Chapter 3

Hearing Yun Shuang say that, Erya didn’t look happy—instead, she seemed like she had something to say. Her little mouth opened and closed: “Mother… Mother…” But she didn’t know how to continue. After all, Mother had said that she still wasn’t full.

Yun Shuang, however, was already deftly grabbing a fish and placing it on the cutting board. She picked up the knife beside it—its blade chipped in several spots. These tools were leftovers from the military household that had fled before. Though worn out, they were still usable.

She had grown up with divorced parents, both of whom remarried. Yun Shuang always felt like she didn’t belong—no matter which home she was in. After entering university, she simply moved out to live alone. So when it came to domestic skills, she was practically a jack-of-all-trades.

She efficiently cleaned and gutted the fish, poured some oil into the scrubbed pot, and once the oil heated, added the fish. With a loud sizzle, the delicious aroma of pan-fried fish filled the air quickly.

Erya had never eaten anything that smelled this good. She wasn’t full to begin with, and now her mouth watered uncontrollably—her tummy growled louder, and she tiptoed to peek at what her mother was cooking.
Once the fish was golden and crisp on both sides, Yun Shuang scooped a few ladles of water from the outdoor vat and poured it in. She covered the pot and waited for it to boil, then added the washed mushrooms and let it simmer. A pinch of coarse salt for flavor—and the fragrant mushroom fish soup was complete!

Next, she steamed two taro roots. When everything was ready, she filled two bowls of soup—one for herself and one for Erya—and split a taro in half, saving the other one for Goudan, who was still busy outside.

Erya had been trying to act tough, wanting to say she wasn’t hungry and that Mother should eat. But as soon as she saw the steaming, creamy-white soup set in front of her, her words vanished. Her mouth formed a stunned ‘O’ and she blurted out: “Mother, why is this soup… why is it white?”

So magical! It looked nothing like the bland soup her brother usually made.

Yun Shuang chuckled and said gently: “Try it and see if you like it. I let it cool a bit, so it shouldn’t be too hot now.”

Still just a child, Erya eagerly picked up the bowl, took a sip, and her eyes sparkled. “Yum! It’s so tasty!”

Yun Shuang looked at the girl’s thin little face and said, with a pang of guilt, “Then drink some more.”

Honestly, to Yun Shuang, the soup tasted quite average. With no green onion, ginger, or garlic for flavor—and no cooking wine to mask the fishiness—it had a faint, lingering scent of raw fish. But to this child, it was already the most delicious thing in the world.

As the mother and daughter were slowly enjoying their long-delayed lunch, footsteps suddenly echoed outside. Moments later, a small, skinny boy with delicate, well-shaped features came running in. Seeing the two of them sitting in the kitchen and eating, he froze in place.

Yun Shuang stood up with a smile. “Goudan, you’re back? I saved two bowls of soup for you, and a taro—”

“You ate all our food!”

Goudan suddenly snapped, gritting his teeth and shouting angrily, “We don’t have much to begin with! Did you think about what we’ll eat tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow?!”

Erya’s hands trembled. She quickly put down her bowl and scrambled off the chair. “Big Brother, it’s not Mother’s fault. I… I didn’t tell her we weren’t supposed to use the food. I just… I thought Mother was still sick and needed to eat more…”

“It’s not your fault, Erya! I know she’s sick and needs food too, but… but we really have nothing left!”

Seeing he’d scared Erya, Goudan’s expression showed a flicker of panic. But he was still just a child under six, and his eyes reddened with emotion—anger, frustration, and helplessness.

“Mother doesn’t help with anything. Erya and I can only rely on each other—we have to take care of her! I’m trying my best, but all I found this afternoon was one tiny taro. What about tomorrow? Why… why can’t we be like other kids? Why can’t we have a capable mother?!”

Erya was too frightened to go near him. She murmured, “Big Brother…”

Yun Shuang just quietly watched the emotionally overwhelmed boy in front of her. In truth, she had seen Erya’s hesitation earlier while cooking—it wasn’t hard to guess why she looked that way. But she hadn’t expected Goudan’s reaction to be so intense. After all, the original Yun Shuang had been engulfed in grief for years, leaving every family burden on this little boy’s shoulders. The pressure had built up far beyond what a child could bear.

Once he’d vented enough, Yun Shuang crouched down, looked him in the eyes, and said gently, “I’m sorry. I ate your food without asking.”

Goudan froze, staring at her in disbelief.

“I was just so hungry. Don’t worry—we won’t go without food.”

She offered a faint smile. “Starting tomorrow, I’ll go with you to gather food. Okay?”

Goudan stared at her wide-eyed, forgetting to blink until his eyes stung. He snapped back to reality and took a step back, biting his lip. “You’re lying! You said that before, too. Then you just cried again! Got sick again! And used up all our money on your medicine! I don’t believe you!”

The original Yun Shuang’s trustworthiness in the children’s eyes had clearly plummeted below zero. But Yun Shuang didn’t rush to earn it back. She stood up and smiled, saying, “Then just watch and see whether I’m lying. Come eat—the fish soup won’t taste good once it’s cold.”

With that, she walked over to the stove and ladled a bowl of soup for Goudan.

Goudan looked stunned. Before, if he said something like that, Mother would either start crying again or silently leave the room. But now… this Mother wasn’t sad, wasn’t angry—she even smiled and invited him to drink fish soup.

Seeing her brother’s emotions finally calm down, Erya rushed forward and gently tugged on his hand. “Big Brother, Mother’s fish soup is sooo tasty. Try some! She said you worked really hard today and saved some extra.”

But perhaps all the pent-up feelings couldn’t be held back anymore. Goudan bit his lip hard and snapped coldly, “I’m not drinking. If you want it, drink it yourselves.”

“Big Brother!”

Yun Shuang was halfway through scooping the soup. Hearing that, she glanced at him calmly, then quietly poured the soup back into the pot.

“Alright then. We’ll save it for when you feel like drinking. Your sister and I are already full—if you won’t have it, the soup will just go to waste.”

Goudan’s eyes widened in shock. Throw it away? That… that’s not okay!

Yun Shuang’s lips curled in a quiet smile. Such a little rascal—if she couldn’t even handle a kid like him, what use was living through two lifetimes?

She let him stew in his dilemma and called out, “Erya, come help Mother.”

She needed to take inventory of what assets they still had. Even if there wasn’t much, she needed to understand the household’s situation before making her next move.