Chapter 11: Feeding My Parents

At that time, Tu Sanmei’s reputation in the courtyard was already poor; she had no money and no furniture left to sell.

The people in the courtyard all avoided her.

Only Cao Lan, perhaps because she had too much time on her hands, deliberately showed off her steamed corn bun in front of her. Maybe she was being too smug, but she lost her grip, and the bun fell to the ground.

Tu Sanmei was so hungry back then that her eyes were bloodshot. She pounced like a starving wolf, picked it up, and shoved it into her mouth. It was mixed with dirt, and she choked so hard her eyes rolled back.

Cao Lan was both furious and indignant, cursing for several days, yet she still felt a knot of resentment in her heart.

Recalling the true sequence of events now, her expression became somewhat unnatural.

"Anyway, you ate my steamed bun."

Tu Shan admitted this: "So I’m paying you back with fish. As for the 'life-saving grace,' let’s not mention it."

Cao Lan gritted her teeth: "Fine, then what about the matter of the chest?"

Tu Shan walked over, picked up a wooden board, and toyed with it in her hand: "How do you want to settle it?"

Everyone watched, curious, as the perfectly sturdy board crumbled into splinters in her grip.

"Did your chest have termites?"

Cao Lan shook her head: "No."

She also walked over to pick up a piece and try to break it, but she couldn't.

She snatched the one from Tu Shan’s hand and tried again, but still couldn't break it.

Her face changed.

Tu Shan smiled: "Have you decided how to settle it?"

Cao Lan picked up the chest boards and, without a word, turned and left.

The others watched, feeling baffled.

Tu Shan’s meal was almost ready. She didn't have time to mess around with them and prepared to put out the fire to eat.

Only then did the crowd notice how fragrant the food was.

"Tu Sanmei, what kind of rice did you buy? It smells so good!"

Tu Shan stirred the thick vegetable porridge in a large clay pot with a twig: "Broken rice bought at the black market." She had added wild vegetables she had stimulated with her ability, which was why it was exceptionally fragrant.

The crowd was distracted again, asking in surprise: "You went to the black market?"

Tu Shan looked up, appearing puzzled: "Don't you?"

That person... he did, but he didn't dare say it.

Tu Shan carried the clay pot into the house and closed the door, blocking their prying eyes.

The people in the courtyard looked at each other. They all went to the black market.

Wait, weren't they asking why the rice smelled so good?

Inside the house, Tu Shan poured some porridge onto the taro leaves she had brought back, then lifted the pot and gulped it down.

She was starving and didn't even care that it burned her mouth.

The six-liter clay pot was filled to the brim; she only poured out a fifth, and the rest went straight into her stomach.

Even so, it only served as a base.

She peeled seven or eight pounds of peanuts and ate them before she felt like she had something in her stomach.

The peanuts she stimulated made her feel warm all over after eating them. Her depleted supernatural energy was slowly replenished, and the day's fatigue vanished.

She had also brought back some soil. With nothing else to do, she continued to stimulate the peanuts, preparing to take them to the black market tomorrow.

Around ten o'clock at night, her energy was exhausted, and she finally stopped.

Looking at the seven or eight hundred pounds of peanuts piled by the bed, she felt a great sense of accomplishment.

She ate another ten pounds of peanuts, and once her energy was full, she grabbed two pounds of peanuts and the leftover porridge and headed out.

This area was considered the rural outskirts.

On a midsummer night, the cicadas and insects were chirping, making it particularly lively.

The sky was filled with stars, and there were no pedestrians on the road.

Tu Shan channeled her energy into her feet and ran toward the East District.

With sufficient energy and a healthier body, her speed was more than twice as fast as before. In half an hour, she arrived outside the public restroom where the Tu parents were staying.

That animal, Tu Liang, had placed them to live outside the public restroom just to torment them.

He even had the people living in the slums throw their trash there.

With the restroom on the left and a trash heap on the right, the Tu parents lived in the narrow gap between the two.

The stench was overwhelming, and mosquitoes were everywhere.

