Chapter 5: Mother, Let’s Eat Together!

Qingtian was sound asleep when Madam Guo came rushing over and startled her awake.

She let out a loud wail, “Waaah!”—which instantly woke Madam Ye beside her.

Sensing that something was wrong, Madam Ye shouted, “Something’s happened—get up, quick!”

Her yell jolted the entire family awake.

The three brothers instinctively sprang to their feet, grabbing whatever tools they could find as weapons and charging forward to help.

Madam Ye, not yet fully aware of what was happening, shoved Qingtian into Old Madam Ye’s arms and, together with her two sisters-in-law, blocked the front of the flat cart.

Seeing that the Ye Family had strength in numbers, the intruders seemed momentarily hesitant.

But when they caught sight of the large pile of potatoes faintly visible beneath the dry grass, their greed flared up again.

The leader raised his arm and shouted, “Brothers! They’ve got food—charge with me!”

The four Ye brothers spread out into a defensive formation, bracing themselves for a full-blown fight.

Just then, a few scrawny, short men burst out from the darkness, waving stones and branches in their hands, flailing wildly like monkeys descending from a mountain.

At that sight, not only the four brothers, but even the women and children in the Ye family were speechless.

Did these guys not have a clue about their own strength? With bodies like that, they actually had the nerve to go out and rob people?

One of them even managed to trip over his own feet while running, falling flat on his face.

The Ye brothers didn’t even have to break a sweat—within a few quick moves, they had driven the intruders off.

Ye Laosi (the fourth brother) even chased after them for a good distance, waving the stick in his hand as he returned, grinning from ear to ear, and said, “You’ve gotta eat meat—meat gives you strength!”

Ye Changzhao immediately raised his fist and shouted, “I hope we can eat meat every day!”

“You wish!” Third Sister-in-law playfully tapped her son’s little nose. “Now lie down and go to sleep!”

After returning, Ye Laosi looked around and didn’t see his wife. He immediately panicked and asked, “Where’s Fengying?”

Only then did Madam Guo (his wife) sheepishly crawl out from behind the cart, two strands of dry grass stuck to her head, and half a roasted potato still clutched in her hand.

Ye Sansao (Third Sister-in-law) let out a snort of laughter and teased, “Oh my, Fourth Sister-in-law, you really need to work on your nerves.

“If a few weaklings like that scared you so badly, what’ll you do if we really run into mountain bandits?”

“Ptui, ptui, ptui!” Old Madam Ye scolded. “Don’t go saying such things!”

Ye Sansao quickly echoed her, spitting three times in a row, “Aiya, Bodhisattva forgive me—may the bad words be powerless and the good ones come true!”

Old Madam Ye then slapped the side of the cart and called out, “Laosi, bring your wife over here!”

“Mother, I know I was wrong.” Ye Laosi came over immediately and admitted his mistake with full sincerity. “First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll go out and look for food to make up for the potato Fengying ate.”

Hearing Old Madam Ye call for her, Madam Guo (Fengying) hurriedly stuffed the rest of the potato into her mouth and nearly choked on it.

She craned her neck and finally managed to swallow, then dragged her feet over and tried to speak first, whining, “Mother, I woke up in the middle of the night from hunger…”

“Spare me the act!” Old Madam Ye shot her a fierce glare. “Don’t think I don’t know—half of Laosi’s food ration these days has ended up in your stomach!

“If he wants to pamper his wife, that’s his business. If he starves, it’s his own fault.

“But those potatoes were for the whole family. You two sneaking food in the middle of the night already crossed the line—and on top of that, you brought trouble right to our door!”

“Good thing it was just a few half-starved vagrants. If we’d really run into serious bandits or road thugs, the whole family could’ve been dragged down by you two…”

“I’m telling you—if you dare pull something like this again, I’ll have Old Fourth break your legs!”

Madam Guo shrank back in fear and nodded frantically.

Ye Laosi was so ashamed he couldn’t even lift his head. He wished the ground would just open up and swallow him whole.

Seeing that the scolding had gone on long enough, Eldest Sister-in-law stepped in to smooth things over.

“Ptui, ptui, ptui! Mother, let’s not talk like that.

“We’ve had such smooth travels all the way—there’s no way we’ll run into any mountain bandits or road thugs.”

She had deliberately echoed Old Madam Ye’s own words from earlier.

Old Madam Ye was caught off guard, then couldn’t help but laugh and spat three times herself.

That broke the tension. She couldn’t keep scolding anymore. She pointed at Eldest Sister-in-law and said with a laugh, “You—you’re always defending those two!”

“Who’s defending them? I’m just worried they’ll make you angry.”

