Chapter 6

There is no doubt that Liu Yu handled the situation beautifully; no one could find fault with it.

Even Nie Xiaocui had to admit that if it had been her handling it, she might not have done as well. At the very least, the Lu Hua chicken wouldn’t have been left with all its feathers.

Liu Ye also thought her sister was impressive. She used to think her sister was just a big eater, tall, and strong, but it turned out she was also skilled at throwing tantrums.

Those who returned from the fields washed their hands and got ready for dinner.

Liu Yu’s grandfather, Liu Dagang, took the seat of honor at the table.

Liu Old Third, Liu Jianmin, and his family—two sons, a daughter-in-law, and their four-member family—sat firmly at one side of the table.

Liu Old Second, Liu Jianguo, whose wife had gone back to her parents’ home, sat alone in a corner. His daughter, Bai Xueling, who had a grudge against Liu Yu, stayed at the educated youth point and only came back when something big or small happened.

Liu Oldest, Liu Yu’s family, filled the other side of the table.

The so-called “first beauty of Baohe Village,” Bai Xueling, wasn’t present. Liu Yu felt a bit regretful, but reassured herself: no worries, there will be other chances to meet.

Baohe Village, along with several nearby villages, made up a commune. This area was poor and the land barren, producing very few crops. There were only coarse grains like corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and sorghum—fine grains like rice and white flour were nowhere to be seen. But the Liu family was so poor that even those coarse grains weren’t something they could eat to their heart’s content.

The one cooking was Chen Shi. She brought out a bowl of sweet potato leaf porridge made with cornmeal. It wasn’t so much a porridge as a soup. The dried sweet potato leaves were crushed and cooked into the soup, and a spoonful of old cornmeal was added, making a thin, watery porridge.

For the main dish, there were steamed sorghum flour dumplings, each about the size of a fist—grey and unappetizing, with a bad smell. There was also a dish of pickled mustard greens, chopped into bits, which served as the side dish.

As for the oily, meaty dish, it was the usual: a bit of bone scraps with cabbage, made once a year to fill up during the dumpling meal.

So, with such a simple meal, each person got one bowl of porridge and two dumplings, no more allowed.

The bowls were large, so one could finish it in one go, and with the two dumplings, the belly could be somewhat full. But there was no real nourishment in the food. For those working in the fields, it was like a pinch of dirt in the ocean—barely filling.

As soon as the food was served, Liu Yu swiftly grabbed the dish of mustard greens and began to eat. She divided a portion for her father, Liu Jianjia, and then for her mother, Nie Xiaocui, and her younger brother. By the time she returned the plate, only half of the mustard greens were left.

Liu Yu sat back down, holding her bowl and slurping the porridge—she was determined to find a way to get her family to eat rice and white flour!

Liu Jianjia looked at the mustard greens in his bowl, opened his mouth, but couldn’t say anything. His eyes almost filled with tears; his daughter cared about her parents.

Liu Old Third’s wife, Liu Li, was usually the one who did such things. Today, she met her match at the dinner table. She glanced at the half-empty plate and sarcastically remarked, “Oh, Liu Yu, your hands are quick. How’s anyone else supposed to eat?”

Liu Yu stirred her bowl and casually glanced up, feeling a bit ashamed compared to Liu Li. “I’m still slower than Aunt Li.”

Liu Li fumed, her nostrils flaring, and her chopsticks poking at her bowl. But with only half the mustard greens left on the table, she didn’t dare to grab more like she used to. If she did, the others would surely spit on her face.

Then Chen Shi picked up the plate, divided the remaining half of the mustard greens—half for the esteemed Liu Old Man, and half for the beloved younger son. The plate of mustard greens was gone.