Chapter 7: The Whole Family Eats Meat

Back home, Bai Jing began sorting the items using a winnowing basket.

For the truly difficult ones to categorize, she stopped bothering with them; at worst, she would just crush them and boil them all together—better than going hungry.

By the end of the afternoon, she had gathered nearly twenty-three catties of grain, which would be enough to feed the family for a while.

Thinking about the money in her system, Bai Jing’s heart trembled slightly. She felt it would be better to acquire more valuable items to exchange for money through the system to serve as a safeguard, which would also make using the system more convenient.

But where could she get money?

To test the system's tolerance, Bai Jing had exchanged all the household items, but unfortunately, none of them were worth anything.

It seemed she would have to go find some antiques or gold and silver.

Since the family had none of these things, Bai Jing pondered for a long time before finally setting a target: she would go to the former landlord's house. It wasn't impossible that some treasures might have been left behind there.

Her mind was working, but her hands did not stop. Because she had found grain in the afternoon, Bai Jing didn't feel any sting of waste while preparing dinner.

She wasn't afraid of her mother scolding her either. Since it was food going into their bellies, let her scold if she must; as long as her younger siblings were no longer "big-headed babies," it was fine.

Besides, she needed to grow taller. After all, at sixteen years old, she was only a little over 1.4 meters tall. She didn't want to walk with her friends in this life looking like a short stunted dwarf just like in her previous life.

Eat well, eat enough, and quickly nourish the body.

As cooking smoke curled upward, the households whose members were not working in the fields began preparing their evening meals.

Chimneys in every household began to emit wisps of smoke, the signal that villagers were busy making dinner.

At the edge of the village, white smoke also rose from the chimney of the Bai family kitchen.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the country paths, and a flock of sparrows hopped joyfully in the trees, as if performing a happy dance.

Since there was leftover chicken from noon, Bai Jing made the staple food a bit firmer, given the good harvest this afternoon.

Paired with a meat dish, it should be enough to fill everyone's bellies.

The fire in the kitchen cast a red glow on Bai Jing's face as she skillfully stirred vegetables in the large iron wok. The leftover chicken fat from noon sizzled in the pan, and the aroma of oil mixed with the fragrance of vegetables, permeating the entire room.

As darkness fell, the villagers gradually finished their work and returned home. The three children, who had already finished school, went straight to the fields to meet their mothers.

By the time everyone returned, they smelled an enticing aroma.

"Mother, what delicious thing is Big Sister making? It smells so good!"

The first to speak was the youngest, the boy. He moved a lot and got hungry quickly, making him the most unable to resist the temptation of such a scent.

Thinking of the bowl of chicken eaten at noon, the fatigue on Luo Chunhua's face dissipated slightly. "You'll know once you go inside and see." Looking at the thin children, a faint smile appeared on Luo Chunhua's face.

Upon hearing his mother's words, Bai Yong immediately ran toward the kitchen, shouting as he ran, "Big Sister! Big Sister, I'm back!"

Bai Jing had also extinguished the fire in the stove; the multigrain rice she had cooked was ready.

"Xiao Yong, did Mother come back with you?" Bai Jing put down the iron tongs and stood up to walk out, only to bump into her brother at the doorway.

"You brat, slow down! You bumped into me and it hurts!" Bai Jing was nearly knocked flying by the collision. If she hadn't been quick enough to grab the doorframe, she would have landed hard on her backside.

Seeing that he had bumped into his sick elder sister, Bai Yong felt very embarrassed, but the aroma in the room was too tempting. He sniffed the air. "Big Sister, what did you make? It smells so good."

Rubbing the spot where he had been bumped, Bai Jing gave him an annoyed slap. "All you think about is eating. Can't you see your sister is in pain?" This child needed a lesson.

Luo Chunhua, leading the two daughters, also walked over. Seeing her daughter grabbing Xiao Yong, she asked, "What's going on?"

Bai Jing had no intention of tattling. "Mother, Second Sister, you're all back. Go wash up and eat; the food is just ready." Bai Jing let go of her brother's hand and immediately stepped out to greet them. "Luck was good today; I dug up quite a few nests of broom rats."