Eldest Sister-in-law had been part of the Ye family for over ten years. She knew Old Madam Ye’s temper like the back of her hand, and with just a few words, had managed to coax her into a good mood.

 “All right, everyone, get back to sleep!”

Madam Ye walked over to the cart and saw Qingtian looking up at her. She reached out to pat her head and asked softly, “Were you frightened?”

Qingtian shook her head hard, then scooted her little body as far inward as she could, trying to leave Madam Ye more space.

Madam Ye felt a warm rush in her heart. She lay down and pulled Qingtian into her arms.

“Our little Qingtian is just the sweetest, aren’t you?”

“All right, hurry and get some sleep. Tomorrow, Mother will cook you stewed potatoes.”

Qingtian obediently closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, dawn was already breaking, the sky faintly aglow.

The scent of food drifted through the air, making her swallow her saliva uncontrollably.

From time to time, passing refugees cast greedy glances their way, but when they saw the tall, sturdy four brothers of the Ye Family, they quickly averted their eyes and hurried on.

The family’s breakfast was chicken soup with stewed potatoes, and everyone ate with their heads buried in their bowls.

Qingtian was the last to wake up, still groggy and sitting drowsily on the flat cart.

Eldest Sister-in-law walked over with a bowl in one hand and a towel in the other.

She sat down beside Qingtian and gently wiped her face and hands before starting to feed her.

The stewed potatoes were soft and fluffy, melting in the mouth while still warm.

Soaked in rich chicken broth, they were incredibly fragrant and flavorful.

“Tasty, isn’t it?”

“Mm!” Qingtian nodded eagerly but then began pushing Eldest Sister-in-law’s hand away with all her might.

“What’s wrong?”

Eldest Sister-in-law didn’t understand. After a few pushes, she simply stopped resisting, curious to see what the child wanted.

Qingtian pushed the spoon toward her.

“For me to eat?” Eldest Sister-in-law guessed.

Qingtian nodded earnestly. “It’s yummy!”

“It’s yummy so you want me to have some too?” Eldest Sister-in-law was so touched by the little girl’s thoughtfulness, she was almost happier than if she’d eaten it herself. “Good girl. Once you’re full, Mother will eat.”

Qingtian pursed her lips, then whispered, “Mother, let’s eat together.”

The surprise came so suddenly that Eldest Sister-in-law was momentarily stunned—then overwhelmed with joy.

“Ai!” she responded cheerfully, “Mother will eat with you!”

The two of them, mother and child, took turns feeding each other bites of the potato when Ye Laosi came running from afar like his pants were on fire.

“Laosi, what are you running for?”

He rushed over, grinning mysteriously. “Big Sis, look what I found!”

Eldest Sister-in-law looked closely and saw he was cradling seven pale blue eggs in his arms.

“Oh my heavens, aren’t those wild duck eggs?” she exclaimed immediately.

“Exactly! Still warm, must’ve been freshly laid!” Ye Laosi beamed with pride. “These are way more precious than potatoes. Mother definitely won’t scold me now!”

But Eldest Sister-in-law grabbed him and asked, “Where did you pick these up? You just brought them back without thinking?”

“Over by the river, in a grass pile. I flipped the whole area over—only found these few,” he replied nonchalantly.

“You fool!” She gave him a smack on the arm. “Do eggs just grow out of the grass pile by themselves?”

“They were laid by wild ducks—oh shoot! What was I thinking!” Ye Laosi smacked his own forehead. “I’ll go set a trap right now!”

Without another word, he stuffed all the duck eggs into Qingtian’s arms and dashed off again.

“This silly boy, what are we going to do with him!” Eldest Sister-in-law shook her head helplessly. “No wonder his wife has him wrapped so tightly around her finger!”

Qingtian gently caressed the round, smooth duck eggs in her arms.

Eldest Sister-in-law casually explained, “These are duck eggs. If you hatch them, they’ll turn into little ducklings.”

Hearing that, Qingtian looked up and smiled sweetly at her. “Mother, duckies!”

Eldest Sister-in-law patiently corrected her, “Not duckies, duck eggs.”

But to her surprise, Qingtian raised her hand and pointed behind her insistently, repeating, “Duckies!”

Eldest Sister-in-law turned to look—and saw Ye Laosi running back, holding a wild duck by the neck.

“Big Sis, you won’t believe it—this is incredible!”

“I just set the trap, and these two dumb things fought each other to get caught in it!”

“They practically delivered themselves to us!”

Eldest Sister-in-law’s breathing quickened with excitement. She grabbed Qingtian’s little hand and gave it a big kiss.

Heaven help me, she thought with overwhelming gratitude, I know exactly what this is—it’s a miracle!