The task of kneading the dough was given to the two sons, while Tao Wan's mother and Hu Shi sat on the kitchen threshold and chatted.
“Young lady, you’re a very open-minded person, so I won’t lie to you. Back in the day, I was the most beautiful courtesan in our brothel. I believed that man’s lies and became his mistress.”
Ms. Hu sighed, her words still tinged with resentment.
“I’ve grown old and lost my looks, so he’s started to dislike me. Plus, his business started to go badly last year, so he cut all ties with me. Before, I could still buy some food, but later, there was no more food in the city, so I sent my servants away and managed to hold on for another month or so.”
"Hey, young lady, I only opened the door to check on the baby crying outside, I never expected to run into such a big spender as you!"
“We are not wealthy people; we are poor country folk who had no choice but to leave our homes and flee famine.”
Tao Wanniang said, "That bag of flour is all the food we have. We'll make it all into noodles, and if we can't finish it tonight, we'll hang it up to dry so we can eat it on the road."
"Young lady, where are you headed? It seems like there's a famine everywhere these days. This damn weather, a single rainstorm feels like a death sentence. The last time it rained was back in the spring."
“It’s raining here, but we didn’t have any rain for a year and a half, and the whole village left.”
Tao Wanniang said, "However, we heard on our way here that there has been another locust plague!"
"Exactly!" Madam Hu replied. "The drought had already caused great suffering to the people, and just when they finally had a little harvest, a locust plague struck. It's as if God doesn't want people to live!"
"Didn't they say there was rice allocated by the imperial court?" Tao Wanniang asked subconsciously.
"Don't even mention that. I've been there. The porridge they served was as thin as water, and the steamed buns were hard and dry. They even tasted sour to me."
Hu said indignantly, "Sister, um... I still have two eggs. How about you take one and I'll take one..."
Tao Wanniang seemed much more relaxed. From inside the house, she heard her two sons' voices: the noodles had been reconciled!
“My two sons are all strength and no brains. I’ll do the noodle-pulling myself!” Tao Wan’s mother said, standing up. “As for the eggs, you should keep them for yourself. If you want, I’ll fry one for you.”
"Fried eggs? With oil? There's not a drop of oil in my house!"
Mrs. Hu said with a mix of frustration and embarrassment, "I have this house, but I have nothing!"
"Leave it to me," Tao Wanniang said confidently.
After putting their things away and comforting the child, Zhou Xiaoyun and Wang Hongyu huddled together. They were both quite surprised that Tao Wanniang could produce an ounce of silver and a bag of flour.
"Sister-in-law, do you think this flour was sent by that person down below? But this silver..."
Zhou Xiaoyun held the child and tried to soothe him, but for now, all she could give the child was some water.
Wang Hongyu shook her head. She wasn't sure either. If her mother-in-law had secretly hidden some money in the house, she wouldn't be surprised if she took out a few dozen coins. But this tael of silver? The most money the family had ever had before was only about five hundred coins. Where did her mother-in-law get this tael of silver?
"Xiaoyun, don't you think your mother-in-law seems like a completely different person?"
Wang Hongyu said in a low voice, "My mother-in-law used to only scold and boss people around, and she felt that everyone owed her something. But now, although she is still mean and bosses us around, she doesn't let us go hungry."
"Moreover, I feel that my mother-in-law has a lot of things that we don't know about."
"What my sister-in-law means is... my mother-in-law..."
Zhou Xiaoyun was a little unsure. That push had caused Tao Wanniang to die instantly, and she had been somewhat afraid ever since.
"I'm wondering if it was because you pushed Mother that day that she went down to the underworld and truly reunited with Father, or perhaps Father promised her something. We all know that Mother was absolutely loyal to Father her whole life, right?"
Wang Hongyu shared her guess: she felt that her in-laws had reconciled, and were currently living in a state of one on earth and the other in hell.
“Very likely!” Zhou Xiaoyun nodded. “She refused to leave Lingjia Village before because she knew that Father was down there, and that’s when she finally agreed. If Father hadn’t provided us with water and food along the way, we wouldn’t have lasted this long.”
“Sister-in-law, do you think we should also burn some paper money for Father? We’ve never paid our respects to him before.”
Zhou Xiaoyun finally concluded that the reason her mother-in-law had changed was all thanks to her father-in-law, whom she had never met.
Wang Hongyu shared the same sentiment, and the two had already been discussing when to burn paper money for her father-in-law.
"Wife, wife, come and eat your noodles!"
Ling Dahu cheered and called to Wang Hongyu, "Sister-in-law, why don't you take Er Gou over too? Mother's noodles smell amazing!"
"Aunt Liang, why don't you take Xiao Qiao'er with you to the kitchen too!"
As Ling Dahu spoke, he stepped forward and picked up his son, Gouwa, with a warm smile on his face.
"Wife, Mother really surprised us this time, those noodles smelled amazing!"
Holding her daughter Huani, Wang Hongyu started spitting as Ling Dahu spoke.
"Dog Boy's father, shouldn't we find a time to pay our respects to Father-in-law? We owe a lot to him, don't we?"
"Yes, but, honey, I... I really have no money left, not a single penny."
Wang Hongyu was taken aback, a bitter look on her face. Yes, they couldn't afford incense and paper money!
In the kitchen, Mrs. Hu looked at the plain noodles covered with a poached egg and kept swallowing her saliva. The noodles were so hot!
"Sister Tao, you're my savior! After eating this bowl of noodles today, you're my sister now!"
"It's just plain noodles in clear broth. Eat it as long as it's not too hot."
Tao Wanniang spoke lightly, but for anyone at this moment, this bowl of noodles was extremely precious.
Soon, everyone had arrived.
"Come on, everyone, eat up. After you eat my noodles, you'll all have to work. See? There are still so many raw noodles. I plan to dry them all so that we can cook them whenever we want to eat them on the road."
Tao Wanniang had already said what she wanted to say, and after she finished speaking, she started slurping her noodles.
Soon, the kitchen was filled with the sound of everyone slurping noodles. The noodles were mashed up so that even the youngest dog, Er Gou, could eat them.
After finishing the noodles, Tao Wan's mother had everyone put the noodles together and then put them in a ventilated place to dry.
"Sister Tao, come to my room. You've fed me, and I want to give you some things in return. I won't return the money; I'll have to rely on it to make a living in the future. Sister Tao, you don't mind, do you?"
"You've given so many of us a place to stay, so that one or two taels of silver is only fair."
Tao Wanniang said frankly that the place she was staying today was the cleanest she had been in the past month or so.
Without lingering, Madam Hu pulled Tao Wanniang into her own room.
"Sister Tao, come here. Here are some of my old clothes and some cheap jewelry. Pick some if you like. These things can't be exchanged for food, so I can only offer them as a token of my gratitude."
Tao Wan's mother was delighted.
"Then... I really will take it!"
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