Chapter 13: Warm Porridge Warms the Heart Even More

Chapter 13: Warm Porridge Warms the Heart More

Mrs. Wu brought two bowls of chicken porridge into the room for Nuannuan and Wenran to eat. Nuannuan's bowl clearly had more chicken; in her large, grayish-white bowl, the porridge was piled so high with meat that it formed a peak. Wenran's bowl, however, was only half full, containing just two pieces of chicken.

Wenran looked at her bowl with a face full of satisfaction, drooling slightly, without a single complaint.

Nuannuan lowered her eyes. This large family always prioritized her food; no one had any objections to this unfair treatment. They truly loved her.

"Eat slowly, and watch out for the chicken bones. Nuannuan, eat more so your body can get stronger. Mother will go eat outside, okay?" Mrs. Wu set down the bowls and went out.

Seeing this, Ran'er knew that her mother and grandmother couldn't bear to eat the chicken porridge themselves.

"Third Sister, I'm going to eat outside too. It's a bit stuffy in here, so you eat slowly!" She picked up her large, chipped earthenware bowl and walked out.

Nuannuan knew that Mrs. Wu wanted to hide in the kitchen again to just have some boiled cabbage or wild greens to get by; she and Mrs. Wang couldn't bring themselves to eat the chicken porridge.

Wenran saw through this as well and was unwilling to eat it alone.

Her heart felt heavy. She stood up, walked out, and went to the makeshift kitchen built behind the house.

Sure enough, Mrs. Wang had just finished boiling some small white cabbage and was scooping it into a bowl.

Ran'er said, "Mother, I can't eat this much chicken porridge. Let me share some with you and Grandma."

With that, she scooped a large spoonful of porridge into their bowls, even placing one of the only two pieces of chicken into each bowl.

Mrs. Wu quickly pulled Ran'er back. "Ran'er, just eat it yourself. Mother already had some chicken porridge earlier. It's a bit greasy; I'd rather have some wild greens!"

Mrs. Wang also added, "Ran'er, Grandma has already eaten too. Grandma is old and doesn't like greasy food. You eat it yourself."

Nuannuan felt a pang in her heart. She took a deep breath and walked in. "Everyone eat together! Eat your fill! There's more once we're done! From now on, our family will share both blessings and hardships!"

Nuannuan walked over, grabbed two clean bowls, and filled them with large portions of chicken porridge, the meat piled high.

She then added more chicken to Ran'er's bowl until it could hold no more.

The three of them: "..."

"Everyone eat together," Nuannuan said with a look of determination.

A flash of panic crossed the faces of Mrs. Wu and Mrs. Wang. They remembered how this child had forced them to finish that spoonful of meat porridge and steamed buns the other day.

Mrs. Wu glanced at the pot; the porridge had dropped by half in a single go. Her eyelid twitched.

"Nuannuan..."

Nuannuan's tone was unyielding and exceptionally forceful. "Mother eat, Grandma eat, everyone eat together!"

Mrs. Wu: "..."

With Nuannuan acting like this, none of the three dared to refuse.

Tears involuntarily welled in the corners of Mrs. Wang's eyes. She quickly wiped them away. "Alright, let's eat! Everyone, eat your fill!"

She lowered her head and ate silently.

The others picked up their bowls and began to eat in silence.

No one spoke. The porridge was thick and smooth, soft and fragrant, and the chicken was tender and succulent—a delicacy none of them had ever tasted before.

As Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Wu ate, tears fell into their bowls. This porridge was too sweet! Too warm!

In this cold autumn, the porridge reached the depths of their hearts and warmed them to their very bones.

When everyone had finished, Wenran even let out a burp, something that had never happened before.

Only after seeing that everyone was full did Nuannuan say, "Grandma, Mother, I've thought of a way to earn silver."

Mrs. Wang didn't take it seriously and smiled. "What kind of way to earn silver has Nuannuan thought of?"

"Selling stir-fried river snails during the busy farming season."

Hearing this, Mrs. Wu shook her head. "You can grab handfuls of snails from the river; no one will buy them. Besides, they are full of mud and filthy. People used to eat them, but the whole family would end up with diarrhea."

