Old Lady Zhao Was Truly Shocked.

She put down her needlework and walked over, seeing that it was indeed a bowl of meat—red and white, with a particularly appealing color.

“Mother went to Uncle’s house yesterday.” Zhao Sidan handed over the bowl. “She snatched back Grandma’s silver hairpin and exchanged it in town for a lot of meat!”

He licked his lips, set the bowl down, and ran off, afraid that if he was late, he wouldn’t get a share of the braised pork.

Old Lady Zhao held the bowl, her face full of question marks. “So what Sidan is saying is… the eldest daughter-in-law has fallen out with the Cheng family?”

Zhao’s second daughter-in-law said, “Sounds like it. It’s actually a good thing—at least she won’t keep taking the best things from our house to the Chengs, and the kids can finally get a bite of meat.”

“A silver hairpin is worth at least fifty copper coins, enough to buy ten catties of grain. That wastrel actually spent it all on meat!” Old Lady Zhao’s face was full of heartache. “They’re full today, but what will they eat tomorrow? That shameless woman never thinks ahead. It’s truly worrisome!”

“The eldest sister-in-law never used to show any filial respect to Father and Mother when she had something good.” Zhao’s third daughter-in-law spoke in a slow tone. “I’m thinking… is she regretting the family split and trying to move back in?”

Right now, every household was short on food.

The eldest sister-in-law’s family must be running low too. If the Cheng family refused to lend her grain, she’d naturally turn to the Zhao family.

A little bit of meat to please the old lady, then she could smoothly move back into the main house—no more worrying about going hungry.

Zhao’s third daughter-in-law pressed her lips together tightly.

The grain in their cellar was running low. If the six members of the eldest household moved back, they could barely eat their fill now, but soon they’d only get a third of what they needed.

“When we split the family, we signed an agreement. Moving back won’t be that easy!”

Old Lady Zhao snorted coldly.

Of course, letting them move back wasn’t entirely out of the question—but they would have to obey her, the mother-in-law, in everything from now on.

Before, she was always wary of that shrew causing trouble, but now that she knew what she wanted, there was no reason not to eat the meat.

She waved at the children in the courtyard. “You all, come here.”

Ever since the extra bowl of meat appeared, the children had lost all interest in their chores.

Six pairs of bright black eyes stared at the braised pork, swallowing in unison.

The moment the old lady waved, six kids dashed over like the wind.

“One piece each, no more.”

She picked up the meat with her hands, feeding each child a piece of braised pork.

The children didn’t care about the dirt—once the meat touched their mouths, they bit down immediately.

The rich, sweet flavor spread in their mouths, and none of them were willing to swallow too quickly.

Only three or four pieces of meat were left at the bottom of the bowl.

The old lady carried the bowl inside and placed it on the stove to save for the old man.

Zhao Lao’er swallowed. “Dawang, is it good?”

Zhao Dawang had his mouth full of meat and mumbled, “So good, too good! But there’s only one piece…”

Zhao Lao’er cursed inwardly.

Only one piece, and he still complained?

He hadn’t even gotten a bite himself! But as a father, he couldn’t bring himself to snatch food from his son.

Zhao Erwang had already swallowed his piece and was licking his lips nonstop.

The four girls beside them were eating their meat in tiny bites, but the piece was too small—no matter how carefully they ate, it was gone in no time.

Zhao’s second daughter-in-law changed the subject. “Eldest Sister-in-law looks better than before…”

Zhao’s third daughter-in-law tugged at the corners of her lips.

Giving each of the six children a piece of meat seemed fair, but their second branch had four children, while their third branch only had two. In the end, the third branch lost out.

She couldn’t blame anyone—just her own body for not being able to give birth to a son.

She got up silently and went to wash clothes.

…

At the wooden dining table, six people sat down. In front of them was a big bowl of braised pork, a dish of stir-fried wild ferns, and six bowls of white rice.

The only sounds were of enthusiastic eating. Before long, the braised pork was gone, even the sauce mixed with rice until the bowls were licked clean.

“So delicious!”

“I’ve never had meat this good before!”

“So this is braised pork!”

The four boys leaned back in their chairs, rubbing their bellies with satisfied expressions.

Wu Huiniang knew how braised pork was made—first, lard was rendered, then a large handful of brown sugar was thrown in, caramelizing it for fragrance.

Expensive soy sauce was added, then a big batch of meat was tossed in.

The meat, coated in the syrupy sauce, was already tasty, and with so much oil and sugar, it was impossible for it not to be delicious.

Even the wild vegetables were fried in pork fat. Looking at the bright green dish, she realized for the first time that wild vegetables could taste this good.

After the meal, Wu Huiniang got up to clean, while Cheng Wanwan took her four sons up the mountain.

That morning, she had spent all their copper coins in town.

Now, she urgently needed to gather wild vegetables and mushrooms to sell—having money in hand gave her peace of mind.

The afternoon sun was scorching.

The rice fields were curling up and drying out, many already withered.

They climbed the mountain, where the trees provided shade, offering a bit of relief from the heat.

At this hour, many village women and children were already foraging for their evening meals.

The wild vegetables at the base of the mountain had long been picked clean.

Most people searched for ferns and purslane halfway up, while some ventured deeper, hoping to find mushrooms, wood ear fungus, or wild fruits for variety.

Naturally, Cheng Wanwan headed deeper into the mountains.

Her target was mushrooms—preferably the brightly colored ones that the villagers didn’t dare to touch.

Ding! Wild matsutake mushrooms detected!

Her eyes lit up instantly.

Matsutakes were valuable—in the modern world, they could sell for hundreds per pound.

Suppressing her excitement, she calmly instructed, “Dashan, look for wild ferns. Ergou, try to find mushrooms. Sanniu, gather firewood. Sidan, see if you can spot any wild fruits.”

“Yes, Mother!”

The four boys split up immediately.

Cheng Wanwan turned around, pushing aside brambles, and reached an ancient pine tree. Beneath it, broad-leafed shrubs covered the ground.

She peeled back the layers and found three or four white matsutake mushrooms growing in the soft soil.

Gently, she dug them up—five in total, not quite a pound.

Ding! Wild matsutake mushrooms, 0.6 pounds, worth 390 copper coins. Sell?

Yes!

Her money pouch instantly became heavier.

She clicked her tongue—she hadn’t expected matsutakes to be worth over 600 per pound.

If only she could find more…

She continued searching and soon discovered white onion mushrooms and chicken fir mushrooms. Selling five to six pounds of them earned her another 124 copper coins.

Now, she had a total of 514 copper coins—nearly half a tael of silver.

Just as she was about to continue, she heard a commotion nearby.

Parting the shrubs, she saw two women fighting.

One was Aunt Wang from next door, the other was Aunt Fugui.

They were clawing at each other over a nest of bird eggs.

Before she could lose interest and leave, something suddenly fell from above…