Chapter 32

Half-asleep, Liu Ye caught the scent of food and smacked his lips. In his dream, it was New Year’s, and he was eating meat and candy. But when Liu Yu woke him, he felt a pang of regret—it was just a dream. Usually, there was nothing but wild vegetable soup and cornbread, and never enough to feel full.

“Liu Ye, Grandma said from now on, each family will eat separately. We won’t have to squeeze in with Uncle and Second Uncle’s families anymore. I’ve already made dinner. Let’s go to the kitchen and eat!”

Liu Yu patted her younger brother’s head.

Liu Ye mumbled an “oh” and thought eating separately wasn’t so bad. After all, they always lost out when fighting for food at the communal table. Rubbing his eyes, he followed his father to the kitchen, and what he saw made his eyes widen in disbelief.

On the small table sat a steaming pot of braised fish, rich with oil and flavor. Beside it were fist-sized cornbread buns, golden and made entirely of cornmeal!

“Big Sis, is this New Year’s or just dinner?”

Liu Ye couldn’t believe his eyes, and Liu Jian’s expression mirrored his amazement.

“What are you dawdling for? If you don’t eat soon, the food will get cold!”

Nie Xiaocui, full of disdain for the father and son’s dumbfounded reactions, set the bowls and chopsticks on the table.

There wasn’t a dining table in the kitchen, just a small worktable that doubled as one, and no chairs, so they had to squat to eat. Liu Ye quickly grabbed a big cornbread bun, ladled himself a bowl of fish soup, and gulped it down in a few swigs before biting into the cornbread. He ate like a ravenous wolf.

“Eat slower! No one’s going to snatch it from you!”

Liu Yu, holding her bowl, kindly reminded him. But before she could finish her sentence, Nie Xiaocui placed a large piece of deboned fish into Liu Yu’s bowl. “Focus on eating, not talking!”

This kind of meal was something even the Liu family didn’t get to enjoy during New Year’s. Last year, they only managed one meal of dumplings stuffed with pork!

As the light glowed warmly in the kitchen and the family ate contentedly, someone else was watching them from the shadows.

Liu Jianmin, Liu Laosan, and his wife Liu Li were leaning against their window frame, their eyes glued to the feast in the kitchen. Even Chen Shi stood by, observing intently.

The aroma of the fish wafted over, teasing their senses. Liu Li couldn’t help but feel bitter. Tonight, she had only two bowls of cornmeal porridge and some wilted cabbage, not a trace of oil or grease.

Seeing the feast the eldest family was having, better than a New Year’s celebration, made her jealous and resentful. She muttered sourly, “Look at the eldest family! Eating like this—are they trying to squander everything?”

“Mom, didn’t you say you only left a few rotten potatoes for the eldest family? How are they eating like this?”

Liu Jianmin was equally dissatisfied. Although Chen Shi favored him and often slipped him better food, he hadn’t eaten anything as luxurious as what the eldest family was having in months.

“I—I really did only leave them a few rotten potatoes!”

Chen Shi was baffled. Where did the fish and the food come from?

Grumbling under his breath, Liu Jianmin added, “Look at this! Their food’s better than what you’d see in New Year’s paintings! I worked all day doing hard labor and only got cornmeal porridge. Meanwhile, Big Brother’s eating meat and drinking soup. As his younger brother, I don’t even get a taste of it. What kind of sense is that?”

Ever since their last argument, Big Brother had stopped considering familial ties. Not only did he refuse to give Liu Jianmin and his wife extra work points, but he also cut their previous three points. Now, Liu Jianmin was forced to do farm labor, while he and Liu Li, accustomed to idling around, were left sweaty, grimy, and miserable.

Chen Shi, wanting to avenge her youngest son, had come up with the idea of rationing food. But who would have thought that not only did it fail to trouble the eldest family, but they were now eating better than ever!

“Don’t worry, my son,” Chen Shi reassured him. “The eldest should always yield to the youngest. If they want to hog all the good food, I won’t let them get away with it!”

Determined to make things right for her youngest son, Chen Shi began hatching another plan.