Chapter 21

Liu Yu returned to her room, closed the door, and carefully observed for a while, making sure no one would disturb her.

She bent down and squatted by the side of the bed, lifting out the basin—just as she hoped, the basin already contained half a basin of potatoes.

This was truly a treasure basin, one that could double the grain inside without effort—Basin: “Damn it, I’m a good-for-nothing treasure basin, and they’ve been using me as a washbasin for decades!”

Liu Yu grinned widely, almost shouting out in excitement. Luckily, she quickly covered her mouth to prevent the news from spreading.

Half a basin of potatoes had grown in half a day, so it seemed that one full basin could be produced in a day.

Liu Yu estimated that this treasure basin could hold at least ten pounds.

Ten pounds a day meant three hundred pounds in a month. Wow, that speed was definitely impressive!

With such a treasure, Liu Yu couldn’t claim to solve all her problems, but at least they’d never go hungry on potatoes.

Speaking of this treasure basin, if it could produce potatoes, could it produce other grains too?

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In the 1970s, grain was more precious than gold. Although the Liu family lived in the countryside and had been farming for generations, they still couldn’t get enough to eat. If this treasure basin could produce other types of grain, wouldn’t Liu Yu be able to solve her entire family’s food problems?

To test this, Liu Yu needed to find a way to get some grain.

The three brothers of the Liu family hadn’t divided the land yet, and all the grain was under Chen Shi’s control.

Could she ask for some? Liu Yu wasn’t bold enough for that, and besides, the secret of the treasure basin had to be kept. No one else could know!

So, she decided to steal some!

It wasn’t exactly stealing—after all, the grain in the old Liu family’s house belonged to the main family as well!

With determination, Liu Yu hurried to the kitchen.

Chen Shi was staying in her room, while Liu Li, the beloved wife of her youngest son, had taken the key to the grain cabinet and was busy preparing dinner. Tonight’s meal was cornbread with boiled cabbage and strips of salted vegetables.

The cornmeal for the dough was already in a clay pot. As Liu Yu was about to approach, Liu Li shot her a cold glare, “Hey, what are you up to, you brat?”

Liu Yu held back her anger, “Aunt, I wasn’t doing anything, just seeing if there was anything I could help with in the kitchen.”

Liu Li snorted and glared sideways, “You? Don’t think you’re up to no good. If you really want to help, knead all the corn out of that corn stalk!”

Liu Yu couldn’t grab the cornmeal, but then thought—corn kernels were grain too!

So she gritted her teeth and sat down in front of the corn stalk basket, silently starting to pick the corn kernels off.

The corn was from last year’s harvest, dried into cob-like pieces. Liu Yu had to use her hands to peel the kernels off. It was a tough task, especially with the hands of the original owner, who had never done hard labor.

Before long, her hands were sore from the rough kernels. Luckily, Chen Shi was busy mixing the dough, so Liu Yu took the opportunity to stuff a large handful of the corn kernels into her pocket when she wasn’t looking.

Grain in hand!

Liu Yu didn’t want to work for Liu Li for free, so with her hands in her pockets to cover up, she turned around and left. Behind her, she heard Liu Li’s harsh voice, “You lazy brat! You couldn’t even finish this little task and just ran off!”

Back in her room, Liu Yu placed the stolen corn kernels into the basin and hid it under the bed, covering it carefully with a blanket. The treasure basin needed some time to produce grain. She could go off and do other things for now.

Earlier in the morning, Liu Yu had made ambitious plans to take care of Wang Changping, and now that it was almost mealtime, she figured it was about time to show her face.