Chapter 36

In the end, Shen Jin didn’t find out how to eat the bean cakes from Chen Ershan. Because Chen Ershan was a closed-mouthed person. He just grunted and didn’t say anything more.

Shen Jin waited anxiously. Finally, when Shen Ning and Sang Luo went into the house and Shen An returned to continue working, ignoring the Xiao Chen girl who followed Shen An, he pulled Shen An aside and urgently asked, “Shen An, are there any bean cakes left?”

Shen An, who had grown up with him, knew Shen Jin too well. He had known that it would come to this since the little girl mentioned the bean cakes.

If they said there was no oil residue left after working all day, could they still get away with it? Was Shen Jin going to come here to spy every day from now on?

Just thinking about it, Shen An’s shoulders drooped. He said with a wooden face, “There isn’t any left. There was only a small piece left, which we shared for lunch yesterday.”

Hearing the word “yesterday,” Shen Jin felt deflated, even skipping over the fact that they had lunch.

People didn’t have lunch yesterday, at least not in the countryside.

His focus was on the fact that there were none left.

After feeling deflated for a few moments, Shen Jin suddenly looked towards the direction of the grass hut, and his spirits lifted. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Shen An. “Shen An, did our sister-in-law bring back any bean cakes today?”

Shen An couldn’t help but laugh at him, correcting him, “My sister-in-law.”

Shen Jin smirked, “My sister-in-law.”

Annoyed, Shen An ignored him and said, “There are no bean cakes. It’s difficult for us to even have a meal. Who can eat bean cakes every day as their meal?”

He glanced at the plot of land Shen Jin was working on and urged, “It’s almost finished; hurry up and finish it. Once you’re done, I’ll give you the oil residue, but then you should hurry back. We’re also out of oil residue, so you don’t need to come tomorrow.”

Yesterday, or even this morning, if Shen An had said this, Shen Jin wouldn’t have hesitated. If there was no oil residue, what was he doing here?

But now, hearing Shen An’s words, Shen Jin felt unwilling. “Are you driving me away? I’ll come if I want to!”

His sister-in-law cared so much for Shen An and Shen Ning and was even willing to buy bean cakes for them. He didn’t even know what kind of cakes they were, but since they were cakes, they must be delicious.

He would squat here, he would grow up here, and he didn’t believe that his sister-in-law wouldn’t give him a piece to eat. If Chen Ershan and the Xiao Chen girl could eat it, there was no reason why he couldn’t.

With a change of mind, Shen Jin had already made up his mind. He didn’t care how black Shen An’s face was. He would just work, work, work. He was more energetic than ever!

He couldn’t beat Chen Ershan, but could he not even beat the Xiao Chen girl?

As he worked, Shen Jin sniffed and sniffed again.

“Shen An, do you smell that? It smells delicious.”

Shen An tightened his grip on the hoe in frustration. “It’s my sister-in-law’s lunch. If you’re hungry, go back to your own house to eat.”

Shen Jin swallowed his saliva and said nothing, continuing to work.

But the scent became stronger and stronger. Then, Shen Ning came out with a bowl and squatted by the spring, not sure what she was doing. After a while, she turned and went back into the grass hut.

Shen Jin felt like his soul was about to follow her into the hut.

With a dejected expression, he hoed the ground, not knowing whether it had only been a short while or a long time. Anyway, another small patch of ground had been cleared. Shen Ning emerged again, wandering along the mountain path, not sure what she was looking for.

In the morning, Shen Jin had vowed not to pay any attention to Shen Ning, swearing to himself that if he found any delicious leftovers, he would grab them and eat them right in front of her. Shen Jin… I really wanted to follow her and ask what she was doing and how it smelled so good here.

But he felt too awkward.

He was so hungry that he felt weak, and his strength seemed to diminish. Unable to resist, he moved a little closer to Chen Ershan and whispered, “Do you think that’s the smell of meat?”

Chen Ershan thought it was somewhat similar. Fighting the urge to swallow saliva, he nodded calmly, fearing he might not be able to resist, and quickly moved away from Shen Jin.

Shen Jin: “It seems even more fragrant than meat.”

Shen Yin and Shen Tie couldn’t resist either, swallowing saliva. “Big brother, I’m hungry.”

