Chapter 6: Crazy Brainwashing

He always wore a stern expression in front of outsiders, but showed a kind and gentle face to his wife and daughter.

He shook his head, looking worried: "Da Ya is still running a fever and hasn't woken up yet. I just took her to see the doctor and she took her medicine, but I don't know when she'll wake up."

Xu Ying wasn't the least bit surprised to hear this; in her past life, Lu Da Ya’s fever had also been very severe.

She thought for a moment, went back to her room, and secretly took a healing pill out of her space.

"Dad, this is some fever medicine I had left over. I feel like it works really well. Why don't you take this and have Da Ya eat it?"

This medicine was a healing drug developed after the apocalypse; basically, unless it was a major illness, taking one pill would cure it completely.

Lu Da Ya had taken medicine a short while ago, surely from the small clinic in the village. The medicine at the small clinic definitely wasn't as good as the medicine in town.

Back then, when she had a high fever, Father Xu had been worried sick and taken her to the hospital in town. She had received an injection and been given medicine to bring home.

Father Xu took the medicine after hearing his daughter's words and looked at Mother Xu: "You all go ahead and eat. I’m going to take this medicine to Da Ya."

Mother Xu watched her husband leave, then stood up, picked up a ladle, and began to portion out the food.

She served the thickest portion to her husband first, then picked up her daughter's bowl and ladled a thick serving of millet porridge for her.

Next came her own, then the eldest brother, the second brother, then the two nephews, and finally, the eldest sister-in-law.

The porridge became thinner with each serving; by the time it reached the eldest sister-in-law, there was barely a grain of rice left.

In her past life, Xu Ying had felt this was only natural. Living it all over again, she felt nothing but deep guilt.

She was clearly the one in the family who did nothing and ate the most and the best, yet in her past life, she hadn't known how to be grateful or appreciate the love her family had for her.

"Sister-in-law, I don't have much of an appetite right now. You can have half of this." After saying this, Xu Ying stood up and reached out to pour some of her food into her sister-in-law's bowl.

The eldest sister-in-law looked up at her mother-in-law in a panic. Sure enough!

"Daughter, that little bit of food isn't even enough for you. Why give it to your sister-in-law? It’s a waste to feed her," Mother Xu shouted anxiously.

Why did this girl seem so abnormal after waking up?

She didn't know how to save any good things for herself.

Mother Xu was the typical image of a wicked mother-in-law. Her eldest daughter-in-law worked like a horse at home, doing the most work and eating the least, yet her mother was always grumbling and finding fault with her.

The look of surprise that had just appeared on the eldest sister-in-law's face instantly dimmed.

The eldest brother’s expression was also pained; his mouth moved a few times, but in the end, he didn't say a word.

Xu Ying coquettishly grabbed Mother Xu’s arm: "Mom, I’m not feeling well and don't have an appetite, so just let sister-in-law eat it. People only have the strength to work if they’re full. If my sister-in-law gets exhausted and doesn't have the strength to work one day, we’ll have to take her to the doctor. Why spend that money for nothing? My sister-in-law can only do more work if she’s well-fed!"

After saying this, Xu Ying gave the eldest sister-in-law a wink.

The eldest sister-in-law was stunned for a moment, but quickly caught on and cleverly held her head: "Mom, I haven't been eating enough lately, and I’ve been feeling weak while working. I’ve been holding it in and didn't say anything. Could I be getting sick? It’ll cost a lot of money to see a doctor if I do."

Mother Xu’s face darkened as soon as she heard that: "What kind of weak body is that? You’ve barely done any work and you’re already falling apart? Fine, eat it then."

Going to the hospital was out of the question. Her daughter had gone to the hospital a few days ago and spent nearly a whole yuan—that was several days' worth of work points.

How much could a little bit of millet porridge be worth? Forget it, let her eat it.

The eldest sister-in-law’s face lit up with joy: "Thank you, Mom. Thank you, little sister."

Mother Xu rolled her eyes speechlessly: "Don't just say thank you with your mouth; you have to prove it with your actions. Look at your little sister, she’s always thinking about your health, terrified you’ll go hungry. 'No appetite'—I think she’s just talking nonsense. Since you’ve eaten your little sister’s food, you have to remember her kindness, you hear me?"

