With Li Shengli’s permission, Madam Wang and Li Xiaohan withdrew from the scene and returned to the old house. It was still early in the morning, a time when everyone would normally be out working—doing laundry, cutting grass, tending to the fields—so there was no one home. The two made their way smoothly to the vegetable garden behind the house. 

The Li family’s garden was well maintained. But because the family was large, Madam Chen usually calculated everything strictly when it came to vegetables. Madam Wang looked around and prepared to pick some of the fastest-growing and most common water spinach, but Li Xiaohan said softly, “Mother, I don’t like water spinach.” 

Water spinach was the most common vegetable in the countryside—people had it every day, to the point of being sick of it. 

With a quick stride, Li Xiaohan ran to the cucumber patch that Madam Chen treasured most. Swish, swish, swish—she picked five of Madam Chen’s favorite large cucumbers and handed them to Madam Wang. “Mother, hold these for me.” 

Holding her mother-in-law’s favorite cucumbers, Madam Wang was extremely uneasy. And then she watched as Li Xiaohan took another step and swish, swish, swish—picked six tender loofahs. 

Oh heavens! The loofahs were something the old woman always counted carefully. Most of them had to be left to age so she could turn them into sponges. 

Madam Wang was absolutely shocked by her daughter’s boldness. She started trembling, not knowing if it was from fear or excitement. 

“Come on, Mother.” Li Xiaohan, holding six loofahs, called out to her. 

Back in the house, Li Xiaohan first had Madam Wang cook some brown rice. Then she washed the cucumbers and loofahs. Given that Madam Wang only knew how to cook pig food, and that Li Xiaohan herself had never used a traditional earth stove before—and today was such an important day—she decided to keep it simple and make loofah and egg soup along with a cucumber salad. These two home-style dishes were no challenge for her. 

As for the eggs—she’d go collect them from the chicken coop in a moment. 

She quickly peeled the cucumbers, cut them up, crushed them with the back of her knife, and tossed them into a large basin. She added fermented soybean paste, aged vinegar, and chopped garlic, mixed everything well, and let it marinate. That dish was done. 

Watching her daughter’s efficient movements, Madam Wang was stunned—usually, the “good” task of cooking never fell to either of them. But now, Li Xiaohan was so skilled at it. 

“Mother, Grandma taught me. She told me to teach you too,” Li Xiaohan said casually. Naturally, she meant her biological grandmother. 

Sure enough, Madam Wang didn’t question her further. 

Once the cucumber salad was finished, she peeled and chopped the loofahs. Then she pulled down a strip of cured meat hanging from the roof beam and sliced it thin. 

After all the preparation was done, Li Xiaohan had Madam Wang heat the wok and drizzle in lard. Once the lard melted, she scooped some hot oil and poured it over the cucumber salad. Ideally, she should’ve used vegetable oil, but under these conditions, lard was already a luxury. 

Madam Wang watched her daughter use oil and was filled with anxiety. She had never cooked before—but she had eaten. On normal days, where would they ever use this much oil? 

Maybe her mother-in-law had long dislike Madam Chen and was taking this opportunity to show it. Madam Wang thought it over and decided she was firmly on the side of her mother-in-law. So she kept her head down and said nothing. 

The remaining lard was mixed with water and brought to a boil. Then Li Xiaohan added the cured meat and loofah. The loofah filled the pot to the brim, nearly hiding the meat altogether. 

“Mother, keep the fire going. I’m going to get an egg.” 

“Alright,” Madam Wang replied, her voice shaking. 

Li Xiaohan quickly walked to the chicken coop. There were about a dozen hens, and she’d been the one feeding them, so they weren’t afraid of her at all. She rummaged around and found six eggs. Back in the kitchen, she cracked all the eggs and set them aside, ready to pour them in later. 

Just as the food was almost done, Madam Chen returned home. 

Li Xiaohan took the initiative and said, “Grandmother, you’re finally back! We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Second Great-Uncle brought people over to help build our house. Grandfather told us to find you so you could cook and host them. My mother and I were so worried. Grandmother, we don’t know how to cook meat dishes—so we’ve been waiting for you!” 

Madam Chen’s forehead throbbed. There was so much information all at once that she couldn’t process it. 

But Li Xiaohan didn’t give her any time to react. “Grandmother, Grandfather respects Second Great-Uncle the most. And this time, Cousin Xinhe and Cousin Deyou are here too. The meal has to be well prepared—we absolutely cannot make Grandfather lose face. Should we slaughter a chicken? If so, we need to do it now. There’s still time!” 

Slaughter a chicken? 

How could they possibly deserve to eat her chickens! 

Madam Chen nearly blurted it out, but just as the words reached her lips, she remembered Li Shengli’s temperament. Indeed, in this house, if anyone made Li Shengli lose face, he would not go easy on them. 

“What dishes have you cooked?” 

“We made a cucumber salad and loofah soup,” Li Xiaohan replied anxiously. 

Her cucumbers, her loofahs. Madam Chen clenched her teeth and glanced toward the kitchen. Sure enough, she only saw green in the pot. She pressed her hand to her forehead and said weakly, “My headache’s acting up again. I need to rest in my room. We’ve split the household now. You two handle it yourselves.” 