“Big brother, I want to eat.”

“I want to eat too.”

Chen Ershan: …

Without leaving any traces, he distanced himself a bit further from them.

The little girl was also tempted, but she knew she was here to help. Grandma had said not to enter Sister An Ning’s house and not to ask for food.

She lowered her head and diligently used a small piece of bamboo to dig the soil, slowly loosening the big stones hidden within it, trying to distract herself from the tantalizing smell of meat filling the room.

Shen Ning returned quickly. As she approached, the children could see clearly that she was carrying a bunch of wild onions.

She washed the wild onions in the mountain spring and quickly went back into the thatched hut.

This time, not only Shen Jin, but Shen Yin and Shen Tie also followed Shen Ning closely.

Shen An: …

He was somewhat conflicted.

They were all here working on the land for their family, yet they were all so tempted… But that was meat—something that would tire the sister-in-law out just by looking at it—something to nourish her body.

As he was pondering, the aroma in the air changed again. It must be because the wild onions were put down. The already strong aroma intensified with the addition of the onion fragrance. Shen An glanced sideways, seeing Shen Yin and Shen Tie’s eyes fixed on the thatched hut, salivating. They had even forgotten about their bamboo tools.

…

“Second brother.”

Shen Ning called out to Shen An from the corner of the small house.

Shen An felt conflicted for the first time. At this moment, would the sister-in-law still call him in to drink bone broth? Wouldn’t that just make the kids cry from temptation?

Before he could dwell on it further, Shen Ning said, “Sister-in-law wants you to come in and help carry two bowls of meat porridge out for everyone to drink.”

Shen Jin and Shen Yin’s eyes lit up instantly, while Shen Tie’s reaction was slower. After a moment, he also understood and swallowed saliva, instinctively wanting to put his fingers into his mouth.

The little girl swallowed her saliva and went to see her brother.

Chen Ershan was a bit puzzled, shaking his head. “No need, no need. I’ve had breakfast already; I’m not hungry. Besides, my mother said if the wild vegetables were sold today, she would buy some bone broth.”

Shen An had already left.

In no time, the siblings each came out carrying a bowl. The bowl contained bone broth as the base, with minced meat and white rice boiled into porridge. Not much; only half a bowl per person.

The three brothers immediately crowded around, while Chen’s little girl went to see her own second brother. Chen Ershan felt a bit at a loss; meat was precious, and even if it was just bone broth, their family might not buy it for a month or two.

He wanted to go back, but they hadn’t cleared much land yet. Should they eat or not?

A twelve-year-old boy wouldn’t know how to handle such a situation.

Before he could figure it out, Shen Ning approached with a smile, holding the bowl. “Ershan ge, little sister, this is for you. We don’t have enough bowls, so you’ll have to share. Go wash your hands and come eat quickly; my sister-in-law cooks very deliciously.”

On the other side, Shen Yin and Shen Tie were experienced; they had already run to the spring to wash their hands.

Shen Jin still wanted to directly take the bowl of porridge from Shen An’s hands. He saw clearly that there was not only rice but also meat inside—white rice, minced meat, and green onion flakes—making him salivate.

But this time, Shen An didn’t indulge him. “Go wash your hands. Otherwise, will you drink a mouthful of mud along with the porridge?”

Shen Jin was frustrated, looking at his hands. “Where’s the mud?”

There was a bit; he just had to pat it off, right?

Shen An just looked at him.

Shen Jin: … Food is everything.

“Alright, alright, I’ll go wash them, okay?” He turned around and ran quickly to the mountain spring.

Five people, two bowls, divided by blood ties; each family held a bowl and stood behind the house, drinking.

Of course, Xiao Chen’s girl was allowed to drink first on their side, while on Shen’s side, they took turns saying, “You take a sip, then I’ll take a sip, and he’ll take a sip,” to ensure fairness.

Shen Jin drank too quickly; Shen Yin had to remind him.

Shen An: …

“Why are you drinking so fast? The porridge just came off the stove. If your brother gets anxious later, he’ll drink it quickly too, and it’ll scald him.”

Shen Jin wanted to argue, but it was indeed quite hot. He grumbled for a bit, then obediently slowed down a lot.

