Chapter 6: Partiality

"Sanfu."

Seeing Sanfu staring fixedly at the swaddling clothes, holding back tears with a stubborn look on his face, Zhou Zhaodi gently pulled back a corner of the blanket. A pair of grape-like eyes slowly opened, and the fair, adorable baby grinned, causing Zhou Zhaodi’s heart to melt.

"This is Sanfu's little sister."

Sanfu took a step back. "No, she isn't!"

"She's not a little sister at all!" Thinking of Fang Hongying’s words—'Once your mom has a little sister, she won't want you anymore'—Sanfu’s hostility grew stronger. "This is a little brat here to steal my mom and dad!"

"Sanfu, you mustn't call your sister a brat!" Zhou Zhaodi was taken aback and immediately retorted, pulling Sanfu over with a much softer tone

"This is Sanfu's little sister. Even if Mom has a little sister, Sanfu will always be Mom’s favorite good boy!"

"That's not true!" Sanfu shoved Zhou Zhaodi away, shouting "little money-loser" as he ran toward the front yard, leaving Zhou Zhaodi so angry that she clutched her stomach and crouched down.

Seeing Lin Xiangrong opening her round eyes, opening her mouth to make a soft, milky "ah-ah..." sound, and waving her lotus-root-like arms as if trying to comfort her, Zhou Zhaodi hurriedly tucked the blanket in and coaxed her gently: "It's okay, it's okay, don't be afraid." In her heart, she felt much more resentment toward her sister-in-law, Fang Hongying.

It was all Fang Hongying’s fault for coming to the west wing to gossip, and now that the child had heard it, it would be hard to correct if he took it to heart.

She would have to have a word with her mother-in-law and have her tell the eldest sister-in-law to watch her mouth.

Zhou Zhaodi went back into the room, wrapped herself in a military overcoat, and cradled Lin Xiangrong as she walked toward the front yard.

"Grandma!"

Sanfu rushed to the front yard in one breath. As soon as he pushed the door open, a wave of heat from the kitchen hit him. He shoved aside Dani and Erni, who were carrying firewood, and rushed in front of Wang Cuilan, who was beating eggs to make steamed egg custard

"Grandma, Mom doesn't like me anymore, she only likes that little money-loser!" Sanfu shouted at the top of his lungs, screaming: "Mom had that little money-loser and doesn't want me anymore! Hurry up and throw the sister away!"

"What?!"

Wang Cuilan was placing the bowl into the pot to steam the custard. Upon hearing Sanfu’s words, she turned around and glared.

"Sanfu, who did you learn that from!"

Hearing her grandson clamoring to throw away the little granddaughter who had descended from heaven, she was so angry that she took off her shoe, grabbed Sanfu, and smacked his bottom twice.

Wang Cuilan pulled her shoe back on, put one hand on her hip, and pointed at Sanfu’s forehead with the other, looking stern. "Don't you ever say that again."

What if the fairy who descended from heaven heard him and got upset enough to return to the sky?

Sanfu was startled by Wang Cuilan, but country children were smacked a couple of times every day; the hits weren't solid and didn't really hurt. He just pulled up his pants, looking wilted, and replied, "Oh, I know."

"Sanfu, come play!" called Erfu, the eldest son's child. "There are so many ants in this nest!"

"Coming!" Sanfu sniffled, then trotted over happily to watch the ants.

"Dani, Erni, you two dead girls, you have no sense at all! After carrying the firewood, don't you know to go wash the clothes?!"

Zhang Miao dragged Dani and Erni, who had just finished carrying the firewood, over and pinched their arms hard, turning the girls' faces pale with pain.

"Hurry up and get to work!" Zhang Miao scolded loudly: "Taking up a boy's spot and still want to enjoy blessings?" I haven't even had time to enjoy any blessings myself, yet you two are acting like princesses.

"K-know, Mom." Dani, wearing tattered, patched clothes, her face thin and dark, shivered when she saw Zhang Miao raise her hand and hurriedly pulled Erni away to wash the clothes.

Erni was only as tall as the stove. She was wearing clothes that had belonged to Dani two years ago; the stains wouldn't wash out anymore, and there wasn't a single piece of good fabric left.

"Dafu, Erfu, and Sanfu, time to eat egg custard!"

Only the three grandsons in the family got to eat this egg custard. They said it was because they were growing fast and got hungry easily, so they added a snack in the afternoon. Let alone the daughters-in-law, even Wang Cuilan hadn't eaten it.

Eggs were very precious these days.

A few eggs could be traded for a catty of lard or kerosene, or they could be traded for a bit of coarse flour to make noodles. Each family was only allowed to raise four chickens; any more and they would be reported as capitalists.

