“Have you ever seen a baby nursing? Just like that—hurry up.”

Lu Feng froze in place, blushing furiously.

Truthfully, he was only about four years older than Lu Qingqing—just a 20-year-old young man.

Hearing his younger sister speak so bluntly, he didn’t know where to put his hands or feet. His face turned crimson and he stammered, unable to say a word.

Feng Xiaowan was so dazed from the pain she didn’t even register what they were talking about.

“Alright, I’ll step out. Big Brother, hurry up—the baby’s hungry.”

Lu Qingqing left the room, conveniently taking away the chicken soup Lu Feng had brought.

Greasy and oily—that’s what had caused the milk blockage.

When Lu Qingqing arrived in the kitchen, she saw Father Lu and Lu Yun already eating.

But… what were they eating?

A few dark, coarse steamed buns and a bowl of limp pickled vegetables.

The buns were made from coarse flour ground from their homegrown wheat, mixed with bran and wild greens. This wasn’t modern times where owning land meant eating well.

Crop yields were low, and after taxes were paid with the best grains, only scraps and substandard leftovers were kept for the family.

Some of it was even moldy from improper storage—but they still ate it.

“Qingqing, you must be hungry. Come, sit and eat,” said Father Lu kindly.

He pulled a bowl of white rice from a covered pot and brought out a dish of meat stir-fried with shredded radish.

The presentation wasn’t great, but there was a decent amount of meat.

Lu Qingqing felt a deep pang of guilt.

This had been the norm for the original Lu Qingqing.

She was like a spoiled young mistress at home. Her father and brothers were essentially her servants.

She always ate polished white rice.

And this simple, honest old man—if he ever found out his real daughter was no longer here, would he be heartbroken?

“Dad, from now on, don’t cook special meals just for me. That rice we bought is for everyone.”

She handed him the remaining ten taels of silver.

She wasn’t good at saying sentimental things, so she simply said, “From now on, I won’t make you worry anymore.”

Lu Yun stared at the silver in shock.

Silver that landed in Lu Qingqing’s hands was like a meat bun dropped into a dog’s mouth—you’d get bitten trying to take it back.

There was no way she’d give it up voluntarily.

Unless it was for that pretty-faced Ning Xiuwen.

Had Lu Qingqing really changed?

No. He refused to believe it.

Three days—give it three days, and she’d revert to her old ways.

But Father Lu was moved. Too moved, in fact—he suddenly started coughing violently.

It was an instinct at this point—Lu Qingqing rushed over to take his pulse.

When she was done, her face didn’t look good.

“You can’t eat this stuff anymore!”

She stood up and dumped the pickled vegetables straight into the slop bucket.

Father Lu was severely malnourished—his body was hollowed out.

His hair was dry, he was anemic—if it went on like this, he’d completely break down.

“Qingqing, that’s too wasteful…” Father Lu said, pained.

“If you don’t want to die of consumption, you can’t eat that anymore.”

The father and son were stunned.

Back then, “consumption” was a terrifying word—it meant certain death.

Although Father Lu didn’t have it yet, his health was already alarming. If he continued like this, he wouldn’t even live another two years.

That’s why Lu Qingqing said it so bluntly.

“Lu Qingqing, you really know medicine? What’s wrong with Dad?” Lu Yun’s voice trembled.

As she divided the rice and meat, placing more on Father Lu’s side, she said, “It’s very serious. From now on, he has to eat well, rest, and no overworking.”

She decided she’d better do the cooking from now on.

Judging by their habits, they probably wouldn’t bear to eat well themselves.

She’d tasted the dish earlier—honestly, it was terrible.

Salt was the only seasoning.

And not even good salt—it was coarse and bitter.

At that time, salt was expensive.

Regular folks couldn’t afford refined salt.

Father Lu gave a bitter smile.

He knew his body—he’d been waking in cold sweats at night, short of breath, and it was harder to get out of bed each morning.

Sometimes he’d feel dizzy and faint just doing chores.

His body… really was giving out.

But his children—none of them were married yet.

He couldn’t collapse.

Lu Yun’s eyes began to redden.

He hadn’t even realized how bad Father’s health had gotten.

He’d heard him coughing at night too, but didn’t think much of it.

Lu Qingqing glanced at him and said softly, “Don’t worry. While I’m here, Dad will be fine. Crybaby!”

