“Teacher Qiao, are you slaughtering chickens?!”

“Oh my, Professor Qiao, it’s not even a holiday—your family sure eats well!”

“What are you talking about?! The two kids in Old Qiao’s family just recovered from being sick. What’s wrong with giving them something nourishing?”

“But isn’t that too nourishing?! Roast duck one day, meat the next—Professor Su and Professor Qiao must be rolling in money.”

“What they eat has nothing to do with you! Can’t stand to see others living well, can you?”

“You’re so eager to defend them—how come they never invite you to eat meat?”

“I have a job, money, hands, and feet. Unlike some people who just get jealous over how others live.”

“What did you say?! I’m jealous?! We’re all ordinary folks, yet their family lives like capitalists.”

…

That afternoon, Qiao Jiuru boiled a large pot of water, caught two chickens, slaughtered and bled them, then started plucking feathers right in the courtyard.

The noise, of course, didn’t go unnoticed.

Sure enough, several of the residents from the compound came over—seven or eight people—gathering outside her yard, gossiping.

Some threw sarcastic remarks, others spoke up in her defense.

Qiao Jiuru: “…”

If it weren’t for the fact that everyone in the compound knew exactly how many chickens her family had, she wouldn’t have killed them so openly.

But if, one day, those people came snooping and found nothing, they’d get suspicious and even more aggressive.

Better to let them know the chickens were already eaten—then no one could accuse them of hiding anything.

“Sigh, the kids have been sick for days and only just got better. The doctor said they need more nutrition. We don’t have anything fancy at home—chicken soup’s the best. We’re usually busy with work, and we only had a few chickens. Might as well use them and not have to feed them anymore. Xiaofeng and Huazhu are coming home later too—let the kids have something good.”

Though she’d been reborn, Qiao Jiuru still didn’t like playing the pity card.

And even if she did, it wouldn’t change the darkness in some people’s hearts—or the fact they were about to be sent down.

Still, not explaining at all wasn’t good either, so Qiao Jiuru told most of the truth.

After all, it was Saturday—Su’s two schoolkids were coming home.

Wasn’t adding dishes for them normal? Of course, most families wouldn’t splurge enough to kill a chicken.

But just because others wouldn’t didn’t mean Qiao Jiuru wouldn’t.

All others could do was gossip.

No matter how envious the others were, they couldn’t actually steal Qiao’s chickens.

After explaining, Qiao Jiuru didn’t bother caring about what others thought.

She deftly finished plucking the feathers, gutted the chickens, and took them into the kitchen.

She chopped them into pieces and started simmering them in the clean pot of water.

She didn’t waste the chicken blood or organs either—after cleaning them thoroughly, she sliced them up to stir-fry.

As the chicken soup finished cooking, Zhou Wanwan and the others returned home from work.

Not long after, Su Feng and Su Huazhu, the siblings, also arrived home.

“Mom, what’s the occasion?! You’re treating us so well!”

Su Huazhu never imagined there’d be chicken meat at home when she came back on break.

The aroma alone was heavenly.

Dropping her bag and coat, she rushed over to her mom and snuggled up to her affectionately.

“…As long as you’re all doing well, I’ll treat you well every day.”

After being reborn, Qiao Jiuru’s two younger children were away at school.

This was the first time she was seeing them again after several decades.

Her eyes welled up uncontrollably; she nearly couldn’t speak.

In this life, her children must live well—even if it cost her her own life.

“Mom, you’re always good to us! When have you ever not been?!”

Su Feng chimed in after hearing his sister and mother speak.

Seeing her tall, strong younger son again after another lifetime, Qiao Jiuru couldn’t hold back the tears anymore.

“Mom, why are you crying?! Did I say something wrong?”

“Mom, I’m sorry—please don’t cry.”

Seeing their mother in tears scared Su Feng and Su Huazhu.

They immediately panicked, instinctively thinking they had upset her.

“Your mom’s just happy to see you. She’s always thinking about you. And now that Dabao and Xiaobao are better, she can finally relax. Plus, Xiaofeng—your mom is reluctant to see you leave soon for a faraway job.”

Only Su Huaiyuan, her husband, knew why his wife was crying.

He quickly stepped in to smooth things over, so the children wouldn’t suspect anything was wrong.

Su Feng looked confused: …Huh?! He was going to work far away?

Since when?!

“Dad, my brother hasn’t even graduated yet! Where’s he going to work?”

Su Huazhu was quick-witted and caught the key point right away.

“It’s your uncle’s old army buddies—they requested Xiaofeng by name to go work at the military hospital. They’ve been keeping track of his grades at med school. They’re short on staff over there. Internship is internship, right? So your Uncle Zhang and we discussed it—Xiaofeng will go in a couple of days.”

Qiao Jiuru had decided not to tell her son about the family’s upcoming misfortune.

She was afraid he’d refuse to go and insist on staying to suffer with them—completely unnecessary.

The kids all knew about Uncle Qiao Yin.

Many people owed him their lives.

So getting Su Feng into a military hospital was no trouble at all.

Hearing this, Su Feng and Su Huazhu didn’t suspect a thing—just thought it was a bit sudden.

“Mom, I could go at the end of August. No need to rush for just a couple of months.”

“What do you know?! There’s an opening now. Whether you intern at the school hospital or theirs, it’s still an internship!”

“She’s right, Xiaofeng. It’s a rare opportunity. Haven’t you always wanted to be like your uncle? This is your chance—don’t miss it.”

“Xiaofeng, I support you too. I’m still here at home. Do your best, follow Uncle’s example, and become someone great like him.”

With Mom, Dad, and Big Brother all saying so, Su Feng felt it made sense and agreed.

Dinner included a big bowl of chicken soup for everyone, stir-fried chicken offal with pickled vegetables, stir-fried cabbage, and steamed buns and rice as staples.

With Su Feng and Su Huazhu back, the house was short on space.

The Su family’s assigned housing had only three rooms: a living room, kitchen, and small courtyard.

Su Huaiyuan and Qiao Jiuru had one room, the eldest son and his wife plus two sons had another, and Huazhu, being a girl, had her own room—so Su Feng had to sleep in the living room.

The return of their little uncle and aunt made Dabao and Xiaobao very happy, and the two little ones followed their aunt into her room to play.