A large pot of chicken soup with shiitake mushrooms, a big basket of steamed buns, and twenty hard-boiled eggs.

Slurp.

Everyone except Qiao Jiuru, Su Huaiyuan, and their two children Dabao and Xiaobao—who had extra food in the storage space every day—was desperately swallowing their saliva.

The smell—so rich, so fragrant—filled the entire room with the aroma of chicken soup.

Even though the lighting inside wasn’t great, the big pot of golden-yellow chicken soup was still clearly visible.

Golden, with a thick layer of oil floating on top…

“This pot was specially bought and saved for you all to nourish your bodies. You have to finish it.”

Qiao Jiuru took the large bowl her husband handed her, and then ladled out a big bowl for each person—more chicken than soup.

The chicken in Song Luoshu and Song Luoyun’s bowls was no less than what Su Huazhu got.

The brother and sister were both touched and embarrassed.

“Mom, Dad, you should eat too.”

Holding her full bowl of chicken and soup, Su Huazhu felt deeply cared for and loved by her parents. She quickly urged them to eat more too.

“Your dad and I have sensitive stomachs and can’t handle greasy food well. A bit of meat and more soup is actually better for us.”

Qiao Jiuru drank chicken soup and ate stir-fried chicken every day in the space.

Luckily, she had the kind of body that didn’t gain weight easily, and with the medicinal water from the space’s pharmacy applied to her face, her good complexion practically glowed.

Even Su Huaiyuan had to use the water on his face to conceal it—thankfully he worked hard in the fields every day, or else he might’ve gained weight too.

“That’s right, Huazhu, don’t worry. Your mom and I haven’t been treating ourselves badly. We eat an egg every day and have a bowl of brown sugar water too. Our health is just fine.”

As he spoke, Su Huaiyuan fed chicken to Dabao and Xiaobao, beaming as he reassured his daughter.

It was true, no lie.

It was a pity that braised pork, fish, shrimp, and crab from the space couldn’t be brought out easily without an excuse—otherwise, the kids could’ve eaten to their hearts’ content.

Seeing her parents’ indifferent attitude toward the chicken soup, unlike her own almost green-with-envy gaze, Su Huazhu believed them.

Delicious.

Incredibly delicious.

Maybe it was because they hadn’t had chicken in a long time, but for Su Huazhu, Su Ze, Zhou Wanwan, Song Luoyun, and Song Luoshu, tonight’s chicken was the best they had ever tasted.

The soup was rich and flavorful, warming them from the inside and melting away all fatigue.

Each person had a big bowl, and when the pot had about two bowls left, Qiao Jiuru gave the rest to her younger daughter and to Song Luoshu and Song Luoyun.

“You three live with a big group at the zhiqing settlement—even if you had good food, you wouldn’t dare to take it out and eat it. It’s different here—we live on our own, so you three should eat more.”

Qiao Jiuru’s explanation was directed both at her son and daughter-in-law, as well as her younger daughter and the two kids.

“Mom, we understand.”

“Yeah, there are so many people at the zhiqing point. It’s inconvenient to eat anything nice—always hiding and sneaking around, afraid of being caught. Little Sister, you all eat more.”

In the end, neither Su Ze nor Zhou Wanwan was the least bit upset.

In fact, Zhou Wanwan wasn’t angry or jealous at all—she even encouraged Su Huazhu and the others to eat more.

Zhou Wanwan was very satisfied with her current life.

Though chicken was a rare treat, she had cured meats and eggs every day.

Her sister-in-law, a zhiqing, certainly didn’t have such good meals.

Even having a single egg likely had to be hidden.

After nearly two months here, she had heard a bit about life over there.

That’s why she didn’t envy her sister-in-law. Her days were no better.

“Thank you, Big Brother. Thank you, Sister-in-law.”

Even though Su Huazhu and the others had already had dinner before coming, they still finished every bit of the chicken and soup—and even ate two extra steamed buns.

After eating, Su Ze and Zhou Wanwan were told to go rest since they had to work tomorrow and couldn’t take time off.

It was almost 10 p.m., and Dabao and Xiaobao were already asleep. Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan insisted on personally walking the three kids back—they wouldn’t feel at ease otherwise.

“Mom, we’ve taken the day off tomorrow. We’re planning to go to the commune to buy some things. Is there anything we should bring back for the house?”

Su Huazhu knew that given her parents’ roles, they couldn’t leave the production team and had to work every day. Fortunately, she could buy things for them.

“No need—your Uncle Zhang and the others send us supplies every month…”

“Mom, even if you and Dad don’t eat, Dabao and Xiaobao need to.”

Just as Qiao Jiuru was about to refuse, her daughter mentioned the two little nephews—leaving no room for argument.

“In that case, buy a serving of braised pork and braised fish, or dumplings. Also get two jin of biscuits, two servings of pastries, one jin of milk candies, and two jin of brown sugar.”

Their daughter was thoughtful and filial—Su Huaiyuan didn’t want to discourage her, so he quickly listed the items available at the state-run restaurant and the supply co-op.

“I’ll go back right now to get two lunch boxes.”

Luckily, they hadn’t gone far, so Su Huaiyuan immediately turned back.

“Don’t forget the meat and grain coupons,” Qiao Jiuru quietly reminded him. They had everything in the space, but she couldn’t take it out directly—so Su Huaiyuan had to make another trip.

She didn’t need to say it—Su Huaiyuan already knew what to do.

More than half an hour later, the couple safely saw the three children back near the zhiqing point. Only after watching them enter did they turn and leave.

The next day, Su Huazhu and the others made their own breakfast, then set off for the commune around 9:30 a.m.

It took over two hours to walk from Dashan Village’s production team to the commune.

As long as they could reach the state-run restaurant before the lunch rush, they were fine.

Before noon, Su Huazhu and her group arrived at the restaurant, which was already filled with people.

They even saw Li Jin, Liu Wei, Shang Xiaoyun, Feng Juan, and Fang Xiaoyu from the zhiqing settlement, all sitting together at one table. When they saw Su Huazhu enter, Li Jin and Liu Wei waved at them.

Song Luoyun, Su Huazhu, and Song Luoshu politely nodded in return, then went to the counter to order their food.

“Hello, comrade. I’d like to order one braised pork, one braised fish, and a serving of pork and cabbage dumplings for takeaway. Then for dining in: one braised pork, one braised fish, stir-fried shredded potatoes, one egg drop soup, and three bowls of rice.”

As she spoke, Su Huazhu handed over the money, coupons, and three lunchboxes to the unsmiling service worker.

The female cashier stared at Su Huazhu for quite a while—it was obvious she was a zhiqing, and from a well-off family.

She couldn’t help feeling envious.

Still, she accepted the money and coupons without expression, slammed the lunchboxes onto the kitchen pass-through, and loudly repeated the order to the kitchen.

Nearby, someone had been eavesdropping on them the entire time.

When they heard what she ordered, a wave of jealousy rippled through the restaurant—why were they living so well?