Chapter 30 – Just How Much Have They Suffered

“Eh…” Su Miaomiao had originally planned to teach them a few more herbs, but the kids had all run off so quickly.

Well, there was always tomorrow morning. It would be the same.

They probably ran off so fast because they couldn’t wait to split up the candy.

The amount of candy she gave them today wasn’t enough for each child to have one piece.

But she didn’t dare take too much either—first, her family’s supply was limited, and being too showy might attract trouble.

Second, if she gave too much at once, their expectations would grow.

After all, they only worked for half a day today. The candy she gave was already equal to what they had earned.

“You silly girl, you don’t need to give them candy. I’ll just talk to the village chief and make sure each one of them gets credited for some labor,” Old Zhao said, heart aching a little as he looked at Su Miaomiao.

This girl was already so thin, yet she still gave away her precious candy to the kids.

“It’s fine. They’re all too skinny,” Su Miaomiao said, withdrawing her gaze.

“These days, as long as no one starves to death, it’s considered a good year. A few years back, so many people died of hunger that we ran out of space to bury them on the mountain.” Old Zhao sighed.

Su Miaomiao thought of how skinny and bony Huzi and the others were, and her heart stirred with emotion.

People in this era really had it hard.

Back when she was in the capital, following Butcher Su—who worked in a state-run restaurant—she could eat meat almost every day. Aside from some inconveniences in daily life, she didn’t feel that this time period was particularly poor or backward.

It was only after coming here and seeing real rural life that she finally understood what this era was truly like.

She used to think she could live a quiet, peaceful life off the beaten path.

But now that peace had been broken—wasn’t it time to do something more?

Su Miaomiao could still hear the sweet voices of Huzi and the kids calling her “Sister Su” in her ears.

—

At that moment, Huzi had already led his little gang to their secret base—

Under the old locust tree at the village entrance.

Huzi carefully took out all the candy they had received today.

“One… two… three…” he counted cautiously.

“Five pieces of candy! Plus the bonus from Sister Su—makes seven in total!”

“We need to save one piece for Goudan. The remaining six pieces will be split among all of us.” Huzi carefully tucked one piece into his pocket.

“But there are 15 of us. How do we split 6 pieces?” one of the kids asked.

“Three people share one piece. The youngest ones—two to a piece.” Huzi thought for a moment and answered.

Everyone agreed.

Huzi carefully distributed the candy. Each person got a small bite—not too much, or they’d lose candy privileges tomorrow.

Every child followed the rules strictly, only eating their allotted portion.

Huzi also got one-third of a piece. The moment he bit into it, the milky sweetness filled his mouth.

It was rich but not overwhelming, with a delicious aroma.

No one was willing to chew. They simply let the candy melt slowly in their mouths.

After finishing, every child still craved more. A few even began licking the candy wrappers to savor the lingering sweetness.

“Huzi-ge, Sister Su’s candy is so good. Is she really not a fairy sent from the heavens to save us?” one child looked at Huzi with sparkling eyes.

“She is a fairy!” Huzi had already firmly believed it in his heart.

She had not only saved Goudan but also brought them such tasty candy. Only a fairy could do all that.

“Then we have to hold on tight to our fairy sister’s leg from now on!”

“Yeah! Hug tight and we get candy!”

“…”

Su Miaomiao had no idea she had already gained a loyal army of little believers.

At that moment, Su Miaomiao was at home preparing dinner.

Most of the visible meat in the house had already been eaten, and Su Miaomiao didn’t dare take more meat out from her space.
There was simply no excuse anymore.

Her gaze fell on the only grains left in the house. She mixed cornmeal and flour in a 1:1 ratio, planning to make some flatbreads.

In the corner, there were still a few sweet potatoes and regular potatoes that Wang Daniu had brought over last time.

So she decided to make candied sweet potatoes and a spicy potato dish.

Finally, she’d cook a winter melon soup.

Since she couldn’t take out any meat, she decided to use some lard instead — at least that would add a bit of meat flavor.

Su Miaomiao had come back early, so she didn’t wait for Tang Chunlan to come start the fire. She just cooked the meal on her own.

By the time Tang Chunlan arrived, she had almost finished cooking.

“Miaomiao, you’ve already done everything?” Tang Chunlan asked in surprise.

“Mm, today’s dishes were simple, so it didn’t take much effort.” Su Miaomiao ladled out the winter melon soup.

When the Huo family arrived and saw there wasn’t even a bit of meat in the dishes, no one raised any objections.

Eating like this was actually the norm. The meat in every meal before had all been thanks to Su Miaomiao.

But Su Miaomiao’s cooking was good. Even if the dishes were all vegetarian, the Huo family still ate with great satisfaction.

At the very least, it was much better than the villagers who could only chew on steamed cornbread and drink cornmeal porridge.

“The food at home is almost gone. In a couple of days, I’ll find a way to buy more supplies,” Su Miaomiao said, feeling that today’s meal was a bit too plain.

“No need, no need, this is already very good,” Tang Chunlan immediately declined.

Su Miaomiao didn’t have any money on her. She had been brought to the Huo family without warning, not even packing her belongings.

“People need food to survive. The harsher the environment, the more we need to take care of our health. Besides, the money I use to buy food is from the Huo family,” Su Miaomiao quickly explained.

Even though the Huo family was fine with eating plain food and corn pancakes, she wasn’t.

She wanted to eat meat!

“Huo family’s money?” Tang Chunlan looked puzzled.

“Didn’t everyone give me gifts the day I arrived at the Huo family? Last time I went to the county, I exchanged those things for money. It’s enough to support us for a while,” Su Miaomiao explained simply.

“Those were your welcome gifts. How can we let you give them back to us?” Huo Jianguo frowned tightly.

“Those things are just lying around useless with me. It’s better to exchange them for food to eat,” Su Miaomiao replied nonchalantly.

“You child…” Tang Chunlan’s eyes turned red again.

How much hardship must she have endured to grow up to be so considerate of others?

Even Huo Jianguo’s eyes softened with emotion.

If the Huo family could one day rise again, they would offer the best things in the world to Su Miaomiao.

Su Miaomiao had no idea that they were all feeling sorry for her. She was just busy planning her next steps.

---

In the following days, Su Miaomiao took Huzi and the other kids into the mountains to dig medicinal herbs during the day.

At night, she would draw herb illustrations for them at home and teach them using those at the herbal clinic the next day.

After a few days of this, the children — lured by the reward of candies — had already memorized most of the common herbs.

And the herbal clinic no longer had a shortage of medicinal herbs.

So, on the morning of June 17th,

Su Miaomiao packed up a large batch of well-prepared herbs, got onto a donkey cart, and set off, swaying toward the town.