“Who are you calling—” Lu Yun started to snap back, but suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

His eyes froze.

Lu Qingqing—she hadn’t called him that in years.

Many, many years.

Not since the time she fell into the pond when she was eight and was rescued…

“Qingqing, can you tell Dad how you suddenly know medicine?” Father Lu asked with hope in his eyes, like he didn’t dare hope for too much.

Had his daughter… remembered something?

Lu Yun also perked up.

Lu Qingqing didn’t feel like inventing another lie.

So she said, “Someone taught me in a dream.”

Lu Yun scoffed.

“In a dream?” But Father Lu didn’t doubt her at all. He pressed on eagerly, “Was it a woman?”

“…Not sure. I couldn’t see clearly.”

Even dreams have gender rules now?

“Your mother appeared to you! She appeared! The incense I burned—she received it…” Father Lu choked up.

Lu Yun: “…”

Lu Qingqing: “…”

She didn’t have time to figure out what to make of that when Lu Feng called her over.

Inside the room, Feng Xiaowan was crying. The baby was crying. Lu Feng was panicked and looked like he was about to cry too.

Though he didn’t trust Lu Qingqing much, she was the only woman in the house.

He didn’t dare touch the baby or his wife.

Lu Qingqing took the baby, helped Feng Xiaowan breastfeed, then cleaned them up and said she’d be staying in this room for the next few nights to take care of them.

Feng Xiaowan instinctively looked fearful.

But remembering how gently Lu Qingqing had soothed the baby earlier, she said nothing.

Lu Feng’s face was bright red. He didn’t speak either.

“I… I’ll go to the fields…”

“Go to the fields for what? You’re not going anywhere these next few days! If you’ve got nothing to do, just sit and chat with your wife!” Lu Qingqing scolded out of habit.

Lu Feng ducked his head. “Okay…”

When Lu Qingqing came back out, Father Lu and Lu Yun were already gone.

Judging by the missing hoe and plow in the corner, they’d headed to the fields.

The bowl of white rice with meat and vegetables had been eaten clean.

Lu Qingqing began preparing postpartum meals for Feng Xiaowan.

She made pumpkin millet porridge and steamed jujube and egg custard. After bringing them to the room, she started grinding medicine.

The decoction she’d made earlier was too bitter—she wanted to turn it into pills.

She didn’t know how long Lu Feng had been secretly watching from outside the kitchen.

Eventually, he came in to ask, “Little Sister, my wife and the baby are asleep. Can I go to the fields now?”

“No!”

“…Okay.”

A while later, someone knocked on the door. Lu Feng went to open it.

The yard was so small that even inside the kitchen, Lu Qingqing could clearly hear voices from outside.

It was Granny Li, the midwife who had helped with Feng Xiaowan’s delivery.

“I heard your wife and baby were lucky and pulled through. Auntie doesn’t have much, but I brought ten eggs.”

“Aiya, Auntie, we didn’t even pay you for the delivery. You shouldn’t—”

“Don’t argue! Take it. Make sure your wife eats well and recovers. And I’m warning you—don’t give any to that lazy brat in your house!”

That “lazy brat” was, of course, Lu Qingqing…

Lu Feng came back and handed the eggs to Lu Qingqing in the kitchen.

“Little Sister… five for you, five for my wife.”

Lu Qingqing suddenly felt a wave of anger.

“She explicitly said not to give any to me. Didn’t you hear? Don’t you know what condition your wife is in You don’t even know to save the best for her? Why give some to a lazy, selfish troublemaker like me? Are you stupid?”

Truth be told, Lu Qingqing had been bottling up that anger for a while.

This whole family seemed to have a martyr complex—worshipping the original her like some kind of ancestral idol. It was sick.

She didn’t want to yell at an old man, so she let it out on Lu Feng.

He was just like Father Lu—honest to the point of foolishness.

Just two chicken legs, and they gave her one. Just ten eggs, and she had to get half?

What, did she deserve it?

Lu Yun still yelled at her at least.

Lu Feng and Father Lu, though—they just muttered, and then cleaned up after her like it was their duty.

Lu Feng was startled by her sudden outburst. His already-sincere face looked even more honest.

He wasn’t timid by nature—he was just… scared she’d go back to the way she used to be.