"Big Sister, did you go into the mountains?" The one most excited by this news was Xiao Yong. He did this quite often, but unfortunately, being young, he couldn't find many nests.

"Are you going again tomorrow? Take me with you!" The little fellow's eyes sparkled with brilliance.

But Bai Lie wouldn't spoil him. "You have school tomorrow. What are you going for? Careful, or Mother will whip you."

She knew exactly how much her mother cared about schooling; even after many years, she knew how much importance her mother placed on the children's education.

"If you dare skip school tomorrow, see how I whip you." Mother Bai's voice came ominously from behind Bai Yong.

It gave him a direct fright. "Mother, you... how are you here?" His mother had clearly gone into the house.

Bai Jing rolled her eyes at her younger brother. "What can you even see? All you see is Big Sister. Hmph, go away."

It smelled so good; Big Sister must have gotten something good today.

That was the smell of meat; she remembered it.

Bai Ling also gave Bai Yong a shove. "Don't block the way."

Fine.

Bai Yong instantly became the outcast of the family.

"Mother, look at Second Sister and Third Sister, they're bullying me!" Bai Yong was thick-skinned and complained with absolute righteousness.

But Mother Bai had no interest in dealing with him. "Your sisters are right, don't block the way."

She still remembered the smell of meat from noon; after working all afternoon, she was hungry.

Bai Jing watched her brother's performance quietly, not realizing that her brother could be so cute when he was little.

In her memory, the image of her brother had become very, very faint.

After all, her brother had passed away in his twenties. Even though she had gone to pay respects every year for the decades that followed, his appearance had gradually faded.

Her family had lived as if soaked in bitter water; no matter how much bitterness there was, they had it all.

*Sigh.*

"Alright, go wash up quickly. It's time to eat."

The house had no electricity, so the kitchen was somewhat dim. Bai Jing had already lit a lamp; it was a tung oil lamp. Since they could make their own oil, she didn't mind the cost.

Entering the kitchen and seeing meat on the table, the three siblings, aside from Luo Chunhua, were filled with wonder.

"Big Sister, where did the meat come from?" Their family didn't raise chickens; they couldn't afford such a thing, and even if they did, it wouldn't end up in their bellies, so there was no need to raise them.

Seeing the look of amazement on her siblings' faces, Bai Jing smiled and stepped forward. "I found it while I was in the mountains this morning."

But not a single person believed her; they all looked envious. "Big Sister, your luck is too good!"

"Yeah, yeah, we used to go into the mountains too, why never did we find any?" Bai Jing swallowed hard, struggled to look away, and looked at her sister. "Big Sister, is there more? Can you find more tomorrow?"

Before Bai Jing could speak, Luo Chunhua couldn't take it anymore. "Enough! You think the wild chickens in the mountains belong to our family? You can't just eat them whenever you want. Aren't you all hungry? Hurry up and come eat."

She had seen the rice cooking in the pot just now—multigrain rice. It seemed Jing'er had been digging for nests this afternoon.

With the meat from noon as a base, she wouldn't say much about tonight, but she still wanted them to eat sparingly, as there were still some days until the grain distribution.

Grain was distributed only after the autumn harvest was turned in, and not all of it would go into their hands, so they had to be frugal.

"Eat!" "Eat!" "Eat!"

Three voices rang out simultaneously.

Bai Jing smiled as she watched her younger siblings. Without the hardships of later life, the bond between the siblings was still quite good.

Even though she had been reborn, she was willing to change her family's fate; after all, they had all suffered so much.

If it could be changed, it was better to change it.

They were born of the same mother; there wasn't truly deep-seated hatred, and since everyone was caught up in their own circumstances, no one could be blamed. She herself had her own selfish motives.

During the meal, no one even had a chance to speak.

Because she had eaten meat at noon, Bai Jing didn't eat much during this meal, but she drank two bowls of soup.

It wasn't just her; Mother Bai did the same. But Bai Jing felt bad for her and placed quite a bit of meat in her bowl. Combined with the filialness of the other three children, she ended up eating nearly half a bowl of meat.

Seeing everyone eating so happily, Bai Jing planned to bring back two more wild chickens tomorrow.

(End of Chapter)