Mrs. Wang also disagreed. "That stuff really shouldn't be eaten. It's too dirty and will upset your stomach."

So, Nuannuan repeated the explanation she had given to Wenran.

Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Wu were shocked.

Ancient people were superstitious, and they thought deeply about it. When Nuannuan was still in Mrs. Wu's womb, she had met a monk who said Nuannuan would be born premature and would be born with a deficiency. She would be sickly in her childhood and would pass close to death many times. If she could make it past the age of eleven without falling, she would live a life of peace, prosperity, health, and longevity, enjoying a wealth and glory unmatched by anyone.

They hadn't believed it at first, but then Nuannuan truly was born premature—a "seven-star child" with a congenital deficiency, as small and thin as a newborn kitten.

She fell ill every few days, facing death once a year. They had finally begun to believe.

But as for "unmatched wealth and glory," they didn't believe it, nor did they dare to hope for it. They only hoped Nuannuan could make it past eleven and then live a life of peace and long life!

Hearing Nuannuan's words now, the two felt that perhaps Nuannuan had visited the realm of the immortals and seen the powers only immortals understand.

Not long ago, just after Nuannuan turned eleven, she had fallen into a river and nearly lost her life. That was the most dangerous time; she had almost breathed her last!

Now, Nuannuan's complexion was improving day by day. In just a few days, she looked much more energetic.

Could the monk's words be true?

"Grandma, once we do a trial run tomorrow, you'll see I'm right. The rice in the fields is ripe now. I estimate that with the good weather, everyone will start the autumn harvest in the next day or two. During the harvest, everyone needs to eat well to have the strength to work. We can take this opportunity to go to the village and sell stir-fried snails. They are fragrant, spicy, and go great with rice. Since it's meat, we can sell a large bowl for two wen. It's so cheap that after working hard in the fields all day, people will definitely buy them! We won't just sell door-to-door; we'll also set up a stall in town. There are plenty of snails in the river, so besides the cost of some seasonings, it's pure profit. We can definitely earn a few taels of silver during the busy season!" Nuannuan laid out her plan.

Mrs. Wang thought about it and felt Nuannuan's words made sense: if it was truly edible, people would buy it.

Nowadays, a single egg cost one wen. A large bowl of prepared meat for two wen—that was such a bargain! People would definitely buy it!

Crucially, during the busy season, everyone was exhausted and didn't want to cook, yet they needed to eat well to maintain their strength. For two wen, they wouldn't have to do the work themselves; people would definitely buy.

Mrs. Wang's maiden family used to run a noodle shop. Once she thought it through, she made the final decision: "Alright, I'll go to town this afternoon to buy seasonings. Tomorrow morning, we'll make a batch of stir-fried snails to taste for ourselves. If there are no problems, we'll go to the river to catch snails tomorrow. It just so happens that your father and the others will finish their work today. The whole family can go to the river to catch snails, and the day after tomorrow is market day in town, so we'll set up a stall there!"

"Great!" Seeing that it was so easy to convince Mrs. Wang, Nuannuan breathed a sigh of relief.

But selling snails was not a long-term plan. Someone would soon figure out how to make them. She would have to go to town to learn about other ways to make money.

Nuannuan took a nap in the afternoon. After all, her body was still too weak; she had felt tired after being busy for half the day.

When Nuannuan woke up, she found she was alone in the house.

Looking at the sky, it was nearly dusk. She went to the water vat, lifted half a bucket of water, and began watering the vegetables.

In ancient times, buckets were made of thick wood and were very heavy. Due to her physical deficiency, she could only lift half a bucket at a time.

By the time she finished watering the vegetable patches in the courtyard, she was exhausted.

Nuannuan sat directly on a low stool by the vegetable patch, looking at the newly sprouted greens, thinking to herself that if only they could grow faster.

The vegetables in the family garden had all been eaten today, and the ones planted had not yet grown. If she wanted to eat vegetables now, she would have to go up the mountain every day to dig for wild greens.

Just then, Nuannuan's palm felt hot, and the purple aura appeared again.

Nuannuan: "??"

She remembered that the first time the purple aura appeared, it was to help treat her body. This time, it appeared just as she was thinking about making the vegetables grow faster. Could it be...