it was the first time she had met him, and even though she could get along with him from memory, he still seemed a little unfamiliar.
After the children left, Yan Xia quietly moved the rice bucket from the kitchen into her spatial dimension, not even leaving behind the last few pieces of cured meat. Only after she finished did she lock the cabinet and come out.
It was already past dawn, the sky was beginning to lighten, and the clouds in the east were adorned with golden rays of light. In just over ten minutes, it would be fully light.
All the sounds came from every room in the Chen family home.
They're probably all up and getting dressed.
She went into the woodshed and closed the door. The bloodstains on Chen Li's body had dried, and she was fine. She would probably be unconscious for a while.
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