Inside, Sang Luo called for Shen An and Shen Ning. The siblings went in, each taking a small bamboo tube of porridge.

Shen An licked his lips and whispered, “Sister-in-law, Sister Ning and I already had fairy tofu for lunch. You have this.”

Sang Luo gestured to the pot and said, “It’s enough. Eat.”

“You feel sorry for me?” Seeing Shen An’s concerned look, she smiled and rubbed his head, whispering, “When making broth with bones, just add a couple more bowls of water. What’s there to feel sorry for?”

Shen An shook his head, wanting to deny it but not knowing how.

Saying he didn’t feel sorry would be a lie. It wasn’t just about adding another bowl of water; he looked at the porridge. There wasn’t a lot of rice, but it wasn’t thin either; it was just right. He had gone through some tough times these past few months and valued food greatly. But to say he felt sorry wouldn’t be right either. It just happened that, given the situation right now, not giving some seemed inappropriate.

When he heard An Ning say his sister-in-law wanted him to bring things out for everyone to eat, he was happy. Bringing the food out, he felt a tiny bit sorry, but he was still more happy.

But now that the food had been sent out and his sister-in-law still called him to eat, he felt a little sorry.

Shen An didn’t know if he should feel reluctant or not. He moved his lips, unsure of what to say.

Sang Luo probably knew he was concerned about food. Considering the memories of the original owner of his body and the months they had spent together, he had grown somewhat fond of these siblings and felt a bit protective of them. She said softly, “Think about it: when inviting someone to build a house, don’t you have to treat them well? Just look at the small pieces of land we’ve cleared these past two days. Occasionally, it’s okay to be generous. When you bring the porridge out for them, aren’t you also quite happy yourself?”

Shen An nodded.

Sang Luo smiled.

He didn’t like these siblings for no reason; these two kids were not only intelligent and sensible but also had a really good moral compass. Whether it was towards her as their sister-in-law or towards other people, even towards Shen Jin, who was quite outspoken despite their not-so-good relationship before.

Thinking of making this child relax a bit, she gestured mysteriously, beckoning him with her finger. When Shen An approached, she whispered softly, “Actually, I only put one piece of bone and very little minced meat. It’s just for looks. I’ve kept the extra portion aside. We’ll cook porridge for ourselves tonight.”

As she spoke, she uncovered another bowl covered with lotus leaves for Shen An to see.

A few large bones and quite a bit of minced meat were inside.

Shen An’s eyes brightened.

Sang Luo chuckled softly. “You see, sometimes you have to consider relationships, but the good stuff is definitely saved for our own family.”

Shen Ning, who had been listening on the side the whole time, chuckled. She had seen that her sister-in-law had set aside another portion for them.

Shen Ning felt that there was no one better than her sister-in-law. In her sister-in-law’s eyes, she and her brother were different from Shen Jin and the others; they were closer.

Just this understanding made her feel very happy. Since Big Brother left home until now, it seemed like they had regained a sense of security, unlike before, when they were always on edge with Second Brother, living like strangers in their own home.

For the first time, the little girl felt that splitting the family was quite good.

After splitting, her sister-in-law only treated her and her brother well.

Thinking about it, she couldn’t help but smile.

—

The three Shen brothers were eating outside, also praising how good their sister-in-law was.

Sharing one bowl among them, they took turns taking a bite, and during the pauses between bites, they could even think of their former distant sister-in-law.

It could only be said that food has power.

Even Shen Jin, who still felt a bit uncomfortable, nodded this time.

Indeed, the sister-in-law was good; she even gave them meat porridge to drink.

Meat porridge.

It was rare to have meat at home. Only when rendering lard would there be some lean meat in the meat bought by his mother. That was the only time they could taste the meat.

Shen Jin held the bowl, looked at the small, broken grass hut in front, and sighed.

Shen Tie was drinking porridge, and Shen Yin looked at him puzzled.

Shen Jin sighed, “I envy Shen An and Shen Ning.”

How could he be as good at following his parents as he is at following his sister-in-law?

Look, first it was the oil residue, then the pancakes, and now meat porridge.

Why wasn’t he included with his parents?

Sigh.