Mother Xu looked at everyone at the table and began a full-scale brainwashing session.

Shi Tou and Hu Zi had eaten Xu Ying’s egg custard today, and having benefited, they were very well-behaved. They nodded in unison: "Grandma, I will be very filial to Little Aunt."

"That's right, Grandma, we will both be very filial to Little Aunt."

Mother Xu’s mouth twitched at the words. They were two mischievous boys; it was too early to talk about being filial.

The eldest sister-in-law followed up quickly: "Mom, I will treat Little Sister well."

"Little Sister, I remember you have a set of clothes in your room that need washing. I’ll wash them for you in a bit," the eldest sister-in-law said ingratiatingly.

Only then did Mother Xu nod with satisfaction: "Not bad. It’s rare that your little sister’s sincerity hasn't been trampled upon."

Xu Ying was stunned, bowl in hand. Oh my, her mother’s brainwashing skills were top-tier.

If this were the modern era, wouldn't this be a textbook pyramid scheme?

She drank her millet porridge, feeling embarrassed.

The vegetables on the table were wild greens dug from the mountains, boiled in water with a sprinkle of salt—just stirred together.

Naturally, the taste was also hard to describe.

As the Xu family was eating, Father Xu quietly returned, carrying a bowl piled high with meat and vegetables.

Mother Xu looked surprised: "Jianguo, where did this come from?"

"Mom gave it to us. Second brother caught a pheasant on the mountain yesterday. When Mom heard our daughter had woken up, she had Second Sister-in-law stir-fry the pheasant, saying it was to help our daughter recover." After saying this, Xu Jianguo hurriedly closed the front door.

"Oh my, there’s quite a bit of pheasant meat here, isn't there?" Mother Xu picked out several pieces of chicken for Xu Ying and said with a smile.

Father Xu laughed heartily: "I reckon Mom gave us most of the meat."

How much meat could a pheasant have? Pheasants were different from domestic chickens; a well-raised domestic chicken could weigh five or six pounds.

Pheasants in the wild relied on their wings; if they got fat, how could they fly? A female pheasant would weigh two pounds at most, and usually just over a pound.

"Alright, hurry up and eat. Don't delay going to work after you're done," Mother Xu urged.

Hearing they could eat, everyone at the table looked at the bowl of pheasant meat and vegetables with glowing eyes.

Although most of the pheasant meat had been picked into Xu Ying’s bowl, the vegetables soaked in the meaty flavor were delicious too!

As soon as Mother Xu gave the word, the eldest and second brothers quickly reached for the meat and vegetables.

The eldest sister-in-law didn't want to be outdone; she swiftly picked up a piece of meat with more bone than flesh and put it into her youngest son’s bowl.

The eldest brother also picked up a piece of meat and put it into his wife’s bowl.

The eldest sister-in-law smiled, moved, and gave the meat to her eldest son.

Xu Ying watched this scene with a sour feeling in her heart. In her past life, she had been sheltered by her parents and brothers, completely unaware of the dangers of the world.

Later, after being deceived by Dong Wenzhong and meeting a miserable end, she transmigrated to the apocalypse and saw too much of siblings killing each other for survival, or murders sparked over a cup of water or a piece of edible food.

Looking at her family who all loved her, her heart was full of happiness and contentment.

Her family’s life wasn't easy right now, and her mother would even sell some of their grain every year during the harvest just so she could have some pocket money.

This led to their own rations being tight, yet she hadn't known how to be grateful, taking the money to buy nice things for Dong Wenzhong to please him. Thinking of the stupid things she had done before, Xu Ying wanted to slap herself a few times.

Looking at the meat in her bowl, she picked up a piece and put it into Mother Xu’s bowl, then gave one to Father Xu, then the eldest brother, the eldest sister-in-law, the second brother, and one each to Xu Xingyun and Xu Xingyou.

The large pile of meat was instantly reduced to three pieces.

"Dad, Mom, Eldest Brother, Sister-in-law, Second Brother, you all hurry and eat. You’ll only have the strength to work in the fields after you’ve eaten."

Mother Xu heard this, and looking at the meat in everyone’s bowls, she was both happy and angry.