Born into a highly educated family, the Tu parents could endure hardship, but they had never suffered like this.

At first, the elderly couple had nearly been suffocated by the stench, vomiting all day until they were spitting blood.

Now, half a year later, they had just barely adapted.

Here, there was no privacy, and nothing could be kept.

Except for the shack made of tattered sacks, there was nothing inside.

At night, the couple curled up in a pile of rags. For the past six months, they had never had a good night's sleep.

Tu Shan felt a dull ache in her chest, and her hatred for Tu Liang deepened.

She set down the things in her hand, knocked on the shack, and then hid in the shadows.

She only left after Father Tu came out and took the items inside.

"What is it?" Mother Tu asked, peering through the darkness.

Father Tu opened it: "It's porridge and peanuts."

Mother Tu frowned: "Who sent this? Is it safe? Could it be some scheme by that animal Tu Liang?"

Father Tu checked it; it was clean, fragrant, and there was nothing wrong with it.

"Tu Liang wouldn't use such good things to set a trap. That animal doesn't have the brains or the patience. It might be Ling Yang."

Only Ling Yang would still be thinking of them.

Mother Tu thought that made sense.

"Then eat it quickly, don't bring trouble upon the child."

They didn't dare keep anything. Whatever food they had, it was only theirs once it was in their stomachs; otherwise, if discovered, it would mean another round of beatings and struggle sessions, regardless of the reason.

This was also why Tu Shan hadn't brought too much.

Tu Shan returned home and fell straight to sleep.

She envied her own sleep quality; she could fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow and never suffered from insomnia.

At 4:30 AM, Tu Shan pulled herself out of bed.

This was the quietest moment of the day, without a single sound.

Tu Shan packed the peanuts—seven large sacks, each taller than she was.

She had bought the sacks at the recycling station, which had cost her quite a bit.

Tu Shan tied the sacks together and carried them out. She didn't meet a single person, which was exactly the effect she wanted.

She walked to the place where she had gone down to the river yesterday, placed the peanuts in a large tree twenty or thirty meters high to ensure no one could intercept them, and then jumped into the river.

With yesterday's experience selling fish, she decided to only catch grass carp and black carp today. Those around three pounds were perfect. She caught quite a few today—twenty of each—and put them in two grass baskets, also infusing them with some energy so they wouldn't die.

It was only a little past five when she came out of the water; the sky wasn't bright yet.

She carried the peanuts and fish to the black market.

The black market was already open. It was located on the outskirts of the dilapidated residential area, which was easier to find than yesterday.

Speaking of fate, the entrance she used today was still guarded by the same dark-skinned boy from yesterday.

Clearly, the boy remembered her, mainly because of her fish and her "large basin" hairstyle, which were quite memorable.

"Two cents." His attitude was strictly professional, with no intention of favoritism.

Carrying so many things, there was no need to ask; she was definitely there to sell.

He felt a small surge of excitement inside. Yesterday's carp had been too delicious; it was the first time he had tasted the flavor of a delicacy in a fish. Today, he wanted to eat grass carp.

Tu Shan scoffed—in his dreams. She had money now.

She handed over two cents, as haughty as if she were giving a tip.

The dark-skinned boy...

It was the first time he had collected an entry fee so reluctantly.

"Is that cotton?" Only cotton could look like so much without being heavy.

Otherwise, how could such a small, thin woman carry so much?

Tu Shan raised an eyebrow: "Does the black market need to inspect a seller's goods?"

The boy snorted: "I'm just kindly reminding you. With this much stuff, you'll never sell it all by selling it piecemeal.

However, if you're willing to give me a referral fee, I can introduce you to the boss of the black market."

Tu Shan thought for a moment: "How is the price calculated?"

"You negotiate the price yourselves; I only handle the introduction."

"That works. Lead the way."

The boy hadn't expected Tu Shan to be so agreeable. He was excited for a second, then quickly tried to remain calm and steady: "We haven't agreed on the referral fee yet."

Tu Shan laughed, her eyes practically glued to the fish: "I'll give you a grass carp."

The boy immediately beamed with a sunny smile.