Wang Cuilan took out three small bowls and divided a few spoonfuls for each boy; there was nothing left over. She licked the residue with her tongue, and after licking it clean, she tossed the small basin aside.

The three boys slurped the custard down noisily.

In the yard, Dani and Erni smelled the fragrance of the egg custard, swallowing their saliva while rubbing their empty stomachs, their eyes unable to stop glancing at the three boys eating inside the room.

"Sister, what does egg custard taste like?" Erni asked in a low voice. "It smells so good. Do you think Grandma would give me some?"

They hadn't even eaten a single slice of the cured meat from last night; Erni had been so hungry that she had just picked up her chopsticks when Grandma smacked her hand.

Smelling the egg custard again today, her heart felt like it was being scratched by a kitten.

In this day and age, one could barely eat their fill, and it was hard to see meat even once a month.

When the autumn harvest was poor, a family of several people could only gnaw on corn buns, and they wouldn't even see a bowl of thick porridge.

Not being full was the norm.

"Shh, don't let Grandma hear you." Dani covered Erni's mouth. "If Grandma and Mom hear you, you'll definitely get a beating. Do you still want to sleep tonight?"

A flash of terror appeared in Erni's eyes, and she quickly lowered her head, scrubbing the clothes vigorously.

As the autumn wind blew, her little hands ached with cold.

After finishing the grandsons' egg custard, Wang Cuilan turned into the south wing.

Zhang Miao didn't know what her mother-in-law was up to, so she followed, holding the tattered clothes she was mending for Erni.

"Mom, Second Sister-in-law." Zhou Zhaodi was teasing her daughter. Seeing her mother-in-law and sister-in-law enter one after the other, she asked, "Is there no work tomorrow?"

"That's right." As soon as Wang Cuilan saw Lin Xiangrong, who was rolling her eyes and observing the room from her swaddling clothes, she beamed and scooped Lin Xiangrong into her arms. "Well, the autumn harvest is in a few days, so the team leader gave us a few days off to let the laborers harvest their own plots."

"Oh, my precious granddaughter is so beautiful, but she's too light. She needs more breast milk. Your milk is thin and scarce, and the little girl is always hungry. We have to add a snack to supplement her." After Wang Cuilan finished speaking, she pondered for a moment and continued: "When Yuannan and Yuanxi come back from work later, I'll have them go to the foot of the mountain to catch some game for you to nourish your body, so you can produce more milk and feed our precious granddaughter until she's white and chubby."

Although wild game often had a strange smell if not cooked well, it was meat, after all.

"Mm." Zhou Zhaodi had only just responded and hadn't had a chance to speak when she heard Zhang Miao’s machine-gun mouth firing away.

Zhang Miao glared, and upon hearing Zhou Zhaodi agree, she immediately put down her work and said discontentedly, "Mom, this is just a girl. What's the point of feeding her until she's white and chubby? She'll just have to marry out eventually."

"As the saying goes, a married daughter is like spilled water. Isn't this just a money-loser?!" Zhang Miao shot a look at Zhou Zhaodi. She really didn't know what kind of love potion she had fed her mother-in-law.

"Stop your yapping, go mend your clothes on the side. This doesn't concern you." Wang Cuilan rolled her eyes, her sharp, mean-spirited face showing: "You've only given birth to two girls, and you have the nerve to talk? Go on, go on, don't be an eyesore."

She turned her head and gave Zhou Zhaodi a loving smile: "Third daughter-in-law, you sit down and rest first. When Yuannan comes back, I'll have him catch some game to nourish your body."

[Wild game?]

Liu Meng was only a year older than Lin Xiangrong. At the beginning of the plot, Liu Meng insisted that her father go to the foot of the mountain to find wild game. Sure enough, Old Liu brought back two large, fat wild rabbits, and the whole family ate until their mouths were oily.

Lin Xiangrong opened her eyes wide. No, watching Liu Meng eat meat was more painful than eating excrement herself.

[At the foot of the mountain on the west side of the village, near the river, there is a large rock. Beside the rock, there is a large, fat wild rabbit, and if you go further in, you can see a rabbit that fell into a pit and can't get out!]

[Oh my, will it be picked up by someone else? No, watching the Liu family eat meat is more painful than me being hungry!]

Lin Xiangrong wished she could instantly grow to 1.8 meters tall and go pick up the wild rabbits herself to eat.

Wang Cuilan caught a bit of this.

What?

Two large, fat wild rabbits?

Thinking carefully about the location, Wang Cuilan shoved Lin Xiangrong to Zhou Zhaodi, trotted out the door, and with a bamboo basket on her back, ran non-stop toward the west side of the village.

She couldn't be late, or someone else would pick them up!