With that, Madam Chen set down her basket and walked into her room, looking very frail. 

As for killing a chicken? Absolutely not. 

“Grandmother? Grandmother…” Li Xiaohan called out, seemingly in a panic. 

With Madam Chen refusing to help, it looked like Li Xiaohan and Madam Wang had no other options. 

From the kitchen came the sounds of movement—not the sounds of slaughtering a chicken. Soon after, Madam Wang ran outside, and then a clamor of footsteps came through the door. The others must have returned for lunch. 

“There are a lot of people in the house, and we don’t have enough bowls and chopsticks,” Li Xiaohan explained. “So Mother and I thought it’d be best if everyone eats first, and then we’ll cook another pot for Cousin and the others when they get back.” 

The meal was a little earlier than usual, but not by much. 

“No problem, let’s eat first,” Li Shengli said, gesturing. “Brother, take a seat. Xinhe, Deyou, you too.” 

Once everyone was seated, Li Shengli noticed something was off. “Where’s your grandmother? She’s not back yet?” 

“Grandfather, Grandmother’s headache came back. She’s resting in her room,” Li Xiaohan explained. 

Sure enough, faint groaning could be heard from the room. 

“Alright, then just leave her. Let’s eat first. After lunch, we’ll work for another half a day and finish laying the foundation.” 

“Yes, Grandfather,” Li Xiaohan and Madam Wang quickly began serving dishes and handing out utensils. 

The food was very simple and served in separate dishes—two large basins of cold cucumber salad and two large basins of loofah soup. But there was plenty, and it was hearty. The soup was filled with visible chunks of cured meat and large swirls of eggs. 

“There’s more in the pot since the basins couldn’t hold it all. I’ll refill it once we finish this,” Li Xiaohan said. 

Still, Li Shengli didn’t seem quite satisfied. “It’s too plain.” 

“We’re all family. There’s meat and vegetables. What’s plain about that? This is just fine. What, you want a full banquet?” Li Shengyi said, picking up a thick slice of cured meat. “This meat’s cut real generously—nice and solid.” 

After hearing that, Li Shengli looked much more pleased and stopped commenting. “Come, let’s eat.” 

Everyone dug in, and once they were done, they hurried back to Li Xiandong’s plot to continue working. 

As soon as everyone left, Madam Chen rushed out of her room. The more she thought about it, the more something felt wrong. Judging by Li Shengli’s attitude, the food hadn’t seemed badly prepared. 

Sure enough, when she looked in the soup pot, only a few pieces of loofah were left. She quickly lifted her head—the cured pork was missing. A whole strip of it. 

That was an entire strip! They only ever had it during the holidays, and even then it was rationed out over multiple meals. 

“Grandmother, Grandfather just said it was too plain. What should we do? Should we slaughter a chicken tonight after all? Maybe we really should,” Li Xiaohan said. 

“Slaughter what? We’ve split the family. If you want chicken, bring money and buy it,” Madam Chen snapped, finally unable to hold it in. 

“Well… alright then, I’ll ask my father and grandfather,” Li Xiaohan said, pretending to be nervous. 

Heh. With Grandfather’s obsession with face, she could definitely milk this for at least one more good meal. After all, she and her mother had raised those chickens with their own hands. 

After washing the dishes, Li Xiaohan and Madam Wang returned to help with the construction. With so many people working together, the foundation was finished before the Shen hour (around 3–5 p.m.). Li Shengyi and the others left, saying they’d return once the materials and the master craftsman arrived. 

As for dinner—well, they’d skip it this time and eat next time instead. 

Li Shengyi thought to himself: I’m not stupid. When has Madam Chen not had a headache? Having one now just means the stepmother doesn’t want to help. We’ll see next time. Let’s give Li Xiandong a bit of time to prepare. 

With no dinner to cook, Madam Chen was simply glad her chickens were safe. But she finally dropped the act and said in a sarcastic tone, “Xiandong, don’t take this the wrong way, but now that you’ve separated from the family, you should act like it. You’re going to be building this house for a while, so don’t try to take advantage of the household every time.” 

Her words left Li Xiandong pale and speechless. 

“Father, don’t be upset. After all, you’re not her biological son. Let it go. Now we see the truth, we can stop hoping. Let’s go back to the room,” Li Xiaohan said while supporting him, then shot a final jab before leaving. “You’re not like Third Uncle. He’s her real son. When he splits from the family, I’m sure Grandmother will handle everything for him with great care.” 

Madam Chen was left speechless. Should she argue that she wasn’t a stepmother? Or that Li Xianxi wouldn’t help either? Or that he hadn’t split from the family yet? 

Only Li Xianxi seemed to catch something in that moment—his eyes narrowed briefly but quickly returned to their usual passive, unambitious demeanor. 

“Third, don’t worry. You’re still young,” Madam Chen quickly tried to reassure him. 

“Mother, I’ll always do what you say,” Li Xianxi replied, though his smile didn’t reach his eyes. 

After leaving that warning for her step-grandmother, Li Xiaohan returned to the room with her parents. 

“Xiaohan… what are we going to do about meals in the future?” 

“Don’t worry, Father, Mother—I’ve got a plan.”