Chapter 12

After Lin Yun said those words, Zhao Lanxiu really didn’t say anything more. She didn’t even know why, but recently, she felt like her second daughter had become much more assertive than before. Although she had always had her own opinions and would talk back occasionally, she had never shown this kind of intimidating presence that now even made her a little scared.

Every time she looked at her, her gaze gave her chills — like she wasn’t looking at her own parents, but at some unrelated strangers, even strangers she seemed to despise a bit. Zhao Lanxiu also knew that Lin Yun hated her for forcing her to drop out of school.

If Lin Yun knew what Zhao Lanxiu was thinking, she would definitely call it a huge misunderstanding. She didn’t have anything personal against her — she simply couldn’t accept the harsh living conditions here. She was already trying her best to adapt.

Honestly, anyone who suddenly found themselves in a completely unfamiliar place, where they lacked everything — even the most basic needs — wouldn’t be able to be happy every day. Life was already hard enough.

But recently, with money finally in hand, Lin Yun’s mood had been steadily improving. As long as there was hope for a better life, the current days didn’t feel so unbearable anymore.

“Tomorrow, your eldest sister and I will render lard. For the Dragon Boat Festival, we’ll make stir-fried dishes with pork cracklings for you.”

“There’s still some lean meat on the pork that Second Sister bought. Can we cook it all for the Dragon Boat Festival?”

“Yes, yes, we’ll cook it all. Let you eat to your heart’s content — we’ll see what you think afterward. But you kids can’t be the ones buying the food. What do you know? That piece of pork still has a lot of lean meat on it. That kind of thing can’t be eaten often.”

“But we have money now, right? If we run out, we can just buy more later.” Lin Yonggang didn’t really care what his mom said. Making money didn’t seem so hard anymore — maybe he could catch more centipedes and trade them for snacks.

That evening, they boiled more mugwort to make mugwort rice cakes. By the time everything was done, it was already late, and everyone went to bed.

The next morning, Lin Yun got up early — probably because it had been too long since she’d eaten meat. She even dreamt of eating meat while sleeping. Then she remembered what Zhao Lanxiu had said the night before — that they’d render lard today and make pork cracklings — and she couldn’t help but get a little excited.

Though rendering lard was a big deal in the Lin household, the usual chores still had to be done.

That morning, everyone except Lin Chuntian went to work in the fields. The busy harvest season was approaching, and there was so much to do. During the day, nearly every family in the village was out working.

From 5 a.m. until nearly noon, Lin Yun was sowing rice seeds and repeating the transplanting process. All she could think was — those peaceful, idyllic countryside lives she’d seen in the past were a lie. Just transplanting rice seedlings alone was enough to break a person.

Because of the centipede business, Lin Yun usually didn’t have to work much, but even doing this little bit — which Lin Yumei and the others barely counted as labor — left her totally drained. Her back was so sore, she couldn’t even straighten up.

She didn’t know if it was because her arrival had made the original owner’s body more delicate, but seeing the other three still full of energy made her feel genuine admiration.

When they got home at noon, all Lin Yun wanted to do was collapse into bed — but she couldn’t. It was time to render lard.

Even rendering lard was a skilled job — the heat, the technique — nothing could be done carelessly. Lin Yun was actually a bit curious about it all.

She watched as Lin Yumei took out a big bowl of pork from the water tank — the same pork they brought back the night before. Lin Yumei had preserved it in the tank; otherwise, with the summer heat, the meat would’ve spoiled by now.

The whole lard-rendering process took nearly an hour. During that time, the scent of pork fat gradually filled the air, and Lin Yun found herself almost drooling.

After it was done, Zhao Lanxiu gave each of the three kids a small handful of crispy pork cracklings and told them to eat at home — no going outside.

The moment the first crispy, aromatic crackling entered her mouth, Lin Yun felt like crying. That meaty flavor — it was so touching.

She’d gone without meat for over a month, even longer in her past life. But back then, there were so many meat substitutes, and even the staples were always changing. Here, though, she had eaten nothing but sweet potato rice for over a month.

And calling it “sweet potato rice” was generous — it was mostly sweet potato. You’d hardly find a single grain of rice if you looked closely. In her past life, Lin Yun actually liked sweet potatoes — she’d had all kinds, like Tianshan mini sweet potatoes and chestnut sweet potatoes. But the ones here were just too hard to eat. She was developing a psychological aversion to the whole sweet potato category.

“Alright, that’s it for today. Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival. I’ll make you lard crackling rice and stir-fried meat with chili.”

With Zhao Lanxiu’s promise, the Dragon Boat Festival soon arrived. The three Lin kids got up early. Everyone would be staying home to celebrate — life was already hard enough, no need to overwork on a holiday too.

Compared to normal days, the Lin family’s food today was a feast. Lin Yun got to eat mugwort rice cakes made with wheat flour, rice mixed with pork cracklings, and stir-fried pork with chili. After breakfast, Zhao Lanxiu went to visit her brother, and Lin Chuntian headed off to the kiln factory.

Lately, he had been bringing back damaged pickle jars from the factory. Most were broken, but he would patch them up himself. Now, the area under the eaves was filled with jars he’d repaired.

Lin Yun figured Lin Chuntian probably planned to sell them, though she didn’t really know much about that. Would anyone actually buy those? She didn’t ask though — they’d know soon enough whether it worked.

Lin Yun was quite curious about Lin Chuntian. From what she’d seen so far, he was an honest, hardworking man. He didn’t talk much, but he treated Zhao Lanxiu well. She’d learned that from something Lin Yonggang had whispered to her — he’d noticed that their dad always brought food home for their mom each night, even though the kids never saw any of it. It was probably locked away by Zhao Lanxiu for herself.

From a child’s perspective, Zhao Lanxiu might not be a “great mom” in the traditional sense. But from Lin Yun’s point of view, she actually respected her. She simply prioritized herself before her children — that was all.

“Jie, I’m going out to play with Qiangzi,” Lin Yonggang’s voice pulled Lin Yun from her thoughts. Only then did she realize she was the only one left at home.

Thinking about how she’d have to go to high school after summer, Lin Yun dug out the original owner’s textbooks. The original Lin Yun must’ve had good grades, so she couldn’t let her down now.