As the sky gradually darkened, a delicious aroma drifted from the courtyard.

A plate of lotus root meatballs was placed on the table—two lotus roots, chopped and mixed with flour, shaped into balls, and deep-fried to perfection.

Two whole bowls of them.

Zhao Sidan lay on the dining table, drooling uncontrollably.

Cheng Wanwan stuffed a meatball into his mouth and scolded him, “Haven’t you been eating well these days? Why are you still drooling every day?”

“Mom’s cooking is just too delicious!”

Zhao Sidan swallowed the meatball in one bite. It was crispy, fragrant, and slightly sweet—he simply couldn’t get enough.

Cheng Wanwan picked up fifteen meatballs, piled them into a full bowl, and handed it to him. “Take these to your grandmother.”

Zhao Sidan grabbed the bowl and dashed out.

At this time, only the old lady was at the Zhao household.

She had already cooked a pot of wild vegetable porridge, but since no one else had returned yet, she was starting to worry.

After all, they lived deep in the mountains, and if a wild beast suddenly appeared, the whole family could be in danger.

As she waited anxiously, the tempting aroma wafted in.

Then, she saw Zhao Sidan hopping into the courtyard. “Grandma, my mom sent these over!”

A full bowl of golden, crispy meatballs, clearly fried in a generous amount of oil.

“That wasteful woman again!” The old lady sighed in frustration. “What is this?”

“Mom says they’re deep-fried meatballs.” Zhao Sidan grinned. “Grandma, have a taste! They’re so good you’ll want to swallow your tongue!”

The old lady curled her lips.

With so much oil and even sugar added, anything could taste good—even mud.

But what was her eldest daughter-in-law planning?

Despite the food shortage, she kept sending food over yet never mentioned moving back in.

Was she scheming something?

The old lady stopped Zhao Sidan before he could leave and asked, “Has your mother been talking about anything lately?”

“Yes!” Zhao Sidan started counting on his fingers. “Mom said she wants us to have full stomachs, live in a new house, and eat meat every day…”

The old lady’s eyelids twitched.

So, she really was planning to move back in!

And eating meat every day?

What kind of fantasy was that?

Back when they all lived together, it was nothing but chaos.

Unless the eldest daughter-in-law changed her bad habits, she would never allow them to move back!

Zhao Sidan quickly ran back home for dinner.

Wu Huiniang was talking to Cheng Wanwan about their neighbor Wang Damie. “She’s really hardworking—helped dig a lot of wild vegetables, chopped all the firewood, and even fetched two buckets of water for the house…”

Cheng Wanwan didn’t know what to say.

In history, whenever famine struck, people would sell their children, and some even resorted to cannibalism.

She didn’t want to see such tragedies happen around her.

She quickly finished her dinner and then took another bowl of lotus root meatballs to the village head’s house.

By now, the sky was completely dark.

Nighttime was when wild beasts roamed, so villagers usually avoided the mountains at night. Once the sun set, Old Zhao led his sons and grandsons down from the mountains.

Fortunately, there weren’t many people outside, so they returned to their courtyard safely.

Exhausted, they collapsed into chairs, their hands covered in thick calluses.

The old lady immediately gave the children extra food, steaming an extra cornbread bun for each of them.

After eating and drinking, everyone finally came back to life.

Old Zhao took a deep puff of dry tobacco, stood up, and said, “I’m going to see the village head.”

The old lady snapped, “You’re exhausted! Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

Sunshi(Old Madam Sun)’s eyes flickered. “Yes, Father. Rest for the night and go in the morning.”

Old Zhao shook his head. “I can’t rest easy until I settle this matter.”

He put on his straw sandals, pushed open the courtyard gate, and walked toward the village head’s house under the sparse starlight.

Just as he reached the door, he heard a familiar voice coming from inside.

“This morning, I went up the mountain and found a dried-up pond. I casually dug into the soil and found these—pure white and clean. I wasn’t sure what they were, but they seemed edible, so I brought some back to cook.” Cheng Wanwan explained methodically. “Chopped up and coated in buckwheat flour, they fry up incredibly fragrant. You can also boil them directly in a pot—they taste similar to sweet potatoes. So I was wondering, could this be another food source like sweet potatoes?”

The village head’s eyes flashed with curiosity. “Where did you find these, Dashan’s wife?”

“There’s a lot in the mountains—four or five acres, at least.” Cheng Wanwan continued, “The soil is thick, and they’re everywhere. I estimate there are over a thousand catties.”

The village head’s wife’s eyes sparkled. “A thousand catties? That means every household could get nearly a hundred catties! It might not be as filling as millet, but at least we wouldn’t starve for half a month…”

The village head tasted a meatball. With all that oil, it was even more flavorful than meat. If there were truly a thousand catties of this stuff, what did their village have to worry about?

Still, he was skeptical. “If this plant has been in our village all along, why hasn’t anyone noticed it before?”

“This is jade bamboo!”

Old Zhao stepped inside.

The village head and Old Zhao were cousins, with Old Zhao being slightly older. He spoke with certainty, “I saw this decades ago. There’s a lot of jade bamboo in the south—it can fill stomachs. But I heard it’s usually sent as tribute to the capital. I don’t know why we have it in Dahe Village.”

Cheng Wanwan was surprised.

She hadn’t expected Old Zhao to recognize it.

So in this era, lotus root was called jade bamboo? That name sounded quite elegant.

Lotus root was rich in starch and could temporarily replace staple grains, though it wasn’t as filling.

The village head looked eager. “I’ll change into better straw sandals and go check it out.”

His wife objected, “It’s late, and there are wolves on the mountain! Can’t you wait until morning?”

“I can’t! This concerns whether we have enough to eat!”

The village head hurried to change shoes, and his wife, unable to stop him, lit a torch to keep the wolves away.

Old Zhao looked at Cheng Wanwan approvingly. “Dashan’s wife, I misjudged you before.”

She had discovered a large field of jade bamboo. Instead of hoarding it for herself, she immediately reported it to the village head.

She wasn’t as selfish or greedy as he had thought.

He used to think his third daughter-in-law was the best.

But now, faced with a food crisis, her true nature was revealed.

Cheng Wanwan coughed lightly. “There are only six of us at home—one child and a pregnant woman. We couldn’t finish all that jade bamboo even if we tried…”

More importantly, she had a trading system.

A handful of wild vegetables could be exchanged for several catties of rice.

Her family wouldn’t starve during this famine, but the other villagers weren’t so lucky.

She never considered herself particularly selfless, but she wasn’t about to fight over life-saving food with people who had no other options.

The village head stepped out with a torch, followed by his three sons.

Old Zhao called for his second and third sons, and together, the seven men headed into the mountains. With so many of them, the risk of danger was lower.